pathdoc

Keith,

Thank you for putting in so much time and detail regarding your experiences on both Serenity and Symphony.  We're doing b2b starting in late October.  This will be our first adventure with Crystal.  The only thing that we'll miss is meeting you and Anne Marie.  

On 9/17/2024 at 3:37 AM, peanut head said:

I have tried, repeatedly, over the years to find a TA who was reliable and trustworthy but have come up with a big bag of nothing.  All those I have contacted have not returned calls, were not knowledgeable to my needs and just, plain didn't seem to care.  I am amazed at how many have  a good relationship with a TA.  I have gone to expos and checked out YouTube videos thinking I might find a good one there.  I have also contacted luxury TA sites and local companies that claim to specialize in cruises.  Since CC doesn't permit names to be mentioned, I am at a loss.  I have very few friends in my area who travel the way I do.

 

I have found it, in the long run, to be less stressful if I call Celebrity directly after researching what I like, or meeting with Future Cruises while on board.  I then transfer to the Big Box Store (Costco) where I will get a very generous shop card credit.  Occasionally, there will be a group OBC offered, as well.

 

In closing, I would love to have a great TA (not just a good one) who can do all of this for me but, at this point I am jaded as to the past experiences I have had.

This has been our exact experience.  Thank you for the post.  

Thank you Keith for the updates.  I just saw a news report of high solar flare activity.  Hopefully you're sailing under clear skies and see some Auroras tonight.

Last May, Rose and I were in Norway hoping to see them.  Of course, while we were there, folks back home in Knoxville Tennessee saw a once in a lifetime event.  We got clouds and diddly squat.  

Thank you.  We've still got lots of cruising ahead, I just couldn't do that one due to mobility issues from Stiff person syndrome.  The only thing I've got in common with Celine Dion.  I'm a recently retired pathologist and never heard of the condition in my career.  It's manageable though not curable.  The great thing about cruising is checking one into the hotel at sea and going from port to port with the freedom to adjust our daily itinerary based on how I'm doing.  We're on Ascent in mid October out of Civitiveccia ending in Barcelona where we switch to b2b on Crystal Symphony to Venice.  It'll be cooler with some rain, but less crowded and fewer little ones running around tripping me up.

He was definitely the hero of the cruise.  She'd never used it before but the cruise staff was very helpful in setting it up for her.  The cold water from the Humboldt current was a bit unexpected, so she forgot to tighten the wrist attachment to the extension handle.  The whole situation made for interesting conversations at dinner.  

She did the follow up excursion to Machu Pichu and had a wonderful time.  Most people slept well at altitude the first night, not so much the next few nights as a little hypoxia set in.  There are some medications that can help as well as taking gingo biloba in advance.  All in all, she had a wonderful time and would do it again.  I was stuck at home reading Darwins "The voyage of the beagle".  It's a great read if you get the chance to read a copy.

My wife was on Flora in June and had a wonderful time.  I wasn't able to go for medical reasons.  She was snorkeling using her GoPro for the when a pick pocket sea lion grabbed the handle and the wrist band was too loose.  Be sure to have it on tight.  She called me, very upset about the lost Camera and all the previous footage she hadn't transferred to her computer.  Miracle of miracles, another young man saw a sea lion swimming with a Go Pro in its mouth.  He was able to snatch it back.  Now we have about 10 minutes of dizzying underwater footage filmed by the sea lion.  I wonder if the crew mentioned this event on your cruise?

It sounds like you're having a wonderful time.  Is the ship sailing at full capacity?  We sailed a different cruise line from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale about 6 years ago and had a wonderful time.  I recently finished "The path between the seas" by David McCullough.  I wish I could have experienced your sailing with the knowledge gained from his fantastic book.  Maybe next time.  Enjoy the calm seas and thank you for the live cruise review.

Thanks for the posts Keith.  My wife and I will be on Symphony b2b starting in late October from Barcelona to Venice.  This will be our first time sailing with Crystal and look forward to the smaller ship and great service.  I'm curious if you have advice/suggestions regarding excursions.  We tend to book through other tour groups or join up with people we meet once on board for small shared private tours.  I haven't found the excursions on offer by Crystal to be particularly appealing or worth the price.  There is ambiguity regarding the cancellation policies as well compared to other cruise lines such as Celebrity.  Have a wonderful time.  We look forward to following your review.

I tell the photographers that I'm in the witless protection program.  Some get it and laugh, others look perplexed as I walk on by.