Crystal Symphony cruise ship gets a big makeover. Crystal Serenity will be next
New restaurants and an open seating dining concept are among the changes guests will see on Crystal Cruises’ renovated Crystal Symphony, which has just returned to the sea after a month-long dry dock redesign.
Crystal’s two ocean-going ships, the Symphony and Serenity, are popular with high-end travelers and regularly win world’s best titles in Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader Choice Awards.
The line intends to dry dock the Serenity in fall 2018, to update it.
Crystal Symphony’s enhancements include 28 new penthouses and 12 penthouse suites with butler service plus better internet connectivity and more access to entertainment and news on demand.
Crystal Serenity’s makeover will add 36 penthouses and two penthouse suites, plus new restaurants and other improvements.
Onboard both ships, existing restaurants, including the main dining room and Lido Café, are being redesigned into different offerings called Waterside and Marketplace respectively, with a Brazilian-style restaurant named Churrascaria taking the place of Marketplace at night.
A new Asian restaurant, Silk Kitchen & Bar, is also debuting, offering Chinese-inspired fare with family-style dinner plates and self-service options for breakfast and lunch. The Trident Grill remains, serving casual grilled options including burgers and sandwiches.
Silk Road and the Sushi Bar, the specialty dining venues designed by celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, has been rebranded as Umi Uma & Sushi Bar. The ship’s second specialty restaurant, Prego, remains the same, continuing to serve regional specialties of Italy.
On the technical side, Crystal has announced that passengers on all its voyages will now receive unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi.
A new guest portal, Crystal Connect, enables passengers to access the internet as well as an array of shipboard information including daily menus from each restaurant, day and evening activities, information about shore excursions, the ship’s location and itinerary, points of interest and international newspapers.
A new production show, Crystal in Motion, is replacing the former welcome aboard show in the Galaxy Lounge.
Crystal Symphony will sail in the Middle East and Africa in November and December before beginning a world cruise on Jan. 7.
Info: Crystal Cruises, (888) 799-2437 or contact a travel agent
ALSO
Luxury first-class suites coming to Singapore Airlines A380s
Ring in 2018 in the Caribbean on MSC’s newest cruise ship
Here’s what Virgin’s first adults-only cruise ship will look like
Twitter: @latimestravel
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
