Crystal Serenity Reviews

My husband and I had written off cruises based on our past experiences of feeling nickled & dimes to death, but with Crystal Cruises, it truly is all inclusive and the service is excellent! We were also impressed with the food on our cruise. We were very impressed with the overall experience and will likely be cruising with them again in the future!

Service and communication were far below the standards of previous cruises. We did a river cruise with them last year and were blown away. This cruise was at the opposite end of the spectrum! This was our first Crystal Ocean cruise and it will also be our last!

Had a few problems with the main dining room food. Cabins were clean. The shows were very poor. The speaker was very good. Did not know St. Petersburg was so cold and dark 300 days a year.

Excellent cruise. Smooth and comfortable. Excursions were very good. Issues handled on-board with grace and efficiency.

Excellent service of all staffs. Live shows are really so much fun. Our favorite was the Cruise Director, Gary Hunter - very nice and funny fellow.

Had a wonderful time and the time went too quickly. Have already signed up for my next Crystal Cruise 🚢🚢

This was our first time cruising, and we were very favorably impressed. The scenery, animal and marine life, shopping opportunities, and food offerings were super! I liked the almost daily stops we made, and the newsletter we got every evening to let us know some of what to expect. The service (and staff providing it) was incredibly good. We are thinking of doing another short cruise because our experience was so positive!

So glad our friends Janet and Larry Lee suggested this cruise. Worth every penny spent! Will recommend to all our friends. Andrea Whitby our travel agent was very helpful and we will definitely use her again.

Everyone told me that an Alaskan Cruise is a must sometime in your lifetime.  I agree and I also think doing it on a Crystal Cruise is the ONLY way to do it.  We found every aspect of the trip was done professionally and in a first-class manner by Crystal.  More than anything was the friendliness and caring of every Crystal person.  Whatever we wanted or needed someone was more than happy to help.  We had a pncw in a lifetime experience.

THANKS Crystal.

This was our fifth Crystal cruise. We love all-inclusive cruising. Since our first Crystal cruise, the level of attention to detail has slipped. That said, this trip still was extremely enjoyable.

I would definitely recommend this cruise line and especially the Serenity to anyone looking for a great experience. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. We were treated like royalty.

From all the hype put out by Crystal, they did not deliver.  Serenity is "tired", staterooms smaller than on other luxury lines.  Food was average.  Staff is good.  I  found Shore Excursion Department disinterested in resolving an issue until they understood their liability.

This was the BEST cruise ship we have been on.  The teakwood decks, marble tabletops, fine china and silverware were exquisite.  The food and service were impeccable.  The wine, beer and spirits available at all the open bars were superb.  We will definitely recommend the Crystal Serenity to all our friends.

Excellent ship and crew. Ports in Canada were not impressive. Bar Harbor, Boston and New York were great except Monday night in New York is the off day for Broadway. Broadway is a big reason to be in New York overnight.

 The cruise was like living at Downton Abbey; the service was impeccable the food delicious the atmosphere wonderful. I was especially impressed when I lost a very nice bracelet one night and the next morning there it was in the lost and found; I wonder if that would have happened in any other situation or on any other cruise line. The activities were varied and worthwhile but there were also ample places to just "escape", curl up with a book and enjoy the view. All of the passenger were friendly one was welcome "to join " if there were few empty seats during the pre dinner cocktail gatherings.

My only complaint was the transfer day from Quebec City to Montreal. It was certainly not an "all inclusive " day.  Neither lunch nor dinner was provided. We did have time for a brief lunch in Vieux Montreal but not enough time to walk around that section. Instead of starting the day with a cursory bus tour of Quebec (most people had spent the previous day touring the city), that hour should have been used for exploring Montreal. There were really 9 not 10 all inclusive days. Some of the dissatisfaction could have been reduced if we had been more fully informed about the details of the transit day  - either at the time of booking or on board prior to our disembarking from the ship. More than one bathroom stop between Quebec and Montreal would have been appreciated, as there were no facilities on the bus

We have cruised a lot...and by a lot, I mean more than 200 times and mostly on the Big 7 cruise lines in a variety of cabins from balcony to suites.  We are in our mid-40’s and look forward each year to a special trip that we splurge on.  Prior to this cruise our favorite overall experiences were Oceania and Windstar.  We have now set the Gold Standard to which all future cruises will be compared to.  We LOVED our experience on Crystal and from the moment we stepped into the terminal at NYC all the way through to getting to our cabin, there were smiling faces welcoming us and escorting us to each step. 

This was our Anniversary cruise so we selected the Penthouse category on Deck 10 complete with a butler.  Our butler, Damien, greeted us within minutes of arriving to our cabin to show us the features of the cabin, pour us drinks and find out our preferences and expectations for the cruise.  He was warm, welcoming and we looked forward each day to his afternoon canapés and cocktails.  He along with cabin stewardesses, were absolutely fantastic.

Our cabin was well appointed and VERY comfortable!  We had a nice size couch and chair where you could look out to the oversized balcony...with actual real patio furniture that was comfortable to lounge in and soak up the views.  The room has two twin bed or they push together to make a large queen size and was one of the most comfortable beds and pillows I've ever experienced on cruise or land.  Nice comfy bathrobes and changing robes were included in the large walk-in closet.  The bathroom was complete with his/her sinks, full size shower and separate jacuzzi tub.  A really cool feature was the speaker in the bathroom pipped in whatever TV show/movie sound from the TV right into the bathroom.

The food and service across the ship and at every venue was top notch!  Always warm smiles and attentive service.  The food selection was various and each dish was fantastic.  Prego the Italian restaurant and Silk Road Sushi (by Nobu) are the two most sought after specialty restaurants and require advance reservations.  The main dining room exceeded our expectations with our waiters, Nikola and Alen being the highlight.  There were 4-6 options for every course from appetizer, soup, salad, entrée and dessert.  The breakfast and lunch buffets in the Lido were as extensive as they were varied.  All the food venues across the ship were truly exceptional, of the highest quality and tremendous options…not to mention outstanding taste!  We were truly impressed by the food and service on this cruise and life after the cruise has become very disappointing.  Our first dinner home we looked at each other and lamented as to how much we missed Nikola and Alen…and the amazing meals.

There was a variety of shows, lectures and events throughout the day on the ship.  Most impressive was the computer lab with an extensive offering of classes during the cruise.  The library was well stocked with books and movies, which could be taken to your cabin for viewing.  Also, there is a movie theatre onboard that shows a variety of movies and also used for lectures and other events.

If there is one constructive feedback to offer, it’s that the wifi is very slow!  There is an hour per day complimentary per person but unless you have a lot of patience or time to spend connecting and for pages to load, you will likely not use all of the time allotted and give up in frustration.  Being working professionals (not retired) we needed to check email during our trip, which was quite cumbersome but given the long port days, it was pretty easy to use wifi in the port.  My suggestion would be to give up on being connected and go spend time eating, drinking and enjoying all the ship has to offer!

Crystal is an all-inclusive experience from food to drinks and everything in between.  You would not need to spend another dollar while on onboard except for the obvious/expected things such as shore excursions, casino, spa and onboard shopping.  Tipping is included in the cruise fare but we felt the service was so exceptional that we opted to give our waiters and room butler a little extra at the end of the cruise. 

We can’t wait to book our next Crystal cruise as we were truly spoiled!  Acclimating back to real life after this cruise is very hard and this will be a trip that we will talk about for months and years to come!

Overall, this was a typical Crystal experience-  mostly first rate.  But we noticed some things slipping:  the staterooms were getting a little tired- decor frayed around the edges- leaking shower, etc.  Needs some sprucing up.

   The wi-fi on the ship is awful.  They give you "one free hour per day" and charge an outrageous fee beyond that- and then, the wi-fi is so slow, your single hour is spent in frustration trying to connect to anything at all.  They are WAY behind the times with wi-fi, and for what you pay for a Crystal cruise, wi-fi should be free. 

   The Italian dining room "Prego" was by far the best dining experience of the cruise.  Excellent.   However, Silk Road, the Japanese place, needs work.  Soggy and smelly sushi.  Unacceptable.

     In five cruise, all in penthouses, we've admittedly gotten spoiled by the butler bringing the afternoon snacks each day.  Crab claws, shrimp, caviar, cheese, fruit etc etc.  This time, the offerings had sunk pretty far.  We would rather have skipped the snacks altogether.  Pretty bad.

    They have added private laundry rooms on each deck, with several washer and dryers.  EXCELLENT idea.  Very useful and convenient. 

    Now that Crystal allow flexible dining reservations, not just the usual "early and late seating", it makes it much better when planning shore excursions etc.  We very much appreciate the flexible options.

    We booked our own shore excursions throughout the trip, rather than pay the (sometimes ridiculous) prices they charge- for the exact same excursion.  We paid $99 per person for a snorkling-with-the-seals adventure in Nanaimo - Crystal charged nearly $500 per person.  No excuse for this.

     Of the five Crystal cruises we've done, this was the only one that I would give four (not five) stars.   Nothing that can't be improved upon, and we would likely go on another Crystal ship (or more likely, a yacht or river cruise).  And, we are in no way chronic complainers.  Crystal still is miles above most other large-ship cruise lines we've experienced. 

there is nothing to say except wonderful and amazing. From the moment you arrive you are met by courteous, friendly smiling staff.  Our stateroom was meticulous,.

We were fortunate other then some fog the weather was fabulous - we sat on our veranda in shorts and Tshirts at 9 pm watching the glaciers go by.

The food in every venue was superb, we were more then satisfied with the wine selection, enjoyed winning and then losing in the casino, the nightly entertainment and the guest lecturers. One piece of advice book more then one glacier tour or those once in a lifetime experiences - our dog sledding excursion was canceled because of heavy fog. 

Id suggest booking your excursions through Crystal ( maybe it cost a little more) but they are so organized and if there is a problem they take care of it - no stress.

  There is absolutely nothing negative, go enjoy !

Everything was great except that it was disappointing that the entry/lobby area and hallways to the staterooms have not been updated....same carpet from years ago. Rooms look updated....but did not match the feel of the 5th level and the hallways.

the Crystal serenity was a beautiful ship with its recent renovation in 2014 and the penthouse suite with butler service was fantastic.  Staff was extremely helpful and the food was fantastic.  Excursions were well coordinated and exactly as described....excellent.  Transfers to / from airport to Fairmont in Vancouver was very easy with crystal representatives handling everything perfectly.  The only glitch was at the end of the trip at the captain hook hotel which was the transfer location...  but still not a big issue.