Oh2Bcruisin

JJ, my DW and I are scratching our heads about an area on decks 6 to 9 that appear on the deck plans as two white crosshatched boxes starting after cabin 6058.  We’re guessing they are the crew only areas where the butlers and housekeeping get access to the decks. 
If possible can you confirm that? Thanks!

After multiple attempts I was unable to get immigration my form. I tried on an iPad and a Mac with no success. I finally reached out to them and they gave me two key pieces of information. 
1. Do it using Chrome. I’m not sure Safari was the issue but I did it anyway. 
2. Only provide the picture from your passport. They don’t want the other information. Also make sure the file size of the photo is 3MB or less. 
Following this advice resulted in it working the first time. 

It’s interesting that every time I contact Explora via email I get a response from Matt. He’s either a very busy person or everyone is named Matt. Whatever it is, he is always able to get the job done. 

PDP-11 and HP 21MX are where I entered the world of computer science. 
As for the website, I totally agree. We booked way back in August 2022. It took weeks to get access online. Once online there was very little I could do with it. When it came time to check-in I was, somehow able to do it with few challenges. The bad part is once you check-in you basically have no access to anything on your booking. Can’t view requests, excursions, and on board experiences. When I try, it just says to contact them or my TA. Totally useless site. Also, the dates shown for my dining reservations were wrong. I confirmed with their “Experience Center Ambassador “ that my dates were correct in the system. 
Luckily, their guest support personnel are excellent. Contacting them by mail has been great. Got my questions answered and dinner reservations made. 
The booking system Regent and Oceania use is so much better. All the information I need is readily available.

I had to contact (by email) Explora to be able to see my booking under my account. I’m not very impressed with their website especially the booking. All you can do is submit limited special requests, view experiences (excursions), and checkin. Dining reservations can only be made by your TA or by phone/email with Explora. I must say the Explora folks have been extremely helpful with my questions and requests. 
A warning about checkin, don’t do it too early. If you do you are no longer able to do anything through the website. I can’t even view what destination experiences are available. 
As I said, a very poor interface. 

Question, does Explora offer any onboard booking discounts or benefits?

Thanks in advance. 

1 hour ago, InsGuy3 said:

Sorry we will not get a chance to meet. Enjoy the rest of your cruise and keep posting. Would be interested in learning which Miami terminal you will be disembarking from. 

Check out this site: https://wwwx.miamidade.gov/Apps/Seaport/dailydock/Default.aspx

It wasn’t showing Explora yet, so check it when it’s closer to November 3rd. 

39 minutes ago, jsea said:

Yes - it takes a very long time to get pancakes and other items. On the one hand, the fact that they are prepared on demand is fantastic, on the other, it leads to folks congregating in the area and I don’t see how it will work well when the ship is at capacity. 
 

One idea is for tables to have discrete number markings. You let the kitchen staff know your table number and then a runner will deliver it to your table when ready.

Regent does just what you described. For breakfast and lunch you go up and place an order. They ask for your table number and deliver it when completed. Besides avoiding the wait you are now free to check out the other items in the buffet. That shouldn’t be too hard for Explora to implement. 

1 hour ago, Portolan said:

Almost certainly not COVID from some subtle info we received.  Just back to the good old days of Norovirus.

 

Just wash and sanitize your damn hands!  (We've been on a number of cruises where Norovirus arose over the last couple of decades.  Never caught it, but then we were using hand sanitizer and due caution long before the pandemic.)

We’re on as well. Doubt it’s norovirus, captain said respiratory. With the whole crew wearing masks RSV, Flu, or Covid are the more likely suspects since they are transmitted in the air. 

12 hours ago, kelleherdl said:

Which itinerary? My travel advisor sent me a day by day schedule for my cruise. I would assume you can work through your travel adviser to work with an EJ Ambassador. I was able to choose my preferred class and day. The classes were itinerary specific. I think I need to confirm everything once we board.

How far out is your cruise? I can’t imagine they have schedules many weeks out. I’m sailing in March and they don’t even have the excursions available for signup. 

I just posted on the inaugural thread that they are still in Monfalcone, Italy and their AIS shows them arriving in Barcelona on 7/24 at 06:30. 

Finally some progress… Just checked the status of Explora on marinetraffic.com. The AIS (automatic information system) on the ship shows they’re planning on arriving in Barcelona on 7/24 at 6:30. As of now they haven’t departed from the  Monfalcone,Italy port. 

Are you sure they are accepting Crystal status? We got ours through our Regent status.

Thanks JRIH. I thought that may be the case but I wanted to be sure. 

My DW and I are sailing to the Caribbean this March on the Riviera. Oceania issued a statement saying as of January 1, 2023 passengers were no longer required to provide proof of vaccination or test results. They also stated that passengers were responsible to ensure they meet the entry requirements for each destination. 
I went through all our stops and all stated that they no longer required proof of vaccination or test results. But, for St. Kitts on the same page where they state the removal of the Covid entry requirements, they state the following, “If you are traveling to St. Kitts, it is required that you complete the online Immigration and Customs ED Form before arrival”

Does anyone know if this is required for cruise passengers who are only staying for the day? Thanks in advance. 

It turns out that a crew member failed to make it to the ship before departure. Here’s a link to the story…

https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2022/05/09/transportation-cruise-ship-leaves-milwaukee-twice/

I’ve been following the Octantis using Panamax and MarineTraffic and noticed they just did a 2 hour cruise to nowhere out of Milwaukee. Does anyone know why?

2 hours ago, Editor Colleen said:

Hi Oh2Bcruising,

 

They did provide booties. You go down to the midships area where they store them and swap out your shoes for the neoprene booties. I suspect it is to help make the transit from Zodiac to sub easier, as they don't slip. The pants I wore actually were just my yoga pants. But I did get soaking wet on the ride over to the sub; I picked the side of the boat that got the splash. This wasn't a problem in the warm Caribbean waters; it would be moreso in the polar regions. There, Viking does provide a parka. Let me check on the pants, but in my experience sailing those regions, the cruise line provides waterproof pants, which are for borrowing (not keeping). 

 

We were a bit of a last-minute addition to this sailing, so we didn't get a packing list, though I'm told Viking does provide a pretty extensive list to guests for expedition cruises. 

 

I do my fair share of expedition cruising, and the pieces I always pack are designed to keep my stuff and me dry: waterproof bags, rain pants and rain coats, and seriously waterproof gloves. Once you get wet, you can't keep warm. That said, you'll note I didn't say boots. Most lines provide them for you, and I'm a firm believer in keeping my travel to a carryon only. (I have terrible luck with flying and bags, so it just works best for me.) 

 

Also, in Antarctic in particular, my advice is, use as much of the gear provided as possible. Bio security is very important in that region, and cruise lines make sure their boots, pants and other gear is clear of potential bio-contamination risks. 

 

Colleen

Thanks for the information. It’s greatly appreciated. BTW, tell hubby we enjoy his videos. 

Hi Colleen, It’s me again. My wife and I have been following your blog and videos as we prepare for our trip in May. I noticed in the sub video you had what looked like wet suit pants and booties. Were they provided by Viking or did you bring them. If they are yours do you know if Viking provides waterproof pants and boots? I know on the Antarctic cruises they were provided for kayaking. Also, did Viking provide you with a recommended packing list?

Hi Colleen, My wife and I will be on Octantis in May. As part of the pre-cruise prep we were allowed one reservation for The Restaurant. Is it really necessary to have reservations or have they been able to accommodate walk ups?

Check your guest statement. There should be an embarkation time somewhere after the itinerary. 

I understand this feature is “fairly finished”, but if you decide to do some changes it would be nice to have a link to the deck plans. Possibly in the Ship Overview section?

Mike, I was able to get to your design using private mode on Safari. Wonder if there is some persistence feature that Safari uses to speed things up. 

Trying to view the page on Safari on my iPad. When I select a cruise and go to the details page I end up seeing the old version. Suggestions?

36 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

Sorry. Don't know what got into me. Must have been a terrible gremlin sitting on my shoulder. 😔

 

Am I forgiven?

Of course you’re forgiven. Just don’t feed the gremlin after dark. Happy Holidays and hope you have a cruise planned sometime soon.