Keith1010

Ivi, South Beach has several attributes including lots of restaurants , a party scene (I'm too old for that), a place to people watch and nice beaches but with that comes a lot of people particularly at night and depending on where you stay and the location of your room can be noisy. In our case we like visiting it but not staying there. If we did I would look for a hotel where I could get a room facing the beach area. South Beach is part of Miami Beach and further north there are hotels that would be quieter. When we go on cruises we stay downtown on Brickell but it is just a city. We like to walk around the city and then Uber or Taxi to places such as South Beach and from there visit that area or walk along the Boardwalk further North. There are also a few places to stay there. There are lots of hotel choices on or near Brickell at a variety of rates. From around November until April lots of people (some are snowbirds) go to Miami for the pleasant weather. Within those period you do see some fluctuation of rates depending on factors including Holidays. Key Biscayne which was mentioned in post 3461 is interesting. We've never stayed out there because often we want to walk around a lot so we prefer the city and we don't rent a car but certainly for something very relaxing it has its positives. We do enjoy Miami and have seen it change with each passing year mostly for the good. Keith

I don't believe it's a reflection on how things are selling since they have been contacting people since they began to open sales based on posts I saw on another platform. A few weeks ago we also got a call but didn't answer the phone. Keith

I believe CC is Crystal Cruises as loyalty program is mentioned so I just interpreted this as the Crystal Society number but instead of saying that or CS the poster abbreviated it as CC. Keith

Ivi, I do have the original 2022 WC pricing before it became a grand voyage. Once the 2024 is shown on the Web Site I could do that because I don't know the pricing. The irony about the Holiday Cruises is we did get an exceptional deal for 2018 before it went up and I looked at 2013 which was much higher per diem than 2024. So we just never know. Again for a single it could be much different and for some categories it could be much different in terms of higher cost. My guess is one price doesn't fit all. In other words this can vary by voyage, perceived demand, ports visited, time of year, category, solo versus double occupancy when looking at 2023 or 2024 versus prior years. I suspect this will be the case. Keith

Thank you. I don't drink that one either. Can't. Long story. Keith

Understood. I haven't ask our TA about this yet. I remember reading someone had their TA get the CS number added to their invoice and I thought they said it was a new number but I could be mistaken or maybe confused. I did get the society discount so haven't done anything more on this. Not sure when we'll be able to access the booking to do the kinds of things you do ahead of time such as providing all sorts of information including passport info, etc. Keith

I normally don't look at the pricing year over year. Our go-to suite on Serenity is usually a PH and on Symphony a PS (well now a Seabreeze equivalent). I do believe those who say the prices have gone up a lot because I know if they didn't they would not say it. I have also heard from some who say the prices don't seem so high in comparison. So I started to wonder if some of this depends on accommodation and other factors. My guess is it does but that is just me speculating. Anyway I only looked at one of our bookings and for the PH category. I didn't look at recent comparisons is in 2021 we didn't book the PH on Serenity for all the cruises and went with a larger suite. So I would have to go back to 2020 but that was for part of the World Cruise and 2019 was more complicated as we had cruises before and after the world cruise. I looked at the pricing for a PH (now called Aquamarine) for the 2024 holiday cruise and the one which is an 20 day R/T cruise which is comprised of two cruises. Pricing for an Aquamarine in the area that we normally book is $12,500. per person before say Crystal Society and Back to Back Savings. Now I don't know the destination fees so I will errored on the high side and assumed $1,500.00. I took the 10% off the net of the cruise fare less $1,500.00 I get savings of $2,350.00 so the bottom line amount for two people is $22,650.00 or $1,132.50 per diem for 2. In 2018 which would be six years prior to December 2024 we took the December Holiday cruise which was a 16 day cruise and the cost for the same accommodation was $20,261.00 or $1,266.00 per diem for 2. And I remember the pricing for that Holiday cruise was a good deal as it soon went up after we booked it and was less than the Holiday Cruise we took a few years earlier. Anyway, I know this is going to vary by voyage and time of year and by category and whether you are single or not but I thought this was as close as I could get to an apples to apples comparison. It was interesting that the per diem pricing is less for the 2024 Holiday Cruise than the 2018 Holiday cruise for what is now called an Aquamarine suite. The Holiday Cruise was out of Los Angeles but knowing how much Hotel Rooms are in Miami at our I'd say the room has gone up 40-45% before tax. Actually the room per diem is higher than the cruise per diem. This is why I think of cruises being the much better value. Keith

Larry is it a wide range of supplies which had been the problem or more specific ones? Keith

And I love when you plan your air and if like me I have a long layover after studying all the options. Then the airline changes the flight(s) and my very carefully planned flights become change of flights with almost no time to spare. Legal? Yes. Crazy? Yes, at least for me. I always say one if not the biggest challenge of cruising is getting to the port of embarkation and if you have a time commitment to be back home the second biggest challenge is getting from port of debarkation back to your home city. I wonder if someday it will be beam me up Scotty. However what happens if they can't put us all back together and there is no Scotty or Mr. Spock to help us. Keith

For clarity I have friends and have also seen posts where the information was indeed incomplete. Examples included saying no formal nights only to board and there was one. Nice to know that when you are on-board but it's a little late when your formal attire is sitting in your closet at home. And as you say often it doesn't mater what your experience is it matters what the other persons was. Yes, it is nice to have a lot of cruises to look forward to. We do for sure. By the way in 2021 when I took seven cruises I never rubbed it in anyone's face that they were not taking any. 😂 And yes, I know for some they couldn't leave their country but others could. But life goes on and this isn't a third world problem. Oh and sometimes people have reasons for why they aren't cruising and they don't owe an explanation to anyone. Bags are packed. Ready to go. Can't wait. Some people just can't understand that statement and take it way to literally. Life is not just good it is great.

The cruise line you are sailing on. And I did say evening attire. And I said nothing about passengers not reading nor comprehending this. I thought I was "Crystal Clear" about that. The necessary details about evening attire were not provided or if provide were incomplete. The or is because the sailings where I know it occurred had different issues. And this is not a one-time issue as I have friends who experienced this and have seen it on posts. This is about incomplete or inaccurate information on website and in followups to get the information.

There are some who seem to think having a PR Director Day 1 would solve world hunger. A couple of things. It is not the PR Director who often oversees content on the website. In fact, in prior years it was Marketing. Second, some of the same people who say how critical this function is are the same people who were critical of Crystal PR during Covid. Unless you know someone who can wiggle their nose hiring the right person takes time. There are times where you find the right person, negotiate and both parties walk away. I know that happened to me in business and could delay the process by weeks or even months. Then you have to go back and find the right person not just a body but the right person. So you do and you negotiate and you come to an agreement. Well that doesn't mean they are on the books right away. Often they have things to wrap up and in some companies (I know this occurred in former Crystal years ago) they might have a big role finding their successor. Sure, you wish you have the entire team in place but it doesn't work like that in a new company or even in an existing company when you start a new product line or a new venture. And often you start without all the pieces in place. Crystal is not the only cruise line to start up. I watched one who is a large parent and they had very few full time people in place, some were even contractors helping out and that occurred even when they opened up their line for sales and their website didn't answer all questions on day 1. Interestingly enough there wasn't the kind of complaining that we see from just a few people on the board some of which don't seem interested in booking anyway. At least if you plan to book it is more understanding that you want more information. By the way when it comes to information I am not talking about crew to guest numbers. I am talking about many other things. Anyway, if there was a PR person in place the website their impact on the web site would be minimal. Personally, I had enough information from the web site to book. Now some of you praise another line on this board and even their web site doesn't answer all questions. One of them is evening attire and even their documentation didn't give all the details as some came on board to learn there was a formal night and were told there was not ahead of time. So, you can look at every business out there and find that all your questions are not answered. Now that they do have a PR person it will be interesting to see a month or two from now who criticizes their work. So it goes. Keith

While we are on the subject of "I want to know" I want to know who will win the 2023 World Series. Baseball is 162 games plus playoffs. If someone would tell me who will win I could save myself a lot of time if it's not my team and just focus on other things such as wine. I think I have the right to know who will win. After all......It's baseball. Keith

I also want all the wine purchased now and not a minute later. i don't want to worry that it won't be on board the day I board because if it is not my cruise will be ruined. Can you imagine if one bottle is delayed. Or can you imagine if I don't know in advance which wine will be on board when I get to my room. These are major world-wide problems. I suspect people living in Turkey, in Ukraine, near the rail derailment in Ohio and in countless places around the world are tossing and turning in their beds this evening because they dom't know the ratio of wine per guest and which wines will be on board. Can you imagine booking a cruise or boarding and not knowing everything. Does anyone remember the days when we booked a cruise and board the ship and didn't know who the officers, entertainer, lecturers would be. Can you imagine? Keith

It seems everyone should have been on Day 1. But that is not realistic.

HI is everybody having a great day? In the states it is President's Day. So my question for today is how many bottles of wine will the new Crystal carry per voyage and what is the ratio of wine to guest? This is very important for me before I decide whether or not I want to book. It will tell me what to expect. Too much and too many people will be drunk. Too little and the people will be boring. Bags are packed. Ready to go. Can't wait. Why does this bother some people? Keith

When you say CC number do you mean the booking number? At this time you cannot access your booking via the website. Keith

No worries. They can use life boats to sleep or sleeping bags

Or it could be it will come in time. Ummm. Time will tell.

That's correct. New ones (at least mine don't show them). Only the ones from recent years before Crystal ceased operations show them Keith

You are comparing apples and oranges. Thankfully all cruise lines are not the same. Yes the luxury lines have similarities but at the same time many differences. That's great because not all of us desire the same things. Yes on average Silversea rooms are larger than Crystal's. That is not debatable. At the same time Crystal has several public areas which Silversea does not have. This includes a wrap around promenade deck where you can take long walks and even runs and one or two Paddle Tennis /Pickle Ball Courts depending on ship and even taking account passenger count larger fitness centers and the ability to offer a far larger set of classes. They have shuffleboard and table tennis. What I am saying is for some the size of the room is important while for others room size isn't so important and they prefer more diversity of public areas and areas outside. Because of size Crystal can offer more activities at once daytime and nighttime. My experience is SS restaurants were more intimate as they were smaller. My experience is service level on Crystal were better (subjective) and the wait staff in the main restaurant was more refined on Crystal. My experience is SS's La Terrazia (sp) for breakfast and lunch was a more intimate and formal dining area. My experience is the cuisine served was more appealing on Crystal. Unless it changed it seemed like a lot of cold cut trays on SS for that lunch. So I have given you some fact along with some subjective opinions. Now some people make their decisions strictly on price. Others make them on other factors with price being there but not number one. The good news is more than one cruise line can play in the luxury market. And the good news is what one person thinks is best another person does not. What's the best designer of clothes. Wha's the best auto maker? Best city to visit? Best computer? Best smart phone? Camera? And the answer is it depends. There is fact to all of them and their are all the human factors in deciding what is best or works better for someone. We all come at this differently. Thank goodness because if we didn't there would be maybe one luxury line, one premium and one mass market line. And why someone has to be right on this is always beyond me. Keith

Hi there. This thread was supposed to be about Crystal air and the Crystal hotel program. Would it be possible to keep to the topic? I was hoping that as time goes along people might share information about the Crystal program. And before someone tells me this is CC for the consideration of those of us who want to focus on the new Crystal I am asking kindly that we get back to the Crystal programs. bonnieg and Patty many thanks for the additional information about the program and Sofitel. I have not stayed at this Sofitel but my wife and I have been in there several times most recently in the Fall of 2018 when our back to back cruises on Serenity ended there. The lobby area looked nice and like a typical Sofitel. For those who wanting something more luxurious they are certainly available in Lisbon. The Sofitel is in a location were it is easy to get out to walk on your own and not very far from the cruise terminals although distance depends on which pier Crystal gets but either way by vehicle they are relatively close. In my case we walk it when we are there for turn around days or transiting through. I am glad to hear that the pricing is available for this as I knew they were working on this and the plan is to have pre-and-post hotels for the turn around locations. Keith

My thoughts. There are some people who would not book a cruise with Crystal until others try it out. That is their choice. I don't know anyone posting that you are making a mistake. There are others on this board who have made bookings with the new Crystal like myself and see no need to wait for reviews. Why is there a need for others to question that. In short, people need to do what they want but the constant need to question this or to say what a mistake it is to me doesn't add value. As to fact, there are many things we do know. For example, number of guest suites, most of the venues with the exception of what one specialty restaurant will be called and what the space from the casino will be used for. These are facts. And yes, we know many crew are returning and while some of you don't want to accept that or question the words being used for that this is fact. I just wonder why the continual questioning of those who are booking cruises without waiting continues. We are all adults and can make our decisions. Some of you do things I would never do such as flying in the day of a cruise. When I hear that I will give my own experience but IMHO best to state it one time and not keep saying it over and over. We certainly don't know everything about the new Crystal. One of the reasons is it is new. Another reason is they are still finalizing many details. With each passing day week we learn more. There will be some things we won't know until the sailings start but that was true of old Crystal each time it evolved and is true of most lines when changes are made. Personally, I find that existing. One of the things I enjoyed about the evolution of Crystal is that it changed. Sometimes it changed too slow from my point of view and on occasion maybe it go ahead of itself. In life if you make a decision to do so the continual questioning and comments about "I would never do that" I believe get old. You remember when parents would tell you I wouldn't do that or you are making a big mistake. At some point that does get old and at some point you just ignore it. The people I know who have made bookings are very excited about their cruises and people IMHO should be happy for that. You don't have to agree. As to the precise number of crew that does vary all the time as Vince said. This is something that I don't plan to ask about. Maybe while on-board that would be a question to ask. What I do expect is that the number of crew in various areas will change as it always has when changes were made such as when new dining venues were added. What I do know is a seasoned crew makes a big difference as I have experienced in all our years of cruising. Keith

I agree. ATA's comments are spot-on. Each ship as we know them has very few changes in the public areas other than the removal of the casino. The changes to the guest rooms are simply less rooms with more suites. Unless someone is planning to try out each and every room we know the ships very well. And as to trying out a new room how is that any different than going on any ship for the first time and staying in a room you have never stay in before. We study deck plans and room plans and just like booking a room at at hotel we study the little photo they provide and make a difference. This is not rocket science at all. It is actually very simple. Keith

Excellent point. For us I want to be in control so I would book my own air. I am very particular about that. When it was included as part of the World Cruise I used the Crystal air but back then we could tell them what we wanted. A couple of times purchased it for the family but we were specific with the flights we wanted. I don't want surprise at the last minute plus if we change planes I like much longer times than the airlines say are safe. I do believe in Murphy's Law. Keith