Crystal Symphony Review (long)

[Diane Halvorsen]

Review: Crystal Symphony 11-7-96: Ten days - Panama Canal Transit -
Barbados to Acapulco

Let me preface this review by saying I've taken six cruises before,
this being the first on such a deluxe line. For anyone who's
interested, our stops were Barbados (embarkation), St. Lucia, St.
Vincent, Aruba, Huatulco (Mexico), and Acapulco (debarkation). If you
have questions about those specific ports, E-mail me and I'll be happy
to answer. Since there hasn't been many passenger reviews of this
ship, I'll try to give as much info as I can recall about the shipboard
experience itself.
The ship is one of 2 managed by Crystal Cruises. Crystal Cruises is
owned by a Japanese parent company. The officers are Norwegian and
Japanese. The dining room is staffed by primarily eastern Europeans,
the stewardesses are from Scandanavia and eastern Europe, the deck and
bar personnel included Europeans and Asians and many of the reception,
social staff, and entertainers were English and American. Truly an
international community!

Embarkation/Debarkation
There were Crystal agents or hired shore personnel absolutely
everywhere from the moment we stepped off our first plane leg in Miami
until we boarded the ship itself the following day. We left
the day proceeding sailing, stayed overnight in a (surprisingly deluxe)
Miami Sheraton Gateway, had a continental breakfast at the hotel,
boarded a pleasant charter flight to Barbados, had another
meal with gratis beverages including liquor, arrived too early in
Barbados, boarded buses, took an interesting tour around Barbados to
kill a couple of hours and arrived at the ship about 3 PM for
boarding. All paperwork had been done at the hotel, luggage had been
sent on directly from Miami so we only had to handle overnight bags.
Walked directly aboard the ship and were escorted to our cabin where
our luggage was laid out on the beds waiting for us. Our return trip
was equally smooth and again, no lines to speak of, no hassles with
luggage. (It was picked up the night before debarkation and we didn't
see it again until we claimed it for customs inspection in Houston and
then rechecked it for the final flight home to Washington D.C.) The
two crystal chartered flights we were on (Miami to Barbados with Miami
Air and Acapulco to Houston with Continental) were pleasant, smooth,
included meals and beverages and in the case of the embarkation flight,
a travel kit like one gets on an international flight. I do know that
some people had more stressful trips down to Barbados because of long
routings from other parts of the country, but for us it was very easy.
And the overnight in Miami resulted in us arriving aboard ship
relatively rested and ready to face.......

Staterooms: First of all, what a treat to have luggage already there
and waiting to be unpacked. Our stewardess, Tone from Norway, popped
in within a few minutes of our arrival, introduced herself, showed us
some of the intricacies of the stateroom, chatted for a moment and then
zipped off to find us extra hangers (something I always ask for
immediately). She reappeared about 20 minutes later, hangers in hand,
answered a few more questions and was on her way. She proved to be
delightful throughout the trip, handled any special requests quickly
and efficiently, was always smiling and friendly whenever we ran into
her. In fact all the stewardesses on our corridor were as charming as
they could be and I heard no gripes or complaints from any passengers
about their room attendants.
Our cabin was on deck 7, the lowest category, rated "restricted view"
because we were on the promenade deck in the vicinity of the lifeboats
overhung on deck 8. However, we were between lifeboats and there was
no restriction of view out the large picture window. Looking out over
the promenade deck proved to be ideal for us. The deck is positioned
low enough so that one does not even see the heads of walkers or
joggers unless you stand directly by the window and look down. There
was no noise of either footfalls or voices coming from the promenade.
In fact, there was no noise at all from either cabins next to ours or
the hallways. The insulation for sound privacy was the best I have
ever experienced on a ship. The cabin itself was a work of art,
restful color scheme of pastels and neutrals, brass and gold fixtures,
perfect lighting around the mirror and for the night tables. Our beds,
made up as two twins, were comfortable and we each had a nightstand
with 3 drawers plus a reading lamp that swiveled for positioning. The
beds jut out into the cabin and thus eat up a good bit of floor space,
giving the cabin a more crowded feel than if they were in the
typical L shape. There was also a small settee with a table in front,
a dressing table with a chair, 8 drawers and 4 shelves - and a wall
unit holding the TV, VCR, safe and minifridge/personal bar. The bar
comes stocked with sodas, bottled water and a small selection of
liquors - prices and policies just like hotel minibars. Two large
closets with another stand containing open shelves for stacking.
The bathroom indeed had the double sinks I had heard about. Another
bunch of shelves and storage spaces both under and beside the sink
areas. A magnifying mirror, one of those horrible hose hair dryers
(there was a second plug-in hair dryer in the closet that was quite
good), a fairly wide but extremely short bathtub/shower, and more
shelves over the toilet. Hooks on the cabin wall by the entry door and
more hooks on the back of the bathroom door. A place for everything
and enough extra room to lose 3 or 4 items per day! Amenities
included: the usual soaps, shampoos, conditioners, bath gels and body
lotions (all Neutrogena brands), plus shoe shiners, linters, sewing
kits, nail files, cotton balls and showers caps. Thick, soft towels,
bathrobes, mohair throws for napping under, fruit bowls, flower
arrangement, writing materials and probably more that I've forgotten
about. The TV had a wide variety of programming - two movie channels,
several documentary channels, several channels broadcasting ship
information (including the ever-popular "View from the Bridge"), a
radio news channel and the capacity to receive CNN and Sports via
satellite depending on ship's location. The ship's library was stocked
with numerous entertainment, movie and informational videos which could
be check out for use on the cabin VCR. Although I spent very little
time in the cabin, it was ideal for anyone wanting to relax in privacy
and comfort.

The Ship, Deck by Deck:
Starting at the top - Deck 12 - Sun Deck: Aft was an enclosed area
housing the spa, beauty parlor, and gym/fitness center. Can't tell you
much about the spa/beauty parlor because I didn't use the services, but
the price lists indicated the usual treatments with ordinary pricing.
I had to walk though the spa each AM to get to the fitness room and the
facilities were very nice looking, the ladies locker was always full of
fresh towels and there were plenty of lockers available. The gym was
managed by Simon, an English fellow who led aerobic classes, oversaw
the use of the equipment and offered personal training sessions. The
room had 4 treadmills, 2 stairmasters and at least 3 or 4 lifecycles.
Also one of those big monster nautilus-type machines. With the ship
completely full and a sizable contingent of people who were determined
to not gain weight, the treadmills were in constant use. A sign up
sheet and a half-hour limit managed the crowd control very nicely.
Midship was the open air paddle tennis court and driving cage. Leon
was a delightful English fellow who ran the sports program. A very
busy man, organizing tennis games, Ping-Pong, shuffleboard, and
walkathons on the promenade deck. I played my first games of paddle
tennis and had great time discovering the fastest way on earth to turn
into a total sweat hog! In the fore was open deck area with lounge
chairs for sunning and viewing.

Deck 11 - Lido deck. Here was the two swimming pools, 2 Jacuzzis, the
main sunning deck areas, the Lido Cafe serving buffet breakfast and
lunch, the famed Palm Court - a lovely enclosed area with a beautiful
view serving afternoon tea - and the place for romantic pre-dinner
dancing. In the area between the pools was the Trident bar, the Grill
for hamburgers and quick food in the afternoon, the ice-cream bar with
a gazillion flavors and made-to-order waffle cones, the never ending
supply of ice tea and water......basically, deck 11 was where one spent
all the outdoor-enjoy-the-sun time, with an occasional dash upstairs to
play tennis, work out or whatever. One pool was smallish with a
retractable overhead cover, the other was rectangular and big enough to
do half-laps in. The big pool was salt water, I don't know about the
smaller - I assume salt also. Both were drained and changed each
night. The Jacuzzis were fresh and I noticed that they were checked
for temp and chemicals every couple of hours. (I have to say that I
would rather share drinking glasses and forks with strangers than get
in a Jacuzzi in a hotel or cruise ship - but they got plenty of
business.) There were always enough lounge chairs available, the deck
crew were fantastic at keeping chairs cleared of used towels and set up
for the next person. They often would have to pull all the cushions
off several times a day when tropical showers came over. The minute
it let up, the chairs were wiped and the cushions were back out there.
Rarely did an empty food tray, or dirty glass stay on a deck table more
than a few minutes. Really fantastic service on the Lido deck in every
department.

Deck 10 - Penthouse deck: Here were located the upper crust cabins as
well as the captain's quarters, officer quarters and access to the
bridge. All the penthouse staterooms were at least mini-suites with
verandahs. They had butler service (hor d'eouvres delivered each
afternoon, shoes shined, etc.) plus cabin stewardesses who did the
general cleaning.

Decks 9 and 8: All cabins with verandahs except for amidships, deck 8,
where the lifeboats are hung. These cabins had no verandahs and were
rated "restricted view". There was a self-service laundry on 8 (also 9
and 10) with washers, dryers, ironing boards, and gratis soap and
softeners.

Deck 7 - Promenade deck: lower category cabins sans verandahs, some
rated "restricted view". As mentioned above, not really a problem
although perhaps if you were directly under a life boat there may have
been a shadow. A wide promenade deck wrapped around and a few chairs
in the aft and along one side.

Deck 6 - Tiffany Deck: The main indoor public areas. Aft were the two
alternate restaurants, Prego with Italian cuisine and Jade Garden with
pan-Asian cuisine. On the starboard side was a bridge lounge/card
room. Lots of bridge activities on this sailing including lectures,
demos, competitions and informal games. The bridge guy aboard said
something about master points awarded for play aboard ship. I assume
that means something to all you bridge players out there. Next to the
card room was a library fully stocked with all types of reading and
reference material, numerous videotapes both entertainment and
educational, and a mini business center with a computer, copier and
other equipment. There was a librarian on duty whenever the library
was open.
Up from the library was the popular Avenue Saloon, a cozy bar with
entertainment before and after dinner. Amidships was the Starlight
Club - a nightclub style room with a good sized dance floor and a combo
playing dance music. Some of the cabaret-style entertainment was
staged here and at 1 PM this room became the disco with recorded music.
(I am embarrassed to admit that I never made it to the disco. I can
stay alive till one o'clock if I get started a little earlier, but the
late dinner, long shows, and rather dull dancing after dinner left me
yawning by 11 and calling it quits before midnight most nights.) I
have no idea if there was an active late-night party crowd on this
ship. I would guess so because there were quite a number of younger
(30's and 40's) passengers. I think the casino was the main draw for
the night owls.
The atrium area in the center of the ship was open to the deck below,
quite beautiful and surrounded by the various shops, the photo room and
a small bar, the Bistro which specialized in coffee drinks and served
snacks in the late mornings and late afternoons. Moving toward the
front of this deck, the movie theater was on the port side and the
casino on starboard. The theater ran recent releases twice a day -
usually once in the afternoon and again around 10 at night. At the
very forward was the Galaxy Lounge where the major shows were
performed. The Galaxy had really comfortable seating, great sight
lines and good sound. The port side was smoking and the starboard side
non. Never a problem getting a seat for the second shows, but I heard
that the first were a little more crowded. There was always a waiter
or someone at the door to help you find a seat if you arrived a little
late.

Deck 5 - Crystal Deck: This is the entry deck with a two-story
waterfall, curving staircase and the most spacious feel you can
imagine. It was really hard to remember you were on a ship when you
were seated in the Crystal Cove piano bar looking over the central
lobby area. There was a piano player in the Cove bar to play before
dinner and sometimes in the afternoons - background music ala
Nordstroms. The reception area was here and the cruise consultant's
desk. Toward the fore were a few more non-verandah cabins and the
medical facilities. Behind the lobby area was the dining room. Open
seating for lunch and breakfast, two seatings for dinner - 6:30 and
8:30. The dining room has a slightly raised central area with large
tables and two side areas with more large tables and rows of smaller
tables for 4 and 2 along the windows. We had second seating for
dinner - it was packed. We were at a large table of 9 in the center
area. The noise level was very, very high. I couldn't tell if it was
a function of the design or just the fact that the room was so full.
The waiters and assistants seem to work very hard, but the clattering
and rushing about adds to the general sense of noise. (See Service,
below). The strolling trio that played for dinner in the dining room
sounded like an annoying squeaking in the background unless they were
playing right at one's table. We ate a couple of lunches in the dining
room when only half the room was in use and there was no noise problem
at all.
All decks were connected by three banks of elevators and stairs plus
outside stairs between most decks. The elevators were unbelievably
quick. And, yes, they do have oriental (style) rugs in them!
Maintenance everywhere was outstanding. Brass was always being
polished, floors vacuumed and scrubbed and painting and varnishing
going on after hours. The ship seemed huge to me as it is the largest
I have been on. We were told every cabin was booked on our trip and
yet the only line I experienced was the first formal night's welcome
cocktail party. Showed up about 15 minutes after it started and the
line was out the door of the Starlight Lounge and wound around the
entire deck. We went off and had a drink and came back 15 minutes
before it ended, walked right in and chatted with the Captain for a
minute, had a drink, a dance and heard the Captain's speech
and then headed for dinner. There was also a line for the Grand Buffet
(a luncheon experience), but we just floated up and down to look at the
decorations and then ate elsewhere. The sense of space per passenger
is truly amazing on this ship. The elevators were rarely crowded,
quiet nooks both inside and out were easily found. Disembarkation was
handled by sending all the different groups of travelers to different
parts of the ship to gather before being called to disembark. So one
never experienced any sense of crowds even leaving. The Captain was at
the gangway to say farewell to every passenger. A pretty classy
gesture, I thought.

Food: Well, now I have wracked my brain to remember something critical
I can say about the food and here is the sum total: The onion soup was
ordinary. That's it, nothing else, nada, zero. Everything else I ate
was perfection from the snacks and buffets to the formal dining room
dinners. However, I did not eat it all. Never got to the dining room
for breakfast, nor the Prego restaurant, only managed to gag at the
thought of the midnight buffet, and we only used room service for one
breakfast and once to order some special food for my Mother-in-law one
night when she was feeling unwell. In the dining room the presentation
was outstanding. The tables were set with gorgeous service plates,
silverware and crystal. Appetizers and desserts, in particular,
resembled works of art, with sauce designs and garnishments. The head
waiter cooked either pasta dishes or flambe desserts (sometimes both)
table-side. Meats and vegetables were done to perfection. The
buffets I ate at always were fresh and appetizing with great variety.
Desserts in both the dining room and buffet lunch included a sugar-free
selection (didn't try it) and yes, there were swan-thingies! I saw
them in the grand buffet but they were almost overpowered by the
elephant-thingies, and the penguin-thingies. Espresso and cappuchino
were always available in the dining room and the coffee was amazingly
good. (I should have realized that no way were a bunch of Norwegians
going to stand for dish-water coffee). Room service had a fairly
extensive menu available 24 hours and you could order directly off the
dining room menus during regular lunch and dinner hours. When we asked
room service to help us with food for Mom on her sick night, they
came up with all sorts of things that weren't on any menu. Drinks were
priced similarly to other ships, from about $!.50 for sodas to $4 for
the "drink of the day". The wine list was extensive and the wine
stewards and stewardesses were always in attendance and most helpful to
anyone who needed them. There were always at least one decent red and
white available by the glass at dinner.

Service: Smiling, gracious and helpful almost universally throughout
the ship. In particular the room stewardesses and the Lido deck
attendants and servers. However, service in the dining room was the
one area where I was disappointed. The waiters were young and, in our
case, seemed inexperienced and insecure. The assistants were even
younger and, in our case, seemed rather dull-witted. There were a lot
of mistakes early on - minor, but still noticeable. Orders were mixed
up or forgotten, courses did not arrive to everyone at the table at the
same time. And, God forbid you should ask the waiter a question about
the food. He looked like he wanted to cry and then was completely
unhelpful at suggesting one item over another. In all fairness, he was
trying really hard and was as nice as he could be, but I would have
preferred a waiter who manages his table and passengers with a little
more aplomb and dignity. There was nothing terribly wrong with the
service, it just did not meet the other standards set up by the food
itself and the rest of the ship. We were at an officer's table and I
did notice that on the nights the officer was in attendance,
service went smoother. We also had the head-waiter and Maitre'D
hanging around a good bit, so perhaps our waiter was indeed newer than
average. His assistant, however, was even more error-prone and did not
even apologize for his mistakes. I also saw him on several occasions
rolling his eyes and making other expressions of annoyance or disgust
after being asked for something by one of the other passengers. An
unpardonable sin in my mind to let that kind of expression show
before you are away from the table.
If the dining room service left me a bit disappointed, the Lido cafe
service was outstanding. Cheerful personnel behind the buffet
counters, always someone to carry your tray and find you a table,
coffee and beverage floaters always at hand. After the first morning,
one of the waiters always remembered that my M-in-law liked a half cup
of decaf diluted with hot water and would start preparing it as soon as
he saw her come in. (Something the dining room assistant still
couldn't get right after 4 nights of instructions). Around the pools,
the floating drink waiters were always in attendance and quickly
learned who wanted to be left alone and who wanted a constant supply
from the bar. They seemed to be equally happy to get you a refill of
the free iced tea or ice-water as to run a cocktail order.
The lounges and bars had friendly, efficient waiters and waitresses
and room service, the little that we used it, was a delight.

Activities: There was the usual bingo and art auctions which I didn't
participate in. The dance classes were led by a husband/wife team and
had good attendance. The two chief lecturers aboard were not
particularly good speakers and left most people feeling dissatisfied.
However, they had a wine lecturer who led two wine tasting seminars and
he was outstanding. There was also a cooking demonstration by a guest
chef which I heard was quite enjoyable. In addition to the Cruise
Director there was a Social Hostess aboard who gave classes in
scarf-tying, napkin folding and stichery (yuck). I did not
participate. The sports activities, led by Leon, seemed to be
popular. As mentioned, I attended one of his paddle tennis gatherings
and had a great time. I noticed there was a good turn out for the
organized walk/jogs and Leon was always in evidence, encouraging people
and being generally helpful. Simon, the gym director, had aerobics
classes scheduled each day. I went to one about half-way through the
cruise and that was enough for me. Only a handful of participants,
uninspired music and choreography and Simon himself did not seem to
generate any enthusiasm. Also the aerobics classes are held in the
same room as the work-out equipment so, while there is plenty of room,
there is a din of treadmills and whatever going on in the background.
In fact our class was broken up when Simon had to suddenly run off
to rescue some idiot man who had cranked his treadmill up to about 20
MPH and was in imminent danger of being flung off the back of it!
There was all sorts of other activities including trivia games,
lectures, etc. Bridge and galley tours were available. Our table had
a private bridge tour led by our hosting officer and this was a
definite highlight for me. We got to spend about an hour with him
showing us each piece of equipment and graciously answering every
conceivable question - even the really stupid ones. Board games,
sports equipment and help was always available for those groups that
wanted to organize their own activities.

Entertainment: Four Broadway/LasVegas styled shows constituted the
featured entertainment. This is not my favorite type of entertainment,
so I only watched the first one all the way through. Lots of energy,
good dancing, fair to good singing and rather amazing staging.
Costumes were everything one could want in the way of feathers, colors,
sparkles, skin and ever-increasing piles of material balanced on the
show girls' heads. The themes of the shows were Cole Porter, Broadway,
Country and International. People seemed to enjoy them but I did not
hear too many raves. I heard several comments from second seaters that
an hour of loud music and rather frenetic dancing was too long. The
caberet intertainment included a magician, a juggler/comedian
and a stand-up comedian - all quite good. There was also a concert
pianist who gave two afternoon concerts of classical music. I attended
the second one and she was playing to a full house in the main lounge
and received a standing ovation. The casino was huge and on this trip
I saw very little of it. I did meet some of the casino staff who were
on shore excursions and they all seemed friendly and pleasant. I heard
no fantastic tales coming out of the casino except the usual story of
the couple of people who left with small fortunes (and came in with
large fortunes). Shore excursions were managed well, however several
of the ports were new stops for the Symphony and it was apparent in a
couple of cases that they did not yet have a good handle on details
about the shore excursions and shore facilities. The Shore Excursion
Desk was very helpful in arranging some individual activities for me in
Aruba and they were quite responsive to requests for changing,
cancelling and other services. Another place where I never encountered
a line. Amazing!

Overall Experience : With the exception of the dining room wait
service, there was little to mark down on my comment card at the end of
the trip. I missed having live music around the pool area once in a
while, and I would have loved to see a bit of livelier dancing get
going earlier in the evenings. However, for anyone who wants a trip of
gracious pampering and a feel of luxery, this is a perfect ship. I
would think it might be a great honeymoon choice (cost being no
consideration, of course).
As for me, it was fun and I'm glad I had the opportunity to
experience it. Would I do it again? On my own dollar - no. I had
suspected before going and am now sure that I prefer the smaller, more
intimate ships. The interior areas on the Symphony look and feel like
high-scale hotels. Someone who referred to Crystal ships as the "Ritz
Carelton of Cruises" hit on the perfect description. Money is
apparent everywhere - in the quality of ship's furnishings, the goods
in the shops and the dress of the passengers. It is all tasteful,
gracious and maybe just a tiny bit stuffy.
I'm sure I've left out all sorts of pertinent details. Anyone who
had a specific question or wants more information about things I
mentioned only in passing, feel free to e-mail me at:
arte...@ix.netcom.com

In March I'm off again to the dumpy, little Stella Solaris. At 1/2
the cost for a couple of more days, it will be interesting to see how
the two experiences stack up side by side.