Day 8 Sea Day

We began the evening attending the captain’s welcome party.  We arrived on time and to our surprise after being greeted by the Captain, Hotel Director, Cruise Director and Future Cruise& Loyalty Managers many guests were already seated.  By the time the Captain was ready to speak, it was nice to see so many people in attendance.
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Dinner was at Waterside last evening and these were the dinner menus. It was a formal night matched with a wonderful menu.

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We met Sommelier Rudolphe for the first time who is new to Crystal. He is an experienced Sommelier having worked on another cruise line.  About thirty minutes before we left the dining venue was pretty much full.  Formal night is often a very popular night.

Today, we are enjoying another day at sea and sea days are always special sailing Crystal with a great enrichment program. Today featured two speakers.  In the morning, Special Interest Lecturer Melinda Bates spoke about the Presidents and First Ladies who have occupied the White House including children.  Once again the speaker in the afternoon was Bob Ray who spoke about conversations with some very famous Rock & Pop Masters; Billy Joel, Sir Elton John and Carole King.  They bring back so many wonderful memories.

​Late morning featured a very special Question & Answer Session with Crystal’s Chief Executive Officer, Cristina Levis.

Disclaimer. I did my best to write down what I heard but I am human and could have misinterpreted something.

​Late morning featured a very special Question & Answer Session with Crystal’s Chief Executive Officer, Cristina Levis.
 
In addition to Cristina the Q&A included Jacqueline Barney, SVP of Global Marketing, 
 
It was an excellent session.

Also, while there were many questions several guest mentioned how much they enjoy new Crystal.
 
Christina mentioned how quickly new Crystal was relaunched by July 31, 2023, and that 83% of the crew returned. She noted that they had to build all new IT Systems, and she knows that more work is needed. She also said they would address the queue that guests experienced getting into Waterside and noted it is not the fault of the crew. She spoke about the planned growth of A&K and that three new Crystal ships have been ordered. She said they have plans to release information over the next weeks and months. She noted that there will be a wraparound promenade deck and she noted that on new ships this is challenging. They plan to have not only a promenade but all suites with balconies.
 
Jackie mentioned that Crystal celebrates 35 years as a brand next year. They will announce special Crystal Society sailings and other celebrations There will be a cruise with Nobu and they have Paul McFarland and Gary Hunter coming back for a cruise and they also hope to have some former Captains.

They also cleared up the confusion about the promenade. It will be 360 degrees wraparound.
 
They plan to change the gifts for team trivia and give out gifts and not ones that you have to spend money to get something.
 
They will see if there is any way to open The Bistro at night.
 
They will look at a good alignment of the times dining venues are open and the showtimes.
 
New ships will have beverage service for the theatre.
 
The issue of closet space came up about the new rooms and Cristina acknowledged that they didn’t have time to do mockups.  In the new ships they are studying how to maximize storage space based on how they place the furniture.
 
New ship will be delivered 31st of May 2028.  They hope to start operation with passengers the 13th of June. 
 
The new ship will have more dining venues.
 
Ship will have dedicated areas for children.
 
There will be bathtubs in all categories but one because that one will have larger closets.
 
There will be a larger fitness center.
 
There will be pickleball.
 
Casino will be in a more central area.
 
There will be Nobu and an Italian restaurant.
 
Three new ships will be built in Italy.
 
When they bring on the new Italian menu it will continue to be authentic Italian cruisine and they will continue to offer those favorites in Waterside.
 
Guest capacity between 650 and 690.
 
They have increased the entertainment budget for next year There will be a new show. They will look at the TV offerings. It was also noted that they have increased the food and beverage budget while most cruise lines have reduced the budget for F&B.
 
There are no plans to retire Serenity and Symphony but at some time obviously this will happen. In the meantime they plan to redo the reception areas on both ships in eventual dry-docks.
 
There were other items that came up that there will be follow-up on such as check cashing, items related to the hearing impaired, location of handicapped rooms on the new ships.
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Late afternoon, destination lecturer Alexi Varnish spoke about San Juan including its history.
 

The day included many other things to do such as fitness classes, beginners and advance bridge, catholic mass, Christmas caroling singing with Pastor Ed, computer classes, creative media fun, mahjong, golf clinic, team trivia, dance class, duplicate and social bridge, art class, class on the latest and greatest iPhone capabilities, Sabbath eve service, afternoon tea plus all the other things one can do on their own or with others.

Today's Daily Reflections Program follows.

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We are also including some photos of the new Casino which opened on the evening of December 18.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith