MIAMI — After a 4-week dry dock Crystal Serenity now boasts new dining options and open-seating dining along with new butler-serviced Seabreeze Penthouse and Seabreeze Penthouse Suite accommodations, a redesigned Palm Court and more, all featured in just-released images.

The updates also include a new production show called Crystal on Broadway, The Show and new interactive technological amenities. The renovations are the most extensive ever for the ship, says Crystal, and mirror the changes implemented aboard Crystal Symphony in fall 2017.

Crystal Serenity set sail from Lisbon on Nov. 10 on its first voyage since the completion of its redesign.

“The scope of this redesign is truly remarkable. Our ocean ships remain at the heart of our brand and our commitment to their continued excellence and success is unwavering,” said Crystal President and CEO Tom Wolber.

Here are the details and pics…

NEW DINING OPTIONS

Open-seating dining is now available aboard Crystal Serenity, in line with industry trends to allow guests to choose can dine where, when and with whom they choose. New venues are also making their debut, including:

Waterside – Taking the place of the Crystal Dining Room and reflecting the chic elegance of the main dining venues aboard Crystal River Cruises and Crystal Symphony, this centrally located restaurant continues to serve daily changing menus of international classic and modern cuisine, paired with unlimited fine wines, spirits and beers. The restaurant now features more seating with tables for two and four.

The Marketplace and Churrascaria – The new daytime and evening identities of the former Lido Café, respectively. Both venues feature an open-kitchen concept with dishes made to order. The Marketplace serves an expansive menu of buffet-style breakfast and lunch options and transforms into Churrascaria during the dinner hours, a Brazilian-style bar-be-que.

Silk Kitchen & Bar – In the Trident area of the ship that was formerly Tastes, this Asian-inspired venue serves traditional Chinese comfort food in an elegant al fresco atmosphere. Silk also serves Crystal’s late risers breakfast service. Silk offers open seating for breakfast and lunch and requires reservations for dinner.

Umi Uma – The rebranded Silk Road & The Sushi Bar continues to serve the Japanese-Peruvian specialties of Master Chef Nobu Matsuhisa by his personally trained chefs and remains the only Nobu restaurants at sea. Dinner reservations are required for Crystal’s specialty restaurants, including Prego.

Stardust Supper Club – A brand new dining experience reminiscent of the era of the Rat Pack debuts on black-tie-optional evenings in the Stardust Club, featuring a four-course menu, live musical performances from Crystal’s Ensemble and string quartet.

Prego – The specialty restaurant continues to serve regional specialties of Italy in a cozy, authentic atmosphere.

PUBLIC SPACES

Palm Court – This favourite spot has been reimagined with an intimate atmosphere, says Crystal. The stage has been relocated to an ‘in-the-round’ concept, with a new modernized bar. There are also more tables for two and intimate seating areas, new finishes, lighting, carpeting and furniture reflect. Plus, the previous stage area has become a dedicated culinary space to feature fresh pastries and snacks as guests take in sweeping views from the venue’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

The Stardust Club – Now with a new dance floor, new bar finishes and a refreshed décor. New seating configurations allow the room to be transformed into a multi-functional space to host the Stardust Supper Club and large gatherings from bridge tournaments to live evening entertainment.

In the Galaxy Lounge, the Crystal entertainment team is installing a new Broadway-style production show called Crystal on Broadway, The Show featuring songs from the hit musicals Rent, Something Rotten! and West Side Story. The show debuts on the Dec. 7 Pacific Coast Panorama cruise. Pulse and the Resorts World Casino at Sea have also been updated.

NEW SEABREEZE PENTHOUSES

On Deck 10, 36 new Seabreeze Penthouses and two Seabreeze Penthouse Suites now occupy the space of former Deluxe Staterooms with Verandah. The new accommodations offer the same personal butler service, specialty services, walk-in closets, spa-like bathrooms and spacious square footage as the other Penthouses on board (367 sq. ft. and 491 sq. ft, respectively, including the verandah). The Seabreeze Penthouses also feature unique entries, which are shared between two suites and recessed from the hallway. This enables a seamless design for connecting two suites for larger families upon request.

The transformation reduces the ship’s capacity from 1,070 guests to 980 guests, while the number of crew on board remains the same.

TECHNOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENTS

New, state-of-the-art HD flat-panel TVs have been added in all rooms, both public and guest suites. The TVs feature technology that allows guests to access a variety of information on their TVs including onboard folios, Crystal Life Spa & Salon menus, the Connoisseur Wine menu and daily restaurant menus. The new on-demand system also offers a library of top films and entertainment, as well as live views from the ship, broadcasts of ship lectures, presentations and destination info. Upgraded, pervasive WiFi coverage throughout the ship is delivered via dedicated antennae in every suite and all public areas and open decks.

A new guest portal – Crystal Connect – is also now live, found on the landing page of onboard Internet service. Guests can access it from their smartphones, tablets or computers and instantly find shipboard and itinerary info, daily menus, shore excursions and port maps, daily issues of Reflections and an array of complimentary global newspapers and entertainment library.

Crystal Serenity’s enrichment facilities also were redesigned. The Computer University@Sea has received new carpeting, seating and computer equipment, along with 70” TVs. The multifunctional enrichment room, The Studio, has been divided to offer a classroom for language, art and other instruction and a separate dance studio for private lessons.