DELUXE CRUISING
often turns on one’s fellow travellers. In recent years those cruisers, for whom five stars are just too squalid, have been finding their niche in the smaller, yacht-like ships of the Seabourn and Silversea navies. these intimate, boutique-style vessels are fine if
A
your hundred-odd shipmates are enjoyable travelling companions. But, if they turn out to be crashing bores continually regaling anyone in earshot about how much they enjoyed their previous umpteen cruises, there’s not much room to escape. Being four times as large, Crystal Serenity offers not only a greater complement of travelling hearties but also more secluded niches in which to be as sociable – or reclusive – as you wish. With Britain in the grip of winter snow, I got the opportunity to see what sets this ship apart. On this occasion I would not be travelling alone as I had the savvy eye of an experienced cruiser as my companion. A connoisseur of Cunard and Regent Seven Seas Cruises amongst others, Bobby Halcomb could be regarded as a deluxe cruising savant; but he was a rookie in the world of Crystal Cruises. So, for seven days, I viewed the cruise through the eyes of a critical novice. With high expectations we embarked in Miami.
It was certainly warmer than back in Blighty – but only by a few degrees. The forecast for our seven-day sojourn to Grand
turk in the turks & Caicos Islands, grand Cayman and key West did not bode well, so the pressure was on to see just how well Crystal Serenity would
s veterans of the ocean waves know only too well, the ultimate success of any holiday afloat is not invariably judged by its ports of call; the crux of the matter
IN THEIR OPINION
According to the verdict of various cruise industry sages, Crystal Serenity is a touchstone of excellence. Travel & Leisure has awarded Crystal Cruises the acco- lade of ‘World’s Best Large-Ship Cruise Line’ for an unprec- edented 14 con- secutive years since 1996.
And, in 2009,
Crystal Serenity was rated ‘Best Cruise Ship in the World’ in a Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Poll. In the 2010
Complete Guide of Cruising and Cruise Ships, editor Douglas Ward, bestows the highest score to this 1,100-passenger ship in the mid-size ship category.
perform with a full complement of passengers expecting a sun-caressed winter escapade. Accents left little doubt as to the origins of the majority of our fellow guests (and on Crystal ships you are most definitely a ‘guest,’ not a passenger). A quick glance around revealed we were in the company of fellow travellers who exuded a patina that spoke of experience in the world of cruising. Yes, the United States – and in particular, New
Jersey – would have to exist without a few of its better-heeled voyagers for the first week of the year. the first thing to recount is that there is no such thing as a bad cabin on Serenity. Indeed, there are no inside cabins depriving you of a view at all. Even the lowest grade cabins come complete with a five-foot picture window. The majority of the cabins – or staterooms, as they are referred to in Crystal-speak – are generous
Autumn 2010 I WORLD OF CRUISING
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