Live from the stunning Crystal Mozart

Was in two minds about starting this thread but it will useful distraction from playing parent sitter and tour-guide. Could not resist after a similar thread on the Bach, Symphony and Serenity recently.

I am travelling with my parents and their god-daughter.

Arrived in Vienna on Monday. We board the Mozart on Wednesday. Unfortunately the weather all over Europe and turned colder and is a bit wet. Have to do some rethinking about the activities during this trip. My mother is having issues with her leg and is walking with some difficulty. So have to rethink several excursions options. I suspect it will be mainly bus rides only or enjoying the service on board the Mozart for them. I have to balance take their god-daughter on excursions while balancing keeping my parents do not get bored. I always knew that was going to be a working holiday and it has just become more challenging.

I have arranged a few VIP touches to enhance the Crystal experience. Will throw these points in as well to help any others who do not mind paying to enhance their vacation experience.

Fingers crossed, the Mozart's wifi will work fine.

Oh thank you! I was hoping you would share your Mozart experiences. I am also very interested in the VIP portions and am looking forward to a nice ride along with you and your family onboard Mozart.

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Thanks for starting this thread. I've enjoyed your various reports on your earlier Mozart cruise and comparing it to my experiences. I did the Mozart this past April and just cleared the wait list for the Christmas/New Years cruise. Am especially interested in your weather reports. Just ordered a pair of winter boots yesterday in anticipation of my winter weather experience along the Danube.

Patty

P.S. Have a good friend who went with his mother on a 23 day Serenity cruise. He found Xanax to be the answer! :p;p:cool:

Really looking forward to this.

Just read Patty's comment about Xantax:')

Really looking forward to this.

 

 

 

Just read Patty's comment about Xantax:')

Personally, I LOVE to pay for VIP extras on my “all-inclusive exclusive” river cruise vacation! Does this include the Xanax?

Seriously...looking forward to your posts. I’m thinking about a helicopter ride from Vienna to the Alps next summer. I don’t think the Scenic Amber includes this perk.

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Thanks so much for doing this! Your previous reports, both written and via photos, have been excellent.

I was looking at your upcoming itinerary and have a question. When you go from Passau back down to Bratislava, will you be going on the same section of the Danube as when you went from your embarkation in Vienna to Passau? Sounds like you'll get to see both sides of the river from your room that way.

Have a great vacation!

Ken,

Wishing you and your family a great time.

Nancy

 

I was looking at your upcoming itinerary and have a question. When you go from Passau back down to Bratislava, will you be going on the same section of the Danube as when you went from your embarkation in Vienna to Passau? Sounds like you'll get to see both sides of the river from your room that way.

 

Have a great vacation!

I did this itinerary in September last year and yes the boat does travel the same section of the river however, you don't see much of it on the way to Passau as most of the sailing is at night, other than a short stretch between Durnstein and Melk. The longest stretches of 'scenic sailing' are on the way back from Passau to Bratislava and then again from Budapest back to Vienna...

Anne...

As Anne says and as you suspect, you do sail the entire route twice and so will see the see both sides of river banks from your stateroom window. This is where the rooms on the main deck (CP, PH, S1 and S2) come into play. The massive sofa in a PH gives a relaxing vantage viewing point as the Mozart sails along the Danube if you wish to stay in your room, sipping coffee/tea/champagne (yes - get the butler to do some work!) while enjoying the views in your Etro bathrobe.

You do need to check the sailing times as there are a combination of day and night sailings so you may not see everything. For example, our sailing from Bratislava to Budapest is overnight but have a full day sailing from Budapest - Bratislava - Vienna during the day.

Also, this also means that you will clear every set of locks on the route twice.

Looking forward to following you on this cruise.

We sailed on the Mozart in August and absolutely loved it, so much so that we are looking to book again for next August!

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Looking forward to this:)

So pleased that you are doing a live thread - throughly enjoyed your previous reviews and you played a large part in our booking the Mozart in April. Hope you find the ship and cruise as enjoyable as your first. Interested to see how the food compares with the new chef.

Just a few initial random observations until I get time to post a proper daily review. I also need to read Anne's notes on how to post photos.

Improvements since my Christmas cruise Dec 2017:

Internet:-

No issues with on-board wifi at all. I can even view Cwaze and Cwaze's(AuntyVeraCharles50) latest video on YouTube with minimal buffering at the started. There is a notice in all rooms that there is no connectivity to iCloud. As reported on another thread on the Bach, VPNs will not work.

Wifi is unlimited. This is so much better than it before the wifi upgrade in Feb/Mar 2017

Lifts:-

There is a new lift and it is moving about 2-3 times the speed compared with the previous cruise. It just takes a while for the lift doors to close automatically when you press the button for your required floor. There is also now an inner door to the lift so it is much safer.

The check-in got even better:-

My review of our Dec cruise raved over the efficient check-in process. It got even better.

You arrive at the Mozart and walk in. The Crystal uniformed door tells you that all the bags will be taken care of. You tell the reception staff your suite number and they check if your suite is ready. If it is, they immediately walk you to their suite. Once inside the suite the hand you your pre-printed keycard and wallet. No photo is needed on the keycard, otherwise, it looks just like a Serenity/Symphony keycard. This is why you get a pre-printed keycard. They will use their iPad to take a photo of you but this is for their security records on. They also check your credit card details. No passport, no cruise ticket, no queues. Our bags were brought to us in less than 5 mins after boarding and I was fully unpacked in 20 mins. Arrived around 12:20pm and we sat down to lunch in the restaurant at 1pm after fully unpacking.

By the way, my god-sister did get the butler to unpack for her. First time I have known someone who did ask for this.

Vista Deck:-

This is not so much an improvement but is new to me as during our winter cruise, this deck is never opened. It is absolutely gorgeous. Various different seating types around the top deck so looks so much more luxurious compared to the other river boats around us. A much nicer feel for a younger set compared with the Lido/Trident area on the Serenity/Symphony. Really looking forward to using this deck while we are sailing.

Is it all good news? Just to be picky....No.

New Vienna docking area

There were about 15 river boats docked in the same area so finding your boat if you are in a cab is a nightmare. Surprisingly our driver knew exactly where the Mozart was docked. Even then larger groups of passengers were embarking and disembarking at mid-day and through-out the afternoon so any bus or car had to regularly stop or risk hitting someone. While the Mozart was docked next to the pier, there was a Viking boat docked on the other side so there were Viking passengers walking through the Mozart lobby to get across to their boat. Fortunately, they sailed off by 5pm so I got my view back this evening. The previous docking area was much further along the river but it was very private and a haven of tranquility.

To be honest this is my only negative comment for today.

No heated toilet seat?

My Toto toilet appears to have a non-working heated toilet seat. It rises and lowers but does not heat up. To be honest, I am not sure if I even want to get them to look at this since I am not a big fan of heated toilet seats. Having said that, there may be a button you have to press that I have to worked out yet.

What remains at Crystal high standards

Lunch and dinner service at the Waterside restaurant was impeccable and this sailing is very full. Mario, Head Sommelier from the Symphony is restaurant manager.

Staff remain friendly and efficient. Will comment later on about the food after a few meals but tonight's dinner was exactly the excellent standards I expected.

Day 1 Dinner Menu

Photo taken from the Crystal In-Suite iPad.

I was seated in too dark a seat for proper food photos. However, when I compare the Day 1 menu from my Dec 2017 cruise, it was the same menu with minor substitutions.

So while Chef Dirk may not be on-board, his influence continues.

So my photos of the meal are already available on-line

https://johnken3.blogspot.nl/2016/12/dinner-on-board-crystal-mozart.html

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Bon voyage, Ken! Enjoy the time with your family.

When we were on the Mozart in May we were told that Crystal is planning to secure a private docking location that will be conveniently located in Vienna. By 2018 they may be repositioned at the new dock.

Meanwhile if you explore Vienna independently, it is best to note the docking space number before you leave. It is helpful to the cab driver when you return. We had one ornery cab driver who was unhappy that we did not know the dock number even though we knew the exact location of the boat.

The new internet / wifi works great! The only place we had an issue was in Passau where our midship starboard cabin was docked up against a concrete pier. We just went upstairs to the public areas to use our iPads.

Day 1 Daily Activities

Day 2 Daily Activities

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Was shown the toilet seat heating controls tucked behind the toilet remote control unit! First time I realise the toilet seating heating has variable heating levels like a heated car seat despite having spent two weeks in the same room type previously.

Pleased they have addressed the internet issues those of us on the early Mozart voyages experienced. Apart from that it all looks and sounds very familiar - loved having lunch at Blue on the days it was open... Hope the weather stays warm and sunny for you....

Anne...

Talking about the weather, I am making the most of the lovely sunny weather this afternoon. Looks like it is wet up river in Passau and sunny down river in Budapest.

Mind you there are three excursions running this afternoon as well as shuttles into town.

Not many are taking advantage of the Vista Deck where there are a choice of seating types.

And the smoking seats at the end of the deck.

The herb garden is more of a cactus garden this year

A good excuse to pass the time waiting for the laundry to finish their cycle.

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The drinks waiter is not too stressed given the number of passengers relaxing on the top deck.

However the Vista Deck bar is shut so the drinks are coming from the Bar at the Crystal Cove below.

By the way, Crystal should have decent security. The Mozart is docked directly in front of the Police Station.

The Mozart is at Dock 8

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Crystal Gala Night at the Belvedere Palace

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Exactly the same programme of music as well as singers and dancers as on our December cruise. The conductor was different but still a sixteen piece orchestra.

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Day 3 activities - another beautiful day although a bit cool breeze is blowing.

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First the vineyards...

......Then the sign.....

.....the grapes (and harvesting just begun around Durstein).........

.....the bottle.....

.....sorry too focused on the hour's wine tasting for any photos......and finally......the souvenir.

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Looks like a fantastic trip! Thanks so much for posting these great moments. Harvest time is so special and I LOVE your “wine-tasting jacket” Sehr festlich!

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