BWIVince

This is absolutely true and is a well known Crystal tip/hack for people who are looking for a quieter, more peaceful venue, or looking for broader or last minute availability in the alternative venues…. For some reason though, I feel compelled to say that the formal nights are my hands down favorite Waterside menus and someone would literally have to hold a gun to my head to get me to miss a Waterside formal menu for a fixed menu in the other venues that I can get on a “worse” night in Waterside. 😀 No shade to the people who value atmosphere though (or who don’t care for the formal items), that’s definitely a thing and point of preference. Vince

I appreciate the update, Keith. I’ve been thinking about him a lot since his last post. Keeping Roy in my thoughts… Vince

These weren’t Cruise Critic members (or at least we never discussed if they were), they were just discussions with other guests met onboard. (I don’t think anyone here met my father, but those of you who met my mother back in the day probably remember how outgoing she was. 😊) In fairness to the guests, times were different back then and people were less accustomed to paying for certain things (despite even soft drinks being a la carte), but these interactions became jokes in my family because the root of the complaint was a gratuity, and not a service fee…. And my parents were pretty offended at just how cheap pretty well-off luxury passengers could be when it came to the people who were serving them…. Especially since Crystal was a stretch financially, they really appreciated their responsibilities when stepping up to a nicer line. We jokingly called the last example a spreadsheet, but it was a folded paper card that the guy kept in his cruise (key) wallet, but it had a tracking grid so it felt like.a mini classic paper spreadsheet. He was really proud of it and showed off how clever he was, but my parents were mortified. Vince

[I know tipping customs vary globally, but this post refers to experience with Americans who should have had better alignment with Crystal's policies at the time.] My favorite were the people who wouldn't go to the alternative restaurants because they presented you with a charge slip for the tip, "because it's like they expect you to tip them or something." ...Or the people that opted to go to the [then] dining room because "you don't tip the dining room waiters". (Yes, you were supposed to, at the end of the cruise.) Ugh. ...Or the ones that kept a spreadsheet of the nights they paid the $8 to the alternative dining waiters so they would remember how much to deduct from their MDR waiters tips for their absent nights. 🙄 I don't know the bigger benefit of All Inclusive -- the crew finally getting basic tips included in their compensation, or my not having to try so hard not to roll my eyes when other passengers would expose how cheap they were at other peoples expense. Vince

A long time ago, but I don’t remember the details…. 😔. Was that a Genting joke? Vince

First, I understand people being upset about losing free unlimited visit to Tastes, but I rarely ever wanted to go to Tastes in the first place because that's all food I can/do get any day back home, so I never really valued option as others did. Beefbar is a little more interesting to me, but I can't imagine wanting to go more than once a cruise -- which is the same way I feel about the other two restaurants and always have. I've been on many cruises long enough for multiple free visits, and still only once -- at my sister's insistence -- went to one of the alternate restaurants more than once on a cruise. Again, this is a personal perspective, but in 30-something years of cruising Crystal, I think only 3 of those cruises had an unlimited free alternative to Waterside... Two of those cruises were Silk, and one was the current iteration of Tastes. (I didn't sail on Serenity during her "middle years" where the other two were capped and Tastes was included.). So to me, this point is a big nothing burger, it's how almost all of my Crystal Cruises have worked. Ok, second point... As I said above, we just have completely different preferences... And that's fine. I understand why some people might be fine picking from 5 set menus for a whole cruise (vs. a daily rotating menu and 3 free visits to set menu venues per 12 days), but that is DEFINITELY not me. Sure, Crystal has slightly fewer venues, and a fee for additional visits to the alternative venues, but I don't repeat alternative concepts and I value the superior variety of the rotating baseline menus. With rotating menus, I get to pick my favorite sounding thing every night in Waterside, and never repeat a dish once the whole cruise. That experience just can't happen picking from the same menu repeatedly. YMMV... We all value different things. Vince

That seems to be exactly what they were thinking through... Though in the past, since the front desk is set up to accept cash for guest folios, I've seen them process cash donations to crew welfare by posting the donation on the folio like they would if someone was having it sweep to their card on file, and then the agent posts the same amount in cash received (like they usually do for a cash payment), offsetting the donation exactly. The most recent time I saw that was during the Genting years though, so it's been a while, and I think the entries may have actually been done in reverse order because of the donation posting process -- I was just hearing the exchange and not seeing the details. Vince

As many useless Crystal facts as I think I have in my head sometimes, I didn't realize until I posted in the Beefbar thread that (completely unrelated, of course) Symphony and Serenity's Bistros have the same capacity (60), or that Symphony actually has the larger Umi Uma (by 4 seats). Given the history both things make sense, I just didn't realize that was the case. Vince

Another way to look at it though, from the variety perspective, is that Waterside offers more unique items than both of those venues on Explora combined after about 2 and a half days -- and the gap just widens with each dinner after that. This really IS one of those items where choice is good... My personal preference wouldn't be for both the main restaurant(s) and the alternative restaurant(s) menus to change because it gets hard to chase the dishes you want most, but I also wouldn't prefer a cruise where none of the menus in any of the venues change because I always pick the items that excite me the most... Each subsequent visit would just work down the preference list of things I want to eat less and less, which is a lot less fun for me personally. I totally respect the point that there are still a wide variety of options that would make many/most people happy, and validates why it's such a good thing that we have lines that do things differently. Vince

They had the groundwork laid for that earlier in the year so I was kind of hopeful that's how it was going to work once it was all wired together, but you're never quite sure how it's going to work when it's fully implemented... I'm really happy to hear that -- it is a nice step forward. The 4-top max makes sense for the supper club, unfortunately... Vince

IME these are arranged by the specialty maitre d' onboard (the lead for the alternative restaurants), and the Crystal name for the program is "Table for Eight". Because they're driven by participation, they may vary in success by the number of solo passengers who are on a cruise, and may only happen once per venue , so they may require flexibility in date and time on all the guests part. I echo Ivi's comment above that you may be able to get more info from guest relations or Onboard Guest Services, but specific scheduling or times may not be available in advance, just to set expectations. Vince

Not that you shouldn't prepare for disappointment, but there is a lot that we don't know yet about that "closure" window, so I would keep an open mind that alternate plans may or may not materialize. There are a lot of variables in play that would make these options possible, desirable, feasible or absolutely mandatory, and it's a little too far out to know how this is going to play out yet... But in the past, some of the same department heads in charge of F&B today have utilized options like soft openings when construction ended on time/early (not needing the buffer days), or using alternative venues to replace one out of service... Plus there are some other options that I haven't seen them do in the past that might also get tapped here. So while I might expect the worst, I would still hope for the best here. We just don't have enough info on the details yet, and even then some of it is contingent on progress. Vince

Tastes is quite popular so I say this lightheartedly, but from a personal perspective... That's the scenario that I've sailed the vast majority of my cruises with (especially on Crystal), though I understand that's not how most ships operate anymore and I don't dismiss the importance of being competitive. That said, it would take me being on the ship for at least a month before I'd really consider wanting to go to Tastes (not Beefbar) instead of Waterside... And even then Waterside would probably have to be on fire at the time. I'd add that the Sushi Bar is first come first served and doesn't take reservations, but the fee structure still applies. Also, you can always speak with the maitre d's about getting additional reservations short notice too. That may require some flexibility, but in reality even Tastes/Silk required that at times. I think they likely planned the Beefbar refit around the forecasted capacity (or ability to restrict it) of each ship, so if the venue being out of service for those days is going to cause an overall dining capacity issue, wouldn't be surprised to see them get creative and offer a pop-up somewhere else (like Marketplace) if needed. Vince

Half-portion entrees are the secret of my success, and my ability to disembark without collapsing the gangway. I want to taste lots of different things, even in Waterside. Vince

All good points... Something else strikes me, logistically... Right now Crystal is listing Beefbar on Serenity with a capacity of 92, and Symphony with 88. (These are not "new" numbers even though they updated the venue name, so there's a small chance that the final capacity may be different if changes happened in the design process, but this is what we have to work with right now.) By comparison, Serenity's Osteria d'Ovidio has a capacity of 94 and Symphony's has a capacity of 68. Comparing those numbers, and know the propensity for everyone to want to dry a new concept (since I've been around to observe the launch of each concept), if I were in Crystal's shoes I would ABSOLUTELY launch the concept with the surcharge for extra visits, as a control mechanism. That said, even with the further reduced loads with the second stateroom consolidation, Crystal needs this concept to be popular in order to keep passenger dining flow smooth, so they need tables to be full. There simply aren't enough seats in the other restaurants to shove people off to them. If this concept is popular and they need to control capacity, I expect the additional visit surcharge will remain. However, if the concept ends up functioning like Tastes (which I don't think it will) in practice, I could see the removing the surcharge to rebalance the demand and get the right number of people in the right venues. That said, I suspect it will more likely be popular enough o keep the surcharge, but I just had to throw that out there. Vince

Close enough. 😀 ❤️ Welcome home to you both (and your luggage)! I have a love-hate relationship with baggage tracking -- both through the airline and by device. When it's not scanned (for a variety of reasons) or isn't being picked up by devices, I stress far more than I ever did in the old days when we had no clue where our bags were (unless you saw them on the cart or loader belt). I love all the data we get these days overall, but it can cause whole new levels of anxiety we never could have imagined decades ago! Vince

100% on the YMMV... A lot of it has to do with the physical location of the ship and other conditions. On Serenity in Alaska this summer I had no problem streaming most of the cruise with the free service (except in a couple particular spots where satellite coverage was compromised by mountains and such), though the resolution auto-selected to 1080 and the weather was pretty good. Uploading was my main problem, as it always is relative to downloading via satellite. As others have shared though, reports have varied greatly by region and other factors, and many newer ships are offering a consistently faster and more reliable standard here. Vince

I usually follow the same general formula, but I suspect some of my mornings might be a little earlier…. I started the morning before embarkation in Vancouver with a sampling lots of different things from the hotel’s breakfast buffet, but since that was ~7:00am, I was sufficiently hungry by noon. Not starving, but definitely ready for a full lunch. Vince

While I agree with this completely, I have to add that just opening it isn’t the perk alone. On my July cruise on Serenity, I was excited that Waterside was open, but it had one of the most lackluster lunch menus I can recall having in Waterside, and was the worst embarkation lunch menu I’ve had (by a mile) since Crystal started service lunch for embarkation in Waterside roughly 18-19 years ago. Everyone here knows what a fan I am of lunch in Waterside, but when I have to admit the people who went to Marketplace fared much better, that’s in itself a problem. 😔 Vince

100%! For other reasons related to my orientation I don’t feel comfortable staying there pre-cruise (as with many other ports in the world unfortunately) so I can relate in a way, but I did owe them an apology for not thinking about how accessible it is for us from here in DC at least. Vince

Totally — I should have added *When Applicable…. My point was more that just about wherever you land, you can always ask for it…. The Bistro, Tastes Bar, etc… It’s not just a Cove thing. Vince

If you go to Waterside for lunch when you embark, you can also specify that with the sommelier. Vince

I share the sentiment, but I admit when I first read that I actually forgot how (relatively) convenient Tema is from where I live…. Sometimes I get tunnel vision around the places I either travel to more frequently, or at least plan travel to more frequently. Even United flies nonstop from Washington Dulles to Accra, and it’s only a 10 hour flight (eastbound) from here. I owe Ghana an apology for my bias, even though I’m not likely sailing from.there anytime soon. 😊 Vince

I’m so glad you guys got to see Bill Miller’s latest presentations. I first saw him present in the late 80’s, and although I have many of his books and know most of his material at this point, I’m always excited to hear him speak. Hopefully he’s able to keep sharing his wisdom and passion for many more years. Vince

I think this is going to be an interesting one to watch, because a lot of things are going to depend on final guest count and the mix of lounges tapped and how they’re designed. As Keith noted, the Theatre has other uses and one of its most important right now is to serve Crystal’s group and incentive business. In the current mix it allows for lectures and mid-day activities to go on without impact when grouped need theatre-style seating venues — and flexibly depending on the size of the group or the lectures. They could redesign other venues to absorb this function completely if they chose, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see them resize and keep the theatre in some form, in order to preserve its essential group function. I definitely agree that its role as a cinema is secondary these days for sure though. Vince