Live from the stunning Crystal Bach

JusttheTwoofUs · August 29, 2017

Thanks so much for the pictures. We are on the Bach October 8, and can't wait, although we'll be in the smallest suite. Would love to see pictures of that!

Phyllis

skybluewaters · August 30, 2017

Thank you so much for this thread! I've been scouring the internet looking for information about the Bach and you are the first and only source of information so far.

I'm glad to hear that things are going smoothly. We're on the inaugural voyage of the Mahler, which begins September 30, so it is reassuring to hear that Crystal has its act together. Since the Mahler is the twin of the Bach, your pictures are especially of interest to me. If you have some time, I'd be interested in knowing what the ebikes are like. We've signed up for some ebike excursions and I haven't even been on a regular bike in years, but hopefully that shouldn't be a problem. Can the ebikes be taken out by individuals for use in the port towns, or are they just for use on the excursions?

Btw, Crystal's legacy website has the room numbers wrong, but the regular website has them correct (320 is on the port side).

goldengatecruisers · August 30, 2017

Justthetwoofus, I am not sure I will be able to get a photo of the smaller cabins on board as I believe they are occupied. However I will try. I will see what I can do, so watch this space :)

Skybluewaters, the Bach does not carry its own E-bikes so the answer to your question is 'no' you are not able to take a bike out by yourself. You are only able to use them on a Crystal planned tour. Crystal Mozart does carry her own bikes and has a total of 16 I believe. For Bach, we have the bikes delivered to us in the towns where we have excursions planned. For the E-bike excursions I was told Crystal must have definite numbers about 48 hours ahead of time in order for the correct number of bikes to be ordered. The Fitness Director on board, Claire, told me that passengers are not able to book the E-bike tours at the last minute on Bach because of planning. Having rode one for the first time only yesterday I have to say it was pretty cool. The assistance is great for strenuous sections of the ride and they are comfortable and easy to control. I honestly didn't use much assistance for the majority of the ride and used eco mode. There is a sport mode which I found helpful going up hill and then there is a power mode for the ultimate in assistance allowing you to travel faster using less pedal motion. A great invention if you ask me and I am looking forward to our upcoming E-bike excursions. If you are not used to distance riding you may wish to reconsider your tour or at least get more information from Crystal prior to your sailing. Our excursion was 50km and some guests decided to cancel. We have two more booked on this cruise and even though we are unsure of the distance we are competent bike riders so it will not be an issue for us. For others, it might not be the best tour so best get in touch with head office to get more info on distance.

Today we did our own excursion in Basel arranged by my travel agent Stateside. We had a car and driver for about 6 hours. He drove us 75 mins to Beromunster to a private airport where we boarded our helicopter for a 3 hour adventure over the Swiss Alps to Jungfraujoch. We flew at around 12,000 feet and flew alongside the north face of the Eiger Mountain which was absolutely amazing. We also flew over glaciers and other famous landmarks in the Alps, including Grindelwald, before settling down on a hill close to one of the lakes for lunch at a traditional Swiss restaurant. Let me tell you, it was pretty darn fabulous landing at a restaurant in the Swiss Alps in your own helicopter! For those of you who have not visited this part of Switzerland it is beyond picturesque. Every where you turn you are met with glorious mountains, quintessentially Swiss chalets doted along rolling hills and pristine lakes. After lunch we flew back to the heliport where our driver was waiting and we transferred to the Crystal Bach.

Tonight was Michelin night for the guests on our sailing. About 40 guests chose to dine on shore for the complimentary dinner at a local Michelin restaurant. We chose Le Quatre Saisons in Basel (there were three restaurants offered in Basel - and one more offered for our upcoming stop in Rudesheim. All of them are rated 1 star for 2017). There was a total of 21 guests in our restaurant this evening. The setting was very upscale at the Pullman Basel Hotel. Staff were professional and the food and presentation was excellent. The restaurant has a contemporary decor with an elegant table setting. The meal was 6 courses with wine pairing. We were informed ahead of this evening about the set menu being offered. Passengers with specific food requests were asked to contact reception and the restaurant modified the menu. I know Crystal is changing how they handle or offer this event moving forward but for our sailing it was a complimentary event offered to guests. We are glad we dined ashore and I would recommend this restaurant for those of you visiting Basel.

When we returned to the river boat we decided to call it a night. Many of our fellow passengers decided to go to Palm Court where local entertainers were putting on a show. I could see lederhosen and hear lots of singing so I can only assume a traditional singing and performing troop were the stars of the lounge. I felt bad heading straight to our room but we were exhausted from the days activities.

Thats about it for now. Tomorrow is a full day tour of Lucerne in our fabulous Crystal bus!!! Who knew I would be so excited about traveling in a bus :)

One thing I wanted to correct from my first post on this thread and that is the spelling of Mark Farris' name. I had mistakenly typed Ferris and wanted to make that correction for Mark. By the way, he is doing a stellar job as Entertainment Host. Not only does he serenade our cocktail hour in Palm Court, but he also does his usual late night "Avenue" show with all of your favorite tunes at the piano. He will also be doing his own cabaret show later in the voyage (we got to see this show in New York when he performed there and it is truly wonderful to see him perform the songs he loves and to learn more about him and his family). He also does the team trivia and is constantly walking around the ship engaging with guests and making sure they are having a fabulous time. He is more like a river boat Cruise Director and we love having him on board. It would not be the same without him.

Edited August 30, 2017 by goldengatecruisers

swn4 · August 31, 2017

Since you are on board the Bach, I wonder whether if you could find out the specs for the Bach (and hence the Mahler) from the Ship's crew especially the draft and height? So far, all I have seen mentioned is the length (135 m) while the other two numbers are much more important for low and high water situations. Especially important since Crystal only has 1 ship per route and won't be able to do ship swaps.

Thanks

notamermaid · August 31, 2017

Goldengatecruisers,

Thank you for the details and the photos. Elegant interior. The busses look to be of the good modern design typical in Germany. A pity that the ship is sailing under the Maltese flag. A flaw in my eyes, normally done to save money. Hmmm... The hull says (on a photo I saw somewhere else) that the Bach is designed for a maximum of 130 passengers. Do you know how many are on board?

I would also be interested in the draft and how it compares to ships of the same length, I saw 1.80m mentioned somewhere else but that does not say much. We would really need to know empty and full figures.

Have a great cruise.

notamermaid

goldengatecruisers · August 31, 2017

SWN4 - I was informed the draft is 1.7M and written specifications state 4 decks high. No measurement was given for the actual height of the vessel. The Bach is 3100 tons.

notamermaid - the Bach is designed for 108 guests. We are sailing with 86 guests on this voyage and I was informed we have quite a large number of solo travelers on board and are technically 'full'. Bach carries 68 crew at maximum.

swn4 · August 31, 2017

Thanks for the information

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zship · August 31, 2017

Can you give us an idea what the menus are like for the dining rm, bistro and for room service ? Thanks.

Keith1010 · August 31, 2017

Ashley really enjoying your post and photos about the new Bach.

Keith

eroller · September 1, 2017

Thanks so much for sharing your observations and pictures. Everything looks and sounds wonderful. I have one very important question that I know everyone is dying to find out. Does BACH have the fancy high-tech remote control toilets like MOZART does? ;)

goldengatecruisers · September 1, 2017

Zship the room service menu is limited but adequate. It is my understanding that your Butler can bring almost any food to you during dining hours at Waterside. Bistro Bach is similar to Symphony/Serenity but on a much smaller scale. They do a late risers breakfast and the usual afternoon layout of meats, cheeses, fruit and pastries. Waterside menus in the evening are smaller than Ocean menus which is to be expected given the lack of storage space on board. I must say food has been varied and of excellent quality. I have not felt restricted in any way and there are always choices. The chef and his wonderful team can still accommodate special requests with notice. I don't think anyone is lacking when they need to eat on board Bach. I think the one thing to always keep in mind is you are on a small river boat. This is especially important if you trying a river cruise for the first time after years of ocean cruising. Here is the in-suite dining menu.