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We used a company called Twelve Transfers for transfers from London to Dover and back for a cruise in 2022. They were reliable and very reasonably priced. It was a little over 200 pounds each way for a minivan.

That doesn't really seem like a veranda. It's just a really big window. I'd rather have a real veranda.

Yes, we got a midship cabin, but we had booked midship from the start for a higher price. So, if you had booked a forward or guarantee room previously, the upcharge would probably be higher. Also, someone mentioned that Crystal has gone to dynamic pricing, so it might just be that the pricing for some rooms has gone up. My cruise seems not to be too full, so the price was the same as when I booked it, so in my case the upcharge I think just includes the admin fee and perhaps some other fees. I don't think it's the case that people are getting different deals. The issue is that you need to cancel and rebook at current rates (plus pay the admin fees), and that is different for each cruise.

Actually, it turned out that the initial quote to my travel agent of $900 did not include the Crystal Guest discount, so the upgrade was actually $550 each to go from Aquamarine to Sapphire. So, it was even nicer. 🙂

Just heard from my travel agent. We can upgrade and pick our cabin. We were booked in Aquamarine and can upgrade to Sapphire for $900 each (could have stayed in Aquamarine for a reduction of $500 each, but decided to go for the upgrade). My parents are upgrading from verandah to Aquamarine for $380 each.

How does the guarantee work? They have different prices for the mid/aft and forward. So, if you book mid/aft in the lower category, would you be guaranteed a cabin in the same category? My wife gets seasick, so a forward cabin does not work for us, but the specific cabin doesn't matter so much. The price for our cruise in late September hasn't changed, so it seems like a no-brainer to cancel and rebook, apart from the guarantee issue.

Wow. Nachos at a $169 wine-pairing dinner is like something you would see in a parody. I am, however, dying to know how Italian wine pairs with nachos. 🙂

I would agree if you are talking about the main dining room that serves hundreds of people. I don't agree that a specialty restaurant on a ship cannot be as good as one on land. I thought TK Grill was pretty close, though it didn't have the consistency of a Thomas Keller restaurant on land, particularly if you made the mistake of ordering a special not on the regular menu. The Nobu Matsuhisa restaurant on Crystal was as good as the ones on land (I live in L.A. and have been to every incarnation of Matsuhisa/Nobu restaurants since the beginning, so I have a basis for comparison). In any event, even if you shouldn't expect a ship-based restaurant to keep the same level of service and consistency as a land-based restaurant, the quality of the ingredients should be as good if you use the right sources and spend the necessary money. The quality of the steakhouse on Regent that has been described here is 2-3 star, which isn't even in the ballpark of 6 star. On the positive side, my friend did say he thought the ship itself was the nicest he has ever been on. And he thought some of the food was very good. But he said he wouldn't return because the food was far too inconsistent, and some if downright bad.

I have some good friends who just tried their first Regent cruise. We were both Crystal fans, and both tried Seabourn last year for the first time. I didn't find the food on Seabourn to be particularly good overall, but the steak in the TK Grill was on par with any top tier steakhouse. My friend described the steak in the Regent specialty restaurant as Denny's quality, and that his description was probably an insult to Denny's. Whether it's Outback quality, Denny's quality, or worse, that's not what you expect from a luxury cruise line.

It was a constant struggle to get real sparkling water in the dining venues on my first (and probably last) Seabourne cruise last year. I wouldn't even have had a problem drinking the homemade sparkling water if it were any good. I've had no problem drinking the homemade stuff at many restaurants. But the Seabourne sparkling water was flat, and that's worse than just drinking regular water.

I don't find reviews that lack details to be particularly useful. If someone gives details about their experiences (positive or negative), I can judge to what extent I would agree or disagree with the assessment. I didn't find this review to be particularly illuminating, but what was there seemed overwhelmingly positive to me. So, it's strange that it was framed as a negative review. I would much rather have a cruise with that has good food, nice cabins and good entertainment than worry about whether I'm being treated as warmly as the regulars.

I think the answer is yes and no. You have to pay for a second visit, but they don't take reservations for the sushi bar (at least that's how it always used to work). So, my advice is to make a reservation before the cruise, but then also go to the sushi bar if you can't get a second reservation on the ship. That's what we always did in the past.

Selveggio was a great restauranteur, but not really a chef. Valentino went through many changes over the years, and it was only great when it had a great chef. At times, it was quite mediocre for the food. By the end, it was really only worth going there for the wine list, which was one of the best (if not the best) in the world.

Affogoto is just vanilla gelato and espresso. I can't imagine you will have a problem ordering it at some point on the cruise, even if not on the menu.

The plane, jeep and helicopter tours on Regent are included in the fare price?

I can understand the nostalgia for the old Prego, though it was always our least favorite (we would go mainly because they would make an eggplant parmesan on request, which was my wife's favorite). But the one dish I always read people loved was the soup in a bread bowl. I had it once and it was good, but very rich and not the kind of thing you would expect from a fine dining restaurant (I understand you can still get it wat Waterside). It seems like the new Crystal (probably in part for competitive reasons and perhaps because of the taste of the new owner) wanted to have a specialty restaurant that was more like a classic Michelin star quality restaurant. As great as Nobu restaurants are, you are not going to have that kind of experience at a sushi restaurant. And no matter how good the food is in Waterside, you aren't going to have that experience in such a big dining room. Personally, I'm excited about what I hear about Osteria d’Ovidio. I completely understand that a more formal restaurant is not every one's cup of tea, but I don't know that it's really the case that the majority of Crystal customers will be unhappy with such a restaurant. As for the popularity of the Umi Uma restaurant over Osteria d’Ovidio, I found that the Nobu restaurant was much harder to get a reservation than Prego on all of the cruises I took over the last several years. The popularity of both sushi and Nobu's own interpretation of Peruvian/Japanese food (which is now ubiquitous) has grown exponentially from the time that restaurant first opened on Crystal (my first cruise was right after Nobu replaced Silk Road, and I agree that it was much easier to get reservations then). As a resident of LA, we were fortunate to eat many times at his first restaurant Matsuhisa, which was only in LA for the late 80's and early 90s. The fact that he had a restaurant on Crystal was one of the reasons our first luxury cruise was on Crystal. Now he has restaurants and hotels throughout the world. I very much doubt the old Prego would have been more popular on your cruise.

Thanks.. So if you do the 6 person option, it's still $3,600? So, it's $600 per person. I have done Vintage Room a few times in the past, but we did not do it with a private group. I just indicated interest, and the sommelier organized a group, so there really weren't these choices. The sommelier just picked the wines.

Those are some very impressive wines. I'm sure the food was good, but the Vintage Room dinners are all about the wine. What was the cost for that one?

I disagree it's a faux pas. I don't know how common it is. I agree with Keith that it's a personal decision, and nobody ever pressures you for a tip. It's kind of ridiculous to call it a bribe. Everyone I know gives the tips at the end of the trip, which wouldn't be a very effective bribe.

It's pretty hard to evaluate cost without knowing both the price and everything that's included. I'm skeptical about comparisons to previous pricing, as the post-pandemic inflation, particularly for travel, is a real thing. The pricing for the Luxor day tour that includes 8 hours of driving and presumably lunch doesn't seem out of line. The pricing for the overnight is more than I would likely spend, but it really depends on what it includes. I was booked on the segment of the world cruise in April 2020 that included Petra (of course that cruise didn't happen), but I recall the price for the overnight through Crystal was more than I was willing to spend, and so had planned to book it privately. Luxury cruise lines are going to use the most reliable and priciest tour operators, particularly in a place like Egypt. I doubt that Crystal has a significantly different markup on what the operator charges relative to other cruise lines.

I've never had an issue with infrastructure, plumbing or AC on a Crystal ship. Why do I care if everything has been replaced, as long as it's replaced before it presents a problem to the customer? None of the new ships I've looked at have anything equivalent to the Crystal Promenade decks that go all the way around the ship. That's something I use every day. I don't really care that much about a nicer looking lounge.

The layout of the ship is more important than when it was built. And the food and service have nothing to do with when the ship was built. I get why people who go on Carnival or Royal Caribbean want the newest ship with the water slides, roller coasters, aquariums, etc. But putting aside the newer class of expedition ships, what innovations are there on newer luxury slips that matter?

I took it as sarcasm, which tends not to always work on a message board. I like seeing comparisons, as I it helps me make informed decisions. But it's not particularly helpful to hear 10 different times that Crystal is better, but Oceania is cheaper and better value. Since Covid hit and completely disrupted the hospitality industry, I have been very disappointed in going out to restaurants (I've found this much truer in the US than in other countries, where I have had mostly very good post-Covid dining experiences). Generally, I have found restaurants to offer worse food with worse service at higher prices. I found the same to be true on my one post-pandemic cruise on Seabourn, which was reasonably priced but was below my expectations. Given high inflation and difficulty in finding restaurant staff, there are reasons for this. But as a result, I have substantially curtailed my dining out post-pandemic while at home, as well as going to US based resorts. Personally, I am very encouraged by the reviews of Crystal. It seems to me that they have set their pricing to be able to provide the food and service that people expect, instead of skimping to keep the prices low. I am willing to pay more not to be disappointed.

Any other recommendations? My travel agent said that it's nice, but very small rooms and very expensive and not anything special. It still might be the best in town, but curious whether anyone has other recommendations (My cruise out of there is not til 2024).

It did look odd, but I thought maybe you were doing some fancy balsamic vinegar tasting. But that would be an odd thing to pair with a fine wine. 🙂