Crystal Serenity Review

[ak1004]

A review of the new Crystal from a paying customer (not paid influencer) - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=704902

 

Key points:

 

Generally a lack of engagement by management and officers with guests who are not known

Apparent two tier service levels with regular known guests receiving warmer service and more indulged

 

Overall this was a very enjoyable quality cruise experience on a 20 year old ship, which is partially refurbished. This surprised us as it doesn’t quite match what the launch publicity and “influencers” would have you believe. It was good, but not exceptional, and in our opinion no better than the other luxury lines.

 

And eye opener for all new potential Crystal customers.

[saminina]

Perception of two tier service levels would be especially noticeable to first time passengers during the first few months of operating,   It might feel uncomfortable for up to 20% of the passenger load.

[ctjon]

Depending upon the service differences - why would you not expect different treatment for passengers who have 100 Crystal cruises done vs.  first time.  Been on the ships many times - sure the crew knows your names and what your preferences are - you don't necessarily have to order something when you always have the same thing on the last 50 cruises.   You get the same differences at your local restaurant.

[Keith1010]

Yes the reality is on any cruise line or at any restaurant on land if you frequent there a lot the staff does get to know you.  I was on SS and there was a couple who had 100 or so sailings and the same happened there. Saw it on SB years ago. 

 

Some people are better than others in terms of engaging others. In other words, I have met first time Crystal Cruisers who are extroverted and very engaging and already known by senior staff and officers as if they have sailed for years.  

 

Keith

[ak1004]

Personally I haven't experienced this on any line, except Crystal. On our first SS sailing we didn't see any difference and you couldn't really tell who is regular and who is not. On Crystal is was very obvious. Same on our recent Uniworld cruise. We met people who sailed with Uniworld 15-20 times. They got exactly the same treatment as us.

 

On our Crystal sailing, the cruise director was very friendly and approachable to the regulars. To us, not so much. We were invisible to him.

 

So no, I don't think this is normal, and I don't think it's the same in the local restaurant.

[BWIVince]

People who frequent a business, especially in travel and hospitality, develop personal relationships with their service suppliers, and those relationships are different than the ones the staff have with new guests.  🤷‍♂️ That's inevitable and happens everywhere.  If Crystal was structurally putting in service aspects that hindered the new guests from developing the same relationships, or management was somehow disrespecting the new guests, I'd be concerned...  But there is just no way a staff member who has sailed with a guest 50 times is going to have the same relationship with a guest they just met.  

 

If a guest is really sensitive to that, there are a couple of newer lines out there which might be a better fit for them as a higher percentage of guests are starting off at the same point with more of (but not all) of those staff members.

 

Vince

[ryndam]

1 minute ago, BWIVince said:

But there is just no way a staff member who has sailed with a guest 50 times is going to have the same relationship with a guest they just met.  

Vince

 

This is not meant as any sort of bragging right or acknowledgement of special service onboard, but we have sailed with one of Crystal's returning cruise directors for well over 40+ years. Our relationship with him goes back to his long ago stints on HAL and Cunard, long before Crystal. So, naturally, we often have very long conversations when commiserating over our shared past voyages.

 

Rob

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

People who frequent a business, especially in travel and hospitality, develop personal relationships with their service suppliers, and those relationships are different than the ones the staff have with new guests.  🤷‍♂️ That's inevitable and happens everywhere.  If Crystal was structurally putting in service aspects that hindered the new guests from developing the same relationships, or management was somehow disrespecting the new guests, I'd be concerned...  But there is just no way a staff member who has sailed with a guest 50 times is going to have the same relationship with a guest they just met.  

 

If a guest is really sensitive to that, there are a couple of newer lines out there which might be a better fit for them as a higher percentage of guests are starting off at the same point with more of (but not all) of those staff members.

 

Vince

 

Personally I couldn't care less if staff members call me by name or not. But as you mentioned, some guests are more sensitive, so this is something to be aware of.

 

Also, many mentioned that the staff remembers your preferences after 2-3 days, regardless if you are new or returning member. Never happened to us on Crystal (but to be fair, never happened on SS as well - the only cruise we experienced this was Uniworld).

 

But I think the most important sentence in the whole review is this:

 

It was good, but not exceptional, and in our opinion no better than the other luxury lines.

 

Yes, just one opinion from just one guest. But to me it speaks volume and matches exactly our experience. 

 

[BWIVince]

3 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Personally I haven't experienced this on any line, except Crystal. On our first SS sailing we didn't see any difference and you couldn't really tell who is regular and who is not. On Crystal is was very obvious. Same on our recent Uniworld cruise. We met people who sailed with Uniworld 15-20 times. They got exactly the same treatment as us.

 

On our Crystal sailing, the cruise director was very friendly and approachable to the regulars. To us, not so much. We were invisible to him.

 

So no, I don't think this is normal, and I don't think it's the same in the local restaurant.

 

You really don't experience that in a local restaurant?  Twice last month the GM of two different restaurants made it a point to come to my table and greet me by name and chat because they knew me as a regular for years.  In both cases they walked by and checked on other tables, but I was the only one greeted by name and got the extended chat.  I wouldn't have thought anything of it if I was in anyone else's shoes (how would they know me), but I also wouldn't have taken offense to it.  If I tried to engage them and was rebuffed, that would be a different story, but that doesn't seem to be happening in these examples.

 

Vince

[BWIVince]

1 minute ago, ak1004 said:

 

Personally I couldn't care less if staff members call me by name or not. But as you mentioned, some guests are more sensitive, so this is something to be aware of.

 

Also, many mentioned that the staff remembers your preferences after 2-3 days, regardless if you are new or returning member. Never happened to us on Crystal (but to be fair, never happened on SS as well - the only cruise we experienced this was Uniworld).

 

But I think the most important sentence in the whole review is this:

 

It was good, but not exceptional, and in our opinion no better than the other luxury lines.

 

Yes, just one opinion from just one guest. But to me it speaks volume and matches exactly our experience. 

 

 

I don't mean to take away from that point at all, or from your experience...  Mine is just the opposite so I was just engaging for discussion, but that's not meant that my experience is any more valuable.  I appreciate you sharing that.

 

Vince

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

 

You really don't experience that in a local restaurant?  Twice last month the GM of two different restaurants made it a point to come to my table and greet me by name and chat because they knew me as a regular for years.  In both cases they walked by and checked on other tables, but I was the only one greeted by name and got the extended chat.  I wouldn't have thought anything of it if I was in anyone else's shoes (how would they know me), but I also wouldn't have taken offense to it.  If I tried to engage them and was rebuffed, that would be a different story, but that doesn't seem to be happening in these examples.

 

Vince

 

To some degree yes.. but it's much more extreme on Crystal than on other lines.

[BWIVince]

4 minutes ago, ryndam said:

 

This is not meant as any sort of bragging right or acknowledgement of special service onboard, but we have sailed with one of Crystal's returning cruise directors for well over 40+ years. Our relationship with him goes back to his long ago stints on HAL and Cunard, long before Crystal. So, naturally, we often have very long conversations when commiserating over our shared past voyages.

 

Rob

 

I can relate completely...  I had the same kind of experience with one of the restaurant managers, who my family knew not only Crystal's whole history, but also from Princess, before NYK was event dreaming of Crystal.  😊 

 

Vince

[May B]

I like the format of the review. Glad to see their negatives are not things that are important to me!

 

Looking forward to my own review, in November. I’ll try to remember this format.

[Keith1010]

24 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Personally I haven't experienced this on any line, except Crystal. On our first SS sailing we didn't see any difference and you couldn't really tell who is regular and who is not. On Crystal is was very obvious. Same on our recent Uniworld cruise. We met people who sailed with Uniworld 15-20 times. They got exactly the same treatment as us.

 

On our Crystal sailing, the cruise director was very friendly and approachable to the regulars. To us, not so much. We were invisible to him.

 

So no, I don't think this is normal, and I don't think it's the same in the local restaurant.

Well you might not have but I saw it first hand on SS and SB. It was obvious.  I didn't really care. Why should I?  If people know one another because they sailed a lot I think that is very nice.  

 

And when we sailed Crystal and no one new us I didn't care either.

 

I do believe it takes two to tango. We enjoy the crew so whether they know us or not (new crew aren't going to know us) we enjoy engaging in conversation with them. 

 

I am not sure what special treatment you think people get.  I believe the crew goes out of their way with all guests.

 

Sure if you have a lot of sailings you might get recognized for that at a reception and it is human nature to develop bonds with people the more you know them and that goes for fellow guests.

 

As I've said I have met people who are very engaging with the crew or with fellow guests on their first cruise and some might thing they have sailed often but they hadn't.

 

Keith 

 

 

[PaulMCO]

I can relate to this.  Our first OC cruise was a 7 day Caribbean Cruise.   It was very obvious who were the past guests.   They got significant obvious attention in the Terrace - why because the guys knew them. Same from the Maitre D - Remi...and CD Rick..

 

Our next cruise was a 24 day cruise and it was totally different.  You had time to find a great waiter, time to joke with the staff in the Terrace, and time to get even Remi to smile.

 

 

 

 

[ak1004]

25 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

Well you might not have but I saw it first hand on SS and SB. It was obvious.  I didn't really care. Why should I?  If people know one another because they sailed a lot I think that is very nice.  

 

And when we sailed Crystal and no one new us I didn't care either.

 

I do believe it takes two to tango. We enjoy the crew so whether they know us or not (new crew aren't going to know us) we enjoy engaging in conversation with them. 

 

I am not sure what special treatment you think people get.  I believe the crew goes out of their way with all guests.

 

Sure if you have a lot of sailings you might get recognized for that at a reception and it is human nature to develop bonds with people the more you know them and that goes for fellow guests.

 

As I've said I have met people who are very engaging with the crew or with fellow guests on their first cruise and some might thing they have sailed often but they hadn't.

 

Keith 

 

 

 

You are right. I don't really care. Some people do.

 

What special treatment? How about getting your favorite timeslot in specialty restaurant? Or getting a better table in the restaurant (not that I care much, but again, some people do). Getting a space in a sold out excursions? Or sold out class? I don't know if this is actually happening, but there are a lot of ways to favor a guest.

 

To us, it was not obvious on SS who are the first timers, but very obvious on Crystal.

 

Again, I couldn't care less - we sail to see the world, not to become friends with the staff. But this is something you cannot ignore.

[Keith1010]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

You are right. I don't really care. Some people do.

 

What special treatment? How about getting your favorite timeslot in specialty restaurant? Or getting a better table in the restaurant (not that I care much, but again, some people do). Getting a space in a sold out excursions? Or sold out class? I don't know if this is actually happening, but there are a lot of ways to favor a guest.

 

To us, it was not obvious on SS who are the first timers, but very obvious on Crystal.

 

Again, I couldn't care less - we sail to see the world, not to become friends with the staff. But this is something you cannot ignore.

With all due respect you mentioned all these things but you really don't know if it is happening.  So maybe it's not. Or maybe it does. Or maybe it doesn't on other lines. Or maybe it does.

 

I just don't worry about other people.

 

In my case I really don't care.

 

Same goes for evening attire. Some get upset if someone is not in appropriate attire.  Me I just focus on my wife and having the best time we can. I do care about having a great time though.

 

Keith

 

 

[AtA]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

You are right. I don't really care. Some people do.

 

What special treatment? How about getting your favorite timeslot in specialty restaurant? Or getting a better table in the restaurant (not that I care much, but again, some people do). Getting a space in a sold out excursions? Or sold out class? I don't know if this is actually happening, but there are a lot of ways to favor a guest.

 

To us, it was not obvious on SS who are the first timers, but very obvious on Crystal.

 

Again, I couldn't care less - we sail to see the world, not to become friends with the staff. But this is something you cannot ignore.

I have 15 cruises on Crystal, know much of the crew and they know me by name. I can assure you i have never gotten a space in a sold out tour or a better table in the restaurant. And the only reason we ever get our time slot in the specialty restaurant is because we tend to eat late, when it’s less crowded.

 

I was on SS a year ago and it was very obvious who got treated special. In fact once we wound up becoming friends with a couple who sailed 100’s of nights on SS (since we got to know them on a tour on turn around day) all of a sudden we were getting more preferential treatment and a much better location in the main dining room with our friends waiter, etc. 

[tinaincc]

1 hour ago, AtA said:

I have 15 cruises on Crystal, know much of the crew and they know me by name. I can assure you i have never gotten a space in a sold out tour or a better table in the restaurant. And the only reason we ever get our time slot in the specialty restaurant is because we tend to eat late, when it’s less crowded.

 

I was on SS a year ago and it was very obvious who got treated special. In fact once we wound up becoming friends with a couple who sailed 100’s of nights on SS (since we got to know them on a tour on turn around day) all of a sudden we were getting more preferential treatment and a much better location in the main dining room with our friends waiter, etc. 

To be clear, you are saying this does NOT happen on Crystal but is does happen on SS?

 

It is interesting to me that you are criticizing someone else's review - which is their own opinion of what they perceived/experienced. 

[Keith1010]

45 minutes ago, AtA said:

Actually I noticed that when you treat the staff with respect, they return the favor

Absolutely.  Kindness and treating someone the way we would like to be treated is  a good way to live life. 
 

Keith

[AtA]

2 minutes ago, tinaincc said:

To be clear, you are saying this does NOT happen on Crystal but is does happen on SS?

 

It is interesting to me that you are criticizing someone else's review - which is their own opinion of what they perceived/experienced. 

No I’m just responding to Ak’s comment about how they FEEL those of us with more cruises are getting special perks like special time slots or spaces on sold out tours and showing how it’s not the case

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, AtA said:

No I’m just responding to Ak’s comment about how they FEEL those of us with more cruises are getting special perks like special time slots or spaces on sold out tours and showing how it’s not the case

 

I never said it's actually happening on Crystal or any other line, I just provided a few examples of how special treatment might look like.

 

As @Keith1010 mentioned (and I agree 100%), I really don't know if it is happening. So maybe it's not. Or maybe it does. Or maybe it doesn't on other lines. Or maybe it does.

[tinaincc]

4 minutes ago, AtA said:

No I’m just responding to Ak’s comment about how they FEEL those of us with more cruises are getting special perks like special time slots or spaces on sold out tours and showing how it’s not the case

I assume that whomever posted that review on cruise critic did so because they felt that or perceived that to be the case. I find it funny that of all that was written people are getting so worked up about it. 

[AtA]

3 hours ago, tinaincc said:

I assume that whomever posted that review on cruise critic did so because they felt that or perceived that to be the case. I find it funny that of all that was written people are getting so worked up about it. 

And they just posted they have no idea if it is happening on Crystal or any other line. This after implying it didn’t happen on the other lines. 

[ak1004]

14 minutes ago, AtA said:

And they just posted they have no idea if it is happening on Crystal or any other line. This after implying it didn’t happen on the other lines. 

 

Well, I'm not sure why you are putting words in my mouth, but let me clarify this one more time.

 

I never implied that any kind of perks is happening or not happening on Crystal or any other line.

 

I just pointed out that whatever the reviewer mentioned about "lack of engagement by management and officers with guests who are not known" was our feeling as well, and we did not have a similar feeling on other lines.

 

This feeling or lack of it might be subjective, and does not imply that regulars on Crystal or any other line get any special treatment. They might or they might not.

 

Someone also mentioned recently on another board that they have sailed OC and was definitely not made to feel ‘one of the family’. This was our impression as well.

 

Beyond this we enjoyed OC very much and would definitely return if their pricing was more in line with other luxury lines. Based on the number of guests on the current Serenity sailing, looks like many other people share the same sentiment.

Edited September 15, 2023 by ak1004