Explorer's Inaugural Atlantic Crossing: A Joint Live Blog

[Mr Rumor]

Good morning from Malaga! This Alhambra, CA boy is pretty excited about visiting the real Alhambra for the second time.

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

What a stunning photo! I did see the sunrise from our suite and it was quite spectacular. It was nice to finally see you yesterday (when you did you so thin?). It seemed that most of the ship was at the show last night and are on tour today.

 

Just had champagne breakfast (no caviar for me today). That should hold me until our "tapas crawl" begins at 11:00 a.m. Tonight we are dining in Chartreuse with another "CC" couple. IMO, more people should take advantage of Roll Call. You can really get the "feel" of your upcoming cruise by chatting with others that will be onboard. For us, it has made the onboard experience even better than usual.

 

Will report back on the "tapas crawl".

[noir36]

My first impression of the ship -its stunning. Do I agree with all the design elements- no.

 

Our f2 cabin 745 is well laid out. The large shower is so good. Lots of storage everywhere. Thanks to TC for the night light suggestion.

 

Pacific Rim is not what I expected - big bold flavors. Some items may be, but not all.

 

Our Chartreuse reservations for two turned into a table for four. People lingered longer than expected. My lamb chops were tough. Our table mates were fun.

 

CR was perfect.

 

Dennis

[Nicho99]

[quote=Travelcat2;

 

"Just had champagne breakfast (no caviar for me today). "

 

Would you explain to me how this service works with the champagne and caviar? Is that available through room service and only at breakfast? Part of the all-included or an extra charge? Thanks in advance.

 

Dennis

Edited November 20, 2016 by Nicho99

[Mr Rumor]

According to Angel, our Anthony Quinn ringer of a tour guide, Malaga has recently hosted as many as 18,000 cruise passengers in one day. So was nice to be the only ship in port today.

 

Yet, the Alhambra was surprisedly crowded for an off-season day, when attendance is usually half the summer average of 7,000-8,000. But there was a good reason: This was the one day of the year that "The Red Fortress" is free of charge to locals. "I've never seen so many Spanish people!" Angel exclaimed.

 

The crowd was no bother as wonderful local guide Veronica led us on a two hour tour of Nazerie Palace and the Generalife Gardens. The weather cooperated (no rain as forecast) and we had a splendid time visiting this photographer's dream of a monument--Spain's most visited.

 

Rich

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

[quote=Travelcat2;

 

"Just had champagne breakfast (no caviar for me today). "

 

Would you explain to me how this service works with the champagne and caviar? Is that available through room service and only at breakfast? Part of the all-included or an extra charge? Thanks in advance.

 

Dennis

 

Sure...... on Sundays, La Veranda and Compass Rose have caviar and champagne at breakfast (only). In LV, it is near the entrance. A server is there to serve caviar and all of the "fixin's". They will also serve champagne or mimosas.

 

In CR, just order it from your server and you will receive it. There is no charge for the champagne or caviar during breakfast on Sunday.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mr. Rumor - thanks for more beautiful photos. You must have a great camera. It was so good to see you and Ginny - although not for long enough..... we need to spend more time together during our upcoming sea days.

 

See you at the Meet and Greet tomorrow morning:D

[Mr Rumor]

Jackie, it was good to see you and Dennis, too, at the unofficial Observation Lounge Happy Hour. Ginny and I are glad that Dennis is feeling better. The photos were taken with my nearly vintage iPhone5. I'm pleased with the quality as well.

 

A Malaga coda: 77 signed up for this excursion, which carried a $179.00 upcharge. There was one other Malaga excursion with an upcharge, the nine-hour Cordoba tour, also $179. Eighteen signed up for that one. Here's the rundown on the rest of the Malaga offerings:

 

Marbella and Puerto Banus, 83 sign-ups

Panoramic Malaga (two departures), 80

Flamenco in Malaga (two departures), 70

Malaga City, 65

Mijas Village (two departures), 60

Picasso's Malaga, 40

Malaga by Bike, 19

Granada on Your Own, 12

 

I felt a couple of sharp jolts as I typed the above, which reminds me: Captain Stan came into our cabins just after six tonight to advise us that we will be dealing with some swells in the morning, roughly between 8 and noon, and that we can expect some "rolling motion" with the predicted 15-foot seas. Could make for an interesting Roll Call Meet and Greet at 10 a.m.!

 

Rich

[Mr Rumor]

Good morning from the Atlantic--Sea Day No. 1 (and a rolling one at that)!

 

 

 

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[Zqueeze1]

I will try to post on our tapas crawl later on today. Unfortunately, we lost the internet connection this morning and had to save the post for later. In the meantime, here's a pic of my new flamenco dress:

 

 

Z and TB

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

I missed the sunrise this morning as we were bouncing around the suite. Deck 11 forward definitely feels the "motion of the ocean" (as expected - we've been forward on other ships and sometimes wonder why we do it). We do enjoy sleeping when the ship is rocking.

 

In any event, a group of 7 of us did a pub crawl in Malaga (a city that I personally adore). Our goal was to visit 4 tapas restaurants/bars. We did not reach that goal. The first stop was at a lovely little place where we had tapas and sangria (best sangria of the day). The "little bites" were delicious. I had two small empanadas and two "cheese or ??? balls" - very good.

 

We walked for a while and heard a band playing. We took a seat outdoors at the closest tapas restaurant. As soon as we sat down the music stopped and they started noisily disassembling the stage. We noticed that the prices were a bit high so we started with sangria and studied the menu. We didn't realize that one of us had a menu in English so "Z" started his translation and we learned that some things were not easy to translate. "Z" had a discussion with the server and learned the size of the plates were much larger than at the last restaurant (8 pieces per order vs. 2 pieces). Something was lost in translation and I believe that we ended up with 6 large plates for the seven of us. Way too much food but it was delicious (particularly the French fries that I suppose should be called "Spanish fries"). More "balls", Iberico ham and cheese - all yummy. The only problem was that we were no longer hungry.

 

Onward to find a place nearer to the ship where we could have more sangria but no food. Note: The shuttle for this port makes two stops. The first one is fairly close by and has lots of restaurants and shops. They are a bit more touristy than the places in the center of town which is the second shuttle stop. We walked from the town to the area near the ship and had a lovely walk and found a nice place where 5 out of 7 of us were able to have more sangria. We had a nice walk by to the ship (the terminal has some nice shopping).

 

The reason for the detailed explanation is because we had not tried tapas before because we didn't understand them. I encourage people to give it a try -- the restaurant staff is great (particularly in Malaga) and for a small amount of money you can try some local dishes.

 

Today is a sea day and the seas are a bit choppy. The Meet and Greet is in half an hour and should be a nice one. Will report on it tonight.

 

P.S. Mr. Rumor, I know that you've lost weight but the dress on the left still wouldn't fit you:-)

Edited November 21, 2016 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

I want to give the Officers and Crew currently onboard the Explorer the highest kudos. They are amazing. This morning we attended the Meet and Greet that F&B Director Daniela put together with her staff (with the help of Zqueeze1). In addition to high attendance by CC members, the event was attended by Captain Stan, Staff Captain Abhi, General Manager Massimo, Cruise Director John, F&B Dir., Daniela of course and I am probably missing someone (apologize if I am).

 

The sangria was better than any that we had yesterday. They also served Bloody Mary's and lots of little canapes. It was amazing! I'm very happy that some of the officers will soon be on vacation and will be back on the Explorer when we sail again in March. They are an top notch team!

 

The seas remain choppy and should be that way for the next 24 hours. As everyone knows, this is the first crossing for the Explorer so it will be interesting to see how the she behaves in varying sea conditions.

 

Hopefully "Z", Mr. Rumor and others will chime in. Tomorrow is Funchal after which the "crossing" will officially begin.

 

Wishing an early Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Edited November 21, 2016 by Travelcat2

[Mr Rumor]

Great post by Travelcat on the CC Meet and Greet this morning in the Meridian Lounge. The time flew by, a sure sign that the dozens who attended were having fun. A number of us, including Captain Stan, were still visiting a little after 11 as bingo was about to start. I echo Jackie's Regent kudos and want to add two of my own, to her and Zqueeze for making the M&G happen!

 

F&B Director Daniela saw to it that we were well plied with sangria, Bloody Mary's and a variety of canapés.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Mr Rumor]

From the Just In Case You're Interested Department: We're sailing full, with 727 passengers currently feeling the rolling motion. For the first time since I began including this info in my live blogs, there are more male than female passengers, 366 to 361.

 

The breakdown by nationality follows. (As an unincorporated territory of the U.S., Puerto Rico is not listed separately, but Zqueeze1 assures me there are 2.5 Puerto Ricans aboard.)

 

NATIONALITY BREAKDOWN

 

United State, 521

United Kingdom, 66

Canada, 60

Germany, 15

Netherlands, 11

Italy, 7

Portugal, 7

Switzerland, 7

Australia, 5

Ireland, 4

New Zealand, 4

South Africa, 3

Bahamas, 2

Israel, 2

Mexico, 2

Saint Kitts and Nevis, 2

Venezuela, 2

Bulgaria, 1

El Salvador, 1

France, 1

Malta, 1

Paraguay, 1

Russian Federation, 1

Sweden, 1

[xrvlcruiser]

Rich,

 

I fall into the "yes, I'm interested" Department. I love seeing this Nationalities List. And I'll bite: 2.5 from Puerto Rico?????

 

The M&G looks terrific!

 

Thanks for all of this.

 

Peggy

[UUNetBill]

Good morning from Malaga! This Alhambra, CA boy is pretty excited about visiting the real Alhambra for the second time.

 

I'm really looking forward to going back as well - not for a few years, though. I first visited the Alhambra as a teen, on a high school trip back in...well, let's say a few years ago - and even as a 15 year old kid, I was amazingly impressed. All these decades later, it still stands as a highlight of my trip there.

 

The photos were taken with my nearly vintage iPhone5. I'm pleased with the quality as well.

 

The iPhone cameras have gotten pretty durn good, haven't they? Every port we visit, I drag my trusty old Nikon DSLR and a pair of lenses, spare battery, etc. along with me - and end up taking just as many shots with my iPhone. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference without really looking closely.

 

But I'm stubborn - I'll keep dragging that Nikon with me as long as I can swing the strap over my head. :D

[noir36]

Thanks to Z and others on CC as well as the great Explorer staff for making this m and g the best ever.

 

The block party has been postponed for another day for safety reasons. A bit too much rocking and rolling.

 

Took a galley tour today. The space is large and well organized. Interestingly there are no women on the staff

 

Please excuse any typos. My fat fingers and my 1st smart phone do not always work well together.

 

The sangria really is very good .

[landingsduffer]

I want to give the Officers and Crew currently onboard the Explorer the highest kudos. They are amazing. This morning we attended the Meet and Greet that F&B Director Daniela put together with her staff (with the help of Zqueeze1). In addition to high attendance by CC members, the event was attended by Captain Stan, Staff Captain Abhi, General Manager Massimo, Cruise Director John, F&B Dir., Daniela of course and I am probably missing someone (apologize if I am).

 

The sangria was better than any that we had yesterday. They also served Bloody Mary's and lots of little canapes. It was amazing! I'm very happy that some of the officers will soon be on vacation and will be back on the Explorer when we sail again in March. They are an top notch team!

 

The seas remain choppy and should be that way for the next 24 hours. As everyone knows, this is the first crossing for the Explorer so it will be interesting to see how the she behaves in varying sea conditions.

 

Hopefully "Z", Mr. Rumor and others will chime in. Tomorrow is Funchal after which the "crossing" will officially begin.

 

Wishing an early Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

 

Sounds like you are having a wonderful cruise. I still have air deviation questions and wonder if you could email me at your convenience so I don't keep horning in on your thread. My email is landingsduffer@yahoo.com. Thanks...

[Mr Rumor]

Peggy, I'll let Z explain the 2.5 Puerto Rican tally (he did the amusing math for me, but I forgot!). UUNetBill, there were a few of us in our group making return trips to the Alhambra (one couple visited last visited on their honeymoon 31 years ago). I'm glad a second visit is on your to-do list--you won't regret it. I'm looking forward now to posting favorite shots on the I Grew Up in Alhambra (California) Facebook page when I return home.

 

As noir36 noted, the rolling motion rolled the Block Party right off today's schedule. It also rolled several of our seasick friends and crew members INTO bed. However, Ginny, sensitive to motion as she is, is maintaining OK tonight, thanks to "The Patch" and two tabs of meclizine. She's still game to see the Irish sister violinist duo Sephira in a few minutes. We'll be happily turning our clocks back an hour tonight for the first time on this cruise.

 

I'm a little concerned about tomorrow's forecast for Funchal--61 and rainy--as we've booked an excursion that includes the famous wicker toboggan ride down from Monte Village. Wouldn't be my first choice for a rainy day. We've had really good weather all along, so maybe we're just due for a less than perfect day.

 

One bit of good news: Captain Stan noted in his noon weather report that he expects a "fairly good crossing" with "maximum eight feet of swells." We'll take it!

 

Rich

[Portolan]

As noir36 noted, the rolling motion rolled the Block Party right off today's schedule. It also rolled several of our seasick friends and crew members INTO bed.

...

we've booked an excursion that includes the famous wicker toboggan ride down from Monte Village.

 

We're doing the reverse voyage next March and your post got me thinking about what will be a new aspect for us. We've never been bothered by rough seas (10m~33 ft seas on the way to Antarctica on the Le Boreal!), but have always had fore and aft beds. On Explorer, in an F2 suite, we'll be sailing "sideways." It'll be interesting to see how that differs.

 

Also interested, if you do it, in the toboggan ride in Funchal as that's an option for us next March.

 

Love these posts...but can't stand the fact that it's still 4 months before we board Explorer for the first time!

Edited November 21, 2016 by Portolan

[Wendy The Wanderer]

What do you mean "sideways"? If you mean midship, then it should be more stable.

[mrlevin]

Scott, look forward to sailing with you and Judy again; it has been a long time. BTW, my step-father Chuck, who you met on Norway cruise (I believe) will be with us.

 

Wendy, the beds face the windows so they are "sideways."

 

Marc

[Portolan]

What do you mean "sideways"? If you mean midship, then it should be more stable.

 

Nope, I mean sideways. Every bed we've had in standard and penthouse suites have had the axis of the beds parallel to the long axis of the ships, i.e., feet bowward or sternward. In the F suites on Explorer, the bed axis is perpendicular to the ship axis, i.e., feet to port or starboard. Ocean motion will feel different.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Portolan

[xrvlcruiser]

Wendy,

 

The beds face the windows in some of the cabins. As opposed to forward or aft.

 

Peggy

[RachelG]

We had one of those beds facing the window and quite like it. Of course, the seas were like glass for the most part so hardly any motion. It would be interesting to see how they are in rough seas. My husband would be the first to volunteer for an experiment as he loves rough seas.

 

Would you all onboard please tell Daniela hi from George and Rachel. She is one of our favorite persons.

Edited November 22, 2016 by RachelG

[irishwitchy]

Hopefully, The Funchal weather gets better because the tabagon ride is quite fun, and try the bolo de caco (bread) it is yummy. The main part of town for shopping also has a great ice cream place and I purchased a great pair of leather loafers for $35 they has about 20 different colors - I should have purchased more! I'm enjoying this blog very much and I hope the waves stop!