CJANDH

Almost certainly right. Cherry Blossom Season is always an excuse for dressing up in Kimono.

Can you buy the SSP with OBC ahead of boarding or do you wait until on board?

Thanks for the tip. I will "search".

I have booked my first Viking Ocean voyage, an Iceland/Greenland cruise on Neptune embarking July 13, 2025. I was surprised to find that the final payment date is April 30, 2024, over a year ahead of embarkation. This seems awfully early to have to tie up the full cruise amount (including airfare and hotel). I am used to 4/6 month dates on Regent, Silversea and Explora. How come Viking is such an oddball?

Must have had a sleepless night 🤪.

Explora will meet some of your requirements well, but miss out on others. Specifically, the ship is ultra clean; the Emporium Marketplace is the best buffet at sea with all the food served by staff in very hygienic conditions behind screens. However, there is only limited outdoor dining space and what there is is not very convenient to get to. The live music is very good, but limited. On our cruise there were two very good pianists playing in the lounges, a proficient house band and two talented singers handling most of the main stage shows. Try it. You may like it!

Out of UK since 1971. In USA since 1985. American spellcheck 🥸

Good try. I just found mine in spam.

Adrian. Great job with the live report. I was expecting to post a bit myself but you covered everything in great detail and with a (typically Brit) sense of humor. Well done.

That might have been true earlier in Explora's short history. But it is totally wrong now. I have just come off Explora I and can confirm that the pianos were played each evening in two locations by very talented artists. The "few tired singers" have been replaced by two extremely talented singers and a very good in-house band No sign of reading computer screens. While I understand that you were disappointed by your cruise some months ago, please accept that the entertainment on Explora now is as good as on most small luxury ships.

We have just disembarked from Explora I in Bridgetown. We were advised we would get a survey emailed to us, but have received nothing. Has anyone else had a problem getting the survey?

I saw your link before. I am just saying that we left the ship and entered Barbados without that form. We are spending two days here and then flying back the US. The only contact with Immigration was the 5 minutes with one of the agents in the Explora Lounge before we disembarked.

We are US citizens and did not have to complete any form to enter Barbados. Are you talking about a form needed to leave Barbados?

The Helios pool area at the front of the ship is adults only. The Astern pool is not, as I can testify from the noise of screaming kids right below my rear facing "Residence". Not making that area adults only is a big mistake as the disturbance effects the guests in the most expensive suites on the ship. We were planning a Christmas cruise in the Cocoon suite, but dropped the idea when we realised that over the holidays there will likely be many more kids in the pool beneath us.

That was us. Beautiful room but noisy from both the thrusters and the kids in the pool.

We have learned that lesson this trip. This is the first time that we have booked an aft facing suite. It is gorgeous but VERY noisy all day in tender ports. Unfortunately, almost all the larger suites are at the back of the ship on Explora. So I guess we will stick to Regent and Silverseas after all.

What a rude awakening this morning. We arrived at our tender station early and instead of cruising around a bit, the thrusters were turned on a 6:05 am and have been running continuously since then. We are in a Cocoon Residence at the aft of the ship on deck 6, right over the rear thrusters. Believe me it is like living right in the engine room. Noise and vibration is awful. At the price we are paying I would have thought we might be entitled to a full nights sleep.

Thanks for that info. Makes sense and clearly that was what was happening. I don't agree that all of the latest ships avoid anchors routinely. I have been on several in the past year that have anchored. Maybe it depends on the location and the nature of the sea bed. I am all for protecting the ocean bed. But I still don't like the noise associated with doing it (selfish, I know.)

This is the second day in a row where we have tendered. I have no problem with that. However, when at anchor the captain continuously uses the thrusters to keep the ship in position. This is very noisy, particularly at the aft of the ship. Other cruises I have experienced anchor and allow the ship to swing around with the current/wind. The result is a nice quiet and peaceful ship to enjoy with a slowly changing view. On Explora I there is constant noise and vibration. A big negative for me.

We spoke to Entertainment Manager Michael after the show and he told us that the comedian had been scheduled as the main act but because of his poor performance in the first show he was cancelled and replaced at the last minute by the Carole King show. He said Lydia was having some voice problems from too much exposure (poor girl). He said that he gave the comedian a last chance to redeem himself with the "alternate" show in the Astern Lounge. A good executive decision in my view.

But EJ is sailing half full so the actual passenger to crew ratio is much better.

I would imagine they are having trouble selling cruises to the middle east right now. Who know when the troubles in the Red Sea and elsewhere will end.

"First of all the real, high quality musicians had grown to 5 in number. The arrangements were first class, the staging high tech, the sound spot on and the performances outstanding. Shame it was a thin crowd but it was an appreciative one. No standing ovation at the end which was a relief as they are just too readily given these days - although wait, this evening was deserving of one!" Could not agree more. And tonight's show looks to be great too. The wonderful Resident Vocalist, Lydia Christina, will be doing her own show: "A Tribute to the Divas". She has been so good in the shows earlier as part of the team, I am sure she will shine as a solo act.

We took a ships excursion in Virgin Gorda. It was a 4 hour beach visit at Spring Bay, which is a quiet version of the more famous Baths Park. The beach was lovely. They had set up loungers and umbrellas on the beach and served beer and rum punch along with a few local snacks. It was a nice day. But at 130 euros each it was a ridiculous price. It was a 10 minute bus ride each way that would have cost $10 in a taxi. We took it because we have some OBC to use. But if I had paid cash I would have felt ripped off.

I too was surprised that there is no map tracking our journey on the TV or anywhere around the ship. When I asked why I was told to download the "My Explora" app to my phone where I would find a route tracker as well as a lot of other useful information. I did and the app is truly good. Explora should make a big deal about telling people to get the app. Not only does it have the route map, it allows access to your account, provides a daily planner with all your bookings (restaurants and excursions) a link to menus and shore excursion descriptions, and more. It is one of the best onboard apps I have found on any cruise.