No doubt I wasn’t the only person who was super disappointed when “Crystal Cruises” (A high-end, small ship, Luxury, All-Inclusive Cruiseline… who at the time of their demise had been one of the top-rated Cruiselines in the World for 25+ years!) went out of business at the start of 2022 due to their parent company going out of Business after the fallout of “Covid”…
…as many of you know, the travel industry was hit VERY hard during the pandemic and multiple companies shut down! 🙁
Luckily, I had seen the “writing on the wall” with Crystal Cruises in the very early stages of Covid (As I had a lot of clients booked on them & saw that they weren’t handling client refunds well, they stopped paying us agents owed commissions, etc.) so by the time they “went under” I had ZERO clients booked on them (I stopped booking them/even refused clients business who wanted me to book them… but luckily, they took my advice & didn’t!) which was a true blessing as MANY of my colleagues had clients of theirs booked on Crystal Cruises and others were booked direct with Crystal Cruises, etc. so overall people lost millions & millions of dollars on Cruises they had booked with Crystal Cruises but had never received & they had no way to get a refund! 🙁
Due to all that, when 6 months later the “A&K Travel Group” announced they were buying Crystal Cruises 2 ships and relaunching a “New” Crystal Cruises, I was far from impressed with that idea…
…to be candid, I thought it was a dumb idea as I figured what Cruiser in their right mind would sail with Crystal Cruises again after “being burned” by them and what travel agent would sell them after not being paid what was owed to them on previous business, etc. plus, why risk the same thing happening again if this “New” Crystal Cruises isn’t a “hit” & people don’t go back.
Well, after a year or so of me staying far away from recommending Crystal Cruises to my loyal & trusting clients, I noticed the “New” Crystal Cruises seemed to be gaining traction & getting lots of people to sail with them again AND, what really caught my eye, was 2.5 months ago Crystal Cruises ordered 2 new ships…
…which, to me, showed the “A&K Travel Group” was very happy with the progress “Crystal Cruises” made after being back in business for only & year and they had the confidence to invest A LOT of money into the “Crystal Cruises” brand as they can see a bright future ahead for them!!
**Side Note** When the “New” Crystal Cruises relaunched in 2023 I think one thing that REALLY helped them get back in the “good books” with their loyal clientele was they gave those who had lost money to the old company an equal “future credit” to use with the new company on a future trip so, even though those who never Cruised again still lost money, a lot of the people who lost money to the old company were able to recoup it with a new Cruise.
Which, since the “A&K Travel Group” had no obligation to do that since they didn’t buy any of Crystal Cruise’s debt/they only bought their 2 ships, I thought was a really classy move & a great start to building back “good will” with their loyal clients who had Cruised with them for years & years!
On top of that, I know why many of my most Loyal “Crystal Cruisers” in the past went back to Crystal again and again was they REALLY loved the onboard crew (Many who have been with Crystal for decades!) and since over 80% of the crew returned to Crystal Cruises (Even though many of them had been not working for them for 1.5 years and had joined other companies… they left & went back as they, like the guests, loved Crystal very much as well!) this also helped to get many of Crystal’s most loyal clients to return as well!
FYI, the pic to the right is of myself & Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio who owns 85% of the “A&K Travel Group”. (Geoffrey Kent, who founded the “Abercrombie & Kent” travel company which mostly sells high-end land tours, owns the other 15%)
If you’d like to learn a little more about “Crystal Cruises” history and how Manfredi happened to be on this sailing I was on and how talking to him has given me even more confidence regarding “Crystal Cruises” future, etc. then read the full caption under this picture. 🙂
So, since I had booked A LOT of “Crystal Cruises” sailings for my clients in the past and since my clients always raved about Crystal Cruises in the past & since, as you’ll see here and also in all the captions under my pics/videos in this gallery, I REALLY enjoyed my personal past sailings on Crystal Cruises…
…I figured it was time I look more into the New “Crystal Cruises” to see if I want to add them “into the mix” with the other “Small Ship/Luxury/All-Inclusive” Cruiselines that I recommend & book for my clients which are “Regent” and “Explora Journeys” and “Silversea” and “Seabourn”.
And of course, at least in my opinion, the best way I can be confident about recommending & booking a Cruiseline for my clients is for me to “get onboard” and sail with them as, after 85 personal Cruises, I’ve learned a thing or 2 when it comes to knowing if a Cruiseline is as good as they say they are and are the high-quality that my clients are looking for when experiencing their own personal Cruise Vacations!
Which is what this blog post is all about… my personal experience from sailing on the “Crystal Serenity” last month for 8 nights from Vancouver to Alaska & back. (Interested in learning what an Alaska Cruise is all about? If so, check out my “Alaska Cruise” blog post here!)
So, here’s the bottom line… in my opinion…
…”Crystal Cruises is Back!!” 🙂
If you want to “See” what my sailing was like & why I’m confident to start recommending “Crystal Cruises” again to my Loyal/Discerning clients, visit here to check out my Picture & Video gallery from my time onboard.
And make sure to read the captions underneath my Pictures & Videos which goes into LOTS of details on what I experienced onboard “Crystal Serenity” and on why I believe Crystal is still one of the best lines in the Cruise Industry, etc.
Here are the “Highlights” I experienced during my “Crystal Cruises” sailing which have me feeling confident again about Crystal’s product and regarding their long-term stability:
Right away, I noticed some very positive changes from when I was on “Crystal Serenity” 6 years earlier…
…the main one being, the ship now fit only 740 guests down from 980 which I thought was awesome as even though our sailing was near full it NEVER felt crowded onboard at all or when getting on/off the ship.
And I felt there were more than enough crew to serve the amount of guests onbard… even though the ship’s Guest capacity went down by 25% it felt like they didn’t cut crew by 25% so getting lots of attention from crew was never an issue onboard as it can be on the “Big/Mega Ships”!
Speaking of Crystal’s crew, just like pre-Covid, the service was top-notch… as per above, Crystal’s ships now have fewer guests onboard so overall it felt like a more exclusive/relaxed experience where no one onboard had to want for anything!
It felt it only took 1 time to deal with a staff member where from there they knew my name the second time I saw them and they never forgot it… no doubt dealing with fewer guests helps in that area!
And if I asked for a direction, I was walked to where I wanted to go rather than simply pointed in the direction.
Overall, the crew onboard “Crystal Serenity” did NOT feel rushed at all as they are on the “Big/Mega Ships” so I never felt I was being a pain when I was asking for service, for help, etc.
Crystal’s crew always made me feel they were eager to do what they could for me & fellow guests which was a great feeling for sure! 🙂
The food was plentiful & always nicely presented & very tasty and you could tell the ingredients were high quality.
And like when on the other “Luxury/Small Ship/All Inclusive” lines, you don’t pay to eat at any of the restaurants including the “Specialty” restaurants which consist of an Italian restaurant + an Asian one… the latter was created by Famous Japanese Chef, “Nobu” where it costs $100s to eat at his restaurants on land but, on “Crystal Cruises”… $0!! 😉
If you want to see LOTS of examples of the food served onboard “Crystal Serenity”, visit here where I show you dozens of pictures of some of the dishes I enjoyed during my sailing! 🙂
Speaking of paying $0 for meals onboard, that’s one of the things I REALLY enjoy on all the “Luxury/Small Ship/All Inclusive” Cruiselines including “Crystal Cruises”!
As per here, “Crystal Cruises” is All Inclusive once you’ve paid your Cruise fare upfront & step onboard… so, no “nickel & diming” feel at all when on Crystal as drinks, meals, tips, wifi, Butler Service, gym classes, etc. are all included! 🙂
Speaking of “Butler Service”, ALL rooms onboard “Crystal Cruises” now get access to that service rather than just the top Suites!
As I’ve mentioned in multiple blog posts and galleries of mine in the past where I’ve stayed in a room with Butler service, it’s NOT at all pretentious or “too much” to have a Butler like many of us thought it’d be before we tried it.
Your room’s Butler is simply there to make everything better/more seamless for you like making sure your room is set up exactly the way you want it when it comes to beverages/pillows/toiletries/etc., they make sure any room service you order is delivered at the time of your choosing, they help you with any laundry you need done, with making reservations at the restaurants, etc.
Far from invasive, they’ll feel like one of your best friends by the time your Cruise is done and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them!! 🙂
Above I mentioned I really liked how there were 25% fewer guests on “Crystal Serenity” compared to when I was on last time…
…well, a lot of the reason why that change happened is they took 2 balconies in many areas of the ship & turned them into 1 “Sapphire Veranda Suite” which means there are A LOT more bigger rooms available to book on “Crystal Cruises” compared to their pre-Covid days so more availability of these Very high-demand rooms!
If you watch this video you’ll see I stayed in a “Sapphire Veranda Suite” when onboard “Crystal Serenity”…
…personally, I’ve been on 86 Cruises so have stayed in many types of rooms over the years & this Suite was a REALLY nice room that I highly recommend if in budget!!
On the other hand, as I talk about in the captions here and here, if you don’t book a Suite on “Crystal Cruises” keep in mind their basic Veranda & Oceanview rooms are smaller than the most basic rooms on their competitors.
So if you’ve Cruised on Regent, Explora, Seabourn or Silversea keep in mind their starting rooms on many of their ships are closer to 400 square feet so on Crystal you might want to consider at least an “Aquamarine Veranda Suite” as you may find their most basic rooms fairly tight as they’re closer to the size of the rooms on the “Big Ship” guys like Carnival, Royal, Norwegian, Holland, Princess & Celebrity.
As mentioned earlier in this post, the “A&K Travel Group” owns “Crystal Cruises” and they also own the “Abercrombie & Kent” travel company which mostly sells high-end land tours…
…and as these companies are now considered “sister” companies, they’re partnering on many of “Crystal Cruises” shore excursions which is Great since A&K has 60 years of experience of showing their clients the World in an amazing way so this increases the quality of “Crystal Cruises” shore excursion offerings!
Plus, they’re also offering “add on” A&K tours to some Crystal sailings and some “add on” Crystal sailings to some A&K tours so in those situations they’re giving you some GREAT ideas to experience “Multi-Trip” Vacations which, as I talk about here, is a GREAT idea which myself/many of my clients do again & again!
As I talk about in the caption under this picture (And as mentioned on this page which also talks about other onboard Entertainment), “Crystal Cruises” offers A LOT of lectures when you sail with them on all kinds of topics from multiple, super interesting people… for me, I really enjoy that aspect as I not only travel to relax but to learn & to see the World differently so having the opportunity to get some unique education on a “Sea Day” is perfect in my opinion! 🙂
As much as I love the rooms & service & food when I sail on “Luxury/Small Ship/All Inclusive” Cruiselines, no doubt one of the downfalls is the nighttime entertainment is not near as good as on the big ships due to the smaller showrooms & fewer venues so you’ll never find a dedicated Comedy Club, etc. like on the bigger ships.
But, with all that said, something I found with “Crystal Cruises” pre-Covid & I feel it still stands today is that… compared to all their competitors… to me, I feel “Crystal Cruises” offers the best entertainment of the “Small Ships”!
Part of this is they have a bigger showroom & stage compared to their competitors so more room for more entertainers & props but also because they seem to put a lot more effort & money into this area of their Cruises compared to their competitors.
Overall, all the “Luxury/Small Ship/All Inclusive” Cruiselines offer amazing food & service so you can’t go wrong with any of them but if you do like your evening entertainment my guess is you’ll be more impressed with Crystal’s offerings as they do a solid job in this area!
Not something that I can take advantage of 😉 but “Crystal Cruises” still has their “Gentleman Hosts” onboard (Looked to me like maybe 6 of them?) as they did pre-Covid who are there to dance with the Single ladies onboard or with the ladies whose hubbies aren’t interested in “cutting the rug” anymore. 😉 I always found this service super cute when I’ve sailed on “Crystal Cruises” in the past and it still is as it makes so many of the Ladies’ Cruise extra special which is Awesome to see!! 😉
Speaking of a GREAT tradition that “Crystal Cruises” has kept intact since they came back into business… they still play Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” when they leave ports… if you’ve ever Cruised on “Crystal Cruises” before you know this puts a BIG smile on your face every time you hear it… it’s an Awesome tradition that reminds you how blessed you are to be sailing on a Luxury Cruise and how truly great it all is!! 🙂
“Shawn, are there any negatives at all when it comes to Crystal Cruises?” you may be asking yourself right now?
Well, I looked for them as I love giving my clients “both sides” of the story but for sure they’re not easy to find when it comes to a top quality line like “Crystal Cruises” but here are 3 things I want to point out to you:
1. As mentioned earlier in this post, the most basic rooms on “Crystal Cruises” are NOT equal to most of the most basic rooms on their competitors… they’re much smaller and some don’t even have a balcony. For example, the last “Luxury” line I was on was “Explora Journeys” back in April and, as I talk about here, their smallest room is 377 square feet & it comes with a private balcony.
That’s 75% bigger than Crystal’s smallest room which ONLY has a window/no balcony so if your budget only allows you to book the cheapest room on Crystal & the cheapest on Explora and the price is similar, you’re getting a way better room on Explora! In my opinion, Crystal makes sense if you can afford their Suites but if not you may get a better room on Explora, Regent, Seabourn or Silversea.
With all that said, as per here, “Crystal Cruises” has plans to launch 2 new ships starting in 2028 where the most basic rooms will have Verandas and will be much bigger like their competitors… so in a few years, this point won’t be as relevant.
2. “Crystal Cruises” currently only has 2 ships whereas Regent has 6, Seaboun has 7 & Silversea has 12… point being, you have a lot more destination choices with the other guys so, as always, when it’s time for you & I to plan your Cruise we’ll start with the destination you want to go to first and from there I’ll go over the best choices/if Crystal is one of them, Great, but if not don’t get overly wrapped up in the line as all 5 of the “Luxury/Small Ship/All Inclusive” lines are awesome… to me, it’s more about getting to the destination that you’re interested in.
As per above though, once “Crystal Cruises” brings their new ships out, this issue will matter less over time. 🙂
3. Like with pretty much every Cruiseline out there, Crystal WAY overcharges for their “add-ons” to the Cruise like airfare/hotels/transfers, etc. For example, this Cruise I just did to Alaska started/ended in Vancouver and it’s about a $40 CAD Uber ride from the port to the airport. Crystal on the other hand was charging $110 USD per person to take a bus with them to the airport which is around $310 CAD/around 800% more!! 🙁 So, as I talk about here and in other areas of my site/Gallery, etc., it’s usually almost always best to ONLY book your Cruise or Tauck Tour through me as, as per here in #1, that’s always the best deal for you… but for airfare, hotels, transfers, etc., if you’re comfortable booking those items on your own, all the better as you’ll almost for sure save money!
Well, that wraps up my thoughts on the “New” Crystal Cruises and on whether I’m comfortable recommending them to my valued clients again…
…as per above, I’m confident in “Crystal Cruises” stability & no doubt their onboard product is as good/even better then ever so if you end up booking a “Crystal Cruises” sailing with me in the future I think you’ll be Happy by the time you get back home! 🙂
Alright, any questions you still have about “Crystal Cruises” that I didn’t cover in this review simply let me know here or if you’re ready to book your own “Crystal Cruise” or any other Ocean Cruise or River Cruise or Tauck Land Tour, let me know and I’ll take Great care of you as always…
…and as always, know in advance that I SINCERELY appreciate your Business!! 🙂
**If you’re interested in seeing a few pictures of what I saw this time in Alaska, click here! 😉
**Or, if you are Interested in learning what an Alaska Cruise is all about… check out my “Alaska Cruise” blog post here!)
I Appreciate You!!
Shawn Power
Your Trusted Cruise & Tauck Tour Expert!