Day 3 – July 10, 2018 (Tues) – embarkation in Vienna

Checked out from the Salzburg hotel at 7:15 am. Front desk called a taxi cab that arrived in 2 minutes and we got to Salzburg Main Station at 7:40 am. Fare was €10,20 + €1,80 tip. The traffic was a tiny bit slower than Sunday. After checking that the train left from Platform 4F (only half the train continued on to Vienna Airport and half stopped at Vienna Main Station), we had free breakfast at the OBB 1st Class Lounge and boarded the train on time. This time we saved €70 per ticket than buying it right at the station.

The Crystal reps waited for us at the train platform at Vienna Airport and we were escorted to the Crystal Coach that was waiting for us at Terminal 3 parking lot. We had to wait for over half an hour for ten more guests to arrive before pulling off to the pier. 

Crystal Mozart docked at pier #5 on Handelskai, which was directly opposite the St. Francis of Assisi Church, also known as the Emperor’s Jubilee Church.

I read many reviews before picking my suite with a French balcony, making sure that when docking at the piers the room/view would be blocked to the minimal.  So far it proved to be an excellent choice. I’ll do a summary of Mozart’s docking positions at the end of the cruise. My suite is #203 on the port side.

Check-in was a breeze, it took no more than 5 minutes, including taking pictures for our cruise cards. We did it with a rep right at the stateroom, which is on Deck 2, that means we did not have to take the stairs from the entrance of the ship. Since our luggage was already brought to the room, we started unpacking before having lunch at Waterside Restaurant on Deck 3. Our first buffet lunch on board was not good at all. Both the chicken scallopini and veal were not even warm and they were quite hard. Coffee was not good either. However, the food got much better after the first meal.

Our S1 Deluxe suite with French balcony is only 219 sq. ft. in size, we found it very small, though it’s already bigger than other cruise lines’ balcony rooms. We packed very light, knowing that only smart casual clothes were needed. Each person only brought 15 shirts/T-shirts, 7 pair of pants/shorts, 2 pieces of swim wear, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 pair of slippers, 1 jacket (my husband has 1 sport jacket too), 10 underwear, plus our toiletries and electronic gadgets like phones, tablets, cameras, chargers, etc. I also have 3 dresses. We had no problems putting everything in the 2 closets with 3 huge drawers. An iPad is on one night table, and a phone is on the other.

The TV is quite big for the room but it’s not movable, so we can’t even use our HDMI cable to see our photos and videos on the TV.

I love the sitting area. It’s facing the front of the ship so it’s great to sit on the couch to enjoy the river scenery along the way. I’ll show the balcony windows later. The mini-bar (actually a pull-out drawer) is beside the desk under the coffee machine and the cups and glasses.

The bathroom with the adorable Toto heated toilet is lovely and well-designed. Upscale Etro bath products are provided. The shower’s water pressure has been great. The middle knob is for the temperature, the left is for the overhead shower. With both the left and the right turned on, it’s the hand-held shower. There is a drawer under the sink, a shelf above the toilet, so there is enough space to leave my toiletries.