Texas Tillie

I don't believe any of Crystal's transits start in Panama. Guess I should check since Crystal is now doing many more short cruises! I stand corrected, there are 2 in 2027 on Serenity where you can start in Panama. Patty

I've done 4 canal transits over the years, 2 in each direction. Which ever way you are traveling you need to be out and about the ship. Since you are asking about deck 7 cabins, you wouldn't have a balcony, so you would need to be out of your cabin anyway. All cabins on deck 7 are identical. If you have issues with motion then ones in the middle of the deck are preferable. Patty

Thinking that crew members have been told to ignore the nasty ones as they are spending $100,000 a year cruising on Crystal. I'd like to be a fly on the wall in the crew quarters hearing what is said about some passengers! Patty

Thank you for your detailed review. I'm looking forward to reading your remaining observations. I do have 2 different observations - I was on Symphony during May in the Mediterranean and had no issue with the internet. I know the internet can vary for various reasons but am surprised you found it so poor. As a long time Crystal cruiser in that dreaded "old" category, I am aware of a few cruisers who are just nasty pieces of work, but I don't see it often. I can say that all the oldsters I know are most kind to the staff. Of course, after all these years, I have learned to avoid and/or ignore the nasty ones. Just don't want people not familiar with Crystal to think all of the older cruisers treat the staff like you observed. I don't think that we would continue to get the big hugs from so many crew members our first day back on board if we had been disrespectful to them in the past. Patty

Roy went to the Interdenominational service every Sunday. That may have been the last place I saw him in person. Recalling his reporting on the Boy Scout troop and volunteer fire department where he was involved when not on one of his amazing trips. May he rest in peace. Patty

Need many more details, When is your cruise, how are you getting to the area (car or flying into one of the Houston airports), what is your budget? Galveston is a resort destination and cost of accomodations vary by what is happening on the island.

The Cruise Directors don't book any of the entertainment or lecturers, that is done by a department on land. Have no idea when they might get notification on future people for those positions. Patty

Is that a combination of what Americans call holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Labor Day, etc.) and vacation? Most US companies where a Crystal cruiser would be employed have 8 to 10 holidays per year. Then vacation starts at 10 days (2 work weeks) and increases after 5 or 10 years, depending on the company. Many people will combine a holiday with vacation to extend the time away from work.

Checked the schedules for both ships through the end of the year and Symphony has one 7 day, Sat. to Sat. and one 8 day Sat to Sun. Serenity doesn’t have any that are one week with Sat or Sun embarkation. Patty

Maybe they decided it didn’t solve a problem since it seems only some were moved. Patty

Just checked my photos from the 14 days I was on last July but none are of the closet, so maybe I'm not remembering, but wonder where they put the safe as I certainly don't recall any place but in the closet. Patty

I think a lot has to do with the cruises being one week, in the summer. New Crystal has scheduled many more 7 day cruises than ever before. The "youngens" do a week and the "oldsters" string together 2 or more of the short cruises. I was on an 8 day in the Mediterranean in May and the demographics were just a little younger, but school was not out yet. Patty

And the corrollary to that one, "I saw an old person and then I realized we went to high school together". Patty

I was in a solo cabin on the Serenity in July, 2024 and the safe was still in the closet. Moving the safe would not solve any issues with drawer or hanging space. Patty

There is not one cruise line that allows irons in the cabins. Definately a safety issue.

The production shows will probably be the same but the headline entertainers will probably be different. If someone like Bruce Hammond is on, he does different shows, Neil Diamond, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, etc., so probably different from what you saw. The entertainers in the Cove, Avenue, etc. change from time to time and their offerings are always fresh. Crystal offers so much I certainly wouldn't worry about the entertainment. Patty

Oh, Rob, hardly one of your better rants. Rather mellow, I'd say. As to point 2, what's up with eggplant? Patty

Formality had absolutely nothing to do with Crystal's bankruptcy. That was caused by the owners at the time being crooks and thinking they were smarter than the German government. "Formal" on Crystal is men have to wear a jacket, only on "formal" nights, and no tie is required. Also, Royal Caribbean is hardly a premium line, it's very much mass market like Carnival and NCL.

Having been in many cabins on Symphony, deck 7, over the years, I seriously doubt that the difference is noticible, but when someone gets something in their head, it's not going away. Hope your friend comes to like Crystal. ☺️ Patty

The current cabin 7069 on Symphony was 7101 before the remodel. It has a life boat above. Patty

But the time it takes to go around plays havoc with the subsiquent cruises. The cruises that have already been changed to go around Africa are lightly booked. They certainly don't want to have to do that again. Patty

It's even worse on Silversea where Royal Caribbean is giving matching status to those from their Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships. Can you imagine how much more money it took to get to a level on Silversea vs Royal Caribbean? Patty

The 2017 has a walkin shower only, no tub. The classic has a walkin shower and a separate tub. The shower in the classic is smaller than the 2017 shower, but separate from the tub. https://crystalcruises.com/ship/symphony?sm=suites&id=aquamarine_veranda_suite_ve The link to the info on the Crystal website with details about the Aquamarines

I've never seen "avacado toast", but then I don't know exactly what that is. However, Crystal has bread and avacados and they try their darndest to not say "no", so I'm sure you can get avacado toast.

Tours are canceled when not enough people sign up to make the tour viable. Sometimes there could be other issues, usually related to the vendor. In that case you will know in advance. Most of the time you won't know until you board the ship that a tour is canceled as the excursion department is waiting to see if people will sign up for the tour after boarding. This is not specific to Crystal. All cruise lines have a minimum for a tour to "make".