Let me offer the expertise of a travel consultant with a lot of experience with cruises....
If you like Holland America, you will very much enjoy Crystal. Crystal is at least one step above (probably more) in service. The service on Crystal is exquisite, very personalized and they pay attention to every detail to ensure that each guest has the very best possible experience. They will simply pamper you. Once people experience Crystal, they tend to stay with Crystal for their future cruises. It is a very classy cruise line with attention to detail that is simply remarkable. The ambiance is very similar to Holland America, but the ships and the experience are more classy, more classy, more upscale.
I've seen your posts on another cruise board and I'm wondering why you post so many of these inquiries since you haven't even cruised on HAL or any other cruise line. It's better if you experience a cruise, find out what you like or don't like, and then go from there. Since you've never been on a cruise before, why even ask why you should switch from HAL when you haven't even experienced what HAL has to offer. Go on your HAL cruise, have a wonderful time, but if for some reason it doesn't meet your needs or expectations, come back here, tell us what you did and didn't like, and then we can be more forthcoming about telling you why you might want to go with Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea, Radisson, Celebrity and all the other lines you've posted this same question about.
I think you're too hard on Joyce.
She said she was "considering" a variety of cruises.
She asked for opinions on why she should "switch" her considerations from Holland American to Crystal.
Of course I haven't a clue why you might want to go with Crystal over HAL, Joyce, because I haven't been on either. I have been on 14 cruises though and people have told me great things about HAL, I'm looking for more info on Crystal.
In Barbara's defense, I have also seen this thread started in at least half a dozen other cruise line forums and message boards using the boilerplate "Why Should I Switch to [fill in the blank] cruise line?" That isn't the best way to solicit comments on individual cruise lines, and in fact, comes close to trolling. However, I'm willing to cut Joyce some slack and mark it up to inexperience.
We're all friends here and want to provide helpful information to anyone who is serious about picking a particular line or itinerary. Just try to make your discussion topic more than a one-way fishing expedition. I will be posting a lot of comments on why people may want to switch to Crystal after my just-completed Alaskan cruise on the Harmony. Cheers, everyone!
Never mind Barbara - what about Joyce? Without some closure to the discussion it looks like a case of hit and run. I may be the only one who was interested enough to post more than once on the topic, but I was hoping we'd hear back from the person who started it.
It's true that I had never curised before. I was giving people a chance to say what was so special about their favorite cruise line. I found nothing in the responses to indicate that Crystal was sufficiently superior to rate the additional funds. Sorry. I didn't know that I had either phrased this worng or stepped on toes.
At any rate, I had a marvelous cruise and DH and I are hooked after just one try.
Why Should I Switch to Crystal?
I hope she booked something good.
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