The long-awaited return of Crystal to cruising was largely a welcome success. The Crystal Serenity and her crew sparkled. Perfect, no, but I take issue with a reviewer on the same cruise who deemed the return “an apology cruise.” Sad that that couple boarded “anxious” rather than ‘eager’ as I and another well-travelled companion did. This is conjecture, but perhaps those guests had initially signed up many months ago for a more exotic itinerary, not this pleasant, necessarily close-to-home Bahamas one (3 ports, not 2, plus a refueling stop at Freeport, Grand Bahama). Regardless, this lifelong cruiser, fast approaching 200 journeys over 48 years, has tremendous gratitude to be back at sea on a fine ship with gracious staff. I will confirm that the included Internet was poor and the inability of it to perform to expectations was distressing to some passengers and presumably crew, dependent upon it to communicate with friends and loved ones many miles away. Overall, the ship and line delivered an excellent experience at a very fair price with superb food and drink, good entertainment, less-travelled Bahamian beach destinations and signature Crystal service. I heartily recommend.
C1 window stateroom — attended to by delightful Katarina — was spotless and in fine repair.
Crystal included shuttle service to the beach, approximately 20 minutes away. We chose to rent 2 beach loungers and umbrella for $25, conveniently charged to our onboard account. If you can, bring a mask with snorkel (fins not necessary) to enjoy the fish that encompass the deep curiosity that is Dean’s Blue Hole.