Stickman1990

Clearly it’s not the line for you so you’ll be glad when tomorrow rolls around and you can disembark never to return to Explora It’s a sea day today - so it’s not operating - that doesn’t mean it was a one day experiment - it means it will operate on port days to cater for those returning from ashore On sea days I guess they figure people are smart enough to manage their food intake around the standard dining hours - or use Crema, Afternoon tea or the extensive room service menu

Mercy mission is underway now

I haven’t seen any keyboards like they used to have for classes on Crystal They do have several Steinway grand pianos but they are not for guest use. One is automated and plays at various times during the day

Basically it’s everything served there at lunch time then some salads, cheese and salami added

No today is a port day in St John, New Brunswick

Today marks the opening of Burger station to offers some items after 2pm - to tide over those who haven’t had enough to eat or are returning from excursions I’ll report back on menu options later in the day

I have a different take on the “non changing” menus Would you rather they had less offered on the menus and then changed them regularly to replace dishes? The current menus are quite extensive with the range of dishes so I don’t see the issue in terms of simply choosing something different each time you dine from the longer menus. This way you don’t have to get lucky to have a preferred dish on the menu that night - it’s always there For us on the current 16 night cruise we haven’t experienced any “burn out” of options in the various restaurants - we’re still trying new dishes each time we visit but have also now honed in on a few repeats that we particularly enjoy. Dinner last night in Sakura was superb and amongst our group we are still discovering new dishes there We’ve only dined at Emporium once in the evening and between the seafood raw bar and grill and a delicious seafood stew that was enough to satisfy me Someone asked if seperate caviar was available (even as a chargeable item) - we haven’t seen that option but there are many caviar dishes with generous caviar servings included While I don’t eat it I know my foie gras loving friends are super happy with its regular appearance in Emporium Dining is so subjective - some will like a dish while others will hate it - that’s the reality across all lines so I’d suggest trying these things for oneself - I haven’t heard of anyone starving on board Explora as they’re unable to find suitable food options

Coke Zero is back - if it ever actually left the building Back in Explorer lounge this afternoon and in suites

You can get all the menus from the My Explora App Heres an example for Fil Rouge

So that’s seriously what you believe? Hard to argue with you based on that logic

I don’t see them as problems - they’re very minor in the scheme of things and I always judge based on how they handle things. In this case they resolved it quickly without fuss or escalation I give everyone a chance to resolve issues - if they don’t then I’ll escalate it Of course you may approach things differently If you want a guaranty of no issues arising, on any line, then good luck for you. Are you suggesting such lines exist?

I’m on this same cruise and I can tell you that not everything being stated by that poster is correct re shortages, or indeed a number of other things he raises - it may well be his experiences but it is certainly not the case universally One of our party requested Coke Zero in Fil Rouge two nights ago and was initially told no Coke Zero - she replied would you like to go and get it from my room fridge? - that was not required, the waiter went away and came back with Coke Zero for her - and it certainly wasn’t from her fridge As I went though in post on one of these threads the other day many of the posters statements are incorrect but it seems some on here prefer the negative narrative rather than fact Re fruits - here’s the fruit platter I had in Fil Rouge two nights ago - it’s not on the menu but they were more than willing to get it for me when I politely requested if one might be available - I’m not that familiar with fruit 😂😉 but I didn’t feel it reflected any shortages I’m sure there are items out of stock or in short supply but let me assure you no one is starving and there are inevitably alternatives on offer. We’re close to completing a 16 night cruise in the Artic - not a lot of scope for re-provisioning - actually in two ports Explora off loaded large quantities of provisions which were donated to local charities - they didn’t make a big thing about it (even though some of us asked them to let fellow passengers know about it) - but actions usually speak louder than words

It is the exact same situation on Explora - we have a group of 5 and have tried our luck at both the specialties several times on the current voyage and been accommodated on all but one occasion So if you are so adamant that “this is certainly not” have you sailed on the line or just basing it on hearsay?

They’re not offering any extension options for us on our current cruise on arrival in New York They want us off by 9.30am

Excellent - Bon Voyage Please look after her as we are looking forward to boarding her in Tokyo in November Are you posting about your voyage anywhere as I’d love to hear how the trans Pacific goes

Yes - I can access it via the Press Reader App and it gives me access to a wide range of publications

So these forums can be a platform for Crystal’s cheerleaders to go unchallenged? I think not

If questions get asked then expect them to be answered If incorrect statements are made expect them to corrected Going off topic is the norm these days and unless deliberately done to distract then it appears that is accepted by those who actually control these forums

It’s not cheap - pricing is in Euros

Thanks for clarifying Ivi Yes I agree the changes made to the second half of 2024 onwards is not good - it’s very unfortunate that some great itinerary in listing a repeat of our itinerary have been removed. I’m hanging out for the mid 2025 itineraries from them now as we want to book more with them but we need interesting itineraries and longer cruises (happy to take B2B to make them longer but not shuttling between the same ports Re onboard experience - hard to fault it - food, service and the ships facilities are great. Things that could be improved include aspects of entertainment (but suggestions that it isn’t there are simply not fair or correct) similarly with enrichment lecturers - they have some excellent subject matter experts but they could do with more. The included alcohol isn’t as broad as on other luxury lines but with Moet and Hendricks and Four Pillars gin available along with the included wines I’m easily satisfied There are many aspects of the ship I don’t use so haven’t tried but they have a big emphasis on fitness centre and equipment as well as the spa and several swimming pools and jacuzzi’s Whilst not a complaint and it hasn’t bothered me but I think they may have too many areas allocated to smokers - but as I say to date it hasn’t impacted me at all We’ve sailed Regent and Silversea (and Viking) in the last 12 months and before Covid many times - by comparison Explora is very much a luxury line equal or better than these lines. The thing we’ve learnt is that every line has things we like and things we dislike and sometimes there are inconsistencies in delivery of some things across a voyage. For us the choice is good and we have future cruises booked on all the luxury lines we’ve sailed plus of course Crystal (we don’t include Viking in our definition of luxury)

Here's the letter we received re transfers in NYC By way of comparison an Uber Black to JFK is coming in at US$185 I can’t believe the prices for the transfer to NYC hotels!

The wait is very short - while you order what you want and they cook to order I think at the peak times they’re constantly throwing those tails and shrimps on the grill so they have some ready for those ordering. If you ordered a fillet of say salmon that would be cooked to order but the wait would be what I’d describe as minimal (you could also go to another station for say raw bar or salad items)

Dined in Emporium last night Oysters from France Green lipped mussels from New Zealand Lobster tails and Crab claws - not sure of their origin - but very nice The tails and shrimps, along with a number of other seafood options are cooked to order at a station next to the raw bar and I decided to top up….

So what aren’t they delivering? It sure feels like a luxurious cruise experience to me and my friends - the things that are important to us including food, service and the physical attributes of the ship such as cabins and public areas are certainly luxury line level Happy to answer questions but it’s difficult to respond without knowing what you’ve experienced that you don’t feel is up to luxury standards Will everyone like everything about the line? - of course not but that’s true of each and every line sailing today

7 days to go yet - they’re not getting rid of us that easy!