ak1004

On the formal nights, can men dine in the Grill or the Pizza place without a jacket? if so, it means you don't need a jacket on SS cruises anymore if you don't want to. Definitely positive development, hopefully other ships will follow.

I find this system very fair (instead of charging for 2 out of 8 restaurants like SS does). We know people who sailed on O, tried Crystal and came back to O because they considered food better on O and didn't care much about the entertainment. Everyone has an opinion, but there are facts that are hard to dispute. O has weaknesses like every line, but it is definitely NOT nickel and diming.

I'm pretty sure that self laundry and self pressing is included. If you want them to do it, you pay, but suites get 3 bags free. In any case, I wouldn't call it nickel and diming. I believe on SS laundry is also not free (except for self laundry). No line is truly all inclusive. You can always find items that are not free on any line. btw, how specialty restaurants work on Crystal? Someone mentioned that you get one visit for free and pay if you want more?

Absolutely! And we all have to respect other people's choices and preferences. At the end of the day, most people that I know, consider a ship just a floating hotel that helps them to see the world. Nothing more, nothing less. Except for the inclusions and the cabin size, most people won't probably even see much difference between SS, NC, SB, O, Viking etc. P.S. Not sure what they meant by nickel and diming on Oceania. The only thing not included on Oceania is the alcohol. Even SS charges for 2 out of 8 dining venues while on O all specialty restaurants are free.

I'm not a cheerleader of any line. We sailed on 11 different lines and will continues sailing on lines that will offer the best combination of itinerary, price, food, service and the overall package. Oceania is very weak in entertainment and activities, but their food in my opinion is the best, with SS and Crystal coming very close. But then again, food is very subjective. I'm very specific with my food preferences, and O fits them the best.

We actually like the food better on Oceania. In fact, we find it the best at sea. Matter of personal choice I guess. Service was slightly better on OC, maybe slightly more personal, but no complaints on Oceania service at all. Excursions not as good as luxury lines. To us, Oceania offers the best value for money, but yes, it is slightly below luxury lines as an overall package.

Well, Celebrity is out of the question for me because of the size of the ship. We do sail on Oceania and find it comparable to SS or Crystal in terms of food and service. It's just less inclusive, and for many people this is a deal breaker. They consider all inclusive lines luxury and lines like Oceania "ultra premium", while to me they are comparable, and less inclusive might be actually an advantage for some people. We sail for destinations, but still want a premium experience in terms of food, service, no crowds, no lines etc. Based on reviews, I don't think that regent is FAR superior to other lines. Many people who sailed on Regent, SS and SB find them comparable. It's matter of personal preference. Based on our limited experience with SS and old Crystal, we found them comparable. Crystal was much better in terms of entertainment and enrichment (which is less important for port intensive itineraries), SS has much better cabins, unlimited black caviar and more dining options. To me, all four luxury lines are comparable and should be priced similarly. Of course every line has its loyalists who will pay any price, but for most people, it's value for money and itinerary.

Keith, your comments are highly appreciated! Did you take any ship excursions? What's the general feedback? Quality of the guides, excursions sizes (average number of people on each bus) etc? How are the prices?

He was referring to 2024 sailing when he said only 1-2 excursions - https://www.crystalcruises.com/cruises/none-cse-008-241018 Similar sailing in 2023 has 5-8 in each port, this why I assumed that 2024 might have more as we get closer to the sailing date.

Maybe it's too early? The old Crystal had at least 4-6 excursions in each port if I remember correctly. I don't see a reason 2024 sailings will have less excursions than 2023 sailings, they will probably add as we get closer to the sailing date.

Which sailing are you referring to?

And yet they were filling 5 ships (not even including the expedition ships) with prices 50-70% higher than the old Crystal.

Thank you Keith. Always enjoying your balanced and objective views and comprehensive reporting. We really want to come back and try Crystal, I just wish their pricing was more competitive. At this point we just feel that in the areas that are important to us, Crystal doesn't offer much more compared to SS and SB to justify 20-25% premium. But they do a unique and interesting itinerary.. who knows..

I couldn't agree with you more. Entertainment and enrichment is the only area where Crystal is in a different league. But then again, we cruise mostly to see the world, so longer port hours and less sea days are more important to us, and on European cruises we will be out of the ship most of the time anyway. But if the ship is the destination, then of course it's a different story.

Agree. I highly doubt he would pay close to $1,000 per day for the Sapphire suite.. And yes, I was surprised by the lack of disclaimer. btw, here is a SS review by the same points guy - https://thepointsguy.com/guide/first-look-silver-dawn/ I didn't see anything in Crystal review that indicates that Crystal is in a different league compared to SS. And I get it, every line has its loyalists. But their opinion is kind of predictable. I'm looking more for opinions from people like us who select a cruise based on itinerary and price. Personally there are things I couldn't care less about (like the track - there is a similar one on SS, or covered pools etc). But I do care about good itinerary and competitive prices. Right now Crystal doesn't have a competitive pricing and no exciting itineraries. An example: we book the following itinerary on SS for the next year: Only one sea day, one overnight and 4 late night stays. This sailing was $550 CAD per day for OV 305 sqft The closest I could find on Crystal is this one: 2 sea days, no overnights, and no late stays (only 2 stays till 8pm). Same ports (Dubrovnik and Split) SS stays till 10-11pm and Crystal till 6pm. The price starts at $690 CAD per night for a 215 sqft OV. So the price on Crystal is 25% higher for a cabin which is 30% smaller, and SS price includes excursions, plus much better itinerary.

For us the cabin size in on the bottom of our priorities list and 215 sqft is completely sufficient. But the 215 sqft on Crystal cost 10-20% more than entry level cabins on SS which are 305 sqft. And if you compare comparable cabins (AQUAMARINE), the difference becomes very significant. So I'm trying to understand what I'm paying for, not to mention a much older ship (even fully renovated).

I agree about Entertainment and Enrichment, but it's less important on port intensive sailings where you spend most of the day in the ports. We can only compare one cruise on the old Crystal with one cruise on SS in 2022, but I found the food comparable in terms of quality, with SS having more dining choices.

Well, Silversea was just an example. Searbourn prices are also significantly lower than Crystal, and the dress code on SB is much more relaxed.

There was no doubt that the new Crystal will be good. To me, the big question is - is it in a different league compared to Silversea (and other luxury lines)? Because based on prices, it should be. And if not, what's the reason to sail on Crystal and not SS (unless of course money is not an issue at all).

Which lines would you consider top lines in addition to Scenic?

Keith, thanks for posting, everything sounds wonderful! When you say double rooms, are you referring to the entry level OV and veranda rooms that were 210 sqft on the previous version of the ship? What has changed? The rooms already seemed fine to me on the Symphony.

I was just going to mention it.. this would resolve all "capacity control" issues. I suspect that at $160, La Dame will be even more empty. Maybe they will be running some specials.. like book on board - and dine in La dame for free. (but then what happens if you cancel later? do you have to give the meal back?)

The big question is how SS presents itself as an all inclusive line and at the same time charges extra for two resturants? When we asked this question while on the Spirit last year, the answer was "capacity control". Apart from the question why La Dame and not Silver Note (both being small venues), there are many solutions to this issue. Oceania for example allows one reservation per cabin per specialty restaurant (2 for suite guests, more on longer sailings). Oceania newer ships have double amount of guests compared to Spirit, and still there are no issues to get a reservation. But on the Nova, La Dame is much large (double?), so now we know that "capacity control" was just an excuse. $60 or $160, doesn't matte, should be ZERO in an all inclusive line. They charge enough for the cruise itself.

Thanks for the review! What was less favorite on this cruise compared to your previous cruises? You mentioned food, was food better on the previous cruises? Which ships have you previously sailed? Are there significant differences between different Uniworld ships? We are doing the Empress in September, the longer version of your cruise (10 nights).

Thanks for the review! Many people consider Viking top of the line, but apparently this is not the case. Our friends took a cruise with Viking and then with Uniworld, and they mentioned that those 2 lines are in a different league. I know that most CC regulars are well aware of this, but most people who are not cruise experts consider Viking superior to other lines. I guess their marketing works. We also prefer not all inclusive experience (as non drinkers), but the irony is that more inclusive usually also means more luxury (less people in buses, better food and service etc). We will see how our first Uniworld cruise goes in Spetember.