We are experienced ocean cruisers, and have landed on Oceania as our preferred line. We have been wanting to go on a river cruise, and decided to give Crystal a try as they had beautiful new build river cruises and a itinerary that met our needs and wants. We made the correct decision and are now big fans. Here's why...

EMBARKATION:

We were in Switzerland for a 1 1/2 weeks prior (amazing!) and were making our way to the ship via the Lucerne, Mürren (alps), Montreux (4 days of partying at the Jazz festival), Bern, and finally taking a train to Basel and a quick Uber to the ship. We were ready to settle down on the ship after moving around so much. Our driver dropped us off and there was a tent set up with a nice man there to take our bags. We walked right on the boat and it was only 11:00 We had a seat in the lounge (Palm Court) and were immediately greeted and offered a drink (tanquery ten and tonics) from their extensive bar. We knew these new ships were very nice from pictures and reviews, but we had no idea just how nice they were. As we sipped our drinks and nibbled mixed nuts nodding at new passengers joining, we marveled at all the detail in this ship. The adjoining "bistro" was set up with a nice setup of light snacks, a lunch menu to order from (think salads, burgers, etc) and a full (and delicious) coffee bar and people were slowly filing in. A few minutes later, a staff member came up and took our photo with a phone, and told us our room would be ready shortly, which it was (about 12:15). Read more