Crystal Symphony Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our 6th Crystal cruise and 3rd on Symphony. Everything that we enjoyed previously about Crystal (food, service, enrichment, entertainment etc) was just as good as before, but this time we had the added bonus of the dry dock enhancements.
The ship was in excellent shape, especially considering the age, and the recent dry dock has enhanced most of those areas which were perhaps looking a little tired. I think that Crystal has done a tremendous job in this respect. In particular I loved what they have done with Waterside (formerly the Crystal Dining Room). Now, it looks much more inviting and the introduction of open seating seems to work really well. I also loved what they have done with the area where Silk, the new Chinese restaurant is situated.
We found the food across all the dining venues to be excellent. Over the 14 days, we had only one meal which we felt was sub-par which I think is pretty good.
Cabin Review
Penthouse Suite with Verandah
We stayed in an original PS the first week and the new Seabreeze PS the second week. The original PS has a more open layout and seems to be more spacious, although it is not. The bathroom has a bath and a shower. I think there is probably a little more storage in the original PS than in the new PS.
The new PS is fresh and new and has a more closed layout, with a partial dividing wall between the bedroom and the living room. This allows for a large TV to be positioned centrally on each side of the wall for optimum viewing from both the bedroom and the living room. The bathroom has no bath tub, but does have a large and very good shower. It also has a combination washer/dryer. In both cases, the bed, linens and pillows are wonderful.
Port Reviews
Vancouver
Loved this vibrant, cosmopolitan city. We did the HOHO bus and stopped in Stanley Park and Granville Island. We also walked to and around Stanley Park which was beautiful and well worth the visit. We did the FlyOver Canada ride at Canada Place and thought it was fantastic. We ate great food; there was a huge variety of fabulous restaurants in every price range. We stayed at the Pacific Rim which I recommend highly.