boooomer

Great point! The classic is the “upgrade” from a standard balcony cabin to an 8th floor Signature Suite. The idea of a suite is compelling but If your sensitive to noise that can be nightmare.

Thank You. I will check that. I’m late to the dance on this cruise and I haven’t booked yet. The math on this is interesting: Suite upgrade from 8 to 6 costs $600. CO cost $510($15*17*2). It’s a no brainer. CO saves me $90 and I have the benefits. Booking through a TA affords me a nice discount or OBCs - but I don’t think a TA could finesse this. OTOH if CO isn’t available or the TA can’t do this, it’s not a big deal. We’re 4 star mariners, We get the early boarding. Concierge and a reserved area in the MDR are nice - but I think the added $510 would better be used in the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto. And maybe a pop up. Dunno. Bernie

Clarification for booking strategy: If one books a Signature Suite on deck 8. Would CO then get you the upgrade to deck 6 - assuming cabins are available. I’m looking at a 17 day cruise on the Zuiderdam. My goals are an SS on 6 and CO. Should I proceed with booking an SS on 8 (which is $300 pp less than a SS on deck 6); then pay for CO and get the upgrade via CO to Deck 8? Bernie

I’ve seen videos of the walk I think you’re referring to. From the video parts of walkway were under shallow water. Single file. It looked a bit challenging if you’re carrying beach gear. The walk is also used to get to a couple of restaurants. Bernie

Sorry,I’m late to this thread. I’m OCD about studying deck and cabin plans. And then matching them to cabin videos on YT. I thought I would share some of my observations . 7116 should meet your needs.As others have stated, It has an oversized veranda both in width and depth. Accommodating the second lounger. And an outstanding view of the aft pool and wake - especially at night. Conversely the veranda is less private as it can be seen from the same aft deck and pool. And noise (if any) from the pool area could travel up to the verandah. Because of the stepped back layout of the decks the verandah does not get as much shade as you would get on the side of the ship. Of course that varies depending on the direction the ship happens to be headed. And as with any cabin at the rear of a ship you feel the thrusters. And from what folks have reported on these threads and from personal experiences you do feel them. EJ uses the thrusters to maintian postion while tendering. All that said, If it stays available I’m going to try to get an upgrade from PH to this suite on the second leg of our 14 day cruise. I think the view is worth it. FWIW 6090, one deck down, has the same cabin layout but does not have the oversized deck and the view of the aft pool area is partially cutoff by an extended awning on the deck below. Both 7116 and 6090 are different than the other PH & DPH layouts as it’s wider and the sleeping area is screened from the other parts of the suite by a partition. Bernie

Thank you all for the valuable info! My personal experience with upgrades were with Holland and Oceania. Two dramatically different companies. And as others point out - both with well established policies. On Oceania, our first cruise I paid full retail for a PH with a TA closely aligned with O. Through the TA Oceania offered the O Suite at a modest increase and we took it. Different experiences with Holland. Both booked at significant discounts directly with HAL. In the first instance the original booking was a “free” guarantee stateroom (I expected an interior) - just pay the port fees, taxes, and the drink package. This was offered to 4* & 5* mariners. A week before departure, HAL assigned me a balcony stateroom on a high deck forward - a beautiful stateroom, but a problem for anyone that suffers from sea sickness. When I called HAL they offed me a Signature Suite mid ship. For a very modest fee - less than one k for an 11 day holiday cruise.. When that ship sailed it was at 110% capacity. The second instance is our cruise this coming November - also deeply discounted fare directly with HAL. A Grty balcony. I asked what it would cost to upgrade to a Neptune Suite. HAL offered it at the same discounted rate and I only paid the difference between the two discounted rates. And I’m across from the Neptune Lounge - their prime location. In both instances with HAL the HAL associate had the authority to make the upgrade. And had the prices instantly. It’s not their first rodeo. Because I’m booked with a TA on this cruise, I probably will have to go through him.

Great thought thank you. Who makes the decision once you’re on Board? The cruise I booked is actually two legs. At the moment the second leg has most of the upper penthouses and residences as vacant. I know its highly unusual but maybe a mid cruise change? There’s one Deluxe Penthouse with an aft view that really looks nice. The view over the aft pool is special. It’s not avaialble on the first leg. But open on the second leg. and the cost differential on the second leg is $200. However, as I think about it, the dispatcher might not approve of moving.

By going to Explora’s website, picking the cruise we’re on and go to book a particular type of stateroom. The website will then show the available state rooms. It’s tedious ans you can only do one type of stateroom at a time; and they tend to show a maximum of 10 staterooms at anyone time. So it’s not that accurate for the OTs, but more accurate for the limited number of PH and Residences. The numbers haven’t changed since we booked almost a month ago. I’m sure TAs have software that’s more accurate. From posts on cruise critic - some folks expressed concern that the Explora style of restaurants smaller more intimate venues and the cooked to order buffet might not work if the ship is fully booked. So I'm monitoring the cruise. What im seeing is counter to other cruises I’ve booked where the higher end suites sell out first.

Im monitoring the occupancy of the cruise were booked on Explora II for Dec 6 14 day B2B Mia Bridgetown Mia. With the exception of the base PH and Owner’s Residence almost all the other PH and Residences are vacant. And that’s for the 14 day. There’s probably even more avaialble on the individual legs We were upgraded once (for a nominal fee) from PH to Oceania Suite on the new at the time Marina. That was an unexpected treat. Bernie

I watch a lot of Treck Trendy videos. He typically stays in the best or near best suites. He makes a point of saying he pays his way. Sometime he posts the discounts he’s able to attain. His costs are for 2 people. When you look at the costs you have to adjust for when the video was taken. Fares have gone up dramatically in the past year - especially for the premium suites. Also some of the itineraries he picks are not the most popular. He does a great job of recording the menus and the meals that he’s ordered. He’s rarely critical of the food - but if you watch enough of his videos some of the meals look pretty mundane - like man dining room stuff. But he leaves that determination up to the viewer. If you compare the food from different ships, I think they pale in comparison to Explora. Visually at least. I guess I’ll find out in December on EJII’s Carribean cruise. His video of Explora was the most recent review I’ve seen. And it was good to see other pax in the video. Bernie

The deck plans show a “T” next to the cabins with twin beds. And on My Cruise Preferences it does not offer a choice of twin or king. So i don’t think the beds are convertible.

The videos for the penthouse and residence suites on the Explora shows what looks to be an Illy espresso maker. An unusual feature for a stateroom. For those that have had suites - how did you find using them? Did it use pods or loose coffee? Did it have a steamer to steam milk?

That is with the one category upgrade. All the prices shown on their website reflects the upgrade…I think…. at least for the penthouse. But so are the other cruises that I looked at. The pleasant surprise was the 600 OBC which wasn’t shown on their website. And the website required a non refundable payment in full. But the TA said EJ only required a 10% refundable deposit - which on the website was a higher fare. Their pricing and their website is wonky. You would think that their website would have the best terms available encouraging folks to book directly. That would save them the commission. Free cabin upgrades and overlapping special offers are confusing at best. I’m always wary of the word “free”. It usually means something else. Bernie

Thank You! From the YT videos, we’ve been considering EJ for a while. However this thread about overcrowding in the dining rooms & Emporium got my attention. But it seems to have sorted itself out as maybe an isolated incident. So we decided to try EJ. Our timing is flexible so it was a matter of comparing pricing from one departure dat to another. We booked the 14 day Dec 6 ‘24 Miami-Bridgetown- Miami B2B. I picked that cruise because, for some reason, EJ has the Penthouses priced at 18800 about 4 to 6k below their other comparable 14 day Carribean cruises. EJ is also giving 600 OBC. And 10% deposit. The strange thing is all their OT cabins for that same cruise are higher than their other 14 day Carribean cruises. (Maybe partially due to their cheaper OT1s being sold out) At 18800 and the OBCs it’s cheaper than HAL’s midship Neptune Suite (about the same size but better location). We like HAL but i don’t think it’s in the same league as EJ or MSC YC for that matter. BTW, in your comparison, the MSC World suite looks to be closer to EJ’s Residences which are way more expensive than the any of the EJ Penthouses. I also pick the cabin and then pick a TA to book. That usually yields another 8 to 10% discount. Bernie

I love the analysis. I thought I was the only one that did stuff like this. Question:what is the source of the 10% discount shown at the top of your spreadsheet? Is it an MSC discount? Bernie