The Crystal cheer leaders did post over here last year and got mocked. They have it easy on CC.

One of my former bosses who retired to a life where he cruises on Crystal a great deal is having a fit over the big increase in prices for 2011. He is also afraid that they will go all inclusive which he is against because he doesn't believe in alcohol. Yes, that is what he says.

Check out the Celebrity Cruise lines forum on cruisecritic.com and see how the paid shills and apologists are defending Celebrity against photographs of stained furniture,filthy fixtures and rust on the ship Celebrity Summit.
They are employees.
Nothing can convince me otherwise.
I too have had my posts deleted there.

I am convinced that some people who post on CC are getting some sort of benefit from the cruise companies. Money? Discounts? Free stuff? Who knows?

I made the decision to go down market for my next cruise as the destination is what I want and the boat is just a way to get there. Crystal's food is not worth hundreds of $ a day.

We moved to HAL (Holland America Lines) ships and have been very happy with them, particularly the smaller ones. Unbelievable difference in pricing, with larger lovely cabins and far more attractive deck space and lounge areas.

I love the smaller HAL ships Explorations Cafe and Library - stunning windows and spacious compared to the ratty little space Crystal offers. They are very low key, quiet and retain sufficient elegance that one never misses whatever Crystal is supposed to offer. They have superb friendly, smiling, courteous crew.

The entertainment is not as lavish and glitzy as Crystal but it is fine and varied and that has never been a reason to cruise for us anyway. We are usually too tired after a good day in port to stay up that late anyway.

Dining experience are pretty similar, except the HAL double tier dining room with vast floor to ceiling windows and lovely decorative ceilings wins hands down over Crystal's cramped and dark oppressive space.

I am glad I sailed Crystal because now I know why I love my "dam" ships. Stick with the HAL R and S class ships and you can do many more trips with a balcony room for the price of one single, cramped "obstructed" view Crystal room.

Thank you for the advice. Seriously taken!

HAL ships even let you take your own wine aboard to either enjoy in your room, or pay a modest corkage fee for dinner.

Some of the departure ports have wine shops who will deliver to the ship. Not a drinker myself, but this is one more area where Crystal dings you badly if you are.

I watched some people sneak a brown paper bag on the back deck of the Crystal ship to enjoy their own free booze before dinner, skulking around hoping they would not get caught.

Brown bagging on Crystal. Wow! We have an office discussion (continuing) about travel. The general opinion is that most of us will be looking to make our money last longer by being wiser consumers. I'd rather take 2 or 3 trips on HAL all things said and done.

The younger folks are trending toward all inclusive prepaid vacations so they don't come home with credit card sticker shock.

Why do I get the feeling that I'm being watched posting on this subject on FT?

We found we like taking 3-4 more trips on HAL with a better and larger cabin, better itinerary, better shore excursions, and friendlier crew than one Crystal cruise.

It is stunning Crystal has gotten away with selling their sizzle and no steak for so long.

Nonsense, I hate FT! Oh, wait...

Mike

It's the case on several lines. Few are more religious than the Carnival and Royal Caribbean supporters. There are massive flame wars from cheerleaders for both lines for anyone who dares utter a negative word about either. Being "proud" of a cruise line seems absurd, I just don't get it.

We are essentially tribal people; as much as we look down at the "primitive" third world. We are fierce in our protection of our tribe, as fluid as that attachment may be. For some it is sports team and now it appears it includes cruise lines.

Ships hold and protect us. We trust them when we choose them. We are helpless in their care. And we attack to defend this special relationship when it has earned our loyalty.

There, you have it.

I am an avid reader and poster on CC. I find all the boards highly partisan with some people defending their preferred cruise line with all the venom of a grandparent whose grandchild's piano recital has been criticized. However, if you take it all with a grain of salt and ignore all the hyperbole there is a lot of good information to be gleaned on these boards regarding the ships, itineraries, service, ports, etc. To me, it's worth skimming past the incensed and highly offended posters to get this information.

but how do you know which is which?

It becomes obvious pretty quickly which posts are informative and which are worthless cheerleading or bashing.

Nearly every time I come to read this read an ad link pops for for All Inclusive Cruises. I think that is the way of the future for upper price line cruise companies.

All Inclusive pricing, open seating in the main dining room and ability to bring our own liquor on board are three things that stand out as important to us. Yes I know that 'all inclusive' means most wine, beer and liquor included, but we often have special wines that we buy along the route of our trip and want to be able to enjoy on board.

Friends who are frquent cruisers report that bar drinks on Crystal now rival New York City in pricing and a tip is added to every drink purchased.