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From: D Ball on 14 Jul 2010 16:36
Mark, wow, it sounds like y'all had a wonderful trip in every way.
Thanks for sharing all of the details with us. I savored every word!

It was very interesting to read your summary of The Crystal Difference.
I am more convinced than ever that the line needs to be on our short
list. (If I tell my husband about the quality of the production shows
and their rights to the R&H songbook, he will get over the sticker shock
pretty quickly!) The most telling thing you conveyed was when the F&B
Mgr made the work "with" instead of "for" distinction.

Fun to read about ports new and old to me. We have similar tastes and
interests--I am totally with you on your conclusions about Venice,
Athens and Istanbul. When you return to Istanbul, do the whole land trip
including Cappadocia and whatever else strikes your fancy, then end it
with a relaxing "blue cruise" on a traditional gulet...that is the life!
I'm pretty jealous you got to see the Archimede Seguso glassworks...if
you haven't read The City of Falling Angels yet, move it up on your list
while your memories of Venice are fresh.

Great to get feedback on a Discovery Walks audio tour.

In the eclectic cruise travel category, I stumbled onto two that have
really intrigued me. Take a look at the Jayavarama and RV La Marguerite.

Cheers!

Diana



From: Brian K on 14 Jul 2010 17:11
Mark (SF) electronically interjected On 7/14/2010 3:54 PM:
> This is a review of our cruise on the Byzantine Odyssey cruise on the
> Crystal Serenity from June 25 - July 7 2010 with time spent pre-cruise
> in Venice and after disembarking in Athens.
>
> [snip]
> SUMMARY
>
> At this point, the usual question is "Will you do it again?"
>
> We most certainly will cruise Crystal again. As forewarned, indeed,
> we've been spoiled and found much to love about the Crystal
> experience. However, there's a wide world of cruising options and
> alternatives, so our future plans won�t be exclusively with the line.
> For instance, our next cruises are likely to be a river cruise in
> Europe, what I'm calling a "big, dumb Caribbean cruise" on the Oasis/
> Allure of the seas and quite possibly another North Atlantic crossing
> - and none of these match the Crystal experience. It took about 25
> years to try Crystal for our first time, but it'll be a small fraction
> of that before we sail on the line again.
>
> Will we revisit the ports? Yes, we will revisit Istanbul. We loved
> Venice and would enjoy seeing her again, but don�t have the
> "unfulfilled" feeling about revisiting. Athens? Been there, done
> that.
>
> It was an amazing vacation. We adored the ship and many of the cities
> we visited. We learned a lot, had some amazing food, and drank a lot
> of local culture. Life is good!
>
Great cruise report! I figure one of the reasons Crystal can afford not
to charge fees that other mass market cruises charge is you pay for it
all up front with your cabin fare.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"The poor dog is the firmest of friends, the first to welcome the foremost to defend" - Lord Byron

View My Web Pages: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951
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From: D Ball on 15 Jul 2010 14:57
> I have to echo your comments about the Crystal cruise experience.
> They'll go to almost any length to please a passenger.
>
> Some years ago my SO and I were having breakfast in the buffet and I
> mentioned to her the I wished that they served "sticky buns". One of
> the buffet waiters overheard me and minutes later the pastry chef came
> to our table and asked me to describe a sticky bun. I described them
> as best I could and the next morning at breakfast he brought me a
> plate of buns. He inquired if they were what I wanted and I told him
> that my description must have been faulty because they were not what I
> had in mind. The next morning he brought me another version. They
> were OK but not exactly what I had in mind but I told him that they
> were great because I didn't want him to spend so much time for such a
> minor matter. They served them to me every morning for the rest of
> the cruise.This is just an example of the lengths that the Crystal
> staff will go to to please a passenger.


What a great story--thanks for sharing it.

Diana
From: Susette on 16 Jul 2010 10:23

>
> It was an amazing vacation. We adored the ship and many of the cities
> we visited. We learned a lot, had some amazing food, and drank a lot
> of local culture. Life is good!

WOW one of the most comprehensive Beautifully written reviews I have
read in a LONG time. ENjoyed reading your travels, and Wishing i was
back in Venice. I loed that city and the slogan "Get lost in Venice"
is so true here in many parts of the uSA we would not walk down a
"Alley" but there YEs a must ANd you never said you had Gelti SHAME
SHAME if you did not LOL JK!
thank you for a great Read this morning......

Susette
Cruise outlets and travel
www.cruiseoutlets.com
800 853 9515
Join the VIKINGs on the Allure of the Seas December 52011
From: Square Grouper on 16 Jul 2010 10:49
On Fri, 16 Jul 2010 07:23:50 -0700 (PDT), Susette wrote:

> WOW one of the most comprehensive Beautifully written reviews I have
> read in a LONG time. ENjoyed reading your travels, and Wishing i was
> back in Venice. I loed that city and the slogan "Get lost in Venice"
> is so true here in many parts of the uSA we would not walk down a
> "Alley" but there YEs a must ANd you never said you had Gelti SHAME
> SHAME if you did not LOL JK!
> thank you for a great Read this morning......
>
> Susette "Nothing Wrong With A Few Toddies Before Breakfast"
> Cruise outlets and travel

WeLl, leMmE sEZ thIs abOT thAT! <hiccup>

NoW WhAt WAS i SezING?
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