New Crystal - the Good, the Bad and the Indifferent

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, CryptOkicker5 said:

 

Sleeping bags packed. Ready to go!

 

No, seriously, can you ask your source about the ratio. Whatever you report back, I'll accept as gospel, and I'll drop this line of inquiry. Also, I'll be your best friend. ☺️

 

I think it's important, both as to the level of service to expect, and as to the veracity of new Crystal. If I need that assurance before booking, I'm sure there are others who do too.

 

This whole joke really stopped being funny a while back.  If you can't understand how having multiple venues still being decided, and each venue potentially having a swing of 10+ crew member requirements (depending on the concept selected) would change a total number of crew, I'm afraid there is little else anyone here can do to help.  That's just basic math.

 

Vince

[Jimmycruiser]

4 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

This whole joke really stopped being funny a while back.  If you can't understand how having multiple venues still being decided, and each venue potentially having a swing of 10+ crew member requirements (depending on the concept selected) would change a total number of crew, I'm afraid there is little else anyone here can do to help.  That's just basic math.

 

Vince

Some posters just can not let go or have a need to have the last word. Some can not see the forest because the trees are in the way. As stated before, crew ratios are in constant flux and is not a sign that great service levels will be delivered. 

[hypercafe]

2 minutes ago, Jimmycruiser said:

Some posters just can not let go or have a need to have the last word. Some can not see the forest because the trees are in the way. As stated before, crew ratios are in constant flux and is not a sign that great service levels will be delivered. 

Guess having the last word is only great for cheer leaders as it's very common on this board.

[PaulMCO]

Can't everybody accept that they do not know how many crew they will BE ABLE to hire.  By saying nearly 1:1 it really means anything lower than 1.49999999999 to 1.  They are just 6 months into a startup process.  They have not even completed upgrading a ship.  If you think that is a bump, wait to they start up operations.

[braxx20]

19 hours ago, crickette said:

Our most recent Crystal booking confirmation shows our membership number and cruise level. Search for the words *Completed voyage credits (include the asterisk if you wish).  You might want to read this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2862867-seabourn-recognizes-crystal-society-milestone-levels/?do=findComment&comment=63475386

 

We booked our cruise through a TA. My booking ONLY shows my CC member number, not status.  I cannot even find a place on the CC website to find my booking or any other way or Search window to contact them

[Keith1010]

29 minutes ago, braxx20 said:

We booked our cruise through a TA. My booking ONLY shows my CC member number, not status.  I cannot even find a place on the CC website to find my booking or any other way or Search window to contact them

When you say CC number do you mean the booking number?

 

At this time you cannot access your booking via the website.  

 

Keith

[crickette]

1 hour ago, braxx20 said:

We booked our cruise through a TA. ...

Well that's good news.  Follow-up with your TA.  They receive a booking confirmation a little different than the one for pax.  Your status is usually on theirs.

 

No point searching the web - it's not anywhere there.

 

One more suggestion - A&K bought the Crystal database.  They should be able to give it to you.  Give them a phone call (on second thought, that will only get you a sales person.  Better yet, ask your TA to give her/his contact a call.) Whether A&K will release it or not may be another matter.

[Txcotn]

2 hours ago, CryptOkicker5 said:

 

I understand what you are saying, hypercafe. But the last word is not my goal. I want a real world answer about the ratio. I thought it was obvious that "nearly one to one" was ... I'm running out of polite ways to say it, so how about horse hockey. And the argument that it is a dynamic number - well that's  ... evasive. Old Crystal used to publish a fixed number that was representative, as does Seabourn, Silversea, Regent and Explora Journeys.

 

I will abide by my post #316 and not comment further if I can get a response directly from someone at Crystal. At that poiobsnt, then there really is no one else that can bring something new to the table.

You seem to be obsessed with this subject!

[Post it]

I'm actually baffled at the intense interest in staffing ratios.  In my 25+ cruises, I have never picked a cruise line because of the ratio.  What is more important to me is the quality of the staff encounters.  I do pick cruise lines where the service is more personable and the crew seem happy to be on board (Azamara and Crystal), while not returning to those lines where the crew seem to be going through the motions (Regent, Oceania).

[Txcotn]

On 2/18/2023 at 4:16 AM, Keith1010 said:

 

 

Some cruise lines have fairly large programs such as Carnival, Princess, RCI to name a few.  The new PR director has experience from Celebrity (part of RCI) and Carnival.

 

 

 

Keith

The PR hire should have been on Day 1.

[Keith1010]

12 minutes ago, suzeluvscruz said:

The PR hire should have been on Day 1.

It seems everyone should have been on Day 1.

 

But that is not realistic.

 

 

 

 

[bitob]

1 hour ago, suzeluvscruz said:

The PR hire should have been on Day 1.

Without a doubt. Messaging on day 1 turned out not to be accurate. 

[Keith1010]

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

[Stickman1990]

8 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

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.

What with the cryptic comments? What line are you referring to and what is the ambiguity?
 

There’s a big difference in customers failing to read or comprehend and cruise lines failing to provide the information at all 

[Keith1010]

7 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

What with the cryptic comments? What line are you referring to and what is the ambiguity?
 

There’s a big difference in customers failing to read or comprehend and cruise lines failing to provide the information at all 

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.

 

 

[Stickman1990]

1 minute ago, Keith1010 said:

The one you are on and they were not provided with the details on evening attire.  I thought I was "Crystal Clear" that the info was not provided and that was not the first time. It had nothing to do with them not reading it or not reading it properly.

Well for clarity I’m on Silversea Silver Muse and loving it - the dress code is very clear and is set out on their website and just which dress code applies each day is communicated onboard - https://www.silversea.com/travel-informations/general-information.html

 

Your looking for issues with other lines that don’t exist 

 

For clarity we are very impressed with the onboard experience on Silver Muse along with the included business class air and transfers from our home - ie a true door to door service. In fact we’ve just booked another month on board Silver Muse for next year along with 6 of our friends who we used to cruise Crystal with (mind you we’ve also booked Regent and Crystal cruises together in the future) - it’s nice to have lots of cruises to look forward to 

 

My bags are unpacked and I’m enjoying a cruise - life is good indeed 

[Keith1010]

10 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

Well for clarity I’m on Silversea Silver Muse and loving it - the dress code is very clear and is set out on their website and just which dress code applies each day is communicated onboard - https://www.silversea.com/travel-informations/general-information.html

 

Your looking for issues with other lines that don’t exist 

 

For clarity we are very impressed with the onboard experience on Silver Muse along with the included business class air and transfers from our home - ie a true door to door service. In fact we’ve just booked another month on board Silver Muse for next year along with 6 of our friends who we used to cruise Crystal with (mind you we’ve also booked Regent and Crystal cruises together in the future) - it’s nice to have lots of cruises to look forward to 

 

My bags are unpacked and I’m enjoying a cruise - life is good indeed 

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. 

 

[lincslady]

11 hours ago, Post it said:

I'm actually baffled at the intense interest in staffing ratios.  In my 25+ cruises, I have never picked a cruise line because of the ratio.  What is more important to me is the quality of the staff encounters.  I do pick cruise lines where the service is more personable and the crew seem happy to be on board (Azamara and Crystal), while not returning to those lines where the crew seem to be going through the motions (Regent, Oceania).

I hardly dare come on this thread for fear of being told off, but just to say that (a) I am sure  from what you all say that Crystal's staff with whom you interact are personable and friendly; so, notably,  are those on Seabourn, but I agree about the staff on Regent.  And (b) I  too was amused about the 'nearly one to one' thing - how long is a piece of string.  It is a bit like 'up to' which could mean anything from 1% upwards.  Although, in fairness, I suppose they don't know the ratio until they have appointed everyone.

[bitob]

2 hours ago, lincslady said:

I hardly dare come on this thread for fear of being told off, but just to say that (a) I am sure  from what you all say that Crystal's staff with whom you interact are personable and friendly; so, notably,  are those on Seabourn, but I agree about the staff on Regent.  And (b) I  too was amused about the 'nearly one to one' thing - how long is a piece of string.  It is a bit like 'up to' which could mean anything from 1% upwards.  Although, in fairness, I suppose they don't know the ratio until they have appointed everyone.

And we found the staff on our 2 regent cruises to be as good or better than crystal or silversea 

[Jayayeff]

2 hours ago, lincslady said:

I hardly dare come on this thread for fear of being told off, but just to say that (a) I am sure  from what you all say that Crystal's staff with whom you interact are personable and friendly; so, notably,  are those on Seabourn, but I agree about the staff on Regent.  And (b) I  too was amused about the 'nearly one to one' thing - how long is a piece of string.  It is a bit like 'up to' which could mean anything from 1% upwards.  Although, in fairness, I suppose they don't know the ratio until they have appointed everyone.

You’re not the only one, and sadly this isn’t the only thread to which that applies!!!   

[bitob]

3 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

Well for clarity I’m on Silversea Silver Muse and loving it - the dress code is very clear and is set out on their website and just which dress code applies each day is communicated onboard - https://www.silversea.com/travel-informations/general-information.html

 

Your looking for issues with other lines that don’t exist 

 

For clarity we are very impressed with the onboard experience on Silver Muse along with the included business class air and transfers from our home - ie a true door to door service. In fact we’ve just booked another month on board Silver Muse for next year along with 6 of our friends who we used to cruise Crystal with (mind you we’ve also booked Regent and Crystal cruises together in the future) - it’s nice to have lots of cruises to look forward to 

 

My bags are unpacked and I’m enjoying a cruise - life is good indeed 

Not surprised. I have a huge group of cruising friends. We all take 5 to 6 luxury cruises a year. We have all fallen in love with both silversea and regent and are booked through 2025 on both lines. Until crystal ceased operations none of us had sailed either line. Blessing in disguise

 

my bags are packed and repacked and repacked

[Txcotn]

Agree to disagree. Mr. d'Ovidio had been wanting to buy Crystal for a long time. If I were longing to buy a company and actively pursuing it, I would probably have an ongoing list of "to do" and prioritize it. There has been PR in the trade mags, but not all of us read those religiously. 

 

We have PR people in the family and I can tell you CATEGORICALLY that a PR timeline for new products and new events are in the "can" up to a year in advance. So he bought Crystal in June, wouldn't it have made sense to be ready to go 6-8 months later, especially with the resources of A&K readily available? What was the point of "signing up" for "updates" if we never receive any email updates? A good PR Director would have press releases, blast email, info on the web. This would save thousands of phone calls and very frustrated customers.

Edited February 21, 2023 by suzeluvscruz

[Post it]

I do say it would have been nice to know which cabins will have entirely new furnishings on deck 8 and 9 on the Symphony.  Thanks to Keith's deck plan, I believe I figured it out. 

[BWIVince]

2 minutes ago, Post it said:

I do say it would have been nice to know which cabins will have entirely new furnishings on deck 8 and 9 on the Symphony.  Thanks to Keith's deck plan, I believe I figured it out. 

 

Even the "old" furniture on Deck 8 hasn't seen much use -- it was replaced before the ship reentered service in 2021.  (The cabinetry/night stands and the bathrooms weren't updated, but all the furnishings were, except the desk chairs which were replaced on the refit before.). Symphony's deck 8 should still be easier to tell than deck 9 though, as it stands right now everything looks like it will be either reconfigured (suites) or refit (double staterooms). 

 

Vince

[braxx20]

21 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

When you say CC number do you mean the booking number?

 

At this time you cannot access your booking via the website.  

 

Keith

No, it is my Original  (old)Crystal Cruises loyalty number - don't remember the proper nomenclature for that