This was a great cruise overall for our first trip to Asia. However due to the negative experiences noted in this review, it is not likely that we will book another Crystal Cruise anytime in the foreseeable future.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
This experience started with arrival at the Bangkok airport. We were notified that we would be met by a Crystal Cruises representative after exiting customs. We could not find a Crystal representative. We asked a representative of another cruise line and they sent us to another part of the airport. Once there we had to ask someone else about a Crystal rep, and they made a phone call to the rep to where we were. Our cruise package included a 2-night stay at the Peninsula Bangkok hotel. The night before departure and transfer to the pier, a note was slipped under the door telling us the departure time. While waiting for the bus, a Crystal rep asked us if we had the cruise luggage tags to attach to our bags. We didn't, and she said we could have picked them up at the Crystal hospitality desk on the 2nd floor. No one told us that there was a hospitality desk.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
All were great food and service except that to get to the Italian specialty restaurant we had to pass the cigar lounge. The stench from the room was unbearable, especially since the leave the doors to the lounge open.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
The lectures, all speakers were engaging and involved great subjects.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We only attended one of the evening shows, but the ensemble was great.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Housekeeping staff (butler and stewards were friendly, and did a great job for us. Wait staff in the dining venues were also very friendly, always greeting us with a smile and hello. The only negative was on the first day on board, we went to the grill. I ordered a cheese burger and onion rings, and was served a grilled cheese sandwich with fries. When I pointed out that it wasn't what I ordered, they corrected the order.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Beautiful ship, well designed and always clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was very comfortable and was aways kept clean by housekeeping. The only design issue I would note is the bathroom. The design of the shower in relation to the sinks was awkward, meaning there was no easy way to access towels from the rack when exiting the shower.
This was an overnight port, and we had a shore excursion on each day. The first shore excursion (Mekong by boat and rickshaw) included stops at a charcoal factory and brick making factory. It did not include a rickshaw, we did not stop at the charcoal factory and all of us on the boat turned down the visit to the brick making factory because it was a across the river from the charcoal factory and the smoke from there was oppressive, so want to skip the brick making factory and move away from there. There were extra stops that were not in the excursion description that we could have done without. This excursion was much too long. The second day excursion was 'on the market trails'. This was one of the best tours we had on this cruise. I was a little apprehensive about riding on a scooter thru the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.
We did not actually visit Da Nang, but took the shore excursion 'Exploring Hoi An on foot and water'. The river boat ride was OK, but I could have done without it; it was just a boat ride.
We did not actually visit Hai Phong or Da Nang, but rather Ha Long Bay. This was an overnight port. We singed up for the shore excursion 'Hon Gai - a local experience' on the second day only to find out that Crystal changed this excursion to the first day and did not notify us. As such, we missed this excursion.
Crystal arranged our flights as part of the cruise package. Our return flight from Hong Kong departed at 10:30PM. We had to leave the ship at 10AM to be transported to the airport. Crystal did not offer any options or suggestions about how to spend our day. My wife and I came up with our own idea, but needed confirmation on some of it. We asked at the registration desk on board a few days ahead of arrival to this port of what options we might have. They contacted a rep in Hong Kong to get some information (this took 2 days). Some of the options were unacceptable - a day room in a hotel near the airport for about $400, or taking a taxi on our own to drive around the city. I had the idea of storing our luggage at the airport and taking the express train to the city and riding the hop-on-hop-off bus. The Crystal rep did confirm that the airport had luggage storage and the price, so we were able to make our own arrangements once we were dropped off a the ariport.
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