Crystal Serenity Dining

Nobu is a wildly popular restaurant on Crystal Serenity. (Photo: Colleen McDaniel)
The Grill on Crystal Serenity. (Photo: Colleen McDaniel)
Waterside restaurant on Crystal Serenity. (Photo: Colleen McDaniel)
Sushi plate at Umi Uma. (Photo: Chris Gray Faust)
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Editor Rating
5.0
Excellent
Dining
Colleen McDaniel
Editor-In-Chief

Food on Crystal Serenity is innovative and perfectly prepared, no matter where you eat. It also has excellent variety, especially for a small ship. We found that we could get what we wanted any time of the day, which is both convenient and dangerous. Virtually all restaurants on Crystal Serenity are included in the cost of your cruise fare, though reservations are required for several of them.

Crystal has a well-deserved reputation for offering high-quality, inventive dining, no matter the venue. We enjoyed the food on Crystal Serenity in every restaurant we visited and were pleased that waitstaff and chefs were able to accommodate requests, both big and small. (Given enough time, chefs can honor completely custom orders in addition to modifications of dishes.)

Because the ship offers so many options for food, restaurants are rarely crowded. Room service is extensive and included for those who just want to dine ensuite for any given meal.

Free Restaurants on Crystal Serenity

Waterside Restaurant. The ship’s main dining room, found on Deck 5, Waterside is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner most days. The dinner menu consists of “Crystal Classics” – traditional Crystal favorites that rotate throughout your cruise – and “Contemporary Cuisine,” which is a bit newer and more adventurous – and also rotates nightly.

Service is snappy and informed, with waitstaff making great suggestions based on your personal tastes and dietary restrictions. We asked for recommendations and were thrilled that our waiter asked questions about our tastes the very first night, steering us toward a delicious lemon sole instead of the shrimp orzo we’d been eyeing. Both were excellent – we tasted a friend’s dish – but the pick was the right one because he took the time to chat with me about my preferences.

Tip: If you’re really torn between dishes, you can order half portions, which really are delivered as half portions, eliminating some food waste.

Marketplace Buffet. Also open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this is the quick and casual buffet option onboard, but you also can get items made a la minute. Located on Deck 12, The Marketplace offers a carving station, a well-rounded, rotating salad bar and international offerings, even at breakfast, when you can make your own congee or stick with more traditional Western items like eggs, bacon and the like.

Umi Uma By Nobu Matsuhisa Restaurant and Sushi Bar. Created in partnership with celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Umi Uma (Deck 7) offers many of the dishes that made Nobu famous for his land restaurants. That includes yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno, wagyu beef and miso black cod. All are perfectly prepared to Nobu’s exacting standards. The restaurant has options even for those who don’t care for seafood, though vegetarians should probably pick a different restaurant.

Every guest is guaranteed one meal at Umi Uma as part of their cruise fare on sailings as long as 11 nights. (Passengers get two on sailings up to 22 nights, and three on journeys of 23 nights or more.) An additional reservation comes with a $50 per person fee and depends on availability.

Tip: If you’re confused by the choice, have the waiter put together a meal for you; we’ve found that leaving our dining fate in someone else’s hands created the perfect dinner.

Osteria D’ovidio. The Italian restaurant replaced Prego (another Italian venue) during Crystal Serenity’s 2023 renovation. Located on Deck 7, Osteria D’ovidio is named after Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, executive chairman of A&K Travel Group, which owns Crystal. The restaurant is a tribute to Northern Italian cuisine, and the menu itself was designed by A&K Travel Group President and CEO Cristina Levis.

Dishes here are heartier and more rustic, with options like lamb and tortellini stuffed with braised beef. As with Umi Uma, each guest is guaranteed one reservation, with more available for an additional fee.

Supper Club. Offered on select evenings during a cruise, the Supper Club, found on Deck 6, is a combination dinner and entertainment experience. The multicourse dinner takes place in the Stardust Club. The dinner event is limited to 116 guests. Reservations are required.

The Bistro. Located on Deck 6, the Bistro can be easily overlooked if you’re not seeking it out, but it’s a spot not to miss. Open throughout the day, the Bistro offers international and continental options in the morning (bagels, pastries, fruit and smoked fish) as well as an excellent array of international cheese, pates, smoked meat and salmon and cute little desserts through the late afternoon. This is also the spot where guests grab their morning coffee, as it offers a large coffee shop with a lightning-fast barista.

Tastes Kitchen & Bar. Midship on Deck 12, just before Marketplace Buffet, you’ll find a trio of dining options that includes Tastes, the Trident Grill and Scoops. Tastes, located on the starboard side of the ship, is the sit-down option, where you’ll be served a tapas style meal by waiters. Dishes are meant to be shared. Our favorite here: the bao buns. Tastes also serves a killer chicken salad, if you’re looking for something a little lighter.

Trident Grill. Across from Tastes, on the port side, you’ll find the Trident Grill. This is the ship’s burger bar, where you can order burgers (veggie and beef), chicken breast or salmon sandwiches. It also offers up fries, sweet potato fries and onion rings. This was the only spot onboard where we had to wait a little longer for a gluten-free option: The team had to visit the galley used for Waterside restaurant to find a suitable bun replacement. (We’re chalking this up to being the ship’s first cruise and expect this to have improved.)

Scoops Ice Cream Bar. Located right next to the Trident Grill and open all day, this is the spot to get your ice cream. Flavors change daily.

What Restaurants Cost Extra on Crystal Serenity

The only restaurant that costs extra on Crystal Serenity is The Vintage Room. This is part meal, part education and all spectacular. The intimate space, located on Deck 7, is available by reservation only and only open to 14 guests at a time. The six-course menu includes wine pairings led by the ship’s head sommelier. It’s $300 per person. An Ultimate Vintage Room experience is also available. This dinner features guest chefs and costs $1,200 per person.

This is a must for wine lovers, as it’s led by the head sommelier onboard as well as the executive chef.

Cruise Critic Restaurant Pick on Crystal Serenity

It’s tough to beat Umi Uma. To be able to dine at an award-winning chef’s restaurant without paying what you would on land is an incredible opportunity, and the miso black cod absolutely will fill your dreams for years to come.

For a more casual option, Tastes Kitchen & Bar is a wonderful option at lunch and dinner. The bao buns are perfectly fluffy and filled with just the right amount of slightly sweet pork, and noodles are slurpable and savory.

If fine wine matters to you, the Vintage Room is worth the investment for a special meal and wine pairing that includes some exceptional vintages – such as a Dominus 2006 or 2008 Dom Perignon. Meals are carefully crafted to compliment the wine, not the other way around, and the evening feels like an experience rather than just a meal.

Dietary Restrictions on Crystal Serenity

Traveling with a food restriction is handlined with ease on Crystal Serenity. All waitstaff and chefs are trained to know and understand allergies, preferences and sensitivities. Vegetarian dishes are clearly marked on the menus, and we were told almost all the dishes can be changed to accommodate most allergies. We put it to the test on our sailing, as our travel companion is both gluten- and dairy-free. She would mention her allergies at the beginning of the meal, and variations of what was described on the menu were whipped up specifically for her. Even Umi Uma offers a gluten-free soy sauce alternative. She loved the food onboard and said she was thrilled at the options, which she can never get at home when she dines out.

Sauces can be served on the side or skipped altogether.

In July 2023, Crystal announced the appointment of a head nutritionist is collaborating with the company’s culinary teams to develop balanced menus meant to cater to multiple dietary preferences and requirements. The menus weren’t available on our sailing but are set to launch later in the summer.

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