Don't forget you are paying that $300 a meal for what you find is good chain restaurant food on Crystal. Nope, it is not that great at all for the money.

I am just a practical sort so it is fun to sort out what you actually are paying for with Crystal that is truly "over and above" when you count the actual hours you spend experiencing whatever the heck the Crystal difference is.

You don't feel it when you are asleep. You don't get it while you are in port. You don't get it when you are in your small cabin. You don't get it when you slosh around with the less than glamorous bodies on the Lido deck. You don't get it when you are waiting for your food and putting okay food into your mouth.

I wonder exactly how many minutes or hours one actually experiences the "Crystal Difference" when you subtract all those meaningless hours that could be spend on any similar ship. How many minutes and hours does one actually spend in settings where there is some alleged Crystal Difference. An interesting exercise.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.................

About service, I don't agree that Crystal's service is poor or even average. It is above average.

Their secret to success and why so many passengers say that 'Oh they remember me and my family from trip to trip even if I have not been on a Crystal ship in a long time' is......

detailed passenger records with photos that every service employee has to study.

They keep lists of food preferences, allergies (that is good), all Crystal trips made with destinations and which areas people used for their meals: MDR, Lido, room service etc.

Employees are encouraged to call passengers by name as often as possible and to ask about family members and people cruised with in the past.

I would love to do this for and about my own customers! In case you are wondering many hotels do a lot of the same, including using ear pieces to send information about guests around the hotel.

I have not cruised on Crystal but have one coming up - I have cruised twice on RC, once on QM2, once on Celebrity and a 16 day TA on HAL. The food in the dining room of HAL was absolutely awful! We also experienced the battle of the elderly with one woman knocking another woman on a walker down because she spoiled her view of the dancing. The casino stunk as well (not because I lost because both DH and I made money). Finally a guy in the casino suggested we try the buffet (I don't like buffets for dinner) as they had a pasta station that was good. They DID treat us very well up there. I think cruising is subjective - you may like the food that I think is inedible, although our entire table of 8 hated the food on HAL, each to their own.

Crystal is also the "Battle of the Elderly" (as you charmingly put it) so be prepared. Walkers, wheelchairs, and stuffed bathing suits to the breaking point. There was a pushy, showy, unfriendly attitude among many of the Crystal cruisers, where I found HAL cruisers to be seasoned sea travellers who understood the politeness necessary when sharing a small space together.

Just factor in what you are paying for your Crystal food, and see if you can justify it for the extra costs. You may like it better than HAL food, but is it really $300 a meal better? Be sure to ponder this and get back to us.

Or is Crystal gouging you and making you think you are getting something that in fact may or may not be only nominally better.

Both HAL and Crystal did some things well and some things not so well. Except HAL at least priced themselves realistically. Crystal gouges you and yet does not deliver that much better of a product and in many ways, an inferior product.

Let's just say that Crystal offers a different product. If you like being called by name all day and night long (I don't) and having your family mentioned by employees....then go for Crystal.

I prefer the European style of service where my waiter is not my best friend for the duration of the journey. I have no interest in chatting with staff or having my room stewardess say 'oh that dress is so lovely. So nice you are wearing it AGAIN this cruise.'

As I said I am not here to defend Crystal. Of all the luxury lines it is probably my least favorite. I much prefer Seabourn and /or Silversea where everything is included. It's not just food, it's gratuities, alcohol (and please don't give me the old saw about how you don't drink so alcohol is not important. Many people don't use a lot of other things on board a ship for which they are charged and don't complain) open seating and yes, much better food. You want caviar in your suite or around the pool, just ask. You want a platter of fresh crab and lobster as your first course for dinner tomorrow night, just ask. I agree to many people the difference is not worth it but for those to whom it is worth it it is nice to know the luxury option is there. That is why there are so many cruise lines. Remember those HAL devotees may get the exact same argument from Carnival or RCCL cruisers who don't think it's worth the price difference to sail with HAL. To each his own!

It comes through loud and clear that your Crystal cruise was a $$ and cruise disappointment...and naturally you will not be taking another Crystal cruise.---Fortunately you have found HAL. Sorry to hear that you and others were indisposed on a long 42 day voyage. Your recent experience reminds me of the 30+ day on a Princess cruise with hacking and otherwise indisposed passengers: not pretty and downright scary. -- A cruise buddy who is still taking chemo treatments is only willing to take Crystal: having observed the diligent wipe down of the public areas, etc.

Please don't leave the impression my 42 day cruise where many people got upper respiratory infections was a HAL cruise. It was on an entirely different independent line - Voyages of Discovery. HAL is very conscientious about hand cleaning and wiping too.

That was a disappointment on the Discovery, as they could have used more hand sanitizing stations. But they also attract mainly repeat passengers who were very well-seasoned cruisers who knew to exercise more common sense than we did to prevent these onboard infection problems.

The Discovery is a small old ship that is full of very savvy well-travelled people and a total delight for what it does offer. It was to our innocent chagrin we picked up the common infection and also to my grave disappointment I did not face those two solid weeks of high seas very well -- but most of the passengers did just fine.

Discovery passengers are no-frills, sturdy passengers and a good time was had by all, including me regardless of the at sea day difficulties. We saw grand parts of the world and I would do it all again in an instant, if this were the only way to cover so much ground and see so much.

I appreciated both HAL's and Crystals attempts to keep everyone healthy. One more aspect that is equal in service between the two, when one is still trying to figure what is Crystal's value-added for the price. Certainly ship sanitation is not one of them. Both lines get high marks.

I would hate to have your post leave the wrong impression that you were faulting HAL to the betterment of Crystal, again giving them a credit they did not earn or deserve.

PS. Glad you are enjoying reading all my posts.

This reminds me of that old ploy used by some guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel (which reminds me a lot of Crystal, all saccharine and over-stuffed fluff) where a poolside lunch guest would arrange ahead of time for someone to call them, just so they could get paged in a very public way and let all the other guests hear the sound of their own name.

The Crystal CC fans mention this forced name remembrance more than any other feature they value about their Crystal Experience. Nice to learn how this happens behind the scenes. This indeed is a money maker for Crystal, as their repeat passengers love it. Wow.

Maybe instead of trying to figure how much more each meal costs on Crystal, all other aspects being equal I should figure out how valuable it is to hear the sound of your own name parroted by an overly trained staff person. I guess for some this is priceless.

This forced name-recognition beats HAL ships, hands down. I don't think HAL would ever force their employees to learn the next batch of passengers names and familier by rote, just to suck up to them. HAL service is more spontaneous and genuinely friendly yet always professional.

HAL service people seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs, no matter who the passengers are. They know the art of hospitality first. It is in their make-up and I gather this is how and why they get chosen for their jobs in the first place. They don't rely on cloying memory tricks to establish fake rapport. They don't have to.

oops!
 

Having read other posts, I missed the name of your recent cruise with Discovery. Didn't mean to snipe at HAL. -- A bit tired of your Crystal snipes... I am moving on.

Good, because I am fully enjoying finally finding a place where one can be candid about Crystal, and not get banned from Planet Earth.

Well, at least so far!

As a relatively new cruiser (just two, one booked for later this year), I am thoroughly enjoying this thread. Thanksfor all the candid comments.

Since cost isn't really an issue for the Flews', we do have options. I have to say some of the tone & attitude of the 'pro-Crystal' camp so far on this thread has me pretty well convinced to continue exploring any cruise line BUT Crystal...

Cheers,

Seems like every ship has a personality match and it is often trial and error to finds what feels best. That is why it is helpful to sort out where a ship puts its emphasis, marketing niche and customer base targets.

It would be good to make a list of what elements matter most to see what ships overall appeal matches what you most want. And in no particular order, pick a couple that matter most and see what comparisons one can come up with between different lines:

1. Itinerary, dates, length of cruise
2. Safety and sanitation
3. Excursions
4. Ship board activities
5. Age group of typical passengers
6. Dining options
7. Dining reputation
8. Entertainment/casinos
9. Background of crew
10. Dominant languages spoken
11. "Noise" on ship - activities, announcements, cruise director styles
12. Quality of decor, eye appeal of public rooms
13. Size/amenities of cabins
14. Type of lectures and enrichment programs
15. Value for dollar
16. Religious service options
17. Tipping polices
18. Inclusions/ non-inclusions
19. Loyalty packages and perks
20. Dress guidelines, formal nights
21. Deck and outdoor activity layouts
22. Alcohol policies/ drink prices
23. Ship board shopping
24. .......
25. .......

Very good idea.