SYMPHONY

You simply won't find more delicious food on any other cuisine mid-size cruise ship. Expect beautiful presentation and excellent quality Continental fare in the two-seating main dining room. Prego, an alternative restaurant requiring reservations, offers an unvarying but extensive menu of upscale Italian cuisine. Silk Road and The Sushi Bar, featuring the delicious Asian cuisine of celebrity Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, is a serene space done in mauve, beige and woods, with airy white linen curtains and dramatic seashell sculptures.

The poolside buffets, with such themes as "Asia Cafe" and "Cuisine of the Sun" are almost worth the price of your cruise on their own, offering an astonishing array of indescribably delicious food. Crystal's afternoon tea isn't nearly as elegant as it used to be, though. Suffice it to say that the scones are served nowadays with whipped, rather than clotted, cream. The gala buffet luncheon, held in the ship's atrium, usually on a sea day, is a riotous celebration of extravagantly presented dishes, ice sculptures and whimsical décor.

Non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water, soft drinks, juices, cappuccino, and caffe latt? are all complimentary. This ship clearly takes it wine very seriously, offering special Wine and Champagne Makers Dinners themed around much-yearned-for vintages and held in their own private dining room.

There's lot of room between the tables in the large, elegant main dining room, which offers two seatings, many for parties of two. Crystal is the only luxury cruise line at sea with assigned dining times and tablemates, but the maitre d' has a knack for seating people likely to enjoy one another's company beside one another. Crystal was the first line to offer alternative restaurants, and they're so popular that few passengers are able to get a table in them more than once per cruise. A Late Risers Breakfast is available from 10 a.m. to noon in the Trident Grill. Sunday mornings at sea, the Crystal Cove offers brunch.

There is no additional charge on Crystal to dine in the alternative restaurants: Silk Road/The Sushi Bar or the Italian Prego with authentic regional Italian cuisine. You will be handed a slip to sign for the optional tip, $7.00 is recommended.

                

SERENITY

Enjoy wonderful views of the sea from the elegant 500-seat Crystal Dining Room. If the sun has set, revel in its murals and stained glass ceilings and murals. Ample aisles separate tables of a wide range of sizes. Assigned seating is the rule for main and late dinner; sit where you please for your full-service breakfast and lunch.

Renowned master chef Nobuyuki (Nobu) Matsuhisa oversees Silk Road, which includes a sushi bar, while Prego, with its Roman décor and northern Italian menu, is a labor of love by the equally noted restaurateur Piero Selvaggio. Getting reservations in these two alternative dining venues can seem difficult for those unaware that they're nearly empty on formal dining nights, and that tables are often available for those who don't get too hungry for dinner at eight, and can actually wait until nine, or even later.

Want alternatives to those two alternatives? Enjoy casual evening dining and themed luncheon buffets at the indoor/outdoor poolside area. The Bistro, a coffee and wine bar with attractive wicker-like chairs, Guy Buffet-designed china, and a perfect light-fare buffet, is a pleasant place to make new friends. The country-club style Lido Café serves breakfast and lunch. The Trident Bar & Grill offers casual poolside lunches all afternoon. Scoops Ice Cream Bar dispenses complimentary frozen sweets and fresh-from-the-oven cookies for those who left their diets ashore, while the food counter Tastes, open for late breakfast and late lunch, offers such unusual options as peanut butter and jelly French toast.

Feeling peckish between lunch and dinner? Enjoy afternoon tea in the Palm Court. There's also 24-hour complimentary room service, with menu selections from the main dining room, in the cabins.