A dalliance with Crystal... but back with HAL. An exhausting experience!

[SML123]

My husband and I have only been on HAL cruises and have loved every minute of every single trip. 

 

This time I needed a different style of vacation and so I booked a River Cruise on Crystal Mahler for this April for my elderly Aunt Marie and myself - her bucket list is to see Keukenhof gardens and Tulip fields in Netherlands. Then I was snagged by the great itinerary for a Crystal Symphony Barcelona to Rome cruise for September that I booked for my husband and I.  Oh Crystal, you have such a tribe of people who love you its very easy to get swept up in it all. I happily jumped right in. 

 

Yada yada yada... I am lucky and very thankful that I got my money back quickly after Crystals implosion as I used AMEX for my payment. It was really stupid of me to ignore the Crystal red flags that dropped every month or two during the last year regarding their solvency but I paid using AMEX as I never lost that nagging uncertainty. 

 

I am back with HAL and wont stray again. Jeesh, THAT was exhausting. Its more than booking a trip, you get emotionally involved in the excitement of putting all the pieces into place. It has taken me all week to unravel all those plans and cancellations around those two trips - flights, before and after cruise hotels, private tours, private airport car service. BY THE WAY, Crystal Cruises travel support SUCKED. While they did offer a travel desk, the people I dealt with had near zero interest in helping passengers with flights, pre and post hotels, transfers - you were really on your own - nothing like what is offered with a Holland America cruise and the 'click to add' offerings. That made me feel very uncomfortable about their company ... how can you not offer great service to help get people to your ship and then back home??? 

 

I just booked a fabulous fantail suite on the Rotterdam, tulip season 2023, Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam, 14 days transatlantic with an ending of more flowers than we could ever imagine. My husband and I cruised on the Oosterdam Alaska 2018 with a fantail corner suite and spent almost the entire time on that HUGE terrace in our pajamas, warm robes with hats, soft wooly socks and gloves, watching dolphin and whales play in the ships wake, drinking champagne and eating room service - Ive never experienced such a fabulous two weeks - just sitting with my favorite person watching mind-blowing scenery pass through my 270 degree view. Best. Vacation. Ever. I would imagine Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam will be just as fab with different scenery. 

 

Sorry Crystal, we flirted and I liked you, but we never got past that first date and now you're gone. I love HAL! Please forgive me for wandering, we are happy to be back.

 

Ciao 
Susan Maria 

Edited January 27, 2022 by SML123

[ger_77]

Welcome home!

[LocoLoco1]

Keukenhof Gardens. Stunning indeed.

[Vict0riann]

I guess that is the April 15, 2023 TA?  We are booked on it also.  I definitely recommend a visit to the Keukenhof when we get to Amsterdam.  It should also be a celebration HAL's 150th anniversary  on board! 

[Heartgrove]

1 hour ago, SML123 said:

 

I just booked a fabulous fantail suite on the Rotterdam, tulip season 2023, Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam, 14 days transatlantic with an ending of more flowers than we could ever imagine. My husband and I cruised on the Oosterdam Alaska 2018 with a fantail corner suite and spent almost the entire time on that HUGE terrace in our pajamas, warm robes with hats, soft wooly socks and gloves, watching dolphin and whales play in the ships wake, drinking champagne and eating room service - Ive never experienced such a fabulous two weeks - just sitting with my favorite person watching mind-blowing scenery pass through my 270 degree view. Best. Vacation. Ever. I would imagine Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam will be just as fab with different scenery. .

 

Ciao 
Susan Maria 

 

 Susan, Maria,

I thought that I was the only one that referred to it as a fantail! Although my former fantail sometimes behaved like this.  🙂

 

- Jack

 

[SML123]

 

23 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

 Susan, Maria,

I thought that I was the only one that referred to it as a fantail! Although my former fantail sometimes behaved like this.  🙂

 

- Jack

 

Arrrrghhhhh...  its obvious that I have Marines and Sailors in the family! 

[jimmy2x]

Brings back memories of being on the USS Oriskany (aircraft carrier in the 1970’s. Standing on the fantail (stern of the hanger deck) when we were running from a typhoon. When the stern went down all your could see was black water. On the rise nothing but dark swirling clouds and heavy rain. I was hanging  on to the rail at the stern and having a great time. One errant move could have easily washed me away. Can only plead young and dumb. But it is one helluva memory. 

[TiogaCruiser]

2 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

 

 Susan, Maria,

I thought that I was the only one that referred to it as a fantail! Although my former fantail sometimes behaved like this.  🙂

 

- Jack

 

So is she squatting really badly, or is she sinking?

[Heartgrove]

46 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

So is she squatting really badly, or is she sinking?

 

This was how these ships rode in rough water. Former 311' WWII Navy seaplane/torpedo boat tenders. None ever sank though! The bow would be buried at this point  My bunk was in the aft PO Berthing Quarters. The propellers would come out of the water cavitating each time which really limited being able to sleep. For fun on a good day but with rough seas we would go out on the fantail while off watch to jump up while the ship fell away.  Sort of being weightless.

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Heartgrove

[aputt]

@SML123 I find your post interesting seeing as you are a HAL loyalist comparing Crystal to HAL. While I can attest the majority of the time sail on CEL, I have cruised almost all of the major brands out there from time to time including HAL and Crystal. You are right there were plenty of red flags for GHK and Crystal from a financial standpoint however to point blame and say their customer support was horrible and toot the horn for HAL is a bit extreme. Also this is on a HAL forum - so thumbs up and acknowledgement from others?

Funny considering you didn't sail on Crystal and therefore are comparing from the outside looking in. Maybe it was the PCC you were working with at Crystal, but I have personally found their PCC support to be industry leading when it comes to personalized service and customized trip planning. They handled everything for my July cruise from pre-cruise transportation and hotel stay, COVID testing and hotel issue to coordination of post-cruise private transportation. Normally I do this myself, but it certainly was nice having it completed and wrapped with a bow on top. Maybe your advisor wasn't as helpful but I would think that's not the norm of a luxury line.

Refunds are being processed and I can personally attest to this for my cancelled voyage. While there are certainly many loyal die-hard Crystal enthusiasts, I am not one of them. Their onboard service and quality is top notch and best in class. That I can attest to. They are a luxury cruise line and comparing them to any premium or main market line, whether HAL, CEL, Princess, etc, etc., is like comparing an apple to an orange. It's unfortunate you didn't get to experience sailing with them and where they truly shine in the service and crew.

But the great part is we have options and choices when it comes to brands and cruising. I certainly hope my HAL cruise in February is great but I won't compare it to Crystal because they're marketed differently and have their own unique signatures being HAL. Same as CEL is different than HAL and I won't walk onboard expecting a CEL experience on a HAL ship.

Happy Cruising!

[ontheweb]

On 1/27/2022 at 3:46 PM, SML123 said:

My husband and I have only been on HAL cruises and have loved every minute of every single trip. 

 

This time I needed a different style of vacation and so I booked a River Cruise on Crystal Mahler for this April for my elderly Aunt Marie and myself - her bucket list is to see Keukenhof gardens and Tulip fields in Netherlands. Then I was snagged by the great itinerary for a Crystal Symphony Barcelona to Rome cruise for September that I booked for my husband and I.  Oh Crystal, you have such a tribe of people who love you its very easy to get swept up in it all. I happily jumped right in. 

 

Yada yada yada... I am lucky and very thankful that I got my money back quickly after Crystals implosion as I used AMEX for my payment. It was really stupid of me to ignore the Crystal red flags that dropped every month or two during the last year regarding their solvency but I paid using AMEX as I never lost that nagging uncertainty. 

 

I am back with HAL and wont stray again. Jeesh, THAT was exhausting. Its more than booking a trip, you get emotionally involved in the excitement of putting all the pieces into place. It has taken me all week to unravel all those plans and cancellations around those two trips - flights, before and after cruise hotels, private tours, private airport car service. BY THE WAY, Crystal Cruises travel support SUCKED. While they did offer a travel desk, the people I dealt with had near zero interest in helping passengers with flights, pre and post hotels, transfers - you were really on your own - nothing like what is offered with a Holland America cruise and the 'click to add' offerings. That made me feel very uncomfortable about their company ... how can you not offer great service to help get people to your ship and then back home??? 

 

I just booked a fabulous fantail suite on the Rotterdam, tulip season 2023, Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam, 14 days transatlantic with an ending of more flowers than we could ever imagine. My husband and I cruised on the Oosterdam Alaska 2018 with a fantail corner suite and spent almost the entire time on that HUGE terrace in our pajamas, warm robes with hats, soft wooly socks and gloves, watching dolphin and whales play in the ships wake, drinking champagne and eating room service - Ive never experienced such a fabulous two weeks - just sitting with my favorite person watching mind-blowing scenery pass through my 270 degree view. Best. Vacation. Ever. I would imagine Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam will be just as fab with different scenery. 

 

Sorry Crystal, we flirted and I liked you, but we never got past that first date and now you're gone. I love HAL! Please forgive me for wandering, we are happy to be back.

 

Ciao 
Susan Maria 

👍 for Amex. I know I have always found them to be extremely helpful and professional when a charge needs to be challenged.

[rajkr74]

Just thought I'd add some photos from Keukenhof and Kinderdijk.  Both must sites to see while in the Netherlands during the right season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[0106]

Retiring this year . MUST see those flowered, bucket list.  What cruise do you recommend?

[doone]

7 hours ago, 0106 said:

Retiring this year . MUST see those flowered, bucket list.  What cruise do you recommend?

I agree, this just went on my bucket list as well…….

[puppycanducruise]

Keukenhof is wonderful, I want to go back.

[SML123]

thank you for those photos, they are breathtaking. I had very little interest in Keukenhof before booking this trip for my Aunt... but now I am excited. The problem is that I have to wait another year! 

[MarkWiltonM]

It's good that you didn't sail on Crystal. We did, once, and the food was so good it somewhat ruined our experience on our primary cruise lines, HAL and Celebrity. However, I like the buffets on HAL's Pinnacle-class ships better than the small and cramped buffet areas on Crystal. We'll be on Rotterdam in April. We're going to try Oceania later this year to see if the food is as good as many people say it is.