Stickman1990

I was on Explora at the same time (or at least part of it) as Whipsnade and had a great experience clearly very different to his I’m over the inaccurate claims about Explora v Crystal so will take a minute to rebut some of them 1. Piano - the claim there are no live pianists on board Explora is absurd - if they never heard Natalia play then they must have not been to many of the lounges on Explora. She is an excellent pianist who was the equal or better of any I’ve heard on Crystal 2. Entertainers - while true they don’t have the ensemble that Crystal have they do have live singers and band and the guest entertainers were of a similar standard as Crystal in fact one on our cruise was an artist Crystal has had several times, Rachel York. Guest entertainers are rarely exclusive to one line - we’ve seen many of the same ones across multiple luxury lines. Entertainment is very subjective - for us it was fine on both and I enjoyed some new material as having seen the production shows on Crystal many times over the years I’m ready for something new 3. Enrichment - There were interesting speakers and programmes on Explora, some very similar to Crystal and equally interesting 4. Dress - It’s just the same as Crystal without some of the formality eg formal nights - just as tidy as I’ve seen on Crystal over the years. Will there be exceptions from time to time, of course just as you will find on every line. I don’t understand the angst that dress violations seem to cause some - what impact does someone have on you that doesn’t comply? Just judge if you must but then get on and enjoy your cruise. I see Silversea made changes to their formal dress code yesterday - the trend is without doubt to less formal attire - no that doesn’t mean shorts and flip flops after 6pm - but it does mean no jackets and ties as mandatory requirements 5. Food - on this one Whipsnade and I are a thousand miles apart - we loved the dining options and delivery in terms of quality on Explora - and rate it very highly. This constant commentary about menus not changing is strange - let’s not forget that on Crystal the menus in Umi Uma, Tastes and Osteria don’t change either (although Osteria does seem to change sometimes at the moment as they try and find dishes that suit guests) - sure Waterside changes and is very good - but Fil Rouge and Med provide a wide range of options between them and The Emporium is in another class again over Crystals marketplace - to be fair they’re different styles and the food in both is good but you don’t get French Oysters and Lobsters or Filet steak and Foie Gras in Marketplace. We are very happy with both lines offerings and have favourites on both 6. Marketplace - both provide great service across the ship - sure Crystal have some crew who have been on that line for many many years, a new line can’t match that but we were very happy with the quality and standards of the Explora crew during our cruise and some even got to know our names but I’m not sure I’d rate service on that alone 7. Accomodation - with entry level cabins that are 50% larger than Crystals and very well appointed we were very happy. You would need to take an Aquamarine suite on Crystal to get an OT1 level cabin equivalent. I can’t comment on the higher categories except to say that physically they’re lovely on both lines and you get what you pay for 8. Loadings - both lines are sailing well below capacity (and that’s being kind) - I hear numbers re increasing on Crystal when the ships start Alaska and Med seasons over summer and I guess time will tell when Explora returns to the Med. the big challenge for all luxury lines is capturing new customers to expand their base - for Explora I think the challenge is itineraries more than anything (relatively easy to solve with more ships coming online) while for Crystal it’s evolving to attract a new customer who I’m not sure will find the older music and dancing etc to their tastes. Changing that and retaining the fiercely loyal customer base is going to be a challenge. Plus of course Crystal needs to deliver those 4 new ships that have been announced and just when that will happen remains unclear. Both need to understand who they are targeting and then make sure the onboard offering aligns to what they are selling and that it’s delivered to the quality that new luxury cruises are expecting. Of course each line will be different - if they weren’t I’d be amazed as what would then be the point of differentiation? Price? - well that’s a race to the bottom in a commoditised market. So cruisers will make choices based on those differences 9. Whipsnade seems surprised there’d be an up to 40% off sale at Black Friday on Explora - really? What lines don’t have a sale? Some are in constant sale mode eg Seabourn. Some are tightening up on changing bookings with some fare types forfeiting large percentages of deposits or in some cases full payments. As always know what you’re signing up for and expect it to be enforced As I’ve said several times already we’re very happy on both lines and will have different cruising experiences on both - both equally as good for us. I simply don’t subscribe to the theory that one line is so profoundly better than all others that one wouldn’t sail on certain others given the right circumstances (and price etc)

Yes - they recognise Crystal Society membership pre bankruptcy so you’ll receive the standard Crystal Society discount. They also recognise milestone levels but they do not recognise awards earnt but unused from the era. But for example your tick over and achieved say 20th cruise milestone now you will receive the appropriate award for it

Crystal have now opened up the survey on Casinos to anyone who wants to respond You can access the survey at this link https://survey.aktravelgroup.com/token/6ACBB11A-41AF-4755-9665-EAF3E3A7155B?

For the avoidance of doubt we definitely plan to cruise on both Crystal and Explora - both are great options and provide us with different cruise experiences

I suggest you check out this current thread as well for some info - although sadly “just the facts” in the title closest really reflect the content

Glad you have faith in the posters optinions on here as I understand you haven’t actually sailed on new Crystal or Explora. I have so can talk from first hand experience - are you planning on doing so or will you rely on others opinions? What do you base the “Crystal came back, the same and better!” comment on? Some won’t agree with that But the big issue is what’s important to those cruising these lines - and what they deliver. Of course how people judge restaurants and service vary markedly - so unless you know that person and their tastes match up with yours then you are relying on others opinion You've bought up how Explora failed to deliver on some things - while not the same company let’s not forget that the old Crystal cost many cruisers a lot of money

Way to look for a reaction throwing out the Bistro and the Hollywood theatre!m as possible locations! I suspect the Pulse nightclub would be a better alternative on Serenity - although a bit out of the way (not much more than the Hollywood I guess). Haven’t thought about on Symphony but I’m sure there’s a smaller location that could be used Right now as much as I like the objective of the Lounge for activities like games and puzzles I think it’s too big and the temperature settings need some work as it’s very cold in there - or at least it was for the last 3 weeks. Seeing people rugged up with clothes and with blankets on playing poker as we cruise across the Pacific was very unfortunate and I know they raised it with those responsible but it never got resolved Interestingly I didn’t get the survey today - so maybe it’s targeted We've cruised on a few different lines over the last year and aside from Regent who had a larger casino area the others, Silversea and Explora have very small casinos with a coupe of tables and slot machines - I wonder if that were the scale adopted by Crystal if it was acceptable. Interestingly on those other lines the casinos have never been busy when I’ve checked them out including on the evenings

I’ve been on both lines recently (just got off Serenity two weeks ago and was on Explora last September) and do plan to do a bigger comparison but I’m still working on that to be fair to both lines Bottom line is both are excellent luxury lines - for different reasons and we’re booked for a month on both Crystal and Explora Over the next year We felt the food and service was excellent on both lines (in most cases) and in each case there are some restaurants we prefer over others - so for us we don’t see any major difference when compared across all the options - both lines have very high quality options across a range of cuisines - we did 18 nights on Explora and never tired of the options available to us and I struggle with some of the negative comments I see about menus and dishes - but o guess everyone has different tastes The entry level Explora cabins are much larger than the Crystal solos It depends what’s important to you as to which you might prefer - if you like dancing and entertainment Crystal wins but the physical features of Explora are hard to beat As I say I’d be happy on either and I don’t think it’s a case of one being better than the other - there are differences and it depends what’s important for you The itinerary would be one important factor for us as both lines are limited at the moment with 2 ships each (once Explora 2 comes into service). I know you’ve shared the itinerary options elsewhere but I can’t comment the Caribbean is not an area I’m familiar with The other thing would be to look at what you like on your cruises and that will guide you - if you like shows and dancing then it would be Crystal. If you like pools, fitness centres and spas then I’d be looking at Explora I see someone raised the issue of comparing similar cabins - if that were to happen you’d be comparing an entry level OT1 with an Aquamarine suite (no butler on Explora - but other than that pretty similar

For those of us who remember Crystal Air https://simpleflying.com/boeing-787-ex-vip-scrapped-parts-roswell An 'Almost New' Ex-VIP Boeing 787 Will Be Scrapped For Spare Parts ….According to ch-aviation data, Boeing delivered the aircraft to Crystal Luxury Air, later renamed to Crystal AirCruises, a subsidiary of Crystal Cruises, which was planning to operate it as a VIP charter aircraft. In addition to the 787, the company acquired a Boeing 777-200LR and Bombardier Global Express XRS….

I fell down those particular stairs which lead down to the specialty restaurants reservations desk - only to rescued by one of the officers (great way to meet officers) and the landing was on luxurious carpet so no injuries The way they have the dark marble strip at the bottom always gets me as it’s hard to tell whether it’s another step or the floor Pleased to say there were no stairs incidents on our recent Crystal cruise - I think given the age of the ships the design concepts are different and steps are easily navigated

There’s capacity - and then there’s actual number of guests…. Sure 600 would be nice but Crystal is Crystal with significantly lower guest numbers than 600

Making it easy to find Noggins work in progress I’m still in “Middle Earth” on holiday so my comparison won’t be until next week

But there are lines that choose to include some of those items eg laundry and/or shore excursions - of course guests are paying for that in the overall fare Then there are those that choose to charge for things like “specialty” restaurants where Crystal has adopted a hybrid model on - charging in most cases after the first visit But I don’t know that any line would not charge for a Vintage Room type experience or Spa services - they’re options that I think it’s fair that users pay I certainly hope we don’t move to an a la carte service menu when we opt in or out of most services on offer - I’m happy taking some of the things I don’t utilise in combination with those I do use But in this day and age a decent internet service is something a luxury line might be expected to include as part of their core offering So now we’re debating what level of performance they should deliver and my point is that one line using the same provider is delivering a much better service than Crystal are - and I’m simply hoping that Crystal can aspire to achieve the same

They definitely lose out to Crystal when it comes to included wines - they have some work to do on this as they don’t even have a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Having said that I must have something to keep me happy back in September - looking back at my pictures I see they had a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc on the list then By way of comparison here’s Crystals all inclusive list from last week Here’s what we had on offer on Explora last September

How can you describe 6 Mbps down and 2 up as “fast” No one is suggesting Gb internet speeds - what people are asking is for the speeds delivered on other luxury lines using the same provider as Crystal are now using - is that unreasonable? My post above shows what speeds are possible - I’d settle for anything close to them on Crystal or some explanation why it’s not possible given it’s the same service provider We all have different needs on board - hey if I had my way the fitness centre would have a single yoga mat as the equipment but of course there are thousands of dollars of equipment in there to provide the type of experience many luxury cruisers want when onboard - and the expectation from some around internet service is similar

When I spoke with them onboard last week they said the increase in speed would be a couple of Mbps both up and down - given we averaged 6 down and 2 up across the Pacific that meant a probably 8/4 - one guest did buy the package and reported results similar to that - and certainly not 10x Here’s the announcement from Reflections and a FAQ they gave me on just what the enhanced service provides - it’s very generic and certainly not specific on speeds. I really don’t see the increase in concurrent devices from 3 to 4 as a major benefit For those saying it’s “good enough” - well it’s not for VOIP calls as they often drop out or for streaming as it will stutter and it won’t allow backup of devices including photos to cloud services. It’s good enough for email and browsing and that may well suit many but if you want to do anything more data intensive you’re out of luck By way of comparison with what’s possible we had high speed StarLink service on Explora throughout our cruise in Iceland and Greenland - we consistently got 120/20 or better - that allowed me to do everything I could do on land including backups. I’d love to see Crystal replicate that sort of performance using the StarLink service they have implemented and wonder how the two implementations are delivering such different results Results from Explora Crystals Reflections announcement crystal FAQ on the enhanced service

Where's the Camembert? Sorry you’re not getting the same great experience we got last September and I’m picking up on some changes which don’t fit with the luxury experirnce - although service levels shouldn’t have changed for the negative I hope they start delivering a consistent quality experience for you - and soon! They certainly have some work to do

Day 20 & 21 - Sea day cruising to Auckland and Disembarkation in Auckland Sorry I’m running a couple of days behind (again) as we got caught up in getting ourselves ready to disembark and head down to our first stop on our road trip to Wellington over the next week On our penultimate day aboard we just relaxed and started to ready ourselves for the not so fun task of packing while saying goodbye to the crew members we’d got to know over the last few weeks and with fellow cruisers, many of whom are continuing on for the full World Cruise which is getting towards half way completed now We went to the Cove area to see the display by the knitting group and the art group - it looks like everyone had lots of fun. I think the Odyssey Art at Sea programme is a really good part of Crystal’s enrichment programme and a great opportunity for guests to meet each other Trivia result was ok but we were well behind the winners for the segment - wishing our team mates staying on better luck on the next segment We dined in Waterside restaurant for both lunch and dinner - it’s a great venue to eat a la carte and makes portion control easier plus the selection and quality of food is top notch. We lingered over dinner so didn’t get to the show but I did stop by the Avenue for a farewell drink Our bags were packed and out ready for collection by 11pm. Disembarkation was very smooth, no delays and very easy and we were off the ship by 10am and headed off to collect our car and get on the road to Rotorua The temperatures have definitely changed as we cruised south but I’m pleased to say the weather in Auckland turned out to be quite warm While we haven’t booked another Crystal Serenity cruise we have a month on Crystal Symphony to look forward in December so we have that to look forward to - and needless to say I am looking at next years Crystal itineraries Some pictures loaded but it seems anything over 2mb won’t load - sorry but I don’t have the time to resize them all

Enjoy - and here’s the embarkation Reflections for yesterday that I downloaded before we departed Reflections 9 March 2024.pdf

Good question - depending on the issue my first stop would be the front desk but often they’ll need to talk the relevant department - but if it related to a particular issue eg food and beverage or housekeeping or bars I’d talk to the relevant department head directly or ask the front desk have them contact me. I can’t think of an equivalent of a specific onboard Guest Relations Manager on Crystal but I’ve come across that role/designation on another line I very rarely use the concierge’s service as I have limited use for things like onshore bookings or other arrangements that they handle Some might start at the top with the Hotel Director but my preference is to not to do that

Enjoying your commentary as always We loved the layout and lounge areas around the ship - but tell me how are your knees holding up getting in and out of the low seats? Must have been designed by a fit young thing who is not seizing up yet

Ivi - you could try this email address - guestrelations@crystalcruises.com

You could try this email address - guestrelations@crystalcruises.com

Thanks - Yes happy to do that - probably next week

Sadly disembarkation day for us so hoping someone takes over the baton of posting menus and Reflections each day I will make a few catchup posts soon and hopefully post some more pictures Needless to say we’ve had a great time and enjoyed being back on Crystal