Stickman1990

That was the old Crystal - no one knows what the new Crystal configuration and onboard experience will be like

Did you check it out? Is anyone able to tell me how TRS is processed at Cairns cruise terminal - its our last port in Australia before we head to PNG so I'm hoping to make a TRS claim at the cruise terminal and would appreciate any feedback on how easy that is going to be

Looks like it’s a Silversea requirement although east coast ports in Australia require a similar process for passengers embarking on those ports - so it does happen sometimes

I’m not sure that this is a Japan specific requirement as we have a similar requirement for an Cairns, Australia embarkation cruise in mid February on Silver Muse PRE-EMBARKATION TESTING REQUIREMENTS Guests Embarkation Testing Requirements All embarking fully vaccinated or up-to-date guests must hold proof of a valid PCR negative test result performed within 48 hours of embarkation OR a valid Antigen negative test result performed within 24 hours of embarkation. • The PCR test must be administered by a laboratory. • The Antigen test can either be performed by a third party, i.e. laboratory, pharmacy, telehealth advisor OR guests can perform a self-test at home where they must take a photograph of the negative result with a time stamp. • If guests choose to have a PCR or an Antigen test by a third party, the certificate must contain the guest’s name (as shown on the cruise ticket), the date of the test, and the result. You must provide digital or printed proof upon embarkation. Unvaccinated Guest Testing Requirements Unvaccinated Guests (we only accept unvaccinated individuals from 0 to 11 years old) must present a valid Antigen or PCR negative test result performed within 24 hours of embarkation: • The PCR test must be administered by a laboratory. • The Antigen test can either be performed by a third party, i.e. laboratory, pharmacy, telehealth advisor OR guests can perform a self-test at home where they must take a photograph of the negative result with a time stamp. • If guests choose to have a PCR or an Antigen test by a third party, the certificate must contain the guest’s name (as shown on the cruise ticket), the date of the test, and the result. You must provide digital or printed proof upon embarkation. • PLEASE NOTE: All guests aged from 0 to 11 years old must complete a Covid-19 test. Silversea will NOT be providing pier-side testing for guests; as such, it is imperative that you arrive to the pier with your individual negative test result. If you arrive for embarkation without a valid negative test result, you will be denied boarding

We were on Explorer in December and found there standard answer was "we'll put you on the wait list" - I never heard of anyone clearing any wait list or ever hearing back from Shore Excursions with an update. Their service was disappointing I'm afraid

I’ve definitely read them and on the most recent one I’ve reminded the polo haters that polos comply with Regents dress code as they are collared shirts and they cannot try and rewrite or put some spin on the rules to suit their preferences. I’ve also tested that principle out of Explorer many nights on our cruise last December Polos are ok 👍

The major difference here is that no one is returning to their previous employer - that company and product no longer exists - it vaporised back in early 2022 Just what the new company is and how it functions and remunerates employees in the new company is a completely new deal I’ll respond on my thoughts about roles (not individual positions) might or might not exist in the new Crystal in a seperate thread - but not right now There were at least 1200 crew on the 2 Crystal ships plus another 200 or so on Endeavor - so 1400 crew - and supposedly “most” are returning or joining the new Crystal So how does anyone except Crystal know that right now? It seems like a long bow to draw to make that claim at this point. Of course some will join the new company - but how many is “some” and how many is “most” - even in percentage terms - and most important just what culture and offering is the new Crystal looking to have on the new product? Who knows?

The relaxed atmosphere and dress code on Regent is one of the things I enjoyed on our recent cruise on Explorer. Next time I won’t even bother taking a jacket

Last week it was “most” and “many” - now it’s “some” - that is a fact too Lots of generic terms bandied about - but some is open enough it’s likely to be correct Of course some crew will return - will they be seniors in key positions? - sure some will be. It’s those roles that will apply the standards which will ultimately be set by Crystal HQ Do I wish that many of our friends in the crew return - sure I do and some will Do I know? Does anyone outside Crystal know just who and how many will return? - I very much doubt it Personally there are many roles that used to be on Crystal that I don’t believe should, or need to return - but that’s a whole new debate. But they will need to make changes if they’re going to be competitive and contemporary with their peers in the industry Time will tell I’m hoping new Crystal includes free laundry and pressing as those clothes some of you have packed are going to be very crumpled by the time you get to sail and unpack

There’s no debate - Polo shirts, which have a collar, fit the dress code as published by Regent - no ifs, buts or maybes about it I’m not sure why some people try and interpret the published dress code in ways that happen to coincide with what they’d like to see as the dress code We were on Regent last month and found the relaxed dress code - including no jacket or tie requirement very pleasant

Ah they don’t build new cruise terminals quickly and they don’t make decisions on which port to dock at so late in the piece - so it’s either going to be the newish Tokyo Cruise terminal in central Tokyo near Odaiba https://www.tokyo-odaiba.net/en/genre/cruise_en/ - or Yokohama which is a good distance away https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/cruise/detail/019/index.html OP - what cruise are you on? Doesn’t it say what area it is in the listing?

We’re on that cruise arriving in Singapore on 28 Feb and we’re awaiting that info also - our TA has asked Silversea but awaits an answer

Do you have any real basis for believing that will be the case? I think it’s a long bow to make that assumption We know many ex crew have taken positions with other lines or even retired from working at sea - some may have found the new roles to their liking and it puzzles me why they would leave a role with a line which offers stability and career opportunities to go to a new startup line with a small number of ships. It will have been at least 18 months since old Crystal stopped sailing and new Crystal starts up - a lot changes in that time I don’t think it’s a given that “most” with move to the new Crystal What you wish for is often different to what will actually happen Guess it’s a case of time will tell…

The answer hasn’t changed in the last 24 hours

No it’s not Anything that might have been published doesn’t take into account the refunds that credit card companies have made to Crystals customers Some did not bother to lodge a claim with the liquidators - I know I didn’t bother as I think unsecured creditors will be lucky to see any return against their debts What about the unstated Crystal Society entitlements that many would have had - unused awards and credits that were never provided Do we know what records, if any, of the old Crystal that the new Crystal received? I suspect they were certainly not complete/up to date and in some cases transfer of any personal data to a third party would have been subject to privacy legislation I suspect that’s a key reason why the new Crystal had people register on their website - so they had access to contact details

Different "they" You're not suggesting new Crystal is somehow responsible for old Crystals debts and liabilities are you? - New Crystal bought assets not an operating cruise line I think we have got to give new Crystal a chance to pitch their offer - then it's game on against the competition for our business

No idea - and just for clarity my post was not intending to infer that might be the case ie a pre-requisite to recognition of previous status I think we're all interested in just what recognition of previous Crystal Society status and benefit might be offered by new Crystal (I guess anything will be an upside) We've already seen some other lines grant status matches based on previous Crystal Society levels so new Crystal recognising Crystal Society status would make sense - now just what that (might) extends to remains to be seen

That’s absolutely your prerogative, 100% your choice - but please don’t return in a couple of weeks bemoaning the “fact” that the new Crystal didn’t give you any recognition as a past customer of old Crystal as this programme is part of their recognition of that relationship

I suspect they worked it out at some point over the last 5 years - that question was asked back in 2018….

The agent would be referring to the mandated consumer protection normally afforded those booking cruises in the UK with UK companies - it’s apparently very good however they do end up paying more for cruises than those in other countries to help fund it It seems in this case as Crystal LLC is taking the payment directly the protection is not required by law and therefore not provided

Just how sure are you of that? The poster is in the UK not the US - the business practices might well be different there. I can confirm for sure that Crystal currently do not accept Amex as payment for these deposits in Australia for payments in A$ - for credit cards it’s either Visa or MasterCard As you will understand that makes some a little nervous given the past performance of those card issuers when it comes to disputes after a delay between booking and lodging a dispute

So sorry to hear you’ve lost Fiordland - that’s not good and why skip Tasmania Sorry to tell you but there ain’t much in Timaru - would have been much better to spend 2 days in Christchurch or Dunedin - many more options available from their So is there any offer of compensation at all? Although that simply doesn’t make up for the list opportunity given people have travelled from around the world to experience the beauty of NZ and Tasmania

No they don’t - at least not that has been announced at this stage but who knows what the future holds?

To quote directly from Crystal - https://crystalcruises.com/open-deposit? No Expiration Date As You Wish shipboard credit is not applicable if Open Deposit is redeemed beyond the 90 days from the inaugural itinerary launch, the value of the Open Deposit will always remain.

Why is it “critical” The deposit is 100% refundable so what’s the issue? If you don’t like the policies that Crystal announce (including recognition of Crystal Society status and benefits) then just don’t book them (you have 90 days to do so to get the OBC benefit) Don’t sweat the small stuff - would you really not book on new Crystal because they didn’t recognise old Crystal Society status?