My wife (63) and I (73) are Dutch and frequent cruisers. We have sailed with MSC, Celebrity, HAL, Aida and TUI (Mein Schiff). The Celestyal Chrystal came across our path by chance. Cruise, flight, transfers, full board, drinks, tips and 2 excursions were included for a very attractive price. It was a small ship of 162 m in length. We doubted whether it would not be too busy with a maximum of 1200 guests. The route around the Greek islands appealed to us very much and there were places unknown to us, such as Kusadasi, Thessaloniki, Ephesus and Milos. We decided to take the chance in august, we like sailing and seeing or experiencing new things anyway. How did the cruise go? Well, totally awesome. Despite the fact that the ship is somewhat older, we soon felt completely at home. The inside cabin was spacious enough and in fine condition. The shower room had a sliding door. The two cabin stewards did an excellent job and were very friendly. That was true for all crew members. The evening meals in the Amalthia restaurant looked very good and were very tasty. The waiters soon knew us by name and we had a permanent seat at a table for two. The buffet also looked good during breakfast or lunch, with plenty of options. It is busier there, but we always had a seat within 2 minutes. The tables were cleared quickly, no complaints. The food there was good.

There were 900 guests on board of all nationalities. You would expect that you would get in each other's way, but that was definitely not the case. While sailing I took pictures several times in places where you would not encounter any or only a few guests. By the way, we did not use the Pool deck, too noisy and too crowded for us.

Before the start of the show in the theater, the El Greco Band played the stars of heaven. The dancers put on a different show every day, they were very well attuned to each other. The acrobatics were also fun to watch. Read more