Newsletter Dated May 20, 2013
Dear Vacations To Go Customer,
Last year, the six-star
Crystal Symphony completed a $65 million
redesign of every public area and stateroom on the already spectacular
ship. This year, the readers of Condé Nast Traveler named her the
Best Cruise Ship in the World. Does the vessel really live up to
that billing? Alan Fox recently had the opportunity to sail the ship
and his report follows.
A decade has passed since my first cruise on the Crystal Symphony, and I
wrote at the time that the onboard experience was the finest I had ever
encountered. I recently revisited this grand vessel on a voyage in
Southeast Asia and I am pleased to report that she is, quite literally,
better than ever.
From the moment we stepped on board in Bali,
Indonesia, we felt welcome and pampered. And by the time we disembarked
in Singapore, we knew we would genuinely miss our smiling room
stewardess, Sheetal, our energetic butler, Teo, and our
always-happy-to-accommodate-special-requests dining room waiter and
assistant, Ilija and Murat. Plus the many other kind people who took
such good care of us.
The folks at Crystal know that a happy crew makes for happy guests, and
their hard-working staff seems to enjoy what they do. They also have an
uncanny way of anticipating what you need or want in advance and making
sure it's there before you ask for it.
While the redesign has helped the Crystal Symphony set new standards for
luxury and beauty, the service and the food are now where they were
then, simply off the charts.
********************************
What is it about being on vacation in general -- and at sea in
particular -- that whets the appetite?
I'm lucky if I take time to swallow four ounces of yogurt for breakfast
on a work day, but somehow on a cruise I find room for eggs, bacon,
potatoes, tomatoes, smoked salmon, fruit, sweet rolls and juice.
That's about 10% of what is available in the Lido Café on the
Crystal Symphony but still a lot to work off, so it helps to become
familiar with the bikes, treadmills and dumbbells in the Fitness Center.
On sea days, we found it emptied out near lunchtime, so we'd slip in
around 11:30 to pay our dues.
It's always more fun to travel with friends and on this cruise we were
accompanied by two dear friends from Houston. Most evenings, we came
early and stayed late at the Crystal Dining Room, enjoying the fine food
and the conversation with our waiters.
Every few days, we ventured out to try one of the other dinner venues:
the incredibly popular Silk Road and The Sushi Bar, which was 100%
booked for the entire sailing prior to embarkation, or Prego, the
stylish Italian restaurant.
A word to the wise: Book your dinner reservations at these specialty
restaurants as soon as we book your cruise.
The Crystal Symphony boasts numerous inviting places to linger over
coffee or cocktails, including the sophisticated, panoramic-view Palm
Court and the clubby and intimate Avenue Saloon. The centrally located
Crystal Cove became our go-to spot for a pre-dinner sundowner and
meeting up with other passengers.
My favorite venue on the ship was, of course, the Crystal Spa. There is
nothing more relaxing than a massage at sea, and the therapists on
Crystal are among the very best.
Like many people, I work at a computer all day and over the years I have
developed a few posture-related aches and pains that help me rationalize
spa treatments as mostly medicinal in nature.
My wife indulges me in this dubious characterization and in return, I
encourage her to visit the ship's boutiques to buy anything she
"forgot to pack." In biology class, we called this
symbiosis.
Crystal's enrichment lectures are always strong and topical, and with so
many guests eager to learn about Buddhism, Hinduism and the history and
culture of the places we were visiting, there was not an empty seat in
the house at any lecture I attended. The cultural anthropologist from
Outward Bound, Jim Rowe, was particularly interesting. He told us that
the Indonesians have a smile for every emotion and occasion, which I can
now confirm.
We enjoyed the nightly entertainment in the Galaxy Lounge, especially
two brilliant performances by the UK pianist/singer/comedian Jon
Courtenay. And when the day was done, we loved retreating to the luxury
of our stateroom, with décor that was fresh and new and
attractive.
Crystal is now all-inclusive, meaning that gratuities, fine wines and
premium spirits are included in the upfront price. With a capacity of
922 guests and 566 crew, the Crystal Symphony's guest-to-crew ratio is
among the best in the cruise industry.
I had been in the travel business more than 15 years before I had the
opportunity to sail a six-star ship, and they are never inexpensive, but
considering all that is included, they are by far the best value
available in luxury travel.
Add to that our ability to offer discounts up to and exceeding 75% from
the brochure rate, and they are that much more attractive.
Crystal Cruises has won more "World's Best" awards than
any other cruise line, from a long list of consumer and trade travel
publications. The readers of Travel + Leisure magazine have named
Crystal the World's Best Large-Ship Cruise Line for 17 consecutive
years, though ships holding around a thousand guests are hardly
"large" by industry standards.
The readers of Condé Nast Traveler named the Crystal Symphony the
Best Cruise Ship in the World in 2013, in their "medium-sized
ships" category. The Crystal Serenity was rated second.
It's not a surprise to me that this cruise line dominates whichever
category it is in.
Alan Fox
Chairman & CEO
For a slideshow of photos from the Crystal Symphony, please click
here.
For a complete list of sailings and discounts available on Crystal
Cruises, please click
here.
To read more about Crystal Cruises, please click
here.
Next week: Cruising the Spice Islands & Beyond
This week, we've arranged the following
money-saving offers from four
cruise lines: Celebrity, Norwegian, Silversea and Disney. Among the
deals are free shipboard credits, which can be used toward onboard
purchases not covered in the cruise fare, like shore excursions, spa
treatments and bar purchases.
Celebrity is offering Vacations To Go customers exclusive
shipboard credits of up to $200 per cabin on almost all remaining 2013
cruises. Plus, prices have been reduced on most Europe sailings. Click
here
to see dates and prices.
Norwegian is offering our customers shipboard credits of up to
$170 per cabin on most upcoming sailings. Plus, receive exclusive rates
-- save up to 89% -- on select departures.
Book between May 21 and
May 25, click
here
for dates and prices.
Silversea is offering Vacations To Go customers living in North
America exclusive rates on an array of last-minute sailings, including
voyages in Alaska, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Click
here
for dates and prices.
And, Vacations To Go is offering our customers a shipboard credit of up
to $250 per cabin on select
Disney Cruise Line sailings. Known
for legendary service and attention to detail, Disney Cruise Line offers
a vacation that the whole family is sure to enjoy. Included in this
offer are select Summer voyages aboard
Disney Dream, one of
Disney's newest ships, which sails three- and four-night tropical
escapes from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas, calling at Nassau and
Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. Click
here
for a full list of dates and prices.
As always, these offers are for new bookings only and subject to
availability. Restrictions may apply.
I have scanned all the sailings in the next 90 days, and listed below are all the deepest discounts according to type of cabin.
Inside Cabins
Click
here to see all sailings offering
inside cabins for at least 65% off.
Oceanview Cabins
Click
here to see all sailings offering
oceanview cabins for at least 65% off.
Balcony Cabins
Click
here to see all sailings offering
balcony cabins for at least 60% off.
Suites
Click
here to see all sailings offering
suites for at least 55% off.
Here are today's
Top 10 Cruises,
brand new specials from the world's best cruise lines.
Click the FastDeal # for details.
1)
Alaska,
7 nights on Princess,
departs Anchorage Jun 1,
starting at $255,
save 73%,
FastDeal # 25246
2)
Baltic,
9 nights on Norwegian,
departs Copenhagen Jun 3,
starting at $499,
save 77%,
FastDeal # 17770
3)
Caribbean,
7 nights on Carnival,
departs San Juan Aug 25,
starting at $419,
save 75%,
FastDeal # 17075
4)
Mediterranean,
11 nights on Celebrity,
departs Venice Jun 15,
starting at $699,
FastDeal # 25823
(Celebrity does not provide brochure rates for this cruise,
so we are unable to show a savings percentage.)
5)
Caribbean,
9 nights on Royal Caribbean,
departs Bayonne May 30,
starting at $949,
FastDeal # 31484
(Royal Caribbean does not provide brochure rates for this cruise,
so we are unable to show a savings percentage.)
6)
Canada/New England,
7 nights on Carnival,
departs Boston Jul 21,
starting at $429,
save 74%,
FastDeal # 18891
7)
Transatlantic,
7 nights on Cunard,
departs New York Jun 1,
balcony starting at $905,
FastDeal # 17016
(Cunard does not provide brochure rates for this cruise,
so we are unable to show a savings percentage.)
8)
Alaska,
7 nights on Oceania Cruises,
departs Seattle Jun 28,
balcony starting at $2,649,
save 64%,
FastDeal # 22661
9)
Tahiti/French Polynesia,
7 nights on Paul Gauguin Cruises,
departs Papeete Jun 8,
oceanview starting at $2,843,
save 70%,
FastDeal # 19029
10)
Black Sea,
7 nights on Silversea,
departs Istanbul Aug 11,
suite starting at $3,350,
FastDeal # 20471
(Silversea does not provide brochure rates for this cruise,
so we are unable to show a savings percentage.)
For the best last-minute cruise specials in the next 90 days, please visit our world-famous
90-Day Ticker.
To search for discounts on cruises departing more than 90 days from now,
click
here.
For escorted tours worldwide, or air/hotel packages to London or Paris,
click
here.
For hotels in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Bermuda or the Bahamas,
click
here.
Para visitar a nuestro sitio web de cruceros en español, haga
clic
aquí.
Once you've found a FASTDEAL, call us toll free at 800-338-4962 (US and
Canada) and a cruise counselor will attend to your needs. Customers
from the UK, please call toll free 0-800-098-8546. All other
international customers, please email or call us at +1-713-974-2121.
Please email me your comments, suggestions and questions at
alanfox@vacationstogo.com
and I will respond the same day.
To send a copy of this newsletter to a friend or friends, click
here.
Sincerely,
Alan Fox
Chairman & CEO
Vacations To Go
