crickette

I have a text message that a "TA verified that guests with over 50 milestone points get unlimited free speicalty restaurants if available." We haven't tested this yet.

This has seemed like a useless exercise on many cruiselines, even hotels. When talking with our room attendants/butlers on the first day, and mentioning that we completed the pre-arranging form, we get words to the effect "we never see that information". We now just make our requests on the first day, as others have recommended.

A: Look at it the other way around. If you want to end up in a mid-ship location, you pay for a forward cabin. A question please: Do the achieved milestone levels appear anywhere on the booking confirmation?

Interested, what was the math question?

Jacuzzi on the deck above. The video mentioned in one of your previous posts shows it clearly. Yes or else I would not have mentioned it.

Agree with CJANDH. Flooding continues to be an issue, which Explora is shows no willingness to address. Also lack of privacy from Residences on both sides, when guests are using the balcony. Balcony gets extremely hot, making glass in sliding door hot enough to fry an egg(!) and warming up the cabin to 26-28, even when drapes are fully closed. Air conditioning cannot cope. Interior comments - extremely tight, poorly designed bathroom/dressing area - well described in others' comments. On the positive side - very nice cabin on the inside.

Mike We had to carefully check with the room attendants about timing for the last bag of laundry because it took longer to be returned. Apparently it was the amount of laundry that was overwhelming the laundry workers. We sent several bags over the cruise, some came back in the time you suggested and others took longer.

TIP: roll each item of clothing - you get more in a bag! TIP #2: talk to your room attendant about "when" to put the bag out, and when to expect it back. We found it a bit confusing. Someone else may chip in, but it seemed to us laundry is sent out 48 hours before then end of a cruise leg (ie 48 hours before disembarcation), and it comes back the final afternoon (ready to be packed). We were on for several weeks, and this is how we worked each week.

Do we know who is Master of this voyage?

For us, one key difference is the ship clientele. EJ has many more travel agents and influencers than Crystal. Someone that is cruising for business reasons has a totally different persona than someone who is travelling for pure pleasure, and they present themselves differently. They interact with fellow passengers and crew differently. Crew and officers respond to them differently. There are many nuances, and more conspicuous differences, and it is especially noticeable when they are onboard for one segment and we are onboard for 2 or more segments. Yes, Crystal has brought onboard agents and influencers (I remember one who went by the name of "blonde") but not in the numbers that EJ has seen in its first year.

Two more ships in the Caribbean is not what is needed! Perhaps we will see very favourable pricing no matter what line you chose. Don't rush to book too early!

May I politely point you to this post, and the imbedded excerpt from the cruise contract. I urge you to read the cruise contract accompanying your booking confirmation to see if the pesky clause is included. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2992061-serenity-sailings-for-april-and-may-2024/#comment-66939279

One thing that might encourage others to book is to repeat Crystal's cancellation strategy. I have redacted our actual dollar amounts, but this is from our booking confirmation. So for the Athens/AD/Mumbai b2bs, we have until early August to "pull the plug" if prepared to lose the modest admin fee of 250. (My guess is, unfortunately, Crystal will announce its decision once the cancellation period has started.) UNTIL 121 DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE FIXED RATE $250.00 FROM 120 TO 91 DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE 25% FROM 90 TO 76 DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE 50% FROM 75 TO 51 DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE 75% FROM 50 TO 0 DAYS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE 100%

Totally agree. Non-refundable is a deal breaker for us. And the cancellation applied as future cruise credits in the same year is humorous. The unrest throughout the world means we are not making definitive plans this far out. We are happier spending a bit more when confidence is a bit higher. And our investments are offsetting Crystal's discount.