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Crystal Cruises

MS Crystal Symphony

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Allen Whipple
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: October 15, 1998
Itinerary: Transatlantic

In general very good experience. Elegant ship with very good service -- excellent value for single travellers -- quite the cheapest luxury cruise experience (especially in premium or verandah cabins) for singles anywhere. I don't like two seatings for dinner, but the ship and service compensated.

Shore tours were not very well arranged and the air travel arrangements on both sides of the Atlantic were abominable -- 26 hours Miami to Lisbon to join the cruise, for starters, and a colossal baggage foul up on the Crystal (United) Charter return flight to Miami, leaving about two-thirds of the passengers without luggage. A letter to Crystal about the above snafus was not answered.

Superb top-deck lounge; congenial small bars and bistros on lower decks; wonderful promenade, completely around the ship (on broad lower deck for strollers and on narrower top deck for joggers). Casino large and rarely crowded. In general, lots of elbow room and no lines for anything except the Captain's cocktail party -- and of course for disembarkation.

Main dining room service very good, selections excellent, only problem being two seatings -- 6:30 is too early and 8:30 is too late. Seafood always excellent, also soups. Alternate restaurants (2) very good, and Crystal was clever enough to hold half of the reservations so that everyone had a chance to book a table during our 12-day trip. Both the Italian and the Chinese-themed restaurants were visually arresting with very good selections and better service even than in the main restaurant. Breakfast and Lunch buffets on Sun deck were uniformly good, very well served and not crowded. There were lots of little surprises, like frozen yogurt stands in the afternoon. All of the dining on this ship was unhurried, well-served, and well-executed.

Every day I had breakfast on my verandah and also several lunches. These meals always arrived on time and (although I never ordered anything fancy) were very good.

I had a verandah cabin and it was well arranged and entirely satisfactory. I visited a couple of the penthouse cabins and really could not see that they were worth nearly 50% more in price (except for the butler service, possibly). I fit in the shower and (at 6'2") even sat a couple of times in the tub. There was more than enough room for two peoples' clothes and toiletries.

Entertainers okay, trying for Broadway rather than Vegas...quite schmaltzy but good production values. Cruise staff: Purser's desk very well staffed, shore side arrangements very spotty.

Ports: Casablanca, Funchal, Teneriffe, Bridgetown. Anybody with sense would hire a car and driver -- the shore arrangements were totally hit or miss, often miss. On a tour to Rabat there was almost a revolt among the passengers on the bus because the guide wanted to take us to the Casbah in C'blanca rather than back to the ship. A couple of us who spoke French managed to change his mind.

A nice bunch, accustomed to the better things, a bit picky about shortcomings, many veterans of Royal Viking. These are people who liked dressing up and who know what they want.