Crystal ​😪​

[Texas Tillie]

5 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

If "Crystal casual" included a sports jacket for men, then I'm out---not my idea of a vacation.

Viking had it right for me----wear something comfortable and casual, or not, no one will care.

 

It does not include a sports jacket (no tie if you choose) except on the ocean ships (RIP) on BTO nights and those were just once or twice on cruises longer than a week. And, over the past few years I never saw it enforced anyway.

[Canal archive]

I concur with the concern for the crews from Crystal and all the other companies who I strongly suspect will not yet be rushing to employ staff. When Crystal started in the river cruise sector they employed a very good young lady cruise director from Scenic I wish her the best as well.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Canal archive

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Notamermaid - as a single, Crystal was around the same price as several other lines. I know it was cheaper to go Crystal than Viking who charges 200% single supplement. 

Single supplement policies can indeed make an enormous difference to the end price that you will have to pay.

 

I agree about the crew and staff. It will be a time of worry. With seasonal contracts most likely being done for many staff members, what will be? A new owner keeping only those on long-term contracts? Will there even be a job for them? Rehiring seasonal workers? Or no job to go to for them either? At this point in time -January - the hiring for this year's season would be going on. What a shock it must be to those who thought they could just go to the job interview and get another season working on a Crystal river cruise ship. I doubt a switch to another company will be that easy. Especially for those bound by language barriers. If you do not speak French or German, CroisiEurope is unlikely to employ you, for example. And will all North-American lines employ all their ships themselves this year? Who knows.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[sharkster77]

3 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

It does not include a sports jacket (no tie if you choose) except on the ocean ships (RIP) on BTO nights and those were just once or twice on cruises longer than a week. And, over the past few years I never saw it enforced anyway.

Was the Crystal Ravel not a river ship?  Here's what someone else posted, that my comments were based on:

 

It says optional tie, not optional sports jacket.  Again, not my document, but one submitted by a fan of Crystal.

Edited January 26, 2022 by sharkster77

[Canal archive]

I wonder if the instructions for British passengers differed especially as ‘pants’ in particular has a different general meaning in the U.K. Everyone turning up for dinner in their pants with nothing covering them would be a bit like making your first presentation and imagining everyone naked.

[loriva]

1 hour ago, sharkster77 said:

Was the Crystal Ravel not a river ship?  Here's what someone else posted, that my comments were based on:

 

It says optional tie, not optional sports jacket.  Again, not my document, but one submitted by a fan of Crystal.

 

The relevant word is OR.  Yes, you could wear a sports jacket if you liked.  OR you could wear a collared polo shirt.  AND some sort of non-jeans trousers.  The only night DH wore his sports jacket was the night we went to the special concert at the Belvedere Palace.  And he was not required to wear it--it was his choice.

[slidergirl]

For the crew who may find themselves unemployed, there are plenty of jobs available in land-based hospitality.  Resorts, hotels and restaurants are hurting for employees.  Many hire on a seasonal basis so it is easy to have a "Summer" job and a "Winter" job.  I had a few workers with me at the resorts who did just that.  We hired seasonals from Philippines, Turkey, Jamaica, Slovenia that I knew of.  

[sharkster77]

2 hours ago, loriva said:

 

The relevant word is OR.  Yes, you could wear a sports jacket if you liked.  OR you could wear a collared polo shirt.  AND some sort of non-jeans trousers.  The only night DH wore his sports jacket was the night we went to the special concert at the Belvedere Palace.  And he was not required to wear it--it was his choice.

I read it as the choice is between an open collar OR a polo shirt.  OR does not apply to the sports jacket.  Whoever wrote the policy needs help with English!!!!

 

It's all moot, as Crystal is now kaput.............

[Texas Tillie]

4 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

Was the Crystal Ravel not a river ship?  Here's what someone else posted, that my comments were based on:

 

It says optional tie, not optional sports jacket.  Again, not my document, but one submitted by a fan of Crystal.

 

I can see where you could misunderstand based on that, but in actuality it is slacks and a collared shirt. I have been on the Bach 17 days and the Mozart 23 days and am very aware of the reality. The list is what can be worn, but not everything listed is required.

[Texas Tillie]

2 hours ago, slidergirl said:

For the crew who may find themselves unemployed, there are plenty of jobs available in land-based hospitality.  Resorts, hotels and restaurants are hurting for employees.  Many hire on a seasonal basis so it is easy to have a "Summer" job and a "Winter" job.  I had a few workers with me at the resorts who did just that.  We hired seasonals from Philippines, Turkey, Jamaica, Slovenia that I knew of.  

 

This is not true in some countries. I got off the Symphony Sunday and talked with many crew members and there are not jobs in their home countries. The river boat crew is required to have EU passports and there may be some jobs but are there in the town where their family lives?

[Coral]

9 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Single supplement policies can indeed make an enormous difference to the end price that you will have to pay.

 

I agree about the crew and staff. It will be a time of worry. With seasonal contracts most likely being done for many staff members, what will be? A new owner keeping only those on long-term contracts? Will there even be a job for them? Rehiring seasonal workers? Or no job to go to for them either? At this point in time -January - the hiring for this year's season would be going on. What a shock it must be to those who thought they could just go to the job interview and get another season working on a Crystal river cruise ship. I doubt a switch to another company will be that easy. Especially for those bound by language barriers. If you do not speak French or German, CroisiEurope is unlikely to employ you, for example. And will all North-American lines employ all their ships themselves this year? Who knows.

 

notamermaid

 

 

All I can say is that these employees are the best of the best. Any future line would be very lucky to have them on their team.

[Canal archive]

Many river cruise staff are actually supplied by a German agency who also train staff it has two departments hotel and maritime. Many build a reputation with certain companies so they most probably are fairly safe when it comes to being employed for the coming year but a new name on the list is going to be a bit hit and miss. Most staff on Scenic in the past have been East European but recently there have been more Asian staff.

Once a few years ago we actually witnessed a member of staff being dismissed (I’m sure the Cruise Director didn’t realise we were there) my husband was not surprised so me being completely in dark said how did you know and he said the guy had been quite objectionable to female staff members and if he hadn’t been dismissed he would have stepped in. Proud of my man, yes I am.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Many river cruise staff are actually supplied by a German agency who also train staff it has two departments hotel and maritime.

I believe Crystal hired their own staff. I think I remember reading that somewhere.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

I believe Crystal hired their own staff. I think I remember reading that somewhere.

They transferred a lot between ocean and river – this was how they brought the Crystal Ocean experience to Crystal River.  It shows the possible synergy for other cruise lines, although I don't believe any of the other multi-track lines do it [Viking, Scenic]

[slidergirl]

18 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

 

This is not true in some countries. I got off the Symphony Sunday and talked with many crew members and there are not jobs in their home countries. The river boat crew is required to have EU passports and there may be some jobs but are there in the town where their family lives?

I didn't specify a job had to be in their "home countries."  If someone is willing to go outside their home country to work on river cruises, then they should be willing to go outside their home country to work in land-side hospitality.  Winter resorts are plentiful throughout the EU, as are summer resorts. 

[notamermaid]

18 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

It's all moot, as Crystal is now kaput.............

Kaput is originally a German word. kaputt. American dictionary says it means utterly finished, defeated or destroyed. German actually means broken, or for machines "out of order" with repairs needed - or beyond repair potentially.

 

Anyway, I still have hope for parts of Crystal, but perhaps it will be under another name. The German media is of course also taking an interest in this because of the shipyards. I have read today that the "Global Dream" is three quarters completed and will cost around 1.5 billion euros. That is a bit more than pocket money for an investor I should think. According to this German report, there is interest in buying the ship coming from several parties, at least one of them is a combination of investors. If you are interested, send it through a translation program: https://www.rhein-zeitung.de/deutschland-und-welt/wirtschaft_artikel,-mv-werften-kurzfristige-loesungen-fuer-zwei-standorte-_arid,2364556.html

 

This is one of the problems: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/legal-regulatory/german-court-rules-against-loan-payment-genting-hong-kong

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Oh what a tangled web we weave!! When first we practice!

[notamermaid]

19 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Oh what a tangled web we weave!! When first we practice!

 

Ehmm... Shakespeare?

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Texas Tillie]

24 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

 

Ehmm... Shakespeare?

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

No, Sir Walter Scott

[Canal archive]

Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem Marmion A Tale of Flodden Field. Although I admit it is definitely in the footsteps of the bard.

[Coral]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

They transferred a lot between ocean and river – this was how they brought the Crystal Ocean experience to Crystal River.  It shows the possible synergy for other cruise lines, although I don't believe any of the other multi-track lines do it [Viking, Scenic]

They did. At least the higher positions (not sure about room stewards).

 

Our main tour person (they didn't use the word CD) - she said she started as a fitness instructor on Crystal Ocean.

 

I remember being on a tour in the Lake District in Austria. There was a guy that stood out to me because he blended in "too well". He wasn't acting like a tourist and just sat in the back of the bus. I struck up a conversation with him and he was a Hotel Manager with Crystal Ocean. He lived in Europe and his house was being renovated so he took our cruise while his house was being worked on. That evening, we docked next to another Crystal River ship and there were probably 20 people from that ship who came over to see him. I got the impression he was very well respected.

 

The biggest mistake Crystal made IMO is to not seek financing early. CCL, NCL, RCL all sought financing very early in the pandemic. I don't think Genting ever did.

[Stickman1990]

11 minutes ago, Coral said:

The biggest mistake Crystal made IMO is to not seek financing early. CCL, NCL, RCL all sought financing very early in the pandemic. I don't think Genting ever did.

It wasn’t Crystal decision - they were a fully owned Subsidiary of Genting HK who made the call on debt and financing. Crystal could not take on debt without Gentings ok

[Coral]

19 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

It wasn’t Crystal decision - they were a fully owned Subsidiary of Genting HK who made the call on debt and financing. Crystal could not take on debt without Gentings ok

You are absolutely right - I meant Genting. Thanks for the correction.

[CPT Trips]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

 

 

I remember being on a tour in the Lake District in Austria. There was a guy that stood out to me because he blended in "too well". He wasn't acting like a tourist and just sat in the back of the bus. I struck up a conversation with him and he was a Hotel Manager with Crystal Ocean. He lived in Europe and his house was being renovated so he took our cruise while his house was being worked on. That evening, we docked next to another Crystal River ship and there were probably 20 people from that ship who came over to see him. I got the impression he was very well respected.

 

 

Hugo?

[Coral]

32 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Hugo?

I just tried to look at my notes. I know I wrote his name down somewhere. In an email I sent to someone I said he was Hotel Manager on the Crystal Symphony.