uktog

Not in my experience. The butler likes to make you think that (to look important) but they have no greater access to tables. Even in a suite you need to be flexible in the days and times you want

This was the astern deck tonight as they struggled to get their spot to film a standard sunset 🤣🤣

Not the best quality but this is a penthouse menu which as I recall was identical to an OT My favourite is the tuna poke bowl

No but I booked one last week now has 10% more. Oh well

Drat!

I see no difference between the ocean terrace and penthouse menus.

There’s not been a fresh catch since Miami so that item is work in progress Weve got the influencer/ photographer’s today. Personally I’m very comfy in my pool seat and won’t be moving but I have to say the suit the male model is wearing looks ridiculous and certainly wouldn’t encourage me to book but I’m probably not their target

With their current sail and our experience onboard Explora Journey has to be in the frame. The food is amazing and a basic room is of PV size and standard

It was strange it started at exactly the same time as the manoeuvres to leave port. We will never know but the entertainment staff weren’t bothered

It was bad and such a shame 😳

We had a guest entertainer in the lounge last night Dennis Daye a pianist who writes his own arrangements taking classical pieces into rock, pop, jazz styles, he was absolutely excellent and very personable coming round to chat to guests between the two sets. The four hand piano playing with Natalia was the highlight for us Unfortunately, his second set was slightly marred by a buzzing hum that started in the lounge ceiling but did not seem to concern staff. Several guests, probably those with hearing devices left during the show as a result which was a shame. This is the kind of show we’ve been waiting for and what Explora needs more of. Food continues to delight. Last nights Pork Cheeks in Sakura were delicious We had previously spent the day having a simple walk round Williamstad having done island and beach tours previously. This time as in other ports the selling of tours onshore was aggressive, we did go to the booth but three people all started shouting over each other pushing their maps in our face so the result was no one got our business. (The ships tour we wanted was cancelled which is a common theme). In the end we enjoyed our town walk looking at the art etc much more fun.

A lot of issues do not come to light until the ship sails and the motion of the ocean highlights them. Likewise issues with guests and staff using places only come to light. It’s like snagging a new building. So an unfair criticism - should there have been as many- who knows but this was the prototype vessel

They never brought Greggs on in Scotland it was the stop before in Newcastle. The move upset several as the Greggs image wasn’t what Azamara wanted to portray to potential UK customers

I hope they didn’t deny anyone boarding if they couldn’t access the form ! That would be an expensive legal settlement!!’

Not on this ship it’s not superficial like other lines their approach to quality is far more than lip service

Why? You’re already in the US so you will have a valid ESTA.

That’s still how it would be for us if we left air to Azamara they use low cost hubs like Frankfurt every time we ask for quotes. Worst still is those who don’t know you can delay booking a with flights option so get locked into the UK flights lottery too early

I’m glad the US is getting a better deal. The worst is what other countries are used to 😀

Sounds very like what we’ve had all along in the UK where we have no control on airline or flight times

My experience on Azamara is there was usually a ships escort particularly on the more active trips. The only people who seem to go out with Explora tours are the photographers taking scenic shots they frame and sell for 4-800 euros. Hope all their tour companies have good instructions in case of issues on hikes etc

Wish they’d offer decent fares for us

And will it apply in 🇬🇧

In Bonaire we had a ships excursion, entitled Beach Break and Island tour. It actually would have been more accurate if it had been titled island, tour and beach break. However, the description made it very clear. The beach break did not come until after lunch, but some had not read the script so not everyone seemed to fully enjoy. What we thought was actually it was an excellent day. This costs €440 for two and we were away from the ship for seven hours. The group of 16 was divided into two minivans with the German speakers, going in one with the owners wife and the rest of us going with Rafalino the owner. He is an absolute fount of knowledge in particular relating to where to find the island wildlife and this really made the tour for us. We had been to the island previously and had done an island tour, albeit from Celebrity on a larger coach, which was actually three coaches going in convoy and a lot of the time it was a fast drive past what was happening. This could not have been more different, Rafalino took the road gently and being on a smaller vehicle, we could use narrow roads, meaning we saw the best of the coastal scenery we were able to pull in as circumstances allowed either to take pictures out the open windows or on occasions to get out of the van to take photos. Sometimes we met up with his wife’s van but most of the times we were travelling on our own, and very rarely were we in a convoy There is so much wildlife on the island, and they are doing a lot to try and conserve the marine life in particular by creating no diving zones which they’re using for scientific purposes to monitor the coral growth versus elsewhere where diving is allowed. donkeys roam the island freely and are not fed by the islanders they live on the scrub. However, if donkey is in distress, there are sanctuaries to help them. The Clearwater on the coastal road was unbelievable. You could even see fish from the van. On our previous time in the island flamingo spotting meant seeing pink blobs in the distance, that was certainly not the case on this trip and we saw so many in various different circumstances. Rafalino never promised wildlife. In fact, his phrase is, I only promised when I know because I can see them. the first time the two groups met up together was at the cactus distillery quite an unusual and simple operation was explained to us and we had the opportunity to taste and, in addition, filled brioche buns with hams and cheeses and avocados were provided. I do not know who was expected to eat all the rolls we would’ve had enough for the whole ship such was the generosity of the hosts. I found the cactus liquor, very pleasant dear husband decided to be brave given that it was Saint Andrews day Scotlands patron Saint so he decided to try the whisky brave man. Let’s just say it focuses on strength rather than quality. After the distillery, we headed to see the slave huts. Last time we went to the we could get few pictures because there were about 90 people milling around the replica huts . This time it was beautiful and easy. We also did not have zoom by the salt flats unlike before, but two stops firstly to understand the canal and salt bed drainage system, and to see how it worked, and then to stop at the saltbox where you’re allowed to collect and takeaway as much rock salt as you want. this provided a little challenge when we got back to the ship as the ships security insisted in checking all my salt blocks and seemed to think at a point that they would have to be held by them until end of vacation. I have absolutely no idea why and when I queried it the second officer said no, that’s no problem you can keep it !! No idea what that was about. on the way to lunch, we saw an osprey who had just caught her lunch and was settling down to enjoy it by the seashore. Soon, it was our turn to enjoy our refreshing light lunch at a small, private beach resort - a choice of prawns or teriyaki beef with salad and cocktails and water also served the prawns were delicious. then it was time to head for our loungers, where we had about 80 minutes relaxing time - those who went in the water noted, although they went almost half of my mile out, the water still did not reach their knees, but it was all very relaxing Rafalino said on the way home, he hoped he could surprise us, and he did - a very large flock of flamingos he had seen previously were still in water very close to the road, and on the promise not to get too close we were allowed out of the van to take some lovely photos i’m including one taken with no zoom to show the number of lovely birds that were close by we really enjoyed this day and would recommend it to others. However I know overall the feedback was not as high as ours because people were disappointed at how little time they spent at the beach. It really worked for us.

I’m not sure they’ll know the dock yet. They change all the time. You can call in one reservation at Sakura and Marble ahead of time. Fils Rouge and Med Yacht are open seating.

I’ve just gone to the Bal Mythos but because the noise alert warning kept going off on my watch and I’ve sensitive ears (we were at the back of the room) we gave up. I’m not sure many guests understood what was supposed to be happening. It started 30 minutes later than advertised. We decamped to the Explora lounge but the artist has just stopped at 2200 although her start was advertised as being 2130. We’d assumed a little more entertainment