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Crystal Cruises

MS Crystal Serenity

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Tom Baker
# previous cruises: 21 to 30
Date of Trip: October 13, 2003
Itinerary: Mediterranean

This new ship is one of the two most beautiful I have seen. (The other is the Seven Seas Mariner, which I visited). The decor is extremely pleasing, the variety exceptional, the crew is pleasant, friendly and efficient, the food was mostly excellent. The ship is steady (except in the 50 mph wind we encountered). A feeling of luxury pervades.

The public rooms are numerous as this is a big ship. Each with its own very attractive decor. Crystal has put back the Palm Lounge (skipped on the Symphony) and it is a beauty and used for many functions. The best library I have seen (except on the QE2). The Avenue Saloon was our favorite place for a pre-dinner drink. Very attractive and a clubby feel. There is a beautiful "cigar lounge" (forgot the name) which is underused. Too bad as it has the appearance of an exclusive gentlemen's club lounge. They should skip the cigar bit and make it open to all. The casino is too glitzy (aren't they all?) for this ship. The lounge in the aft part of the ship was very pretty with an art deco feel, but did not seem to be utilized except for fashion shows and cooking demos. It would be, and seemed to be designed as, a great evening cabaret lounge. The pool was small but attractive. The weather was such that it was not in use much.

The Lido Cafe was large and had the most uncomfortable chairs I have experienced in a ship's restaurant! Too low and too deep. My chin was on the table! We ate breakfast there only a few times and decided on other venues for that. The movie theatre was just right and the main show lounge had good sight lines although the decor was not up to the standards of the other public spaces.

A very wide promenade deck extends all around the ship, which is great. Too many of the new ships have abandoned this feature. However, no deck chairs! A major oversight in my estimation.

There was a disco on board, and I can only ask - why? The average age was probably in the late 50's to 60's. Besides, isn't the disco thing kind of yesterday, as in over?

The food was mostly excellent. In the beautiful main dining room, we had a wonderful table for four and our waiter (from Austria), our assistant waiter (from Germany) and our wine steward (from Bordeaux) were all tops. The food in the main dining room was consistently excellent. Soups were the best I have had on any ship. The meats were all fork tender, cooked just right with lovely sauces when required. Fish was also excellent (a weak area on many ships). Appetizer courses were always delicious. Weak area was dessert which never quite lived up to its description in the menu. I stuck to ice cream. By the way, you can have caviar every night, but you have to request it and it is not on the menu.

The one dinner we had in the Silks asian restaurant was outstanding as is the decor of Silks. Beautiful! We ate extremely well that evening. Trouble is, we could only get in once during the cruise.

Our dinner in Prego, the Italian restaurant was good, but not exceptional. Very good service in both specialty dining rooms.

The one fancy lunch buffet was the most elaborate that I have ever seen on a ship. It was breathtaking and as tasty as it was beautiful. Served in the atrium lobby just outside the main restaurant. As soon as we filled our plates, a waiter would take it and lead us to a table.

There were three outside themed lunch buffets by the pool and lido area. They were all good with a tremendous variety. One was a buffet featuring "American" specialities. Good but were amused at the Austrian head chef's take on what American food was! The Boston baked beans seemed to be right out of a can. However, a minor complaint. Southern fried chicken was a joke but still tasty.

There was a place by the pool where we could have salads, soups and sandwiches and after one try there, we never went back. Not good! My onion soup was so salty I could not eat it. My friends Asian Chicken salad was also overly salted.

Another pool area place to eat offered hamburgers, hot dogs etc. The hamburgers were great!

Our cabin was ok. We had been on the Crystal Harmony and liked that cabin better although it was with a window and on the Serenity, we had a verandah. The cabin seemed crowded in spite of the fact that they advertise 269 sq. ft. in their brochure. The space from the end of the bed to the wall permits only one person at a time. We had our beds in twin configuration and noted that in rooms where it was double, it seemed roomier. Our big complaint was the closet. On the Harmony, it is a walk-in at the entrance to the cabin. On the Serenity, it is a closet by the bed with sliding louvered doors. Only one person at a time can access the closet due to the sliding doors. The closet itself was roomy but damn those sliding doors! When the door was opened, a light would automatically switch on. However, on the night we hit a 50 mph wind, the ship tossed quite a bit and the doors kept sliding open and the light went on each time! The desk space was cramped with very dim lighting. Bedside reading lights were excellent however and the beds themselves very comfortable with good pillows and comfy duvets. A very small love seat type couch was between the bed and the verandah door with a glass topped coffee table in front. However the only other seating was the desk chair, which was not comfortable and very heavy to move about.

There was a mini fridge supplied with soft drinks and a never ending supply of Evian, which was nice. The verandah was quite large with two chairs with full back and seat cushions and a large table.

The bathroom was excellent. Double sinks, excellent tub with shower, huge fluffy towels, wonderful amenities, shaving mirror, hair dryer and plenty of railed shelf and cupboard space for storage. Marble everywhere.

This is not an area I should comment on but I will.

Let me say up front that I really do not enjoy the history of Broadway musicals or Hollywood musicals done by a group of 8 aspiring young, star struck hope-to-be-stars! Not just on this ship - every ship! To me, it is only a few steps beyond a high school musical production.

Having said that, I will say that some of the other shows they did were most enjoyable. There was a group of 4 young men who sang in harmony and did "Forever Plaid" that were wonderful and funny. There were a couple of other variety acts that were pretty good as well.

My main complaint is the volume of sound in the show lounge! This is a Crystal ship for Pete's sake, not a teen age disco! It was deafening and many people complained about it.

The entertainment director was fine. Not obtrusive as so many are and pretty low key.

Plenty to do on board! Excellent enrichment lectures (and well attended) about art, architecture, history etc. Interesting cooking demonstrations and also 3 very good wine tasting lectures with an expert who was excellent. They had a huge computer room with lessons, a Yamaha piano room with many electronic instruments and classes. There were other activities as well too numerous to mention.

The movies were a disappointment. They were not the best they could have shown. However, there was an extensive supply of DVDs in the library and we borrowed several to watch in our cabin. The ship's library was excellent. Plenty of comfy places to read there and an experienced librarian. (a rarity on ships)

The ports of call were standard for Western Med. Venice, Dubrovnik, Taormina (we had to dock in Messina due to choppy water for tendering), Sorrento (docked in Naples for same reason), Livorno, Villefranche and Barcelona. I never take shore excursions. Either do something on my own or pre arrange a car and driver/guide, so cannot comment on the shore excursions. They did have a very comprehensive program.

The majority of passengers were retirees, I would say. There were a few families with teens and youngsters. Because there were four of us traveling together, we really did not mix. How can I put this? I really did not see anybody that I felt would become a new friend. This reflects more on me than on them, however. I tend to be private and do my own thing. Most of the people seemed to be experienced and sophisticated travelers.

Near our table, was a couple and he was the big loudmouth that you always find at least one of on a cruise. The first evening in the dining room, he announced to the waiter in a loud voice (everything he said was loud) that due to the attitude of the French, they would not be having any French wine during the cruise. Oooops! The sommelier was from France! The loudmouth lost out right then and there and got only the most reserved attention from the wine steward. We told the sommelier that we loved France and French wine and got royal service.