After much anticipation, the newest ship in the Crystal Cruise Lines fleet, the Crystal Serenity, made her debut, under some interesting circumstances. While preparing the ship for her maiden voyage, the new propulsion system experienced some problems, causing a return to the French shipyard and a week of drydock. This caused delays in crew training, interior finishes and general deliveries of ship's stores. Consequently, Crystal contacted every passenger booked on the maiden voyage and offered them a choice: canceling their cruise and receiving a full refund, or remain on the cruise and still receiving a refund. Most, if not all passengers, chose to continue on with their plans to cruise.

The Serenity looks much like her older sisters with two important variations.. There is one additional deck of Penthouses, and the lifeboats are recessed into the ship's hull on Deck 6, which removes the problem of obstructed view cabins. All cabins are outside, and all having verandahs, with the exceptions of the Category C cabins, which have a large picture window.

I sailed on the Grand Inaugural Voyage on July 7, 2003, in an AA Stateroom on Deck 10, and all I can say is that it was a fantastic experience, even with the very few glitches that happened due to the delay. While there were some problems with crew training and the absence of things like tableware and certain beverages, this did in no way diminish what has become known as the "Crystal Experience". Read more