KJB416

I agree with Dr. Cocktail just ask for what you want when you get on board. They offer one bottle of alcohol from a list and one bottle of wine replenished as needed. We didn’t even open our bottle of gin. By the second evening, the bar waiters in different venues knew our drink orders and we had them fighting over us (in the best way possible) to get us our drinks as often as we liked. My very old school in-laws that travelled with us were so impressed with the service and we especially appreciated the restaurant waitstaff not removing anyone’s dinner plate until everyone was finished eating. You don’t find that in most restaurants anymore and that is a sign of excellent training and we most definitely appreciated it.

Rough number is 300+ for the next cruise our cruise supposedly had half travel agents out of the 500+ passengers, not sure how accurate that is, but seems definitely possible. The ship is full in a good way; second dinner reservations are not something we tried for.

We had a 1pm and 1:30 boarding time in LA and we got there around 12:30-12:45 and were put in seats and they had a first come first served sort of order. We were taken straight to our cabins by 1pm. Food and service has been excellent and everyone knows our name and greets you as such. We also love the resident entertainers and prefer their shows over the special guests. I think we have 590 on board. A lot of TA’s and those with cameras and recoding devices unfortunately, but it honestly has not deterred from our enjoyment of the cruise. The crew is what makes the trip so special and it’s been a very fun time with an enjoyable and friendly crowd of fellow passengers. I look forward to trying Explora II.

Wines you can pay for is attached. From what I remember, the same included wines are offered in all venues. Since I don’t drink wine I wasn’t really paying attention. EXI_EXPLORA_LOUNGE (1) (1).pdf

Per my request in February, 2024, Explora emailed me all of the drink menus and I’ve attached a couple here. These are just what the back office had and may not be accurate. I’ll be onboard right before you and will try and post here to give you a better idea of what’s on board. Or maybe we are on the same cruise out of LA on the 12th? On our last cruise they ran out of their one IPA on the second day and also fever tree tonic became hard to find and staff would have to go to other bars on other floors to get it. Hoping these things have been resolved. EXI_EXPLORA_LOUNGE (1) (1).pdf EXI_MALT_WHISKY.pdf

Thank you for the information. I emailed them last night asking about it again, since the sale price is significant. I mean, they would take an upgrade over a reimbursement, but it doesn't seem like corporate wants to do anything for paying customers. Just offering the free stuff to the TA and influencers.

we are on April 12 LA - Vancouver

Do you mind explaining more on the request for a reduction for the third time? My in-laws are booked on our April 2024 sailing and they paid full price for their OT4 cabin and so far Explora will not do anything for them even though the current prices for their cabin are 2k less and offer the OBC. I was able to transfer my April booking to another cruise in Oct 24 and rebooked the April cruise during the BF sale. It’s really frustrating dealing with their corporate office and if you use a TA they won’t discuss costs with you. My in-laws are 90 years old so will not hassle over the price, but it really bothers me that EJ slashed these prices after saying they would sail empty before lowering prices. I’m also told the cruise has 70% of cabins sold and I have a feeling there will be a lot of travel agents on board.

They did on our cruise in August.

Yes, you’re correct and I don’t know what I was thinking about sushi only at lunch. Thanks so much for posting the menu since my in-laws are going with us in April and I sent the pictures of the menus previously provided, possible by you, and I couldn’t find the lunch menu for Sakura. Is it that you can sit at the sushi bar at dinner with no reservations? I can’t remember what it is about this and if it’s still available?

I would book Marble and Sakura on the first two nights and if you like them, then go to the reservation agent on deck 5 outside the Crema Cafe and see if you can get another nights reservation at each of those places. Go to med yacht club and Fil Rouge the other two nights. Sakura is open for lunch (Sushi bar only) so you can try that as well. We would hit the Emporium Marketplace (the buffet) for oysters, crab/shrimp and a cocktail pre dinner every night. We thought Emporium was great for breakfast and lunch. Their dinner offerings were very good as well, but with only 6 nights I’d just try to get in again to wherever you enjoyed most and if nothing stood out then go to Emporium for dinner. Enjoy your cruise

I get on the ship in LA and this is one of the experiences offered under my booking. You can also hire a private car service if you don’t want to take a taxi or Uber that is available at the terminal. Explora should offer a private transfer as well once you are on the ship.

I ordered twice from room service in an OT1 cabin. Once in the afternoon around 2:30 back from an excursion and nothing was open and the other was a late night need for carbs. Both times food was of excellent quality and delivery within 30 to 40 minutes. The only issue is there is really no place to eat in the OT1 cabin if you’re looking for a dining experience. I wasn’t, so it worked fine for me, but it’s pretty much eating on the bed or on the small sofa with plate on your lap or outside if weather permits. I’m not sure if there’s a different menu for the higher up cabins. It has been discussed previously, but I don’t remember what wa said about it. From what I remember, the menu had salads, shrimp cocktail, sandwiches, pasta and pizza.

You should book an option for the January cruise so you have the sale price secured and this holds the price for 7 days and then call them on Monday to have the February cruise transferred to January option cruise and they will transfer the deposit from Fe over to January cruise and this should waive the admin fee. Are you in any cancellation period other than the admin fee? I have had success with using this transfer of booking but my TA had to handle it and it was escalated to a manager since mine was a little complicated.