Whipsnade

I spent 30 days on Explora in Sept and am now on board Symphony for 60 days. So perhaps I have some credibility on this. if you are under 55 you might prefer Explora. Younger crowd. Incredible gym and spa and biggest pool on the ocean. If you are over 60 Crystal would be a choice. More sedate. A little dressier crowd. Those are general comments. Now some specifics. Cuisine. No ship can compare with Crystal. Waterside continually changes menu. Presentation is magnificent. Service cannot be beat. Explora has same menus every day. Service can be spotty as you may have six waiters and none know what the last has done. They are nice enough but no ship experience. Most hired from hotels in Dubai. Many Crystal waitstaff have been with them for 20 years. Entertainment on Explora pretty much non existent. Crystal has mostly good stock production shows and an occasional singer or comedian. Explora has player pianos. Crystal has live pianists. Crystal has actual movie theaters. Explora shows movies every now and then around the pool. Then there is price. If both were equal I would choose Crystal. If Explora is more expensive I would and did walk. We had three Explora cruises booked and canceled in favor of Crystal st 35% less. As far as losing $$ from old Crystal and blaming new Crystal I just don’t get it. The companies are in no way related. And through the EI program and credit card companies and bankruptcy trustee no one needed to lose a dime. We didn’t. And we had $120K on the line. Very happy with Crystal and have ten more cruises booked over the next year.

To reiterate. If you have received an initial payment from Moecker do not expect any more. We were preferred creditors so received those funds. The remainder of what we claimed goes to the bottom if the pile. If we ultimately receive any more $$ it will be pennies in the dollar.

Highly unlikely that there will be further distributions to any of us. I believe we will now be far down the pecking order for what scraps may remain. Those of us who took advantage of New Crystal’s generous offer via Exceotional Initiative are more than “whole” and have nothing to complain about. Certainly I do not. Very happy on board Symphony and have booked out all my EI cruises over the next year. Only downside would be if I croak before I use them up!!!

As soon as I hear anything I will report.

Our onboard cruise consultant tells me the rest of 26 will likeky be “dropped” before we leave in Mumbai 3/27.

We agree. Explora a mess. MSC should stick to the three star business which they do well and sell their beautiful shops to Crystal.

Symphony will be going through Red Sea with crew only. The rest of us are being kicked off in Mumbai March 27. It is reported that D’Ovidio and Kent will be on board. Symphony will arrive in Piraeus in time for a bang up season in the Med.

It was tough for us to ask for wheelchairs. Still reluctant. But it adds a lot to our lives and find folks everywhere more than willing to help. No “home” for us. We find ship best place for us. Spending about 100 days a year now on ships and planning to increase that to 120 next year. Actually cheaper than a good “home”.

Don’t even think it, Tillie. Every airport has wheelchairs and Symphony bell boys will happily wheel you from ship to shore in every port. We did it today in Singapore. Gets easier as you get older as long as you accept it.

You will find new Crystal even better than old Crystal. Waterside best restaurant at sea by far. New cabins quite nice. We have been on board for two months and not bored yet. Have booked a half dozen Crystal cruises over next 18 months. Bye bye Silversea, Seabourn and Explora.

Sounds good.

Like to know what lecturers. Thanks for the update.

They have been playing this game right along. We had booked three btb cruises in PH. When they cut prices by 40% and refused the same to us we said bye bye Explora.

Wheelhouse called us Crystals “fossils”. I only repeated and mocked it. I think that would be a good name for a Trivia team. “Old Fossils”. When Crystal had the Olympic Games I won gold every year in lap swimming since I was 75. Beat all the Young Bucks by a thousand laps. We may be old and slow but we are hardy. s

Sam, I exaggerated to reinforce a point made earlier. Point really is you need people who have started early with luxury brands to develop a luxury brand. You wouldn’t hire a top Mickey D guy to start a three star restaurant group.

And they still have no loyalty program. One would have thought this would have been the backbone of any marketing plan.

And you are entitled to yours. I do, however take umbrage at being called a “fossil”. That really is over the top I am sure you will agree. I am 85, swim everyday and expect to be cruising for quite a while. Certainly glad to hear from someone who truly knows “what most people think.”

If you can only fill half a brand new ship in March in the Caribbean it is surely not a good sign for the future.

Speaking as one of the many Crystal “fossils”, we have the time and the money to spend more than seven days on a ship. We spend at least 100 days a year cruising in PH level accommodations. We figure we probably have most of another decade at sea before we plotz. Probably drop $2 million in the process. Those kids Explora and others are chasing might drop $100K in the next decade. Follow the money!!

Vista is on the money. Putting a guy who worked for Carnival and was Pres of Aida was huge mistake. Bet he never even traveled on a luxury ship. Never slept on a Frette sheet. Never ate in M starred restaurants or stayed in five star hotels. Most of us on this thread have done all of those things for a long time so we know what good is. And Explora is not good. They may well have already ruined their chances of capturing luxury market looking for alternatives. Would take an awful lot of coaxing to get me back. I have $1200 in cancellation credits which I may well just pass up. Too bad as the ship is beautiful, cabins spacious and public spaces very desirable. Best bread on the ocean. Auto doors in public restrooms. Spa with salt room. Huge pool under magrodome so you can swim even in Arctic. They should sell these ships to d’ovidio and Kent at Crystal and stick to what they do well, mega three star ships and freight.

Vista is on the money. Putting a guy who worked for Carnival and was Pres of Aida was huge mistake. Bet he never even traveled on a luxury ship. Never slept on a Frette sheet. Never ate in M starred restaurants or stayed in five star hotels. Most of us on this thread have done all of those things for a long time so we know what good is. And Explora is not good. They may well have already ruined their chances of capturing luxury market looking for alternatives. Would take an awful lot of coaxing to get me back. I have $1200 in cancellation credits which I may well just pass up. Too bad as the ship is beautiful, cabins spacious and public spaces very desirable. Best bread on the ocean. Auto doors in public restrooms. Spa with salt room. Huge pool under magrodome so you can swim even in Arctic. They should sell these ships to d’ovidio and Kent at Crystal and stick to what they do well, mega three star ships and freight.

We certainly enjoyed the ship. Beautifully designed. Very functional. And we were anxious to come back after Sept. but the more we thought about it, especially the cuisine the less enamored we became. Same menus every day. Fine for seven day trips but not thirty days. Entertainment pretty dreadful compared to others. Shorex clueless and inexperienced. Almost killed us in walk up the hill in Edinburgh while others bussed. Couldn’t find our whale boat in Rejkavik. Their decision to load the ship with TAs and “influencers” in the most luxurious cabins while we paid full rates certainly annoying but understandable on early cruises But they are still doing it. “Explora speak” quickly became laughable. Guest Relations people were unhelpful and rude. But we still booked three more cruises with the hope their initial faux pas would ameliorate. From comments here that has not happened. The switch to heavily discounting ocean cabins and refusing to give us same deal was the final straw. On Crystal we are treated like royalty. Menus in Waterside change every day. And prices for PH and above are way less than Explora. So we canceled and are going with Old Reliable. Not new ships for sure but the longer itins are always wonderful even if they are shorter segments. We have been on board for almost two months and not bored yet. Let Explora chase the seven day market in the Carib. I am looking for something more. Explora promised but hasn’t delivered.

They have so many issues to solve almost impossible to correct. Would take years to lure back the luxury cruisers they have already lost. We canceled three cruises after they refused to give us the 40% discount in PH.So we booked Crystsl for 30% less. When we walk away from a cruise line pretty much impossible to get us back.

About time Ungerer left for “personal reasons”. It shouldn’t be more than six months to find a competent replacement, another year for that person to organize a new team and probably another year to organize changes. So by early 27 perhaps there might be a revitalized Explora brand. Better yet sell the whole lot to D’Ovidio and Kent at Crystal as they surely know how to run a luxury operation and let MSC stick to mega cruises and freight at which they do quite well.

Usually all other cruises come out a month later. Probably in April would be my guess.