New Crystal - the Good, the Bad and the Indifferent

[nnn]

1 hour ago, juicyjuju said:

The biggest surprise for me was not a good one. New Crystal is only allowing triple occupancy in Sapphire level suites and above. We have a kid who loves Crystal. Not willing to shell out the bucks for a large suite while new Crystal is unknown. I refunded my advance deposits since I'm not booking anything on Crystal any time soon.

 

Seems a bit silly not to allow third berth at least in Aquamarine, especially given that those rooms were equipped with third berth originally.  I doubt allowing a third in Aquamarine will cause a huge dent in anyone's experience.

[History&Wine]

1 hour ago, juicyjuju said:

The biggest surprise for me was not a good one. New Crystal is only allowing triple occupancy in Sapphire level suites and above. We have a kid who loves Crystal. Not willing to shell out the bucks for a large suite while new Crystal is unknown. I refunded my advance deposits since I'm not booking anything on Crystal any time soon.

I think New Crystal is holding firm on the new lower capacity figures.  I agree with @nnn that a third in Aquamarine would seem to work.  I inquired about adding another person for a segment of the world cruise and the answer was a firm NO as I have booked a "solo" room.  Never mind that the rooms a few doors down on deck 7 are designed for two with the exact layout. 

 

I must give new crystal credit for holding true to their advertising. 

[Keith1010]

Julia:

 

History and Wine and nnn are correct.  I had looked at bringing the family on and in our case for one of the families I need a standard room and then a suite with a connecting standard room. We were told that the Aquramarine would accommodate three. We couldn't make it work as there are a limited number of rooms with a connecting door and they were all booked.

 

Keith

 

 

[May B]

5 hours ago, juicyjuju said:

The biggest surprise for me was not a good one. New Crystal is only allowing triple occupancy in Sapphire level suites and above. We have a kid who loves Crystal. Not willing to shell out the bucks for a large suite while new Crystal is unknown. I refunded my advance deposits since I'm not booking anything on Crystal any time soon.

Oh nooooo. So sorry to hear this!

[nnn]

2 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Julia:

 

History and Wine and nnn are correct.  I had looked at bringing the family on and in our case for one of the families I need a standard room and then a suite with a connecting standard room. We were told that the Aquramarine would accommodate three. We couldn't make it work as there are a limited number of rooms with a connecting door and they were all booked.

 

Keith

 

 

 

Did they consider two adjoining Seabreeze rooms, which have the external connectors?  We are going with family and compared the cost of 2 x Seabreeze forward with 1 x PH connecting to 1 x Standard (since that option was still available on our sailing) and the price difference was negligible.  It was a no-brainer to get two connecting suites out of it.

 

Also -- good to know that NC will indeed allow three to an Aquamarine.  That would be common sense.

 

[Keith1010]

2 minutes ago, nnn said:

 

Did they consider two adjoining Seabreeze rooms, which have the external connectors?  We are going with family and compared the cost of 2 x Seabreeze forward with 1 x PH connecting to 1 x Standard (since that option was still available on our sailing) and the price difference was negligible.  It was a no-brainer to get two connecting suites out of it.

 

Also -- good to know that NC will indeed allow three to an Aquamarine.  That would be common sense.

 

Excellent point.

 

For us I didn't look at it because ideally we needed one suite and one standard room for the five of them but if you are saying the price difference isn't that big compared to the one suite connecting to the standard room that is good to know.  

 

The other factor was location and I prefer the traditional PH on Serenity over the SB.

 

But something we will look at. Thank you.

 

Keith

 

 

[Embowaf]

One would hope these get more flexible with these things as they get more experience operating the new ship layouts.

No one will know or care if there's a handful of cabins with a third person for whatever reason, or if someone on the WC in a solo room adds an extra person for a segment or two. Especially considering that there will be at least a few double occupancy rooms that are booked for one person at any given time. We already know the ship doesn't feel crowded at the old capacities.

[juicyjuju]

20 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Julia:

 

History and Wine and nnn are correct.  I had looked at bringing the family on and in our case for one of the families I need a standard room and then a suite with a connecting standard room. We were told that the Aquramarine would accommodate three. We couldn't make it work as there are a limited number of rooms with a connecting door and they were all booked.

 

Keith

 

 

That's great to hear. Time to back and look at itineraries 🙂

[bitob]

5 hours ago, May B said:

That’s quite an itinerary! I haven’t been paying close attention to the bridge cruises. I think the Salobs’ clients booked as much for the whole experience, Salobs planning sightseeing and dining and camaraderie amongst group members, as they did for the bridge. Perhaps I’m wrong.

When will they play bridge -- at night?
I certainly would not want to miss those ports.

Seems an odd itinerary for a bridge cruise

[ivyleaguegent]

On 4/12/2023 at 10:08 AM, crickette said:

We were on Encore recently  and because you asked we will stay on topic so we do not get a note of reprimand. A couple of the waiters, who were the best by far, recognized us as Crystal types. The service was good, particularly from our two room attendants.

Food was hit and miss, sometimes decent other times very poor. The quality of beef and pork in TK was awful, tough, lacked flavourful and had what I term a 'mealy' texture. In the restaurant meals were hit and miss. Jack was excellent as the waiter for his section.

 

We were just on the Ovation and our experience with the food was similar.  The lamb chops in TK had far more fat than meat.  Room stewards were great.  Special orders (pasta with olive oil and cheese) simply never appeared at the MDR.  The musical groups (one cleverly named "A Band On Ship" ) were top notch except both groups apparently did not realize that music was made after the 70s.  The captain was everywhere and very engaging. The cruise director was excellent.  The entire cruise line does not stock any German rieslings which baffles me.  We were docked next to a German cruise line at one of the ports and I was thinking of knocking on the hull and asking to borrow several bottles!  The people were warm and friendly.  We travel on Regent this summer than Crystal next spring.  I doubt we would travel on Seabourn again unless there was an incredible itinerary and/or a really low price.

[bitob]

Seabourn has always been our last choice for luxury lines.  No butlers. Food not always to our liking. But service is great as is unlimited caviar. What sets seabourn apart is their itineraries. They go places no one else goes. Our upcoming cruise to the turquoise coast (one of the few places we have never cruised to) is an example. It’s a trade off. Plus we are travelling with Paul mco and Moggyhill. Just sailing with them anywhere is so much fun

[Mr Luxury]

4 hours ago, ivyleaguegent said:

We were just on the Ovation and our experience with the food was similar.  The lamb chops in TK had far more fat than meat.  Room stewards were great.  Special orders (pasta with olive oil and cheese) simply never appeared at the MDR.  The musical groups (one cleverly named "A Band On Ship" ) were top notch except both groups apparently did not realize that music was made after the 70s.  The captain was everywhere and very engaging. The cruise director was excellent.  The entire cruise line does not stock any German rieslings which baffles me.  We were docked next to a German cruise line at one of the ports and I was thinking of knocking on the hull and asking to borrow several bottles!  The people were warm and friendly.  We travel on Regent this summer than Crystal next spring.  I doubt we would travel on Seabourn again unless there was an incredible itinerary and/or a really low price.

Really low price?

[ctjon]

Just curious what people use butlers for - in suite dining? or making reservations for other things etc?  The times we've had a butler we really didn't use the butler at all.  Just curious

[May B]

20 hours ago, bitob said:

When will they play bridge -- at night?
I certainly would not want to miss those ports.

Seems an odd itinerary for a bridge cruise

Perhaps 3-5 pm, but that’s just a guess. 

[bitob]

5 hours ago, ctjon said:

Just curious what people use butlers for - in suite dining? or making reservations for other things etc?  The times we've had a butler we really didn't use the butler at all.  Just curious

There are many threads on the luxury line boards asking this question. The answers vary. For us, the key benefit is having someone there for us at a moment’s notice to respond to our needs and wants. It’s as simple as that. 

[Keith1010]

9 hours ago, ctjon said:

Just curious what people use butlers for - in suite dining? or making reservations for other things etc?  The times we've had a butler we really didn't use the butler at all.  Just curious

Breakfasts in the room.  Occasional lunch if we had an early afternoon tour and an occasional dinner. Fruit in the afternoon most days.  Sending out pressing.  Stocking the refrigerator with items such as water and soda. Wine. Adding or changing specialty restaurant reservations.   I think these are the main ones. Other utilize butlers for less or more items.  We've never had them pack or unpack but I know some people who have.  Some utilize them to return shore excursion tickets or pick them up, order flowers, wax shoes, ext. etc., 

 

Just depends on the person.

 

Keith

[seaknots]

On 4/15/2023 at 2:40 PM, ivyleaguegent said:

The musical groups (one cleverly named "A Band On Ship" ) were top notch

so john barron is still using that old joke 🤣

[nancygp]

1 hour ago, seaknots said:

so john barron is still using that old joke 🤣

Currently sailing with John…terrific CD

 

Nancy

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, nancygp said:

Currently sailing with John…terrific CD

 

Nancy

He's a great guy and you have

Andrew Pedder as Captain.

[bitob]

2 hours ago, nancygp said:

Currently sailing with John…terrific CD

 

Nancy

Nancy - which ship are you on?  We board Encore on 30th?

[nancygp]

1 hour ago, bitob said:

Nancy - which ship are you on?  We board Encore on 30th?

ovation crossing to Dover…rocking and rolling as I write this! 😄🤣.  Overall, life is good 

early bon voyage 

 

Nancy 

Edited April 16, 2023 by nancygp

[nancygp]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

He's a great guy and you have

Andrew Pedder as Captain.

I can give them your best regards but I don’t know your “real” name.   ☺️😊😂

 

Nancy

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, nancygp said:

I can give them your best regards but I don’t know your “real” name.   ☺️😊😂

 

Nancy

They know me very well but not by my CC name.😁

 

[Mr Luxury]

23 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

They know me very well but not by my CC name.😁

 

I've sent John a message

[Stickman1990]

4 hours ago, nancygp said:

Currently sailing with John…terrific CD

He was also a CD on Regent - he featured in a couple of the British TV programmes on the new ships, Explorer I think

Have you come across Ross Roberts as CD on Seabourn? - he’s excellent, one of the best. He’s been doing their World Cruise recently