Okay next report. I am going to compare RSSC and Crystal I guess it makes it easier to report.

Lecturers - one average one not so good. Sorry for all the Crystal lovers but this is the case. We have met and spent a lot of time with one nice man who has sailed Crystal a lot. He said these are the worst two lecturers he has even seen on Crystal. He always goes to the lectures but he is bypassing these from now on. Personally I thought one was okay. As always it is hit and miss. He saw Terry Breen on his one RSSC cruise and so he was telling me how good the RSSC lecturers were. It is all dependent I think on who you happen to hit on your particular cruise.

Food: Well the first few days I would have given a heads up to Crystal. The formal night with the lobster and Chateuabriand was as good as it could ever get. The last few meals have been good but not as outstanding. Today though they did a Sunday Brunch. It was excellent and as good as you can get from a brunch. The way they laid it out in foyer and the lovely light classical music that was not too loud made it extra special. Amazingly there were not the lines here one might expect with everyone having lunch at the same time at the same place. Cant understand why the lines were so bad on deck for lunch the other day. Maybe it was just the way it was laid out. They had multiple stations today. Tonight the Jade Garden.

For food I would say at this point in time I would call RSSC and Crystal and Silversea basically even with only a very slight edge to Crystal. Crystal offers lots of low carb items along with no sugar items. Low carb is different from no sugar and I give them points for that and for the bistro. Ken said the cookies are better here - he is an expert on that.

The lido I just dont like. It is tables without table cloths, and plastic trays. I did not think having a table cloth was a big deal but call me a snob if you like it is just a lot nicer to eat at table that has a tablecloth and a place setting. I was thinking about the Diamond with the outside wooden tables but they put placemats there and that works. If they would just do that here it would help. Both RSSC and Silversea are better for this area of casual lunch dining in my opinion.

I love the Bistro, the little coffee shop with service and snacks from 9.00 to 6.00 pm. Neither RSSC or Silversea has this and it is a really nice touch.

Activities; Today there are more activities offered than on a traditional RSSC day at sea cruise. They dont have the token action. So for those that love competition for tokens they will be disappointed here. In fact I have not noticed a "daily quiz" not saying they dont have it I have just not been aware of it. I will check that out. They are also having a theatre today at 5.00 pm with scences from some famous plays. I am really looking forward to that. I have often wondered why they dont do that and here it is on Crystal. The song and dancers are really the RSSC group with better costumes. That is how I see it but as I have said before I am not a Song and Dance person. Been faithfully going to every show. Tonight a comedian and the dance teachers again doing a few turns on the stage.

The trivia (we won today by the way) is held at 11.00am a morning at sea. Was done at afternoon tea one day and if they had trivia yesterday I missed it, I dont think they did it. By the way I won a Crystal diary for my win in Trivia.

The casino for casino lovers definite edge to Crystal. It is much larger with more space. I am not a casino person but this is a much nicer facitilty. Run by Ceasars Palace.

Shops - more of them but still not that much to buy. The jewelry store offers some very expensive items that are nice to look at. The need a Chicos on a ship now wouldnt that be a hit. Edge to Crystal, just a nicer area to have shops in the middle of foyer.

Silly thing I do like. They have dimmers on the bed lights. That is great.

I still find RSSC crew a little more friendly. I cant put my finger on it as there are some standouts among the Crystal crew. To be fair it is possible that I am on RSSC so much I just know all the crew there. There are slips up in service, could not get a second cup of tea today even though I asked several times. However, that can happen on RSSC and Silversea too. Nothing is perfect. It was the buffet lunch that caused this problem I think, they were running around like crazy. These are not big things.

Officers you never see. I wonder if this is normal. I have only seen the Captain once at the welcome aboard.

Palm court vs the Observation lounge. I just cant see why people are over the moon about the Palm court. Nice room for sure but I dont see the difference. They dont use it at night. Ken and I do love quiet time at night and often go to the observation lounge at night for quiet music and watching the ocean. Cant do that here. I remember some really neat nights up in the Observation lounge with the harp or light piano music. I wonder if they ever have any light entertainment up there in the evenings. They must use that when they are in a "white nights" area. We will check it again tonight.

I can see the allure of Crystal for those that have no problems with fixed seating and dont mind the smaller basic cabins. It is a well run cruise line, with nice entertainment (cant give them the edge yet till I see the rest of the week out) excellent food and a very nice staff.

Karen if there are any more negative posts just take them off. Denise is right we should not allow them period. When directed at me I dont seem to mind as much I just dont want them directed at other members. Thought I would just post that right here so everyone knows the program. No posts that are negative towards another person.

I edited this but have to go now to play in a slots tournament. May come back and edit more later.