Several favorite shipboard spaces will feature new concepts while maintaining their inherent function as part of the onboard experience. She says her clients have commented on the oversize walk-in showers in Seabreeze Penthouses and the attentive butler service. “Some lines say they have butlers, but they aren’t 24/7 and they are stretched. What’s the feedback? “They said, ‘It’s beyond beautiful,’” she says. Ruth Turpin, a noted luxury travel advisor, told me she currently has clients on the Symphony. Key is both ships will gain more of the spacious, butler-serviced Penthouses and Penthouse Suites. Details are below in the Accommodations section. You can watch a behind-the-scenes video of the transformation below. The multi-million-dollar investment will see the two ships re-imagined to standards in line with its new river vessels, new ocean-going ships on order and a privately-owned Boeing 777-200LR that launched in August. What’s more, there’s an itinerary for virtually every destination with Crystal, from Fall Foliage to New England to the Med, Baltic, Indian Ocean, Asia, South Pacific, South America and Africa. So what’s the big news on the renovations? Crystal Symphony’s redesign was completed last week while Crystal Serenity’s is set for October 14-November 10, 2018. For my business, I need to stay connected ongoing and today WiFi at sea is as good as you will find in most 5-star hotels. ![]() More and more itineraries include overnights in key ports, so you can get the same experience as if you were staying in a hotel. Both ships make a great change of pace from traditional resort hotels and can offer attractive, all-inclusive pricing, plus a high level of security and privacy. I find cruising a comfortable way to visit some interesting places, particularly for the first time or to take in a geographic region without the hassles of hopping between hotels. Symphony and Serenity are each popular with multi-generational family groups (and there are more connecting rooms after the renovations) and even full ship charters for corporate product launches and incentives. Of course, you can have a private experience if you don’t like to mix. I’ve cruised with Crystal and found the mix of guests (from the mid-30s to 80s) were all interesting, charming and came away with new friends. She says it goes beyond remembering how you like your drink to for example, taking a comment on how much you enjoyed a side dish from the night before and finding that the chef made it for you special order the next night. Bergner calls the ships “elegant, modern, sleek.” Leah Bergner of Coastline Travel who travels four to five months per year inspecting cruise ships and luxury hotels for her clients says Crystal is second to none when it comes to service. In the travel industry, Crystal is often compared to Four Seasons in that it offers top standards of service, consistency and luxury, save the flash and glitz. The benefits of size include more options and choices while still enjoying highly personalized service. Credit: CrystalĬrystal sits uniquely in the luxury space in that its ocean vessels, even with reduced capacity after the refurbishments, are among the larger luxury ships, although still under 1,000 guests each. It’s not unusual for folks to book their next cruise while on their current one, and you can usually get special deals if you do. Earlier this year Ritz-Carlton announced it was launching its own luxury cruise line after research showed a large percentage of its guests were already cruisers. While cruising is not for everyone, over 95% of first timers say they plan on cruising again, meaning that once you try it, you generally end up wanting to cruise more. ![]() Moreover, the luxury cruise experience is different than the mainstream lines, with a higher ratio of staff to guests, larger staterooms and suites, elevated dining, more sophisticated programming and higher standards of amenities.
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