Johanna Jainchill
Now that Crystal Cruises is not operating, and management of its ships has reportedly been taken over by V.Ships, we asked travel advisors to send us their memories of sailing with the luxury line, which last year celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Your Crystal memories
Do you have special memories of Crystal Cruises? We'd like to hear from you: Email your stories to us, and we'll publish a selection of them.
Not surprisingly, what people seem to most remember is the crew.
A view from the hotel operations chief
When we started, the mission statement was to redefine luxury right, which was very exciting to us. They started building the ship in 1988. It was about offering more space and choices, with the additional restaurants and a main dining room and different entertainment venues.
I looked at these cruise ships like a floating hotel, I still do today. And the staff, the service culture -- we called it the Crystal Attitude. We came up with a script and the choreography. Most of us were from Royal Viking Line. The big difference when you work on the ship is that in a hotel, when you're an employee, you come and you go home, you spend your free time with your family. But on the ship, you spend your work and and off time also on the ship. That is very unique.
So we always wanted to focus on the crew experience. And the idea was to really treat the crew equally as the guests. When they come on board, how you welcome them, feed them, they became the Crystal family. We had a family visitation program; they could bring their family onboard.
At that time, I said, there's always someone who served somebody who served as a guest. You don't want to break that link. We created a very good atmosphere and an environment with our crew to feel special. And that environment really encouraged them to go the extra mile and anticipate the guests' needs. When they heard something, we empowered them to do something about it. The key was to get the best crew members, to attract and retain them and maintain this atmosphere and culture aboard the ships. And we did.
-- Dietmar Wertanzl, CEO of CMI Leisure Management, and Crystal's first hotel director and senior vice president of hotel operations for eight years starting in 1994.
Off we went to the furrier
May 1992: I had been a travel professional for a few years and been on many cruises, but not to Europe and never on Crystal. I was in my early 30s. I booked a seminar at sea on Crystal in the Baltic, two weeks from London to Copenhagen. It was a glorious trip with fabulous ports, many black-tie dinners and wonderful entertainment. On the sea day between St. Petersburg and Helsinki I took $100 to the blackjack for a little fun. I sat next to a Japanese gentleman who spoke no English but was a big-money player. He tapped me on the leg when he thought I should bet more, double down, etc., and I claimed more than $3,000 in a few hours!
My husband insisted I do something special with the money and not put it back into the blackjack table. The wonderful dealer (a woman named Billy) from Caesar's Palace in Lake Tahoe suggested I buy a fur coat in Helsinki. She knew just the shop, and she was off that day since the ship would be in port and the casino would be closed. Off we went to the furrier, and I'm still wearing the full-length black mink coat! A wonderful memory I think of every time it's cold!"
-- Elizabeth M. Psimas, owner and president, Travel Designs, Portsmouth, Va.
I have never had one complaint
I survived 9/11 (on a Crystal cruise in Europe at the time), have sailed and/or toured every cruise company around, sailed on over 204 voyages to over 93 countries, and capped off my experience by paying full fare for my 106-day Crystal Serenity World Cruise in 2006. It was clearly the most memorable Crystal experience of my life, having met/spent time with the likes of Nando Parrado, Michael Feinstein, Steve Forbes, Debbie Reynolds, the Smothers Brothers, Pat Conroy, Dick Fosbury, Kerri Strug, Billy Casper and others.
I choose not to lament about the current Crystal situation; don't think I have any more tears left. I will say, in all the time I have been recommending this one-of-a-kind, outstanding, cruise phenom amongst 70 other North American industry brands, I have never ever had one complaint from a guest about the product; not one.
I tip my hat to those who never abandoned the team and stayed till the end in an effort to "right" the situation: Jack Anderson, Carmen Roig, Melissa Nightingale, Mark Spillane, Cathy Vasquez, Bertha Espinosa and Oscar Lopez. To one of my favorite Serenity captains, Birger Vorland, and the hundreds of ship staff and crew who provided unparallel memories and magic over the last 31 years.
-- Lisa E. Safran, My Cruise Doctor, Sarasota, Fla.
Thoughtfulness of a small gesture
My husband and I had the pleasure of sailing with Crystal in the late 90's. I was having breakfast in the dining room one morning when I realized we were sitting in the same area where we sat for dinner. Except we were seated at a table for two rather than a table for 10. Our waiter told us that once the dinner service was over they would swap out all the large tables for tables of two or four because they knew that most people would prefer a quiet meal to start the day. We really appreciated the thoughtfulness that went into this small gesture.
Laura Phillips, travel advisor, Festival Marketplace Ontario
It was like seeing an old friend
It is not often that one builds a relationship with a brand and falls in love, but I did. My fondness for Crystal Cruises was sealed the very first time I sailed with them in the summer of 2002. Our dance on the high seas these past 20 years lasted through eleven cruises and a total of 118 days onboard the Harmony, Symphony and Serenity. Memories -- do we have memories! But perhaps just a few general observations will suffice"
When you saw your Crystal ship in the port of embarkation, it was like seeing an old friend.
Crystal ships were never the newest or perhaps the fanciest, but they were in a class all to themselves - dignified, unpretentious, elegant.
I lost count of how many times crew members remembered us from a previous cruise when we came onboard after perhaps a year or two of not having cruised on a Crystal ship. Their genuine and welcoming smiles will never be forgotten.
The attention to detail to one's personal preferences was beyond belief. From your favorite wine to your preferred ice cream, the crew was focused on making you feel special.
Over the years we made many wonderful friendships with both the shoreside and onboard staff...I truly hope they are able to persevere through this very unfortunate situation. Perhaps, one day we will once again be able hear "What a Wonderful World" as we sail out of the next exotic port of call. To everyone at Crystal Cruises, I wish you fair skies and following seas."
-- Thomas C. Flynn, Freeport, N.Y.
The crew knew every guest's name
The crew is what I will miss most. The crew members, the hotel managers and all the wonderful butlers were the best. They knew every guest's name after their first meeting. The minute you sat down they remembered the drink you had, and it would be brought to you before you asked. The cuisine was amazing, and the service was second to none. Lots of fond memories; since we did lecture cruises, the theatre was a wonderful venue for our lectures and foreign films.
-- Jay Shapiro, owner of Five Star Travel, Las Vegas
We are so saddened
My wife and I took six Crystal cruises to the Mediterranean, Caribbean and New England. Our favorite ports were Barcelona and Istanbul, which we visited often. And we spent my 70th birthday in the charming and magical port of Honfleur, France. We are so saddened by Crystal's demise and remembering, fondly, those wonderful crew members who have now lost their jobs to no fault of their own.
-- John Goodman, John Goodman PR Tuckahoe N.Y.
Have a story or memory to share? Email us your Crystal memories, and we will add a selection to this story. All memories are edited for length and to conform to our style and standards.