History&Wine

Missed one: Thessaloniki Greece has been expanded to an overnight two days anchor May 4/5 arrive 8:00 depart 18:00. Only one sea day out of a 12 night cruise on this Istanbul to Athens segment.

When the 2024 World cruise was announced, some noted that there were a lot of sea days. I just received my latest invoice for the world cruise and note a number of additional port days are now scheduled: March 19/20 The stop in Melbourne Australia has been expanded to two days arrive 8:00 on 19th depart 18:00 on 20th April 5/6 The stop in Singapore has been expanded to two days. April 8 A stop in Sabang Indonesia has been added arrive 9:00 depart 18:00 April 24/25 The stop in Aqaba (Petra) has been expanded to an overnight arrive 8:00 on the 24th depart at 7:00 on the 25th April 13 A stop in Mormugao (Goa) India has been added arrive 9:00 depart 18:00 May 2/3 The stop in Istanbul Turkey has been expanded to two days. Arrive 8:00 on the 2nd, depart 20:00 on the 3rd. The initial schedule called for only three hours in Istanbul, which had to be wrong as this is a new segment.

I booked my booking direct with a Crystal rep. My old TA does not work with new crystal. The rep had all the details and was very professional. He advised I had 30 days to move the booking to a TA. Also, it seems that new crystal does indeed want the deposit money asap..there is no 7 day grace period. No problems at all with the rep over the two weeks I worked with him. While new crystal has been successful in recruiting many of the original crew, they seem to have recruited their office/reservations team from scratch, using out of the US recruits relying on AI. After some research and feedback from Cruise Critic posters (thanks again to all who replied) I have a TA and moved my booking to the TA. Once you do this, you must work through that TA and not the Crystal rep. Working with a good TA is not only advisable, but virtually mandatory given all the points mentioned above.

@vistamansaid "the time of easy cancellations is gone on nearly all cruise companies : a few hundred $$$ or €€€ is the minimum for a cancellation those days ." Yes, and those of us who thought we were smart cancelling cruises during the Covid crisis lost cancellation fees ("Administrative fees") with no recourse.

the Source is Paroc, the actual manufacturer of the panels: "Paroc has identified 45 other cruise ships that have installed fire safety panels, listing Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas as one on their website. " https://cruiseradio.net/fire-hazard-delay-cruise-ship-delivery-impacted/

Neither I nor the article stated the word "may". Rather: Sources told the FT that 45 cruise ships globally were affected by the safety fault. That number equals about 15% of the global cruise ship fleet.

"We have ensured that the fire-resistant panels were properly certified and not defective." Good news. I have read that 15% of cruise ships currently sailing have this fault. https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-liner-launch-msc-explora-delayed-faulty-fire-panels-report-2023-7

"Thank you for your thoughts" My first thought is that neither Crystal or Regent is worth $5,000 per day.

"The Exceptional Initiative will now be providing credits to guests who have lost deposits, and Travel Advisors who have lost commissions under Crystal Cruises’ former ownership, regardless of the ship." This has been clarified. Travel advisors are not eligible to apply for credits. However, TAs will receive full commission on new bookings. Should a client apply a $5,000 credit to a $10,000 booking, advisors will receive a commission on $10,000 even though the client only paid $5,000 for the sailing. https://www.travelmarketreport.com/NicheLuxury/articles/Crystal-Clarifies-Lost-Advisor-Commission-Statement

I'm sure the reference is to only a few designated solo cabins and that those are very far forward.

Makes sense. As always thanks for the answer Keith.

"The only caveat is if you have any unused milestones they will not be used because they do not know who has and has not used previous milestones. " I don't understand this statement. Is milestone a free cruise? If so and say ( I don't know) a free cruise is awarded after 20 cruises, then one can safely assume that someone who has done 18 cruises cannot have achieved that milestone. Does that mean after 2 more cruises one receives a free cruise? And if a free cruise is achieved after 20 cruises and one has taken 22, I'm guessing that NC does not know if that 21st or 22nd cruise was free and they now only have 2 cruises to the next milestone?

@Leejnd4 Condolences... As for the article..of course Keith enjoys his cruises. He has more time to do so! I swear he never sleeps!

Have you received your refund?

You'll do fine. For the most part Crystal cruisers are entitled to the same privileges around the ship regardless of room category. You will generally receive a set number of reservations to the specialty restaurants but can book more for an added fee. On old Crystal I have found the main dining room to be excellent, so don't discount that. Excursions? We are all wondering about those. A & K has a great reputation, but this is new Crystal. I generally prefer to book excursions with a third party, but am willing to try some of the excursions offered by Crystal.

I am concerned that all this largess will be paid for by higher pricing.

Just checked the website of my former TA. I believe her firm was the largest TA for OC. Still no mention of New Crystal on that website.

@Host Jazzbeau It is the Altitude Connect card.

Well folks...just got off a call with US Bank. The rep said they would escalate the issue since cruises do qualify. IF resolved the bonus should appear after four weeks. Four weeks?? My final payment is due July 21. Not putting any more charges on that card! I guess I should have charged a few hundred to Crystal upon receipt of the card just to make sure I would get the bonus. live and learn....

Thank you for that. I would welcome others' experiences of positive results of travel card benefits with other banks when booking with New Crystal.

I did contact them. Transcript below. BTW, when I say Buyer Beware I'm talking about credit card companies...specifically US Bank....and not Crystal. One would thing that "Cruise" "Travel agency" and "tour operator" signifies travel.....; 1:30 PM Your agent will be with you shortly. You have been connected to live agent Aluke Aluke 1:30 PM Thank you for contacting cardmember service. My name is Aluke, how may I assist? Dwight Sent at1:31 PM I made a charge of 10,000 dollars to Crystal Cruises, which is of course a travel company. My card is supposed to pay 4X points on travel with no limit. But I see I was only credited with 1X points...10,000. Should be 40,000 points. Aluke 1:32 PM Got it! I can help with this. One moment please while I access your account. Aluke 1:34 PM U.S. Bank does not control how individual merchants or purchases are categorized. Aluke 1:34 PM Third party booking doesn’t qualify for the accelerated earn. EXAMPLES: priceline.com, hotels.com, etc. Dwight Sent at1:35 PM It is NOT a third party! It is directly with the cruise line! Aluke 1:36 PM 06/26/23 $10,000.00 CRYSTAL CRUISES USA, L 800-3237308 IL TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOUR OPERATORS Aluke 1:36 PM U.S. Bank does not control how individual merchants or purchases are categorized Aluke 1:36 PM They identify their business as TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOUR OPERATORS Dwight Sent at1:36 PM A Tour operator is travel. Travel agency is travel. Aluke 1:37 PM If it identified as Cruise line it would apply, but they identify themselves as TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOUR OPERATORS Aluke 1:38 PM I am sorry. U.S. Bank does not control how individual merchants or purchases are categorized

Can You believe this? I got a new card from US Bank since it pays 4X points on travel. Cruises are considered travel. However, Crystal is evidently neither a travel company or a cruise line. Crystal identifies as "CRYSTAL CRUISES USA, L 800-3237308 IL TRAVEL AGENCIES AND TOUR OPERATORS" US Bank considers cruises as travel, but not travel agencies or tour operators. Buyer Beware!

just watched the video. Sounds like the Italian restaurant will be one of the enhancements. "Like Florence"? I like that! I've had some awesome meals in Florence. I never thought Prego on OC was exceptional.

Looking at world cruise segments....all prices remain the same as far as I can see.....

I am booked on NINE cruises in 2024! Well, actually the world cruise, Miami to Miami. It has nine segments.