Keith1010

Roy, a decision was made by the local area not to take cruise ships as demand was very low due to the size of ships that could be accommodated and the amount of time to get into and out of the port. It's too bad because the city is so historic. I only sailed there once which was on Symphony on the famous French Fry Cruise of 2010. Coincidentally Anne Marie and I visited the city the year before that. Keith

Happy 4th of July to those of you who celebrate this holiday. Some photos from our last visit to Boston on-board Serenity and a visit to Philadelphia (2010) on-board Symphony. Keith

I did ask about this one but they told me it will vary by cruise based on the length and overall occupancy. When you board if you find conflicts then you'll need to ask the specialty restaurant maitre d' to adjust them. My advice is to go with your knowledge of how things should work in terms of times. There could be some adjustments to this but this is what I would start with. Keith

Kudos to Crystal. The process for processing the new Exceptional Initiative submissions is exceptional. I just received my new voucher which was two business days from submission and was happy to see USC Adventurer received a voucher even sooner. Keith

LeeAnne your experience in Moscow and also St. Petersburg, Russia is an example of not to put things off that you can do today. We were fortunate to visit Ukraine several years ago and even Iran just to see the latter though our own eyes. Also examples of if you like something and want to go back do it while you can. Keith

We have many photos just with film. I scan them so sometimes I can post them such as from our first few sailings with Crystal. Even using SLR Cameras for many is becoming a thing of the past. I still love them but much easier to carry around an iPhone than several pounds of a SLR with a long lens. Keith

Roy a priceless photo. Love how you captured both ships. Keith

We don't discriminate on this thread.

Hi everyone. My wording was wrong. I meant to say if you are on a back to back cruise(s) you can make reservations 60 days prior to the start of each voyage. I had one week in the brain as the first Symphony cruise is one week. Sorry for the error. Keith

If you are on the inaugural voyage of Crystal Symphony you can now make reservations for the specialty restaurants, shore excursions and the spa/salon. As a reminder, if you are on for additional back-to-back cruises, you cannot make reservations for those sailings until one week prior to the start of each voayge. Keith

A view of Serenity which I took from the tender we were on. Keith

More and more crew continue to join Serenity as it gets ready for the inaugural sailing with the vast majority returning crew members. This is not a surprise to some of us and between returning crew and so many Crystal Society members who will be returning to both ships it is very special. For some of us this is truly our extended Crystal Family. The same holds true for Symphony with Serenity just one month and a couple of days ahead of Symphony before she starts her inaugural sailing. Bags packed. Ready to go. Can't wait. I used to say I am hoping. This was up until June of lsat year as in my heart of hearts I always believed Crystal would return and with the return the most important part of Crystal which is the people. I know many of you feel the same way. Keith

I thought if I said we are on x cruise people might stay away and that wouldn't be good for the bookings. 😀 In all seriousness, it won't be long before I'll begin to share some information. We just added another cruise since I started the thread so we have five sailings encompassing eight voyages across both vessels. I do see that I am not the only one who hasn't shared what they have booked. 😀 Keith

So glad to see so many people booked on these cruises. Please keep the posts coming as it's fun to see who has booked so far. Keith

A view of Serenity while on the Amalfi Coast. We put off traveling this area until 2014 and loved it so much we returned a few years later. Keith

You are right about the Walk on Water program utilizing weight Walkvests. From what I remember but I could be wrong I do not believe it was part of Cleveland Clinic but this and the Nordic Walking Poles and other classes tied to keeping fit. Keith

Yes it is normal and like new ships or major dry docks they will find things and some weeks afterwards just like a new house. 😀 Keith

I am a good typist with a real keyboard but go too fast and we all know what that means. Yes Keith's famous bloopers. Keith

Patty, it will be for Travel Agents so a good test of the hotel side and a good opportunity for them to see first hand the new product. Keith

Can you translate. Did you mean test cruise. They will be doing a shake down cruise on July 25. Keith

All nice to know but it is nice that Crystal has brought back the visitor program. It's great that other lines do this but this thread was to just let folks know that the visitor program is returning. I was pleasantly surprised and glad they are doing this. My advice is for those who want to have visitors board to have your agent get the form for you and submit it as early as you can as it is based capacity controlled. We have used it a few times over the years having friends on board (some from this board), our family when they were in Australia, and my last sister in law and brother in law when they lived in Scotland. And one time when we were visiting family in Australia we were there when Serenity was there so we had the opportunity to visit ourselves. Keith

I agree with Patty. We want Crystal to be successful and profit is key to the future and this does mean higher pricing. They are looking to offer a high quality product so to do that prices have to be higher. The incentive program is not driving up prices. And as discussed pricing varies; higher for solos than it was and for other cruises it varies by cruise. Incentive program accomplishes several goals. This includes good will but also it can drive sales with some booking cruises they might not have. This generates more revenue. This also brings people who might have waited to book and hopefully if they are impressed they will return and tell their friends about the positive experience. The agency we use has been the highest producing agency for Crystal for many years. They have many clients booked on cruises and have been promoting Crystal including the webinar even though they don't prominently list Crystal on the site it is there. Finally, all promotions don't work for everyone. I've never seen one that does. One might be for solos or one might be for first time guests or new bookings. Often they are targeted and that is true for the marketing of most products. Happy Cruising. Keith

I have to admit when we are in London this is a big help to me. In fact on the ship we usually stay on the port side so I know make a right to make my way to the fitness center, market place and laundry room. Times we have stayed on the starboard side the first couple of days I end up walking towards Palm Court. Keith

It varies based on where the ship is sailing bad whose on the ship. It is capacity controlled. Keith

You can have visitors on the day you embark but not on the day you debark. Keith