Keith1010

Yes the 500.00 from the open booking goes to the cruise you designate it to be used for. Keith

Open deposit is live. https://www.crystalcruises.com/open-deposit Keith

I posted this on another thread that relates to open bookings and I am adding some additional information. Crystal expects to start the open deposit program in early December. They also expect to announce the itineraries before the open deposit booking priority window is open and new itineraries are available for sale. In other words they announce itineraries, open up the open deposit booking priority window and sometime after that open up sales. If you have an open booking you would be able to book before others. They delay in the open deposit booking window is not only to be sure the systems are ready but everything is 100% locked down with respect to the delivery dates of the vessels. December is just around the corner. Keith

Like most things we will all figure out what works for them. And every situation is different such as whether or not you care about a specific suite category or even location and what specific cruise you might be interested in. Some like myself will book as soon as we can. Others will wait. No right or wrong like most things in life. Keith

WIth respect to the bridge programs and Ambassador Hosts, my understanding is that nothing has been firmed up on Enrichment yet. Only conversations. Keith

Thank you for pointing this out to me. While I am getting up there in years and while I can't fly, I can read. And yes I read your post before I posted. If there were no cases on CC where people answered the same questions, then threads would be half thire size. I know when I ask a question as important as this one, I do appreciate getting more than one answer just to be sure, particularly when someone references their TA told them something. Why? Because there are plenty of times where erroneous information is passed on as things got lost in the translation. Thankfully, this is a case where the answer is correct.

Yes. Keith

As many as you want. Keith

Getting ready for Thanksgiving. I need to know how many of you are coming over for the feast. We have a lot of turkey on site and I need to know how many and sizes I will need to feed you all. Keith

That makes sense. I had been wondering why they would go this route. Keith

OK. Took me awhile but found it. Yes while I didn't correct that specific post I have commented on the 90 days several times. The 90 days only refers to getting the As You Wish Credit. In short, if you put down the open deposit of $500 per suite to resize the As You Wish Savings (amount depends on one or two people on the booking, and Crystal Society Member or not) you must book one of the 2023/2024 sailings which will be announced later this year within 90 days of the time the itineraries are released. However, if you choose not to book within 90 days the open booking remains out there unless you cancel it and you can use that open booking after the 90 day window but you won't get the As You Wish Credits. Keith

I learned a big lesson. In my case I now go with American Express for large purchases formany reasons and one is their customer service and the ease in which to work with them when something goes badly. But this is based on my experience. Like most things I saw some people post that they had good luck with other companies. I did not. Another lesson I learned is not to move money from one booking to the other. Way to complicated if you have to unwind this. Sometimes you don't have a choice but there were times I did and I should have cancelled and rebooked. Exception would be if there are administrative fees but then keeping a record of all of this is important. Keith

Yes you have described it well. For some the incentive is getting on a priority list for the actually booking and the as you wish credit whose amount varies based on one or two people on the booking and whether or not they are Crystal Society members is a plus for some.. And if itineraries are really related later this year it's putting out $500.00 for this and if you want to book realizing these benefits and if one does not want to book they can immediately cancel the open booking or some might be interested but not want to make a decision within 90 days so they could wait and use it later but no as you wish credit or just cancel. Like any promotion it might not be attractive to one person but attractive to someone else. Keith

I did verify this. Using USA money the open booking deposit is $500.00 per suite, not per person so yes $500.00 is the amount regardless of the number of people in the suite. Keith

Pat, This is how it works. To get the as you wish credit you have to book a cruise within 90 days from when the itineraries are released which is estimated to be in 4Q 2022. So say they allow the open deposits in two days. You make the deposit. Say the itineraries for 2023 and 2024 are released December 15 (I am making this date up) to get the as you wish credit you would have to make a firm booking for one of the itineraries within 90 days of the release of these itineraries. At the time you make the real booking your $500.00 deposit is moved to that specific booking. I hope this helps to understand how this will work. Keith

Pat, I could venture a guess but don't know for sure. Keith

My take. Open bookings any day. Ready to book with pricing December. First sailings earlier than November. Time will tell and since December is next month we will know soon enough. We are doing open bookings and many of our friends are doing the same. My hope is we will be on the first sailing. And lesson learned. We no longer use MC or VISA for large purchases. Lesson learned. Keith

Crystal is not yet taking open booking deposits. I am not sure precisely when it starts. When they do, it would be $500.00 per suite. If you do an open booking there will be up to a $500.00 as you wish shipboard credit per suite based on two guests and priority for booking 2023 and 2024 sailings. The actual booking must be made within 90 days of the itinerary launch which is projected for sometime this quarter. While there is no expiration date for the open deposit the as you wish credit is not applicable if you go beyond the 90 days. The as you wish credits are $250.00 per person up to $500.00 per suite for Crystal Society Guests and $125.00 per person up to $250.00 per suite for new to Crystal guests. As you wish credits are not refundable and not exchangeable for case. As you wish credits can be used in all ships venues except for Casino play. The open booking is fully refundable. This is what I know. Keith

One year ago today we debarked Crystal Serenity thinking we would be back a few months later. Last photos before debarking in Miami. Keith

A view of the Moon which I saw a few minutes ago. It's all decorated for Halloween but missed it by eight days. I guess better late than never. Keith

Boarded Serenity one year ago today for what would be our last cruise with Crystal until they restart next year. Easy to remember lunch. Ummmm. Yes it was Cobb Salad and a flute of champagne. Keith

We loved Tastes too. If it returns that will be great. At the same time, I am just happy our beloved ships and hopefully lots of crew are returning. This makes me very happy. While we loved Tastes should they go with other venue plus whatever they do for the other venues who knows, we might enjoy it just as much if not better than the previous venues on the ship. Time will tell. Bags are packet. Ready to go. Can't wait. Keith

For those of you who like prefer deals over regular prices this is for you.

Thank you. I had seen that on some post and looked on line but shipping is not an option to any state. Oh well. If someone does find it at a place that ships outside the area please let me know. Thanks, Keith

Yes every state does their own thing. With that said I've had plenty of wine sent to me. That was not the case in Texas years ago but I've not had problems for quite awhile. Thanks goodness because could you imagine if I couldn't get wine sent to me during the Pandemic. Likewise when we first got here where we lived you couldn't get wine or alcohol but interestingly enough every house we looked at had a bar. Go figure. Also in our first town (well here they call them all cities) you had to join at the restaurant to be able to purchase a drink with alcohol. In time the town/cities could vote to change this and our city did as did the next one I moved to and by the time we got here it was already done. Driving 30 miles like we used to in order to buy wine was nuts. Oh well. When I lived in Virginia we had to go to those ABC stores to buy Alcohol. Now in California you could get it all at food store, drug stores etc.., My question though is if anyone knows of anyone selling it who ships it. I'll run it down from there. The places that have been noted don't ship period unless you live near the store. Keith