Crystal Symphony Review

Four Cruise-line comparo: Crystal, Celebrity, HAL, Princess

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Crystal Symphony
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TwoCalBears
6-10 Cruises • Age 80s

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Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
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Service
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Sail Date: Sep 2010

This is a four-cruise-line comparison, following our first cruise on Crystal and, before that, nine cruises on Princess, Holland America and Celebrity. In brief, cost per day on Crystal is a bit more than twice the others. In return you get the best food, no lines anywhere, and a friendlier, more intimate and quieter atmosphere.

But that's not the whole story. Crystal's Cruise Critic reviews emphasize the superiority of the service provided on Crystal. Our experience has been that service has been excellent on all our cruises; crystal was excellent but not superior. For example, our two best room stewards were on Princess, as was our best team of waiters; our top bartender and bar waiter were on HAL, and our best deck stewards on Crystal, as was the best afternoon tea service. The best informal lunch service was in Celebrity's Aqua cafe. Overall, on service our experience was: Pick 'em!

We have mostly had standard balcony cabins. Our deck 8 cabin on the Crystal Symphony was slightly smaller than comparables on the other lines, and the bathroom quite a bit smaller, though both room and bath were very well laid out and beautifully appointed. Only the Celebrity Infinity's concierge cabin was superior. Princess wastes space with a protrusion in the middle of a bit-larger cabin. Our cabin on HAL's Ryndam was somewhat rundown.

Cabin Review

Cabin B

We chose this cabin because its location, under an overhang, meant that the balcony was slightly larger, something we valued. The interior, though a little on the small side, was beautifully laid out, and the bath was also small, though again well laid out, and beautifully appointed.

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