This was my 1st Crystal cruise and I had high expectations. Most of my cruising has been on Celebrity which I enjoy. I have been on Azamara and Oceania, both of which disappointed me. On Azamara to Antarctica I had multiple complaints and on Oceania, the service was great but the food I described as "Gourmet Nursing Home" because it had absolutely no taste and no seasonings.

Our boarding went smoothly and efficiently. The first thing I saw on embarking was the library so I walked in an immediately found many very recent books, two of which I checked out. The cabin, as others have said, is small but who stays in the cabin? There was plenty of space for our clothes and it was nice to have both a shower and a tub. The Muster drill was disorganized. At first they didn't want your cabin # which is strange cause how would they know who was there. Eventually they took the #'s.

To me, the food on the ship was superb. On the 1st night, I had a Halibut dish that was as good as I have ever had. The 2nd night I had Lobster, cooked perfectly. I was impressed that my soup was ALWAYS hot, which is a must for me. The salads were fresh and my meat was always cooked perfectly (red warm center). The choices were varied and unlike Oceania, they seasoned the food! The specialty restaurants were OK but not significantly better than the main dining room, which I enjoyed. We had dining by reservation which worked out superbly. The wait staff was efficient, knowledgeable and professional. I don't need to be coddled. Most of the time we had breakfast and lunch in the Lido and I was totally satisfied.(Fresh squeezed OJ is a must) Read more