Med Cruise: Crystal Symphony
In this second post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores the ship on embarkation day of her Mediterranean Cruise on Crystal Symphony.
I am exploring parts of the Mediterranean on my inaugural cruise on Crystal. The 7-night cruise on Crystal Symphony kicks off in Istanbul, Turkey and wraps up in Venice, Italy. Join me as I explore the many wonderful ports in Turkey, Greece, Croatia, and Italy along the way!
Crystal Mediterranean Cruise Full Itinerary
Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about embarkation day onboard the Crystal Symphony. Looking for info on other stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!
- Pre-Cruise – September 6-8: Istanbul, Turkey (embark)
- Cruise Day 1 – September 9: At Sea
- Cruise Day 2 – September 10: Kusadasi, Turkey
- Cruise Day 3 – September 11: Mykonos, Greece
- Cruise Day 4 – September 12: At Sea
- Cruise Day 5 – September 13: Corfu, Greece
- Cruise Day 6 – September 14: Dubrovnik, Croatia
- Post-Cruise – September 15: Venice, Italy
Onboard the Crystal Symphony
Embarkation day is finally here! After spending time exploring Istanbul, I checked out of the fabulous Hotel Amira on September 8 and headed to the port in Istanbul. Fun fact: Istanbul is actually in two different continents, so I spent the morning in Europe and the afternoon in Asia without ever leaving the city. I spent a bit of time walking through the new, modern Galataport Cruise Terminal before completing the initial check-in and customs check in the terminal. Finally, I got my first peek at the gorgeous Crystal Symphony.
Crystal Symphony is a beautiful ship that was built in 1995 but was refurbished this year. The parent company of Crystal Cruises went bankrupt in early 2022 and all ship operations stopped. Luckily, another parent company (the renowned Abercrombie & Kent) bought the two ships and set about refurbishing them before restarting operations in the late summer 2023. The Symphony has a guest capacity of 606 with a staff to guest ratio of nearly one staff member per guest. My cruise was only the second sailing after the relaunch, and it was only about half-capacity with just over 300 passengers onboard.
Welcome to Symphony
Once onboard, I completed the check-in process and had my first celebratory glass of champagne. I also enjoyed a light lunch at The Bistro, which is the onboard coffee shop. There was a nice buffet of light snacks, including fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and cold meats and fish. A nice selection of sweets is also available. I learned that this buffet is available daily here at The Bistro, so this became one of my favorite spots to grab a light snack throughout the day during the rest of my cruise.
I had some time to explore the common areas on the ship before my room was ready. My first stop was up on the pool deck. There is a pool and a large hot tub here, with plenty of comfortable seating choices. A gorgeous teak deck surrounds the pool area. They even have a pickleball court on the upper deck! And yes, many guests were using it during the cruise, even on our not-so-smooth sailing day. I took my obligatory ‘selfie with the country flag’ (three more of those to come during this cruise!) and relaxed on a very comfortable lounger before heading to my room once it was ready.
My Fabulous Suite
Once the rooms were ready, I headed to check mine out. I had booked a single guest room with ocean view. One of the many things that piqued my interest with Crystal was the fact that they have a block of dedicated solo cabins available on every cruise. These are the same ocean view cabins that are available for double occupancy, but they are reserved for solo travelers. But to my surprise, they were still working on the cabin I originally booked (they are still working on some of the refurbishing!) so they moved me to a suite! I was delighted to see my Sapphire Ocean View Suite, which clocks in at 430 square feet and has a separate living/dining area, a huge walk-in closet, and a large bathroom.
I learned from my butler (yes, I had a butler!) that these suites are new since the refurbishment. They took two standard cabins and combined them into one larger suite. The living/dining room, walk-in closet, and desk/bar area are in what used to be one cabin, and the bedroom and bathroom are in what used to be another cabin. There is a large picture window in both the living area and the bedroom, providing a lot of light.
The bathroom is also pretty fabulous! There is a double vanity and plenty of storage area. But the highlight, for sure, is the massive shower. There is a large rainfall shower head, which is wonderful. The large marble bench is also a godsend for those of us who shave their legs (anyone who has tried to shave legs in a tiny ship shower knows what I’m talking about!). This is definitely the largest shower I have ever had on a cruise ship…the shower alone is bigger than some of the entire bathrooms I have had on other ships!
Needless to say, I was delighted about my upgrade to a wonderful suite. I enjoyed some more welcome champagne while unpacking and getting settled in. Honestly, it took a while to find everything and to get used to all of the space…this suite is bigger than the first few apartments I had back in the day!
Sail-Away from Istanbul
That evening was our sail-away from Istanbul. I headed up to the upper deck to enjoy the sail away, but there were some delays. So, I snapped one last selfie in port but then headed back in to get ready for dinner. I had a gorgeous view of the sunset and the Istanbul skyline from my dining table as we sailed out of Istanbul. I even got to see the two mosques I visited the day prior – the Blue Mosque is on the left and Hagia Sophia is on the right in the last pic below.
A Delicious First Dinner on Symphony
My first dinner on Crystal Symphony was in the main dining room, Waterside. I started with a seared Ahi tuna appetizer, then I had a beef consommé with chive panna cotta. My entree was pink roasted milk-fed veal rib eye with pumpkin risotto, broccoli, and reduced thyme jus. This was all followed by a sour cherry tapioca trifle with chocolate almond praline. It was a wonderfully delicious start to a fabulous cruise!
A Sweet Ending
After dinner I headed back to my suite. I found a lovely, sweet treat waiting for me. As a pleasant surprise, I learned that the box kept getting refilled during the cruise!
Conclusion
My first day on the Crystal Symphony was wonderful. Because the ship was only at half capacity, I had plenty of room wherever I went. The already well-staffed crew were even more attentive since there were fewer guests. Around 80% of the crew were returning to the ship from having worked there before the bankruptcy, so they were all very excited to be back as well. I started to meet some of the friendly faces I would see throughout the cruise. I also started to get the lay of the land around the ship itself. More about the ship to come in later posts!
Links
Check the main page for this cruise to read more about my adventures:
Click the button below for more information about Crystal:
