I chose this line for the first time because of its prior reputation. I have traveled several times on Silversea and Seabourn and wanted to try Crystal. The Symphony is a lovely ship although considerably larger than I expected. It is due to go to dry dock in September for major changes.

We had a Balcony cabin but it was only 245 square feet including the balcony. I could go on any large ship line for that size Balcony cabin. The bathroom was tiny. It did have 2 sinks, but 2 people would be hard pressed to be in it at the same time. We could not pass each other at the end of the bed to go from one side of the cabin to the other. For this price, it was very disappointing!

The dining room decor was lovely and the waiters for the most part just great. Food was a bit spotty. Sometimes really good and others only mediocre. I was shocked that Crystal still has first and second seating. No other 6-star line does that! Again, I might as well have gone on a large-ship line. We were assigned a table in the back of the dining room in the midst of a large group of people with lots of children. They are children so they do make noise, but this many kids magnified the noise. We did not expect this on a 6-star cruise line. We did ask to be reassigned and were given a table at the other end of the dining room. Again, if we wanted to be with a lot of children, we would have taken Disney or Royal Caribbean. Read more