We chose this cruise for the itinerary (Canada-New England) and because we wanted to try Crystal. We found lots to like. The ship is pretty, easy to navigate, and generally very comfortable. We enjoyed the food in the main dining room and had an excellent meal in Prego. I loved the cabin, which was admittedly small but otherwise perfect. Housekeeping was excellent.

What didn't we like? We opted for an additional night in a Montreal hotel because it included airport transfers and transport to the ship, which was in Quebec City. This turned out to be a disappointing choice - most of the time was spent on buses, and the hotel served a buffet breakfast on the morning of departure that had a limited selection and hot food that was room temperature. In hindsight, I wonder why Crystal didn't offer the option of a Quebec City embarkation - a lovely town that we would have liked more time to explore than a couple of hours before we sailed. The actual embarkation was smoothly managed.

We like the lectures on Cunard and looked forward to those on Crystal, which have been rated highly. We found them to be more entertainment than enrichment. The port talks only addressed US stops (including, for some reason, the Salem witch trials), and one lecturer devoted 3 talks to female musical and film stars of the mid-20th century. Entertaining, but not really informative or thought provoking. Read more