Wonderful Time

Item: Crystal Symphony
Rating: 4
Author: bruce55376728

Crystal Symphony Cruise Review to South Pacific - Australia

bruce55376728

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 77

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

21 Night Across The Coral Sea (Sydney Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 20, 2017

Ship: Crystal Symphony

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9050

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The overall experience was extremely positive but then we got very lucky and fortunate which improves everything. We were assigned a table of six for the early seating. We ended up with two other couples who we had so much fun with that the highlight of each day was having dinner with them. The cruise was under booked with about 550 guests. They had about 480 staff and crew on board so you could not move far without someone helping you or serving you. Food was excellent in all aspects of the club. We did not do Prego or Silk Road much as we wanted to enjoy our friends in the main dining room. Those two places were very good as well. The Lido Cafe for breakfast/lunch was exceptional. Trident Grill makes an excellent hamburger. Most of our excursions were cultural in nature and we found them very informative and enjoyable. Others on board had excursions that they felt less positive about. I really thought the "at sea" lecture series to be one of the highlights of the cruise. What fantastic people sharing their experiences. The evening entertainment was also very good especially the show "Imagination". Thee were some "hiccups" at times but in a three week cruise this can be considered inevitable. Some friends had less positive experiences in terms of services rendered and excursion availability but these were more exceptions rather than normal practices. Overall ships comfort was impressive. Some rough sea days (10 feet + seas) made walking about interesting but not impossible. Stabilizers did an impressive job!!! I would be happy to take a Crystal Cruise again. I am not sure I would fly 20 hours to do so.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Lecture series was a pleasant surprise. Loved hanging out at the pool.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Mostly good. Some performances were not as strong as others but that is to be expected. Bar entertainment was excellent.

Children's Programs

There were only two children on the cruise. Cannot comment here.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

A serious highlight here.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Staterooms are small but then that is life on board a boat. Our stateroom was kept up perfectly. Boat handles rough conditions excellently however there is still noticeable rolling in heavier seas. The Sunday Brunch was impressive but more impressive was that an hour after it closed that entire entry area was pristine. That attitude was seen throughout the ship.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

We are boaters and as such found the accommodations to be excellent. Others thought they were cramped but that is because they do not understand life at sea and expected a hotel room instead. Bed was excellent and very comfortable. Ice was plentiful and the refrigerator was well stocked for our needs. Bathrooms were excellent with a fantastic shower. Best of all, our cabin attendant was "out of this world". For a three week cruise, this relationship is the most important one on board and our person was of the highest quality as well as a nice person. You spend little time in the stateroom yet it gathers a lot of attention. What time we did spend there was enjoyable and comfortable.

Ship tip

Hard to write something here when the length of my comment is limited.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Hamilton Island, Australia

5 out of 5

Alotau, Papua New Guinea

5 out of 5

Kiriwina Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea

3 out of 5

Weather here made getting off the boat an issue. Not a fault of the stop itself.

Thumbs Up 0

Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

3 out of 5

Same as previous comment. Weather was a factor.

Thumbs Up 0

Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

5 out of 5

Port Vila, Efate, Vanuatu

5 out of 5

The Eksop excursion was outstanding!!!!

Thumbs Up 2

Champagne Bay, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

5 out of 5

I had low expectations. Boy was I wrong!!!!

Thumbs Up 6

Yasawa Islands, Fiji

5 out of 5

Lautoka, Fiji Islands

5 out of 5

Mare Isle, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia

5 out of 5

Mare Island was closed due to pollution. Here was a significant strength of Crystal. In mid cruise, another stop was added and a whole new set of excursions installed. Our excursion was to the greatest snorkeling I have ever experienced. Great recovery Crystal!!

Thumbs Up 4

Sydney, Australia

5 out of 5

3 Comments

GerryBCruisin 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your detailed cruise review.

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cruisellama 5 years ago

Thanks

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WeCruiseToo 7 years ago

Thanks for the review Bruce!

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