Travelling to the Crystal Mozart.
We arranged with the Concierge at the Hotel Imperial for a Mercedes S-class to take us to the ship at 12:15 pm. Over estimated the luggage capacity of that car but and a couple of bags had to go in the back with one of us in the front passenger seat. I showed the driver a copy of the map that Crystal had sent. However, the driver said he had already picked up some passengers disembarking earlier that morning from the Crystal Mozart so knew precisely where it was. Totally relief to hear that since that meant he knew exactly where he was heading.
The problem with most taxi drivers is that they refuse to pay attention to the map you show them or specific instructions you tell them; i.e. they know better. At dinner, fellow passengers sitting next to us confirmed this from their experience. They then spent 10 minutes driving up and down the river talking to their dispatcher.
The main issue here is that there is a strip of 8 to 10 numbered riverboat docks which everyone knows about and refers to. Crystal does not use those docks. Instead, the car has to drive about half a mile further up river towards the Millennium Tower on what I would describe as a broad bicycle path. Our driver told us it was a new boat dock so many Viennese drivers/taxis would not know about Mozart’s docking point. Hopefully over time…. There are no other boats docked next to the Mozart and it appears to be a dock for one boat only. Mozart's dock is not numbered unlike the main boat strip.
The first thing that gets you is how wide the boat is. The next thing is that it doesn’t look anywhere as fancy as the Viking one you passed a moment ago. Not to worry, it is a very different story once you get inside.
A-Ma-Zing!
I have always loved the Crystal on-board check-in experience but this is a whole different level of exclusiveness; it was very personal, just like checking in at a club level in a high end hotel.
The moment, you walk into the Crystal Mozart, it has a very different feeling to the exterior of the boat as well as to the Crystal Symphony and Serenity; their ocean ships. It was like an upbeat contemporary modern hotel. I would say, the boat feels like a really good Starwood W hotel but with so much more charm and friendliness from the staff.
At reception, a member of staff said to follow her around the corner. We were seated in the pantry area on our own. This was about 12:20pm. We arrived at the same time as three or four other cars/taxis with each party was taken a separate seating area. Equipped with an iPad, the receptionist found our reservation after I quoted our suite number. No Crystal cruise ticket was needed throughout the entire process. She took a photo of each of us for our key cards with her iPad and then said she would check if our suite was ready? Huh? On the Crystal ocean ships and on Uniworld River Cruises, you do not get access to the rooms until 3pm. It was not anywhere near 1 pm as yet. In less than 5 minutes, she returned with our key cards and said as our Penthouse suite was ready, we should follow her to the room. At this point, I was gob-smacked. All our six bags were already in the room, nicely laid out on the bed and sofa for us to start unpacking. Never expected this at all. She showed us to our room and said our butler would be around to talk us through the features of the room.
We were totally unpacked by 1:10pm (total record for us) and headed to the Waterside for lunch. The beds seem slightly higher off the ground compared to the Symphony and Serenity; it was a lot easier to get my rather thick bags under the beds.
We could see very car and taxi pulling up all afternoon had we wished to!
Yes - that is snow on the docks and it is 0C or 32 F.
What we do for a photograph
The room – a Penthouse Suite.
I had done a river cruise before and knew the size of the rooms would be small. I was right – the Penthouse Suite is just the right size for two to be comfortable in. Bigger than a regular room on the Crystal Symphony but much much smaller than a PS Penthouse Suite.
Having said that, on the first morning of sailing, I got beautiful views of the Wachau Valley from my sofa or bed without having go to the top deck or the Palm Court. On this trip when it is relative white everywhere, staying comfortable and snug is key!
The sofa is long and firm – I could happily snooze on this for an afternoon nap and there is ample room to the to sit comfortably.
The walk-in closet is nowhere near as big as a PS Penthouse Suite on the Crystal Symphony with two half length racks and one full length rack. To be honest, it is no different to a regular closet except that the closet has no doors, and the drawers, shelves and safe are away from the clothes rack.
We knew we had to remove three quarters of the wooden hangers and had our own wire and plastic hangers to ensure there was more room for our clothes. The fluffy Etro bathrooms goes straight behind the bathroom door to free up more space. The drawers are not as deep as on the ocean ships. It was a slight struggle but we managed to put away our stuff neatly in 30 mins. I even have shoes under the bedside table and under the sofa table so they are conveniently out of side.
There is a wide drawer underneath the fridge for more storage.
The beds are comfy. I found it much more comfortable than the ocean ships. The pillows are massive and thick. Fantastic for me (I normally have to add sofas cushions to help propt me up) to but John will be asking the butler for substitute pillow today or risk a severe neck-ache.
The Penthouse Suite bathroom.
Or should I say, that irritating toilet seat!
Throughout the packing process, when going in and out of the bathroom that Toto toilet lid was going up and down non-stop. The problem is that it does not do so quietly. Likewise, when you leave the bathroom, the lid automatically goes back down again.
The room attendant kindly showed me the on/off switch without me having to ask her. I suspect, many passengers have been requesting this.
Behind a Penhouse Suite, there is a separate shower with a massive shower head given the size of the shower. It is a really good shower. The dual basins in the bathroom are generous in size and there is a heated towel rail keeping the entire bathroom very warm. The floors are not heated. Toiletteries are by Etro, just like on the Symphony and Serenity. To compliment this, the fluffy bathrobes and bedroom slippers are also designed/supplied by Etro (just as well I brought along one Etro scarf but I left my Etro shirt at home).
The Butler
Daniel (Danny) is our butler and he came by to welcome us around 3:30pm. He is the head butler, unsurprisingly since we are located relatively close to one of the Crystal Suites. This is not the butler service you get on-board in a Penthouse on the Symphony and Serenity. The Mozart butlers are dressed in the same apron as the rest of the restaurant staff so have less of an impact in their appearance. They are also not as articulate and fluent as the counterparts on the ocean as yet. Hopefully, that will come with practice.
The Wifi
The wifi on the Mozart is now unlimited free usage. This is change from the initial package where like the ocean ships, you only got an hour a day for free. You still have to go through the usual process of registering an account like you had to buy a package, just that you do not have to buy any package.
However, the wifi system is a real problem for. Every single VPN system is block and file uploads and downloads are blocked. I cannot log into my secure office system which might be a issue for some passengers. Thankfully, this cruise is over the Christmas period for me. John is unable to download his UK newspapers or even log in on their secure system. If you have to log into any secure website (i.e. where log-ins are required), be prepared to be blocked.
Facebook works fine. Reading open websites is fine. Internet connection is spotty, hence why this blog is slow at being updated.
The Pool/Spa
Treatment Room 1 Treatment Room 2
Cold Towels
The gym on Deck 1
The view from the gym gives an example of what the view from the suites on Deck 1.
The laundry room on deck 2.
Unlike the Crystal's ocean ships, you get proper Ariel dissolvable detergent capsules to use in these machines. They are located on the table to the left of machine which provides a table to fold your laundry if required.
The entrance lounge where you usually enter/leave the boat
The was a surprise - an open fireplace on a boat/ship? Then I worked out the technology. It is vapours like misters in places with really hot climates, cleverly lit with yellow light. There is even a soundtrack of a crackling fire. Looks good.
No comments:
Post a Comment