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Excellent

Crystal Serenity

Skagway

I chose this cruise as a surprise for my wife as it encompassed our actual anniversary.  Unfortunately, our travel agent messed it up within 48 hours by emailing my wife the receipt.  We had sailed three previous times with Crystal.

This cruise was a 6 day "Getaway" voyage that is really one half of the normal cruise itinerary.  We were worried about boarding in the midst of the cruise but those fears were quickly alleviated.  Boarding was smooth and we quickly fell into the ship's routine.  We were quickly recognized by staff who knew us from previous cruises (Tipping helps!).  

Service is always 10 out of 10 on Crystal and this cruise did not disappoint.  Bar help and dining staff is excellent.  We sometimes shy away from buffets or "the feeding trough" as we call it, but Crystal's staff makes the experience pleasant as the staff finds seats, carries food and is quick to refill drinks or clear plates.

Our actual anniversary was in Prego where the evening was nothing short of perfect.  Prego prepares the best dish I have had on a ship, the Beef Carpachio.  

We had a Penthouse, the smaller of the 2 but we actually prefer it to the Penthouse Suite with Veranda.  The butler was excellent as was the cabin stewardess.

The price on this short cruise was acceptable.  However, we are finding that Crystal is taking major price increases.  We inquired about the 2019 85 day World cruise in the smaller Penthouse.  The price quoted was breathtaking and if anything will drive us away from Crystal it will be the pricing.  Our opinion is that the Air cruises failed, Crystal is rebuilding both big ships in order to add larger Penthouses and that we are being asked to pay for it.  Yes, we could step down to the standard cabins, but Crystal's standard rooms are too small.  The closets are not walk in and are stuffed beside the bed, causing closet access and use issues which in turn turn into "marital discord".

Our only other beef with Crystal is the lack of an outside bar.  Trying and find a ship of any size in the cruise industry where you can't sit at the bar and enjoy a drink and fresh air.  Crystal's staff will bring you a drink but it comes from inside.

Overall, Crystal provides the best experience in cruising for us.  We just hope that they will come to their senses on pricing.

Crystal always pleases

This was our 12th Crystal cruise,  and we found this cruise to be superb in so many ways.

10 days is a long cruise for us and we found enjoyment in each day. 

The ship, its décor, the size of the suites, have been discussed so no need to reiterate.  Yes the cabins are small by today's standards; they are well maintained with much storage. Our stewardess Hong was a super star and you needed a magnifying glass to find dust. Internet was just ok; I find it as slow as dial up.

Cuisine: Outstanding .  There were many choices and while I was not enamored with every meal( beef is just not as good as in past) I think Crystal does a superb job in their main dining room and specialty restaurants, Prego being our favorite. In fact if we are ever imprisoned and need a last meal it will be the Carpaccio served in Prego.  The Lido was well maintained and always offered multiple choices for breakfast and lunch.  The Ice cream bar, Trident Grill, Tastes and the Bistro were open to offer light snacks to full meals. Our only concern is the amount of food that is wasted, and especially in light of some of the ports that are inhabited by lesser fortunate. We realize Crystal does everything to eliminate waste; sadly it is part of the experience.  I commend Crystal for reducing portion size; you can always request 2nds, 3rds, et al.

Entertainment was varied.  The shows by the special performer were outstanding and to think Crystal brought on 13 extra musicians. There were an abundance of lectures, classes, you name it.  

We used 2 new services, Luggage Free, which brought our large case to the ship in record time.  We also used EMO Taxi to pick us up at the Barbados airport and give us a tour of the Island.  

Crystal has the reputation of being a ship with older aged passengers. This cruise certainly lowered the age range with a great deal of younger families, and singles.  We met many new Crystal cruisers who were over the top with the cruise.

Disembarkation in Miami was a breeze and we were able to fly home on an earlier departure. 

Thank you Captain Giske and your staff. Kudos to the Lido guys and many new faces such as Benz who went out of their way to make the 10 day cruise enjoyable.

Great cruise!

We'd been to most of the places this itinerary went, before and several were not even worth getting off the ship, so the ship was the main reason to go on this cruise. We just wanted to relax.  Crystal Serenity did not disappoint!  We arrived in Barbados and jumped in a cab for the 20 minute ride to the pier.  The Pier in Barbados is a crowded area and after a few moments we figured out where to go.  Luggage was collected from us to be delivered to our cabin and we were shuttled to the actual ship.  

Upon arrival onboard, we checked in ( took like 5 mins--so fast) and were told ( even though it was only 1PM) that the cabins were available.  So we went to our suite.  WOW,  is all I can say. What a way to spend 10 days.  The Deluxe Penthouse was awash with light from not only the sliding door to the oversized balcony, but the window in the bedroom area as well.  Huge Tub and a separate shower was a nice feature.  Walk in closet and the entire thing was immaculately maintained by Themyo, our stewardess,  who was AMAZING!  Our Butler, Richard, always seemed rushed.  At one point I asked how many suites he managed and he said 14 in total.  Compared to our cruise on Silversea where the butler did all kinds of things for us without being asked ( noticed we needed shoes shined- Made a bookmark as I was using a boarding pass as a bookmark).  We really didn't ask much of him other than one night we had a few friends we'd met aboard over and he brought some extra snacks and some Champagne.  Most of our interactions were signing for things Wine/Strawberries sent to us. .  We never had a meal in the suite nor sent out any laundry.  We were pretty low maintenance. However, he was always in a hurry so I guess others were more demanding of his services.  I'd suggest Crystal consider a few more butlers per deck,  if this indeed is the norm.

We ate all of the breakfast and Lunch meals at the beautifully renovated Lido dining area.  It was spectacular.  We found the food to be hot, fresh and just fabulous.  Breakfast was overwhelming, all the choices. Lunch too!  The Bugers in the Trident Grill were amazing and despite the complimentary Ben and Jerry's I only gained a pound on the cruise. 

Dinner in the main dining room was ok, not great but ok.  We found the best meal on the ship to be Prego, their Italian restaurant followed closely by Silk Road.  The service in all venues including the main dining room was spectacular but we just found the food in the MDR to be a bit off.  Tough steaks ( Improve the quality of beef) and somewhat bland flavors led to a few disappointments.  However, we never left hungry, that's for sure!  Portion sizes were perfect.  We also tried Tastes and that was pretty good too.  I'd give that a 7 out of 10.  

Shows were pretty good and quite varied but found the production shows to be a bit hokey.  While very talented folks were in them, I think they could have better material to work with as the voices and dancing were just amazing.  Seemed geared to a really old crowd.  Speaking of which,  I found that this was not nearly as old as I thought it would be.  Since this was the last 10 days of the world cruise we thought it would be full of 85 plus year olds, but on the contrary I'd say the average age was 50 something with a smattering of young couples who looked to be on a honeymoon.  Everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves and meeting new friends daily. 

I'll not go into the ports suffice to say the ship was the reason we came and probably is the reason we will come back to Crystal.  It was just lovely!

Taking the trip just for the ship!

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