There’s cruising and then there’s cruising. Crystal Cruise’s onboard experience is like no other. When they say welcome home when boarding, they really mean it.
If you like a truly all-inclusive cruise experience where your vacation feels like returning home, Crystal Cruises is the place for you. With only two ships, Serenity and Symphony, cruising the world you are guaranteed to see unique destinations with very few repeat itineraries in a year. Many guests are onboard for weeks at a time, year after year. It’s really a special experience.
What makes Crystal so special?
The ships are medium-sized with small ship capacity since they can accommodate over 1200 passengers but the maximum amount of cruisers is around 700. My recent cruise had less than 600 guests and guest to staff ratio is almost 1:1 with every stateroom including butler service.
What does this mean for you?
Larger staterooms, variety of entertainment and dining venues, no fighting for open chairs at the pool, and sometimes you are the only guests on a stairwell or in a hallway going from one activity to the next. Staff will learn your preferences and remember your name quickly. Much of the staff has been onboard for years and truly love their jobs.
What are the staterooms like?
Crystal Serenity was refurbished in 2023 so the rooms still feel very fresh. We sailed in the Sapphire Veranda suite which is 430 square feet with a 100 square foot veranda. The room is divided into a sleeping space and living space with sofa and dining table for 2. Each area has doors to the veranda, its own tv, and access to the bathroom. Closet space is decent size with two hanging areas, drawers, and a safe. The bathroom has double sinks and a large walk-in shower with several nozzles. This suite includes extras such as daily canapés, 5 items pressed daily starting on the 2nd day of sailing, one bag of laundry along with 5 dry-cleaned items for every 10 days of sailing. All suites include a selection of wine, beer, and soft drinks replenished as needed.
What about the food?
Traditional dining is available each morning and evening in the main dining room and the buffet at Marketplace is open for breakfast and lunch. Late sleepers and snackers will love The Bistro for their continental breakfast, specialty coffees, and afternoon snacks. For lunch or just because, I loved Trident Grill for their turkey burger and sweet potato fries. Around the corner you have Scoops which serves the most yummy gelato, soft-serve ice cream and cookies. Be sure to save room for afternoon tea served in Palm Court located at the front of the ship.
Specialty dining is included and highly recommended. We dined at Uma Uma, the only Nobu restaurant at sea, Osteria D’Oviedo which prepares fresh tiramisu table side, and BeefBar twice because it was just that good. You can book prior to your cruise or talk with your butler once onboard. We only made one reservation in advance and kept rearranging our specialty dining reservations daily due to our schedule and mood. If you are able to book the Supper Club experience (8+ night cruises), do it. I’m not old enough to have experienced these when they were more mainstream, but imagine an intimate dinner setting in a nightclub with dancers.
Are you too tired of getting dressed up for dinner or just want a quiet night in the room? In-room dining is available and delivered by your butler.
What is there to do?
You can be as busy or as relaxed as you like. From movies, to computer classes, spa and fitness center, golf driving nets and putting greens, or just lounging around the pool, you can always find something to do. My typical day started with a walk around the deck, breakfast, and then lounging by the pool for a bit before lunch. Afternoons included tea and sometimes the movie (look for the popcorn). Dinner was around 7pm so before and after we found ourselves in the lounge people-watching while enjoying an adult beverage.
In the evening, there are multiple lounges with live entertainment, trivia, dancing, karaoke, and shows in the Galaxy Lounge and Stardust Club. Single ladies will enjoy dancing and socializing with the onboard hosts.
Where did my cruise go?
We embarked in Cartagena and made stops in the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, Bahamas before disembarking at Ft Lauderdale. Crystal offers many excursions but the only one we booked was a snorkel excursion in Grand Turk. I’ve been on many snorkel trips before but this was by far the most fun! The crew was very entertaining and very generous with the rum punch.
With only two ships and the whole world to visit, Crystal very rarely repeats itineraries.
Any families onboard?
My cruise sailed right before Christmas so only a few kids were on the ship. Expect more families during Christmas, Spring Break, and summers, especially for sailings close to the US. There is a kids hang-out space with games, toys, and books and with enough kids onboard, a supervised kids club.
Who should sail Crystal?
Anyone who prefers a luxury cruise but not a fussy experience will enjoy a Crystal Cruise. If you like a lot of activity there is something for you to do but if you prefer a quiet space to read and relax, there are plenty of spaces for you to do that.
This was my first Crystal Cruise but it definitely won’t be my last. I’ll sail anywhere at anytime just to be onboard!