Crystal Harmony
by Albert P. Sheppard
Panama Canal
January 5, 2002
This was our third Crystal Cruise and second on the Crystal Harmony. They are rated at the top by several travel and cruise books and magazines, and it is a reputation they well deserve. Their fortes are service, food and entertainment. The dining room offers a wide variety, all served hot and to perfection with few exceptions. The menu requires a bit of interpretation because the vegetarian, lighter side and chef recommendations are separate from the regular list, thus requiring integration for a complete picture of the many delicious choices. Their specialty restaurants, one Japanese and one Italian, compare with any major city's top restaurants - both in food and service. A $6 per person gratuity is recommended for each time you eat in one of these. A final note on food pertains to the Lido buffet. It is very much above the typical ship Lido in quality and selection. I would never expect to find cr�me brulee as one of the buffet dessert bar offerings nor osso bucco as an entree, yet both appeared as part of the daily luncheon selections.
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Entertainment is also spectacular. The song and dance production team and accompanying orchestra demonstrate a level of proficiency equal to performers in Las Vegas or with a traveling Broadway company. Costumes are elaborate. Variety acts are also of a very high quality. The only criticism I could offer is there does not seem to be as rapid a turnover on production shows as on some other lines. We last cruised with the Harmony in 1998 and two of the production shows are the same in 2002. Two supplemental lecturers, along with golf, dance and bridge instruction keep one well occupied on days at sea. My wife, particularly, enjoyed the Crystal Computer University where there is time to learn and use e-mail, Internet and word processing. Being a golfer, I was pleasantly surprised to find two group lessons a day when at sea. The instructor gives every attendee the chance to hit several balls with personal suggestions on needed improvements. The usual Scrabble, shuffleboard, ping pong, paddle tennis, crafts, trivia games, Bingo, and other shipboard standards are available every day. The spa and exercise facility seemed to draw approval from a few passengers that mentioned using them although we had no direct experiences with them. There are few children on this ship and very limited facilities - a small playroom and a few Sony playstations. The typical passenger would be about 50-70 and reasonably affluent and educated. Both our Harmony sailings have been during winter months so the composition could shift in the summer.
Shore excursions are well-organized and certainly cover the highlights of the port area. We did have one glitch in a driver overloading his mini-van to get extra fares when the Crystal rep was elsewhere. The shore excursion office gave us a full refund stating customer satisfaction was paramount. We took an excursion in each port, and all ran on time and covered the advertised venues.
Cabins on the Harmony are not as generous in size as on many other luxury ships, nor even on HAL. We had a verandah deluxe with 246 square feet. Regular cabins are about 190. Bathrooms are particularly small though efficient. Beds are quite comfortable and there is good lighting. Our biggest complaint about the cabins is that they are full of "squeaks and creaks." There are lots of random rattles, etc, even in very smooth seas. You can also hear heavy occupants walking or children playing vigorously in the cabin directly above yours.
Public space is excellent. Very roomy lounges with comfortable seating. Main showroom does have a few obstruction supports toward the back; however, we never had a problem getting good seating even five minutes before show time. The casino is adequate for the size of the ship. Being a slot machine player, I was disappointed that the machines are relatively old style. Only two or three with secondary bonus screens, and those are nowhere close to what you find in the larger casinos on the mainland U.S.
The entire staff is courteous and friendly. There is definitely an attitude of the "passenger is our lifeblood" so we had better be sure there is customer satisfaction! This is an excellent example of getting what you pay for. Crystal costs a bit more, but the service and quality make you feel as if you are still getting good value for what you spent. We certainly give it the six star recommendation claimed.
