Any news/comments from Symphony?

[Keith1010]

Bon Voyage and enjoy every minute.

Keith

[krb1000]

September 19, 2023
Symphony
So here is a quintessential Crystal story … in June 2015 we sailed Symphony from NYC to Dover…16 days of heaven.  On that sailing, Marli was our sommelier every evening…she was the brightest light ♥️ … It was her last Crystal contact, she had to leave for family reasons… fast forward to this morning and we walked into the Bistro- et voila… Marli! she recognized us and we fell into her arms and I began crying. Seriously? How can this be? 
Anyway, we head off for our tour of Dubrovnik (if you need an amazing guide, pm us) at dinner I start scrolling through my 700 million photos all the way back to 2015 and find a photo of Marli on her last evening… here she is with Timmy and our servers… I keep scrolling and oh my goodness… there I am in the e x a c t same dress and necklace… can you freaking believe it?? 

 

x

 

Marli, our servers and Tim … 2015

 

 

Tim, Marli and me…2023

 

And me in 2015…proof positive that what goes around…comes around♥️

[krb1000]

So here is Theo… some of you may remember him… he left Crystal for a bit … we are thrilled that he is our butler 

I’ve posted to our blog about our first day on the ship

http://www.travelingwithtimmy.com

[DaisyUK]

Just a brief pop in to say that we are on this cruise and, on the whole, are having a wonderful time. There have been a few issues, all except one being minor. I will do a complete review next week but just wanted to check in and say that our experience so far has been very close to our memories of previous Crystal cruises with some significant improvements in a couple of areas 😊

[red4lisa]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:19 AM, krb1000 said:

So here is Theo… some of you may remember him… he left Crystal for a bit … we are thrilled that he is our butler 

I’ve posted to our blog about our first day on the ship

http://www.travelingwithtimmy.com

Theo is one of the best! 

[ivyleaguegent]

On 9/14/2023 at 8:40 AM, Mr Luxury said:

Seabourn do this also. 

I don't bother to print out luggage tags that would also be too flimsy to withstand porterage.

I wait until embarkation and tell the check-in staff which suite I'm in and they tag the bags at the port anyway.

I don't understand the rationale behind cruise lines thinking of luggage tags.

My travel agents mails me clear plastic luggage tags that you insert paper tags into, and Bobs your uncle!

[avalon244]

My wife and I are also on this cruise. Having a wonderful time, except for 1 issue (which I'll get to later). The service is excellent as always. Lots of familiar crew faces, many of whom recognized our faces. Food at Waterside is better than ever. Umi Uma is still spectacular. And I think the entertainment is a notch better than I remember. There are a few slightly annoying design flaws with closets and drawers, but these are minor. However (and, remember, I am one of Crystal’s biggest supporters), the menu at the new Italian restaurant is a COMPLETE DISASTER. We had a horrible meal there a couple of nights ago. My wife and I are not from Northern Italy nor are any of our families, so I can't judge whether the food is authentic Northern Italian cuisine, but the concept from start to finish is totally ill conceived. Americans, in particular, will never get onboard with it. I predict the entire menu will go down in flames within 3 to 6 months.

[DaisyUK]

1 hour ago, avalon244 said:

My wife and I are also on this cruise. Having a wonderful time, except for 1 issue (which I'll get to later). The service is excellent as always. Lots of familiar crew faces, many of whom recognized our faces. Food at Waterside is better than ever. Umi Uma is still spectacular. And I think the entertainment is a notch better than I remember. There are a few slightly annoying design flaws with closets and drawers, but these are minor. However (and, remember, I am one of Crystal’s biggest supporters), the menu at the new Italian restaurant is a COMPLETE DISASTER. We had a horrible meal there a couple of nights ago. My wife and I are not from Northern Italy nor are any of our families, so I can't judge whether the food is authentic Northern Italian cuisine, but the concept from start to finish is totally ill conceived. Americans, in particular, will never get onboard with it. I predict the entire menu will go down in flames within 3 to 6 months.

Just goes to show how subjective food is. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner in Osteria d'Ovidio a few nights ago, although we chose from the a la carte menu rather than going for the tasting menu so perhaps we chose differently. One problem I think they may have going forward is that the menu is a somewhat limited, so could become repetitive if they don't introduce a greater variety of dishes.

[BWIVince]

1 hour ago, avalon244 said:

My wife and I are also on this cruise. Having a wonderful time, except for 1 issue (which I'll get to later). The service is excellent as always. Lots of familiar crew faces, many of whom recognized our faces. Food at Waterside is better than ever. Umi Uma is still spectacular. And I think the entertainment is a notch better than I remember. There are a few slightly annoying design flaws with closets and drawers, but these are minor. However (and, remember, I am one of Crystal’s biggest supporters), the menu at the new Italian restaurant is a COMPLETE DISASTER. We had a horrible meal there a couple of nights ago. My wife and I are not from Northern Italy nor are any of our families, so I can't judge whether the food is authentic Northern Italian cuisine, but the concept from start to finish is totally ill conceived. Americans, in particular, will never get onboard with it. I predict the entire menu will go down in flames within 3 to 6 months.

Point taken…. I haven’t experienced the new cuisine yet so I really appreciate your experience, but I have to say the new menu is a LOT more interesting to me than the old Prego menu was.  That said, being of Italian heritage, I totally appreciate American expectations, and am reminded of the original Kyoto and Prego menus when Crystal first launched, which were overly cliched stereotypes of what Americans were comfortable ordering from both cuisines, and the value of familiarity.  I just wish I didn’t always have to be along for that ride sometimes.

 

I appreciate you sharing your experience, and I definitely expect changes will be made.

 

Vince

[avalon244]

1 hour ago, BWIVince said:

Point taken…. I haven’t experienced the new cuisine yet so I really appreciate your experience, but I have to say the new menu is a LOT more interesting to me than the old Prego menu was.  That said, being of Italian heritage, I totally appreciate American expectations, and am reminded of the original Kyoto and Prego menus when Crystal first launched, which were overly cliched stereotypes of what Americans were comfortable ordering from both cuisines, and the value of familiarity.  I just wish I didn’t always have to be along for that ride sometimes.

 

I appreciate you sharing your experience, and I definitely expect changes will be made.

 

Vince

Vince, I was never in love with the old Prego either. I liked it and did think it had a lot of options. I tend to be adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. My wife not so much. So when I first read the menu online a month or so ago, I too thought it looked interesting. Buy when your waiter has difficulty explaining what's in a particular dish, it's a sure sign of trouble ahead. To each his own, but if someone about to board the Symphony in the next month asked for my opinion, I would tell them to use all of their specialty restaurant comps at Umi Uma.

[Roland4]

2 hours ago, DaisyUK said:

Just goes to show how subjective food is. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner in Osteria d'Ovidio a few nights ago, although we chose from the a la carte menu rather than going for the tasting menu so perhaps we chose differently. One problem I think they may have going forward is that the menu is a somewhat limited, so could become repetitive if they don't introduce a greater variety of dishes.

There seems to be no "middle ground" on the Osterria. People either love it or hate it. We did a Vintage Room on Serenity a week ago and the topic came up. Of the five couples, one loved it, we were "on the fence" (I guess we are the middle ground😄) and the other three were almost violently negative about it, saying they hated it and it was a deal-breaker for them. And these were all long-ttime Crystal guests.

 

As to the menu, we felt the same way about it. On a longer cruise, or the World Cruise, the menu is going to get "old" in a hurry.

[Keith1010]

Nice to read everyone's comments. I found on our two cruises that some liked Oseteria, some were so so about it and some didn't care for it. No question that several people said they missed Prego.

 

As Vince said restaurants evolve so let's see what happens.

Just two more comments.

 

World Cruises are a separate beast.Even Prego they would add a few items each segment and remove others.

 

And my view of Specialty Restaurants. They are supposed to be special. In other words on a typical sailing they are meant for someone two visit once or twice per voyage for say a 12 day cruise. In its inception it was really one visit back in the early days. 

 

Great comments by those on board because in the end it is your opinion that matters.

 

Keith 

[Host Hattie]

On 9/20/2023 at 4:02 PM, krb1000 said:

On that sailing, Marli was our sommelier every evening…she was the brightest light

Has Marli ever worked on Cunard by any chance ?

[DaisyUK]

I certainly agree with avalon244 about Umi Uma - whilst we enjoyed the meal in Osetaria, I don't think it compared to UU. I used to like Prego also, but again much preferred UU. We feel a bit differently to Keith about the specialty restaurants. We don't like dining in big restaurants, so usually eat in the specialities or Tastes on Crystal and the specialities on Regent. On Cunard we love the QG restaurant - same table, same people serving us and has a nice, intimate feel to it. 

[vistaman]

5 hours ago, BWIVince said:

Point taken…. I haven’t experienced the new cuisine yet so I really appreciate your experience, but I have to say the new menu is a LOT more interesting to me than the old Prego menu was.  That said, being of Italian heritage, I totally appreciate American expectations, and am reminded of the original Kyoto and Prego menus when Crystal first launched, which were overly cliched stereotypes of what Americans were comfortable ordering from both cuisines, and the value of familiarity.  I just wish I didn’t always have to be along for that ride sometimes.

 

I appreciate you sharing your experience, and I definitely expect changes will be made.

 

Vince

yes the menu's by Valentino and Piero Selvaggio  -  If a cruise was starting in LA  I especially took 2 nights extra  in a B Hills hotel ,  one for Valentino and one for Le Dôme at lunch

I remember the second time , I was trying to order a special white Burgundy and Piero came to my table with 2 very special Italian white  : are you not willing to give a chance  and  try  one of those ? 

Great host !  where is the time ?  

[krb1000]

September 19,2023 After breakfast on our balcony, we headed off the ship to meet up with our guide, Darko. The tender ride to shore took about 20 minutes. An advantage of sailing on a small ship like Symphony, is that we can anchor in the harbor at the entrance to Old Town Dubrovnik. Symphony at anchor. We strolled around the old town, learning about the history of Dubrovnik, enjoying a leisurely pace with Darko....

I’ve updated our blog…very sorry to simply be posting a link… but it’s a lot to post everywhere… 

www.travelingwithtimmy.com

 

Here’s a pic taken at the tender port

[oakridger]

@krb1000 I have been reading your posts here and on your blog.  Your pictures of Venice are some of the best I have seen!  Wow!  Your joie de vivre is so refreshing and inspiring!! 🙂  

 

Thank you for posting and I will be reading along and anticipating my next cruise on Crystal!

 

~Nancy

[krb1000]

8 hours ago, oakridger said:

@krb1000 I have been reading your posts here and on your blog.  Your pictures of Venice are some of the best I have seen!  Wow!  Your joie de vivre is so refreshing and inspiring!! 🙂  

 

Thank you for posting and I will be reading along and anticipating my next cruise on Crystal!

 

~Nancy

Nancy! You made my day! 
Every minute on this ship is a joy♥️

[travelberlin]

23 hours ago, avalon244 said:

My wife and I are also on this cruise. Having a wonderful time, except for 1 issue (which I'll get to later). The service is excellent as always. Lots of familiar crew faces, many of whom recognized our faces. Food at Waterside is better than ever. Umi Uma is still spectacular. And I think the entertainment is a notch better than I remember. There are a few slightly annoying design flaws with closets and drawers, but these are minor. However (and, remember, I am one of Crystal’s biggest supporters), the menu at the new Italian restaurant is a COMPLETE DISASTER. We had a horrible meal there a couple of nights ago. My wife and I are not from Northern Italy nor are any of our families, so I can't judge whether the food is authentic Northern Italian cuisine, but the concept from start to finish is totally ill conceived. Americans, in particular, will never get onboard with it. I predict the entire menu will go down in flames within 3 to 6 months.

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Osteria. I am a big fan of Italian cuisine and actually when in Italy, I always go to eat at Osterias. There is a certain classification of places to eat in Italy (pizzerias, osterias, trattorias, restaurants). For me “osterias” have the best Italian food, non pretentious and home made (excellent ragouts and fresh pasta). I was hoping that Osteria D’Ovidio will be similar at Crystal. 
I was not a fan of Prego, but they prepared for me a good spaghetti al aglio, oleo and pepperoncino as a starter. I have liked the flexibility they showed to prepare a dish which was not on the menu. Of course the pasta I was requesting was very easy to make. 
 

Now I have appetite for Italian food 😃 

 

Ivi

[Texas Tillie]

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Osteria. I am a big fan of Italian cuisine and actually when in Italy, I always go to eat at Osterias. There is a certain classification of places to eat in Italy (pizzerias, osterias, trattorias, restaurants). For me “osterias” have the best Italian food, non pretentious and home made (excellent ragouts and fresh pasta). I was hoping that Osteria D’Ovidio will be similar at Crystal. 
I was not a fan of Prego, but they prepared for me a good spaghetti al aglio, oleo and pepperoncino as a starter. I have liked the flexibility they showed to prepare a dish which was not on the menu. Of course the pasta I was requesting was very easy to make. 
 

Now I have appetite for Italian food 😃 

 

Ivi

 

If an Osteria in Italy implies non pretentious food, then the restaurant on Crystal is misnamed. I've seen photos of the food served there and I'd describe it as foo-foo. I seriously doubt that 99.9% of Italians eat like that at home.

 

Patty

[travelberlin]

5 minutes ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

If an Osteria in Italy implies non pretentious food, then the restaurant on Crystal is misnamed. I've seen photos of the food served there and I'd describe it as foo-foo. I seriously doubt that 99.9% of Italians eat like that at home.

 

Patty

Yes. Osteria D’Ovidio looks more like a “restaurant” in the Italian sense. It was also my first impression when I saw the menú of the Osteria at the Crystal ships.

 

The Osterias in Italy seem to have evolved from wine bars to serve certain home cooked dishes (few). The quality is guaranteed by the freshness of its ingredients and by the cooking for just few people. Since my main meal is at lunch time, I have benefited a lot from Osterias in Italy, which offer fixed menus with good house wines. Those menus change every day according to the availability of ingredients. In Verona for example, we went every day to the same Osteria (they accepted dogs and we were traveling with our cocker spaniel). We ate  very good and were not disappointed.

 

Ivi

[KenzSailing]

 

When did this board turn into a cross between the Food Channel and the Hell's Kitchen TV show?

 

-Asking for the proprietor of an imaginary bistro(not to be confused with a restaurant.)

[travelberlin]

Aren’t we lucky that some of the “off topic” contributions have a hint of a thread police?

 

Asking for a friend ….

[KenzSailing]

On 9/28/2023 at 6:13 AM, travelberlin said:

Aren’t we lucky that some of the “off topic” contributions have a hint of a thread police?

 

Asking for a friend ….

 

Oh, that must be the waaambulance I hear.