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Well, it seems I was mistaken about Explorer....


poss
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By which I mean mistaken about what my/our reaction would be.

 

Since I'd several times mentioned that I expected not to like Explorer, in fact to be put off by it to whatever degree, I figure I ought to correct the picture. Ok, I am still turned off by language like "the most luxurious ship ever built," "for the 1%" (or one half of one percent, was that comment actually made?), etc. And I will never feel really comfortable (never feel "myself") participating in so much conspicuous consumption, partaking of all that "luxury." And yet, and yet....

 

We thought that the ship was gorgeous. I thought that all the gold, the chandeliers, the marble, etc. would be a turn-off, would seem vulgar even. Au contraire: We found ourselves oohing and ahhing over the details, found real pleasure day by day in noticing fine touches that we'd missed earlier. We'd never spent so much time looking closely at the other ships (Mariner and Voyager); on Explorer, being amidst the splendor was very much part of our enjoyment of being on the cruise.

 

We were impressed by the art — the photographs, the paintings (most of them), the very handsome blown glass, the stunning fixtures of various sorts, many other unique and engaging details all through the ship. The way things worked together was especially impressive —so many echoes of patterns and colors and motifs. We found that we didn't even so much mind the weird blue ceiling lights in Compass Rose. I.e. we didn't actually like those lights, but they weren't as off-putting as I'd imagined they'd be.

 

I could go on and on, but other people have, so no need. Suffice it to say we were Wowed, to our surprise and our delight.

 

A few quick notes on our suite, an F2. We thought it was handsome indeed, and quite comfortable and certainly spacious enough for us (as are even G suites on Mariner — we don't need a lot of room). I didn't like the shower as much as the one on Mariner (Mariner's shower is larger, has a little seat, and I find the fixtures more comfortable to use), but it was very nice to have the bath tub, much better than the one on Voyager. The closet was large, and good storage all around. We were happy campers, and we tend to spend more time in our suite than many people do. We also had one of the slightly larger, angled balconies (817), which was nice. (Speaking of balconies: I forgot to mention that, yes, it was a big disadvantage not to have an outside viewing area forward on the ship. The Observation Lunge — especially with those dark windows — just does not do the trick, not by a long shot. Of course I knew in advance about this design choice for Explorer, (a poor one imo) but the itinerary was one I much wanted to do.)

 

Two things I didn't like about our suite: When the curtain between the bed and sitting area was closed, it felt claustrophobic, more so than on Mariner or Voyager (and with Midnight Sun, we for sure needed to close all curtains). When I went from bed to bathroom in the middle of the night, it was impossible not to brush against the curtain; I don't think that there was even an inch space between the foot of the bed and the curtain. But the biggest disappointment about the suite was that the view out the sliding glass doors wasn't very good, at least not compared to what I remember from Voyager and Mariner. E.g. I'd thought — great — a bed facing the outside, another view to look forward to. But, no, the facing view was broken up with a piece of wall. There was a little piece of window on the left of the wall (not enough to see out of really, unless one went right up the glass), and then some wall, and then the doors. In other words, the viewing space seemed chopped up, more closed off than on the other ships, and that surprised me. (Maybe I'm misremembering?)

 

Need to stop now. Will be happy to answer any questions.

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So pleased to hear that you enjoyed the Explorer. Agree that the advertising for the ship is off-putting for some people.

Did you dine in Pacific Rim? If so, what did you think?

 

Also, would love to hear about your cruise to Land of the Midnight Sun!

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I want to say that I am charmed that my three responders are my very own oldest CC friends, the very people who turned me on to Regent way back when, and who have helped so much over the years. (Ok, I suspect that "my very own" are the same trio for many, many people.)

 

Usually I give full reports of our cruises (always after we return home, since I don't have any traveling gizmos), but I suspect that this time I may not do that since Captain Rumor pretty much said it all. Btw, I believe I never saw Mr. Rumor without a camera. (Now THERE'S a surprise!) And Mrs. Rumor definitely had the best, funnest ensembles.

 

I didn't 100% agree with all Mr. Rumor's impressions, but I don't think there were great enough differences to mention. We'll see – I'm still not out from under on post-cruise catching up, so maybe I'll get the itch and report a little anyway. Meanwhile, thanks Wes and Tc and Rachel for chiming in.

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Hi Wendy, I actually was thinking of you when I wrote my post. I know that we'd both voiced less than enthusiasm for Explorer, so I was hoping you'd see my changed view on the ship. It really is elegant, and though it's quite a bit fancier and "decked out" than we really need, it's interesting to be among such handsome surrounds. I do think that I'd still use the word "glitzy," but it's not at all crass or tacky, which is what I'd feared. The cost of Explorer cruises on the other hand....

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Poss,

 

 

Thanks for your thoughts on Explorer. We really enjoy Mariner and Voyager (a bit less) but we are trying the Explorer in September. It is all about the itinerary for us but we were a bit hesitant to try Explorer. I'm sure we will have a good time but your comments indicate to us that it might just rank right up there with Mariner. thanks for your review.

 

 

Best,

John

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John,

 

Think that you may be pleasantly surprised with Explorer. There are quite a few people that don't want to book Explorer which doesn't bother me a bit -- more room for us. After our November Voyager cruise, our future cruises will be on Explorer or Splendor.

 

Looking forward to learning how you and Jan feel about the ship.

 

Jackie

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We have only sailed on Voyager and love the ship. In November we will get our first chance to see Explorer. We didn't go out of the way to pick Explorer but the itinerary drew us in and the bonus was a chance to sail Explorer. Looking forward to it.

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