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Cruise Reviews

Crystal Cruises

Crystal Symphony

Tango In The Tropics

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Tango in the Tropics	5 of 5 people found this review informative

Reviewed By: McCubbin, Glasgow on 1st Mar 2011
Cruise Line: Crystal Cruises	Times cruised before: 6-10
Cruise Ship: Crystal Symphony	Sailed: February, 2011
Destination: South America	Age: 65+
Cabin: Suite

First cruise with Crystal. Unfortunate introduction as we were kept waiting at the gangway, in the rain, whilst a large group of passengers disembarked for a Tango excursion in Buenos Aires. Our stateroom (Deck 7) and en suite were well appointed but much too small for comfort for a couple. The public areas of the ship were all expansive and attractive. Our cruise had many sea days which we enjoy and there were lots of activities and lectures available to suit most tastes. All members of the crew were friendly and courteous. We did not participate in any of the Crystal organised shore excursions preferring to arrange these independently. Dining experience in the main dining room was in general satisfactory but a couple of meals were disappointing. We had opted for open dining, a recent innovation for Crystal. However this proved to be far from the open dining option as recognised by Silversea or Seabourn. Essentially you had to eat before 19.30 with main dining guests or at 20.30 with the late sitting and these times had to be booked in advance. A far superior dining experience for us was in the speciality Italian and Japanese restaurants, Prego and Silk Road. These provided meals of outstanding quality and service in a much more intimate setting than the main dining room. On this cruise the ship was about 75% full but despite this the Lido lunch time buffet was extremely busy with seats at a premium. Also the opening hours for lunch were somewhat restricted 12.00 to 13.30. For the most part the entertainment was of a very high standard particularly the musical shows which were excellent. We particularly enjoyed the piano bar for a nightcap. We select a cruise mainly on account of the itinerary and in the past have been on smaller ships(200-300 passengers) bearing in mind that we enjoy a high standard of cruise ship. Crystal Symphony although classed as a mid-size ship was considerably larger than our last two cruise experiences. This has obvious advantages in terms of space in the public areas and the standard of stage productions. However the stateroom size on Crystal was significantly smaller than we had previously experienced in much smaller ships which also perhaps had the advantage of feeling more intimate. Our two previous cruises had included all alcoholic drinks and gratuities in the basic cost. Crystal, however, largely overcame this difference by offering a quite generous on board credit of $1000 per guest. Overall we had an excellent experience on Crystal Symphony and would be happy to cruise with Crystal again but our personal preference would lean towards a smaller ship with fewer passengers.
Quality of Food
Lido for breakfast and lunch. Crystal and speciality restaurants for Dinner.
Entertainment
Most enjoyable were musical reviews with singers and dancers and Kyle Esplin. Least enjoyable were ventriloquist and string quartet.
Shore Excursions	n/a

Staff
Paulo. Head of Speciality restaurants. Very high profile on board and ensured smooth running of B'fast and lunches in Lido as well.
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
Excellent Golf Pro,Bruce.
Cabins
Very good facilities but much too small.
Overall Rating