suzannecruisecritic

We'll be on the Symphony May 25 in the French Riviera. I understand that Cannes will be a tender port. Can anyone offer any advice on how the tender process works on Crystal? If we're not doing an excursion sold by the cruise line is there normally a wait to get on a tender? Trying to make realistic plans in port based on how long it might take to get to port that morning. 

Thank you. 

Hi again friends. A few questions as we get further along with our planning. Apologies if these have already been answered many times; I searched the forum and read the before you sail guide but may have missed something.

1- Do you have any general thoughts on Crystal shore excursions? This is our first time sailing Crystal. We've sailed larger cruise lines before and usually booked private excursions at most ports because the ship excursions were mostly huge group trips. Is there any way to know the max size of the excursions offered by Crystal?

2- Any recommendations for boarding? We've been told to show up between 1-3pm because that's when the porters are there at the port (boarding in Barcelona; sailing time 7pm). Any tips on what time to arrive and anything to do first upon boarding in addition to having a nice lunch?

3- Any experience with having laundry and dry cleaning done on board? Do they do a good job and turn it around quickly? We love to pack light on other cruises when this is the case.

Thank you so much 🙂

On 2/13/2024 at 8:36 PM, TER777 said:

https://www.crystalcruises.com/press/crystal-announces-2024-themed-voyages
 

Here’s the announcement. 

Thank you! We've booked on a different sailing (May 27-June 3 Barcelona-Toulon) because the dates were the only ones that worked for our schedules. Hoping we'll connect with the golf pro on board and maybe get a round in 🙂 

19 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

Very few people post these days on the Crystal roll calls. There is no indication as to how many are booked based on activity there.

 

Patty

Hi Patty, thank you for letting me know. I was looking forward to connecting with other guests before sailing but that’s ok.  There are few cabins still available so I anticipate a fairly full ship. 

6 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Joe Herbert is the golf pro on Serenity for the entire world cruise.  I know that he regularly goes out with guests for golf outings in various ports.

 

Excellent teaching pro.

 

 

That is great to hear. Thank you 

4 hours ago, Midtowngal said:

We will also be on this one week cruise.  Sounds like you have started off well making your dining reservations.  Keith is right about taking a look a before you sail guide.  I'm sure you will be "Crystalized" with this first experience with Crystal!

That is terrific! Looks like you’ve sailed ALOT on Crystal! I hope you don’t mind sharing some tips 🙂

I looked for the roll call and unless I’m looking at the wrong spot it seems like there’s not many people or much conversation on there. 

1 hour ago, ctjon said:

Years ago did a golf cruise on Crystal with a great pro on board -- we got to play golf at St. Andrews - not the old course but getting to play at St Andrews was a great although the local golfers didn't really appreciate us since we played too slowly for them. 

That sounds pretty spectacular! 

2 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Crystal has a golf themed cruise for 2024.

 

Crystal Symphony Lisbon to Dover, July 18 to July 30, 2024

 

David Leadbetter and Robert Borgatti will be on board

 

https://www.crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-csy-012-240718?utm_campaign=entertainment-spotlight_02Feb24_Guest-US&utm_content=golf_enthusiasts_cta&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

 

Keith

Thanks again Keith. I would not have found this on my own. My google searches seem to bury this pretty deep in my search results.  

1 hour ago, TER777 said:

Wasn’t there an announcement recently regarding a special golf theme cruise?

I didn’t see that on Crystal but Azamara offers them and they look well organized. 

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

While I am not a golfer although I do play a mean game of miniature golf, I am very familiar with the program and know some of the golf pros very well.

 

You are correct. They do try to have a golf pro on board for each sailing. They use most just in case the pro isn't there.

 

They offer complimentary group classes. For a fee they will provide private instruction.

 

On some cruises they will arrange a golf outing. You can stop by the reception desk when you board to indicate you are interested if this is offered.

 

Keith

Thank you! That is helpful to know. it’s interesting that they have the space dedicated on board and a golf pro. We’ve never been on a Crystal cruise but I’m guessing the guests like to practice or learn during days at sea and down time? 

I’m thinking out loud here … wondering if there’s any way to connect with any of the golf pros in advance. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to call Crystal and ask. Or maybe the shore excursion team can be reached for a custom tour. I’ll try. 

Thsnl you again. 

Slightly related question to any golfers on here; have you found any good resources (shore excursion companies, websites, etc) to help you find great golf courses and book tee times in new destination? We just booked our first Crystal cruise and they advertise golf practice nets and a golf pro on board but offer no golf excursions. We’ll be in the Mediterranean in May. 
 

thank you 

Just booked on Crystal for the first time for May and noticed they have golf practice areas on board and advertise that they will have a golf pro on board most sailings. 
 

Has anyone used these or met a golf pro onboard?

Anyone know of how to best book an of shore golf excursion? 

Hi Friends. We haven’t cruised in quite a while and just booked our first Crystal cruise for this May on the Symphony (Barcelona to Toulon). 
 

Anything you recommend to do in advance that might be unique to Crystal? We booked spa and specialty dining as soon as we booked and are currently reviewing excursion options both from Crystal and outside options.

Would love any recommendations or suggestions   
 

Thank you!

6 minutes ago, philliesgirl48 said:

Anyone who has cruised to Croatia, is it true that they don’t accept dollars, euros or credit cards. Will be going next month & wondering should I get kuna before I leave. 

We were just on a cruise with 3 Croatian ports (Dubrovnik, Split and Korcula) in July/Aug and found that it varied. It was easy to find ATMs at these ports so there was no need for us to get the local currency in advance of the cruise. We booked private excursions in advance and specifically arranged in advance to pay for those in euros so that was no problem.  But we found that many shops would only accept kuna so we needed a little bit of the local currency to pay for small things like a drink or snack. 

8 hours ago, margar said:

Considering a future cruise on the Koningsdam but am concerned that it might “feel” more crowded as opposed to the slightly smaller NA.  Sailed on the NA 1.5 years ago and did enjoy the cruise.  Relaxing and never felt crowded.  Sailed on several Celebrity ships and sometimes the ships felt VERY crowded.  I know this is really a very subjective questions as feeling crowded can be a very personal thing.  But any comments would be welcomed.  Trying to decide to sail the K or just go back to the NA for a cruise.  BTW, the time of the cruise would be wither October or December.  And I would **think** that those times of years would not be incredibly crowded, but who knows!

We’ve sailed both. K in Europe and NA in Alaska. Both during July. We found the NA felt much less crowded. For example, there were typically few loungers available at the family pool on the K and there were often dozens of people with pagers waiting for tables at the MDR on the K. The spa on the K was also typically much more crowded. And the theater on the K often had no seats available a few minutes before showtimes. Our experience may have had more to do with the itinerary than the ship. Our Alaska sailing had many more seniors and couples on board while our Europe cruise had an huge number of kids and teens on board (with 3-4 people staying in more of the staterooms than our NA cruise). That being said, I would still enthusiastically recommend the K because I really enjoyed the extra live entertainment venues and restaurants not available on the NA. If you cruise in October when the ship might not be at capacity I suspect it would feel way less crowded than it did in July in Europe. Also, if you cruise off-peak maybe you can get a deal on a Neptune Suite on the K and you would be able to have dinner anytime without a wait at Club Orange. 

1 minute ago, Vic The Parrot said:

It's a cider beverage from the UK. Very tasty and refreshing. 😎

Now I’m going to have to try that!

49 minutes ago, Ellen495 said:

Thanks for sharing! We will be in Neptune on that boat (level 4 aft) to Alaska. Is there only one aft per level (I am a first time cruiser so don't mind if that was a dumb question) and if so - I don't see the equipment blocking the view. How annoying was that because I hate obstructed views. I chose the 4th level because I was told it would be the quietest (not right below late night entertainment) but I know they still have a few other level afts. Definitely want the aft. Thank you!

Hi Ellen, No dumb questions! Everyone is here to help each other out I hope 🙂.  Just take a look at the deck plans available on the HAL website to get a better perspective of the locations of the rooms, lounges, etc. Ours was 4211 which was one of the two back corners of the ship on the fourth floor and I assume you’ll find an identical room to ours on the opposite back corner. Which one did you book? I found another photo in my phone to share with you of that equipment that obstructed the view a little. It was really minor because the balcony was enormous but I always think it’s ideal to know in advance. I would book that room again because I loved the spacious balcony. I was told by other cruisers here on CC that all the corner balconies are great but that 4 would be the largest. I found the location to be quiet because there were no lounges right above or below and since we were all the way at the aft (back) we didn’t have lots of traffic of random people walking by the room. We also had no issues with cigarette smoke as we were far from the smoking areas of the ship. Some people think the aft gets more movement/vibration than the center of the ship but we were not troubled at all by any unusual movement and none of us felt seasick. 

1 hour ago, Vic The Parrot said:

Thanks for your input, and welcome home. 

Do the bars carry Strongbow?

Hi Vic, I’m so sorry but I don’t know what Strongbow is??? 

1 hour ago, wwcruisers said:

Thanks, Suzanne! One more question -- do you recall what they were charging for a spa pass (to use the hydrotherapy pools)? I LOVE the Thallasotherapy pools on Celebrity's M-Class ships -- so, a spa pass might be worth it to me (even though I never get spa treatments)

Yes, I still have the receipt in my email so I could double check for you... it was $369 for 2 people (the couples spa pass) for a 12 day cruise. The price will vary by length of cruise and you may already be able to see the pricing when you log into your reservation to buy extras like specialty dining. I didn’t have any treatments at the spa but I used the spa with my pass almost every day and really enjoyed it. The hydrotherapy pool was terrific and they also have a nice steam room, sauna, and those warm chairs in a space with nice views. For me, the spa pass is a better spend than a treatment. My husband had a massage and tried acupuncture on this ship and he thought the services were good but not great and he also enjoyed the spa pass quite a bit. We’ve sailed Celebrity in the past as well and we found Koningsdam to be a good option for those who like Celebrity. I don’t think Club Orange was as good as Luminae but it was very good. Overall I think Celebrity has better “suite benefits” than HAL but given the recent differences in prices between the two cruise lines for dates we looked at I would probably return to HAL because it was many thousands less for our family. The entertainment on Koningsdam (because of the extra music walk venues) was much better than entertainment on Celebrity in my opinion. And in terms of specialty dining, I would recommend that you try Tamarind on the Koningsdam which I think is my favorite specialty restaurant at sea on any line. Like Celebrity, HAL offered free laundry for the higher level suites and they did a great job so you should be able to pack lighter and always have clean clothes (they typically return the laundry the next day and you can start sending laundry in on day 1 if you had some accumulated from pre-cruise travel). Let me know if you think of anything else you would like to know in advance.  

4 hours ago, wwcruisers said:

Suzanne -- how did you like the shower in the Neptune suite? (Folks report that it's a little on the small side.) In your picture, I see wall-mounted toiletries. Do you recall what brand products HAL uses -- and, did you like them? Also, is the bathtub jetted (or regular)? We booked an aft corner NS on K-dam, for our very first HAL cruise, next fall. Thank you so much for the pictures!

I agree with others that the bathroom design is odd. I would have preferred a larger shower and no tub. I believe the bathtub did have jets but I never used it. We booked the couples spa pass and really enjoyed the hydrotherapy pool there and we also sometimes showered at the spa. The products  in the room were Elemis and I thought they were good quality; I liked that they were large refillable containers rather than tiny sample size. We booked the corner aft Neptune on 4 because it looked like that would get us the largest balcony. The balcony was huge so we really enjoyed that and used it every day; the only downside to being on 4 for us was that we were further from the Neptune lounge and that there’s a piece of equipment (you can see it in my balcony photo) that obstructed our view just a tiny bit. 

I hope you’ll like the Koningsdam, it’s definitely quite different from the older HAL ships. We liked the variety of specialty restaurants, club orange, and the additional music walk live entertainment venues. 

On 8/14/2019 at 9:53 AM, Ellen495 said:

Oh! That's great to know! Plus we get one free restaurant upgrade (so does she) since we purchased early (only put down 25 down refundable). THANKS!

Ellen, we were just in a rear aft corner Neptune on Koningsdam (I think it was 4211) and we thought it was great. The balcony was fantastic. I certainly think the bathroom layout could be much better and the bathtub is a waste of space but I had no trouble showering or shaving my legs in the little shower. We also bought the spa pass (the hydrotherapy pool was really nice) and sometimes showered there too. I’m attaching some photos to help you know what to expect. Club Orange was terrific in my opinion. 

We chose the aft wrap balcony Neptune suite on Koningsdam on deck 4 because the balcony was so large. I assume the sofa/day bed in there could have been used as a bed for the third person as it was about the size of a twin size bed. I’m attaching photos of the room and balcony. You can see the daybed under the tv. The only downside to being on 4 was that we were a little far from the Neptune lounge but I think the big wrap around balcony was worth it. 

If you call ship services (their phone number is on the HAL website) they should be able to give you exact prices for internet and laundry for your cruise. We’ve done the unlimited laundry on two HAL cruises and were really impressed with how well they laundered everything properly and quickly. We were able to pack a lot less because we used the laundry service every day.

1 hour ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Welcome home.

 

Hope you post your review here.

Thank you. We had a blast but it’s also nice to be back home. I posted my review and just got an email from Cruise Critic today saying that it’s been published. The executive summary ... ship was beautiful, food very good, service excellent, entertainment much better than expected, and the only complaint is that the main common areas (MDR, theater, Lido, family pool) are way too small for the number of passengers when the ship is at capacity. 

4 minutes ago, Daisyloo said:

Hope you had a great cruise.  Can you tell me what were the show times in the World Stage?    And what was the entertainment like overall?

The usual showtimes at the World Stage were 7:30 and 9:30 but not always if I recall correctly. And there were shows most nights but not every night in that space. I just happen to have a photo of one of the show announcements that I’m attaching here for you. That was for a magician who had been on America’s Got Talent and performed twice during our 12 night cruise. His shows were popular and enjoyed by most people we met. The dance show called Humanity was also enjoyed by most passengers. There was a piano man type show that was just awful. Because this ship also had the three additional Music Walk venues, I would say that overall the level of live entertainment was well above what we expected based on prior experiences on several different ships/cruise lines. We went in with super low expectations and were pleasantly surprised. Let me know if you have any other questions.