ctjon

Noticed a MSC cruise ship in Portland harbor today - I guess because of bad weather in the Bahamas the ship was re-routed to Boston, Maine, Canada.  Can you imagine thinking you were heading for warm weather and ending up in the north.  Maine still has cities and many roads closed and about 300,000 without power from a storm Monday so a visit to Maine probably not a joy.

Last time I did Miami - we got there the night before and had rented a car. I spent a lot of my youth in the area and wanted to look around again.   hertz offered bus transfers to the dock from their Miami Beach location and it worked out great.   Not positive that they still do that but it worked out great for us.

I would think more that 10% but I'm sure there are other things on the ship that aren't used by a large percent.  I can't imagine traveling on a ship without the Promenades. 

The other thing to remember with Crystal is to ask if you want something and don't see it .  The goal of the crew is never to say NO.   Not that there maybe things they can't do but they will do whatever they can to meet your needs and requests.  Saying YES is what they always want to do.

Why build new ships if they are going to keep "everything" the same?

I'd like to see different food type restaurants - maybe "local" cuisine depending upon where you are sailing.  I'd also like to see a location specifically setup for cooking classes.

Symphony for me - just more used to it.  But where and when the cruise is going it more important than which of those 2 ships.

If i remember correctly, (doubtful??)  the cruise disembarkation area was very close to the bad fire area but some of the hotels and great beaches were somewhat away from the bad area so they may want the hotel tourists but not the ships yet.

22 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

Short cuts from the Chez:

 

A couple tips I've been meaning to share, because, why not?  Anyway I seem to be fixated on salad right now.

 

First:  I've made many a Caesar dressing from scratch.  I've made the uncooked egg kind, I've made the Dijon mustard kind, both satisfying in their respective way.  But I've turned my attention to other courses in every meal and the dressing prep feels like a burden.  Here's the short cut I've hit upon:

 

Start with a good quality commercial Caesar dressing(here we can get, and like, Marzetti.)

 

Next, augment it to your taste with lemon juice(bottled, we're going for easy here) Worch sauce and anchovy paste(don't spare the anch paste.)  I'm telling ya, close your eyes and sway side to side while you're eating it and you'll flash back to a meal in Waterside on a choppy night. 

 

Second: (and I got this one from American's Test Kitchen)  whatever salad you're dressing, put the dressing in the bowl FIRST.  Spread it around with the back of a spoon, then add the greens and toss. You'll get a much more even coat. Genius. Try it!

 

Gotta get back to the stove.  All the best.

  

I remember when Crystal made the Caesar salad at your table side

Started in 1993 and did several.  Plans look very familiar

39 minutes ago, Sdancer said:

What a mess!

I could not find any information about the shows and port excursions either.

Gary Bembridge warned about companies not in business of cruising buying cruise lines/ships. 

Well ... I will have to wait until then to decide to book or not :).

 

I was fortunate to enjoy three Old Crystal cruises in a year, before the pandemic cancelled my other bookings.  

It looks like the New Crystal is still not aware what made the Old Crystal a success.

 

 

 

Wow - it takes time and effort to get all the details done and made right.  You work on priorities

I wonder how many people had snow appropriate clothing with them on that cruise.

These pictures of Harmony remind me of the great trips we took on that ship.  However, when we did our first Symphony cruise we were amazed at how much better Symphony was as a ship with decor etc.  Harmony was great - Symphony better.  I wonder what the new ships will be like and all the improvements.

Speaking of the new ships - when do we have to start providing Crystal with ideas for the names of these ships - I assume it will be this board's responsibility.

A couple of weeks ago when Serenity was in Portland, ME there was a private yacht there that was almost the same length as Serenity - not the same height, width, but huge.  I guess that would define wealth and could do any cabin size.    As I said before, we intend to spend as little time as possible in our cabins so on many cruises we do the window/vs balcony cabin  because we;d rather do more cruises than a fancy room.  To each our own interests and choices.

One of the things that we really like about Crystal is that all places (other than laundry rooms ) are available to all vs some lines that you need to be in a certain class to use certain restaurants, etc.

1 hour ago, Txcotn said:

Many people of a certain age have major foot issues and sneakers are all they can wear, so just don't look down.🤣

That I understand but if you watch TV a lot of the dress up (suits stuff) now wear white sneakers which, to me, looks stupid but...

I hope men aren't wearing sneakers with suits as seems to be a style you see on TV these days.

22 minutes ago, shrkdive1 said:

Why isn't Crystal discounting near term cruises to fill the ship?  If they already have staff on board it would seem the incremental cost is negligible for food and getting some added revenue is better than no revenue from these empty cabins.  Other cruise lines do this.

They wouldn't want to encourage people to book a the last moment and get all the bad press for penalizing early bookers.  

Symphony coming into Auckland to go on the Millennium cruise sorry so dark but...

There is just something about Crystal that makes it different and better.  You feel that almost immediately when you board. 

One of the things that makes it great is that the crew wants to and tries never to say No.  Whatever you ask for they will do everything they can to make it happen.  Doesn't mean it always will but the feeling you get is that they will do all they can to make you happy.'

Try and you'll see.

If you ever get to Portland it is a place to visit - as said in the linked article - not only a beautiful lighthouse but great views of the Portland harbor and islands.  WWII shipbuilding place with displays to show and a museum.  I like it better than the Portland Head Light which is the most photographed in the country. 

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

What was your point of view?  Were you in South Portland, perhaps Bug Light Park?

 

Roy

Yup - first drove past where docked in Portland but hard to get a full picture - so I went over to Bug Light.  I great place for ship views. 

And here she is - you almost forget how beautiful until you see her

Serenity was just docking in Portland, ME.   Hoping to get down there later today to get a picture.  At the moment it is raining and cloudy - not the greatest day for some of the tours.   It is going to be great seeing it back

And quotes from Keith included ....

I wish these reviews would state that Crystal's parent company went bankrupt not that Crystal did on its own.

I think one of the reasons that the crew on Crystal is so great is that the passengers do engage with them and treat them as special and get the same special treatment back.

You guys getting any big waves or wind form Lee  blew through here in Maine and looked as if remnants were going to blow through where you should have been