India, June 11 -- Aboard the Crystal Symphony not so long ago, our butler was fretting about matzo balls. My husband wanted a light snack, so we'd called for some room service chicken soup - hold the dumplings. But, our butler said with some concern, we'd be missing out on something "really good."

That's the kind of on-the-ball service you can expect when travelling with Crystal, a line renowned for its old-school service, including butlers assigned to every suite. In fact, earlier on our voyage, our suite attendant had managed to put a shine on my husband's well-worn shoes and then, much to my delight, politely pointed out another pair also needed a polish.

In a way, we had been looking forward to the trademark service, since my husba...