crickette

BUT, if Crystal transitted the canal and Red Sea as they did in March, wouldn't that simplify sourcing and provisioning?  Both voyages were 17 days.

2 hours ago, uktog said:

You are correct our “host” on Explora noticed the Tesco card and replaced it with a blank 

Ours did too - to keep the a/c cooling the room.

If they are taking credit for the re-vamped Double rooms, it is back to the drawing board, I'd say.

And there is always room service.  In the past it wasn't necessary to have room service deliver to your room, if you prefer to avoid eating in your room.  I don't know NC policy.  

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.

On 4/17/2024 at 9:32 PM, goldengatecruisers said:

The upgrade from fwd to mid location within a category is a bit of a lame offering in my opinion.  It would have been nice to see a deeper discount for future bookings at certain milestones, such as 5% discount or 10% discount, as is the case at Silversea. 

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?

6 hours ago, Lenbro1944 said:

Where did the water come from?

Jacuzzi on the deck above.  The video mentioned in one of your previous posts shows it clearly.

6 hours ago, Lenbro1944 said:

Was  there less privacy

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!

4 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

If Crystal or any other line cancels you are entitled to a full cash refund. They may offer you a bonus in FCCs if you leave your funds with them. In last go round not a single pax lost anything from having a lot of FCCs. We had $120 K of FCCs and New Crystal gave us full credits in EI program and we are enjoying those benefits right now. 

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

1 hour ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

 

Interestingly if Crickette is booked on the B2B Athens to Mumbai

     ... yes, Dec 6/24 to Jan 7/25

Crystal have varying (120/180 days) periods for penalties to kick in on this same B2B! That’s very strange

      ..... I agree.  Some would say unfair, too.

17 minutes ago, goldengatecruisers said:

@Whipsnade: You had me at "we are in our mid 80s".   It is inspirational to hear of a fellow traveler with such enthusiasm for discovery.  I too am hoping for some innovative overland options offered by the A&K arm.  One of the big attractions for us is the transit of the Suez Canal, Egypt and Jordan.  Sadly I worry they may possibly be cut from a revised itinerary. 

 

I agree with comments made by others in my wish for Crystal to address the end of year itinerary sooner rather than later.  I am not sure how heavy the December sailings are in terms of bookings but it is possible people are reluctant to commit to such a routing with uncertainty in the region.  If Crystal could just get ahead of themselves and formulate a plan they may be able to produce a relatively reliable option which may encourage cruisers to book those segments. I don't believe the region will be stable enough to confidently project ships can sail the Gulf of Aden without great risk by end of year. Personally, I am beginning to look at alternative options for travel in December so I have a back-up plan.  If Crystal does not have a solution in place I would not be comfortable making full payment for a long voyage in this region.  Crystal may choose to hold out till the eleventh hour, which is their prerogative, but I fear having the rug pulled from under my feet potentially leaving me with little to no options to book alternative cruises in December.  I am sure there will be those guests who will stick with the Athens/Abu Dhabi/Mumbai cruise but I don't think I would be one of those.  

 

So for now, I am going to turn off my mind and enjoy the Serenity threads and follow along with those sailing across the Pacific 🙂

 

 

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%

1 hour ago, ryndam said:

After experiencing the ongoing pandemic debacle of 2020, we do not purchase any non-refundable tours, hotels, airfares, cruises, tickets, restaurant reservations, et.al., etc. from any supplier or vendor. And certainly not a year in advance. These two offers do not appeal to us (even the refundable option), but it I suspect that they would not be offered if the actuaries, investment and marketing strategists did not believe there was an audience and a benefit involved.

 

Rob

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.

Many times our bottles, glasses and other breakables went into the bathtub, wrapped and padded with towels.  Now that NC has removed the tubs in many rooms, in rough weather we will have to be creative and use some of these ideas.

Water levels were incredibly low this past autumn.  Any updates about water levels now?

On 1/21/2024 at 10:37 PM, McCheese Off. Tester said:

 

Under dessert ... “THE ARCHITECT” | Gianduja Baileys Mousse, Hazelnut Nougatine Parfait ...

 

I would be interested in knowing why it is called "The Architect" ! And a CC Badge should be awarded to anyone who took a photo!!!

 

 

There is a photo on the Crystal Society Family FB page.  

5 hours ago, Roland4 said:

What??? You don't like the Polar Vortex weather we sent down to you?? 😁 

 

Actually, be thankful you have not had the full hit from this. It was -50C at the Edmonton airport on the weekend, and at that temperature it really doesn't matter if that is C or F!! We are expecting -14C/-20C with the windchill here tonight, and even by our standards for January, that is cold! 😮😮

-47 here on Friday morning.  Four successive mornings of -40 or lower.  House was toasty warm at 21.

or you could book another leg and go back to Florida!

And your credit card charges a fee for foreign transactions in addition to the exchange rate.  There are very few cards that don't charge this foreign transaction fee.