First look: Inside the revamped Crystal Symphony, an icon of luxury cruising
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Thinking about a splurge on a luxury cruise? Our latest Cruise Ship Tour, in the carousel above, offers a deck-by-deck look at what has long been considered one of luxury cruising's finest vessels, Crystal Cruises' Crystal Symphony.
As can be seen in the tour, Symphony has just emerged from a massive makeover designed to make it even more upscale. The upgrades included a major overhaul of the vessel's dining options including the addition of a new Asian eatery and Brazilian steakhouse; revamped lounges; and the addition of 40 new suites.
Sailing since 1995, Symphony originally was designed to hold 922 passengers. But as part of the overhaul, Crystal reduced the ship's capacity by 8% to 848, resulting in more space per passenger and a higher crew-to-passenger ratio — a key metric in judging service levels on any ship.
Crystal also transformed Symphony's dining system with a switch to open seating in its main restaurant, and the line has completely overhauled the technology on board. Passengers now will find new interactive televisions in every cabin loaded with free movies and television shows, and WiFi access is now unlimited and free throughout the vessel.
The Symphony photo tour is part of our ongoing series of ship galleries. For an in-depth look at dozens of other vessels, click on the links below:
Adventure Canada: Ocean Endeavour
AmaWaterways: AmaViola; AmaCerto
American Cruise Lines: American Eagle
American Queen Steamboat Company: American Queen; American Empress
Azamara Club Cruises: Azamara Quest
Avalon Waterways: Avalon Myanmar; Avalon Visionary; Avalon Passion
Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Imagination; Carnival Inspiration; Carnival Miracle; early icons of the Carnival fleet; Carnival Vista
Celebrity Cruises: Celebrity Solstice
Celestyal Cruises: Celestyal Olympia
Costa Cruises: Costa Diadema; Costa Atlantica; Costa Luminosa
CroisiEurope: Elbe Princesse
Cruise & Maritime Voyages: Discovery
Crystal Cruises: Crystal Symphony
Cunard Line: Queen Mary 2
Disney Cruise Line: Disney Wonder; Disney Fantasy; Disney Magic; Disney Dream, Fantasy compared
Emerald Waterways: Emerald Sky; Emerald Radiance
Hapag-Lloyd: Europa 2
Hebridean Island Cruises: Hebridean Princess
Holland America Line: Amsterdam; Koningsdam; Westerdam; Rotterdam; Maasdam
Hurtigruten: Midnatsol; Lofoten; Nordstjernen; Fram; Trollfjord
MSC Cruises: MSC Meraviglia
Norwegian Cruise Line: Norwegian Getaway; Norwegian Escape; Norwegian Sky; Norwegian Joy
Oceania Cruises: Nautica; Sirena; Marina; Insignia
Paul Gauguin Cruises: Paul Gauguin
P&O Cruises: Britannia
Princess Cruises: Regal Princess; Diamond Princess; early icons of the Princess fleet; Star Princess; Golden Princess
Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Seven Seas Mariner; Seven Seas Explorer; Seven Seas Voyager; Seven Seas Navigator
Royal Caribbean International: Quantum of the Seas; Anthem of the Seas; Freedom of the Seas; Harmony of the Seas
Scenic Cruises: Scenic Gem; Scenic Sapphire
Seabourn Cruise Line: Seabourn Encore
Silversea: Silver Galapagos; Silver Cloud; Silver Cloud (before 2017 makeover); Silver Muse
Star Clippers: Royal Clipper
Tauck: Inspire; Savor; Emerald
UnCruise Adventures: Safari Endeavour; Safari Voyager
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection: S.S. Maria Theresa; River Countess
Viking River Cruises: Viking Skirnir; Viking Herja; Viking Hild
Viking Ocean Cruises: Viking Star; Viking Sea; Viking Sky; Viking Sun
Windstar Cruises: Star Pride; Star Breeze; Wind Spirit
Retired ocean liners, cruise ships and yachts: SS Rotterdam; Royal Yacht Britannia
Theme galleries: 10 cruise ship suites that will blow your mind; the last of the great ocean liners; ship christenings with Queen Elizabeth II; Royal ship christenings through the years; 9 most amazing megaships; 25 most beautiful cruise vessels
Paste BN Cruises: The 25 most beautiful cruise vessels