Exploring Explorer--Live--September 14-24--Rome to Venice

[Caroldoll]

Your pictures and reports are really great. Please keep them coming. We have two cruises scheduled, so we are very interested.

[RachelG]

Jean, No iPod docking station in D. Plenty of places to plug in a charger though.

 

 

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[RachelG]

 

d balcony

 

 

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[RachelG]

 

 

More pics of D

 

 

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[liptastic]

Thanks very much Rachel. Enjoy the rest of the cruise and thanks for all the great posts. Jean.

[RachelG]

 

Area by elevator and the grand staircase.

 

 

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[RachelG]

 

Giant pillars obstructing the sight lines in the theater. Actually the theater and the G suites are the only disappointing things I have found so far. George also says the sauna is not hot enough.

 

 

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[RachelG]

 

Culinary center. It is huge. Way larger than on Oceania. This pic does not do justice.

 

 

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[eliana]

Sadly we are in a G2 suite and all higher are wait listed. I hope the Gs are not that bad.

[RachelG]

September 17, 2016--Durres Albania

 

We had a slight bit of motion during the night. Nothing bad, just enough to let you know you are on a ship. A long sleep in was just the ticket as the morning was a sea morning with us not due to arrive in Durres until noon.

 

For those who chose, there were lots of activities. Bingo, lectures, exercise classes. I chose to start with my late morning tea in the coffee connection, checking emails and work stuff.

 

In the interest of thorough research, I decided to do a load of laundry. There are 2 Laundry rooms on deck 7 which is the deck we are on, one with three washers and dryers, and the other with two. They are very efficient front loading speed queens. The instructions are posted, and you definitely have to read them as they are a bit complex. A washing cycle is 43 minutes For the one I chose. The dryers can be time cycles or wetness sensing. The dryers are really good, drying 2 pairs of George's jeans in less than 30 minutes.

 

We have been to Albania previously on Regent, but to a different port. It was pretty bleak then, and kind of scary around the port area, not a place I would go off wandering on my own. There were huge piles of trash and garbage, giant potholes in the roads, rebar sticking out everywhere, lots of men who looked like thugs loitering about. I wrote then that if Albania wanted to attract tourists, they would have to do some major fixing. So I was anxious to see if there was any change.

 

George was entirely negative, but I am happy to say that, while they still have a really long way to go to be on anyone's tourism radar, things have improved dramatically.

 

We were docked in a freight and cargo port, since they don't have a tourist port. Easy walk to downtown, just out the gates, if someone wanted to explore alone. I was afraid to do that, but in retrospect, I think it would have been perfectly safe and fine.

 

I took off my watch and rings, just in case, but again, I think they would have been fine to leave on.

 

I signed us up for historical Durres tour because at 4 hours, it was the shortest on offer. Our guide is an archeologist who works at the museum and speaks good English. The bus had the best air conditioning of the trip so far.

 

We drove out of the port to downtown then began a walking tour. First thing I noticed was that it was way cleaner than before, and there were no potholes at all. There was lots of new construction going on and many very inviting cafes and restaurants. People were out and about having a nice afternoon.

 

We went to the Byzantine ruins then to the partially excavated Roman amphitheater which has some wonderful mosaics still intact. And easy walk but with some steps at the Roman site.

 

Now my rant--why do people sign up for excursions that clearly denote that there is going to be walking and steps if they don't want to do this or are incapable of doing this. Several people started complaining about the walking and steps, wanting to go back to the ship. This put our guide in a difficult position as she is trying to lead the tour, and it is a walking tour. We went on to the local history museum which was pretty basic, then to the tallest (currently) building in town which has a rooftop restaurant and bar on the 15th floor. It was right by the ship, so a lot of people walked back to the ship from there. Good riddance as far as I am concerned because those of us who remained were really interested in what the guide had to say. Ok--rant over.

 

I had glass of local white wine, a real bargain at 2 euros.

 

We then walked to the archeological museum which was the highlight. Our guide really came to life here as this is where she works every day. She showed us a lot of details on the Greek and Roman artifacts that I would have missed otherwise. I really enjoyed this part of the tour.

 

Back on board, I made trivia--poor showing on our part. Too many obscure modern music questions. Then did 45 minutes on the track. As I was walking, the skies were getting darker and darker with very ominous looking clouds, so dark that the cars on the street were turning on their headlights at 6 pm.

 

We met our friends June and Ralph in Sette Mare for dinner. Absolutely delicious, even better than what I remember. The problem is it is way easy to get too much food because everything is so good. There was a mix up with our order, so we ended up with 4 orders of spaghetti carbonara, instead of two. Plus all the other food.

 

During our meal, the storm started. Enormous blots of lightening followed huge claps of thunder followed by pouring rain. It was quite a show which just kept on. I was really glad we were not on one of the returning excursions.

 

Explorer is an extremely stable ship, but I finally felt some movement as we were pulling out of port.

 

The show tonight was "A Day in Hollywood". I was expecting production numbers with lots of old Hollywood songs. There were a few Hollywood songs, but not many. Kind of disappointed. Better than the show the other night, but not great. Not as good as the JAR shows, IMO.

 

 

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[countflorida]

The bright lights in Regent bathrooms has always startled me wide awake when I have to go, now several times each night. Does the new ship have a nightlite in the bath, or does the shaver outlet stay 'hot' when the lights are out? This would allow one to plug in a nightlite you bring with you, and/or keep your razor or toothbrush charged up without having to leave all the lights on? We usually travel with a couple of nightlites as hotels often don't have nightlites in the baths, but the shaver outlets don't usually go out with the lights like they do on many (not all) of the ships.

 

We really appreciate all the great information and interesting comments you've made in this thread. They'll be helpful as we've got two cruises booked on Explorer in the next six months, one the 24 day trans-Atlantic-Med cruise next spring with our TA and a group, both in G-2 cabins which we picked for the cost and the walk-in showers. However, your comments have convinced us to see if we can upgrade to an F or E for the longer cruise, although it looks chancy as the ship is almost full.

 

Great info, much appreciated.

[RachelG]

Count Florida, there is a lot of potential ambient light in the room and bathroom at night what with electronics plugged in, etc. we have figured out how to cover up some of the little lights so that it is darker; however, there is not a nightlight in the room or bathroom that I have found. The shaver plug does stay hot with the bathroom light off I believe. Not totally sure of this, but I think so as my husband was charging his iPhone in there until we discovered some other outlets in the suite.

 

 

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[RachelG]

One of my favorite things on this ship that I keep forgetting to mention, so am going to do it now, is that the key cards are not the old type that you have to take out and swipe. They are the type that you put up to a scanner and scan to unlock the door. You don't even have to take them out of the wallet, so if you have your hands full, you can still easily get in the room.

 

Also, it makes getting on and off the ship much faster as they just scan you in and out quickly. Took me a little to get used to not removing it from the wallet, but it is very fast and easy.

[easyboy]

Seems very convenient!

[Notts Outlaw]

Now my rant--why do people sign up for excursions that clearly denote that there is going to be walking and steps if they don't want to do this or are incapable of doing this. Several people started complaining about the walking and steps, wanting to go back to the ship. This put our guide in a difficult position as she is trying to lead the tour, and it is a walking tour. We went on to the local history museum which was pretty basic, then to the tallest (currently) building in town which has a rooftop restaurant and bar on the 15th floor. It was right by the ship, so a lot of people walked back to the ship from there. Good riddance as far as I am concerned because those of us who remained were really interested in what the guide had to say. Ok--rant over.

 

This is our perpetual gripe too. I don't know if some people just don't read the tour description or just don't care.:(

I have every sympathy with disabled people and, having an arthritic knee myself, I err on the safe side when booking excursions but those that don't do the same are just inconsiderate for others.:mad:

[Mudhen]

This is our perpetual gripe too. I don't know if some people just don't read the tour description or just don't care.:(

I have every sympathy with disabled people and, having an arthritic knee myself, I err on the safe side when booking excursions but those that don't do the same are just inconsiderate for others.:mad:

 

I couldn't agree more! Extremely annoying when, most of the time, Regent does a good job of describing tour activity levels. I find it most distressing when "the few" want to hijack the tour to suit themselves.....(as Rachel would say, "rant over"!)

[forevertravel]

Rachel, thank you for your posts and pictures. We were supposed to be on that cruise and then changed it to Grand Crossing in November. While the ports on your cruise are great it was only 10 days and port intensive. I have a question about the cabin. We'll be in F cabin also. Is the vanity gone and you have to use the desk? I read on your post there is a make-up mirror in the bathroom. That won't do. I don't put on makeup while DH is taking a shower. I love the vanity in the other ships. It's mine to keep make-up, jewelry and things. Thanks and continue to have a wonderful cruise.

 

forevertravel:)

[poss]

You've got some great ports coming up, Rachel. I'll be interested in hearing what you most enjoy in each. And I'm glad that you're grooving on the various delights of the new ship.

 

If you can manage to do it, I'm still interested to know what the bed in G measures. Franck Galzy supposedly reported one thing; "regular" passengers on Explorer report something quite different. Muy mysterioso.

[lincslady]

Regarding people who should not be on certain tours - I am not sure Regent describes them well enough, or puts some on in every port for those who cannot walk far, but I suppose it is human nature for some people to feel they want to have a tour in every port, as they have already paid for them.

 

On our trip on Mariner last year there were few which were suitable for slightly handicapped people; seems a bit unfair when they have been paid for and there are usually I would guess a small busload of those who would prefer a mostly sitting down sightseeing trip?

[Mr Rumor]

Hello, Rachel, from your once (and future!) blogging mate. Enjoying your observations and commentary as always. Wondering what you and George think about the narrower stairwells/staircases and the somewhat smaller elevators (the ones with the glass)? Regarding the former, I found it a bit of a squeeze one day going down a staircase as another passenger was coming up--a little do-so-do-ing was required. As for the elevator, I recall several times the passenger nearest the door having to walk outside so that another could exit.

 

Rich

[RustyRollock]

Re:elevators. We found them a little "tight" too. Also, the aft staircase and elevators share the same narrow landing areas. At busy times people using the stairs and waiting for elevators are forced to manoeuvre/shuffle around each other and on one occasion I saw a man nearly tumble down the stairs as he stood back to allow people to exit the elevator. The carpet in these areas was already showing signs of wear and tear after only a couple of weeks (maiden voyage).

[RachelG]

Forever travel, the makeup mirror in Our suite is on the desk, not in the bathroom. Though the bathroom is definitely big enough for two people. I usually get ready before George, so not an issue for us, but you could easily put the makeup mirror either place.

 

Rich, I don't take elevators. You should know that. Stairwells are a little bit narrower but no problem.

[LiquidLogic]

Regarding the question about the vanity. We just returned from the Barcelona to Rome cruise and we were in an F1 suite. The desk functions as the vanity and that is where the hair dryer plugs in. The dryer is a bit heavy, but worked very well. The lighting in the bathroom is very good, especially when you turn on special vertical lights flanking the mirror. One negative in the F cabin- I noticed that I didn't have a make-up mirror and when I asked my stewardess for one, she said that they were automatically provided to higher level suites only. I said that I would like one and she brought it the next morning. I also noticed that they didn't provide shower caps and was told that there was a shower cap shortage and they also were only being automatically provided to higher level suites. Again, I said that I would like to receive them and they gave me 2 every day. We loved our cruise, but those were 2 little missteps that shouldn't have happened on a luxury ship. We also would have liked a night light in the bathroom. It was pitch black in there at night. We wound up taking in our cell phone or camping headlight if we needed to use the bathroom at night. Regarding light control, the shades did a fabulous job of blocking out the light. Our alarm woke us up every morning-not the light from outside.

[RachelG]

We do have a makeup mirror in our suite. But it is a D.

 

Also, there is definitely a table for 10 in compass rose. I specifically asked tonight.

 

 

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[cactus doll]

For those who like a night light in the bathroom, we bring battery operated tea lights with us. They can be turned on at night and off in the morning. One will last about a week and they give enough light to illuminate the bathroom for nighttime visits. We used them on our last cruise on the Voyager and it was the perfect solution.