For all questions regarding Explora

[dolls123]

23 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

Success!!!

 

This is a direct screenshot from the Explora website:

 

Has anyone staying in a penthouse used the complimentary pressing of garments or the 1 bag of laundry per person? 

[Whipsnade]

Just sent some out. We’”ll see if it winds up on my bill. 

[dolls123]

On 8/25/2023 at 10:50 AM, Whipsnade said:

Tub shower combo. No stall shower. 

The aft deluxe penthouse on deck 6 has the stall shower. I'm hoping the the same room on deck 7 is the same

[dolls123]

6 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Just sent some out. We’”ll see if it winds up on my bill. 

Has it been with the 48 hours of check in? You should also get 1 bag of laundry per person. 

[Whipsnade]

Will check soon. Today’s laundry and pressing came back in four hours and on hangars as requested. A good sign. 

[dolls123]

2 minutes ago, Whipsnade said:

Will check soon. Today’s laundry and pressing came back in four hours and on hangars as requested. A good sign. 

Thanks, good to know

[dolls123]

7 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Just sent some out. We’”ll see if it winds up on my bill. 

Is there a way to check your bill daily?

[TER777]

2 minutes ago, dolls123 said:

Is there a way to check your bill daily?

Yes. In the App or on the TV. Go to my account. 

[dolls123]

4 minutes ago, TER777 said:

Yes. In the App or on the TV. Go to my account. 

Thanks!

[dolls123]

21 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Will check soon. Today’s laundry and pressing came back in four hours and on hangars as requested. A good sign. 

Did they charge you?

[Whipsnade]

Don’t see it yet. Will check again. 

[dolls123]

30 minutes ago, Whipsnade said:

Don’t see it yet. Will check again. 

Keep me posted. I sail in a deluxe penthouse in November and I really want to use this perk 

[Whipsnade]

We are one rung below you in a standard PH.  The amenities are the same. We got the champagne. No butler service. When room service brings breakfast they bring a tray of food etc and plunk it down on the table. No tablecloth. No remove covers. Do it yourself. Amazing!!  
Our steward does cleaning g etc. I have asked for fruit regularly. None has arrived yet. 
Suite itself is spacious but utilitarian. Tub bathroom. No stand alone shower. 
As we are near the elevator (10020) we are very convenient to all the venues we care about. 
More later 

[dolls123]

4 minutes ago, Whipsnade said:

We are one rung below you in a standard PH.  The amenities are the same. We got the champagne. No butler service. When room service brings breakfast they bring a tray of food etc and plunk it down on the table. No tablecloth. No remove covers. Do it yourself. Amazing!!  
Our steward does cleaning g etc. I have asked for fruit regularly. None has arrived yet. 
Suite itself is spacious but utilitarian. Tub bathroom. No stand alone shower. 
As we are near the elevator (10020) we are very convenient to all the venues we care about. 
More later 

Thanks for the information. Did you get fruit the first day?

[ljsanantonio]

Silly question most likely—are wash cloths/flannels as known in the UK included?  We have that not to be the case in even some luxurious settings abroad. Thank you!

[Whipsnade]

No fruit any day. There are nice Terry washcloths. Frette I think. Best ever mattress. 
Just talked with Housekeeping supervisor. She tells me if we want fruit we must order it from room service. Do you believe it?  

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

No fruit any day. There are nice Terry washcloths. Frette I think. Best ever mattress. 
Just talked with Housekeeping supervisor. She tells me if we want fruit we must order it from room service. Do you believe it?  

 

Seems to be no surprise. 

 

I guess that means putting in an order every day or two.

 

 

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

No fruit any day. There are nice Terry washcloths. Frette I think. Best ever mattress. 
Just talked with Housekeeping supervisor. She tells me if we want fruit we must order it from room service. Do you believe it?  

This seems to be a trend on several cruise line.  On the Seabourn Quest (last few weeks) there was no fruit in the suite unless the passenger requested it (from the steward or room service).  This does eliminate some waste.  Luxury does not necessarily mean waste 🙂.  It was the same with booze.  Our steward ask if we wanted any bottles of booze (in the cabin) and we declined.  In the past I always had some scotch or cognac in the suite, but found that it was more fun to do my drinking at a bar/lounge.

 

Hank

[Host Jazzbeau]

Our problem on several cruise lines is that the fruit delivered by the butler wasn't ripe yet.  We set it aside to ripen, and just as it was getting ready to eat ... they replaced it by new green fruit!

[Whipsnade]

Here is the deal on the free laundry direct from the director of housekeeping.

You are permitted one bag of laundry free per seven day cruise segment. So no more sending out two or three pieces per day. I think best strategy to send out a bag on day four or five. Always another way to skin a cat, right?

She also told me there are many luxury cruisers who are complaining about laundry, fruit and in suite no table cloth policies. She is trying to get MSC to modify policies to confirm to what all of us Crystals, Regents, Seabourns abd Silverseas are accustomed to. Getting resistance from headquarters. 
Even though I have my petty gripes I must say the ship is beautiful.

Food in every venue excellent and presented beautifully.

Center pool under magrodome biggest lap pool on the ocean.

Forward lounge on top deck best designed of any ship we have sailed. Outdoor and indoor lounges and chairs. 

 

 

[florisdekort]

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

This seems to be a trend on several cruise line.  On the Seabourn Quest (last few weeks) there was no fruit in the suite unless the passenger requested it (from the steward or room service).  This does eliminate some waste.  Luxury does not necessarily mean waste 🙂.  It was the same with booze.  Our steward ask if we wanted any bottles of booze (in the cabin) and we declined.  In the past I always had some scotch or cognac in the suite, but found that it was more fun to do my drinking at a bar/lounge.

 

Hank

Yes, but you tell your Seabourn stewardess only once which fruits you like, and a bowl magically appears every day. Very different from having to call room service every time you fancy a banana. 

[Nunagoras]

Ok. Fruit in the suite is mostly a waste. For the ones whom want it, asking once for the cabin steward to bring it would suffix. They'll likely to adjust themselves.

 

Otherwise there seems to be such a trend really at CC: I don't know if because of Explora's marketing or just for personal reasons of each other one, there seems to have been done the expectation that Explora would be ultra luxury cruise line... They're not by industry's standards design. Pax numbers do command market segment here, let's see:

 

Ultra luxury: HL, RSS, SB, SS, Cr - Less than 850 guests per sailing.

Mid Luxury: OC, VO, Az, E - Between 900 and 1500 guests per sailing.

 

How was it possible? I don't know, but surely Explora has a problem on hands and they must to decide what to do: Going ultra luxury on a mid luxury sized ship? Possible... But difficult! Probably market themselves the right way? Time will tell!... Some in the industry consider VO as full luxury. VO themselves went out of that way. May Explora to do the same?...

[dolls123]

8 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

Here is the deal on the free laundry direct from the director of housekeeping.

You are permitted one bag of laundry free per seven day cruise segment. So no more sending out two or three pieces per day. I think best strategy to send out a bag on day four or five. Always another way to skin a cat, right?

She also told me there are many luxury cruisers who are complaining about laundry, fruit and in suite no table cloth policies. She is trying to get MSC to modify policies to confirm to what all of us Crystals, Regents, Seabourns abd Silverseas are accustomed to. Getting resistance from headquarters. 
Even though I have my petty gripes I must say the ship is beautiful.

Food in every venue excellent and presented beautifully.

Center pool under magrodome biggest lap pool on the ocean.

Forward lounge on top deck best designed of any ship we have sailed. Outdoor and indoor lounges and chairs. 

 

 

Penthouse guests: 1 bag per person? and was the pressing free (up to 48 hours of check in) ?

Edited August 29, 2023 by dolls123
spelling

[Hlitner]

Called EJ, this morning, about making dinner reservations for our Sept 25 cruise.  The "ambassador" quickly took care of our requests for reservations in Marble and Company as well as Sakura.  She than mentioned Anthology and asked if we wanted to make a reservation...at which point I asked her "who is the guest chef."  She could not find any information about the identity of the chef. but said she would try to get an answer and send me an e-mail.  Bottom line is that a month before a cruise they do not seem to have a clue.  There is also no way to make dinner reservations online...which should be a simple process.  I should add that the only reason we even knew to make advance reservations was from the info we found on this CC blog.  EJ has sent us no communication or info about reservations and there is no info on the web site about when/how to make advance restaurant reservations.

 

We also have a decent On Board Credit, so decided to look at some of the excursions.  But other posters have mentioned that if you book in advance (prior to getting on the ship) you will immediately be charged (to your credit card) for the excursions.  There have also been posts that EJ will not later (once onboard) allow cruisers to use their OBC for excursions booked prior to the cruise.  ARGH.  On some other lines, such as Seabourn, it is a simple matter to have OBC applied to previously booked excursions and a credit issued to one's credit card for the previouls charge.

 

Hank

[crickette]

1 hour ago, Nunagoras said:

Ok. Fruit in the suite is mostly a waste. For the ones whom want it, asking once for the cabin steward to bring it would suffix. They'll likely to adjust themselves.

 

Otherwise there seems to be such a trend really at CC: I don't know if because of Explora's marketing or just for personal reasons of each other one, there seems to have been done the expectation that Explora would be ultra luxury cruise line... They're not by industry's standards design. Pax numbers do command market segment here, let's see:

 

Ultra luxury: HL, RSS, SB, SS, Cr - Less than 850 guests per sailing.

Mid Luxury: OC, VO, Az, E - Between 900 and 1500 guests per sailing.

 

How was it possible? I don't know, but surely Explora has a problem on hands and they must to decide what to do: Going ultra luxury on a mid luxury sized ship? Possible... But difficult! Probably market themselves the right way? Time will tell!... Some in the industry consider VO as full luxury. VO themselves went out of that way. May Explora to do the same?...

These are the words that led us to believe that Explora was going to position itself outside the luxury market.  "Explora Journeys is transforming luxury cruises into ocean journeys which inspire you to travel further, immerse deeper and linger a little longer. Embracing enticing destinations to create lifelong memories."  and "(the)brand that redefines the luxury cruise category".