Crystal Symphony Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We sailed on the Crystal Symphony January 2015 from Bali, Indonesia with 3 port stops in Indonesia (Belawan was cancelled because of channel dredging), 3 ports in Malaysia, one in Thailand, and ending in Singapore. We’ve sailed on the Crystal Serenity before, like the line very much (not quite up to Regent), and were generally quite pleased with this cruise. Okay, you probably know why Crystal is a top-rated line, but here are a few things of which you should be aware.
The cruise started in Bali and you could embark anytime on Jan 17 or 18. Crystal met passengers flying in on Jan 17 but refused to do so for people like us who arrived on Jan 18. Moreover, they didn’t tell us this in advance, so we were stuck at the airport trying to find the Crystal shuttle before we finally took a taxi to the port.
Once on the ship things were fine, although we were surprised to find the 246-sq ft stateroom about 10% smaller than those on the Crystal Serenity (269 sq ft) and 22% smaller than the corresponding level room on Regent (301 sq ft). We were also surprised that the “free” Internet service for Crystal Society members (those who have cruised on Crystal before) was for just one hour a day (not unlimited like Regent). Moreover, the connection was quite slow so uploading photos used up your hour in short order.
Cabin Review
The stateroom was fine with a euro king-size bed (same as US queen, but with large rounded corners at the foot so if you're 6-ft tall like me, one foot will hang over the end). We were surprised to find the 246-sq ft stateroom about 10% smaller than those on the Crystal Serenity (269 sq ft) and 22% smaller than the corresponding level room on Regent (301 sq ft). Perhaps because we were in a hot climate, the lowest we could get the cabin temperature was about 73 degrees F, which was okay during the day, but too hot at night. We traded the duvet on the bed for a blanket, but even that was often too hot. So a good night’s sleep wasn’t one of the high points of the cruise. Also, only one 2-prong 110-v electric outlet (at the desk) so plugging in tablet, laptop, chargers for Kindle, phone, and camera batteries can't be done. No grounded plugs either.