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Live from the stunning Crystal Bach


goldengatecruisers
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It varies depending on how the two boats are shaped and whether the floor level of the two reception areas of the boats are level.

 

Often, you just walk off the pier into the reception area of the first boat, cross the reception area and then walk over a ramp straight on to your boat. That is the easy way.

 

Sometimes, you have to climb the stairs to the top deck (i.e. roof) of the first boat, cross the deck and then walk over a ramp straight on to the top deck (i.e. roof) of your boat before going down the stairs.

 

On my Crystal Mozart cruise recently, the staff had to get all e-bike off the boat by crossing the top deck and going down the stairs while carrying the e-bikes. I really felt for the staff.

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It varies depending on how the two boats are shaped and whether the floor level of the two reception areas of the boats are level.

 

Often, you just walk off the pier into the reception area of the first boat, cross the reception area and then walk over a ramp straight on to your boat. That is the easy way.

 

Sometimes, you have to climb the stairs to the top deck (i.e. roof) of the first boat, cross the deck and then walk over a ramp straight on to the top deck (i.e. roof) of your boat before going down the stairs.

 

On my Crystal Mozart cruise recently, the staff had to get all e-bike off the boat by crossing the top deck and going down the stairs while carrying the e-bikes. I really felt for the staff.

 

I believe the crew will assist a guest who is unable to do the stairs. I.e., I think exceptions are made in extreme cases.

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My husband and I just boarded the Bach yesterday (Sunday) in Amsterdam. I plan on posting only a few pictures since the thread starter posted such great ones, but will include a few of the S5 "suite" which has an extremely small bathroom and limited storage. I saw several places in the closet where a different design decision would have provided more storage space, and the bathroom is made even smaller because the door opens inward. There is no tub, just a large shower with both a hand-held and a rain shower options. Oh, and the toilet paper holder is somewhat dangerous, and useless. No one sat on the toilet and tried to use it prior to finalizing the bathroom design.

 

If anyone has any specific questions which I can either answer or check with a crew member for the answer, let me know.

 

FYI, we arrived at 8 am Sunday morning in Amsterdam, but it took about 35 minutes to go through immigration and baggage claim (mostly the latter, our bags were very near the end of the line), but there was a Crystal representative very visible right as you exited baggage claim, who walked us over to a coffee shop in the terminal. We were offered coffee while waiting for several other passengers arriving on other flights, but we were on the Crystal bus to the ship by about 9:30 am. We had to walk through 1 ship to get to the Bach, although the other ship left later in the day Sunday, and we moved right to the dock, so we are now boarding directly.

 

We were warmly greeted, taken up to Palm Court where we were checked in individually by a staff member, and our picture taken (only for ship purposes, not on our key card). Then we waited for our room to be ready (about an hour) and we were personally escorted to our room and given a tour of the lights, electronics, etc. I'll try to post some S5 pictures tomorrow, hopefully taken right after our room has been cleaned.

 

So far, so good, (we knew the S5 was small), although jet lag is still a bit of a problem for a lot of us on the ship.

 

More later.

 

Phyllis

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Phyllis, it is really lovely to see this thread continuing and growing with the experience of others. It would be great if this becomes a good resource for all things "Bach" to help fellow travelers with valuable information. I am looking forward to reading about your impressions of your Bach experience. I would love to see the interior of your petite suite as I was not able to go into one on my voyage. I found that by using Tapatalk from my iPhone I was able to upload my photos with ease and in correct sizing format. I have others to thank for that tip so if you haven't already installed that app on my phone you might want to. Thanks also for the descriptive comments about storage and the bathroom in your chosen accommodations. I am curious as to how you feel about the space after a week or so. Upon entering our suite we were shocked at how small it was, and we had one of the larger ones, but within a matter of hours we settled in and found that everything fit into place and we enjoyed our surroundings.

 

Ashley

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Ashley, it's nice to be able to "pay it forward" since your posts were very helpful in letting me see what the Bach was like. Hopefully my photos and comments will help future 1st time Crystal river cruisers.

 

I've attached 2 photos of the bathroom in S5 (yes, the Petite Suite). By the way I forgot to mention that in order to get more bathroom storage, we removed the waste can from the drawer, and put it next to the toilet. We have been able to find a place for everything, but it's not as convenient as on the ocean ships. But with everything being smaller on the river ship, that's to be expected.

 

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The bathroom photos remind me very much of the two Ama river cruises I've taken. Behind the door, is there a glazed window that "looks out on" the bedroom?

 

I am very excited that you're adding on to Ashley's original thread. Good job!!! Enjoy!!!

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Thanks for continuing the thread for the Crystal Bach. It's very nice, but that bathroom is small. I think it is even smaller than the one for the lowest category stateroom on the Mozart, which was not an issue for me as I travel solo but I can imagine it must be a bit of a challenge for couples.....

 

Look forward to reading more of your comments as your cruise progresses..

 

Anne..

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Another day has passed. Food is VERY good, although of course there are fewer choices. Breakfast and lunch are mostly buffet, with servers on the line for most of the hot food.

 

I will be posting pictures of the S5 Petite Suite room as soon as we get them uploaded.

 

Walking tour of Antwerp today. This was supposed to include the Rubens House, but there is a strike going on which closed it. From what I understand from our guide, we are lucky only 1 of the unions is on strike, and it doesn't affect shipping. If the shipping unions had gone on strike it would not have been possible to dock here.

 

When we left the ship at 9:30 am, we disembarked from the 3rd deck. However, because the tide went out, we came back at Noon and returned via the 4th deck. Since our room is on Deck 2, we currently have a great view of the sea wall.

 

Finally discovered the secret to opening the "panoramic" windows. There are sensors to make sure the curtains are completely open to prevent them from interfering with the window-opening mechanism. So once we pulled the curtains completely back, the window opened and we could bring the screen down. Of course, this was only an experiment, since the temperature is about 50 F and it's raining now.

 

There will be a String Quartet coming on board to entertain tonight after dinner, presenting a program of the most famous compositions from Germany, Austria, and Hungary.

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I am late to this fabulous thread. A huge thanks to goldengatecruisers for such an excellent travelogue. Your descriptions and photos are a wonderful resource to those who sail after you on Bach and other Crystal river cruises. The vessel looks gorgeous and the food sounds delicious. We're keenly awaiting our turn next spring! Thanks also to JusttheTwoofUs for continuing this thread and adding another perspective. I look forward to your future posts.

 

I have a rather trivial question for either of you. Can you comment on the hairdryers? I have shoulder length thick hair and I need a high watt dryer with a nozzle. I was very unhappy with the antiquated and underpowered dryer on Symphony this past spring. If Bach has the same, I'll bring my own. Thanks again!

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Phyllis, I hope you had a good guide who showed you plenty of wonderful Rubens paintings in the cathedral!

 

And vistaman (who lives in Antwerp) had suggested we visit the St. Carolus Borromeus Church for a newly acquired Rubens, which we did. One of many wonderful ways I have enhanced my own travel, by perusing people's posts on CC.com.

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Mighty Quinn thank you for the nice comments and I am pleased you found the earlier part of this thread useful. Its wonderful that Phylis and hopefully others will continue to add their perspective. With regards to the hair dryer, it is wall mounted in the bathroom and was adequate but I should have brought my own with me. I would suggest you do the same if you like a bit of power and control over the styling of your hair :)

 

Phylis what a pity you did not get to tour Rubens House. It was a nice walking tour through the town and we enjoyed the guided tour through his home. Most of the art pieces inside the home were not works of art by Rubens himself but art that he had acquired or art donated to Rubens House relevant to that time period. There were also works of art by Rubens' students that he later embellished or finished and therefore making them a "Rubens". Someone please correct me if my recollection is not accurate. Hopefully on a future visit to Antwerp you will be able to visit Rubens House.

 

Ashley

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Mighty Quinn, there are 2 dryers, the one in the bathroom, which is sufficient for my short hair, and another handheld one in the closet. I imagine it's similar in power to the second dryers in Symphony and Serenity. I have not had to use that one.

 

We had another very nice evening on the ship, although dinner started out a bit rocky, with some confusion about who had what, one of our party ordered 2 appetizers, and for various reasons wanted them in a particular order, which was missed. Also, our table ordered a wine on the included list, but it was not one of the 2 selected by the sommelier for the evening. The first refill took a long time and we twice asked about the delay, with no reason given. Finally we called over the head waiter who happened by, and he was familiar with the problem and it turns out the sommelier had to go to the cellar for another bottle. Understandable, but let us know why we are waiting 15 minutes to get a refill.

 

Following are a few pictures of the S5 Petite Suite. We have settled in and found a place for everything, not always the most convenient, but doable.

 

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Phyllis

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Phyllis, great photos. I especially love how it shows the wall!!!

 

What a bummer about dinner. I'll predict the rest of your dinners will go much smoother. Anyway, I hope so.

 

Keep enjoying, and thank you for the updates!

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May I ask if the bottle of Tanquery is courtesy of Crystal via a butler request or if you bought it off the ship? We always ask for a bottle of spirit on the ocean ships but it has never crossed our minds to ask for the same on a river yacht.

 

It took the Mozart about a year to get their new waiting staff up to Crystal standards. Crystal have transferred some crew from the Mozart to the Bach and Mahler but there are many new staff where time is required to build experience and training.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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May I ask if the bottle of Tanquery is courtesy of Crystal via a butler request or if you bought it off the ship? We always ask for a bottle of spirit on the ocean ships but it has never crossed our minds to ask for the same on a river yacht.

 

It took the Mozart about a year to get their new waiting staff up to Crystal standards. Crystal have transferred some crew from the Mozart to the Bach and Mahler but there are many new staff where time is required to build experience and training.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

JohnKen3 - we certainly agree with you about the time required to train to Crystal standards. I didn't mean to imply that the service is terrible - it's not. The crew is very friendly and 99% of the time we are totally satisfied with the service. Just ask and it's done! Last night at dinner had just a very rough start, and got much better by entrée time.

 

I am sitting at the desk looking at our liter bottle of Tanqueray sitting on the shelf. No problems asking for it or the accompanying tonic water. But since Monday was my birthday, we had to drink the champagne first and haven't opened the gin yet!

 

My husband is currently wandering around the room trying to figure out how the lights work. There is a master switch at the door along with the bathroom light, and switches at the desk, and by both sides of the bed, but depending on which switch you use and the phases of the moon, sometimes no lights come on, sometimes they all come on, and sometimes the first time you use the switch the light doesn't come on, then the second time it does! Hopefully we'll have these figured out by time we leave the ship. The night light is especially nice, however. It is the closest switch to each side of the bed, lights underneath both bedside tables, and underneath in the bathroom.

 

I did want to mention that so far the internet has been pretty good, not lightning fast, but sufficient. My husband did have some problems doing some downloading late at night (11 pm or so), but we may have been going through a lock, or perhaps they were doing something with the system. When I uploaded my pictures to Shutterfly and then downloaded to my CC post, it took about 5 seconds for each picture to upload and download.

 

Phyllis

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It is now Tuesday, the 18th, in the afternoon, and we will be going on the complimentary Michelin dinner excursion this evening. Because of on-board credit, we will also be having a Michelin dinner in Basel on Thursday.

 

We had to change our room a few days ago due to problems with the lights. Eventually our bathroom lights went out completely, and even 4 maintenance men were unable to figure out the problem. We were "upgraded" to the same size room on Deck 3, but actually, I thought Deck 2 was a more convenient location.

 

A few rough edges in the rooms (e.g., door handle was sticking and it took 3 or 4 tries to get the door open, sink drain was not draining - hopefully second time it is repaired). Also, although our room is made up promptly, we are not getting important things like soap, toilet paper, and tissues replaced, and we are having to call housekeeping, which promptly delivers them. But this is something that should be checked during the room cleaning. Perhaps our calls to housekeeping will result in better service. And it might also be that more time is needed to get to Crystal standards.

 

The panoramic window, which opens, is very nice, but it was only through the "grapevine" that we discovered it is VERY important that the drapes be completely opened for the window to open (sensors make sure that drapes will not interfere with the mechanism). A heads-up on this would have helped.

 

Also, at the door, there is a Master Switch for the lights, which also keeps the bathroom light from working. So if one person goes to bed early, and then the other comes into the room and wishes to quickly use the bathroom, if the Master Switch was turned off, then all lights go on when the Master Switch is enabled. Several people have commented on this, waking up their spouse unintentionally. There is an "all lights off" by the bedside that enables the bathroom light to be lit when all other lights are off, but again, this is not explained, and it's "trial and error" till it's figured out.

 

The key card holder allows you to open your door without taking the card out, a nice touch. However, the border of the transparent window blocks part of the bar code which is scanned when leaving or returning to the ship. So the card must at least be rotated in the vinyl holder to allow complete scanning, or removed from the holder entirely. And of course the plastic key card sticks to the vinyl leaving you frantically trying to get the key card out while you're at the Security Station.

 

Wow, this sounds like a pretty negative post, and actually all in all we're having a good time. Excursions are run very efficiently, the food is wonderful, and everyone is very friendly. I'm a sea day kind of person, however, and prefer days on the ship versus every day being in a different port and leaving the ship for a tour. So although this has been enjoyable, I am looking forward to my next ocean cruise.

 

Phyllis

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I have a rather trivial question for either of you. Can you comment on the hairdryers? I have shoulder length thick hair and I need a high watt dryer with a nozzle. I was very unhappy with the antiquated and underpowered dryer on Symphony this past spring. If Bach has the same, I'll bring my own. Thanks again!

 

Mighty Quinn, I don't think I ever responded to your question. The hairdryers are similar to Symphony. The one on the bathroom wall reads 1200 watts and is not very powerful, although it is sufficient for my shorter hair. There is another portable dryer (I can't read the wattage) that I believe is more powerful stored in the closet. If both the hairdryers on the ocean ships were insufficient for you, I think you will find the same situation on the Bach.

 

Phyllis

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