You can’t keep a winner down. On her return to service, the classic Crystal Symphony has a strikingly fresh new look, with the verve and determination to make new magic. The ship is attracting a new generation of cruisers and long-time regulars are seeing her with a fresh eye.
Here are eight ways sailing with Crystal Cruises has become even better:
Sparkling new decor
The ship’s new owners, Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group, have invested handsomely in upgrades to keep Crystal Symphony and her sister Crystal Serenity at the forefront of luxury vessels. Symphony’s public areas have been restyled and updated by Tillberg Design of Sweden, creating a sophisticated blend of modern elegance and classic luxury within the footprint of Symphony’s well-loved restaurants, bars and lounges. Each space gleams with a youthful freshness blended with an effortless classicism to delight the eye and soul of even the most sophisticated traveller.
Call it family
A ship’s design is at its heart, but its soul lives in its crew. Again and again crew members told us that working on Crystal Symphony is like being part of a large, happy family. In the year that Crystal Cruises ships were idled, crew kept in touch via e-mail and Facebook while they took jobs at other cruise lines, and as soon as they learned the new owners were reviving Crystal Cruises they couldn’t wait to return to what feels like home to them. More than 80 per cent of the staff on our sailing from Istanbul to Monte Carlo had served on Symphony before. And many of the senior staff have spent their entire career with Crystal and are equally glad to be back aboard.
More space everywhere
A significant change for Symphony was downsizing the guest count from 900 to just 606. That means there’s a lot more space per guest and many former staterooms have been combined to double their size into suites inspired by the nautical architectural firm GEM. Eight previous suites were doubled in size to create Junior Penthouse suites that measure 806 square feet and four Penthouse suites were expanded to close to 1,400 square feet, including verandas.
High marks for the layout of newly created 430-square foot Sapphire Veranda Suites with their double-length balconies. Ours featured a walk-in closet with copious hanging and drawer space, a living room with a dining table and a bedroom with wish-I-could-get-one-of-these-at-home mattresses and linens by the exclusive Italian fabric house Jesurum Venezia 1870. The double-sink bathroom features a vast shower enclosure with a marble bench and choice of shower options, including overhead rainforest and massaging jets.
The suite’s gadgetry is so state of the art I would have appreciated an instruction book to figure out how to adjust the push-button controlled showers and another guide for what the assortment of 19 different light switches and dimmers actually controlled. But it soon became second nature, after a little trial and error with the buttons and switches.
Ultra-attentive service
With the downsizing of the guest roster, the crew count has remained the same. On this cruise, there are almost as many staff as guests to provide more of the personal service that has always been a Crystal forte. That means once your wine glass is half empty, they’re back offering a refill. It means that as soon as you’ve put your selections from the extensive lunch buffet, a waiter will be by your side offering to carry it the 10 feet or so to your table.
Prime meats, including wagyu beef, and such rarely seen on cruises dishes as pheasant and fresh oysters are part of the daily menus and the specialty restaurants rival ones you’d have to make reservations weeks in advance to experience on land. And all through the day, the pastry chefs are whipping up wonders. We’ll devote a separate story to the allure of cuisine on Crystal.
All the suites have butlers whose service can include unpacking your suitcases, pressing clothes and arranging laundry, spa and dining appointments. Greg, our butler who has been with Crystal Symphony since it was launched in 1995, made it his obsession to ensure our fridge was always restocked with our favorite complimentary wines and Champagne and brought welcome trays of afternoon nibbles daily to enjoy on our balcony.
In touch with tech
With the recent switch to Starlink satellite wi-fi service, Crystal’s complimentary internet was lightning fast and reliable even for streaming at what would be peak times on other ships, such as sea days and before dinner time. One anomaly, though, is that the complimentary wi-fi doesn’t include phone text message capability. For that you have to purchase a premium package, but it’s only $100 extra for this 12 -day cruise. We managed to get by just fine without it.
Meticulous attention to every detail
Every morning, Team Crystal is out early cleaning every corner of the classic teak decks. The housekeeping teams are freshening up the suite as soon as we turn on the make up room signal. And I’ve never on any ship seen the attention to keeping the food displays at breakfast and lunch as meticulously restocked. Whenever you take a freshly baked croissant – still warm from the oven – from a tray at the Bistro coffee house, a waiter replaces it almost immediately to keep the display symmetrical. Napkins are refolded whenever you leave your seat in a restaurant. Crew greet you by name and remember your favorite tipples and snacks. It’s the service you expect on a luxury personal yacht.
Crystal Serenity’s singers and dancers getting into a number from Something Rotten–Photo by Wallace Immen
Lively shows and a rare big band
Unlike many small ships that may only be able to rustle up a duo or trio for evening entertainment, Symphony has a full eight-piece Showband. A team of talented dancers and singers make the production and variety shows in the Galaxy Lounge as lively as any on ships three times as large as this. One of the highlights on our cruise was C.J. Marvin, an Australian piano virtuoso who not only does a lively tribute to Elton John show, he’s actually worked with Sir Elton.
The dawn of a new spa experience
Aurōra is a newly redesigned spa concept on Crystal ships, inspired by the goddess of dawn. The new spa zone on Crystal Symphony features 10 treatment rooms, with male and female steam rooms, saunas and a relaxation room. We were getting daily offers to try treatments such as Aurōra LED and Cryo Facial Experience or the Chariot of Light which promise instant improvements in skin tone and combinations of massage and facials that could rejuvenatate and help guests lose inches (despite the many temptations to indulge on this cruise).
And there’s more to come.
While neither of Crystal’s ships currently have casinos, an elegant change is coming soon. A collaboration with the Monte Carlo’s Société des Bains de Mer, famed for its art nouveau salons privée in Monaco, will host the only versions of Casino de Monte-Carlo at sea. The casino will debut aboard Crystal Symphony during the chairman’s cruise scheduled to depart from Venice Nov. 14, 2024, followed by Crystal Serenity in December. The new casinos will be placed where the Bridge Lounges are currently located. The Bridge Lounge will be moved to The Lounge on Crystal Symphony and to the Library on Crystal Serenity.
Looking further ahead: Crystal has ordered two new ships similar in size to the existing fleet. Get a preview here.
Happy crew, happy cruising; It’s clear Crystal Symphony is back better than ever.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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