Hlitner

DW also had similar thoughts about the lobster roll in Marble. When we were in Boston (our first port after embarking in NYC) we walked over to Yankee Lobster and had the real thing with about a pound of lobster in the roll, including claw meat. The cost of that gem was $38 and worth every penny. Halifax also has some good lobster and lobster rolls, so a good reason to eat lunch off the ship 🤪 Hank

The issue is that most cruisers are used to relying on deck plans displayed all over a ship. But on EJ, there are no displayed deck plans. One must rely on sign placards which are supposed to make the “vessel” feel like a hotel.

One joke is that many folks cannot even find Guest Services :). A bar tender at the lobby bar told us there are more than a dozen inquiries (every day) for directions to Guest Services, Dining Reservations Desk, Destination Experience Desk. None of these have any signage, which management seems to feel makes it all classy. Speaking of signage, this ship has what I call "EJ Speak." So, for example, the ship is not a ship or a cruise ship but a "vessel." The Cruise Director is not a cruise director but an Experience Manager. Crew members are hosts. Having spend a lot of time on cruise ships the terminology is sometimes humerous. One day, during his noon update, the Captain actually had the nerve to say that the update was for passengers and crew instead of for guests and hosts! Hank

Just look at Explora Journeys (under cruise lines) and you quickly see the blog and some other posts. There are now several CC posters onboard and contributing.

No. We have been doing live reports on the EJ blog. I do not write normal ship reviews on CC because the format is too rigid and folks have no way to comment, ask questions, or disagree. Hank

Tough question since we cruised on over 60 ships. But the ship we are on now, Explora 1 is a candidate since it has no main dining room, no main theater, etc. Very different and gorgeous.

Since we have been on the ship, they have only had one kind of donut which seems to be plain with some chocolate icing. One negative is that the pastries do not change. Apparently the offerings are all governed from the home office in Geneva. The onboard chefs (we have met two) have the skill to do a lot more, but are constrained by company policy. Hank

Not sure. DW thinks the Normandy butter is salted. But I would bet if one asked for unsalted they would grant your wish. Since they do lots of baking onboard, they would surely be using unsalted. When you get butter in the Emporium or other venues it is provided in individual ramekins. Hank

Lol, very subtle streak :). A shame the QM2 took our docking location. 2nd port that we have lost out to bigger ships.

Sorry you missed us, but we were sitting in the middle bar seats from about 6 to 8 enjoying some adult libations. Sakura does remain our favorite, but tonight we went back to Marble. I finally tried the prime rib, which was trashed by a previous poster. The menu says “grilled” which is a lot different than the roast expected by we Americans. I thought it was fine, but we are used to European style cooking. Still looking forward to getting together. Hank

Hmmm. Well, by your reckoning, since we were the only paying passengers (actually the only folks) who were in the Conservatory, then we are truly special :). But sometimes the truth is better than fiction. According to a crew member-friend who works in that area, today was only the 2nd time he has ever seen the roof open. The weather has not been warm enough, and they generally keep it comfortable in the Conservatory. It has been a gorgeous day here in Quebec (some might call it an Indian summer) with temps in the mid to high 70s. Plenty of folks crowding the lower town since the huge Norwegian Joy is docked nearby. Hank

You are really hung up on this class stuff :). The reality is that they finally opened the roof on a quiet turn around day when the temps were in the 70s. It was to allow some painting and cleaning around the tracks on Deck 12. You might be the only person on earth to equate the opening of a roof to something having to do with paying passengers :). The truth is that they are working hard to get the ship in perfect shape for next weeks Naming Ceremony. The Aponte family is reportable flying in from Italy, so everything must be perfect. Hank

A news flash! This morning the Conservatory roof was opened (the first time we have seen this) and it does work. Hank

We are often at the lobby bar around 6. Old guy with Stacie and wife with purple streak in hair

Yes, I think we lost nearly 200 today. Heard there were only about 50 of us doing back to backs

We now have it on good authority that there will be no more than 300 on this 10 day sailing back to NYC. Hank

Lol, We are on time and docked at 5. But not at the normal port at the lower city. Our pier is in the commercial port a good mile from the main part of town. You would not even see much of us from the Hotel Frontenac. Once saw the Queen Mary 2 at this location, but this is our first time to be at this lousy location.

Docking at Quebec City in the worst possible docking location gar from the lower city. Folks will need a shuttle bus or taxi to get into town. Hank

My understanding is that all the gelato and sorbet is made onboard.

I think this company has a degree of arrogance and naïveté when it comes to pricing. We see it with the premium wines, up charges for not so top shelf booze, cooking lessons, many excursions, and Anthology. It is almost like they think their customers are all fabulously wealthy and do not mind paying ridiculous mark-ups. EJ forgets that many folks who have money are also wise enough to seek value. Perhaps they can find a customer base happy to overpay, but we have our doubts. Many who cruise on luxury lines are quite savvy and easily move between various lines based on pricing and itinerary. Hank

We actually walked from the ship over to the Reversing Waterfall area (not waterfalls but really rapids) to watch at high tide. Total cost of OUR tour was zero :). The walk (from the port was slightly over 2 miles (each way) with much of it along a well marked sidewalk. It was our 2nd or 3rd visit to St Johns, but we had never previously spent our time looking at the tides. Having done it we thought it was somewhat akin to watching the grass grow :). Another couple (from Germany) also did the walk and had the same reaction. If you wait long enough you can actually see the direction of the water flow reverse! WOW! 🙂 Hank

Lol. But when it comes to excursions you cannot even consider a tour with which you are completely unaware.

So lets move on with some more Explora "differences." The communications onboard, is similar to the communications pre-cruise. That is to say, if you want to know about various things such as your onboard account, excursions, dining reservations, etc. you must find the appropriate desk/host and make an inquiry. Here is an example that happened to us this morning. We had booked an excursion in Saguenay, that was cancelled. Faced with all kinds of remaining OBC, we stopped at the tour desk for a friendly chat (the hosts are very friendly). When we mentioned about trying to book some excursions, they pointed us towards an excursion, tomorrow evening, in Quebec City. It is a combination walking an culinary tour that we were happy to book. But, the only way one can even find out that this tour exists is to stop by that tour desk. It does not show on the excursions listed on the TV, we have no excursion brochures in our suite, and there are no places around the ship where you can simply read about excursions. In a sense, you must ask to know! We did suggest that they might want to send excursion information to the suites and gather that this "innovative idea" is under consideration. It is just one more example of being so low key, that it can (and will) cause frustration among cruisers who want to know the options available. Another problem is the tendency of this line to hide prices of everything! You can read about Chef's Kitchen Experiences in the daily program, and the only indication there is a cost is "an exclusive experience fee applies." You will not find this fee listed anywhere! (it is 150 Euros pp). This afternoon we stopped by the "Chef's Kitchen" room and they have posted a short list of some upcoming chef experiences. At the bottom it says there is a fee and to find out more you must go to the Deck 4 Guest Services desk. Really? We inquired about booking a dinner in Anthology for next week. There is a current price for those dinners, but we were informed that the price may be "adjusted" between now and next week! I guess knowing the price a few days prior is not reasonable. They also do not have a menu for this dinner (which costs over $500) at this time. The Guest Chef does not come aboard until Quebec, and I suppose the powers to be must huddle with the chef to work out the final details. A very strange way to run a cruise line. No question this is a very low-key place where everyone is friendly and helpful...but simply does not have much information about anything happening more than a day or two in the future. After a week onboard, we have adjusted to how this all works, but we wonder how many other "customers" will have our kind of patience. This line may do a lot better with first-time cruisers than those of us who have lots of experience with other lines. I will end this post on a high note :). DW and I are really enjoying the cruise, ship, hosts (crew), and most of the cuisine.

There is also the gelato/crepe bar here, which is open all afternoon.

Might be difficult to blow up the details of the Crema photo. On the left are two kinds a madeleines. They also have a delicious custard pastry similar the Belam Pastries famous in Portugal. On the right are several kinds of small sandwiches and I think (not sure) they can put them in a panini press. Hank