Monday, April 1, 2024

Crystal Cruises Review Ships, Destinations, Dining 2023

crystal cruise

You'll find the most choices among Crystal itineraries in Europe followed by the Caribbean and Alaska. Longer itineraries that combine visits to Asia, Australia and New Zealand into a single sailing include a 42-night voyage from Mumbai, India, to Auckland. This sailing includes stops in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. As is often the case with luxury lines, Crystal has a particular focus on sailings in the Mediterranean. A quarter of its departures currently on its schedule are devoted to the region, and both of its vessels are scheduled to spend at least part of the coming two years in Europe. While I had slight FOMO just hearing about travelers slipping off to Machu Picchu for an A&K adventure before rejoining the cruise in Lima, my travel envy dissipated as soon as I went on my first excursion.

Ships

Warm, intuitive service; spacious and comfortable suites and social areas… all that’s left for you to do is relax. Luxury lines Silversea, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas, as well as premium lines such as Oceania, Holland America Line and Cunard Line, have long had World Cruises. Viking started its first World Cruise in 2017, and even does a “longitudinal World Cruise” between the poles.

DECK 13 AMENITIES

crystal cruise

Between now and early 2025, the line has only a single voyage shorter than seven nights on its schedule — a six-night sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Los Angeles. In July 2015, Genting announced its expansion plan to build new ships for its river cruise line (brand). The new boats feature larger staterooms and a bigger space-to-guest ratio in comparison to other riverboats. Their itineraries are planned to maximize port times for quality tour experiences ashore. Crystal Cruises (1988-founded/1990-launched/2023-relaunched) is a top-luxury travel brand and a premium passenger shipping company. It currently operates only ocean voyages with two smaller-sized vessels (full-scale refurbished in 2023) with all-inclusive travel package deals.

The Caribbean

Crystal Cruises Reschedules Chairmen's Cruise - Cruise Hive

Crystal Cruises Reschedules Chairmen's Cruise.

Posted: Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

An alternative option allows the voyage to be booked as a 125-night segment from California USA (San Diego/Feb 3-Jun 8) to Miami, as well as a 141-night roundtrip from San Diego (Feb 3-Jun 24). Currently, both travel companies "Crystal Cruises Inc" and "Abercrombie & Kent Ltd" (now sister-brands) are managed by Cristina Levis (A&K Travel Group's CEO). In December 2022 were rehired four veteran Captains - Birger Vorland (with the company since 2003), Nenad Willheim (with Crystal since 2006), Tonci Hladilo (with Crystal since 2006) and Vincent Taillard (former Silversea employee).

Travel Advisors and guests with Open Deposits have exclusive access to an early booking window beginning Wednesday, February 1 - before bookings open to the public later this month. Enjoy fine-dining with a daily changing menu surrounded by sweeping ocean views. If you crave deep exploration, our Grand Journeys offer an immersive travel experience. Our onshore experiences are curated by Abercrombie & Kent, leaders in global travel for over 60 years.

Indeed, one of the ships is scheduled to completely circumnavigate the world in 2024 with visits to six continents. As for bars, I was partial to the Avenue Saloon — where Joel Spire plays piano every night and there’s a great Manhattan menu. Worth noting, there’s also an extensive non-alcoholic and low-ABV cocktail menu at Avenue Saloon, for those looking for booze-free nightlife. Beloved brand Crystal Cruises came to an ignominious end during the pandemic.

No one onboard batted an eye when our one stop in the Caribbean, Grand Cayman, was canceled because a crew injury meant the ship had to turn around to Key West for an emergency debarkation. I expected good service on Crystal from the experiences my colleagues had on the line last year; Cruise Critic awarded Crystal “Best Service” for luxury cruise lines in our 2023 Editors Picks awards. Even during the four days I was on, I was happily surprised at how good the service on the ship was. The problem with putting helicopters on expedition ships is that the space needed for a helicopter landing pad and related hangars eats up a huge amount of deck-top space.

Are children allowed on Crystal Cruise ships?

A gourmet food and wine pairing restaurant that offers some of the best vintages at sea. Unparalleled choice, including the only Nobu restaurant at sea, dining aboard Crystal is an unforgettable experience. It is with great excitement and pleasure that we introduce our new Cruise Director, Vicki Van Tassel. Sailing on Crystal Symphony, Vicki not only brings her unique brand of comedy to our ships but also a wealth of experience and vibrant energy.

crystal cruise

Ranging from 40 to 70 nights, the voyages visit exotic destinations, offering multiple overnight port calls, and optional overland experiences in collaboration with A&K/Abercrombie & Kent (Crystal's sister company). It was founded in 1988 by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and sold to Hong Kong-headquartered conglomerate Genting Hong Kong in 2015. Oddly, the destinations visited on the World Cruise seemed secondary to many Crystal Serenity passengers, probably because most people were already very well traveled.

(Crystal previously offered expedition cruising on Endeavor.) The contracts are not finalized, but Levis said the plans are “quite advanced, particularly for the expedition ship,” which will sail to the Arctic and Antarctica. Crystal offers a wide range of immersive shore excursions in every port which are curated to different activity levels and tastes. In addition to classic walking tours that introduce guests to the destinations being visited, they will include more unusual offerings. For example, on a Mediterranean sailing visiting the Greek island of Santorini there might be an energetic volcano hike, wine tasting or visit to a family-owned ouzo distillery. Appealing to the line's more affluent clientele, there are also exclusive experiences such as a private catamaran sailing. The onboard concierge is also available to assist guests with bespoke experiences.

It continues through the Indian Ocean before visiting ports in the Eastern Mediterranean. The trip proceeds to Italy then France and crosses the Atlantic to conclude in Miami. Guests also have the option of starting and ending the trip in San Diego. You won’t pay extra for specialty restaurants, beverages, gratuities, or Wi-Fi.

For the past month, people have been following influencers – and regular passengers who have become ones – traveling Royal Caribbean’s Ultimate World Cruise on TikTok, under the hashtag #9monthcruise, looking for drama and in some cases, creating it. TPG's Gene Sloan is reporting live this week from Crystal Endeavor as it sails on one of its first voyages, a circumnavigation of Iceland. Among other cool toys, the ship has a super-fancy, remote-controlled gimbal camera at its top that can offer real-time views of passing scenery or wildlife at a magnification of up to 90 times. It can be used, for instance, to zoom in on a distant polar bear on an ice flow, with a live feed of the sighting being projected onto screens in the ship's Palm Court lounge or on cabin televisions. Unfortunately, not every expedition ship built for such adventures recently has been designed with so much viewing space.

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