CRYSTAL SERENITY

The focus on the ship is "the little things;" as in the details that make life just a little bit (or in some cases, a lot) more exquisite. The largest ultra-luxury vessel afloat, Serenity is 38% bigger than fleet mate Symphony, but carries only 15 percent more guests. The result is that there is simply no crowding, ever. Passengers savor more time at sea for lectures, educational programs, wine and food festivals. At night, there's lot of exceptional entertainment.

The extensive shipboard activity list comprises bingo, bridge, fashion shows, casino gaming lessons, and art auctions, but most passengers seem preoccupied with their Crystal Cruise Creative Learning Institute classes, on everything from wellness to business technology. Indeed, the spacious Creative Learning Institute may well be Crystal Serenity's principal advantage over Crystal Symphony. Several classrooms are located along an elegant wide corridor; one, dedicated to piano instruction, features Yamaha keyboards atop every table. The ship's Visions program provides expert speakers on topics as varied as current affairs and astronomy, wine and antiques.

While Crystal charges for alcoholic beverages that other luxury ships provide gratis, it stocks its staterooms with complimentary bottles of wine, plus spirits you can choose from a menu before setting sail. Soft drinks, bottled water, and specialty coffees are all free, and the penthouse suites come with butler service.

Shorts are forbidden anywhere on the ship after 6 p.m. Passengers get very dressed up for the lavish Broadway-style shows -- and live performances by recording artists you've actually heard of. There are two piano bars. Suave gentleman hosts (and ship's officers on occasion) invite single women passengers to cut the rug with them to the accompaniment of the ship's own dance orchestra.

Understated elegance is the rule aboard Serenity. You'll drink wine from Riedel leaded crystal glasses, and sip tea from Wedgwood bone china. The dining tables are covered by Frette linen, and the handsome deck furniture is by Brown Jordan Mission Teak. The staterooms' wood accents and furniture tend to be dark, tastefully offsetting colorful curtains, wall coverings, upholstery, and bedcovers.

CABINS  Serenity offers twice as many penthouse cabins as other Crystal ships. Moreover, 85 percent of Serenity's cabins have balconies, as opposed to Symphony's 65 percent. There are nine guest decks, with 548 staterooms on five of them, including four Crystal Penthouses with 1345-square foot verandahs. Thirty-two Penthouse Suites with 536-square foot verandahs, 64 Penthouses with 403-square foot verandahs, 82 (269-square-foot) Penthouse staterooms with verandahs, 286 (269-square-foot) Outside Deluxe Staterooms, and 80(225-square-foot) Outside Deluxe Staterooms. The Penthouse Staterooms, exclusive to Serenity, include a remarkable array of amenities, such as butler service, binoculars, slippers, Riedel glassware, personalized stationery, baggage tags for priority delivery, welcome champagne and an in-room bar that's fully stocked before embarkation, flat screen TV, walk-in closet, and full Jacuzzi bathtubs. The four largest penthouse suites also have guest bedrooms, butlers' pantries, libraries, private workout rooms, cordless phones, and surround sound. The cabins have roomy sitting areas, big closets with shoe racks, safes, both showers and bathtubs, double sinks, and telephones in the bathroom, which has it own raft of amenities, including magnifying makeup mirrors, and bathrobes. TV remote control offers a choice between 14 channels. There's a data port for laptop computers (access to the Internet is charged separately). The telephone system offers private voicemail and automated wakeup calls. Twin beds may be converted to queen-sized.

CRYSTAL SYMPHONY

The usual range of shipboard activities, from bingo to bridge and blackjack, are on offer, and there are wonderful spa facilities, but most of Crystal's passengers seem to have something very much loftier in mind, such as the extensive onboard educational programs and lectures. The Computer University@Sea, one of the first computer learning labs on cruise ships, is so popular you wonder how so many could have remained innocent so long!

Crystal has one of the highest passenger to space ratios at sea, and as you wander around the tastefully yet uncluttered public rooms you will sometimes wonder where everyone has gone even though the ship is at sea. The answer is their staterooms, enjoying a DVD available from the library, perhaps with a plate of room service caviar on the coffee table freshly delivered by the butler.

The full-time concierge is ever ready to make your next port stop an experience of a lifetime. Decide you want to rent a car at your next port stop just ask the concierge to take care of it and he will hand you the keys upon your arrival.

Decor: If you associate cruising with palm trees and the sound of running water, you'll feel right at home as soon as you step aboard. Light green and aqua walls of glass surrounding dramatic fountains fill the heart of the ship. Somewhere in the distance you hear a grand piano player tickling the keys.

Wide staircases with brass railings, wood polished to the point where you can see your own reflection, Crystal clearly lavishes attention on detail. And all that glass lends a lot of romantic natural light.

Public Rooms: You board Symphony via the glittering Crystal Plaza, a light and airy atrium whose two stories are connected with the grandest of glass and chrome stairs cradling a hand-cut glass sculpture and waterfall. This room is graced with a full bar and cocktail tables, perfect for people watching.

Deck six includes one of the largest dedicated lecture hall/movie theaters at sea, separate from the live entertainment venue Galaxy show lounge which though modest by modern cruise ship standards contains comfy chairs and great lines of sight from almost any seat in the house.

Symphony's recent enhancements include a larger spa facility, shopping area and casino, to the lobby's cozy cappuccino bar. It's impossible to resist Facets jewelry store with its sparkling bangles, and if you get to know the salesman he just might let you borrow a piece for a day or two.

The library is designed for serious connoisseurs of the world of knowledge with reference tomes for geography and all cultures of the world, the day's newspapers and an impressive selection of DVDs for lending.