On 17 Jan I went onboard Crystal Cruises ship The Crystal Symphony, to look at her from the outside she is just another white cruise ship but when you get on board she looks like a 5-star cruising experience. This ship caters to around 900 passengers, so small by today’s cruise ship standards. The size has its advantages as my experience of boarding a cruise ship has meant check in is squeezed into a 3 hour wholly stressful experience – not so with Crystal. They allow you to board leisurely and check is done in the Starlite Lounge onboard the ship so even though your cabin may not be ready you can still enjoy the ship.

Leisure
Whilst Crystal Symphony only has 1 pool with Jacuzzi’s, Crystal Symphony offers up to 5 dining venues. An open and airy Lido café to take Breakfast and Lunch, Dinner can be taken in the Main Restaurant or in 1 of 2 specialty restaurants on board serving Asian at The Silk Road and Italian at Prego. After dinner relax in the Palm Court Lounge, watch a movie in the Hollywood Theatre enjoy Broadway-style musicals, piano bars, cabarets and dance clubs. During the day if you are not off on a shore excursion there are activities such as Bridge, Computer University to mention just a couple. The Other big thing about Crystal is it is “All Inclusive” on board so your food, drinks, room service, laundry and housekeeping, no cover charges for specialty restaurants.

Cabins
Crystal Symphony does not have inside cabins all cabins have a sea view ranging from the lead-in cabin which is a Deluxe Stateroom with Large Picture Window this is a large 226 sq ft or 21 Sq meters with sofa area compare this to Sun Princess cabins then it is a minimum of 3 sq meters larger. Crystal’s top cabin the Crystal Penthouse with Verandah is a whopping 1,345 sq ft or 125 sq meters so you can splash out or settle for something smaller.

Kids
Most people would probably say “Kids Really” well yes actually they do cater for children although they need a minimum of around 10 to bring on board the specially trained youth councilors who arrange lots of activities so you can as an adult enjoy your cruise

The Price
Well surprisingly not that bad. 12 day Melbourne to Brisbane started at US$3005.00 per person twin share or 12 days Brisbane to Auckland from US$3795, great as the Aussie Dollar is on parity.

So why no book your next cruise on Crystal Symphony and Pamper Yourself.