Onboard amenities include grand lounges, a full-service fitness facility, a Caesars Palace at Sea casino, a lavish spa, expansive decks, two pools, award-winning cuisine and entertainment, in addition to exquisitely- appointed staterooms, more than half of which offer private verandahs.

Ship Facts

Best For People Who Want:
Very attentive, friendly service and consistently exquisite cuisine; a large variety of onboard enrichment programs including educational and self-improvement options; to better themselves by day and get dressed to the nines at night; people heartened in learning that Crystal consulted feng shui designers to ensure the spa is properly aligned for maximum relaxation. People who enjoy Mozart with their afternoon tea.

Should Be Avoided By People Who:
Prefer "a port every day" itineraries over languid days at sea; flexible time scheduling for every meal; are not happy in anything but jeans; firmly believe that all beverages on a cruise ship, alcoholic and otherwise, should be included in the price.

Onboard Experience:
Make no mistake, Crystal ships reach some of the most exotic regions in the world, but you may find yourself so fully ensconced in the onboard experience you hardly realize it. Those who picture the cruise experience as spending a lot more time on the ship than ashore will find Symphony's attitude perfectly in tune with their own. And honestly, given the ship's tasteful elegance and spaciousness, who would want to be long ashore when the alternative includes some of the most spacious and commodious staterooms at sea, an abundance of university-level lectures; classes in computers and the arts, and wine and food festivals. Add the highest rated nighttime entertainment for a luxury line, according to readers, and you find Crystal passengers in port wondering how soon they can make it back to the ship.

The usual range of shipboard activities, from bingo to bridge and blackjack, are on offer, and there are wonderful spa facilities, but most of Crystal's passengers seem to have something very much loftier in mind, such as the extensive onboard educational programs and lectures. The Computer University@Sea, one of the first computer learning labs on cruise ships, is so popular you wonder how so many could have remained innocent so long!

Crystal has one of the highest passenger to space ratios at sea, and as you wander around the tastefully yet uncluttered public rooms you will sometimes wonder where everyone has gone even though the ship is at sea. The answer is their staterooms, enjoying a DVD available from the library, perhaps with a plate of room service caviar on the coffee table freshly delivered by the butler.