Keith1010

And my point about the children is confirmed. Keith

LeAnn I didn’t look them up but do either of the cruises have overnights. If so what ports? Keith

Umm. Interesting comment. I know I am not the only person who would disagree with this comment particularly being on the receiving end of some very childish comments plus the sarcastic emoji that three people on this board use often as a put down. So it goes.

Even with two ships, there are plenty o itineraries we love. If not for some commitments we have, there are plenty of other cruises we would book for 2023 and 2024. We love Australia. We love New Zealand. We love Europe. We love Canada just to name a few. And we've been to most of these places before but you can't see it all even having visited areas numerous times plus when it comes to some of the areas there are ports we have not been to before. I learned several years ago from one of the destination lecturers that you have to smell the roses. On one of the World Cruises we went into port with several people and then Anne Marie and the others took the shuttle back and he and I stayed for another few hours and walked back to the ship and we smelled those roses. In other words there is so much to take in. It's like going to the museum. Some want to go in and run around and then check it off their list. Yet you could spend days in some museums and not see it all. So yes I can be very happy sailing on the two wonderful ships and seeing places to me which are fascinating knowing that if there is someplace not of interest the ship is our destination such as when we did six sailings of the Bahamas and I got off five times and Anne Marie once and we had an amazing time. Keith

One reminder as a few of you have used the word free. Remember, nothing is free. One way or the other you are paying for it. Inclusive? Yes. Free? No.

Very similar to me too. I am up early. Put wash in the washer. Go to the Fitness Center. Either return and put wash in the dryer and back to the room or back to the Fitness Center and either way when done take the wash out of the dryer and back to the room. Easy peasy or yes Easy schmeazy. Keith

And full disclosure I am very happy to do the laundry on the ship. On other lines we brought enough laundry not to do it because in general facilities were very small and crowded on Crystal we have made sone dear friends from chance encounters in the laundry room. So now you know. Keith

As a point of clarification since incorrect information was posted. I do not always stay in the top suites. On Serenity the category we have been in the most is the PH We have also stayed in regular rooms on both ships and our first World Cruise we were in a standard room. I have said we prefer what was PH on Serenity over the PS. And more recently when we did stay in the very large suite there were health related reasons for that. We normally do not highlight what category of room we are in but because we do a blog and it includes photos people can figure it out if they are familiar with the ship we are on. Keuth

zqtchas....I hope between myself and Ata's we have answered your question which was simply what suites include some type of laundry service. I am not sure if you are new to Crystal or not. The self service laundry facilities on Crystal are the best of any line we have sailed with. I certainly have not sailed all lines are all ships within a line. I am just sharing our experience. As to the discussion of lines who include the service and lines that do not I can only say each line is different in terms of all its offerings. I am unsure if Crystal has the capabilities to offer a service for everyone. Like some I have seen the facilities first hand as they are often part of the tour given to those on the Full World Cruise. And then there is the added crew. I think of it this way. On Crystal they dedicate several more accommodations for enrichment and entertainers such as Ambassador Hosts, Clergy, and others such as Odyssey at Sea. The could offset the costs for providing this service by cutting back on enrichment. I am glad they don't. I do know based on feedback they do provide a laundry service for those on the full World Cruise. They are also doing this for the grand voyages and for both also providing medical visits. Personally, we prefer doing our own laundry for several reasons including not drying certain items, using our preferred water temperatures settings along with other setting for wash and the dryer. Like most things everyone has their own opinion. For me, given a tradeoff of laundry versus say cutting back on enrichment I prefer it the way it is. Maybe if the laundry rooms were a lot smaller my opinion would change. Again, I hope we answered your original question which is a great question. Keith

Everyday when you said you get a different view of the sea based on where you are sailing, the weather and the location you view it from on the ship. This is one of the many aspects of cruising we enjoy. Keith

Anne Marie saw the green flash several years ago while we were in the Palm Court for a Captain's reception. I missed it but thankfully she saw it. Maybe someday I will. Keith

I know I am late to the party but just wanted to add to this. I also like the second voyage. I do not think there will be a difference in the weather as these dates are close to one another. Before you decide using this year as an example, look at how you would fly to and from the embarkation and disembarkation cities in terms of availability of flights and cost. While it can be cooler that time of year there are several pluses in terms of less tourists other than say Venice which is pretty much always crowded and it won't be hot and humid like the summer. Keith

We feel the same way. No impact on the rooms except for one very positive thing. That is less guests on board meaning less demand for the rooms. Keith

You have nothing to worry about Greg. Weather is not an issue. In fact, in Alaska you sweat less so some clothing you can wear again. But either way we just do our laundry. Often we get inclusive laundry but for several reasons we do not see a need for others to do our laundry. Keith

They do not need to do. As you know, Crystal has wonderful laundry rooms which are very large so it is easy to do ones laundry. I had this discussion with someone years ago. The could provide included laundry and cut back on enrichment or other things. It is nice that each cruise line is not a clone of one another. For example, Crystal has clergy on board and Ambassador Hosts. Regent does not but does other things. So it goes.

Not yet but when I do I will post it. Keith.

Free unlimited laundry included in the CP every day. Junior CP Suite Free laundry every ten days. There is also some type of pressing for all the suites (varies by suite) and Dry Cleaning included in the Sapphire, Junior, CP although the frequency and amount is suite category specific. If you go to the Crystal Cruises website and look for the accommodations for each category if you click on details it will show you the amenities including these. Keith

I thought I would start a thread to see who has booked one or more of the Crystal 2023/2024 Crystal Voyages on Crystal Symphony or Serenity? I am happy to go first. To date, we have booked four different sailings encompassing seven cruises as three of the four bookings are for back-to-back cruises. Three of the cruises sail this year and the other four are in 2024. When the 2025 voyages are released, we plan to book more cruises. My wife and I are very much looking forward to each sailing. I will post more details when we get ready to sail. For this year the ports we will visit include 5 ports we have never been to, a couple that we have visited once before, an the remainder where we have visited and are excited to return to them as we never get tired of them. We are also excited to see so many members of the crew who we have not seen since sometime between July and November of 2021 and to meet new crew and the same goes for the guests. We know several who we have sailed with before and others through social platforms such as CC and FB and we know we will meet new and interesting people as well to share this experience with. I would love to hear from those of you who have already booked cruises with Crystal for this year and/or next year. Keith

Always enjoys the views while at sea which vary based on the weather. Keith

I believe this is what most companies are doing using social media and I think that is because they get a lot more views this way than on their own sites. I also think the social media platforms are better designed for this. Keith

Now it's Symphony's turn for the dry dock. An important milestone for Symphony as was the case with Serenity to ready both ships for their respective inaugural sailings. Keith

A couple of days ago prior to wet dock. Keith

On-Board Crystal Serenity 2008. Keith

This is why the eye is in the beholder. Some would apply the same analogy and logic to getting an aquamarine suites versus a junior CP suite or sailing on a premium versus a luxury cruise line. There are not many CP's nor Junior CP's just like in a hotel there are usually not many of the larger suites recognizing fewer people have a desire to book these. On several voyages I have looked at the CP and Junior CP is shown as wait listed. I do want to mention that for some location matters so for someone who is willing to spend more for a Junior CP or a CP those who prefer a less bumpy ride might pick a CP while those who prefer feeling more of the sea swells might desire the Junior CP. Choice is good. 😀 Keith

Yes, you booked as we would based on the actual room and what appeals to you rather than the name. On a related note on several voyages both the CP's and Junior Suites are booked so it look like the name is not impacting bookings. 😀 As I said earlier almost every amenity listed for the Junior CP is the same for the CP so to me it made sense to refer to it as a CP and since it's smaller Junior makes perfect sense to me. We have our favorites on each of the two ships and on one we like a category more than the other one and on the other ship we like a category over the other one. The reason is layout and finish out. Keith