goldengatecruisers

Hello HAL Koningsdam cruisers. If you were on this past week's cruise you may be interested in these photos and video. I was on a different ship watching you sail into Glacier Bay and took the opportunity to take some photos and a quick video. It was such a beautiful day and I think your ship looks stunning with the gorgeous backdrop. Enjoy! IMG_4599.MOV IMG_4592.heic IMG_4596.heic IMG_4597.heic

Thank you Crickette 😁 I must have missed this lunch from Old Crystal. Thanks for posting the price as it gives me a sense of what to expect.

That looks like a great lunch menu and an opportunity to try lots of delicious bubbles! I too would be interested to know the pricing and hope it is something that is available on each sailing. Thanks for posting the menu, Keith.

From memory I always found connoisseur wines on Old Crystal, and Silversea for that matter, to be very reasonably priced when compared to land restaurants or other cruise lines. Generally speaking, depending on the price point, the mark up from retail varied between 10-25%. The higher percentage for the lesser priced wines. Not sure if that is still the pricing policy for their connoisseur wine list but I will find out in a few months! To Keith's earlier point on 'the points guy review' thread, we have always benefitted from and appreciated the knowledge the qualified sommeliers bring to the dining experience on board a Crystal ship.

Thank you CurlerRob.

I have a question for those of you who book Grand Voyages. On the website I don't see any fare options giving an amenity package such as beverage/wifi/gratuities etc. When I play around on the website it only offers me 'cruise only' pricing with either the option to cancel. I was hoping to find more info on the HAL website speaking to benefits and amenities for Grand Voyages but I can't seem to find anything. Am I missing something?

JFontaine what beautiful wording. I could not have said it nicer myself. Thank you for saying what we have all been thinking. I don't think any of us could have really predicted this outcome and it's amazing to see passengers (albeit on a freebie media/industry shake down) walking up the gangway to board Serenity.

Thank you Keith and Terry. I have goosebumps on my goosebumps and literally kicking myself for canceling the inaugural! Great photos and for those of us not on any social media we really appreciate you posting them on Cruise Critic, so a big 'thank you'.

If I am not mistaken American Express (Gold, Platinum, Centurion) pays 5X for airline ticket purchases either with Amex Travel or booked directly with the airline. For all other travel related bookings my understanding is 1X point per dollar spent. Not familiar with the Amex Green as noted by RLMSLL in comment #17. I just checked my statements and for all cruise bookings it shows Crystal Cruises and I did not receive a bonus - just the standard 1X point per dollar spent.

Thank you all for your answers and for teaching me about closed loop cruises. I've told my friend to just get a passport, expedite it and then there is no grey area! Happy cruising to you all.

Thank you Charles 4515. Interesting, so that ties in with what he was told. I had never heard of that before but I understand exactly what you mean about being a closed loop itinerary. He will follow up with this TA but thank you for weighing in. I learn something new each day.

Is a passport required for an Alaska cruise with a stop in Canada? I am asking for a friend. No, seriously, I am asking for a friend 🙂 I thought you would need one but my friend has been told that it is not a requirement. I thought I would put the question to the Cruise Critic community. I have tried doing online searches and it appears you do need one. However, my friend has been told from several sources that he does not and I am just trying to help until such times as he can reach his TA. The cruise is a Seattle roundtrip Alaska itinerary. Thank you.

Well, it is great to have you back. Hope you start blogging your travels again too.

Becky!!! I am so happy to see you post. It has been quite a while since I have seen your comments and I thought possibly you had left the CC community. I hope you are well and enjoying life. I know we will cross paths again on a future Crystal voyage. Ashley

Traveling with A&K is outstanding. Absolutely one of the most professional and experienced operators out there. I also traveled with them to Antarctica in Jan 2020 on a Ponant vessel with A&K expedition crew and staff. Our trip was a unique one-off itinerary (about 16 nights on board, if I recall) and we went far south. The quality, knowledge and experience of their expedition team blew us away.

The press release quotes "nine dining options" which is in line with the way other cruise lines promote their dining options in their marketing. I read to the end of the release and notice the descriptor changes to state "nine restaurants" under the "Food & Beverage" header. You are correct, that is rather misleading especially to new guests looking to book. I wonder whether this is another example of an inexperienced person doing the write-up and nobody is proof reading. In any case, I am sure they will eventually correct that but good catch!

Enjoy your cruise. It was so cold standing on the pier waiting for your departure, but it’s always a delight watching a ship leave port.

A great thread. Some Crystal voyages will be priced higher than a comparable itinerary on old Crystal Cruises while other 2023/2024 voyages might be more reasonably priced. There are too many variables at play. I do think this initial offering of itineraries and pricing will be toggled up and down based on another set of variables. We may even see various promotions in 2023/2024 to entice bookings on certain itineraries.

I think it is fairly safe to assume the entrance has remained untouched. The reason I say this is because if you look at the layout it would be troublesome to eliminate the 'shared' entry. The position of the bathroom would no longer allow a door to the hallway for each suite. It would make the entry hallway too narrow. Therefore they will likely leave the design as is and still continue to use the entry door to each suite, as it presents with the shared hallway. The frosted glass door could still be closed to the hallway and you can enjoy the connectivity of the two suites. Just my two cents. If it were me I would book the forward cabins as I suspect they will be the same as we all remember.

nnn.... I too have pulled my hair out on this one 🙂 I believe Serenity will only have Classic decor and Seabreeze decor but both decor styles are now called Aquamarine Veranda Suites. I don't think there are any 'new decor 2023' Aquamarine Veranda Suites on either Serenity or Symphony on Deck 10 or 11 other than six that appear on lower decks. The confusing part is the addition of two Aquamarine Veranda Suites 9001 and 9002 far forward on Deck 9 of Serenity. Also four Aquamarine Window Suites on Deck 7 at the midship location - the final cabins before the public rooms. I have no idea what decor those 'six' new suites will have as the website does not show a 'redesigned 2023' color scheme for the Aquamarine Veranda Suites. By my reckoning the only 'new 2023' decor would be the Sapphire Suites redesigned in 2023. Have I confused you further? LOL I believe Deck 10 and 11 on Serenity have been untouched so my expectation is the decor will be as it was when I last sailed on Serenity in 2021. For example: this would be the deck plan from 2021 that has been shown on various threads with the Seabreeze suites being in the forward/aft of deck 10 and the Classic suites being in the midship location on deck 10. I am expecting the shared entrance for the Seabreeze style cabins, i.e, the location you quoted in the forward section (this takes off about 20 sq ft from the interior measurements). I would expect the mid-ship Classic suites to be the door that opens directly to the hallway. It is challenging to keep up with everyone's opinions. Mine is just that, an opinion. My travel agent has also been unsuccessful in getting a straight answer from Crystal. I have booked a Serenity cruise in an Aquamarine Veranda Suite. I have booked the forward section of deck 10 in the hopes that it is an untouched Seabreeze Penthouse. Hope this helps but until someone either gets on the ship or Crystal releases definitive information then this is just my guess and personal opinion. So, I hope I haven't let you astray with my own assumptions.

I was also told the Crystal Reservations Agents are in Guatemala. I wonder why they have outsourced the sales office as I thought it was previously stateside.

Firstly a correction: SusieQft and not SusieGft as I mistakenly wrote in my previous post. All good points above - but to help clarify lets dial down further in an effort to help others understand the categories. As Keith notes, for many of us, we have already figured this out and clearly with no help from the new Crystal website which is so confusing and contradictory it is almost laughable. But for those society members who really never paid close attention or for travel advisors/Crystal sales reps who are not that familiar with the ships or product this will cause absolute chaos and disappointment to guests. Old Crystal: The Penthouse (PH) category presented in both classic (traditional decor) and Seabreeze design (Seabreeze Penthouse with new pink/grey decor). But let's not forgot the Penthouse Suite category (PS) also had a classic (traditional decor) and Seabreeze design (Seabreeze Penthouse Suite with new pink/grey decor). In both instances the Seabreeze PH and Seabreeze PS were slightly smaller in square footage due to the unique entrance design which sliced off approximately 20 sq ft. New Crystal: Both Serenity and Symphony will retain both styles as noted above. However, in addition to the classic (traditional decor and Seabreeze decor) there will now be a third "new" category for design and those would be the newly created suites in both sizes of PH and PS. To make matters more confusing and especially for new-to-Crystal customers or new sales agents, is the fact that the former PH category now has one all encompassing brand name of Aquamarine and the former PS category now has one all encompassing brand name of Sapphire (and in the case of Symphony there are Sapphires without verandas, primarily on deck 7). Trust me, it took me a long time to sit through and figure which cabins have which style of decor. It was helpful to reference the old deck plans. I really hope someone at Crystal is already thinking of how to better present this information on the website and to identify the various decor styles/bathtubs so we can all make informed booking decisions based on our personal preferences. Hopefully someone is also working on disclosing the dynamic pricing and the location-based pricing to help all of us choose based on stateroom category and decor/location/price. Imagine how this would make the travel advisors job so much easier. They need to use color coding on the deck plan to help us select the cabins. Its not like this is a new concept because they had displayed this information in the past on the deck plans at Old Crystal, e.g. B3,B2,B1,A3,A2,A1 etc.)

SusieGft: I posted this on a different thread but I think it applies here and follows on from your comments. "I am also noticing some amendments to text and a few corrections here and there. It now notes under the suite categories - one can book either the "new or classic" design. Interesting, this is the first mention of the fact that certain suites (namely deck 10 and 11 on Serenity and possibly some on Symphony) will remain untouched. So we should expect ‘three’ eras of decor… traditional color palette and design, Seabreeze refreshed design for some suites and now the 2023 renovation for the newly created rooms (artist rendering which may or may not be the final look). It certainly will be a melange of design schemes but I think I can live with that" If what I surmise is correct then we should find older style suites with bathtubs. I think it will take studying the deck plans to figure out what suites have the bathtubs. In addition, as you correctly note, the new Crystal website still shows the incorrect floor plan diagram. The Aquamaines should be the PH/Seabreeze PH floor plan. The Sapphire suites, both new and classic should be the same as the PS, Seabreeze PS. But I now see the website has updated photos to indicate all the styles.

That's great news Keith. I am also noticing some amendments to text and a few corrections here and there. It now notes under the suite categories - one can book either the "new or classic" design. Interesting, this is the first mention of the fact that certain suites (namely deck 10 and 11 on Serenity and possibly some on Symphony) will remain untouched. So we should expect ‘three’ eras of decor… traditional color palette and design, Seabreeze refreshed design for some suites and now the 2023 renovation for the newly created rooms (artist rendering which may or may not be the final look). It certainly will be a melange of design schemes but I think I can live with that. It is good to finally see the gaps filling in so people can make their booking choices before everything gets open to the general public.

I think it is a given that dynamic and location-based pricing is being utilized. It would be nice if there was some transparency and disclosure on the website so we can see which accommodations have a premium attached. I have seen multiple pricing bands on an Aquamarine Veranda Suite booking but I have no idea which cabins have the more favorable pricing. Other than figuring out mid-ships are the most expensive I have no clue as to how the pricing is split up. The deck plan should be amended to illustrate different price bands and to publish those fares. It would be so helpful to know this information. My travel advisor wasted hours trying to make a booking only to receive an invoice which showed a fare that was several thousand dollars higher than expected. We are trying to move the booking to a lesser priced zone but have no idea where along the deck plan the prices shift. Come on Crystal - please give us the information we need to make informed decisions. I do not like this guessing game as to how much the invoice will be. Travel professionals are having such a hard time obtaining accurate information for their clients. I am a little frustrated and really want to be a part of this restart but without transparency I am losing confidence.