More than a Slogan: 7 Unique Factors that Make Crystal’s Luxury Personal

Editors’ note: Crystal Cruises is being relaunched in 2023 under new ownership. Its renovated ships are being operated by Abercrombie & Kent with many of the same luxury features and senior staff.   

From the time we board the Crystal Serenity, the cruise feels like a visit with a happy family. Everybody wants to address us by name, the waiters seem to bring what we need before we have to ask and there’s so much on offer, there’s no way we’ll be able experience it all.

Crystal Cruises’ latest slogan: Where Luxury is Personal may be new, but it’s something that’s been true throughout the company’s 30-year history. And with experience, the pampering has kept improving. In an era when ships are getting ever larger, Crystal Cruises has just reduced the number of guests on its two ocean ships while keeping the same contingent of crew, to make the experience as individual as being in your own home.

Here are some of the above-and-beyond factors in the Crystal Cruise experience that make luxury so very personal:

1) The ultra-dedicated staff

Crystal has one of the most seasoned teams afloat. Many of the officers have worked their way up the ranks and they inspire new crew to obsess about details.

As soon as we settle into our Seabreeze penthouse on the newly renovated Crystal Serenity, the doorbell rings. It’s our butler delivering a silver bucket filled with ice asking what libations we’d like to have stocked in our bar during the cruise. The butler program on Crystal has been expanded as the ships have added more penthouses and they’re impeccably schooled and personable. Pressing and shoe shining are complimentary and there’s a full box of home-made chocolate truffles on the nightstand. Don’t worry, he says, if they’re eaten he’ll bring refills.

2) Expert talks and celebrity entertainers

Every Crystal cruise has a theme and a roster of experts who give lectures that intrigue and amuse. On this two-week Serenity cruise that was ending in Los Angeles, the program theme was film and theater. Each day there were not just one or two guest presentations but often several, with screenings.

And new entertainers and celebrities arrived at almost every port. Let’s drop some names: on the cruise our fellow guests included Barbara Eden (as gorgeous as when she was a sensation in I Dream of Genie) and famed singer-actress Carol Lawrence who reminisced about their careers. There were also throngs of award-winning producers, directors and film curators who gave behind the scenes looks at the star-making machinery.

There are also always tracks in history and foreign affairs as well. This cruise featured a U.S. Army Brigadier-General who has recently retired sharing his first-hand leadership lessons from Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Other experts gave fascinating insights on  topics as diverse as the building of the Panama Canal and the art of Central America.

3) Concerts in the atrium

Crystal’s two ocean ships have atrium lobbies that just happen to have the ideal acoustics of a good concert hall. Every evening there are sets on the Crystal Piano—a lovely see-through baby grand next to the Crystal Cove bar before meals, but now the repertoire has expanded into daily evening programs of shows by guest singers, string quartets and orchestras.

4) It makes you believe in Magic

Unique on Crystal Cruises is the Magic Castle at Sea show, where even seeing isn’t believing. Crystal’s unique collaboration with the Magic Castle in Los Angeles makes for an amazing amusing diversion on a sea day. The ambience is meant to evoke a secret chamber and the close-up sleights of hand, card, coin and mind-reading feats accompanied by fantastic patter involve a lot of audience participation.

Like at the Magic Castle itself, on-board performances are invitation-only, with advance, complimentary invites available at the ship’s library. You’re limited to just one show per cruise and be sure to get on the list early, because the audience is limited to only 25 for each performance–and the tickets just seem to vanish.

5) Many ways to continually learn

Crystal Cruises is a pioneer in not only stimulating your mind but giving you the opportunity to learn new skills. There’s a corridor dedicated to  Crystal’s Creative Learning Institute, with daily courses in technology. And these days, everyone can do with a tech refresher.

Even though I’m a professional photo editor, I learned a great deal from photo enhancement tutorials led by the Institute’s instructors, who on this cruise on Serenity included a college professor of visual arts and two ultra-knowledgeable tech staff who gave one-on-one training in a room filled with brand new computers with large-screen graphics monitors. Other courses covered topics such as getting the most out of your computers and smartphone. Even newbies to technology came away confident that they had new talents in their arsenal.

6) The dining options keep expanding

Crystal keeps striving to be at the forefront of the trend away from set dining times, moving to dine when-you-please and expanding the number of unique small alternative restaurants throughout the ship. There’s much more about what you’ll experience on the newly expanded options on Crystal Serenity in a story you’ll find here.

7) It’s (almost) all included

When Crystal says their cruises are all-inclusive they mean it. The wi-fi is fast and free. Drinks at all the bars are made with top-shelf liquors. The house Champagne is the real deal. Aside from shore excursions and a few really ultra-premium wines and spirits, your fare covers everything in your personal luxury experience.

It’s difficult to leave a cruise like this, but it’s good to know the family will be waiting to welcome us home on our next Crystal Cruise.

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