Crystal Serenity Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Ship was elegant and clean. Bed was uncomfortable. Staff mostly friendly. Regarding the dining arrangements, It would have been great to have an evening buffet. Several times we were back on ship at the last moment and were unable to make it to the dining room.

Very nice ship. Our room was perfect for us. The staff was a combination. The maid service excellent, the butler very nice but not as thorough as he should have been. Every time I went to the front desk, they were not very warm or helpful. Most of the rest of the time around the boat, all the staff were very friendly and helpful. Lots of great activities were available and it was nice to have the narration of the canal/ updates everyday and very specific information about ports, activities, etc.

Crystal deserves every one of its 6 stars, and more. This trip was outstanding, from start to finish. The ship, cabins, were immaculate. Service was impeccable, way above and beyond anything I expected. Everything from embarkation, disembarkation, tender service, restaurants, shows, and activities were well organized and well run. I felt like a queen! Staff everywhere were friendly, professional, and helpful. Any and all requests I made were immediately handled. They even went beyond that, actually anticipating your needs and offering assistance BEFORE being asked! Room service was always on time and perfectly executed. Cabin was small but had everything I needed. Storage is very cleverly arranged. Balcony was enjoyable, especially because no one around me could smoke, which had been a problem on other cruises. Crystal allows one to dine at a set time, or at a reserved time, or at other venues. All were wonderful. I thought the food and service in the Crystal dining room was exceptional. Any and all special requests were handled immediately, with no fuss and not even any long waits. Prego was also good, though I found the service a bit slow. The Lido cafe, the Trident grill, Scoops, all were excellent. The Bistro was an unexpected find; I hadn't thought I was interested till I tried it. Amazing variety of offerings of all kinds. Table service provided for drinks, both hot and cold. Crystal provided excellent and varied choices of activities. The shows I attended were excellent. The musicians (a wide variety of types) were truly enjoyable. The String Quartet was especially outstanding - they added a level of class to the High Tea and the evening's entertainment.  High Tea was excellent. Food was plentiful without being over the top and wasteful. Very nicely done. Maitre D' in both the Dining Room and at High Tea did an outstanding job. The Library offered a wide variety of books and DVD's. The Librarian was excellent, able to suggest films and books and was spot on every time! She even, without being asked, called my cabin to advise when a film I had asked about was returned, so I could come and check it out! Art classes, computer classes, bridge classes, magic shows, all done professionally and with a high degree of excellence. The lectures on both history and current affairs were absolutely marvelous. Both lecturers were informative, interesting, and very nice and accommodating for extra questions after their respective lectures. The ports on this itinerary were truly spectacular. We were able to see the gorgeous fall leaf colours, and to tour many historical sites. I loved having 2 days in both NYC and Quebec City.

A wide variety of port tours were offered, though I chose to arrange my own private cars and drivers. I feel that my cruise was worth every penny I paid, and then some. Can't wait to sail again with Crystal. I will not book on any other cruise line again - they are simply the very best.

I have heard many other bad reviews abot this ship however all the times i have been on it i had an amazing time with my family and even mysister with a food allergy was able to enjoy "the best food in her life". Even on her birthday the chef made her a cake with no milk and a roasted duck for dinner. 

Highlights:

Crystal Serenity:

The most memorable part of this ship is the staff; these were the most welcoming, service oriented people I have encountered at sea. Every day they went out of their way to make sure your experience was remarkable.

Itinerary:

The most memorable part was: The beautiful City of Barcelona. I also enjoyed going through the strait of Gibraltar. Watching the sun come up, looking at Africa and Spain on either side with the many ships around us, made this a unique experience

Stateroom Experience:

People should know that Crystal does a great job maximizing space. You will find plenty of drawers, hangers, and closet space.

The Stateroom PH with Verandah was plush, warm and very spacious. The jetted tub was relaxing.

Dining Experience:

Breakfast could be in the main dining room – served/Buffet style/or room service.

I mostly chose the buffet style so I could grab what I wanted when I wanted. I also ordered room service a few times. The butler would come and set it up on my balcony as if I was fine dining.

Lunch- Several options here: Pool side grill/or buffet style. I didn’t do much lunch as I was in port most days. When I did it was a quick sandwich by the pool. It was great.

Dinner: Silkroad was my favorite. I tried many types of Sushi. I tried Saki, another culinary first for me. The best thing was the Nobu Box it had the most delicate wagyu beef a teriyaki glazed swordfish portion and Rock shrimp with sauce. It was really good.

I also had room service. Again it was set up for us like fine dining in a local restaurant (not just brought to the room and left) A must try is the Caesar Salad! It was very good.

Prego was wonderful and the main dining room we had excellent service.

High tea: Everyday there is a high tea, with your choice of teas, and finger foods.

A special service is Mozart Tea: This is the same event but on this day the service is expanded. They serve expanded choices of foods/desserts and the waiters wear costumes of that era while, of course, Mozart is playing softly in the background.

Bingo was fun for all.

Do not miss: The Illusionist was a great show.

Insider’s Tips:

Crystal has 2 self-service laundry rooms onboard, Equipped with Detergent, Dryer sheets, Iron Board, starch and all the comforts of your own Laundry room.

Crystal staggers its breakfast:

Early risers- Coffee service with pastries

Main breakfast- Full spread buffet

And lastly, breakfast for people who sleep in 

The ship was nice.

The ship is rated number one, with good reason.

Great crew, very pleasant, knowledgeable, friendly. Wanting to make your stay perfect.

very good vacancy, i loved it

With the exception of the expensive and often slow internet service, all else was quite wonderful. Since our last trip on Crystal eight years ago, the only changes seemed to be the following: Smaller caviar portions and less expensive and less fantastic costumes at their shows.

We cruised from Venice to Istanbul. This was our first cruise with Crystal although we have cruised 14 times and we were really impressed with the service and the quality of food. We also met some wonderful people who we will remember for a long time. We attended theCC meet and mingle and were very impressed with the people we met. We were also impressed with Colin Salter in the Avenue Saloon. He played and sang a great variety of songs and it seemed different each night we were there. As stated the service was incredible and the staff could not do enough for you. We have booked a cruise while on ship in Nov 2012 Barcelona to Lisbon and we are looking forward to it.

We have traveled on cruises ranging from Carnival to Sea Dream Yacht Club and everything in between (Princess, Cunard, Special Expedition, Sea Cloud, River Cloud) and have decided that Crystal's slogan "The difference is Crystal clear" is very appropriate! The differences at first are subtle, like the well lite large closet and twin glass vessel sinks, tub and shower, etc. Then you begin to notice the wonderful furniture throughout the ship's decks, pool area, etc. Then you notice the service and attention. The food was just wonderful and there were no extras fees for so many things you ALWAYS paid for on most other cruises, including the additional restaurants aviailable with reservations (but no added charge!). We loved the size (800 passengers) and we have been on ships from 70 people to 4,000!

Wonderful ship. Balcony cabin is amazing and service and food were excellent. 16 days around the Mediterranean and each and every day as just awesome. Best of everything!

Every thing was wonderful. And a heartfelt thank you to Christine who helped Caroline find my passport.

A beautiful ship, easy to get around. I was travelling with my 88 year old mother and she had no trouble getting around. People were very friendly. Staff was incredible. But what I was really impressed by was the quality of the lectures during the cruise. I can't imagine going on another cruise line. Crystal has spoiled me. We went in December 2009, but this wasn't an option.

We had the perfect experience on Crystal Symphony two years ago (2007), so we decided to take another cruise on Crystal Serenity. The food was still great, but the service was bad. Most staff did not seem to care, and many mistakes were made.

Just terribly overpriced for the money. Oceania is a far better deal. This line is a cult. I may be the only curmudgeon here. If you expect to get really first class service, forget it.

We loved everything about the ship. The crew was especially friendly, the ship was very clean, we enjoyed wonderful lecturerers while we were "at sea", and the food was the best! We loved dining at Prego where we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary - they made it very special. We joined our friends at Silk Road where we had wonderful sushi and other Japanese specialties. What really impressed us was the way Crystal took care of us at the very end. Because we had a very early flight leaving Venice, a Crystal representative met the two of us at 4:00 am where she escorted us on a water taxi to a shuttle which drove us to the airport where she was perfectly fine waiting in line with us until the ticket counter opened. We told her "thank you so much, but please go back to bed. We can carry on from here". What a class organization from beginning to end!

I went on this ship years and years ago and thought I'd throw in how much I loved it. They have quality informative lectures on board in which I learned very much. I also leaned to play the piano in just two hours(of course I didn't continue practicing ). I've never had a cabin steward like the one on the serinity. She was more line a personal assistant. And this ship has real room service...I mean tasty filling adult meals. The cruise I took was very focused on ports but we went to country's I may never goto again.I think this is a great cruise line.

I suggest anyone who has never been on a cruise to take this one! It's great and everyone is so friendly! I deffinatly think what my boyfriend and I paid for this trip was worth every penny! I would take this cruise again, and I plan to after college!