I was absolutely delighted that my very first cruising experience, on board Crystal Serenity, exceeded all my expectations. There are so many great things for me to comment on. When I first went to explore the ship, I was expecting to bump into quite a few passengers but straight away I could feel how spacious the ship was and it didn’t take long for me to understand why so many people speak so highly about Crystal. I was impressed with the elegant décor: I particularly loved the architecture of the hallway leading to the casino, where the combination of beautiful paintings, decorated ceilings and carpet created a very glamorous feel as you entered the casino. The specialist restaurants, Prego and Silk Road, both looked immaculate, laid out ready for the evening.

Crystal offers a great variety of entertainment onboard. On my first evening I attended the introductory show in the Galaxy lounge. This is a great show to give you a taste of all entertainment available. The show’s finale was the jazz band, listening to them gave me goosebumps and at that moment became my personal favourite.

The next day at lunch I saw the friendly waiter who attended to me in the Galaxy lounge, his name was Nat. He asked if I enjoyed the show and if I didn’t enjoy my drink because I left my glass rather full! It was a lovely conversation, and this is a perfect example of the many personalised encounters I had with staff, which made my time on board extra special and memorable. At times I thought they could read my mind! In the Lido Restaurant, my favourite place for a buffet lunch, just as the worrying thought of dropping my full tray of delicious food entered my mind, someone would quickly whisk the tray from me and escort me to a table. The crew remembered my name and if they ever saw me looking for my room mate they would point me in the right direction. These are all examples of a fantastic friendly service that as much as it was personal is it was never invasive.

On my final day I thoroughly enjoyed the sail away party on deck as we departed sunny Estoril listening to ‘what a wonderful world’ by Louis Armstrong. At this point I got lump in my throat as my whole experience had been so enjoyable I did not want it to end. I could fully understand why the Crystal Cruise is addictive! It was a scenic cruise as we headed for Lisbon, and I spent a lot of time enjoying the beautiful views walking around the top deck. As mentioned earlier, the jazz band were my personal favourite, and I was so happy I spent my final evening listening to them play in the Crystal Cove. The band drew a large audience as their music echoed throughout the atrium creating an excited atmosphere. People were clapping, dancing, beaming with smiles, and each musical number was followed by loud cheers and a huge applause. The crowd did not want them to stop playing, chanting ‘one more song!’ more than once! What a brilliant evening, it was great way to end my special time on the ship.