Cruise-y

Will there be production shows on the first sailings or later TBD? They weren’t on the initial releases of entertainment. 

I'm amazed by the speed of this. I was both a secured and a non-secured creditor (two separate entities) in a bankruptcy case that took 6 years for payout and then I received only 60% of the non-secured and zero of the secured (go figure). I never understood it but took what I could get. 

That this bankruptcy case can already be paying out to passengers (which I am assuming are non-secured) is pretty incredible. Does that mean that the entertainers and other stiffed creditors have already been paid? 

I never pay far in advance (for a variety of responsibilities) so lost nothing on the Crystal bankruptcy, but I am following the payback out of curiosity.

I’m a Crystal fan but still on the fence about NC. I do lots of land vacays, usually historical or cultural or culinary in nature - but if I choose a cruise, it’s Crystal. I’ve done enough of the other lines to know - and I don’t have time to waste experimenting. I’m involved in too many other things in my life. 
 

With that said, I WANT to hear everyone’s opinions about why they might be hesitating and I WANT to hear comparisons to other cruises. Because I know those hesitations and comparisons are people who have also cruised Crystal. I can decide for myself what to value. 
 

What I don’t want is a lecture. 
 

Thanks
 

If you gamble a lot you will always lose overall. It’s just simple statistics because the odds are with the house, and heavily so on slots. If you are getting comped luxury cruises you are losing a ton of money. And you are not on the cruise to do anything but gamble.  
 

I can see why AK doesn’t want those types, but unfortunately it impacts those who just want to have fun and spend the money for a little entertainment. I don’t gamble only because it’s not fun for me, so I don’t care if the casinos go. But I can see why some will miss them. 

Many on these boards cruise 10 times a year or more and one or two dud cruises (start-ups with lots of things still missing, crummy itineraries, etc.) is no big deal. It’s easy to just blow it off and get on the next cruise. The glass is half full for sure. 
 

We need to remember that a ton of people (maybe not on CC or maybe just lurkers here) cruise once every few years (due to other vacation venues, family responsibilities, limited time off, $$$, whatever) and a dud can be a big disappointment. 
 

JMO
 

Does anyone know if NC is planning to invest in a production cast or has that gone by the wayside? 

Ok, but.... “Billy Joel tribute show featuring xxxxx” and “Elton John tribute show featuring xxxxx” sound like solo artists, not full productions. And no offense, but neither of those tired artists are ringing my bells. And do we still need computer classes? I guess I’m totally in the minority here.

Just a note on forwarding mail to a PO Box…. yes that will work but keep in mind that bulk mailers (with no specific address) or mail sent to “resident” or “occupant” or the like will still get put in your old mailbox. Also, a few pieces here and there will get through as the forwarding just fails. You’ll still have to have a neighbor or someone check your old mailbox, if for no other reason than to toss the junk mail. That’s my experience.
 

We used to have the same mail person every day who might know you are gone and not deliver the junk - but those days are over. Unless maybe if you live in a small town  
 

You can hold all mail for up to 30 days - that works better unless you are gone longer of course. 

7 minutes ago, BEAV said:

…just be careful not to put all your eggs in one basket! Twice, we were excited to discover a certain speaker would be lecturing on our sailing. And twice that speaker ended up being cancelled. Thankfully, we selected the sailings for the itinerary, but it was a good reminder not to book a cruise solely for one speaker. 
 

With that said, I understand your conundrum and hope info will be available soon. 👍

Oh yes of course. I totally agree. I think I’m mainly looking to see if it seems things are “off and running” if you will. The lack of info so close to sailings just makes me nervous about a PIF booking. 
 

I understand this is a start-up and things are slow - but still, these seem like easy things to at least start hinting about. I wonder how the cabin refurbs coming? Maybe a teaser pic or two?

10 minutes ago, History&Wine said:

Can I ask which cruise you are looking at?  I note that Serenity spends much of September on the Eastern coast.  I also note there are some stops with shore excursions listed; some not.  Quebec City has no excursions listed.  From my experience, you are much better off not booking an excursion there.  Do it on your own.  More enjoyable and cheaper. 

Or are you looking at a Symphony cruise? 

 

 

I’m looking at both. If there are shore excursions of note I guess I have missed them. Thanks - I’ll dig again. I’m just looking for overall indications of robustness, I guess. I’d like to see onboard entertainment/enrichment too. 

17 minutes ago, crickette said:

Interesting. Upon which topics do you lecture?  Could you give us some of your background education.

Thanks in advance, looking forward to hearing, on a cruise, what you have to say.

 

Thanks for a non 'issue' topic.

 

 

I lecture on estate appraisals, although not on cruise ships. It might be a good topic though, given the demographics. 

I'm really, really excited to get back on Crystal again. Like all of us, I can't wait. But I have a lot going on in my life so the only time I can book a cruise right now is September. I guess I'm going to address the elephant in the room. That is... the lack of information on port excursions, speakers and entertainment.

I totally understand that most of the posters here couldn't care less. I get it. You cruise all the time so don't care. That's fine. But I do care. And I suspect a lot of lurkers do too.

If I book a cruise for September (and I'd prefer more exciting itineraries but I understand that is a separate issue), then I have to pay in full by June.  Some here say "wait, because all that data will be coming in soon" but I'm wondering why it isn't coming already? Crystal has used shore excursion companies in the planned port cities before. This isn't new ground. And a new spate of lecturers would be very welcome (I'm a subject lecturer myself; I know there are plenty to choose from.) Are any shows in process? If so, where's the marketing blurb?

Truly, I'm not trying to be negative, but I have a lot of choices for a September vacation and I need a little boost here. Maybe this data has been posted on the website and I’ve somehow missed it?  That is certainly possible. 

50 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

I’d want to vote for a few of those choices - imho it’s not a case of one over all others 

Choice is good 

My bags are packed (again)

Thank you. Which few? This is really just to help me make other choices. And I know what the Crystal group likes in a lux cruise. 

What is your second favorite luxury cruise line (after Crystal)? And why? Thanks. 

I, too, am hoping to see some lists of speakers, shore excursions, entertainment, slots to sign up for specialty restaurant reservations, etc. I would think that the PIF pax for the late July sailings would need access to that by now? 

Crystal’s website shows Symphony arriving in Venice on 9/15 but not leaving until 9/18. Does anyone know what this gap means? I assume it’s not possible to do an onboard B2B over that gap? Thanks. 

I don’t care about casinos at all. But I do care about enrichment lectures and evening shows. I want to see what is planned before I book - and hope we will see the same caliber as OC, because a smattering of comics and lounge singers is offered on every cruise line.

The end of July is nearing the 90 day mark and we haven’t seen much on this yet. 
 

52 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Besides, one can easily scroll past them.  I do that with any discussion of luggage.

And ice cream. 

Good idea for a survey. Pretty telling isn’t it?

I just voted neutral and it looks like the vast majority (65%) agree with me. I never use casinos. 

53 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

I am holding it back because inaugural sailings or sailings immediately after a dry dock have usually unfinished venues, work onboard the ship continues, crew are still trying to learn, etc. 
 

Endeavor is a prime example. But I don’t think inaugural cruisers will care. 

12 minutes ago, schmoodle said:

 

Thank you!

 

I wouldn't book or not book because of one restaurant. I was just confused because it seemed like a lot of fuss about a minor thing.

Yes, true, it is kind of a minor thing. And you can eat great and inventive sushi in many big cities (like mine). But it is pretty super for cruise fare. Really good. 

And since everyone wants the "old" Crystal back, this is just one more thing.

1 hour ago, crickette said:

Officially, it now has to be "big" news.  CruiseCritic decided it was significant enough to send me an e-mail!  A nice change from "book your next cruise $99 per night" !!

Yes I got an email about it also, with photos and lots of information about how many free Umi Uma bookings you could get per cruise, etc. 

22 hours ago, Embowaf said:

Maybe worth noting though, that Waterside's concept evolved to the point where there was more choice than a standard MDR, with a selection a several always available menu items, more always available things that were not listed, and two complete (classic and modern) menus that changed every night. 

I agree. I loved the old Waterside and thought it was just as good as the specialty restaurants, in every way. I hope that carries forward.

On 2/26/2023 at 1:45 PM, Mr Luxury said:

I'm finding it very strange how people put their money on an uncertainty.

People who cruise 10 times a year don’t care if they roll a dud once in a while 

1 minute ago, Stickman1990 said:

Not for $50 a head you can’t….

True. But without a cruise fare.