CruisePfan

Ask your TA to ask Crystal. I was able to get the schedule for the full world cruise prior to start.

Any last minute iinstructions or items to pack for world cruisers? 1. My big suitcases were shipped and confirmed to have arrived in San Diego, but still packing one carryon plus hand luggage; With bad weather forecast for San Diego, my seasick supplies have arrived from Amazon: dramamine, ginger drops, patches, and bonine. 2. Batteries, Kindle are charged. Tech bag and cords packed, iPad and iPhone to be charged night before leaving. 3. Books, movies, tv shows, and music downloaded to Kindle, iPad and iPhone. Do a final backup of your devices to the cloud before you leave home. Heard ship internet can not handle backups at sea. 4. Subscription drugs, cold and flu remedies, bandaids packed in hand luggage. 5. Jewelry and cash packed in hand luggage. 6; Passports, air and ship tix packed in hand luggage. 7; Last minute supply list to pick up in San Diego so I didnt have to worry in flight: mouthwash, aerosol products, sun tan lotion, hand sanitizer. Is there a makeup mirror on desk or should i pack my portable lighted mirror?

Surprised today with a Fed Ex from Crystal with 2 black leather luggage tags, preprinted tix for cruise, luggage tags, the Before you Sail Guide, and a welcome letter from Christine Levis, CEO. 4 suitcases already shipped ahead, but still packing carryons. Can’t wait to board in San Diego!

Just received an email from Crystal: Thank you for choosing Crystal for your upcoming World Cruise. We are looking forward to sharing all the incredible experiences curated for you on this journey. Our thoughts remain with the local community and all those affected by the devastating wildfires in Lahaina in August. Given the severity of these fires and their significant strain on local resources, Crystal Serenity will cancel her scheduled call to Lahaina, Maui on February 10, 2024, and will instead visit the beautiful island of Nawiliwili, Kauai. This will affect your voyage and while the adjustment may not align with your original vision, we appreciate your understanding considering this difficult decision. We have also engaged our A&K Philanthropy initiatives to help support our Maui community and look forward to sharing those details with you once they are finalized. Feb 10, 2024 (Old) Lahaina (Maui) (New) Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawaii USA 8:00 AM 5:00 PM Please note, any excursions that have been reserved and prepaid in the original destination will be refunded. The updated tours and excursions for our new destination are available to be booked via ‘My Account’ on our website. Our reservations team is also available to assist with any bookings needed. Lastly, we recognize that communicating these changes to guests before all updates are live to the public is important. We plan to update all online platforms within 24 hours following this communication. Thank you for your unwavering loyalty to Crystal and we look forward to welcoming you aboard soon. Sincerely, Crystal Guest Relations

I received a forwarded message from my travel agent who got it from Crystal. She was watching for an itinerary change notice.

My TA Just sent me the following docs from Crystal regarding the 2024 World Cruise. She did a terrific job in following up with Crystal to get the info everyone has been asking for. Just another example of superb Crystal and A&K service!! Regards, Adelina Please find attached Crystal’s 2024 World Cruise visa benefit information and application. Once the visa benefit application is completed and returned with passport copies and photos, we will begin processing the guest’s visas and travel authorizations. Once the visa and travel authorizations are issued, we will send them directly to the ship on the guest’s behalf. Kindest regards, Cindy Cindy Williams Senior Manager of Guest Visa Services, Port Operations cwilliams@crystalcruises.com Key info excerpt from the doc: "US and Canadian passport holders require visas and travel authorizations prior to arrival in India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Australia, and Indonesia. It is our pleasure to process guests India eVisa’s, New Zealand ETA’s, Sri Lanka ETA’s and Indonesia e-VOA’s. Due to Australian government restrictions, we are unable to include Australian ETA processing in our visa benefit. Guests must obtain their required Australian ETAs prior to embarkation directly through the Australian government’s ETA app. Crystal will obtain Visas and Travel authorizations on arrival and pay any applicable fee for US and Canadian passport holders transiting Jordan, Oman, Cook Islands, Egypt, Tonga, and Turkey." CRYSTAL WC 2024 Visa Benefit Application.pdf 2024 WC Visa Requirements for US and CAN.pdf

We thought the shower was great in the newly redesigned suite with a bench you can sit on. The area around the two sinks is spacious with more storage under the sinks and more storage on the opposite wall. The sofa is very comfortable and the tv is bigger in the living room. By closing the curtain between the BR and LR, occupants can watch different shows at the same time, but because the tvs are back to back, the remote may adjust the wrong tv, a small nit. Another rod in the closet would definitely be nice, but there are six small shelves over the bar/ desk area for putting hats, tour tickets, and makeup. All in all, the redesigned suite is very comfortable and will make a wonderful home for the World Cruise.

I confirmed with Daniele Puma, the on ship future cruise manager on the Crystal Serenity, the private transfers are included for the 2025 WC, similar to OC on previous WCs. This includes: 1. Home to home airport 2. Ft. Lauderdale airport to Ft. L hotel 3. Ft. L hotel to pier 4. Pier to Barcelona hotel or airport 5. Home airport to home You do not have to use Crystal air program or Crystal pre cruise hotel to get the private transfers. Also as per the published details “For those residing within 50 miles of Ft. Lauderdale, a private transfer from guest’s home to pier will be provided.

I’m sorry, but I’m not reading the fine print the way you are about private transfers. There is no reference to Crystal air or Crystal pre cruise hotels re the private transfers, So I am assuming I am eligible for: 1. Transfer from home to home airport 2. Transfer from Ft. Lauderdale airport to Ft. Lauderdale hotel 3. unknown cost, if any, Ft. Lauderdale hotel to pier 4. Transfer from pier to Barcelona airport or Barcelona hotel 5. Transfer from home airport to home. The good news is we’ve got over a year for Crystal to clarify and get this sorted out. I’m like Keith, and will assume the best, not the worst scenario.

Booking on board earns you a 2.5% discount. An open booking is a placeholder if you haven’t picked an itinerary yet. I’m not sure what the timeframe is for finalizing the booking.

Yes it is still doable to do two visits to OdO, UU, the Sushi Bar, or any combination thereof without charge. The third visit is a fee of $50 per person.

If your main goal is to see a museum, skip the ship tour. We were in Bilbao today and the target was the Guggenheim. The Crystal shuttle into town dropped us one block from the Guggenheim. Admission tix were 18 Euro or 9 Euros for seniors. You could download an audio tour onto your phone for free and see the museum at your leisure. The ship tour was $149, although it did include the Old Quarter, a short distance away. We found a similar price differential in New Orleans for the excellent World War II museum. With a tiny bit of research you can even order tix online to save waiting in line.

This is our 6th Crystal cruise and so far only a few minor glitches. We arrived on Thursday and there were 3 Crystal reps to meet us at airport and escort to us to small van for hotel. We stayed at the pre cruise hotel Tivoli Avenida Liberdade. It was one and half blocks down from the original announced Sofitel Hotel in a great section of town. Letters were waiting for us with instructions on time to meet and when they would pickup luggage from room. A Crystal desk was manned where you could pick up luggage tags if you had not receive them before you left home. 15 minute ride to cruise terminal. Arrived about 12:40. A little bit of confusion on baggage handling at dock. Rep on bus told us we had to point out our bags to waiting porters, but someone else advised to just get on ship and baggage would be delivered to rooms. Check in was easy, they took pictures of each passenger, and then you could go directly to your suite where you key was waiting in room. A bottle of Charles Heidsieck champagne was chilling on ice in our Sapphire veranda suite. All the Sapphire suites on 9 are the 2023 redesigned ones with fabulous walk in showers. Tons of storage in the bathroom! Had to ask for toiletries. First night small tubes, but on second day new bottles were delivered. We are still waiting for the new Lenovo tablets, but the daily Reflections is being delivered so we are managing fine. Paddle tennis courts are in great shape, and we’ve managed to take 2 golf lessons already! Instructor is a PGA Teaching Pro, Joe Herbert, and he is excellent. More info to come, but Crystal is back and the experience so far has been great.

If you normally play tennis, adjusting to paddle tennis is not that difficult and you’ll be able get to a nice workout fairly quickly. I agree with Keith, when it is windy, pickleball will be more difficult to play. Our old hometown has pickleball courts near the beach and the wind will definitely carry the ball.

Could someone post more details on the additional Wi-Fi packages available for purchase.

It's split over five bookings.

Is Cruise Critic still hosting cocktail parties on board ship and are there any plans for the initial cruises on Serenity and Symphony? I so enjoyed meeting the faces behind the posts here.

Keith: Given the many informative docs you have published over the years, especially the one for first time cruisers on Crystal, did you ever put one together for sailing on a Crystal World Cruise? Do you start with a spreadsheet or two, one for home, and one for the actual itinerary? I'm sure you have tips that many of us would never think of that in hind sight are no brainers. i'm especially interested in must brings and what not to bring, best worldwide cell phone provider, luggage forwarders, etc. Planning begins in earnest this summer to avoid the last minute rush. For Americans, first tip is apply for passport now if you need a new one. The regular process is taking 12 weeks, and you will need additional time for visa processing. Warmest regards, Adelina

OC was offering free 2 day laundry on both the 2022 and 2023 WCs

Just received from my TA: Thank you for being a trusted travel advisor and booking your clients on an upcoming 2024 West Coast or Panama Canal voyage along with our highly anticipated World Cruise. As Crystal continues to improve its environmental footprint and help reduce emissions, we are happy to report that Crystal Serenity is being fit with equipment that will enable the vessel to connect to shore power systems while docked. We are working diligently to have this ready for our first call in southern California.However, due to the tight timeline, we have made a conservative decision to move embarkation (as well as debarkation) to San Diego rather than Los Angeles as previously planned. We wanted to inform you of this change as soon as a decision was taken to allow plenty of time to help your clients book their flights.The cruises that are affected by the change currently include: Jan 18: Panama Canal - Miami to LA (now San Diego arrival) Feb 3: World Cruise - LA to Papeete (now San Diego departure) June 8: Panama Canal - Miami to LA (now San Diego arrival) June 24: West Coast - LA to Vancouver (now San Diego departure) Any recommendations for good hotel near the San Diego port?

After comparing to World Cruise 2022 which was only 116 nights versus 2024 WC which is 141 nights here is my best guestimate of how the cruise breaks down: Segment I - Miami to Los Angeles -Jan 18- Feb 3, 17 nights: stops in Georgetown, Cartegena, Panama Canal, var. ports in Mexico Segment II - Los Angeles - Papeete - Feb 3 - app. Feb 21, app. 20 nights, 10 sea days, stops in Honolulu, Lahaina, var. ports in French Polynesia inc. Bora Bora, Moorea, and Tahiti. Segment III - Papeete - Auckland, app. Feb 21 - Mar 9, App. 16 nights, 9 sea days, Rarotonga, Nuku'alofa, Fiji, Port Vila, Noumea. Segment IV - Auckland - Perth, Mar 10 - Mar 27, 19 nights, Tauranga, Picton, Sydney, Eden, Melbourne, Adelaide, Busselton. Segment V - Perth - Mumbai, Mar 27 - Apr 14, 18 nights, 11 sea days, Broome, Bali, Singapore, Ski Lanka, Maldives. Segment VI - Mumbai - Istanbul, Apr 15 - May 2, 17 nights, Salalah, Safaga (Luxor) , Aqaba, Suez Canal Transit, Nazareth, Limassol, Rhodes. Segment VII - Istanbul - Toulon, May 2 - May 25, 23 nights, This might be split) port heavy in Greece, Kusadasi, Laconia, Crete, Malta, Sicily, Naples, Rome, Corsica, Saint Tropez, Monte Carlo Segment VIII -Toulon - Miami, May 25 - Jun 8, 14 nights, 8 sea days, Barcelona, Cartegena (Spain), Gilbralter, Funchal, Nassau. Segment IX - Miami - Los Angeles Jun 8 - similar to Segment 1. See message 20 for full itinerary and #42 for possible segments available for sale. Segment 1 and 9, Miami to Los Angeles, will likely eventually become available for sale. The rest of the segments are currently not available for booking, as they appear to be holding out for full world cruisers. Itinerary is of course still subject to minor modifications and corrections. Full WC benefits have also not yet been identified. Given the longer duration of the cruise, and the fact that destination fees are now included, the delta doesnt look quite as bad as initially thought.

NEW OPTION for 2024 World Cruise: They have added third option: LAX TO MIAMI, Depart Saturday Feb 3 from Los Angeles Arrive Saturday Jun 8 into Miami. 126 days total: 56 days at sea (44%) 70 days in port A TA on Facebook is reporting three voyages from the World Cruise which can also be booked: Feb 3, 2024 - Mar 9, 2024 Los Angeles to Auckland Mar 9, 2024 - Apr 14, 2024 Auckland to Mumbai May 2, 2024 0 May 25, 2024 Istanbul to La Seyne (Toulomn)

Definitely varies by itinerary. The destination fees for the world cruise are $10,300 for 142 days.

I'm the one who started this thread, and believe me, I did not get any special treatment nor any early info. I was booked on the three cancelled world cruises, and lost a lot of money on trips that I kept rolling over for fcc. But like many here and on the Crystal facebook groups, I do try to keep up with what others wrote, both right and wrong. The world cruise has been on our bucket list since we discovered Crystal in 2016 when the Mozart was launched. I've been retired for 5 years and my husband says I spend way too much time on these chat boards, but they help to keep me informed. I have a great TA who responds to my questions and was willing to call Crystal even though she is currently on a 3 week trip safari in Africa. After the booking window opened on Feb. 1, I sent her a list of questions and she got on the phone with them early on Feb. 2. With any new product launch in any industry, not just travel, there will be hiccups. If you know what you want, just be proactive and ask. Don't sit passively and wait. If you sent in your $500, you obviously have some interest so contact them sooner rather than later. Good luck to all and hope you get the trip of your dreams!

They may also be giving priority to all those who might have been booked on the cancelled 2022, 2023, and 2024 world cruises. That's a lot of potential pent up demand, and extra time for people to save up for a Crystal World cruise. This is a true world cruise, meaning you start and end in the same port, and cross three oceans, in addition to the two canal crossings. In comparing to previous world cruise itineraries I am not seeing much in the way of padded extra sea days. For those in the U.S., it's nice to not have to start with a super long flight to get to the ship. Given how quickly some of the other luxury world cruises sold out last year, if you are at all interested in a world cruise I would suggest you call your TA and at least request a quote to get your name on a list. Dont wait until they post all the details on the website as then you may be scrambling for the location you want. By January 2024 the start up kinks should have all been worked out and it will be an exceptional trip!