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I Put 30-Year-Old Crystal Symphony To The Test! Here's What I Found!
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Mar 28, 2025
Coming into service in 1995, Crystal Symphony is THE oldest ship in any of the ultra-luxury cruise line fleets. Older by decades in most cases. Yet it costs the same to travel on as those competing lines more modern ships.So, having booked the ship for a recent 11-night cruise, it was with some reservations. Would the ship's look and layout feel dated and from a past era of cruising? Would it be suffering from wear and tear, and look shabby and show its age? Here is what I found as I tour the ship For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron: --------------------------------------------------- * Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products: --------------------------------------------------- * TeePublic Store: https://tipsfortravellers.dashery.com * Teespring Store: https://tips-for-travellers-youtube.creator-spring.com * Fourthwall: https://gary-bembridge-1-shop.fourthwall.com Book Cruise Port Excursions * Venture Ashore: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/excursions * Shore Excursions Group: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/shoreexcursions My social media: --------------------------------------------------- * Blog: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com
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coming into service in 1995 Crystal
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Symphony is the oldest ship in any of
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the ultra luxury cruise line fleets
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older by decades in most cases yet it
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cost the same to travel on as those
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competing lines more modern ships so
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having booked the ship for a recent 11
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night cruise it was with some
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reservations would the ship's look and
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layout feel dated and from a past era of
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cruising would it be suffering from wear
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and tear and look shabby and show its
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age welcome aboard i'm Gary Benbridge
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and as with every trip I do I pay to
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cruise on Crystal Symphony with my own
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money and here's what I thought and
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found let me start with the positives
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here are a few unexpected surprises
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about Crystal Symphony first when I
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stepped on board I did notice a more
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classic and older style layout versus
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the more modern format of new ships in
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the competition fleets like Regent
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Grande Silver Sea Nova and Seaborn
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Encore but I quickly fell in love with
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that classic layout which sets the ship
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aside from the modern looks and layout
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of the other lines next everywhere
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inside and out I saw was remarkably
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immaculate the ship had been totally
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refitted in 2023 by Abocromian and Kent
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who rescued Crystal Cruisers and the
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ship from bankruptcy and every venue and
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all exterior decks looked pristine and
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smart probably the only areas that did
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feel a bit dated were the public
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restrooms and the elevators third in
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that refit capacity was cut by over 200
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guests down to just
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606 this meant the ship and venues felt
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spacious and were never packed and I
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believe it offers the or one of the best
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space to passenger ratios at sea let me
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talk about what the ship had to offer
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and the pros and the cons of the venues
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there were two exterior features I
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really liked that I will cover first the
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ship looks stylish and unlike most
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modern ships it has a stunning tiered
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rear with seating and lounges on each
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one while modern ships scrap this older
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style feature to run the decks to the
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very edge to pack more cabins in crystal
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Symphony also has a wide prominard deck
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on deck 7 that goes all around the ship
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i love this as many modern ultra luxury
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ships have lost this i find a good range
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and choice of venues with especially
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many options in the evening so let me
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talk about and talk through the venues
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working from the lowest public deck to
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the highest and then I'll move on to
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cover and show all of the cabin types
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i'll start on the lowest passenger level
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which is deck five on this level are the
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following Crystal Plaza this bright and
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attractive two-level atrium has a
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stunning two-level waterfall in the
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atrium are guest services concierge and
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excursions desk also on this desk are
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the future cruise sales desks the only
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bar and lounge on this level is the
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Crystal Cove Bar this is popular before
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and after dinner and there is live music
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here every single night the Crystal
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Plaza and the Crystal Cove Bar is the
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venue for another Crystal Signature the
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White Party deck 5 is also where the
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Wateride main dining room is this large
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attractive restaurant is open for
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breakfast and dinner and lunch on Cdays
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i cover the food in detail in another
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video I've got about cruising on Crystal
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more about that later one level up is
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deck six which has most of the public
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venues this includes several lounges and
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bars the largest is the Starlight Club
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which hosts nightly dancing to the live
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band occasional cabaret shows by the
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Crystal Ensemble singers and dancers and
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guest entertainers and it's where the
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captain receptions are also held it's
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also where the trivia and bingo take
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place and excursions meet the Avenue
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Saloon is an intimate and popular
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after-dinner bar with a nightly pianist
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and hosts some of the small enrichment
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classes like how to improve one's
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photography course on my particular
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cruise next to this is the Connoisseur
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Club the cigar and the smoking lounge
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there's also a large but actually little
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used venue called the lounge it's where
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Delhi bridge and bridge classes are
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hosted but usually it was empty and so
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it was a good quiet spot if you wanted
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to find somewhere to sit in the last bar
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and lounge on deck 6 is Jade Nightclub
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which has a DJ after about 10:00 at
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night deck 6 also has some key
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entertainment venues the largest is the
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Galaxy Lounge this is where the nightly
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production and guest entertainer shows
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are held and actually most of the
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enrichment lectures are held in here too
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there is also the Hollywood theater this
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is a cinema which shows daily movies and
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is used for some of the enrichment talks
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at the rear of deck six is the Monte
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Cara Casino which is in partnership with
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the famous one in that city it has a
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decent number of slot machines and a
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couple of tables also on deck six are
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four important dining venues first the
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Beastro a cafe with snacks relevant to
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the time of day this is a great venue
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and a busy and buzzing place throughout
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the day two of the specialty restaurants
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are also on deck six umi Uma by Nou
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Matsohishu a Japanese Peruvian
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specialtity restaurant amazing food
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amazing food and it's the only Nou
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restaurants at sea are on crystal ships
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the other special restaurant on this
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deck is Asterio de Aido an Italian
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special restaurant which is another
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beautiful venue with good Italian
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classic food also on deck six is the
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cozy the vintage room it's a small
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dining room hosting exclusive added cost
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tasting menu and wine pairing evenings
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there are several enrichment venues on
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deck 62 the largest is the library this
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has apparently over 2,800 books then
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there is a large computer university at
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Cyber Cafe with desktop computers to use
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starlink Wi-Fi is included within the
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fair attached to that is the studio
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which hosts the computer smartphone and
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tablet training sessions this venue is
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probably a bit small as those classes
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were absolutely packed and were often
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overflowing on my trip the remaining
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venues on deck six are several shops one
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focused on watches and jewelry another
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on clothing and merchandise and a third
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on perfumes then there is the Crystal
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Images this is the onboard photography
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center the next set of passenger public
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venues were higher up the ship on deck
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11 on this level was the seahorse pool
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with a rather decentsized lap pool and
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loads and loads of seating areas and
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plush lounges also on this level is the
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large palm court lounge which overlooks
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the bow of the ship this is used for
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daily afternoon tea which is fantastic
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and hosts some dancing to live music in
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the evenings there's one unusual venue
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for an ultra luxury line on deck 11
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crystal Symphony has kids and teen club
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spaces opposite Palm Court called Wave
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and Fantasia though they do only operate
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on limited sailings in peak school
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vacation times there are a few dining
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venues here on Deck 11 too deck 11 has
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the marketplace this is the buffet it's
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open for breakfast and lunch good
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quality food here with a great outdoor
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area for alresco dining in good weather
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the third special dining venue is on
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this deck too it is Beef Bar a Monte
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Carlo based chain focused on meat and
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street food this is open for lunch and
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for dinner really great steaks available
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here for casual dining during the day
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there is Trident Grill offering burgers
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and the like until about 6:00 p.m also
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in Trident Grill is Scoops Ice Cream Bar
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all special dining by the way and this
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ice cream is included within the fair
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next up on deck 12 are a few more public
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venues as well as more seating space
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there are several fitness areas with a
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Wimbledon paddle tennis court golf nets
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and a putting green also on this deck is
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a decentsized and equipped crystal life
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fitness center and the spa with changing
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rooms with sauna and steam room that can
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be used by everyone there's also a great
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observation area overlooking the bow
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there's also no fee to use guest laundry
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rooms on most cabin decks on my deck
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deck 9 it had six washers and dryers so
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pretty good size so what about the
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cabins there's a great and wide range of
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cabins most of which I actually got to
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see on my cruise these are the main
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grades available on Crystal Symphony
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they have solo ocean view cabins which
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are cozy and a real plus for solo
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travelers wanting to cruise ultra luxury
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next up are the double suites with and
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without balcony both ocean view and
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balcony cabins obviously but I
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unfortunately didn't get to see these
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then there are aarine suites these are
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the main balcony cabins and they're a
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pretty decent size the next level up are
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sapphire suites now these are a
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fantastic size and a great layout they
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have a seating dining area a bedroom
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area and a large bathroom i actually
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stayed in one of these and I really
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really like this grade enormously
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however if you're planning to go in this
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grade you need to know there are various
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types due to different rounds of refits
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and upgrades there is the modern 2023
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version that I had a 27 refit version
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which uniquely have washers and dryers
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in the bathroom then there's a classic
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version with darker and more traditional
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feel and there's actually also ocean
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view ones with no balcony next up is
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Junior Pen Houses which is a one-bedroom
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suite really really attractive like
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these a lot the highest grade on the
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ship is Crystal Penthouse Suites which
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are the largest and most grand suites on
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the ship they're huge and they're very
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very fancy now I did note one issue
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overall with the cabins that I want to
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talk about those kind of entry- level
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suites including the Amarine balcony
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cabins are definitely smaller than the
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more modern competition suites on the
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newer ships even though they are
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actually similar in price also the ship
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unlike those newer ships has many ocean
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view and not balconies cabins but again
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they're similarly priced i must say I
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love my Sappa 2023 refit cabin it was
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gorgeous very plush incredibly quiet and
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it was one of my all-time favorite
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cabins that I've ever stayed in now in
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terms of cabins and their perks there
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are some nice touches too I want to talk
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about every grade has a butler as well
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as two cabin stewards the butler does
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the usual things like pre-tock the
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fridge you request what you want online
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before they sort out laundry room
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service bookings as needed and so on
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there was also a great tablet in the
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cabin that had digital versions of the
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daily program it had menus for all the
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restaurants it had weather ship location
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it had my bill and then it also had a
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huge amount of free global newspapers
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and magazines that you could download it
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was a really great resource there was
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also in interactive TV and free movies
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so they were not the latest releases and
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they were a little bit underwhelming so
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what did I think overall is Crystal
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Symphony showing a beautiful timeless
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elegance or is it now an outdated relic
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of cruising now while things like the
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smaller cabins are possibly a negative
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and from an older time before passengers
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demanded larger ones with balconies for
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luxury cruising as standard I thought
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though that Abberrombi and Kent by
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cutting capacity and redoing the ship
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have made Crystal Symphony feel like a
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ship of timeless elegance i feel the
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ship exudes class and style it felt very
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up market it felt very plush and it's
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actually really hard to tell that the
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ship is so old but was that enough to
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make Cruising on Crystal worth the price
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and does it match or beat the
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competition overall in food
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entertainment enrichment and service to
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find out join me over in this video
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where I reveal how they did on all of
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that including a couple of stumbles they
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made and if they recovered from that see
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you over there
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