Princess Cruisers Compare Crystal, Silversea, and Viking Ocean Cruises

[RLK33853]

     After over 50 voyages with Princess Cruises we found ourselves wanting more, not less for our cruise experiences.  While Princess continues to supply an acceptable mass market product, over the past few years we have noted a decline in their service/management and lack of loyalty back to the customers who have been loyal to them.  Things like the loss of free internet, the loss of unlimited meals at Alfredo’s Pizzeria, suspension of onboard credit for every five cruises after 25, combined with overworked staff (room stewards now look after numerous more rooms/waiters have more tables) – well you get the picture.   Therefore over the past year we have been trying out various luxury lines in the hopes of finding a new cruise “home”.

 

     A bit about ourselves – we are in our 60’s, fit, have traveled the world, both on land and on sea, and are now at the point in our lives where we just want to enjoy the finer things in life.  Thus our exploration of Paul Gauguin last fall (loved it), and this spring we did a comparison btbtb for 15 days on the Crystal Symphony (600 passengers – Athens to Civitavecchia), then on the Silversea Whisper (400 passengers – Venice to Civitavecchia), and ended our trip on the Viking Jupiter (900 passengers – Venice to Civitavecchia).  This will be a comparison between Crystal and Viking which both not only lived up to, but exceeded our expectations.  I have completed and posted a separate review of our Silversea disaster titled “We apologize, we’ll do better” – a Review of the Silver Whisper and Silversea Management, on the Silversea board.  Suffice it to say that we would never recommend anyone waste their cruise funds on Silversea.

 

     In contrast we will gladly cruise in the future with either Crystal (which we found to be the ultimate in luxury), or Viking Ocean (which we found to be more of a Premium experience, or just one step down from Crystal).  The only big difference between the two came down to on Crystal everything comes to you (staff are always asking what they can do for you), whereas on Viking, staff provide anything you want, but you have to ask for it.

 

Embarkation

 

     Crystal embarkation was phenomenal – personalized, quick, and made you feel valued as a customer. 

Viking was a little less personal, but was extremely efficient.

 

Customer Service – An example of each cruise line

     

     We had a small issue with our Crystal butler not filling our fridge only with regular coke as we had requested.  On the 3^rd day I asked the front desk if they could send some coke to the room while we were out.  Instead the Head Butler sought us out for a meeting, explaining that having to ask was not up to their standards, replacing our butler (who was actually pretty good), and wanting to upgrade the supplied champagne as a gesture of goodwill.  All I wanted was a few coke.  Suffice it to say that Crystal takes customer service to an entirely different level.

 

     A Viking Ocean example of customer service may have been different, yet was probably more impressive.  When we boarded we left our two large suitcases, one small carryon bag, and a backpack with the dock luggage handlers.  The two large and one carryon bag showed up at our suite but the backpack did not.  We called the front desk and they said it should be delivered soon.  Around 4:00 pm when it was still missing, we went to the front desk and explained that it had still not shown up.  Guest Services attempted to locate the bag but were unable to.  Instead of telling us to wait, she locked up her station, escorted us to the luggage handling shore side where she found a manager, explained that our backpack was not onboard and wanted to know where it was.  He said he would look for it but she said no – she wanted us to follow their handling procedures until it was located.  He eventually agreed and the backpack was found in a security trailer – apparently it had been held off the ship due to scissors being found via x-ray.  The Guest Services representative asked me about the scissors and after finding they were less than 2 inches long, demanded to see the shore side port security supervisor who then released the backpack to us.  She then escorted us back onto the ship – this was truly customer service!

 

Tomorrow I will compare food, etc.

 

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed your first post of this thread and look forward to your upcoming posts.

 

It is very nice to hear the experience from a first time Crystal Cruiser.  I remember earlier in the year when you were asking great questions to prepared for your first Crystal Cruise.  

 

Keith

[May B]

Great first post, OP. That was quite dramatic, about the backpack!

 

This is fun. I look forward to more posts.

[loriva]

22 hours ago, RLK33853 said:

     After over 50 voyages with Princess Cruises we found ourselves wanting more, not less for our cruise experiences.  While Princess continues to supply an acceptable mass market product, over the past few years we have noted a decline in their service/management and lack of loyalty back to the customers who have been loyal to them.  Things like the loss of free internet, the loss of unlimited meals at Alfredo’s Pizzeria, suspension of onboard credit for every five cruises after 25, combined with overworked staff (room stewards now look after numerous more rooms/waiters have more tables) – well you get the picture.   Therefore over the past year we have been trying out various luxury lines in the hopes of finding a new cruise “home”.

 

     A bit about ourselves – we are in our 60’s, fit, have traveled the world, both on land and on sea, and are now at the point in our lives where we just want to enjoy the finer things in life.  Thus our exploration of Paul Gauguin last fall (loved it), and this spring we did a comparison btbtb for 15 days on the Crystal Symphony (600 passengers – Athens to Civitavecchia), then on the Silversea Whisper (400 passengers – Venice to Civitavecchia), and ended our trip on the Viking Jupiter (900 passengers – Venice to Civitavecchia).  This will be a comparison between Crystal and Viking which both not only lived up to, but exceeded our expectations.  I have completed and posted a separate review of our Silversea disaster titled “We apologize, we’ll do better” – a Review of the Silver Whisper and Silversea Management, on the Silversea board.  Suffice it to say that we would never recommend anyone waste their cruise funds on Silversea.

 

     In contrast we will gladly cruise in the future with either Crystal (which we found to be the ultimate in luxury), or Viking Ocean (which we found to be more of a Premium experience, or just one step down from Crystal).  The only big difference between the two came down to on Crystal everything comes to you (staff are always asking what they can do for you), whereas on Viking, staff provide anything you want, but you have to ask for it.

 

Embarkation

 

     Crystal embarkation was phenomenal – personalized, quick, and made you feel valued as a customer. 

Viking was a little less personal, but was extremely efficient.

 

Customer Service – An example of each cruise line

     

     We had a small issue with our Crystal butler not filling our fridge only with regular coke as we had requested.  On the 3^rd day I asked the front desk if they could send some coke to the room while we were out.  Instead the Head Butler sought us out for a meeting, explaining that having to ask was not up to their standards, replacing our butler (who was actually pretty good), and wanting to upgrade the supplied champagne as a gesture of goodwill.  All I wanted was a few coke.  Suffice it to say that Crystal takes customer service to an entirely different level.

 

     A Viking Ocean example of customer service may have been different, yet was probably more impressive.  When we boarded we left our two large suitcases, one small carryon bag, and a backpack with the dock luggage handlers.  The two large and one carryon bag showed up at our suite but the backpack did not.  We called the front desk and they said it should be delivered soon.  Around 4:00 pm when it was still missing, we went to the front desk and explained that it had still not shown up.  Guest Services attempted to locate the bag but were unable to.  Instead of telling us to wait, she locked up her station, escorted us to the luggage handling shore side where she found a manager, explained that our backpack was not onboard and wanted to know where it was.  He said he would look for it but she said no – she wanted us to follow their handling procedures until it was located.  He eventually agreed and the backpack was found in a security trailer – apparently it had been held off the ship due to scissors being found via x-ray.  The Guest Services representative asked me about the scissors and after finding they were less than 2 inches long, demanded to see the shore side port security supervisor who then released the backpack to us.  She then escorted us back onto the ship – this was truly customer service!

 

Tomorrow I will compare food, etc.

 

 

As fellow Princess Elite "refugees" we are following this with interest.  We started our exploration of alternatives to Princess in 2021 for the same reasons as you.  We've since completed four cruises with Regent, one with Viking Ocean (plus two rivers), and looking forward to our first on Crystal in October.  (The latter should have been summer 2022 after an awesome experience on Crystal River in October 2021--a similar "what can we do for you" experience as you noted--but we know what happened then.  We are doing Princess again in December--but mostly for the experience of cruising out of a port a 30-minute drive from where we live.)

 

Thank you for starting this thread and looking forward to learning of your experiences!

 

Take care,

[RLK33853]

Today's post compares Crystal and Viking's food, and food venues.

 

Regular and Specialty Restaurants/Food/Room Service

 

     Food on Crystal for 99% of the time was over the top.  The chef’s in their Specialty Restaurants go out of their way to personalize their meals to your tastes.  In the Japanese Fusion restaurant, they realized I liked hot sauces and while I enjoyed the 3 they had, the next time we ate there he had created 3 additional ones that he thought I may like. 

 

     The regular restaurant “Waterside” on Crystal had great food, although we did have one complete miss of Halibut – dry and overcooked – this one dish out of 15 dinners isn’t too bad.  The chef was also extremely creative - dishes with ingredients that shouldn't go together were absolutely fabulous (and I'm a pretty picky eater).

 

     Crystal also has a sitdown lunch venue (Tastes - also serves dinner) which was good, but not outstanding.

 

     One evening we tried room service on Crystal – probably the best steak I have ever had on a cruise ship. We can't comment on Viking's room service as we only used it once for a lite breakfast, but it was fine.

 

     And lastly, each afternoon on Crystal our butler supplied hors d’oeuvres, fruit, and petit forts.  Or if you so desired, you could attend afternoon tea – don’t miss the chocolate one!

 

     Viking restaurants and Specialty venues were very good, certainly better than mass market lines, yet maybe were not at the same level of creativity of Crystal.  Although in the case of Viking's Chef's Table, we, along with most of the others we spoke with had cancelled their reservations due to the quirky menu.  The menu changed during our cruise, yet still didn't seem appealing. 

 

     Last comment about Viking's restaurants - while they may not have been the same quality as Crystal, they did come extremely close.  They also had dedicated afternoon tea if you chose to attend.

 

Buffets

 

     Crystal’s buffet was excellent and only open for breakfast and lunch – including cook to order menu items.  Viking also had the cook to order items but their variety of foods far out weighed Crystal’s.  Viking's buffet area was also open for dinner and was so good that many individuals chose to eat there every evening – sushi, seafood bars with crab legs, scallops, shrimp, etc, along with a cook to order steak grill.

 

     Both Crystal and Viking had lots of seating indoors at their buffets.  This carried over to their outside terrace eating areas, which we loved on both ships. 

 

     Staff on both ships were always present to either help you at the buffet, find you a table, or get drinks for you once you sat down.

 

Pool Grill

 

     This is a tie between Crystal and Viking – and Viking if they were a little more consistent would be the better grill.  But both were fantastic.

 

Tomorrow I will compare pools, fitness areas, entertainment, and bar service.

 

Thanks

 

Ray and Ann

[jssabs]

7 hours ago, loriva said:

 

As fellow Princess Elite "refugees" we are following this with interest.  We started our exploration of alternatives to Princess in 2021 for the same reasons as you.  We've since completed four cruises with Regent, one with Viking Ocean (plus two rivers), and looking forward to our first on Crystal in October.  (The latter should have been summer 2022 after an awesome experience on Crystal River in October 2021--a similar "what can we do for you" experience as you noted--but we know what happened then.  We are doing Princess again in December--but mostly for the experience of cruising out of a port a 30-minute drive from where we live.)

 

Thank you for starting this thread and looking forward to learning of your experiences!

 

Take care,

Great  to see a post from Satellite Beach.  We bought our first house and lived in Satellite Beach in the mid sixties as young newlyweds.  Over the years we have cruised most of the major cruise lines until we found Crystal and have cruised almost exclusively with them..  Since this is your first Crystal cruise coming up, I'll tell you that we have had 12 cruises under the old Crystal which were great.  When they went out of business we started looking for a possible replacement "go to" cruise line.  We tried Seabourne and Silversea and they didn't come close.  We had also tried a cruise on Regent before the pandemic.  In the mean time Crystal came back as the new crystal and we cruised on the Serenity last December.  All I can say about the new Crystal is what many others have said - Crystal is back and they are better than ever.  We are leaving on the Symphony in 2 weeks for what will be our 14th cruise with them and we are also booked on the Serenity in December.  We have never been on Viking but they are not considered a luxury line like Regent, Silversea, Seabourne or Crystal.  You will like Crystal and what makes them so outstanding besides the food, entertainment, etc. is the crew.  You can't say enough about them and you have to experience them to understand why everyone raves about them.  Enjoy your cruise and hopefully we will meet on a future Crystal cruise and you can bring us up to date on what Satellite Beach looks like 60 years after we left.   

[loriva]

6 hours ago, RLK33853 said:

Pool Grill

 

     This is a tie between Crystal and Viking – and Viking if they were a little more consistent would be the better grill.  But both were fantastic.

 

Does Crystal offer an ahi tuna steak sandwich at the pool grill for lunch?  That is DH's favorite thing on Regent and Viking also makes an excellent one.

 

Could you also make a quick comment on dress for the dining venues on Crystal, please?  I think the dress code for Crystal and Viking (and Regent) is "Resort Casual" or some similarly named thing.  There is a definite difference between Viking (a premium not luxury line) and Regent, however.  Dress is just a little more upscale--same on Crystal?  I know we have one formal optional night and the White Party on our cruise--did you find most guests dressed up for these events?

[skybluewaters]

2 hours ago, loriva said:

Does Crystal offer an ahi tuna steak sandwich at the pool grill for lunch?

 

The Trident Grill has a very nice salmon filet sandwich on a bun.

If I recall correctly, they call it a salmon burger (or something similar), although it is a salmon filet.

[RLK33853]

6 hours ago, loriva said:

 

Does Crystal offer an ahi tuna steak sandwich at the pool grill for lunch?  That is DH's favorite thing on Regent and Viking also makes an excellent one.

 

Could you also make a quick comment on dress for the dining venues on Crystal, please?  I think the dress code for Crystal and Viking (and Regent) is "Resort Casual" or some similarly named thing.  There is a definite difference between Viking (a premium not luxury line) and Regent, however.  Dress is just a little more upscale--same on Crystal?  I know we have one formal optional night and the White Party on our cruise--did you find most guests dressed up for these events?

 

I can't recall exactly what the fish is at the grill but I believe that Skybluewaters may be correct that it is a salmon burger.  Maybe others can chime in on this.

 

As for dress - yes, while Crystal is resort casual, most everyone was well dressed in a casual but upscale manner.  Formal nights were quite dressy and the White Party was exceptional, with a good number dressed in white and involved on the atrium dancefloor.  The cruise director (Vicki Van Tassel) dared everyone the evening before to show up in their white bathrobe but no  one did!  It was a great evening and everyone enjoyed themselves.

[loriva]

12 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

 

The Trident Grill has a very nice salmon filet sandwich on a bun.

If I recall correctly, they call it a salmon burger (or something similar), although it is a salmon filet.

 

Salmon not the same as ahi tuna, of course, but DH likes it as well!  Thanks for the info.

[Txcotn]

16 hours ago, loriva said:

 

Does Crystal offer an ahi tuna steak sandwich at the pool grill for lunch?  

 

Ask and you shall receive!

 

16 hours ago, loriva said:

 

 

[loriva]

2 minutes ago, Txcotn said:

 

Ask and you shall receive!

 

 

 

We will try!  Given the presence of Umi Uma onboard, the ship should have a supply of ahi tuna.  Might have to ask the day before so they can fetch from ship's stores.  At least that has been the rule of thumb for special requests on other lines.

[Txcotn]

20 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

We will try!  Given the presence of Umi Uma onboard, the ship should have a supply of ahi tuna.  Might have to ask the day before so they can fetch from ship's stores.  At least that has been the rule of thumb for special requests on other lines.

Oh yes, 24 hour notice will enhance the possibility! In over 50 cruises and 30 years, I've never been told "no".😎

Edited June 23 by Txcotn

[RLK33853]

Pool Area

 

     On Crystal the pool area is luxury times ten – padded loungers with fresh covers, along with large wicker outdoor couches and chairs, alongside places to eat – both in the sun and in the shade.

 

     Viking’s pool area is a little more cruise ship traditional – still very comfortable with mesh sun loungers, alongside tables to eat at – both regular and high tops.

 

     Both ships have loungers elsewhere on the ship if you choose to just sit by yourself and read a book.

 

Fitness Area

 

     Crystal had a great gym area but with Viking being the larger ship, they had a superior gym.  Both had adequate aerobic machines, resistance machines, plus free weights.

 

     Viking also had the free spa area with gigantic hot tub, snow room, ice baths, saunas, steam room, and heated tile loungers.  

 

     The locker rooms on both lines were very upscale.

 

     Both Crystal and Viking have promonade decks for walkers.

 

Entertainment

 

     Crystal entertainment is some of the best we have ever experienced – anywhere, not just at sea.  They had several guest singers who were currently performing on Broadway in New York or the West End in London.  Plus they had excellent onboard entertainment staff in their showroom and the Avenue Bar.    The Cruise Director was extremely visible and interacted with the guests constantly.  Crystal also has a small dedicated movie theatre – we’re not sure why though as we never saw anyone use it.  They also have a full library.

 

     Viking’s entertainment was pretty low key in comparison but we don’t really cruise for the entertainment.  We rarely saw the Cruise Director.  On the Jupiter they also have a "Star Theatre" which shows 3D type documentaries (reservations required).  One show was pretty spectacular, the other was underwhelming.

Bar Service

     

     Crystal is all inclusive and was it ever!  Great wines, decent beer selection, and if you so wanted, an excellent variety of spirits.  Bartenders and servers are extremely attentive.  In the evenings before dinner, servers come around with unbelievable hors d'dourves, and after the show, pizza is offered at the bars.

 

     Viking has beer and wine included for meals (and they seem pretty liberal about when lunch and dinner is) but you have no choice other than the house wines.  We had purchased the Silver Spirits package which includes drinks at any time and we found that the wines we could choose from were more than adequate (and my wife is a bit of a wine snob).  Again they had a good selection of beer, including three different ones from Norway.  The one area that we found disappointing was that they ran out of several items towards the end of the cruise (not unlike what happens on mainstream lines but never occurred on Crystal).

 

     Both Crystal and Viking allow you to bring on whatever liquor, wine, or beer you want and will serve it to you without corkage.

 

Stateroom Comparison

 

     When we cruise Princess we usually take a mini-suite (just under 300 sqft) or suite as we like the extra space.  While that may not be important to others, it is something we don't mind paying extra for.

 

     Crystal – we booked an Aquamarine Veranda (redesigned 2017) which was more than adequate at 323 sq ft.  It had a sitting area with a couch. chair, table, large armoire, makeup table, walk-in closet, huge bathroom with 2 double sinks, separate toilet area, and large shower with three different shower heads.  The balcony was quite large and comfortable with great wicker furniture. 

 

     Crystal also showcases their different staterooms (one day of the cruise), for you to check them out.  We found that the Aquamarine Veranda Suite suited us fine, but in future we would look at going up one category to a Sapphire Veranda Suite (redesigned 2017) as it was spectacular.  One word of caution - not all categories of rooms are the same.  Pay attention to the words Classic Design (original layout - more wood, smaller shower), Redesigned 2017, or Redesigned 2023, as they are all laid out different.

 

     Viking – we booked a Penthouse Veranda which again was more than adequate at 340 sq ft.  It didn’t have a walk-in closet like Crystal, rather it's a closet built into the entry hallway (although the room had tons of storage/drawers).  The room has a huge living room area with couch, chair, large coffee table/footstool, and while it only had a medium size bathroom, it was very nice (heated floors and nonfog mirrors).  The balcony was comparable to Crystal in size, although the furniture was not of the same quality.  Apparently there are also two different versions of this room - while both have the same layout, one version has a sliding balcony door, while the other has an actual door and window.  We had the sliding door version.

 

[Texas Tillie]

Two minor additions to your excellent review, the Crystal fitness area is open 24/7, unlike most other lines. Also, there is an included sauna and steam shower to use in the fitness area.

 

Patty

[Cruiselover51]

I was very happy to read you.  Your critique is welcome because we did not try Viking or Silversea yet.  Our cruise experience is similar to yours. We have 44 cruises done - 9 of them were on Crystal Symphony or Serenity. After many cruises on different mass market cruise lines - RCI, Princess, Holland America, Celebrity, Oceania, Cunard, we discovered Crystal in 2013 because we wanted to celebrate an anniversary.  Since, most of our cruises were on Crystal.  And then in 2022, Crystal went out of the market. Since we tried Seabourn and Regent, looking for a similar experience or better than Crystal.  We did not find better than Crystal and then Crystal came back, we jumped into the wagon! 
 

We might meet you on a Crystal cruise soon or later.  Our next one is in October 2024 on the Symphony!

[TBfrPH]

6 hours ago, RLK33853 said:

Pool Area

 

     On Crystal the pool area is luxury times ten ...

 

Entertainment

 

     Crystal entertainment is some of the best we have ever experienced – anywhere...

 

@RLK33853  Thanks again for posting your experience.

 

Regarding Crystal's pool, how does the size compare to mass-market ships' pools?  Is one able to actually swim, or just wade around with a drink?

 

What about live music outside of the production showroom/theater?  Does Crystal offer much live music entertainment throughout the day in venues conducive to dancing?  Did you see many people dancing?

[History&Wine]

8 minutes ago, TBfrPH said:

@RLK33853  Thanks again for posting your experience.

 

Regarding Crystal's pool, how does the size compare to mass-market ships' pools?  Is one able to actually swim, or just wade around with a drink?

 

What about live music outside of the production showroom/theater?  Does Crystal offer much live music entertainment throughout the day in venues conducive to dancing?  Did you see many people dancing?

My answers apply to the Serenity, but are probably true for both ships. 

 

The pool is of decent size, enough to swim.  The depth is only 4 feet however.

 

Live music;  The cove has a solo piano player or violinist from about 5:00 to around midnight.  The violinist also plays there in the day for a few hours on sea days.  The Avenue Saloon has a piano player from about 6:00 until 8:00 or so and then returning at 9:00 as a singer/pianist until "late".  Dancing is most every night in the Palm Court from 5:30 to 6:15 accompanied by ambassador hosts.  Dancing returns there after 8 pr so...not sure how long.  There is often dancing in the Cove with the hosts on special occasions such as white night. 

As far as guests dancing, many do dance on special occasions such as white night.  The dancing in Palm Court generally had less than a dozen guests dancing..sometimes far less such as two or three.  But then the ship was usually sailing at half capacity or less on my just completed world cruise. 

 

Entertainment is generally quite good but I must say I miss the quartets Crystal had in the Cove years ago.  

[BWIVince]

18 minutes ago, History&Wine said:

My answers apply to the Serenity, but are probably true for both ships. 

 

The pool is of decent size, enough to swim.  The depth is only 4 feet however.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in Serenity’s pool so I can’t comment on it, but I just wanted to add that Symphony’s pool is definitely deeper than that.  I’m 6’3” and I tread water in the deep end.

 

Vince

[RLK33853]

History & Wine, and BWIVince are spot on.  The pool on Symphony isn't huge, but certainly is as big as most ships.  Not sure about the depth as we weren't in it.  The pool deck hot tub is huge though.

 

As for music and dancing - both are signatures of Crystal, more so than any ship we have ever been on.  On a daily basis, music/entertainers (piano, singers, guitarist) would play at the various venues and I believe we danced at each of them multiple times over our 15 day voyage.

 

 

[May B]

Also sometimes there’s a show, kind of an extra, with dancing, in the Stardust Club on Serenity.

 

Possibly the same on Symphony in the Starlite Club.

[LewiLewi]

I am currently on the Island Princess. I have cruised on over 175 cruises, including three World Cruises. Favorite lines and last four cruises have been on Regent and Crystal, although I have probably been on most lines over the years. 
I am extremely pleased with the Island Princess. She is an older ship, her decor is somewhat dated, but she is very clean and comfortable and service is excellent. The food in the Bordeaux dining room has been very good. The entertainment is excellent and live music is abundant all around the ship. It is not in the luxury category, but I would not hesitate to book this ship again. Also, the cost is a fraction of what it cost to cruise on Crystal, Regent and Viking.

 

 

[RLK33853]

Demographics

 

Crystal 

 

The demographics on the Symphony were pretty much exactly what Crystal advertises.  Passengers were mainly from the United States, between the ages of 60 and 80ish, seemed financially stable, and were world travelers.  Everyone was friendly and conversations (until you go to know them) usually centered on things like travel experiences – suggestions and recommendations, food, restaurants, excursions, or anything that would help you when planning your next trip - instead of what you did, blah, blah, blah.   

 

     While we were worried that a luxury line may be a bit snobby, it was anything but.  Out of all the passengers and over the 15 days we sailed, we found only two examples of those who felt they were superior to others - one a family of four who thought the world revolved around them, and another fellow who seemed to only want to talk to everyone about how expensive his watch was.  It seems that Crystal passengers know who they are and don't feel the need to impress anyone - while on mainstream lines you find more passengers who think they have to.   

 

     The other thing we found refreshing, was that for the most part everyone was fairly fit and active. 

 

     The vast majority of fellow cruisers were returning Crystal passengers. 

 

     Crystal also has the solo cruise fare (not sure how it works), but there were a lot of singles, both men and women on our cruise. 

 

     Crystal also supplies dance partners during the evening – mostly gentlemen for the women, but the female dance performer also approached and partnered with the single men.  This seemed to be something that draws passengers to Crystal.

 

Viking

     

     The demographics for Viking seemed to be all over the map.  Passengers were friendly, of every nationality, probably every income bracket, in their 20’s right up to 80’s, and everyone we met were there to have a great trip. 

 

     One thing to note - it did seem that a vast majority of passengers were travelling with other couples or family members.  I only mention this as we connected with fewer individuals due to others already having their social circle with them. 

 

     Returning Passengers - it was probably 50/50 – a complete mix of first time Viking cruisers, and those that had been on Viking in the past and were loyal to the brand.  

 

Excursions

 

     We rarely take ship tours, instead we like to explore ports ourselves or with a private guide.  Just as important to us is to do so on our own time schedule.  But this time we did want to experience what Crystal and Viking offer.  Note that Viking includes a daily excursion in their fare, although they are usually walking tours.  Paid excursions are available.

 

Crystal

 

     We only took one excursion but it was so over the top it was magical and almost felt like we were in a fairy tale.  It was a private evening concert at Ephesus and came highly recommended on Cruise Critic by former Crystal passengers.  Transportation was via bus, although by the look, feel, and smell, the bus had just come off the assembly line – fresh, extremely clean, and comfortable.  During the half hour trip to Ephesus our guide provided an overview of how everything would work and where the bathrooms (recently cleaned, fresh, spotless) were, so that if anyone needed them before the concert they could use the facilities.  Upon entering the ancient site we found that there was a red carpet leading to the terrace overlooking the ancient amphitheatre, arches to walk through were decorated with flowers, which led to stand up tables with white tablecloths laden with fruit, snacks, and hors d’oeuvres.  An open bar was set up and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) flowed freely – with white gloved, tuxedo clad servers pouring wine on the terrace and coming into the amphitheatre at the intermission of the concert to do a refresh.  We were allowed around 30 minutes to go explore the ancient site prior to the concert.  At this time it was getting dusk and we were called to the amphitheatre.  The concert was provided by a Turkish symphony company (10 individuals) and while I don’t really look for classical music in my daily life, they were very good.  What made the evening so special was as the darkness fell, subtle lighting then lit the ancient rock amphitheatre.  As I said, a truly magical evening and worth every penny.

 

Viking 

 

     We took a few of the included excursions and they were simple but well done.  Talking to others who took the paid excursions resulted in both positive and negative viewpoints depending on the tour itself and their expectations. 

 

     We did take the Post Cruise 4 day tour in Tuscany with Viking.  While the accommodations were as advertised (an amazing Tuscan Villa), the tour itself was not.  We had been told that the tour was limited in size, and would be around 8 to 10 people.  Imagine our surprise when we disembarked the ship and found our intimate tour had grown to 54 people on 2 buses.  We mentioned this to our travel agent upon returning home and she discussed this with her Viking representative.  Without asking for compensation, Viking noted that they had not delivered what they had advertised, apologized, and voluntarily provided us with Future Cruise Credits for half of our cost for the full post cruise excursion.  You can’t get much better customer service than that.

 

     While not advertised as a selling point prior to the cruise, both Crystal and Viking sailed by Mount Stromboli off the Italian coast on the way to Naples.  Crystal's entertainment was scheduled so not to interfere with the viewing, and the ship actually slowed so that we could view the active volcano while it blew lava into the sky.  Viking advertised that they would be sailing by, but didn’t slow or linger.  Thus while not as good of a show, Viking still provided passengers a view of an active volcano.  Good job on both cruise lines to include a truly spectacular sight.

 

Public Spaces

 

     Crystal had so many public spaces that when you walked around, the ship almost felt empty. 

 

     Viking also had a large number of public spaces and at no time did the ship feel crowded.

 

     Public washrooms on both Crystal and Viking were spotless, well appointed, large, and had real hand towels for each individual.

 

Overall Ship Condition

 

     Crystal is an older ship but you would never know it - recently updated, and in great shape. 

 

     Viking Jupiter is only 6 years old and looks like it was just delivered.  I'm sure if you looked around you may have found a scratch or chip somewhere, but you would really have to look.

 

     Both ships were completely spotless and well maintained.

[KbFebruary]

We were on your cruise as well - 1st time on Crystal. And I agree - the concert at Ephesus was just amazing.  We hesitated when we were booking it as it was extra $$.  But wow was it worth it.  Whole night was something I’ll never forget. 
 

I’ve enjoyed following your posts and comparisons.  Everything spot on with our experience as well.  Our only disappointment over the two weeks was our spa experience.  Otherwise everything beat our expectations.    We booked another cruise while on board but unfortunately that one has been changed so we will be cancelling.  Not sure when we will book with Crystal next. Maybe for 2026. We did book with Viking for a small boat cruise in Asia. We compared the route/itinerary with Crystal and preferred the Viking one. We did cruise with Viking once before on the Danube.  Always interesting to compare the different cruise lines, itineraries etc…..

[Emdee]

Your analysis of Crystal passengers was spot on….no one asks how many days you have sailed as everyone you speak to is urbane, well travelled and usually well heeled.