Hi,

I've been looking at ideas for future cruises, and a couple Crystal itineraries looked pretty good, with great pricing. I was wondering if you guys could give me your opinion of Crystal. What's good, what's bad? How do they compare to RSSC? I know little about them, other than they are lsted as a 6-star line. Also, my brother-in-law and his family did a European cruise with them last year and said it was fantastic, but it was their first cruise, so they might have missed certain things that I would notice.

I would love to get some feedback. Thanks!

The big thing on Crystal is tipping. I have been on 2 world cruises and between that and the price of alcohol you can plan to spend a lot on board. Also the balcony stateroom are only 250 sq. ft. That's not very big and it's too small if you spend any length of time on a cruise. The food is very good and the ships are moderen.

I hear over and over again that they're great ships, no complaints with the food, good port info speakers, entertainment may even be better than rssc. BUT they are generally not considered to be a very good value for the $$ for reasons Chip mentioned above.

Here are my reasons for not looking at Crystal. If I am going to spend that kind of money, why would I want to sail on a larger ship with more people and still have to pay for gratuities and drinks?

Hmmm -- all good points. I need to take a close look at the prices and add in the estimated tips, and see if it really is a good deal. If it's not significantly less expensive, then I would prefer to be on smaller ships.

Regarding the alcohol issue, that brings up a question - anyone know if Crystal has one of those absurb "alcohol-smuggling" policies? I couldn't find anything on their website. It's not like I'm an alky -- I rarely drink anything more than a good bottle of wine with dinner, and maybe the occasional martini or single-malt scotch before or after. So I would probably be happy bringing some of my favorite wine with me, and maybe buying a couple of bottles on board. But not if I'm going to get strip-searched, treated like a criminal and have my stash confiscated!
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The thing is, I just know I'm going to be so spoiled after I go on my first RSSC cruise, that nothing less will feel special to me, y'know? On the other hand, if I can get that 6-star experience at a lower cost, I could possibly do it more often.

No I don't think they have that policy. Just be prepared to pay $6 dollars for a bottle of Bud. Alcohol is a big money maker for them. They push the good wines at dinner which are very expensive. A good bottle of Calf. wine would run 3 times as much as would at home. So ship your favorite stuff in although bringing it to dinner may be frowned upon.

Actually to me the most important issue with Crystal is the FIXED seating dining. Two seatings sit with the same people every night. This is something I just cant handle anymore and really feel at this level of luxury you should be able to eat when you like and with whom you like and not in a 2 seating program.

That said I have not sailed Crystal BUT I am going to try it on December 15th. There is a special TA program and I know that I need to experience it. I have booked it three times and cancelled but I am off to expand my knowledge.

Yes that too. I will say this the Serenity had a sushi and Japenese resturant that was bar none the best I have ever had. You didn't need a reservation and it was open all night. So I said to heck with dealing with the two seatings and ate sushi every night. Never got tired of it.

Well I can't wait to hear your impressions. On our cruises to date we haven't had a problem with the fixed seating, only because we've either been with our kids and we got our own table for 4, or, in the case of our Alaska cruise on Celebrity, we were assigned to a table with two other couples who turned out to be just the most delightful people you could hope to meet, and we spent much of the cruise hanging out with them. But I realize that was just a stroke of luck, and it could easily go the other way. I imagine I'd be a little irked if we met some other people and would have liked to dine with them, and couldn't. That does seem rather restrictive!

I will say I didn't particularly like the idea that we had to eat at the same time every night, and I'm looking forward to not having to deal with that.

LeeAnne,

Crystal is also more formal than RSSC. We have friends that swear by them and they were disappointed in their one RSSC because of the entertainment and Country Club Casual. Different Strokes for Different Folks. They were also on one Crystal that had open seating because the ship was less than 50% capacity last year. They get a table for two and like fixed seating. I do not want to live by the clock or berushed through a meal on a cruise so no fixed seating for me!

We have taken three cruises on Crystal and I guess that makes me the expert here.. lol
Why have we taken them? because they had cruises where we wanted to go at that moment.
My first thought LeeAnne, with your first post why they are not on my best cruise list is exactly what Ngaire said. They are in that mode of here is your table and here are your friends for breakfast lunch and dinner for 7 10 14 or whatever days and here is your seating time ! YECH!
Unless of course you make reservations at the alternative restaurants ( which if I recall also charge a fee, something like 15 or 20 p/p plus tip )to us was okay to be able to dine on our time not a preplanned time).
The Japaneese restaurant as Chip mentioned was the most wonderful sushi we have ever had at sea, but that was really the only way to dine alone. That and the Italian restaurant which was fabulous food, again, reservations and extra cost.
Now don't get me wrong, it's not that table mates aren't great-even have had fun with the ships selection of new friends but you can't dine with new or old friends or others as you wish. Not like true lux trip. They say 6 star.. but that is all in the eyes of beholder. I mean who said that anyways ? Crystal exec?
I don't mind paying for wine or drinks or even the special restaurant ( if not included in the fare).. that to me isn't important. When you look at it, if it is included as they say for drinks, say on Radisson, you still have to pay for your drinkies during the day and even pre dinner
unless you order in restaurant ( winkie winkie kids)so if have to order beers or drinks and pay won't kill us it's my vacation and if I can't spend induldge well, wouldn't go.. but that is us..
As far as clothes:
They do have the same as Radisson & some other ships with that formal night drill, night time rules
( gosh I hate this rule thing ).
And during the day it is no more formal or dressey as any other ship we have ever been on. Now referred to by all the ships as country club casual. Crystal holds about 950 people so the passenger thing is not terrible and infact never bothered us ( who absolutely adore the very small ships holding 600or less..)we never waited in lines.
Balcony cabin was cookie cutter with all the other ships.. maybe Radisson bathroom a bit bigger-I think it is larger than mostships as a matter of fact you can actually turn around
You know in all honesty you have to first decide where you want to go.. then see which ship goes there..which one you can afford, weigh the differences and then decide. I happen to love formal dressing can do it every night.. my husband on the other hand feels that to schlepp a tux around the world is the most insane thing on earth ( unless we are going to a wedding) ..
so we go on ships where we can dine when we like, with whom we like and wear what we like with no written agenda..

Claudia, very well said, thx for sharing an experienced cruiser's view..r/wes

I agree with all the previous posters, particularly Claudia. I would like to make two additional comments. While I haven't been on Serenity, I have been on Crystal's older ships. I thought they were very understatedly elegant, perhaps a little too so in comparison to RSSC's Mariner/Voyager. Second, I think there is a difference between RSSC and Crystal in "how" service is rendered. Just my opinion, but I feel Crystal service is more in the European tradition, some might say more aloof, others might say there is more of a "distance" separating passengers from guests whereas on RSSC, service is rendered in a "warmer, more engaged" fashion. This is not to say one has better service than the other, its just that service is rendered a bit differently and some may prefer RSSC while others prefer Crystal.

Of course, we would sail on Crystal again but our favorite cruise line is RSSC and would be still if both had the same pricing and itineraries.

Bill

Just a note, one of my friends who sails on Crystal says the alternative restaurant is fee-free with the exception of the $6 per person suggested tip.

LeeAnne,

We have traveled with Crystal on six separate cruises and loved every one. We also are Radisson cruisers (5 times) and really enjoy this cruise line, as well. We have not cruised on the Crystal Serenity or the RSSC Voyager ( however, we are on the Voyager on segment 7 of the World Cruise in 2005)

That said, we have recently cruised with the Crystal Symphony in Europe and in Canada/New England. If you email me (med4bike@yahoo.com) I will email you my two Crystal reviews. (too long to post here)

In a nutshell, the pluses for Crystal are: a bit better service in the cabins and the restaurants, the food is a bit better in the main dining room and in the alterntive restaurants ( no extra charge but a suggested $6.00 pp gratuity), the entertainment is far superior in all respects on Crystal. The cruisers seem to enjoy a more "formal" approach to cruising in the evenings (more tuxes and evening gowns on formal nights) However, on informal nights or casual nights the dress is about the same.

The Radisson pluses are: no tipping (this can add up quickly on Crystal), wine with dinner, inexpensive internet charges, open seating at dinner (Crystal has two seatings for dinner: this used to bother us but after our last 2 Crystal cruises with the same outstanding waiter in the dining room, we prefer the same waiter, even if we have to dine at 8:30 pm). The cabins on Radisson are superior (we particularly enjoy the privacy curtain between the bedroom and sitting room on Radisson) and each suite on Radisson has a balcony. ( On Crystal you pay dearly for a suite with a balcony). Radisson greets you on embarcation with a glass of champagne and has a chilled bottle of champagne waiting for you in your suite along with two liter bottles of premium liquor. This is not a deal breaker for us but it's nice to have a drink in your cabin in the late afternoon.

As a side note, we have brought back liquors, Limonchella (sp??)from Florence, to both ships, Mariner and Symphony, on different cruises, of course, and never had a problem or a question with either cruise line.

We actually choose our cruise line by itinerary and time of year for the sailing. You can obtain good deals on Crystal which can match those on Radisson, however, if a balcony is a must then Radisson has Crystal beat.

As you can see, we have cruised with both cruise lines frequently. To be quite frank, on our last Crystal cruise to Canada/New England, we had a terrific deal through our travel agent ( and probably through Crystal) that had all our gratuties paid for and ship board credit of about $800.00 for the two of us. Nice touch!

While it may appear that the pluses above clearly favor Radisson, it is the intangibles and itinerary that often times give Crystal the edge.

Hope this makes the distinctions between these two great cruise lines "crystal" clear.

Maurice

Maurice, extraordinarily well said--you have done
a remarkable job of praising both RSSC & Crystal..r/wes

At an all-day meeting yesterday, and then our internet is down at home, so I couldn't get onto this forum at all yesterday. Argh!

This is all great information, and very helpful. Maurice I'll email you for the reviews, would love to read them.

I guess I just wanted find out if there's going to be a noticeable difference in the experience if I choose Crystal. Celebrity, with whom we've cruised in the past, and Princess have some interesting itineraries and of course can be much less expensive than the 6-star lines, but I just don't think I'm going to want to go back to the things I disliked the most about cruising -- lines, cattle-call feel, decent but not great food, nickel-&-diming, etc. There are certain things that I am really looking forward to on my upcoming RSSC cruise, that to me make the difference between a nice vacation and one that is exceptional. And I just feel like I'm at a point in my life where I don't want okay vacations, I want something special and memorable. We are not in the income stratosphere where we can pick & choose regardless of price, but we can, with some luck and enough research and discount-shopping, afford a luxe experience.

It does sound as if Crystal would be a viable option for us if the situation is right, and it helps to be armed with the knowledge of the pros and cons. Thanks everyone!

LeeAnne,
I have sailed on Crystal, Seabourn and Silversea...but not on Radisson- horror! Crystal is like a very, very, nice mass market ship. There are huge lines at the buffets on deck. Room service on the Harmony is worse than RCI. Crystal commented that the Harmony is just not really set up for room service and they are aware of the problems. If you like room service, don't go on the Harmony. The staff are well trained but I found them to be snootier than the passengers (just a few individuals). Where Crystal really shined was in the food department. My hubbie and I thought that their food was far superior to either Seabourn or Silversea. It was more interesting and more seasoned. Plus the bonus of having a Japanese and an Italian restaurant gave us more variety. On Seabourn and the Silversea the food is very good but we did get tired of having French/California cuisine EVERY night. The food on those two lines seemed a tad too rich and too bland. My next cruise is on Seabourn. I love Seabourn because of the intimacy (200 passengers) and the feeling of being a guest because it is all-inclusive. I understand there is more of a guest feel on Radisson too. On Crystal I felt more like a number.

Oh my -- and that is exactly what I want to avoid. I will admit to being intriqued by all the wonderful things I've read about their food! I guess it would just have to be a really desireable itinerary and price to overcome the one-in-a-huge-crowd thing.

I'm a very friendly and social person (you probably got that from all my posts) ;) , and I love to meet new people and get to know them. While I certainly enjoy traveling with my dh or my mother or other family members, to me it's always much more fun if we can get involved in social situations rather than just hanging out with each other. I remember when I first started looking into cruising, I thought that we should go for the largest ships, theorizing that the more people, the more opportunity to connect with someone. But I've found the opposite is true, as all of you surely already know. So I have to keep that in mind as I figure out what cruises I want to go on in the future.

I haven't sailed on Crystal yet, but I am considering a cruise on Symphony. I've heard good, very good, and not so good things about the cruiseline.

Claudia

Please....give me a break!

Crystal is a tad larger than the RSSC Mariner and the Voyager (approx 900+ Crystal vs. 700+ Mariner)

There is never a wait for anything on either cruise line. The only time we ever waited on both lines is for a tender to shore at prime time. The Crystal alternative restaurants are quite good and Prego is really terrific. In fact, you can make a reservation for either Prego or the Asian alternative via email a month before embarcation. (This avoids the "rush" on RSSC to sign up for Signatures upon arrival on board)

There are differences between both cruise lines but waiting in line is certainly not one of them.
Both cruise lines are extraordinary and would not be considered "mass market" ships even by a stretch of the imagination ( If Crystal is considered a "mass market" ship then, a fortiori, so is the Mariner and the Voyager.

All things being equal, I would choose Radisson, for a number of reasons but certainly not "waiting in line" or the "mass market" label.

Finally, if you are a social person, you can meet and greet fellow pax on either ship. It is the closeness and camaraderie of the LCT group and the CC Rad board that "assist" a cruiser in having a great time and meeting new people.

Enjoy both cruise lines for you will have a great time on either line.

Med4Bike,
With all due respect, you weren't on my cruise. I have no doubt that you did not experience lines on your Crystal Cruises but I did on my Harmony cruise. There was line at the galley buffet and at the self service restaurant in the mornings for breakfast and at the grill for lunch. I have none too fond memories of standing clutching my cafeteria style plastic tray waiting to get to the head of the line at the Trident (?) grill. The worst line of all was at the deck Asian buffet. They had two long lines of trestle tables with different food on each. When i got there, there were at least thirty people ahead of me, moving very slowly. My hubbie and i took it in turns to 'hold our place' in line and I didn't get to the front for forty minutes. Maybe because they have much fewer passengers, Silversea and Seabourn just don't have lines like that.
I'm glad that you didn't experience waits like that on your cruises.

I agree wholeheartedly with Med4bike and NHcruisers. In addition, although probably not important to all, the teak promenade deck is wonderful and encircles the entire ship. For runners or walkers, it's the best. I have sailed Radisson and Crystal, and am, for the most part, itinerary driven. I love them both, with all their strengths and weaknesses.

I think all of us on this board, cc, and any other board try to give our best shot at giving our impressions of a cruise. So many things are subjective, and with each cruise, we run into different personnel, different conditions (like whether the ship was full or half-empty). The social thing is extremely subjective. Some like to enjoy the one they are traveling with, some like to meet and enjoy new people. I, for one, defintely stayed off to the side, so to speak, for a couple of years before admitting I was part of a roll-call, as I did not want to be obligated to "join in". Granted, the social thing of the "roll-call" and "named" cruises for RSSC is great for many. For others who are just lurking out there (by the way, oh how we wish you would join in) trying to find out about different lines, it is insignificant. All of us trying to learn about different cruise lines listen to everyone who posts. If we have a sense about the poster, perhaps we lend more credence to their opinions. No need to argue here about who is right or wrong. Just post your opinions and all readers will take them in stride. Oh, I have never been on Crystal, but I have spent a lot of time on their cc board, and there are a LOT of cruisers who absolutely swear by this line. The thing I have found over the past few years is the accolades about their food, and the entertainment. I just can't get past that required seating-time thing with the same people every night, and all the extra charges for tips and wine. I tried on my last cruise (MINT) to organize my meals to meet everyone from LCT, and didn't have enough time. Had I been on Crystal, I would have been with the same people every night. Not bad, just different. Trying to be the "mediator" here, still on the job.

I wouldn't be opposed to going on Crystal again for a very good per diem rate. I just wouldn't go on the harmony again because it is a very old ship and I like the shiny new ones ;)
I would like to try the Serenity in the med but overall I prefer a smaller ship and I prefer all-inclusive because you never have to sign for anything, thus you don't feel like a 'customer'. There's no awkwardness when the check comes because there never are any checks. I travelled on Crystal with a group of twelve people. Everyone wanted to make sure they were buying rounds of drinks and it was awkward when someone wanted to pay and then someone else did... and so on. The thing I love about smaller ships is that the drinks just appear when ordered and there is interruption in the flow of conversation to decide who is paying or to sign the chit. Just a personal preference.

Well, I must say that all-the-way-around teak deck sounds compelling to me, as a runner! Especially right now as I'm contemplating how I'm going to train for my marathon during my upcoming cruise. I'm having visions of getting nauseous from running around in tight circles on Voyager.

All of these details are really helpful. It's good to be armed with this kind of info so that I can fill out the pros and cons columns when I'm deciding between lines and/or specific cruises. I also have some idea about the ships to avoid, and the ones I'd consider. When all other things are equal, details like this can make the difference in selection.

There were a lot of serious runners on the Serenity and it was quite a distance around the ship. A mile? I can't remember. But if that's important to you will like that. The Symphony was the same layout only smaller.

While I'm at it, the Serenity didn't come off as big ship. The ship was full part of time and there was really never any lines. The buffets were divided up to 5 or 6 tables so I never waited.

One important point that I agree with is that the service is very Europeon. Which if you aren't used to that, it can be difficult. Takes some getting used to. There were not very many Americans that worked on the ship.

Comparing Crystal to Radisson..

I left the “Mass market” lines some years ago to move up with the cruising experience. Since then I have cruised with Crystal on, at least fifteen, cruises. In the last two years I have cruised with Radisson four times. In my opinion, in some areas the differences are infinitesimal, in others they are dramatic.

None of my comparisons are based on cost. . This includes the difference in the tipping policy or the cost of “adult beverages” It seems to me that those cruising either of these lines are not really concerned about the cost.

So then, let first look at the dramatic differences.

Cabins……Radisson by a large margin, particularly the closet space.

Dining….. The open seating on Radisson is a huge plus… for me, although some folk do prefer the Crystal system.

On board activities….. Crystal, hands down, really fun ships, if you want to participate, there’s always something.

On board entertainment and lectures…. No contest…Crystal spares no expense to provide the best.

The infinitesimal differences:

Food and service…. Slight edge to Crystal.
Embarkation and disembarkation… Slight edge to Radisson.

They are both great. Don’t deny yourself either of them.

Paul.

Although I greatly prefer Radisson, I do have to say that the following features on Crystal struck me as significant advantages over Radisson.

1. Crystal's casino is MUCH better. It's run by Caesar's and is actually a comparable gambling experience to what you'd get in Las Vegas. There is a full-size craps table and at least 1 mini-baccarat table (there might be 2 but I don't remember). Radisson's casinos are kind of small and tepid. Radisson passengers don't seem to be as into gambling as the ones on Crystal.

2. Speed of internet connection seems better on Crystal. It's significantly more expensive on Crystal, but they seem to have more bandwidth or something. I know it wasn't a function of being near the earth's elongation which would put the ship off track from the satellites. Again, if you don't really work while on vacation, this is probably not a huge advantage.

3. Alternative restaurants on Crystal are of higher quality. Prego is quite good; the executive chef is Piero Selvaggio, who runs Valentino in LA. The Japanese restaurants (Kyoto on Harmony, and The Sushi Bar on Serenity) are run by Nobu Matsuhisa. Jade Garden on the Symphony is based on Wolfgang Puck's Chinois. I happen to prefer these cuisines and the recipes designed by these chefs to traditional French cuisine. So it's really a matter of personal preference. I won't say too much about Radisson's specialty restaurants other than that I will never eat at Signatures again on either Voyager or Mariner. In addition, I have yet to see a Latitudes menu that looked remotely interesting (on either Mariner or Voyager). Of course this is all personal preference since my sister's favorite Radisson restaurant is Latitudes, and she's arguably pickier than I am.

However, I did think that Compass Rose was better on average than the Crystal Dining Room.

Honestly, the Crystal deal breakers for me are fixed seating at dinner, no coordinated LCT travel groups, and overly formal service that borders on obsequiousness.

The assigned & fixed seatings seem to be a deal breaker for so many that one wonders if Crystal will eventually change their format.
Of course, breakfast & lunch are OPEN seating
and in the evening, various tables are open
because of people being in the other restaurants or int heir cabins, that it often is possible to
join new friends. If the others at your table
are not present, the maitre d' always offer to
have you join others....so there is some flexibility.
We enjoy the service.

One thing I never mentioned is that the dress code is enforced too the tee. One formal night I stopped for a beer shortly before the witching hour at one of the bars. I was thrown out of that bar and told that I was offending the World Cruise passengers (the ones that were on the Crystal world cruise every year since it's inception). He did it loud enough so that all could hear in the whole bar. At 4:45PM

I did not complain be cause he was my favorite bartenders roomate, But really. I write it off as sucking up for tips.

So, 5:00 was the beginning of formal time, and not 6:00? I looked at Crystal a couple of times before we discovered RSSC, but there were a couple of things I never could get past; the formality was one of them if I remember right.

We almost looked at one very seriously, that went through Egypt and had a safari attached at the end. I didn't mark it well, then when I tried to go back to it, the only one I could find was almost a month. That was during the time that Mark owned the original company, and we didn't have cell phones that would reach, and he just couldn't do it.

Wow, Chip, you must be an enormously understanding and generous person. I would have been appalled. I can't imagine being treated that way by any service person. I mean, sure, they have some rules and, if that's the ambiance they have advertised and wish to maintain, then it behooves them to try to enforce them. But not by publicly castigating and humiliating a passenger! That's low-class service, if you ask me.

Kudos to you for keeping your temper. I'm not so sure I would have done as well.

Well, for us the assigned seating on Crystal and the higher level of "nickel and diming" are "deal breakers. I doubt that Crystal will ever go to open seating for two reasons. First, it requires larger dining rooms to have open seating than Crystal's two fixed seatings. Going to open seating would require a major revamp of the ships. Second, many Crystal regulars actually prefer the two fixed seating concept, and consider this a plus for Crystal. On the "nickel and diming" issue, I understand that Crystal recently began including all soft drinks and bottled water at no extra charge. That's at least a step in the right direction, as a large part of our "bar bills" when we have taken less inclusive ships that Radisson consisted of these things.

Thanks,
Richard

LeeAnne, If I would of complained it would have gotten back to the other bartenders that were great. There were 5 bars on the ship and I had no trouble sitting in my jeans for my pre formal beer anywhere else.

Richard. They took the honer bar out of the cabins and you got a couple cans of pop and a bottle of water, a little bottle of water. You could order drinks to your room for a small fortune plus a mandatory 15% tip. Drinks were cheaper in the bars.

chip:

Well, then, it sounds as if the story I heard that Crystal had made soft drinks and bottled water included "just like Radisson" was false, and way overblown.

This is just my opinion, I know. But for what lines like Crystal (and Radisson) charge in fare, I feel there should be darn little "at extra charge" onboard. And the closer to "nothing is at extra charge" the better I like it. The situation is very much like that with the Ferrari F430 which is reviewed in a recent car magazine. The darn thing costs $171,000, but things like air conditioning, power windows, leather seats, and a sound system "are at extra cost!" If the idea of paying $171,000 for a car, then being charged extra for things like this doesn't irk you, then Crystal might be for you. But it would bother me so much that I don't think I could enjoy an otherwise perfect cruise!

On a related topic, elsewhere on this page, it appears that Windstar has adopted Radisson's semi-all inclusive approach. At least somebody out there is awake.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)

I was just comparing suite sizes. Radisson vs. Crystal. There is a extra 100 sq ft in the lowest catogory. That's a lot of space to make your home in. Especially on a long cruise. The standrad balcony suite I was in was 256. That got a little small as time went on. 2 people would really have to be in love if you know what I mean.

That's what it would cost about $171,000 for me to do a full world cruise on Crystal all by myself by the way. When you add up all the extras. Rather drive a Ferrari

Me Too Chip!! Yikes that's outrageous. As expensive as BAIL is, it's a fraction of that for 2 of us!

Chip,

All I can say is WOW! I agree with Marcie - that is outrageous!

I just can't imagine having that much "disposable" income.

I am sticking with Radisson - it is all we know and has made us so happy (not even talking about the wonderful people we have met on each and every cruise) ... the whole "enchilada" has been magnificent - Joanna