PrivateIdaho

Read on a FB post, Tanya is going back to Azamara.

A combination of both. Watch the in suite video and then go to muster station and have your cruise card scanned. No life vests required.

Both seating options are very crowded.

It’s been interesting to compare this cruise with our others on this ship. We have about the same number of pax as our last sailings, however the Lobby Bar and Whiskey Bar are packed this time. Really hard to find bar seating, which is disappointing. Next week, will be impossible.

Medical evacuation was accomplished and we are again headed South. We now have another sea day and will miss our Saint Kitts port. Captain kept us well informed and we wish the best for our fellow passenger. The weather heading back to Miami was some of the worst I’ve experienced on a cruise. Very rough sailing.

Embarked yesterday morning. We had an early flight and arrived at terminal C as stated on our paperwork. Unfortunately Explora was docked at terminal E. Quickly walked over, in the wind & rain, pulling our luggage. Luckily we were allowed to enter the check-in area early to get out of the weather. Check-in began at 11am and we were allowed to board at 11:30. We were greeted at the entrance with Champagne and a “Dad joke” from one of our favorite hosts, Kennedy. Spent the rest of the afternoon showing our daughter around the ship and enjoyed lunch at Marketplace. Easily acquired an additional reservation at Marble & Co and had another outstanding dinner. Attended the show in the Journey Lounge and considering all the recent negative reviews, we enjoyed the band and the two singers. Seas are a little rougher this morning & we are off to the gym. Today and tomorrow are sea days. Fingers crossed we see some sunshine.

The influencer video has hit EJ Instagram account. So they were hired by the cruise line. Just like the girl in the red dress on our Iceland cruise.

Might be awhile before we book again. The limited itineraries in the Med and Caribbean don’t really interest us. Looking at Asia and North Europe for our next adventure. But we will be back as EJ expands.

Absolutely!

Heading to Miami early tomorrow, hope the weather forecast improves. Thought I’d start a new topic for this cruise and look forward to everyone’s comments, info and reactions. Bon Voyage 🛳️ 👋

Thanks for all your updates. Safe travels!

There were no such events on our cruises. I get the impression that theme nights and such, are not in keeping with the classy “hotel at sea” environment EJ was trying to present. However, there seemed to be pressure by some guests, to add more typical cruise activities such as dance lessons and trivia, which they did. Will be interesting to see how things change as the brand grows. Personally I don’t miss any of that stuff. No bingo, no silly games and no crappy art auctions!

With all the issue with your previous bookings, I’m happy that you’ve been pleased with your cruise. This product has such potential.

There is no dedicated desk space. However there are areas that could be used for this purpose: desk/vanity in the walk-in closet, coffee table and table on the veranda.

We liked the high tea experience but it isn’t something we needed to do everyday. What we would have preferred, or maybe in addition to, would have been a pre dinner happy hour with savory hors d’oeuvres. We experienced this on Atlas and enjoyed the social gathering over cocktails. Explora does offer nuts and chips, but it’s pretty basic.

Glad to hear this. Yes 22 is the most kids they’ve had.

We had one child on each of our cruises and one was an infant. Even having a small youth club, Explora doesn’t offer kid entertainment at the same level as other larger & more family oriented ships. I understand they are marketing themselves as family friendly but this is not the cruise line for kids. There are always exceptions, but my daughter would have been bored to tears.

OT suites are very nice. For entry level accommodations, we were impressed. There is quite a bit of storage with a walk-in closet with a dressing table. The bathroom is decent size with a large shower. I’ve read that some would prefer double sinks, but one is fine for us. Hard to beat the showers on Atlas, this comes close. Lots of charging plugs bedside and comfortable beds. Nice sitting area. Veranda has a small table two chairs and an upholstered daybed lounger. All in all, best entry level suite we’ve experienced on our cruises. We did find the temps a bit warm at night, although we had the a/c cranked down. Turned out to be a filter problem which was fixed. Make sure you aren’t on deck 6 over Crema Cafe smoking area. Can make using you veranda difficult as the smoke rises.

For all of you who have taken the time to post photos and comments, thank you. Hope you enjoyed Explora l as much as we did. Can’t wait to introduce her to our daughter in 26 days.

Where do you get this information? #Inquiringminds

I’m interested to hear you impressions of Ocean Cay.

700 pax?! That’s the largest contingent Explora has had. This should be interesting. I hope we are back to smaller loads for our cruise 13 Dec.

Looking forward to your opinions. Safe travels.

I had no problem getting a green salad to which I added fresh grilled fish or chicken breast. It was delicious. I think some worry needlessly. They are very accommodating.

Hmm, not our experience. We were pleased with our OTC suite. For an entry level accommodation we found it large, comfortable, plenty of storage and it was more than we expected based on the pre cruise literature. Probably one of the nicest entry level suites we’ve experienced while cruising. We were later moved to a Premier Penthouse and while very nice, we actually liked the open space in the OTC better. Perhaps the Explora experience isn’t for everyone and frankly you’d need to pay me to sail on mega MSC YC. Glad there are different choices for all. We will be going on our third EJ cruise in December, in an OTC suite.