A Week Aboard Crystal Symphony in Southeast Asia

I had the opportunity and good fortune to accompany CruisePlus President and brother Dave Frinton on a short cruise from Singapore to Saigon in late March. I got to go because Co-president Shelley Frinton had declined due to pressing issues at home and in the office.

This was a 'Top 25 Producers' event put on by Ensemble, the travel consortium to which CruisePlus belongs. Simply being invited to attend is a testimony to C+'s success as an agency.

They worked us pretty hard, with seminars, roundtables, lots of tours, but there was also  time to enjoy the many features of  the Crystal Symphony and the ports we visited...

Hyperbole is pretty common in the travel business- one constantly hears about 'exceeding expectations' or the 'quintessential experience', but when enough people say the same good things about a travel product, it makes sense to pay attention.

So it is with Crystal Cruises. Conde Nast, year after year, rates Crystal at the top of the list for large ships. Cruise Critic reviews are full of 5 star ratings, though there is a range of opinion of course.

We boarded fully cognizant that this was a luxury product with a great reputation. The question was whether she would live up to her ratings.

First impressions were good. A bigger ship offers more public spaces, a full promenade deck (something missing on the likes of Silversea and Seabourn), lots of restaurant options, add-ons like a dedicated bridge room and a significant computer lab. The balcony stateroom was a bit small at 265 sq feet including veranda, but eminently functional and beautifully furnished.

 Typical Balcony Stateroom

 Pool Deck

Main Dining Room

 Bridge/Games room

Computer Lab                                                      

                               Dedicated Theatre

By today's behemoth ship size standards, 20 year old Symphony is actually 'smallish' at 51,000 Tonnes and carrying just over 900 passengers. The measurement that really counts is the space ratio- the size divided by number of guests at capacity. For Symphony, this ratio is 55, with Oceania's Riviera and Marina nipping at the heels with 52. For the newer Crystal Serenity, it is 72, and for all-suite ships such as the Regent Voyager and Seabourn's new triplets, again up there at over 70.

Dave and I probably have different priorities, and his lifetime cruise tally dwarfs mine, so he has a lot more comparators. But we both agreed Symphony was a very solid, elegant and appealing ship, with lots to do onboard.

The standouts were service and food. Despite the older, pretty genteel clientele, there was little formality and none of the frostiness that sometimes goes with it. The crew were from all over the world, and genuinely seemed to both like and take pride in their jobs. I was amazed at how bartenders and servers remembered me by day two, and in the Lido, automatically brought  gluten-free toast after I had once requested it.

After an iffy first night halibut offering, we got nothing but stellar dishes in the main restaurant. They feature  daily 'modern cuisine' choices in addition to more traditional fare, and many ordered from both sides of the menu. It just kept getting better, and brother Dave, who raves about the lobster served up on Oceania, acknowledged that Crystal's version was top notch. Also excellent was the main restaurant breakfast experience. With few taking advantage of a leisurely first meal, waiters were falling over themselves to serve you. Because Crystal is Japanese owned, there was always an Asian menu- think rice congee, fish, miso soup, pickled vegetables, in addition to the eggs bennie, kippers,  omelets and waffles one expects.

Included are all wines and spirits, but the regular wines poured were not that memorable. We learned pretty quickly though, that the sommelier would  bring alternatives within reason, on request.  At the bars, and particularly at the Starlite Club, to which the Ensemble group seemed to migrate each evening, they served up great single malts and an endless array of cocktails using premium brands.

The Lido on the pool deck was lively at breakfast and lunch, but, curiously, closed at dinner (I was told it was a staffing issue- simply not enough people to work all the venues all the time and still provide sufficient down time for people who work long and hard hours).

There was never any crowding with two sets of stations port and starboard, and they always had a great selection of hot and cold items at both times, plus sumptuous desserts at lunch.

Just outside by the pool was the Trident Grill, serving up salmon burgers, yam fries, salads and other more usual fast food, and, wickedly, an ice cream bar. 

But that is not all in the food department. The Palm Court, also the forward observation lounge, does tea daily in the afternoon, and the Bistro, located mid ship above the foyer, makes specialty coffees all afternoon and evening, plus keeps a hefty revolving assortment of appetizers on offer. 

Plus, at late hours, light 'bites' keep circulating in the various lounges....

Finally, the two specialty restaurants, Prego and Silk Road, for which one gets a single invitation (to each) weekly, and thereafter pay $30, IF you can get in. They are that good! I've eaten at Holland America's Pinnacle, the equivalent on Celebrity's Infinity, plus La Terrazza on Silver Cloud. Nothing comes close. I would have loved to devour the entire menus at both small eateries, but alas, impossible.

Nobu's Sushi bar

Absolutely impeccable  presentations, delightful choices, and terrific service, as everywhere, made two and a half hour suppers go by way too fast.

We did not use room service, which unlike the boutique luxury lines, does not offer full restaurant menus and course by course service. Nor was there anything planned at the Vintage room, where, like Silversea's Le Champagne, they feature  single table, epicurean meals with each course paired to very fine wines. Oh well...

There was one formal night, and about half the guests had black ties and long dresses, the rest in sport jackets or business suits, the women in 'little black dresses' or dressy pantsuits. It was all a casual type of formality. And very nice, actually.

Onboard amenities that really struck me were the quality of lectures and the University at Sea- free, Mac based tutorials on everything from an iPad introduction to working with spreadsheets, manipulating photos with Photoshop Elements, and creating Power Point presentations. On our trip, a Thor Heyerdahl homologue gave two well received lectures on crossing the Atlantic in a leather boat, one up from a coracle.

The library was not only well stocked, but attended by a librarian who actually assisted in obtaining and printing out information from the web- gratis.

As well, the onboard dance and song troupe were actually very good, versatile and energetic. I enjoyed three very different performances. Crystal also brought onboard local entertainment in Cambodia- a small ensemble of traditional musicians and dancers, and I saw that more Vietnamese performers were to be onboard the following week. A magic show, an impromptu brass band performance preceding a grand lunch buffet in the atrium, and a brilliant high energy violin performance by one of Australia's most noted virtuosos rounded out the entertainment I was able to take in.

Plus, the many things passed up- the spa,  aerobics, yoga, pilates, keep fit, etc etc classes, the casino which was still hopping at 11 pm on sea days, the cigar connoiseur and piano lounges, the movie editing course, ball room dancing- all more than one can possibly take in during a week.

It was part of the job description that I at least look in on as much as possible, and slowly I came to realize that there are actually different neghbourhoods and a social stratification onboard. Some people were to be seen only at dinner; they perhaps were in their penthouse suite the rest of the time... Others spoke of being aboard for 6-8 weeks, even though this was not a world cruise segment.

It dawned on me that for many, Crystal is a lifestyle, not just a cruise, and the repeat booking rate suggests a more than fierce loyalty. They get new customers not from SeaDream or Regent, Seabourn or Silversea, but those upgrading from HAL and Celebrity, as does Oceania. 

Hard not to like Crystal. They really do things well, almost effortlessly, and with a confidence based on their solid past track record. They are not the most trendy, their ships are middle aged and their core clientele older. But these guests come from all over- lots of Australians, for example, on our cruise, given the relative proximity. Not the bungy jumping or zipline crowd, for sure, but most discerning, educated, well traveled, well-heeled early retirees would love this line.

So did Crystal live up to its billing? I'd say yes. To use another hackneyed word, it was a penultimate cruise experience. Which means 'almost the ultimate', about as close as one gets in an  imperfect world.

Peter Frinton

Specialty and luxury cruises

CruisePlus.ca unique-cruises.com

April 15, 2014