BWIVince
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Posts posted by BWIVince
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5 hours ago, Keith1010 said:
Vince, yes.
On our 2002 cruise (first with Crystal) we stayed at the same pre-cruise hotel they used but had booked it on our own. They let us purchase the transfer which allowed us to go on a tour to Muir Woods and then have lunch in Sausalito. I remember we dined at a restaurant that opened just for Crystal.
On our 2023 cruise we were pre-booked in a hotel Crystal used; The Landmark in London and went on a tour and then to a restaurant for lunch.
Both cases we had the family with us.
In 2004 we took the crossing from Dover to New York and that was the cruise we boarded at Noon and had lunch. That would have been the start of the Cobb Salad. 😄
Keith
Great memories!
On my first Crystal cruise in the early 90's, the hotel also included a tour and lunch transfer from the hotel to the ship... We were staying in Crystal's block in Copenhagen, and the hotel-to-ship transfer included a tour of North Zealand and Kronborg Castle, with a beautiful lunch. It was a great intro of what was to come on Harmony.
On the other end of the spectrum in 2004, we also had a transfer from the Landmark London to Dover, earlier in the year it sounds like, and we had a choice of two included tours... With my father being a Navy veteran with a strong interest in military history, we picked the Dover Castle tour. Only a snack was included in that one though, no lunch. (I only remember the most important things from my travels. LOL) That might have been the only point where I was hungry that whole cruise. 😄
Vince
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Something could be changing (or not)... The Before You Sail Guide for my cruise last month on Serenity just said:
At most embarkation ports, the ship is usually available for guests to board after 12:00 P.M. (after the ship has been cleared by the local port authority). Suites are available for guests after 3:00 P.M.
...And on the ticket it just said embarkation would be available from Noon-4:00pm.
Vince
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1 hour ago, Texas Tillie said:
I've never been given a boarding time by Crystal that I remember. They do give group numbers based on when you arrive. I was in Group 1 at Vancouver a few weeks ago as I was staying at the Pan Pacific there at the cruise terminal and decided I'd just as soon sit waiting at the port than sit in my room. 😁
Patty
I could have started in Seattle that morning and I still wasn't going to miss boarding in time for lunch in Waterside. 😄
1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:The only time I had seen a time was when the restart took place during the Pandemic . Otherwise, boarding is usually at Noon (yes once in awhile there is an exception) and people show up at various times based on a Noon embarkation and their plans that day.
I remember when we first sailed Crystal embarkation was at 3:00 PM. This changed to noon I believe in 2004.
Keith
+1 on the pandemic, because of the passenger flow for the testing (in the case of my sailing).
It was indeed 2004 they made that switch... My 2004 cruise was too early in the year to make the change, but 2005 was my first cruise where they boarded "early". Prior to the change, people using Crystal's air or hotel packages got hospitality rooms and tours to keep them busy until boarding time though, so it was kind of a trade-off.
Vince
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50 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:
I hope you and Anne Marie have a safe and uneventful flight this morning! I know that club well, though it's not my favorite of the DFW set... But for the proximity to your gate this morning, I'd be there in a heartbeat instead of trekking to other ones. 🙂
Vince
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7 hours ago, Sdancer said:
I had a good experience with the Old Crystal Home Office.
I never thought I'd live to hear someone say that, but today's the day, and I need to go buy a lottery ticket. 😄 Almost everyone I know either had no experience with the old home office, or a bad one. I never had a direct experience with the Miami office, but back before the move, the L.A. office was a 20-something year slow-moving train wreck.
I love Crystal and all of its history, but I'm pretty sure more people have walked on the moon than the number of passengers (not agents) that had more good experiences than bad with Crystal's home office.
IMHO, hiring experienced sales and res execs from Silversea is a darn good start. Just my $.02 -- not taking away from your experience.
Vince
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2 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:
There you go again, Vince....supplying factual information to a complex question. How dare you take away preconceived notions of what happens in the back rooms!!!
haha. Thanks... 🙂 I didn't have time the other day to go into that, but that's sort of an interesting piece of the puzzle that probably runs counter to many people's impressions, so that's why I wanted to chime in with it when I had a second.
Vince
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Bon Voyage Keith & Anne Marie! Can't wait to read all about it!
Vince
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Luxury travel suppliers in general definitely view direct sales as a double-edged sword and not a commission-saving windfall -- it's not the same game in every market of travel. There is a large portion of the population that has been retrained by the internet (for better or worse, right AND wrong) that their direct sales either give them more control or a better deal, among other things.
The problem with luxury travel is that it generally is more complex than other market segments, and generally requires more support. More support means more cost to the supplier. In fact, it usually requires more robust online info and collateral, which requires more labor from the marketing and digital teams to keep that stuff current, and not just dedicated customer-facing agents and a whole separate team of agents to handle those types of transactions. Suddenly, most of the money you've "saved" (booked to an internal department to support) has been eaten up in labor. The more you automate these interactions, the more of the labor leakage you save, but then you're spending more on digital support, software licenses, and the like. That's its own slippery slope.
The other factor that comes into play, is that while suppliers have generally gotten better about packaging options and upsells to make them more attractive and robust during direct sales, agents generally make a better case advocating to their clients where they should be buying up and adding on, and their revenue per transaction comes in higher than direct web sales of similar offerings. So not only does the cruise line (in this example) end up having to spend the money to support the booking, they end up getting less revenue on the booking in the first place.
...And that's just the challenge from the supplier's side. Everything mentioned above is spot-on for the client side. Without an agent, you're relying on the cruise line's staff to advocate for you when things don't go as planned, and they definitely are playing for the other team. As we saw during Covid, a lot of people take on the role themselves thinking they can just advocate for themselves, and they're fine with it, but they don't know the laws, tactics and strategies that good agents do.
Direct sales do have a place, and many/most customers today do expect the option, I just wanted to remind everyone that they aren't viewed as such a slam-dunk in some segments of the industry as others -- hence the resources that Crystal has poured into agency support.
Vince
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3 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:
OK, having not yet sailed NC I'm now confused about the back and forth on the cabin Vince had. Isn't this the same size as the standard verandah cabin on OC? We've sailed in one of those many times and, while tight, we had no trouble making it work for two occupants(and this was back in the day when I hauled the black tie rig.) So are there alterations to the drawers/closet/bathroom that make the NC verandah cabins less hospitable for a couple? Just trying to figure out our booking strategy for any future cruises.
That's a valid question...
Yes, the veranda doubles are the same size they ever were. If you didn't have any problem with two people living in them before, you probably won't now.
Yes, there were alternations to the storage that MAY impact your experience. We've lost about 16" of closet rack (but most of it remains), and the drawers have shifted to generally being fewer and slightly larger overall, plus a little more shelf/cubby space than before.
I agree with Patty overall, but I think it depends on the couple. I cruised with my parents many times growing up, and even when we went on a 12 or 14 day cruise, they would have had NO problem fitting their stuff in the current storage situation in these cabins. We sailed on many ships that had less storage space than this (including 14 days on Crystal Harmony), and back in those days the dress codes required more diversity of wardrobe, and it still wasn't a problem for them. I think it just depends on the couples, honestly.
Is it competitive? No. Is it ideal? No. Is it serviceable? I think for many it's fine. It just takes some awareness of your needs and booking accordingly.
Vince
[PS -- I got called into a meeting and I see Patty already replied, but I'll go ahead and click submit anyway even though I'm pretty much saying the same thing since I already had this composed.]
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19 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:
I believe it's because when the inevitable spills on the carpet occur, they will not be nearly as noticeable.
100%! The patterns are to hide the spills, and the darkness is to hide the dirt and traffic.
Vince
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20 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:
I hope the next step is for NC to allow potential passengers to book their own cruises online, including choosing specific cabins and putting down deposits, directly from their website. It puzzles me why this feature isn't already available. It would encourage more bookings and those bookings would be directly with NC, saving on TA commissions (although a portion of the bookings might eventually get transferred to an agent).
Hmmm...could it be that the TA consortiums have pressured NC to not do this? But then why do other luxury lines provide this service?
Seems as though NC is leaving money on the table by not allowing potential passengers to book directly online.
Yes, they ARE leaving money on the table, they have been driving costs through the roof the way they've been doing it, and no, the consortiums have no say in how they accept direct bookings. That's why they are rolling this out as quickly as they can -- every day they had to have agents calling in, or customers continuing to call in, it's costing them bigtime.
Travel supplier reservation systems aren't things you can just implement quickly. They are exceedingly complex, must integrate with the supplier's other systems, and normally you implement them module by module. Hence the reason the easiest one came online first, the next more complex one came next, and so on.
I'm sure we'll see a customer-facing web booking engine -- but depending on the particular platform they chose it may need to be implemented separately from the agent one (that's generally how most of them work), and it may be months away still depending on the platform they're using.
Vince
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4 hours ago, lincslady said:
Why on earth have that carpet which looks as if someone or their dog has had a horrible accident on it?
All I can think is that this speaks to the lack of user acceptance testing that Keith mentioned…. Most people are going to look at that and think it’s a bright pattern that makes the room appear a lot larger and brighter, and adds some complimentary color to the space. Not everyone is going to realize that it triggers people having experience with incontinent spouses and pets. 🤷🏻♂️Vince
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Stateroom
Let’s chat about the stateroom for a bit. All of this is just my $.02 – YMMV since we all have different requirements from a room.
First a little background… I was booked in a veranda double as a solo. Although I had no use for the veranda (and it got even less use than that.) The only reason I booked it is because the eye-level promenade really creeps me out (one of many, many reasons I prefer Symphony to Serenity). When I booked the only veranda double that were available were connecting rooms, which are almost always a disaster on ships. Therefore I rolled the dice and booked a guarantee, and lucked out with a non-connecting room in a location that I preferred (deck 9 near the forward elevators, which is my ideal).
I really like the new décor… And in the case of the loveseat and cocktail table, I love them just as much as I did on Symphony, from which they came from. (They were installed on Symphony prior to the Covid restart, and I assume repurposed as the number of double staterooms on Symphony was slashed.) One notable change though – while the cocktail tables aren’t adjustable per se, they do have a fixed pin that determines the height, and while they were at dining height on Symphony, the one in my room on Serenity was lowered all the way down to the loveseat level. I don’t know the thought process behind this – it might have been done for stability reasons, but that would make it very awkward to dine on.
Spending so much time in hotel rooms and convention centers (big organic patterns), I actually like the new carpet, but I understand why it seems to trigger people with pets and incontinent spouses.
Drawers
When I unpacked, I was VERY pleasantly surprised at the amount of drawer space, after studying the initial renderings so closely and having concerns about the changes. In fact, after hearing so many guest complaints about the storage, I seriously wondered if I had boarded a different ship, or landed in a parallel universe or something.
THEN @CabinBoy2020 filled me in on the detail I was missing (I was offline a lot recently and have missed a lot of reviews)… My room has a huge drawer over the fridge, but many rooms have the safe in that location instead of the closet. AHA! That one drawer was so tall, wide and deep, I was able to store nearly 3/4 of the things I stored in the desk drawers in that one spot – especially the larger items. The remaining small, random things, I could put in the new desk drawers just fine. Similarly, the new bedside drawers are a more usable shape and height even if they are overall smaller by total volume, and the closet drawers are slightly smaller than Serenity’s previous design, but slightly larger than Symphony’s previous ones. Combined with the extra shelf space (in total) in the new design, I felt like the drawer and shelf space was kind of a push when compared with the previous design… If I didn’t have the drawer above the fridge though, I would have a COMPLETELY different opinion however, and I’m not sure where I would have put everything.
Closet
Oy. Ok, my take on this is that the new closet and bar arrangement are an overall win, BUT yes, the closet is smaller… But it’s not like it was big before, and it’s not like it’s a whole lot smaller now. There IS less room to hang things now, which I’m sure is problematic for some guests, but I feel like people have blown some things out of proportion (which I know I’m guilty of on other subjects).
The hanging space (at least in my room) was reduced by 16 1/4 inches. (Yes, I brought a tape measure.) That’s not great, but it’s also not this exponential slash that some people made it out to be. IMHO, I got a lot more use out of the new bar/fridge/shelf setup than I even got out of those 16” on long cruises with several formal nights and bulkier clothes. I’d rather use smaller hangers and have the bar, or bring less junk, than go back to the old setup.
The new closet doors are a HUGE improvement by EVERY measure. The opening is slightly wider, they don’t creak as the ship rocks, and you can’t hear everyone else’s closet doors rattle open and closed in all the surrounding cabins like you used to with the old ones. Additionally, they also muffle a little of the sound of the hangers clanging when the seas are rougher (until you remember to adjust them), which the old doors didn’t do at all.
The old closets had exactly the same “dead space” with the solid panel by the nightstand. Not sure why everyone forgets this, but this seems to come up as some kind of a new design flaw regularly.
Desk
I really like the new desk overall, and I think it does a TON to make the room feel airier and more spacious… But I think they overshot the goal here a little and went a little too far in downsizing the new desks. Not only are the drawers smaller than they need to be, the desktop is too small to be useful as a workspace. If they had just made the drawers another 6” or so wider, that 6” would have also extended to the desktop, and would have helped alleviate both the workspace and drawer issues without getting anywhere near the bed or changing the visual scale of the desk on the room. The shape of the desk is perfect so I agree with the one row of drawers, and I agree with the decision not to place any storage above the desk height – it lightens up the room tremendously.
The new desk chairs are no harm, no foul… I wish they could have also repurposed those from Symphony (I noticed they’re using them in crew areas), but the colors on them wouldn’t have gone with the new scheme I’m assuming. The color of the new chairs is very dull, and the material feels like a vinyl 70’s car seat… But it’s perfectly functional and comfortable.
A few more notes to come about the details of the room in a future post. (Anyone who knows a running rant I have from prior cruises may be able to guess one of those comments.)
Vince
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34 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:
OK, this one's going to be even duller than my typical posts(that's an invitation to scroll on, after this you've been warned.)
When @BWIVincedid his typically thorough and even-handed review of Osteria the concept of "authenticity" in cooking came up. As an enthusiastic, if not very proficient, cook I have to admit this has been a bugbear with me for a long time. The bulk of the history of food is a story of migration/melding/appropriation/blending/borrowing across a broad arc of time. Whole migratory patterns, some peaceful, some caused by disaster(natural and man-made) can be discerned on many a plate of food. One obvious example: Umi Uma. Think the concept of Japanese-Peruvian just sprang from the mind of Nobu? Try a search on Nikkei cuisine(the cuisine, not the stock market.) Lots of history on that plate in front of you.
Anyway, the Caesar Salad(invented by Italian immigrants at their eponymous restaurant in Tijuana) is being celebrated for its 100th anniversary. It's another perfect example. If you're hungry for more(ha!) here's an interesting article from the Post(I especially like the comments of Philip Korshak:)
Mangia!
On a completely different but strangely parallel note... I'm not putting this article out there as interesting, but for some reason I thought of you when I read it. The nature of why food goes viral and restauranteurs efforts to establish and maintain standards just reminded me of the Chez and its chef/owner, even if the market segment is different. 🙂
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2024/08/02/viral-caesar-wrap-dc/
Vince
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44 minutes ago, mariners said:
BWIVince, thank you for your ongoing comprehensive review of your Crystal sailing.
We have yet to book another Crystal cruise since the NC began, but we cannot wait to be back onboard either the Serenity or the Symphony in 2025 or 2026.
Thanks for sharing that! You will have a wonderful time, if it's anything like what I and others have been reporting recently. I'm being really specific here with some criticisms, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Crystal to anyone who enjoyed Crystal as it used to be. For better or worse (every line has differentiating factors), it's the closest thing on the market to Old Crystal by a mile -- and to me that's a strong plus.
Vince
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35 minutes ago, rafinmd said:
I doubt that would fly. I can't imagine Crystal Management going for a lecture "How to combine Crystal with Holland America, Cunard, Amtrak, and others.
Roy
The trick is getting them to comp you an A&K tour so you can blog and lecture on how to use Crystal as transportation to and from the tour. 😉 You were an influencer before that was even a thing.Vince
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One of the main reasons I didn’t order Eggs Benedict again (without specifying the sauce on the side like I did the first day) is because the cruise was extremely short, and the hollandaise sauce was completely inedible with an overwhelming vinegar funk — probably the only time in my life that I’ve ever had hollandaise that out of balance. The rest of the dish was perfectly prepared, but there just weren’t enough mornings in the cruise to risk such a disaster again. 😔. The other breakfasts redeemed this one — more to come.
Vince
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7 hours ago, rafinmd said:
For some reason that photo (and the description behind it) reminds me of the Richie Havens version of Amtrak’s All Aboard Amtrak jingle in the late 80’s/early 90’s. That was one of my favorite campaigns from any travel supplier of the era.
There’s something about a train, that’s maaaaagic…Vince
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One thing I’ll throw out there along the lines of Patty’s post... When they first rolled out the passenger portal, I wasn’t as concerned about the weird two digit number I had for my pending guaranteed stateroom because I knew they were still going to have a lot more config/integration/programming work to do on that field when they eventually integrate an online booking engine and more res tools. Since whatever they have in place is temporary to some degree and will require rework anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if that factored into what we’re seeing… I’m sure there is only so much double-work they want to sink money into.
Vince
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I always find it interesting that back when Crystal operated the shops in-house (back when my parents walked up hill both ways to and from school), they had a whole shop dedicated to Crystal-branded merchandise and Crystal-related memorabilia (like the Guy Buffet Bistro sets)…. But every vendor since then that’s operated the shops has barely had any logo items at all. I get the dual mission of Crystal’s logo shop, and that logo items aren’t the highest yielding items to sell, but the off-balance swing is REALLY extreme. …Especially when you consider the current vendor sells tons of logo items on other ships.
Vince
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21 hours ago, KenzSailing said:
Yes, yes, this is all fine and good, but what was the result of the great Eggs Benedict experiment? Inquiring minds and all that...
I failed miserably at that mission…. 😢 Deepest apologies. More to come on that as soon as I get to Waterside, after I finish the rest of the stateroom.Vince
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2 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:
There isn't a designated spot for the box of tissues in the entry level cabin bathrooms. My last stewardess put the box on that little shelf by the door. Wait a minute, we are no longer calling them stewardesses, what's the proper terminology now?
Patty
Is it “Suite Attendant” now? I’m pretty sure I’ve never said that…. Mostly because it’s not a suite, and just rubs in the fact that I’m poor and one of the only people on the ship without a suite. 😊My tissues were in the same place. It’s not ideal because it takes the other hand to secure the box, but it’s one additional little quirk of the bathroom.
Vince
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Speaking of toilet paper...
What the??? Was there a norovirus outbreak on the prior segment or something? I mean better to have 4 rolls than none, but this is one of the funniest things I've seen in a hotel/ship bathroom/head since...well...maybe the toilet paper shelf.
Vince
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25 minutes ago, CabinBoy2020 said:
Vince et al -- Did you notice the "mini-shelves" (plastic topped things) over the toilet paper holder and on one side of the vanity? Your top photo shows the one over the toilet paper holder. I thought they were weird. I used the vanity mini-shelf for small items like lip balm. What are they?
I did stay for a couple weeks in an Aquamarine on a previous cruise. The closet and bathroom were so lovely and spacious compared to the solo cabins. But I actually preferred the nice sitting area in the solos as compared to the Aquamarine with the sofa directly across from the bed. And not much room between them. But that's another story 🙂
Bill
I'm not sure either... One of my friends saw the cabin pics and commented on the awesome cell phone holder over the toilet paper, which only reminded me why I never touch other people's cell phones. 🤢
Vince
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...Or if they're anything like my butler, they proactively stock your room with overnight munchies to save me a call. 😄
Vince