Emdee

All of us have our hot buttons and price points as someone on the Crystal Board says choice is good. We tried Oceania in 2008 and it wasn’t our cup of tea at all. Have not tried them since then. We are still somewhat itinerary driven so Regent whom we have been cruising with since 2003 and Crystal and the SSea Endeavour cover our needs. Seabourn has very good Caribbean itineraries so may sail them in order to break up our winter.

Both Seabourn and SSea staff are inconsistent in service and food in my opinion is nowhere near the new Crystal. In my opinion the new Crystal service and food are amazing….I personally believe better than before. Our butlers on Crystal definitely went above and beyond ….much better than any we had on other lines including SSea. My last Crystal cruise in December was when I was recuperating from knee surgery and the concern I received from the staff makes me tear up. The staff really make you feel part of the Crystal family and that is priceless and worth the higher costs. I would rather go on three cruises on Crystal instead of four on SSea and Seabourn. The only SSea we are likely to go on are the Expeditions and we are currently booked on The Endeavour as the ship ( built by Crystal) is technically amazing.

Have you been on the new Crystal? I tried all of the competition in the last few years but Crystal is way better than the rest. The only one that comes close is Regent which I continue to sail on due to itineraries.

You bring back memories of our not so great Silversea experience. Since then we have avoided the classic cruises and sailed on their expedition cruises.

Crystal has a huge selection of non alcoholic cocktails, some non alcoholic wine and beer. When my DH ran through the non alcoholic wine they picked some up for him at the next port. He would get them to make a spritzer with the non alcoholic sparkling and a little lemon juice.

Yes I wish they would open the Italian and Japanese restaurants for lunch sometimes too. Always a pleasure to dine in Chartreuse and Prime 7 at lunch. To be fair to C the marketplace lunch is definitely the best at sea, Bistro, Tastes and Grill are also open as well.

Under Rao’s training the new butlers are doing an excellent job anticipating your every need.

To add to above…Regent requires prepayment at time of booking but will first use the OBC noted on your reservation. We find this very convenient.

In the Arctic the daily recap was before dinner with drinks and apps. Dinner was depending on where one booked. We were able to switch reservations if needed. I think there was Trivia post dinner.

Thank you. I have boots but won’t bother carrying them. What about trekking poles?

Did you have to rent the boots or were they included? What about trekking poles?

It looks like they are tightening up clothing choices on their expedition ships. Sad I booked the Endeavour now though I love the ship.

We did the Endeavour itinerary you mentioned last year and it was great. The ship is the main star…beautifully designed. Also the 2 storey tall windows in the Grill were great when we went to Prince Christian Sound.

The options will form part of Tastes.

Interesting…I have a 2025 cruise booked. Will have to check if the payment of the cruise 1 year in advance is non refundable to get the 20% off!