Crystal Serenity

Well I am now back from 4 amazing nights on board Crystal Serenity and thought I would share some thoughts with you.

Being a 6 Star Luxury Ship I thought she would be stuffy and pretentious but she was honestly one of the most relaxed ships that I’ve been on. With just over 800 passengers on board she was full of space and even on the sea day there were empty loungers and a feeling of tranquillity on board. She can take 1000 passengers but I really don’t think if she was full you would ever feel crowded.

The other guests ranged in age and typically were predominantly in their  late 50’s and 60’s, probably 20%  older and 20% younger.  There were several 3 generation families and young honeymoon couples on board too. Whatever your age you won’t feel out of place on Crystal Serenity. I also liked that there was a huge mixture of nationalities on board, American, British, Latin American, Europe, Australian, Chinese and Japanese.

The ship herself was furnished in a very luxurious manner, deep plush carpets, wall paper in the corridors as opposed to the plastic walls that I experienced on other ships. My stateroom an AA deluxe stateroom with verandah was spacious with lots of little extras – as well as the normal toiletries, cotton buds and cotton wool was provided, along with a kimono as well as the bathrobe. The towels were the thickest that I have ever used and I struggled to wrap it around my head. The Crystal ships are refurbished every 2 years.

Crystal differs from the other cruise lines in that they offer a large ship and with this comes a great choice of restaurants and bars, from cafe dining by the pool and al fresco dining with the Lido buffet or the more formal Crystal Dining Room or the speciality restaurants Preggo and Silk Road they all offer fanastic choices and exqusite food. Nobo’s Silk Road was my favourite.

They also had a lot of entertainment for those that want it. In the daytime enrichment programmes are offered although I prefered to partake in Afternoon Tea and sunbathing and at night there is a choice of show lounges and a huge cinema.

All in all I was very impressed with Crystal. With its all inclusive value and excellent service it offers a fantastic premium product. It is pricey so isn’t suitable for everyone but if you normally travel in a suite and like the big ship feel (Cunard, Celebrity, Holland America) but with lots of space then I would definitely recommend this ship.