Explora cruises from the eyes of clients

[travelberlin]

Hi, I see several posts in social media about Explora I, which are like a marketing strategy from travel agents or influencers. Are there any regular paying clients now sailing on Explora I that would like to share their honest experience with us?

Those comments would be most appreciated.

 

Ivi

[uktog]

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

Hi, I see several posts in social media about Explora I, which are like a marketing strategy from travel agents or influencers. Are there any regular paying clients now sailing on Explora I that would like to share their honest experience with us?

Those comments would be most appreciated.

 

Ivi

100% agree- I also find it annoying that those people who were cancelled were sorted out immediately and people like us, “real cruisers” have never been contacted or sorted out. 
Id love the view of people who aren’t agents or influencers and paid for their cruises and who focus on real “value”. 

[LuiK]

Here I am and I already posted many observations & opinions in the other topics. 

[PaulMCO]

Agree with Ivi, too many influencers and TA's on the first cruises.  Seeing this on Crystal too.

Dare write a bad comment or article and you will be banned or never given a free trip.  Of course they are given Penthouse or equivalent suites.  Dare the get a small cabin or a not renovated suite (in case of Crystal). 

 

Then of course the cruise line knows who these people are and I am sure the staff have also been briefed too.  (I need to be silent or get my self in trouble  🙂 )

 

The benefit to us regular Joe's and Josephine's is we get info as to the suites, their design, the venues, the menus etc.  As to the how good, well that is always an opinion.

[travelberlin]

Explora advertised the cruise dining experience as having several restaurants to choose from. Sort of  „freedom to choose“. Is this running smooth or guests are unable to get a place at their preferred restaurant because of being fully booked and/or being limited in how many times they can book a specific restaurant ?
 

Ivi

[LuiK]

This question, the need to make reservations in advance and the „only one dining per cruise“ policy for some of the restaurants were reported and discussed here over several pages and with updates from the following days: 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by LuiK

[travelberlin]

Thanks for referring to that post. I did not see the discussion before you posted it. I an sorry to hear that the dining situation is a mess. I hope they improve it. Fortunately my cruise is only next year. We will see how everything develops. 

Ivi

[maggie.1008]

Hopefully everyone will get to try all restaurants once before they allow a second reservation. 

[PaulMCO]

51 minutes ago, maggie.1008 said:

Hopefully everyone will get to try all restaurants once before they allow a second reservation. 

That is the intent.  What I object to is the one per journey.  So if I book 3 B2B cruises -- I only get one for the entire journey and not one per segment.  Not only one advance but only one reservation for the entire journey.

 

I am still waiting for an answer -- what do they mean by course by course butler dining in a Residence.  Do they mean from any restaurant?? 

 

As far as reservations being full, I think alot of this is being due to TA's and influences on first cruises,  I have seen several FB posts showing multiple meals at Marble and Sakura (and yes Sakura is open for lunch with no reservation) .  This is one reason to avoid inaugurals.  But then again the ship is far from being at maximum capacity.

 

As the line is new, I am sure they will be fine tuning and making changes.

[TER777]

Is there a solo table at these or other restaurants?

[Nunagoras]

Well... Bear in mind that Explora I is a brand new ship from a brand new cruise line, even if from a larger and older cruise and shipping company.

 

First of its all: To book first cruises on such conditions is always prone to less than stellar service, and the possibility of ship delivery delays. Things will improve as times go. I'd to give them an year to book. I have no doubt they'll to succeed, but for the times being let the first user bugs to be dealt with as the first costumers go...

[Mickb]

4 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

First of its all: To book first cruises on such conditions is always prone to less than stellar service, and the possibility of ship delivery delays. Things will improve as times go. I'd to give them an year to book. I have no doubt they'll to succeed, but for the times being let the first user bugs to be dealt with as the

What wise words!

[kelleherdl]

6 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

Well... Bear in mind that Explora I is a brand new ship from a brand new cruise line, even if from a larger and older cruise and shipping company.

 

First of its all: To book first cruises on such conditions is always prone to less than stellar service, and the possibility of ship delivery delays. Things will improve as times go. I'd to give them an year to book. I have no doubt they'll to succeed, but for the times being let the first user bugs to be dealt with as the first costumers go...

There is a possible alternative view. We booked three EJ cruises early on. We avoided the absolute first cruises because of possible last-minute ship delays (did happen) and possibly teething pains (may be happening). Our first cruise is Sept 9, second Nov. We will be paying truly fabulous fares for those two, less than equivalent Yacht Club YC2’s with far less interesting itineraries. We are absolutely looking forward to these cruises, even if we will need to ‘endure’ some hiccups. 

[Waltershipman]

1 hour ago, kelleherdl said:

There is a possible alternative view. We booked three EJ cruises early on. We avoided the absolute first cruises because of possible last-minute ship delays (did happen) and possibly teething pains (may be happening). Our first cruise is Sept 9, second Nov. We will be paying truly fabulous fares for those two, less than equivalent Yacht Club YC2’s with far less interesting itineraries. We are absolutely looking forward to these cruises, even if we will need to ‘endure’ some hiccups. 

Excellent perspective 

[travelberlin]

2 hours ago, kelleherdl said:

There is a possible alternative view. We booked three EJ cruises early on. We avoided the absolute first cruises because of possible last-minute ship delays (did happen) and possibly teething pains (may be happening). Our first cruise is Sept 9, second Nov. We will be paying truly fabulous fares for those two, less than equivalent Yacht Club YC2’s with far less interesting itineraries. We are absolutely looking forward to these cruises, even if we will need to ‘endure’ some hiccups. 

Well done. I remember those amazing prices for the first bookings. I hesitated too long to benefit from those prices. My booking already was at increased prices, but after January this year the prices increased further. When Explora cancelled my cruise for next year and offered a discount if rebooked, the discount could barely compensate the higher prices on a new itinerary. 
 

I was very disappointed about the cancellation of my cruise out of Brasil for next year. Apparently the itinerary was not selling well. Somehow, the image I had about Explora being reliable, changed. I am looking forward to my new cruise with Explora but I am not booking another cruise with them until I learn more about how their concept is working of having different restaurants and not a main one. I hate lines and I do not like limitations. For example deciding months in advance where to eat to make a reservation and only once per journey in a particular restaurant? We will see how that works for me.

 

It will be interesting to learn the opinions of guests about the dining experiences and concept.

 

Ivi

 

[Waltershipman]

8 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Well done. I remember those amazing prices for the first bookings. I hesitated too long to benefit from those prices. My booking already was at increased prices, but after January this year the prices increased further. When Explora cancelled my cruise for next year and offered a discount if rebooked, the discount could barely compensate the higher prices on a new itinerary. 
 

I was very disappointed about the cancellation of my cruise out of Brasil for next year. Apparently the itinerary was not selling well. Somehow, the image I had about Explora being reliable, changed. I am looking forward to my new cruise with Explora but I am not booking another cruise with them until I learn more about how their concept is working of having different restaurants and not a main one. I hate lines and I do not like limitations. For example deciding months in advance where to eat to make a reservation and only once per journey in a particular restaurant? We will see how that works for me.

 

It will be interesting to learn the opinions of guests about the dining experiences and concept.

 

Ivi

 

 

8 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Well done. I remember those amazing prices for the first bookings. I hesitated too long to benefit from those prices. My booking already was at increased prices, but after January this year the prices increased further. When Explora cancelled my cruise for next year and offered a discount if rebooked, the discount could barely compensate the higher prices on a new itinerary. 
 

I was very disappointed about the cancellation of my cruise out of Brasil for next year. Apparently the itinerary was not selling well. Somehow, the image I had about Explora being reliable, changed. I am looking forward to my new cruise with Explora but I am not booking another cruise with them until I learn more about how their concept is working of having different restaurants and not a main one. I hate lines and I do not like limitations. For example deciding months in advance where to eat to make a reservation and only once per journey in a particular restaurant? We will see how that works for me.

 

It will be interesting to learn the opinions of guests about the dining experiences and concept.

 

Ivi

 

Yes awaiting input from boarded passengers thank you I am booked fir October 

[Corriegr]

16 hours ago, kelleherdl said:

There is a possible alternative view. We booked three EJ cruises early on. We avoided the absolute first cruises because of possible last-minute ship delays (did happen) and possibly teething pains (may be happening). Our first cruise is Sept 9, second Nov. We will be paying truly fabulous fares for those two, less than equivalent Yacht Club YC2’s with far less interesting itineraries. We are absolutely looking forward to these cruises, even if we will need to ‘endure’ some hiccups. 

Same here out from Barbados on 27th Nov and fare we paid far less of what we  would pay for YC  balcony on Seascape next summer. Happy to pay that is it means service is still evolving

[kelleherdl]

14 hours ago, Waltershipman said:

 

Yes awaiting input from boarded passengers thank you I am booked fir October 

I’m neither a TA nor an ‘influencer’, whatever that really means; nor a Residence passenger. So I will be commenting on my ‘steerage’ experience. 😀

[Waltershipman]

20 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

I’m neither a TA nor an ‘influencer’, whatever that really means; nor a Residence passenger. So I will be commenting on my ‘steerage’ experience. 😀

Me too😊❤️

[hamrag]

24 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

I’m neither a TA nor an ‘influencer’, whatever that really means; nor a Residence passenger. So I will be commenting on my ‘steerage’ experience. 😀

OK, Dennis I'll let them know, at risk of causing embarrassment....Dennis is an honest, straightforward poster who gives helpful information on any thread I've ever seen him on. 

 

Great to see you on here Dennis, long time since we met in the Preziosa (from memory) YC, please pass our regards to Joann and hoping you both enjoy Explora. Been keeping a watching eye on some of these threads, but nothing booked or any intent for Explora at this time.

 

We're sailing from Barbados 18 November on Windstar pride followed on 25th on Emerald Azzura, which is a luxury yacht with only 100 passengers. We've never done either of these two lines before.

[kelleherdl]

8 hours ago, hamrag said:

OK, Dennis I'll let them know, at risk of causing embarrassment....Dennis is an honest, straightforward poster who gives helpful information on any thread I've ever seen him on. 

 

Great to see you on here Dennis, long time since we met in the Preziosa (from memory) YC, please pass our regards to Joann and hoping you both enjoy Explora. Been keeping a watching eye on some of these threads, but nothing booked or any intent for Explora at this time.

 

We're sailing from Barbados 18 November on Windstar pride followed on 25th on Emerald Azzura, which is a luxury yacht with only 100 passengers. We've never done either of these two lines before.

Ah Graham, for a Scotsman you are being overly generous. But thank you for the cross the pond handshake.  Windstar and Emerald on the same holiday. Somebody’s lottery ticket hit.  We will probably never go the super-luxury route. I understand Emerald is under the senior management of a former MSC Cruises USA executive. I’m sure he had been at other lines before that. I did have a second go round of the Lesser Antilles back to back booked but changed to World America when those bookings opened. If anyone on here ever wants a nice two weeks in Yacht Club in the Southern Caribbean Hamrag and I both heartily endorse that cruise on MSC. You can join in Barbados, Point a Pitre, or Fort d’ France.

[hamrag]

6 hours ago, kelleherdl said:

....We will probably never go the super-luxury route. I understand Emerald is under the senior management of a former MSC Cruises USA executive. I’m sure he had been at other lines before that. I did have a second go round of the Lesser Antilles back to back booked but changed to World America when those bookings opened. If anyone on here ever wants a nice two weeks in Yacht Club in the Southern Caribbean Hamrag and I both heartily endorse that cruise on MSC. You can join in Barbados, Point a Pitre, or Fort d’ France.

Indeed, the lesser Antilles is a wonderful cruise so much so we've done that one in MSC YC three times (albeit once was immediately post covid with masks indoors, which included the repositioning segment and it was not possible to freely explore most ports....we just enjoyed the downtime principally maskless outdoors during daytime on board). You guys in Florida are blessed with great weather most of the year, us Scots just have to escape the depth of winter which is so miserable!

 

We've sailed the Caribbean so often over the two decades we've been cruising that it now feels like the same old same old.....Even the likes of Azamara and Oceanias' smaller ships, circa 600ish passengers don't port anywhere we haven't been previously in the Caribbean. That's the reason we're taking a new approach, and both Windstar and Emerald are visiting small islands we've never been to. We got fantastic rates, booking with a huge US web agency on 3rd July which got us significant genuine 'Independence Day week' savings. Taking the average across both, we've paid slightly less than a YC1 on MSC.

[machotspur]

On 8/7/2023 at 10:49 PM, kelleherdl said:

There is a possible alternative view. We booked three EJ cruises early on. We avoided the absolute first cruises because of possible last-minute ship delays (did happen) and possibly teething pains (may be happening). Our first cruise is Sept 9, second Nov. We will be paying truly fabulous fares for those two, less than equivalent Yacht Club YC2’s with far less interesting itineraries. We are absolutely looking forward to these cruises, even if we will need to ‘endure’ some hiccups. 

 

We were fortunate in being able to benefit from a 'third option'. We will be on Explora at the end of next week.

Our TA made us aware a while back that there was a 3 night itinerary operating from Hamburg to Southampton - ideal for us, and UK cruisers in general, to check out Explora with a small time and financial commitment.

A short time onboard admittedly, but already we are 'experiencing' the company before we even get on the ship (Not particularly favourable in some aspects).

We are planning to try all the restaurants across lunch and dinner (bookings made where needed), and as our TA is also onboard for this trip we are hopeful we will get to see a few suites in addition to the one we are in. 

 

 

[Mattsudds]

3 hours ago, machotspur said:

We are planning to try all the restaurants across lunch and dinner (bookings made where needed), and as our TA is also onboard for this trip we are hopeful we will get to see a few suites in addition to the one we are in. 

I hope you have a brilliant time and any teething problems are gone by then. Out of curiosity, exactly how are you making the restaurant bookings. I keep looking at my booking through the website and there doesnt seem to be any obvious way to do it. This restaurant reservation thing seems to be central to so much criticism that I’m keen to sort it out before boarding if possible. 

[machotspur]

1 minute ago, Mattsudds said:

Out of curiosity, exactly how are you making the restaurant bookings. I keep looking at my booking through the website and there doesnt seem to be any obvious way to do it. 

 

You're right - it's a nonsense. I contact my TA, who contacts Explora office, who then contacts the people who handle restaurant reservations. A few days later I receive confirmation !!