Overview
 The 'Crystal Difference' starts with the company's most important mission: to provide its guests with the finest travel experience available in the luxury service market, not just the luxury cruise industry. Through this uncompromising commitment, Crystal Cruises has become the benchmark by which clients and travel agents measure all other cruise lines. Since the launch of Crystal Harmony in 1990, Crystal's exceptional quality has been recognized by consistently winning the travel industry's most distinguished and coveted hospitality awards and guidebook ratings. Crystal Cruises continues to earn these honors daily by providing guests with unparalleled service, space, choice, and quality.
Service begins with one of the highest staff to passenger ratios in the industry. The European-trained staff hail from more than 30 nations and are selected based on their winning and friendly personalities as well as their expertise in providing Six-Star service. Extraordinary space has been dedicated not only to the staterooms and suite accommodations but also to the public spaces - extra-wide promenade decks, substantial fitness and spa areas, full-sized cinemas and nightclubs, and various learning centers. Choices are numerous, from which stateroom on which floor, and where and when to dine, to how much to do or how little. A wealth of onboard activities, including unique educational programs and lectures and world-class entertainment, set the Crystal fleet apart from all other luxury lines.
Innovative shore excursions and customized private off-ship adventures are similarly indicative of Crystal's dedication to their guests' overall experience. Quality is noted throughout - in the superb furnishings, appointments and amenities, and also in the selection of alliances that the line has forged - including Caesars Palace, Yamaha, Berlitz, Sotheby's, and Smithsonian. Gourmet cuisine is served in a number of elegant venues including the spacious Crystal Dining Room, casual eateries, and intimate specialty restaurants with menus designed by celebrity restaurateurs such as Nobu Matsuhisa, Piero Selvaggio, and Wolfgang Puck.
CRYSTAL SERVICE CREDO
 Crystal's service tenet is that serving and respecting fellow employees is as important as the care of guests. The company's high service standards are maintained through a significant investment in staff recruiting and training, and a genuine commitment to staff's well-being. At just 9%, the line boasts the industry's lowest turnover rate and one that is virtually unheard of in most luxury hotels and resorts.
Through an intensive training program, the ladies and gentlemen of Crystal Cruises are taught to implement the Six-Star Crystal Basics, a multi-point credo that addresses attitude, communication, competence, style, safety, and environment. Staff members address guests by name from the time they are introduced and quickly identify and focus on their personal preferences. The fine points remembered by staff members include such details as how guests take their coffee and what their favorite cookies are, where they like to sit in which restaurant, what type of wines they prefer, what amenities are most used and which are not, and exactly how they like their blankets and pillows arranged.
CRYSTALSHIPS - SPACIOUS BY INDUSTRY STANDARDS
The company's first ship, Crystal Harmony, took its maiden voyage in 1990, followed by sister ship Crystal Symphony in 1995. Carrying 940 guests and 545 staff members each, Crystal Harmony and Crystal Symphony are less than half the size of mass-market mega-ships. Yet at 50,000 tons, they are large by luxury-ship standards with considerable space dedicated to innovative spa and learning facilities, exciting entertainment options, creative dining options, spacious decks, generous amenities, and sumptuous staterooms. These are features valued by luxury-loving cruisers, especially those who find yacht-like ships too cozy or limited in activity options.
With the launch of the 68,000-ton Crystal Serenity in July 2003, the company raised the bar even higher - 635 crew members for 1,080 guests and 63 tons of space per guest, one of the highest ratios of any luxury ship. All of the management and 80 percent of the crew are seasoned veterans from either Crystal Harmony or Crystal Symphony, offering the company's many repeat guests the opportunity to sail on a new ship with familiar faces.
One might say that each ship's spirit and sense of class reflects their legendary godmothers: Mary Tyler Moore christened Crystal Harmony, Angela Lansbury launched Crystal Symphony, and Dame Julie Andrews christened Crystal Serenity.
ACCOMMODATIONS - SPACIOUS, VARIED AND LUXURIOUSLY APPOINTED
For discriminating travelers, choosing among the wide selection of rooms is the first step in creating the ultimate travel experience. More than half of the rooms (85 percent on Crystal Serenity) open onto roomy verandahs. Here, guests can enjoy morning coffee, be served a full breakfast or dinner, read a book from the extensive library, or simply enjoy the view.
Even the minimum category staterooms feature separate sitting areas with love seats and coffee tables, and desks or vanities. All guestrooms have queen-size or twin beds dressed with Egyptian cotton sheets, Scandinavian down pillows and duvets, and feather beds. A large closet with both padded and wooden hangers, ample drawer space, shower and bathtub with Aveda products, telephones in bathrooms, two hair dryers, fresh fruit and flowers, complimentary bottled water and soft drinks, Frette bathrobes, plush slippers, umbrellas, and English mohair lap blankets are just a few of the luxuries that are standard with every stateroom. Other amenities include Internet access, televisions with DVD players, laundry and dry-cleaning service (or guests can use complimentary guest laundry facilities), twice-daily housekeeping, and complimentary 24-hour in-stateroom dining.
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