First time Crystal cruisers selected this cruise for a 'taste' of the line......embarkation was nearly like waiting for your broken bus in a bus station. We missed our 7pm dinner reservation for anniversary celebration and had no assistance on dining that evening. We were upgraded to a penthouse a few days before and while the cabin had some great storage and bathroom features, the glass table in front of the sofa and foot of the bed was a late night accident waiting to happen. Our butler, Didi was delightful. Our bed had a great divide in the center and remained so. Imprinted stationery was offered and ordered and delivered with our last name was misspelled....Somehow, Crystal simply couldn't correct the course and we were bitterly disappointed in the cuisine, drinks, service and entertainment offered. Even the 'muster' lacked organization.Our evening in Silk Road was so awful that our dinner party of 6 just finally gave up trying to get service and palatable food. Couldn't figure out the problem as resturant was half full? Surprise! There was about 20 children on board. A younger group of cruisers than expected as the short duration and we heard Crystal is trying for a different market. The pool deck remained closed until the last 2days of the cruise. Not one staff member called us by name or even acknowledged us in passing! We used our credit for the embarkation debacle for disembarkation (or debarking, the term Crystal uses). That seriously was the very best part of our cruise! First class,super smooth, wonderful food, drinks, care and very helpful agents in San Francisco getting us to the airport.