just booked River cruise for 2018

Very excited. We had our 1st Crystal experience in January and are booked again in September....

I couldn't resist ...booked a 7 day river cruise for next May for my husbands 60th.

Has anyone sailed crystal river yet ???? comments ??? thanks

Eileen

I was on the Mozart this past April. It was a wonderful Crystal experience. Looks like you will be on one of the new, smaller river boats. I'm sure the experience will be great although I liked the size of the Mozart and the deck plans make the new river boats look cramped. Guess we will know one way or the other when they start sailing! :D

Patty

riandei,

sounds like a great birthday present. I am sure Crystal will provide you with a great experience from what past cruisers have reported from the Mozart. Where exactly are you going, I mean river and itinerary?

I would not say that a river cruise ship can be cramped, the London underground is cramped! :D But there certainly will not be the space that there is on the Mozart, that is for sure, Texas Tillie.

The Crystal Bach for example will have 106 beds which is little on such a large ship (the standard maximum size of 135m length).

There is lots of info on river cruising in the stickies at the top of the page.

May is a lovely month to be on the rivers of Europe. No low water issues and the risk of flooding is not high. I m sure you will have a great time.

notamermaid

riandei,

 

 

 

sounds like a great birthday present. I am sure Crystal will provide you with a great experience from what past cruisers have reported from the Mozart. Where exactly are you going, I mean river and itinerary?

 

 

 

I would not say that a river cruise ship can be cramped, the London underground is cramped! :D But there certainly will not be the space that there is on the Mozart, that is for sure, Texas Tillie.

 

 

 

The Crystal Bach for example will have 106 beds which is little on such a large ship (the standard maximum size of 135m length).

 

 

 

 

 

There is lots of info on river cruising in the stickies at the top of the page.

 

 

 

May is a lovely month to be on the rivers of Europe. No low water issues and the risk of flooding is not high. I m sure you will have a great time.

 

 

 

notamermaid

Thank you for this info....we would be on the Rhine on debussy

We have never cruised with Crystal but just booked their yacht - Esprit - for next February. Now if I just can get over my claustrophobia and experience the submersible!

We have never cruised with Crystal but just booked their yacht - Esprit - for next February. Now if I just can get over my claustrophobia and experience the submersible!

I hope it's better than the Atlantis submarine tour in several Caribbean ports! It wasn't that claustrophobic, but I got a stiff neck from craning to see out of the window [and there are no colors once you get down there :(]

The one downside about sailing on a new ship is that no one has any experience of that particular boat or cruise.

I sailed the Mozart's Christmas/New Year cruise last year, enjoyed it so much that I am back in September on the Mozart to see a different season.

I did a detailed diary of my cruise if you are interested about the Crystal River experience.

http://johnken3.blogspot.my/2016/12/dec-21-2917-jan-4-2017-christmasnew.html

I also posted a review on Cruise Critic

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=561368

Speaking to other friends on both the River and Ocean cruises on Crystal, they agree that the food at dinner time on the Mozart is even better than on the Symphony and Serenity which is really saying something since food regularly tops the "what I like best on Crystal" list.

Just to flag that on a cruise from Basel to Amsterdam, it is very pretty from Basel to Koblenz. After that, the lower Rhine is relatively industrial. Cologne is nice to walk around but there is not much to see on the river after Koblenz.

What were your likes and dislikes about your first Crystal cruise? That would be helpful in helping you understand how a river cruise would compare.

Two weeks ago, during our first Crystal cruise on the Symphony, we also booked the Debussy from Basel to Amsterdam. Our cruise will stop in Mannheim and Karlsruhe where our son most likely will be spending a semester abroad during that time. We're very excited and it is possible two other couples might join us. We hope the Debussy is launched on schedule in April.

The one downside about sailing on a new ship is that no one has any experience of that particular boat or cruise.

 

I sailed the Mozart's Christmas/New Year cruise last year, enjoyed it so much that I am back in September on the Mozart to see a different season.

 

I did a detailed diary of my cruise if you are interested about the Crystal River experience.

http://johnken3.blogspot.my/2016/12/dec-21-2917-jan-4-2017-christmasnew.html

 

I also posted a review on Cruise Critic

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=561368

 

 

 

What were your likes and dislikes about your first Crystal cruise? That would be helpful in helping you understand how a river cruise would compare.

We Loved everything about crystal...size of the ship..food...entertainment...lounges...only dislike was no outside bar/lounge

It seems you have done this itinerary before....would you recommend for first time river cruisers??

...we felt limited as we still work and the longer itineraries just wont work....crystal was offering a very nice bonus if booked by june 30.... so we booked....

To JohnKen3: Thank you so much for the links to your recent Mozart cruise! We will be going on the Mahler this fall (our first river cruise after numerous ocean voyages) and your review and photos have answered many of our questions. I appreciate the effort you put into evaluating rooms at various locations of the boat, and I was especially impressed by the food (both the quality of the photos and the quality of the food!).

......and I was especially impressed by the food (both the quality of the photos and the quality of the food!).

I understand Chef Dirk who I had on the Mozart in December will be moving to one of the two new river boats later this year. He was on board the Mozart earlier this year, not as chef but working on new menus. All I can say is German efficiency coupled with true passion for what leaves his kitchen. Feedback is the quality of the meals is just as good irrespective that there is a new executive chef on the Mozart.

It seems you have done this itinerary before....would you recommend for first time river cruisers??

...we felt limited as we still work and the longer itineraries just wont work....crystal was offering a very nice bonus if booked by june 30.... so we booked....

Yes. The Mozart is bigger than most river boats so it is less of a shock coming from an ocean ship experience. The key difference from many other river boats are various seating areas dotted around the boat that feel very different. On river boats there is usually the one lounge and that is it! There are also two dining venue options for lunch and dinner on many days - but not every day. Blu is the alternative lunch venue to the Waterside restaurant and the Bistro serves a fantastic world tapas dinner on some nights (reservations required). There is also on all say buffet at the Bistro which I did not find on my Uniworld cruise.

Many passengers on the Mozart were from Crystal, Seaborn and Silversea who wanted to try a river cruise experience but also wanted to be sure the standard of service on board matched up to what they were use to on the oceans.

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From the Crystal river cruising website I understand that the Debussy will have Karlsruhe as one stop on its itinerary. As far as I know it is the only Anglo-American company that has Karlsruhe as a stop. Quite interesting! I wrote earlier this year in the Rhine-thread that Karlsruhe merits more attention from cruise companies. It is a baroque settlement with a unique town plan. Although not on the Rhine itself, it has a harbour on the Rhine and the town is not far from it. I would be interested to hear what you think of it.

notamermaid