ak1004

We sailed with the old Crystal once, to me it was comparable to SS overall. Much better entertainment and enrichment, but smaller cabins, less dining options etc. (did I mention no black caviar?) Looks like they did a nice job with the remodeling, and both ships have now 30% less passengers. But the ships are still old (and not getting any younger), the entry level cabins are still small (210 sqft) and more expensive than 310 sqft cabins on SS. The maiden sailing was only 60% full. I think if they don't adjust the prices, they won't survive. I love your lipstick on a pig analogy! Just don't mention it on the Crystal board lol...

We took a cruise on SS from Dubai to Mumbai for $450 CAD per night. This was way cheaper than similar cruises on SB (not to mention Crystal) and we were very happy with the excursions. I don't think we would take private tours in Khasab, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah or Muscat. This is why I mentioned case by case. On average, SS is more expensive than SB because it includes excursions, but for this particular cruise, it was way cheaper. Same thing for 2 other sailings we are booked with them.

I have a solution for you: keep sailing on both! Why to decide? I'm pretty sure they are both fabulous..

Curious what he didn't like about Crystal. The excitement on the Crystal board is hysterical.. They claim that it's in a league of its own.. Of course the prices are in a league of their own too..

Private tours are almost always better than ship tours, but they are not always possible. Some ports have very limited selection of private tours. Some are not really safe. On our last O cruise we booked a private tour in Bilbao, the group of 14-18 people filled up, they opened a second group but did not have enough people. So it's always good to know that a cruise line provides an option for good tours with reasonable number of people and reasonable prices. As for lines with included excursions - I agree, it's not ideal, but what if the overall price is still cheaper than another line with no excursions included? Yes, it's possible, all 3 ours SS cruises were slightly cheaper than comparable cruises on SB and way cheaper than Crystal. So it's all on case by case basis.

My impression while on board the Spirit was that most guests are not sailing on SS because of the dress code, but despite of it. My wife doesn't like to dress, she dressed relatively casual (no evening gown or cocktail dress, just nice pantsuit), and most ladies were the same. She did not feel underdressed in any way. Very few men were wearing a tux, many didn't have a tie even on formal nights, and a lot of men got rid of the jacket the moment they reached the table at dinner. It was pretty obvious that the majority of men is wearing a jacket just because they are forced to. Times are changing. Relaxation of the dress code is inevitable, it's just matter of time, the sooner the better.

but in Atlantide and few other venues they won’t let you in without a jacket on formal and informal nights. La Dame for sure, I think also Silver Note.

Thank you for the review. Very balanced and objective. We sailed on Oceania, old Crystal and Silversea and found the service overall comparable. Maybe slightly more personal on Crystal, but only slightly. Please help me to understand: what's the importance of the crew remembering your names? I hear this a lot, and while it could be nice, I don't really understand why it's so important for some people. A genuine question, really.

Helps to keep perspective, thanks a lot! Jacket, tie. who cares. those things are so insignificant. We travel to see the world. Who cares what people are wearing.

Exactly! This whole discussion about olive oil cart is ridiculous. Don't want it - just tell them which olive oil you want. End of story.

I strongly object people wearing shorts and t-shirts after 6pm, but theoretically, people can do now as well. They can dine in the Grill, not to go to more formal restaurants etc. I have seen someone wearing shorts in the Venetian lounge on the formal night. Agree 100%. But it will attract new cruisers. I know some people who won't go back to SS because of the dress code (including few on CC). And people who want to dress up can still continue doing it.

Agree. To me, Oceania and Azamara was a huge step up compared to Celebrity and Holland. Small ships, no crowds, no lines, no nickel and diming. To me, this is huge. Then you go up another step to luxury, which to me is much smaller. We sailed on old Crystal and SS. In my opinion, you get a slightly better service, maybe a bit more personalized. Food is not necessarily better, I would say comparable. Of course the fact that they are all inclusive is a huge factor to some people - not to me.

So you would consider Azamara below Oceania/Viking? Would you mind to elaborate? We sailed with them in 2019 and liked them. Maybe not as much as Oceania, but pretty close. The cabins are a big minus of course, but everything else was pretty good. Maybe things have changed in 4 years.

I agree. it probably also depends on the region, maybe number of the ships in the specific port that day (if too many, they might not have enough buses or tour guides). Semi private excursion is definitely a good solution (15-20 people), but it's not always possible. This is why it's important to know what's the cruise line policy. Will they hire more buses/guides when possible and put 25 people in a bus? Or is it matter of policy to have 40+ people?

Agree about Luxury, but Ocenia, Viking and Windstar don't belong to same category as Celebrity and Holland. I would call them premium plus, and they are much closer to luxury (SS/SB0 than to Celebrity. And Azamara blongs to the same premium plus category.

50% of the bus capacity you mean? So around 25 people on average?

Thank you Keith. I'm not looking for guarantees, just some estimates. On our last O cruise the groups were consistently 35-40 people, which for me is way too much. It's better on SS (around 30 people on average). I think it's matter of policy. If 120 people registered for a tour, they can book 5 buses, 4 buses or 3 buses. Depends how much they want to save on a bus/guide/driver.

As a regular cruiser on Oceania, I don't find this to be true. There are always exceptions (I have seen a guy in Venetian lounge in shorts on a formal night), but overall people dress very respectfully even if the dress code is casual.

Pretty sure that this is the case. As it's not enough to have 3 different dress code levels (formal, informal and casual), having different dress codes on different ships would make SS the most confusing cruise line (not to mention 3-5 levels of pricing).

Well, specific excursions are a different matter, but still would like to know the average group size. This is an important factor to me. With all other factors equal, if I look at two similar itineraries on two lines, and I know that line A puts on average 40 people on a bus and line B 25 people, this will be a big factor, even if line B is more expensive.

The problem is that dress code is not symmetric. If the formal night is mandatory, all men have to wear jackets, like it or not. If it's optional, men who like to wear a jacket (or a tux) can still do it. Men who don't, can just put a nice dressy shirt. See the difference? Oceania is always casual, but you still see some men wearing a suit and a tie (and occasionally even a tux). Choice is good. Why force people to dress up on vacation if they don't want to?

To me, those prices look a bit on a higher end, but they might be justified if the groups will be as small as @bayonejoe mentioned. I don't expect them to be 12 people, but even 20-25 is significantly less than most other lines, even the luxury ones. This is pretty close to semi private tours that usually have 16-20 people. If this is indeed the case, I might change my mind about Crystal pricing in general. The devil is in details.

Outstanding! If this is typical, this definitely gives Crystal a big edge. Oceania now puts 35-40 people in buses.

This is pretty cheap actually. How many people were on tours on average?

Nice. To me those cabins look perfectly fine. We spend very little time in the room, so having a larger room is more like "nice to have".