2018 Crystal World Cruise as seen by a 4-Star Mariner

[kazu]

I would be happier with even a couple of minor improvements. Perhaps the stickers really needed for the Vista/Signature/Pinnacle ships with many more people but both Crystal ships both carry more people than the Prinsendam so I wish that was a fleet consistency item that would be dropped.

 

My other gripe is having us sit idly around until the tour is called and then line up for stickers as we leave. We have our tickets to show; why not just give us stickers at our convenience when there's no line?

 

Roy

 

I totally agree. There is so much wasted time and 1/2 the time (on the tours I have been on), the tours never start on time.

 

A question please?

 

I see from your Crystal post there is a warning on seas and winds. (hope the winds stay fair and the seas smooth).

 

How does this ship ride compared to the Prinsendam? Is there a difference, do you think? I have always been impressed with the way the P'dam cuts through. One of my concerns on sailing other ships that are smaller. Thanks :)

[rafinmd]

Here are a few of the questions from today’s trivia. A lot of soft balls but I think also some challengesL

 

2. What is the hardest natural substance?

6. What American Financier owns RMS Titanic?

9. What group did Angus Young play guitar for?

11. What is the postal abbreviation for Maine?

12. What was Aretha Franklin’s first number one hit?

14. What is the more familiar name for Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta?

 

 

<SNIP>A question please?

 

I see from your Crystal post there is a warning on seas and winds. (hope the winds stay fair and the seas smooth).

 

How does this ship ride compared to the Prinsendam? Is there a difference, do you think? I have always been impressed with the way the P'dam cuts through. One of my concerns on sailing other ships that are smaller. Thanks :)

 

Jacqui, I suspect any comparisons of how ships handle the seas is pretty subjective so I’ll talk around your question a bit giving a of comparisons that you can compare with your own experience:

 

How a ship rides is a combination of size and hull design as well as the direction of any swells, I think the 2 best designed ship hulls I’ve sailed with are the Prinsendam and Queen Mary 2. While both ships sail exceptionally well for their size (QM2's being massive), I’ve encountered very rough rides on just about every ship I’ve sailed many times. I’ll perhaps take a bit of exception to your premise since while the passenger capacity of Crystal’s ships is not high they really aren’t small.

 

A few comparisons:

 

1. Prinsendam 37,893 tons, 835 passengers

2. Crystal Symphony 51,044 tons 848 passengers

3. Maasdam 55,451 tons, 1260 passengers

4. Amsterdam 62,735 tons, 1380 passengers

5. Crystal Serenity 1050 passengers, 960 after next drydock.

 

The Crystal Symphony hull probably is fairly comparable to the R & S class. I would guess the Prinsendam and S class probably handle rough seas about equally, and the Symphony would react to the seas just a bit more but not a very significant difference. I think the Serenity hull is a bit more conducive to handling rough seas so the Serenity would be a bit better than the R-Class based on size and yet a bit better due to the hull design.

 

The answers:

2. Diamond

6. J P Morgan

9. ACDC

11.ME

12. Respect

14. Lady Gaga

 

I think sometimes people get a little too carried away with trivia. This is the swan song for the dancers handling trivia until after the World Cruise and the guy had a mistake in this answers listing the code for Maine as MN. People got very upset when he said he would accept either ME or MN. Really, what are the odds that a team would have selected MN and that that answer incorrectly accepted would cause their team to win. Seems like it isn’t worth worrying about.

 

Two teams were tied for the lead with 12 out of 15 right. After 3 failed tie breakers a tie was declared and both teams received Spa vouchers.

 

Roy

[kazu]

Thanks Roy,

 

No question about rough seas. We've hit them too. DH suffered from mal de mer on the P'dam. I did not. In fact, I didn't realize how high the seas were until the noon report and I had to go down to look :eek: that's why I give the P'dam high marks.

 

For me, I find the P'dam handles the seas better than the S class ships, but that's just my experience.

 

Interesting on the P'dam and the QM2. Makes sense since they were both built to sail the oceans.

 

Many thanks for taking the time to answer. Appreciate your thoughts and experiences.

 

Interesting on the facts on the ships. Somehow, I thought Crystal was more the size of the Prinsendam. Getting educated fast here and it is much appreciated. The space ratio on your ship must be good :)

Edited January 22, 2018 by kazu

[rafinmd]

Thank you Jacqui

 

 

First World Cruise Event

 

We had our first World Cruise event Sunday at 10:30. A few days ago I got an invitation for “Waffles on the Bridge” for people continuing on to the World Cruise. Crystal Society Hostess Alissa Gustafsson met about 20 of us in the Crystal Cove and escorted us up to deck 10, As we entered the bridge World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston was waiting just inside the bridge door and welcomed us with many shared hugs. I would guess that most of the people there were World Cruise regulars. About a third of us were switching to the Symphony in Sydney while the rest were continuing on Serenity to Rome.

 

 

I was a bit surprised at how open the bridge was although a red ribbon was stretched across the console separating us from the people on navigational duty.

 

 

The waffles (both whole wheat and regular) were very good (I still think HAL has the best waffles at sea) and there were several toppings. I took one quarter with strawberry topping and another (wheat) with butterscotch. There was a lot of movement on the bridge so I never even thought of getting out my camera while I had a plate of coffee cup in my hands,

 

 

Roy

[DeeniEncinitas]

Ok Roy, just had breakfast and coffee wish I had waffles 😞. Thanks for the pics and looking forward to more of your great adventures!

Denise:)

Sunny this am here!!

[erewhon]

Great reports Roy, thank you.

[Keith1010]

Roy, enjoy the World Cruise.

 

I hope that last night's balloon drop was enjoyable.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your reports.

Nice treat to have waffles while visiting the bridge.

[Copper10-8]

Roy, enjoy the World Cruise.

 

I hope that last night's balloon drop was enjoyable.

 

Keith

 

I haven't seen that many balloons in a long time! Thanks for lunch and the tour yesterday Roy

[rafinmd]

Thank you Denise, Keith, Krazy Kruizers, and especially John, and thank you for that lovely plate which now graces my display shelf. It was especially nice to have a HAL guest and a Crystal guest together.

 

This is essentially a duplicate of my Crystal post but with a couple of tweaks.

 

Day Serenity19, Tuesday, January 23, 2018, Los Angeles, CA, transition to World Cruise

 

The Crystal Symphony is completing it’s call in Mauritius, 9959 miles away.

 

When I started my morning walk we were already on some narrow passages leading up to the docks at San Pedro. I had planned on 5 laps around the deck but when it was over the terminal was in sight and I walked a 6th lap during our final approach. A white pickup truck with line handlers about 6:15 made it clear we had reached our destination. The HAL forum has many sailaway addicts and we know that in Ft. Lauderdale when a white truck appears that lines will soon be dropping. That is not universally the case but was true in San Pedro.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/whitetruck.jpg

 

I returned to my cabin for some writing and went back on deck just before 7 as the sun rose behind us.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/dawn0123.jpg

 

There was a CPB requirement that we evacuate the ship and achieve a zero count before new passengers were allowed to board. It seemed to me to be pretty much going through the motions as I left the terminal without ever showing my passport or seeing a CPB representative. As I left the ship I got a quick peek at one of the accessible staterooms. The plaza was already decorated for the balloon drop in the afternoon.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/baloonsup.jpg

 

I left about 8 for a walk around town and stopped at the USS Iowa just as it opened for the day.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/theiowa.jpg

 

There were many areas of interest on the Iowa; one of my highlights was the cabin used by President Franklin Roosevelt when he sailed to Africa for talks about the end of World War Ii.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/fdrcabin.jpg

 

It was a self guided tour but through a defined tour route; my hour on the tour was pretty close to the minimum possible. As I was leaving the Iowa one of my lunch guests was already waiting for me., Carolyn (Wearesiamese from Cruise Critic). While waiting as I walked across the port she met several old friends from the ship. We were also joined by a Holland America person. John (AKA Copper10-8 on Cruise Critic) is a security officer on the Amsterdam but temporarily home before joining his world cruise later in Singapore. They joined me for my embarkation photo.

 

 

After a quick tour of the ship we headed up to the Trident Grill for lunch. I had my usual grilled ham and cheese while they both went with burgers. We all stopped at Scoops for ice cream to go with our meals. The deadline for guests to leave was 4PM but Carolyn and John left well before that to get ahead of rush hour traffic.

 

 

All aboard was 4:00 with muster at 4:15. It wasn’t clear if I actually needed to attend but I did anyway. About 10 people did not get on the lifeboat commander’s list as we entered and had to be called out. A few still seemed to be missing.

 

Louis sang at 4:55, just about the time the sun was fading below the nearby buildings.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/dusk0123.jpg

 

Copper10-8 had alerted me to the presence of the Los Angeles fire boat soon after we passed the terminals and the Iowa. Otherwise I would have likely missed it.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/lafireboat.jpg

 

I am still at table 51 but we have new waiters, Rafael and Erwin. There were just 4 of us for the first evening. I enjoyed the consume double and the pasta.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/dishes0123.jpg

 

The evening “entertainment” was the World Cruise Kickoff, a massive balloon drop from the Crystal Cove, hosted by the voyage’s key personnel. In the photo we have Cruise Director Rick Spath, World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston, Vice Captain Juan Fernandez, Hotel Director Scott Peterson, and Captain Berger Vorland.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/thekeys.jpg

 

After several welcoming remarks there was a countdown from 10 to 1 and the balloons started to fall.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/drop4.jpg

 

I saw Line Captain Dimitri and probably others giving out toothpicks before the balloon drop and people started popping the balloons as they came down.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/drop9.jpg

 

The mess was monumental but housekeeping had it all cleaned up within an hour.The balloon drop was a whole lot of fun and I’m not aware of any comparable fanfare on HAL Grand Voyages (either from blogs or the first segment of my GrandAsia cruise last year.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/themess.jpg

 

I stopped in the Avenue Saloon soon after he opened up at 9:30. I actually talked briefly with Mark at sailaway on the Promenade deck. Fred and Sheila, Mark sends you his best. I actually owe my relationship with Mark to you and other Holland America cruisers. I never really thought of the Avenue Saloon for many years as I don’t drink and am an early bird. After the comments I saw about the great piano entertainer on the Maasdam who had moved to Crystal I had to check it out. That was also about the time Crystal started including soda without a fee. As they say, the rest is history. For the first evening Mark was going around the room asking people about their travels and coming up with a song about each of our airlines.

 

I’ll take my parting shot from the Iowa. It’s one I’ve used before mostly on Cunard but in a new context. In 1989 the Iowa lost 47 sailors in an accidental fire at one of the big gun turrets. At the bottom of the plaque is a verse from a hymn typically used to close Cunard’s Interdenominational services:

 

“

Eternal Father, strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep

Its own appointed limits keep;

Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,

For those in peril on the sea! “

 

Thank you for your sacrifice and your service.

 

http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/eternal.jpg

 

Roy

[Happily@Sea]

Roy,

 

The 'Navy Hymn' a very pretty piece of music. It's great to hear sung by a navy chorus [and this is from an army veteran].

 

A zero count with no immigration officers?? WOW! I'm glad you had a great visit and will looking forward to the rest of your World Cruise - no matter how many ships you use.

 

Carole

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't mind Roy if you repeat reports from the 2 boards.

 

Great pictures.

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

A wonderful Bon Voyage to Roy!!

Such a fantastic first start to your adventures!!! I sure wished I could of had lunch with you. John is such a great guy and glad he was there for lunch with you!! I was born in Long Beach not too far from San Pedro! Old stomping grounds growing up. Ports of Call the sea view center with all the shops not far from the terminal you sailed out From is where I had my Prom soooooo long ago🤫. Loved those pics you took! Wow on those balloons 🎈!!! I have never seen that many especially on a cruise!! Very special thought to start your cruise off with a BANG!

Looking forward to this segment!

Denise:)

[perfect match]

Awesome review, Roy! I'm really enjoying my virtual world. Cruise!

 

Is being allowed to bring guests aboard a normal occurrence on Crystal ships? I know Princess does Bon Voyage Experience on selected sailings, but I wasn't aware of any other cruise line who allowed guests who were not sailing to join friends on board before they set sail.

 

 

There is one thing I've been wondering about - why do I keep having these unexplained cravings for carrot cake, waffles, and grilled ham and cheese! :D

Edited January 25, 2018 by perfect match

[Keith1010]

Roy thanks for putting so much effort into the blog and the live reports on both boards.

 

Keith

[kazu]

What a lot of balloons Roy :) Looks like it was a lot of fun.

 

How nice of you to host 2 CC members and how great you were able to arrange it.

 

Great pictures. Looks like everyone was having a great time :D:D

[rafinmd]

Thank you all. Nancy, I'll get back to you but have a couple lectures coming up first.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

A little diversion before I proceed to the question. There was no team trivia the first sea day. What we do also have each sea day is a bit of individual trivia. A segment of the morning show with Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston is a couple of questions where the audience can call in. The questions are usually related in some way to the ship or the itinerary. The first day they were about the itinerary and a couple of questions about our port of departure, Los Angeles:

 

1. How many days at sea are included in this first 24-day segment?

2. In 1946 Los Angeles became the first west coast city to get an NFL team. What was the name?

3. From what city was this franchise moved?

 

Answers at the end.

 

Awesome review, Roy! I'm really enjoying my virtual world. Cruise!

 

Is being allowed to bring guests aboard a normal occurrence on Crystal ships? I know Princess does Bon Voyage Experience on selected sailings, but I wasn't aware of any other cruise line who allowed guests who were not sailing to join friends on board before they set sail.

 

 

There is one thing I've been wondering about - why do I keep having these unexplained cravings for carrot cake, waffles, and grilled ham and cheese!

 

Nancy, Crystal typically allows us to bring guests aboard in ports (except disembarkation day) with very few exceptions. Seven days advance registration is required, which can either be via the online checkin process or with the front desk once onboard. There’s a limit of 4 guests per cabin for each port. Here’s the online registration form, I hope it comes through legibly:

 

 

Before Crystal went all inclusive this was free but since there has been no separate charge for alcohol there is a $20 “beverage fee”. The equivalent of DiveIn is available to visitors but restaurants also come with a separate fee. I think that even with the beverage fee my expenses in a port are usually less than I would have spent doing other things in the port.

 

I am relatively new to the “visitor onboard” setup but enjoying it immensely. Los Angeles was the second of 3 ports where I have visitors on this cruise, my nephew and his wife were aboard in San Diego, and erewhon will be joining me in New Zealand. It’s a fabulous perk.

 

The answers to the morning show trivia:

 

1. On our 24 day segment we have 14 sea days.

2. The NFL team that started playing in Los Angeles in 1946 was the Rams.

3. They were formerly the Cleveland Rams.

 

Roy

[kazu]

A little diversion before I proceed to the question. There was no team trivia the first sea day. What we do also have each sea day is a bit of individual trivia. A segment of the morning show with Cruise Director Rick Spath and World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston is a couple of questions where the audience can call in. The questions are usually related in some way to the ship or the itinerary. The first day they were about the itinerary and a couple of questions about our port of departure, Los Angeles:

 

1. How many days at sea are included in this first 24-day segment?

2. In 1946 Los Angeles became the first west coast city to get an NFL team. What was the name?

3. From what city was this franchise moved?

 

Answers at the end.

 

 

 

Nancy, Crystal typically allows us to bring guests aboard in ports (except disembarkation day) with very few exceptions. Seven days advance registration is required, which can either be via the online checkin process or with the front desk once onboard. There’s a limit of 4 guests per cabin for each port. Here’s the online registration form, I hope it comes through legibly:

 

[ATTACH]413683[/ATTACH]

 

Before Crystal went all inclusive this was free but since there has been no separate charge for alcohol there is a $20 “beverage fee”. The equivalent of DiveIn is available to visitors but restaurants also come with a separate fee. I think that even with the beverage fee my expenses in a port are usually less than I would have spent doing other things in the port.

 

I am relatively new to the “visitor onboard” setup but enjoying it immensely. Los Angeles was the second of 3 ports where I have visitors on this cruise, my nephew and his wife were aboard in San Diego, and erewhon will be joining me in New Zealand. It’s a fabulous perk.

 

The answers to the morning show trivia:

 

1. On our 24 day segment we have 14 sea days.

2. The NFL team that started playing in Los Angeles in 1946 was the Rams.

3. They were formerly the Cleveland Rams.

 

Roy

 

That is a very nice perk, Roy :)

 

The "beverage fee" seems reasonable to me especially if they are having lunch ;)

 

Years ago, I was able to bring my sister on board on HAL when I was on a cruise and she was in that port for work. She actually came on for dinner - but, that was a long time ago and I suspect that now, it would be far more difficult on HAL than it was back then.

 

Very nice of you to host CC members and your family.

 

I am sure everyone enjoyed your company as I have :D

[rafinmd]

I see the "Cruise Log" controversy is still going on. I noted one interesting development. I think it was originally the Koningsdam where they were originally reported to be missing and recent posts seem to indicate that the Koningsdam is one of the ships that ;has it consistently now. I see that as a positive sign.

 

I thought I'd share what we get (and have gotten for as long as I can remember. It's an abbreviated version of Reflections, the daily newsletter, delivered as normal the last night of the cruise. It does not have all the officer names like HAL's cruise log but that's available either from the website before the cruise or the map channel on the room TV. Here's the one I got at the end of the Panama Canal cruise:

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/reflections0123debark.pdf

 

Roy

[perfect match]

Thank you for the info on the visitor program on Crystal, Roy. That is a wonderful thing to be able to do!

[rafinmd]

Crystal Serenity World Cruise Trivia

 

Thank you Nancy.

 

I’ve now been through 2 days of morning show trivia and sat in on 2 team trivia sessions.

 

From the 3rd morning show:

 

In honor of Australia day some of the questions came from a book of Aussie slang:

 

2. What is the “Apple Isle”?

3. What is a “Marble Orchard”

 

From the second morning show:

 

1. What did the “Hollywood” sign originally say?

2. What is considered the oldest swimming stroke?

4. What were the years and the cities for the last 2 Winter Olympics held in the US?

 

Next, a few questions from the first team trivia, a real melange of easy and hard:

 

3. Who started the Protestant Reformation

9. What is the English City with the most canals”

12. What was the name of Michael J Fox’s character in “Back to the Future?

14. Alfred P Selfwick invented the electric chair. What was his actual profession?

 

And a few from the Friday session:

 

3. What is the most common color in the world’s flags?

4. What European explorer named Canada?

8. From Alpha to Omega, how many letters in the Greek Alphabet

14. What episode number is the current Starwars episode?

 

World Cruise trivia is played after the Captains noon announcement in the Palm Court (Think Crow’s Nest but about double the size) Usually hosted by one of the stage cast on regular cruises, for the World Cruise it is run by World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston with musical interludes by pianist Gordon Porth. It is a cumulative competition with the first round covering 6 sea days. There are 15 questions; the last is usually a musical question based on a tune played by Porth.

 

 

Answers:

 

Session 1:

3. Martin Luther

9. Birmingham

12. Marty McFly

14. Dentist

 

Session 2:

3. Red

4. Jacques Cartier

8. 24 letters

14. Episode 8

 

The musical answers were “ET” for the first day and “Blue Hawaii” for the second. Scores ranged from 7 to 12 out of 15. There have been no tie breakers since the scores are cumulative.

 

Answers for the morning show trivia:

 

2. The “Apple Isle” is Tasmania

3. A “marble orchard” is a graveyard

 

From the previous morning show:

 

1. The sign originally said Hollywoodland

2. The breast stroke.

4. This question turned out to be a challenge. I remembered Lake Placid was one of them but couldn’t remember if it was 1980 or 84. The question went unanswered for quite a while. Rick added the information that the years were 1980 and 2002 and somebody quickly came up with Lake Placid. It finally dawned on me that the 2002 Olympics were prominent in Mitt Romney’s resume in the 2008 elections and I was in time to call in Salt Lake City as the second Olympic city. A couple hours later I had a nice little box hanging on my door hook.

 

 

Roy

[kazu]

Crystal Serenity World Cruise Trivia

 

Thank you Nancy.

 

I’ve now been through 2 days of morning show trivia and sat in on 2 team trivia sessions.

 

From the 3rd morning show:

 

In honor of Australia day some of the questions came from a book of Aussie slang:

 

2. What is the “Apple Isle”?

3. What is a “Marble Orchard”

 

From the second morning show:

 

1. What did the “Hollywood” sign originally say?

2. What is considered the oldest swimming stroke?

4. What were the years and the cities for the last 2 Winter Olympics held in the US?

 

Next, a few questions from the first team trivia, a real melange of easy and hard:

 

3. Who started the Protestant Reformation

9. What is the English City with the most canals”

12. What was the name of Michael J Fox’s character in “Back to the Future?

14. Alfred P Selfwick invented the electric chair. What was his actual profession?

 

And a few from the Friday session:

 

3. What is the most common color in the world’s flags?

4. What European explorer named Canada?

8. From Alpha to Omega, how many letters in the Greek Alphabet

14. What episode number is the current Starwars episode?

 

World Cruise trivia is played after the Captains noon announcement in the Palm Court (Think Crow’s Nest but about double the size) Usually hosted by one of the stage cast on regular cruises, for the World Cruise it is run by World Cruise Hostess Stacey Huston with musical interludes by pianist Gordon Porth. It is a cumulative competition with the first round covering 6 sea days. There are 15 questions; the last is usually a musical question based on a tune played by Porth.

 

 

Answers:

 

Session 1:

3. Martin Luther

9. Birmingham

12. Marty McFly

14. Dentist

 

Session 2:

3. Red

4. Jacques Cartier

8. 24 letters

14. Episode 8

 

The musical answers were “ET” for the first day and “Blue Hawaii” for the second. Scores ranged from 7 to 12 out of 15. There have been no tie breakers since the scores are cumulative.

 

Answers for the morning show trivia:

 

2. The “Apple Isle” is Tasmania

3. A “marble orchard” is a graveyard

 

From the previous morning show:

 

1. The sign originally said Hollywoodland

2. The breast stroke.

4. This question turned out to be a challenge. I remembered Lake Placid was one of them but couldn’t remember if it was 1980 or 84. The question went unanswered for quite a while. Rick added the information that the years were 1980 and 2002 and somebody quickly came up with Lake Placid. It finally dawned on me that the 2002 Olympics were prominent in Mitt Romney’s resume in the 2008 elections and I was in time to call in Salt Lake City as the second Olympic city. A couple hours later I had a nice little box hanging on my door hook.

 

[ATTACH]413696[/ATTACH]

 

Roy

 

Roy is that a trivia prize? WOW. Very nice :)

[Copper10-8]

Actually, HAL does give guests/pax the ability to have visitor(s) on board, but only during the grand voyages and those above and beyond the routine seven, ten, and fourteen-day Carib/AK and Europe voyages. Those requests have to be in at least 72-hours prior to arrival in the concerned port and need to be approved by the staff captain

How is the westbound ride, Roy?

[rafinmd]

So far the ride has not been too bad. We have had some pitching but not too serious. I've gotten my 5 miles in on the promenade deck each of the 3 days so far. It has been on the chilly and cloudy side so far.

 

 

With the 80 day Grand South America coming next year that's good to know about visitors although the opportunity is not too likely to come up.

 

 

Swells have shifted from our stern to the side so the stabilizers are doing their thing.

 

Roy