Crystal Symphony

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

Reviewer Scorecard

Staff Dining Entertainment Activities Cabins/Staterooms Itinerary/Ports Value

Jean Kessler review on Serenity Feb 9-March 2, 2010

Cape Town to Mumbai - 2/2010

Crystal Serenity was superb.  Staterooms are spacious. Food is excellent and many choices at every meal.  Two smaller dining rooms of Prego for Italian food and Silk Road for Asian food are wonderful.  Staff is so helpful and willing to please all.  Crystal aims to please.

Ports are excellent and the tours that are offered are First Class.  All arrangments are handled in an efficient manner and the vehicles used are in excellent condition.

Pros: Crystal cannot be beat. The Crystal ships give so much in value.

Cons: It is just perfect and you cannot find anything wrong

Reviewer Recommended? y

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

Reviewer Scorecard

Staff Dining Entertainment Activities Cabins/Staterooms Itinerary/Ports Value

Symphony refreshed!

Panama Canal - 2/2010

Sailing with a group with all the latest changes to the Symphony.   What is good and what I still wish for.

If you didn't already know, Crystal has made some really terrific upgrades to the cozy and comfortable and familiar Symphony.   Three areas have been changed - - a lot!   The lido has had a major upgrade and not only is beautiful but practical.   No lines, no trays, just "stations" that are easy to serve yourself with upgraded food selections.   The second is the removal of the old "indoor" pool under the sliding dome and making the area around the Trident Grill a friendly and inviting places for casual dining.  The third big change is around the outdoor pool with upgraded lounges and colorful relaxing areas that work very well.    Cyrstal fans will still enjoy the always comfortable feeling on the Symphony and the staff as always is terrific.  

Most of you know they still have assigned seating in two seatings.  If the two beautiful but small alternative restaurants are full you really have no other choice but room service if you don't wish to dine at a certain time.   I really believe they need to have at least one additional "casual choice" every night, not just a couple of times on each cruise.   Many other Luxury lines are offering this, even on much smaller ships. 

Pros: Continued upgrades make the ship look fresh.

Cons: Still not enough dining choices at night.

Reviewer Recommended? y

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

Reviewer Scorecard

Staff Dining Entertainment Activities Cabins/Staterooms Itinerary/Ports Value

Symphony Amazing as Ever

Mediterranean - 6/2008

Crystal Symphony renovations keep it at the top of my list!

As a travel professional I always feel compelled to look at the age of a ship before I sell it, and when a new ship comes into a cruise line fleet I sometimes feel anxious about selling the "older model."  While I doubted this to be true with Crystal, my anxieties were completely cast aside after spending two fabulous weeks aboard one of my all-time favorite ships - Crystal Symphony.  The ship's enhancements were well thought out and make the ship better than ever.  I love the new open design of the Starlight Lounge and the Nobu sushi bar is right on par with the Serenity, not to mention the more sophisticated look of the shops.  My congratulations to Crystal for keeping her small but awesome fleet at the top of my "Best in the Business List," as well as for many others!

Pros:

Cons:

Reviewer Recommended? y

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

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A Sparkling Cruise Experience

Copenhagen-Dover - 8/2007

Outstanding service-with-a-smile, relaxing public areas, more-than-delicious food at Prego and Jade Garden, Broadway-style entertainment and a welcoming atmosphere that makes you want to sail again with this top cruise line!

After a multi-million dollar refurbishment in October, 2006, the Crystal Symphony sparkles from stem to stern.  You feel like "family" after only a few days when waiters smile, look you in the eye, greet you by name, and ask if you want your favorite capuccino! 

The service and attention in Prego (the Italian alternative restaurant) is outstanding!  Made-to-order selections are served with beautiful presentations.  There are enough choices on the menu to satisfy the most demanding appetite.  Best of all, only a small gratuity is suggested (well worth it)!

There are numerous areas on the Symphony to relax, listen to a piano, have a pre-dinner drink and meet with new friends.

The Broadway-style shows are professional in every way. There are also entertaining comedians and even sophisticated magicians.

Their line up of speakers is wonderful.  The people chosen are well-educated and informed and provide some fascinating intellectual enrichment.  The complimentary classes in the computer lab are varied and fun to take.

Pros: A caring, well-trained staff, delicious food, outstanding entertainment

Cons: None

Reviewer Recommended? y

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

Reviewer Scorecard

Staff Dining Entertainment Activities Cabins/Staterooms Itinerary/Ports Value

Crystal Mexican Riviera

Mexico - 3/2007

This was my 13th time sailing with Crystal and this was the best yet.

This was our first time on the Crystal Symphony since the refurbishment in November.  Some things were made better and some things worse.  The Starlite Club was made better. Who knew taking out a wall and moving the bar would make such a difference?  It's now light and airy. Lux, the new disco, was a great room.  It wasn't used much but on the formal night it was packed. We found the food to be the best we've ever had.   This was the first time we have eaten in Jade Garden.  Great lobster spring rolls.  Also the crispy chicken was great. Ask for it as it's not on the menu.  Now for the Cons.  I don't like the new sinks in the bathrooms - they take up too much counter space.  If you fill a glass with water you are liable to end up with more on you then in the glass.  I also miss the love seats.  The one big chair  and the desk chair makes the room seem smaller.  They used to keep the life jackets under the love seat, now they are on the floor of the closet.   We also enjoyed seeing staff members we haven't seen in a few years.  And they still remember your name. Now that's Crystal.

Pros: The Starlite Club, the food and the entertainment

Cons: SInks in the bathroom and the chairs in the stateroom

Reviewer Recommended? y

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

Reviewer Scorecard

Staff Dining Entertainment Activities Cabins/Staterooms Itinerary/Ports Value

Crystal Symphony's Recent Renovations

N/A - 3/2007

On March 11th, 2007, I had the pleasure of visiting the Crystal Symphony, which has recently undergone extensive renovations.

On March 11th, 2007, I had the pleasure of visiting the Crystal Symphony, which has recently undergone extensive renovations. Immediately I noticed that the onboard shops have replaced all their windows with new, rounded glass. This makes "window shopping" much easier as it allows the in-store merchandise to be more visible from outside the shops.

Some of the public lounges have also been updated. The Starlight Club now features a large bar with a crystal chandelier, which lends it a very tasteful and elegant touch. Additionally, there was a wall removed between the lounge and the hallway, giving the room a more open and airy feeling. The Galaxy Lounge has also been renovated, but retains the same color scheme as before.

Non-suite staterooms have been appointed with new bedding and draperies, as well as replacing the couches in the sitting area with chairs (one high-back, one low). From my understanding, most guests are not pleased with this change as having a couch in the sitting area made for a much more comfortable place to stretch out and relax. However, if you reserve a three-person cabin, you will have a couch. The color scheme in the rooms has also been updated to a more contemporary brown and turquoise.

The bathroom sink areas have been replaced with new counters, with the sink itself being a countertop glass bowl. This also lends a very modern and contemporary look to the bathrooms.

While the regular staterooms have all been renovated, the suites retain their original design.

I found the ship to be as pristine and lovely as ever. Additionally, the staff was friendly and helped us with the direction of our tour. This is a "6 Star" ship!

Pros: Staterooms are more modern; public lounges have been elegantly redesigned.

Cons: Stateroom sitting areas not as comfortable as before.

Reviewer Recommended? y

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

Reviewer Scorecard

Staff Dining Entertainment Activities Cabins/Staterooms Itinerary/Ports Value

A Jewel in the South Atlantic

Buenos Aires to Cape Town - 2/2007

I recently sailed on Crystal Serenity from Buenos Aires to Cape Town, choosing this segment of the World Cruise for several reasons, but primarily for the number of sea days and the opportunity to visit new destinations.   As always, Crystal exceeds expectations. 

Serenity, Crystal’s newest ship, was launched in 2004.  A classically elegant ship, she is in superb condition.  Of all Crystal’s wonderful attributes, service is the most outstanding.  From the moment you step on board, you are greeted by name with a smile.  There are several dining venues – the beautiful wood paneled Crystal Dining Room, Prego with superb Italian cuisine and Silk Road with Asian selections designed by the famous Nobu.  We especially like Tastes poolside dining on casual nights.  And, of course, complimentary room service.  You can order from the room service menu or the dining room menu.  Penthouse guests can also order from Prego or Silk Road menus.   We ordered room service and dined on our verandah in Cape Town while gazing at Table Mountain and the city lights, a memorable evening.  

A particular highlight of the voyage was an eight-course dinner in the Vintage Room with champagne, two selections of white wine, three selections of red wine plus a dessert wine.  The Vintage Room can be booked by a private party for a minimum charge of $1,800, depending on the wines selected it may be higher.  The Head Sommelier works with the host to select the wines and the chef designs a menu around the wines selected.  On nights when the Vintage Room is not booked by a private party, it is opened up to individual guests for $180 per person as a “Vintage Room Introduction.”   The food and wines were excellent, and we enjoyed our dining companions.  It was a night to be remembered.  

With so many sea days, Crystal did a great job of providing choices to keep guests busy.  In addition to stimulating lectures by intelligent speakers on destinations, world events, intelligence, space, health and gemology, there are bridge, music and foreign language lessons, as well as computer skills classes.  Add to the mix dance lessons, art auctions, a state-of-the-art gym with complimentary classes and a world-class spa and you can be as busy as you want to be.  An excellent alternative is to simply sit on the verandah and read a book from the well-stocked library or watch the deep blue seas roll by.   On this particular voyage, the World Cruise Games were taking place with competitions in bridge, shuffleboard, trivial pursuit, solitaire, swimming, etc.  “Olympic style” medals were awarded over the course of several days, and the World Cruisers seemed to enjoy the competition.     

Buenos Aires is a sophisticated, cosmopolitan, very European city.  Crystal provided a complimentary shuttle from the pier to the city center, right near Florida Avenue, the main shopping area.  We had a long, leisurely Argentinean lunch that took most of the afternoon, so little shopping was done. 

 Another trip highlight was Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Crystal did an excellent job of transporting several hundred guests to the stadium and into their assigned concrete block seats about 45 minutes before the competition began.  Considering the thousands of people inside and outside the stadium, this is no small feat.  It was hot, uncomfortable and crowded, but there was an air of anticipation, especially among those like us who were unprepared for the scope and enormity of the competition.  Fourteen samba schools compete over 3 nights beginning at 9 pm and ending at 6 am.  The parade ground is about one-quarter mile, with concrete stands on one side and private boxes on the other.    Each samba school has their own song and theme, with 3,000 to 5,000 brilliantly costumed dancers and eight to ten elaborate floats.  Each parade lasts about two hours.  The crowd stands most of the time, and the local Brazilians dance and sing.   We saw three schools compete, and wish we could have stayed for more, but we were scheduled for a shore excursion the next morning to Sugar Loaf Mountain.   

Next stop after five days at sea was the absolute climax of the trip, the tiny island of St. Helena, a gem in the middle of the south Atlantic.  St. Helena is 47 square miles in size, about 2,000 miles from Brazil and 1,000 miles from Africa.  Best known as the island where Napoleon was exiled in 1815 after his escape from Elba until his death in 1821, St. Helena’s scenery varies from a barren moonscape to lush, semi-tropical vegetation.

The only way to reach St, Helena is by ship as there is no airport.  The only regular service is the Royal Mail Ship St. Helena which calls about 4 times a year.  As a result, this amazing island is truly one of the last untouched, unspoiled spots on earth.  The locals, Saints as they are called, are friendly and welcoming to visitors.   There is no breakwater, and the ship was tendered.   Depending on the weather, visitors from cruise ships often cannot land here.  What a shame to go all that distance and not be able to visit this paradise.  We rented a car from a Saint and drove around the island, stopping at a lovely, peaceful bed and breakfast, Farm Lodge, for lunch after touring Longwood, the home where Napoleon lived with his entourage during his exile.  We also visited the island’s most famous resident, a 200+ year old tortoise named Jonathan that lives on the lawn of the Governor’s mansion.  There are actually 3 tortoises.  I was amazed that you could stroll around the Governor’s lawn and walk right up to the tortoises with no security guards or fences.  For more information about St. Helena, their website is www.sthelenatourism.sh.  

Cape Town was a delight.   The pier is very close to the Waterfront harbor with upscale shopping and a multitude of restaurants.  There is a complimentary shuttle from the pier to the Waterfront, although it is a short walk.  The wine country, Stellenbosch, is only a half hour away, and we had a wonderful lunch with local wines at L’Auberge du Paysan.   

Another trip apex was two nights at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, just one-half hour from the Waterfront district.   A romantic hideaway, The Twelve Apostles has warm congenial service, luxurious beautifully appointed rooms and spectacular ocean and majestic mountain views.  There are hiking trails and private picnic areas, we well as a sumptuous full-service spa and state-of-the-art gym.  We dined in the hotel’s restaurant, Azure, both nights which featured new world cuisine with African accents.  A courtesy shuttle will take you to the Waterfront or nearly Camp’s Bay.  We had lunch in Camp’s Bay at Blue’s, featuring Mediterranean cuisine overlooking the beach. 

What better way to get to exotic, far-away destinations than the luxury of Crystal Serenity?

Pros: Exceptional Service, Extensive Choices, Outstanding Dining, Stateroom Amenities

Cons:

Reviewer Recommended? y

Reviewer Ratings

5/5

Reviewer Scorecard

Staff Dining Entertainment Activities Cabins/Staterooms Itinerary/Ports Value

Crystal Symphony performs magnificently in every area

- 1/2000

Crystal Symphony performs magnificently in every area. The staff is exemplary, the food consistently excellent. In an era when many lines are reducing their entertainment and activities, Crystal maintains an abundance of both.

Crystal Symphony exudes understated elegance in all areas. Thanks to meticulous ongoing maintenance and a recent 25 million dollar major refurbishment, this 12-year old ship looks virtually new. At 50,000 tons and 940 passengers, she's large enough to offer a wide variety of facilities and services and yet small enough so that lines and crowds are a rare event.

There are a wide variety of dining choices from the lovely Crystal Dining Room to the Lido Cafe to the Bistro to the Trident Grill and two specialty restaurants, Prego and Jade Garden, with an incredible array of dishes. Crystal includes all coffees, bottled waters, and all non-alcoholic beverages. Entertainment involves some of the best production shows I've seen in over 60 cruises, several guest artists, lecturers on a host of subjects, as well as learning programs - all at no extra cost.

Pros:

Cons:

Reviewer Recommended? y