Cruisemonty

The section of Crystal's website describing hotels for our May cruise includes a list of hotels, but it does not designate a specific hotel(s) as a preferred hotel for our cruise. There are no hotels designated as the cruise hotel(s), and you cannot book hotels on the website. We are booked at the Hotel Arts, which is a Ritz Carlton. We also looked at the Cotton House, which is also affiliated with Marriott and gets great reviews.

Thanks for the information! I just found the e-tickets in our account for our May 20 cruise.

Bring layers!

We were wait listed for a veranda cabin on a May 2024 cruse, and my travel agent was told that the the wait list would almost certainly clear. When she checked in, they had converted it to a guarantee. We wanted a mid-ship cabin and decided to book an aquamarine.During the suite promotion, Crystal agreed to reduce the price of our aquamarine cabin to the price of the veranda cabin so we got the best of both worlds! YMMV, but I would go ahead and book the aquamarine.

After contacting Guest Relations, I got an email from Crystal. Thanks, Crystal!

Still nothing, re-subscribed today. Again.

I have been on five Disney cruises (four on the Magic and Wonder when my children were young, and most recently, on the Dream with my daughter when she was 16). It's a great product, but the Disney experience is heavily targeted to children, and you are paying a premium for the kid-focused entertainment and kids clubs/child care. If you really love Disney, you may enjoy tea with Alice or photos with the characters, but if you are not using those amenities, you may be overpaying for your cruise. That said, I would have enjoyed the last cruise more if my daughter had been 18, as we could have visited the adults only bars and the adults only restaurants Palo and Remy, which are excellent. I decided not to book a suite on Disney as I didn't see the value for the increased price (we did have a suite on our first cruise before pricing went sky high). I don't think they have a separate dining room for concierge guests. On Disney, I'd be more inclined to book the adults only specialties and stay in a regular cabin. One final tip: My favorite dessert in any of the main dining rooms is the Mickey bar (similar to a Dove bar). It's not on the adult menu, but you can order it anyway. Enjoy!

On my one cruise on Oceania in 2017, my husband and I were behind another couple who asked to sit by the window. They were told no, but when we made the same request, it was granted. I suspected (but never confirmed) it was due to our cabin (a penthouse).

We stayed at the Hotel Grand Bretagne in 2017 before a cruise and loved it. You can get/use Marriott Points as it is in the Luxury Collection.The rooftop restaurant has a view of the Parthenon, which is lit up at night .

My travel agent called Crystal and they repriced my Aquamarine on a May 2024 cruise. She didn't have to rebook, and we will keep our midship cabin with a significant discount. I'm very pleased.

This deal sounds great, but I like to pick my cabin. If I have to go to a guarantee, I'll just keep the booking as is. It's still a great value!

I signed up to get information twice and each time, I got a call from a Crystal representative who was surprised to hear that I already had a cruise booked. I have not received emails or mailings. The second time this happened, the representative told me that, because I had booked a cruise through a TA, the TA would have to add me to the mailing list. I don't want to bother her with this but there does not seem to be another option.

Keith, thanks so much for letting us know! I've revised my calendar.

Keith, are you referring to the 2017 refurbished Aquamarine suites on Symphony? I am looking forward to occupying one of those suites in May. My understanding is that it has no tub, unlike the classic Aquamarine.

In my view, a luxury cruise line is worth the extra money. You won't have to worry about paying for drinks, specialty restaurants, or tips, which can add up fast. Check out the boards for Viking, Crystal and Seabourn to get more information about the experience on each of those lines.

We took a Princess cruise to Alaska in 1993 for our honeymoon. Back then, it was really just HAL and Princess, and we chose Princess because the ship had balcony staterooms. This is a wonderful idea for a 50th anniversary cruise! You should try to get an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay (nowadays most don't) as it is incredible. HAL and Princess are your best bets for that. That said, you may want to consider splurging on a Crystal cruise for the best food and service.

You are correct, there was entertainment on the Riviera, but it wasn't to our taste. While I have no problem with the Eagles or Led Zeppelin, I didn't like hearing easy listening music everywhere, but that is a personal preference. I saw someone complain about the same thing recently on the Explorer boards.

We sailed on Riviera in the Mediterranean in 2017, hoping to step up to a premium line from Celebrity, but we were disappointed. The drink pours were very skimpy (and we barely drink); the specialty restaurants were fine but did not live up to the hype of the best cuisine at sea; the food in the main dining room was boring and bland; elevator music played everywhere, and entertainment was non-existent. In 2019, we sailed on Crystal Serenity in the Adriatic and it was a very significant step up. It was much more lively than Oceania and the food, including cuisine by Nobu, was much better. We've booked a cruise on new Crystal this spring.

Keith and Friends, do you know if the 60-day time frame for booking dining and shore excursions will be permanent? Also, is there any way to know whether the ship will be tendering or docking at ports? I haven't been able to find this information on the website for a May cruise on Symphony.

You will love lunch wherever you are on the ship. No need to study up, you've already passed!

Seems like a first world problem that we'll be able to live with! Thanks, Vince!

Do any of you have thoughts about the "limited view" 2017 Aquamarines on Deck 9 of Symphony? We booked the last midship cabin in that category and are hoping for the best.

We booked the May 20 Lisbon to Barcelona cruise on Symphony. This will be our second Crystal cruise; the first was on Serenity, Venice to Venice, in September 2019. So glad to see the ships are back!

Crystal will be able to perfect its suite mix on the new builds. Is it possible that the new mix of suites is a test of the market's appetite for bigger suites and higher prices? Count me in for the new cruise ships (not so much the expedition ships).

On our seven-day cruise on OC Serenity in September 2019, we dined at Uma Uma as a party of four on the second night. Before we left the restaurant, we asked the maitre'd if we could get another reservation, and he was able to fit us in on the last night of the cruise. We happily paid the charge for the second reservation.