---

November 9, 2024

Crystal Cruises continues to pursue the goal of catering to a wide range of tastes and preferences among travelers, ensuring a diverse offering of itineraries and attentive, luxurious service that encompasses dining, suites, and both at-sea and onshore experiences, providing exceptional 360° experiences.

The company’s fleet, consisting of two recently refurbished vessels, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, is characterized by the smaller size of its ships, accommodating a maximum of 606 and 740 guests respectively, and with nearly one staff member for each guest, offering an intimate and luxurious environment with personalized service that elevates the at-sea experience.

But what distinguishes Crystal Cruises? Crystal Cruises is positioned in the luxury cruise sector, and what sets the company apart, differentiating it within the cruise industry and representing excellence at sea, are four key elements: enriching experiences, the Perfectly Home concept, culinary offerings, and entertainment.

The experiences, both onshore and at sea, are thoughtfully designed and created to offer guests a comprehensive experience with cultural and other activities to enrich days at sea and moments on board, as well as immersive experiences ashore through a first-class program developed in collaboration with Abercrombie & Kent, taking guests to the most incredible and hard-to-reach locations independently. The offerings include, in addition to classic tours, exclusive and privileged access daily adventures, Overland Adventures that allow for the exploration of more distant destinations with multi-day trips during the cruise itinerary, followed by a reconnection with the ship, and Pre & Post Land Journeys, which also explore often-overlooked departure and arrival destinations in traditional cruises.

The Perfectly Home concept, aimed at providing guests with an absolute sense of comfort, encompasses several aspects related to hospitality, impeccable and personalized service that includes a butler and 24-hour suite service, as well as accommodations. The highly personalized service is a distinctive feature of Crystal, which also includes one of the most important pax-crew ratios in the industry. Furthermore, with the recent refurbishment that took place in 2023, the cabins and suites have seen an increase in size, setting new records for luxury.

The categories offered by Crystal Cruises, all available in both ocean view and balcony versions with butler service, include:

– Guest Rooms with sizes up to 20 square meters, featuring a large panoramic window or a private balcony, spacious living area with sofa and TV, queen or twin beds, and the option for single rooms with no additional charges when available.

– Aquamarine Suites with sizes up to 30 square meters, which include a comfortable living area, a toilet in the dressing area, a walk-in closet, afternoon canapés, an espresso machine, and binoculars.

– Sapphire Suites with sizes up to 40 square meters, also with an elegant living area, and depending on the category (veranda or ocean view), include turn-down service with handmade truffles, laundry or dry cleaning services, and more.

– Penthouse Suites with sizes starting from 80 square meters for the junior suite and equipped with a spacious private veranda; a separate sleeping area with TV; a washbasin in the bedroom; a hot tub, separate shower, and bidet; room service from Umi Uma and Osteria d’Ovidio; unlimited dining at Osteria d’Ovidio and Umi Uma (by reservation, based on availability), complimentary unlimited laundry and dry cleaning, cocktail parties in the suite, private transfers to and from the ship upon request, butler or concierge service from the terminal to the suite on embarkation day, fresh flowers, and afternoon canapés, up to the 120-square-meter Penthouse Suites, which represent the largest suites available, featuring spacious layouts, luxurious amenities, and all the comfort one desires.

Another defining element is the culinary offering, which includes 11 dining venues on board, including Michelin-starred restaurants and world-class cuisine. Starting with the classic restaurants, we find the Waterside, which does not require reservations or seating times, Osteria D’Ovidio, offering refined Italian dishes, the Marketplace, the ship’s buffet with a wide range of hot and cold choices for those who love a bit of everything, Tastes, which presents world-inspired tapas soon to be replaced by Beefbar, the Parisian-inspired bistro, the Trident Grill, which offers outdoor dining, and the Vintage Room, an intimate venue that provides dinners for a limited number of guests. To enhance and elevate the onboard culinary experience, there is also Beefbar, debuting this year, representing a collaboration that sets a new standard for culinary excellence at sea, featuring the most exciting flavors of the global street food scene crafted with the freshest ingredients by creative chefs, and the UMI UMA restaurant by Nobu Matsuhisa, with a sushi bar that is unique at sea. Finally, the culinary offerings also include afternoon tea at Palm Court, Supper Club at the Stardust Ballroom, and 24-hour suite service.

As part of the company’s all-inclusive offering, all restaurants are free, except for the Vintage Room, while for the specialty restaurants Osteria d’Ovidio and UMI UMA, all guests are entitled to one complimentary dinner on cruises lasting up to 11 days, the number of complimentary dinners increases to two for cruises lasting between 12 and 22 days, while for cruises of 23 or more days, three complimentary dinners are provided, with extra dinners available for an additional but nominal fee. Guests staying in Penthouse Suites, however, have unlimited access.

 

The final defining element of Crystal Cruises is the entertainment, which features the presence of world-class artists, entertainers, and presenters, including celebrities. Among the various activities offered is live music, with James Fox starring in “My Life, The Music of Billy Joel” aboard Crystal Serenity, bridge tournaments, Tony Awards, cultural insights with personalities who will also share their experiences, such as Stephen Cole, a television host who has presided over global events, interviewed movie stars, and presented the Oscars, and Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman, a NASA astronaut who has completed five spaceflights, along with fun moments featuring comedians like Steve Stevens. Onboard entertainment also includes a new and unique experience, Le Casino de Monte-Carlo, renowned worldwide, soon to be available on the fleet’s ships and resulting from an exclusive collaboration with Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), a leader in the world of entertainment and gaming.

Lastly, one of the noteworthy onboard services offered by Crystal Cruises is the Aurora Spa, also recently renovated, a place of peace and well-being that, with experienced technicians and therapists, offers cutting-edge treatments that combine technology and touch to rejuvenate the body, mind, and soul.

Crystal Cruises, therefore, is committed to providing memorable journeys with immersions in the most breathtaking destinations around the world, accompanied by captivating entertainment and refined cuisine, all complemented by personalized, high-level service from a competent crew that caters to guests’ every wish. The company also plans to launch two new ships in 2028 and 2029, thus pursuing its ambitious growth plan.

Don’t miss news, updates, and reviews of Crystal Cruises on Cruising Journal with photos, videos, and cruise offers.

Giorgia Lombardo

Comments