Gen X Crystal Cruisers

[Flash G]

I'm solidly Generation X. Our first Crystal cruise was in 2005. We instantly fell in love with the line even though we were in our early 30s. The "Crystal magic" captivated us, and we did 6 or 7 additional Crystal cruises. I don't think we were typical Gen Xers at all. This wasn't the line Gen X would first choose to vacation on. But we did, and we met people on each cruise with shared interests and common travel experiences.

 

Now, as we approach our 50s, we realize that we're rapidly speeding toward Crystal's prime demographic, and Generation X will be Crystal's next main customer base. Will Gen X find Crystal appealing? Every generation has different wants and expectations, and I hope that "new Crystal" can balance the legacy of the great brand with the importance of attracting new customers. 

 

Would love to hear from any other (rare) Gen X Crystal Cruisers, and how they feel the line can change to attract a new generation without making changes that lose the "Crystal magic."

 

[Emdee]

My DD is a millennial and loves Crystal. 
Their care to detail is unmatched.

 

Unfortunately their itineraries haven’t matched with her plans especially since she has limited vacation. 

[Mr Luxury]

2 minutes ago, Emdee said:

My DD is a millennial and loves Crystal. 
Their care to detail is unmatched.

 

Unfortunately their itineraries haven’t matched with her plans especially since she has limited vacation. 

New Crystal hasn't sailed yet so care to detail is unknown.

Crystal as it was is no longer in operation.

Easily mixed up when new owners jump on the back of the old company.

[Texas Tillie]

 

 

 

You'll never be as cool as Grandma

A message from baby boomers

 

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Texas Tillie

[Mr Luxury]

4 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

 

 

You'll never be as cool as Grandma

A message from baby boomers

 

 

I love those old Parking meters

[Emdee]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

New Crystal hasn't sailed yet so care to detail is unknown.

Crystal as it was is no longer in operation.

Easily mixed up when new owners jump on the back of the old company.

Well….we have sailed on SS twice, SB 4 times and Regent once in the last few years. 
Only Regent bothered to note preferences. SB quality was up and down. So we have booked 1 Crystal and 3 Regent , also a couple of SB. DD is on some but not all of these cruises. 
 

Like others we will wait and see. For us the staff is most important as well. So after we do our next 2 Crystal …we will form opinions. Meanwhile we can wax eloquent on the attention to detail the former Crystal provided! There is no point in already shooting them in the foot even before they start down the track. 

[Keith1010]

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

New Crystal hasn't sailed yet so care to detail is unknown.

Crystal as it was is no longer in operation.

Easily mixed up when new owners jump on the back of the old company.

It seems whenever someone say something nice about New Crystal you keep saying this.  WIth most of the crew being former Crystal crew I think it is very reasonable for us to assume that the service and how the crew deals with guests will be the same.  I guess if people are happy about this why is there a need to make them feel any different.  Just be happy for those who are happy.

 

My apologies Flash G as I didn't plan to post on this thread as I am second generation baby boomer which used to be considered young but not anymore.

Keith

[Txcotn]

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

New Crystal hasn't sailed yet so care to detail is unknown.

Crystal as it was is no longer in operation.

Easily mixed up when new owners jump on the back of the old company.

Looks like your glass is perpetually half-empty. 😰

[travelberlin]

3 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

New Crystal hasn't sailed yet so care to detail is unknown.

Crystal as it was is no longer in operation.

Easily mixed up when new owners jump on the back of the old company.

This is true but unfortunately some people react with negation to this fact, don’t acknowledge it and even allow themselves to give an estimate of how your character might be ( see the comment on half empty glass). Is this the Crystal family? 

Ivi

Edited February 26, 2023 by travelberlin

[Emdee]

53 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

This is true but unfortunately some people react with negation to this fact, don’t acknowledge it and even allow themselves to give an estimate of how your character might be ( see the comment on half empty glass). Is this the Crystal family? 

Ivi

No this is cruise critic! 
It is true though that some posters always want to burst our bubble. 
My plan is try a couple of the new crystal cruises and reach a personal assessment. My first Crystal cruise was not perfect but the second one was fabulous. 

[hypercafe]

The deal here is there are two camps here. One would sail the N Crystal no matter what while the other says waite and see. Each group is busy trying to prove their position. Time will tell.

[travelberlin]

47 minutes ago, Emdee said:

No this is cruise critic! 
It is true though that some posters always want to burst our bubble. 
My plan is try a couple of the new crystal cruises and reach a personal assessment. My first Crystal cruise was not perfect but the second one was fabulous. 

What a coincidence our first cruise with the original Crystal was not that good but the subsequent ones were very nice. The same as you, we are willing to try the New Crystal and form our own opinion. We are aware it is not the original Crystal. 

By the way, I know this is Cruise Critic, which allows us to express our opinions about cruises and cruise lines. Some posters seem to believe they have the right to assess even the character of other posters and want to stop the comments of those posters which have a divergent opinion. 
Ivi

Edited February 26, 2023 by travelberlin

[Mr Luxury]

2 hours ago, travelberlin said:

This is true but unfortunately some people react with negation to this fact, don’t acknowledge it and even allow themselves to give an estimate of how your character might be ( see the comment on half empty glass). Is this the Crystal family? 

Ivi

I'm finding it very strange how people put their money on an uncertainty.

Even some of those that put their money on the last guys that owned the company.

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, Emdee said:

No this is cruise critic! 
It is true though that some posters always want to burst our bubble. 
My plan is try a couple of the new crystal cruises and reach a personal assessment. My first Crystal cruise was not perfect but the second one was fabulous. 

I will be waiting for your report good or bad.

Let's hope that it's good. 

[Mr Luxury]

2 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

It seems whenever someone say something nice about New Crystal you keep saying this.  WIth most of the crew being former Crystal crew I think it is very reasonable for us to assume that the service and how the crew deals with guests will be the same.  I guess if people are happy about this why is there a need to make them feel any different.  Just be happy for those who are happy.

 

My apologies Flash G as I didn't plan to post on this thread as I am second generation baby boomer which used to be considered young but not anymore.

Keith

Keith I'm a bit more sceptical than you and have taken quit a few cruises and land based vacations whilst many here have been sitting at home waiting for Crystal to re emerge. 

I get the same old crew,same old ships,same old hotel directors,same old guests might float your boat but and the big but is. there are brand new owners.

Manfredi does things his own way and has his own ideas.

I hope for everyone's sake reckless or cautious that everything works well and that we all have another cruise line to sail on.

[bitob]

32 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

I will be waiting for your report good or bad.

Let's hope that it's good. 

I’m told a few people already have their reviews written lol

[mariners]

Flash G, I hope that you get some answers to your question.  Unfortunately, or fortunately depending upon how one looks at it, we are older than Generation X.  

 

However, we have family members who fit in that demographic, who love to cruise, and would have loved to sail on the "old" Crystal except they were too busy focussing on their careers, and children, at that time.  They now have the flexibility to travel at different times of the year, and they have the finances that allow them to travel however they wish.  The "new" Crystal could be a good fit for them depending upon what they choose to offer.

 

I look forward to reading the replies in response to your question. 

[nnn]

Younger end of Gen X here.  We sailed old Crystal twice with our kids.  We were looking for upscale coupled with kid-friendly, akin to what Four Seasons Resorts offers on land, and we very much enjoyed old Crystal.  We'll give new Crystal a try next year.  Yes, I know it's a new company, but we're hopeful they will provide a great experience.

[Cruise-y]

I think a lot of regular posters here forget that many others have responsibilities with family, volunteerism and community, as well as a myriad of other vacation travel interests, that prevent multiple cruises a year. I just spent 2 months overseas for family reasons and go back again next month. I’m lucky to have retired from a career with the means to travel (if not the time), but many others here, especially Gen X, may also have financial constraints or work commitments that prevent them from cruising often.
 

Thus, a simple “try it out to see if we like it” option can be a big risk either in terms of time or finances. I think that’s why some want to see better answers on the website about so many different things. Not because they are raining on others’ enthusiasm.

[seaknots]

11 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

New Crystal hasn't sailed yet so care to detail is unknown.

Crystal as it was is no longer in operation.

Easily mixed up when new owners jump on the back of the old company.

 

8 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

It seems whenever someone say something nice about New Crystal you keep saying this.

just a statement of fact

 

 

5 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

I get the same old crew,same old ships,same old hotel directors

why do they come back to work on old crystal ship? better pay? less work? more tips? better cabin? easier life?  or not good enough for other luxury ships?

 

 

[Roland4]

29 minutes ago, seaknots said:

 

just a statement of fact

 

 

why do they come back to work on old crystal ship? better pay? less work? more tips? better cabin? easier life?  or not good enough for other luxury ships?

 

 

In the last six months we have sailed Seabourn Quest, Regent Splendor, and are currently on Silver Moon. We have met former friends/staffers from Crystal on all three and they are happy and thriving. Will they come back? I have no idea, and it is none of our business to ask, but they are obviously "good enough", and to suggest otherwise is patronizing at best.

[seaknots]

7 hours ago, Roland4 said:

We have met former friends/staffers from Crystal on all three and they are happy and thriving.

so why would they want to leave secure jobs to join a new unproven cruise line with 2 old ships 🤔

 

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, seaknots said:

so why would they want to leave secure jobs to join a new unproven cruise line with 2 old ships 🤔

 

That thought should cross most people's minds I suppose.

[Mr Luxury]

2 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Well, you have used the word "old" more times in one post that I might have imagined.

 

I see it a different way:

 

Seasoned crew, Same beautiful ships, Seasoned Hotel Directors, Crystal Society Members, Experienced owners.

 

Every owner has their own approach to business.  

 

And calling those of us who are looking forward and have booked a cruise with the new Crystal as reckless is another interesting description.

 

So in your mind those of us who are looking forward to sailing with Crystal are old and reckless. 

 

Well I have a simple response NOT.

 

In all the years you have posted on CC you have never said much positive that I can remember about old Crystal and now this continues with new Crystal.  I get it. It didn't work for you. I respect that.

 

There is a luxury  line which didn't work for us. 

 

How about if you let those of us who are looking forward to Crystal and those who enjoyed the old Crystal post without having pretty much every post responded to with negative comments. I have made it clear over the years that only one cruise line I have sailed we had an very bad experience and another one we sailed a couple of times we had a so so experience but I cannot imagine posting regularly on both of those board for a couple of reasons. One is simply because each cruise line CC board has a loyal following because most people who post regularly on those boards enjoy the line or are taking their first cruise on that line and want to learn about it.  Speaking for myself I would let them enjoy it.  

 

Over the years on all boards when someone continually posts negative comments people will push back with some sarcastic names to describe this. I won't because name calling is something I don't care for.

 

Also other sarcasm such as the comment made by another poster who said reviews have already been written is another put down.  I don't care for that either.  

 

I've said my peace.  

 

 

Well seasoned,that's a phrase that we use about food.

Well let's hope that everything is well seasoned.

I post here because I am interested in a new cruise line to sail on and want to see excellent results for all of us.

I think that you post here because you're interested in a cruise line that doesn't exist anymore from yesteryear.

I get that the old line suited you well and you had a fantastic time.

I am hoping the same for myself on a new cruise line.

Let's see how things work out as i suspect that the ships,crew,cuisine are nowhere near ready for any guests to make informed decisions about.

Happy sailing to all.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Mr Luxury

[parallax]

I'm a member of Generation X.  I have the pictures of me in flannel to prove it.  We cruised on Crystal twice and we loved it.   Our daughter cried when we disembarked the Symphony the first time.  I hope new Crystal does well and is able to capture the spirit of the original Crystal.  Only time will tell.   We are going to take a wait and see approach with Crystal.