Crystal Serenity Review

-- / 5.0
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Everything I hoped for

Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Crystal Serenity
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J80crew
10+ Cruises • Age 80s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2018
Cabin: Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah

We have been Celebrity loyalists (with one Oceania cruise as well), but a Crystal cruise was on my bucket list, so when Crystal offered a sale and the itinerary was appealing, I jumped on it. My husband was skeptical—how could it be worth more than twice what we usually pay for a cruise? Now we know. This was everything I hoped it would be.

We always build in an extra day in our flight plans, and it was a good thing we did; our flight from Newark was about ten hours late getting into Marseille. We missed the day of exploring marseille, but didn’t miss the ship. Embarkation at the pier was slower than I expected (we waited maybe 20 minutes to board) but check-in on the ship was quick and easy. After a nice lunch on the aft deck, we went to our cabin a little past 2:00 and were surprised to find our luggage already delivered and on the bed ready for unpacking. Just the first of many instances of superior service.

The two areas in which Crystal excels, inour opinion, are service and food. Service was impeccable: our sommelier was the best we’ve ever encountered; our wait team in the dining room was first class; our room steward was great; and every staff person was friendly and helpful. We ordered room service a few times, and were impressed by how timely and gracious the service was. (Love the fact that the coffee table is raised to dining table height and set elegantly even for breakfast.). The food on Serenity was the best we’ve experienced on any ship. The main dining room offerings were varied and consistently excellent; we enjoyed breakfast and lunch dishes at the Lido cafe; but our favorite place for lunch was the grill. Best cheeseburgers ever, according to my husband, and I appreciate the fact that they have a variety of burgers, including salmon and a really tasty veggie burger. We tried both specialty restaurants, which were good but not as good as the main dining room, in our opinion. Oceania may claim to be the foodie line, but we rate

Cabin Review

Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah

Cabin A2

The cabin is a bit tight, smaller than the ones we were used to on other lines. Nice to have the amenities like umbrella, binoculars, and magnifying mirror. Appreciate the double sinks and the tub, though it’s a small one. Storage space was adequate for our ten day cruise, but much longer might have been a problem. There is wasted space that could easily be turned into storage space as we have seen on other ships. The bed was very comfortable, and the darkening curtains kept us asleep until 9:00 most mornings. This cabin is far aft, but we were not disturbed by movement of the ship, excessive noise, or any other problems. It is a long walk to the forward venues like Palm Court, however.

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