Yacht Club vs Explora Journeys

[Hlitner]

12 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Back on board we were treated to a different perspective. New guests making a 'beeline' to make dinner reservations. This is the first time we have seen lines form on this ship. We were tempted to join the lines fearing we missed something, that these new passengers knew something we didn't ?  I can only make assumptions (generally wrong). Maybe these new passengers are just following the  practices they are used to on the mega liners. Just one short week ago we were the same way, rushing to the Emporium Market Place buffet or  Marble Restaurant as we do still on MSC to the Yacht Club Restaurant or Market Place buffet. New guests are overwhelmed dragging their carry ons into the Emporium and just standing for a moment 'like deer in headlights' in awe of what to do next. That was us.

Not surprising given the lack of transparency from EJ.  Folks who routinely cruise the luxury lines must learn how to adapt to the restaurant reservation requirements/rules on each specific line.  Even on lines like Silversea and Seabourn, one needs to scramble to get reservations in the better venues.  For those of us who "live to eat" this is serious stuff :).  On EJ, we quickly realized it was easier to get into most restaurants (on any night) by simply being a "walk in."  This is particularly true since the ship has not operated at anything close to full capacity.  Ask for a reservation in Marble or Sakura and you would often be told, no!  But simply walk up to the host/hostess and ask if they can take a "walk in" and we were rarely turned away.  We actually preferred the walk-in scheme since we could dine when we pleased without having to follow some kind of reservation-driven schedule.

 

Hank

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Not surprising given the lack of transparency from EJ.  Folks who routinely cruise the luxury lines must learn how to adapt to the restaurant reservation requirements/rules on each specific line.  Even on a line like Silverseas and Seabourn, one needs to scramble to get reservations in the better venues.  For those of us who "live to eat" this is serious stuff :).

 

Hank

Of course you are right. They must be afraid they can not handle the extra 100 passengers this cruise having expanded dining operations to 6pm from 6:30 pm. Announcements were made this morning before embarkation for those B2Bers to make their reservation before the new passengers board.

[morpheusofthesea]

In the Emporium today I found one of my favorite dishes found on the Yacht Club menu for lunch, Udon noodles. I made the mistake of asking for 2 helpings figuring it was even better here on Explora. Nope. Completely different and too spicy hot, my mouth was burning from the hot pepper. Noticed a new corner entree for kids, today's kid special chicken nuggets and fish sticks. The nuggets were hand rolled chicken thigh meat and the fish sticks were cold (we got to the Emporium just as it opened. No reason the fish sticks should be cold to start the lunch period). MSC YC wins again. (I guess they don't think big kids will complain as loudly about the food. What do we know, anyway). More cookie assortment today. I think this is an indication of more children this cruise ?

Edited December 29, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

Well the hours for dinner have been expanded from 6pm to 9:30pm. Only time our waiter said it was so crowded was when they had 700 for a “test” cruise( excuse me a test ‘journey’).

 Explora glossary:

Hotel Director = General Manager

Cruise Director = Entertainment Manager 

Butler = Resident Host 

Steward = Suite Host 

Shows = Experiences

Cruise = Journey 

Shore Excursion = Destination  Associate

Guest Services = GS ambassador

All other staff = hosts

Entertainers = Resident Artists 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

The times in the daily program are just guesstimates. For example the on two evenings after dinner we try to find some entertainment. We get to the listed 7pm Step, Swing, & Spin dance playlist in the Astern lounge…. Crickets. Then we try to find a place to sit and wait for the 8:45 “experience ” in the Journey lounge .

[mreic082]

A fascinating thread, thank you. I'm enjoying reading the differences between the two lines. We tried YC for the first time last spring and loved it. Unfortunately, we aren't able to make it work for our trip in March, but there's always next time. I'm looking forward to cruising consistently in YC and trying Explora someday. Thank you for your thoughts! 🙂 

[morpheusofthesea]

5 hours ago, mreic082 said:

but there's always next time.

Is there really ? From your lips to God's ears...........Happy New Year !

[morpheusofthesea]

8 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Well the hours for dinner have been expanded from 6pm to 9:30pm. Only time our waiter said it was so crowded was when they had 700 for a “test” cruise( excuse me a test ‘journey’).

 Explora glossary:

Hotel Director = General Manager

Cruise Director = Entertainment Manager 

Butler = Resident Host 

Steward = Suite Host 

Shows = Experiences

Cruise = Journey 

Shore Excursion = Destination  Associate

Guest Services = GS ambassador

All other staff = hosts

Entertainers = Resident Artists / Guest Artists

Guest Lecturers = Luminaries

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

7 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

9 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Well the hours for dinner have been expanded from 6pm to 9:30pm. Only time our waiter said it was so crowded was when they had 700 for a “test” cruise( excuse me a test ‘journey’).

 Explora glossary:

Hotel Director = General Manager

Cruise Director = Entertainment Manager 

Butler = Resident Host 

Steward = Suite Host 

Shows = Experiences

Cruise = Journey 

Shore Excursion = Destination  Associate

Guest Services = GS ambassador

All other staff = hosts

Entertainers = Resident Artists / Guest Artists

Guest Lecturers = Luminaries

Passengers = Guests (I think 'Gulls' is a better word)

 

 

[perakcruiser]

23 hours ago, morpheusofthesea said:

In the Emporium today I found one of my favorite dishes found on the Yacht Club menu for lunch, Udon noodles. I made the mistake of asking for 2 helpings figuring it was even better here on Explora. Nope. Completely different and too spicy hot, my mouth was burning from the hot pepper

The Udon noodles are also hit and miss in the MDR. On one MSC ship excellent on others I did not like at all. But it may look simple, it is a really difficult dish and certainly no cruise line has chefs from Japan. 

[morpheusofthesea]

14 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

The Udon noodles are also hit and miss in the MDR

This what we have discovered. Understandable if one is going on different cruise lines, but on the same ship from one month to the next? I questioned our waiter and he said the chef they had contract was up and they went on vacation. Problem being they do not know where they will be reassigned to when their vacation is up. Chef Lisa in the YC Restaurant knew where she was going when her contract finished on the Seascape in October ONLY because Hotel Director Dr. Yannis K asked her to join his team  on the Seashore this season. 'Heard' she and Maitre D' Arthur of YC are just back on board this week. So things should improve drastically on the Seashore now in the YC.

[NatM]

My husband and I are sailing the seascape YC in late February. I wonder who the new head chef is now? Hopefully as good as Chef Lisa. 

[morpheusofthesea]

14 minutes ago, NatM said:

My husband and I are sailing the seascape YC in late February. I wonder who the new head chef is now? Hopefully as good as Chef Lisa. 

We will be back on Seascape in April, so we leave it up to you to find out and report back to us in February. Bon Voyage !

[morpheusofthesea]

For us the hard part of booking any cruise/journey is finding a trip short (not 3,4, or 5 days) that leaves and returns to south Florida. So by day 8 into this cruise/journey we been looking at a future cruise on Explora. We went on-line and find a 10 day one for 2025 on Explora 2 with a special up to 25% off, $400 OBC and reduced deposit if booked by the end January . So we decide to upgrade our cabin to a larger suite and see if we can book on board. True to MSC form the Future Journeys Ambassador could pull up our travel agent, could pull up the cruise/journey, could pull up the cabin, but could not pull up the discount which she said applies to all categories. Also the description of the itinerary was correct, but the map of the route was different with all different ports going in the opposite direction. She has to get with her "Director" (supervisor). 

[bundtkate]

57 minutes ago, NatM said:

My husband and I are sailing the seascape YC in late February. I wonder who the new head chef is now?

My husband and I are boarding for our first YC sailing in just about a week now. I am horribly selfish and can't be bothered with a live while onboard (many thanks to folks like @morpheusofthesea who are willing to sacrifice and share their vacation time with the rest of us), but I'll be sure to report back when we return.

[morpheusofthesea]

Bocelli's singing "Time To Say Goodbye". We must be leaving St Kitts, Captain starts the engine when Bocelli finishes.

  Another tidbit. I tried to get a preview of the bigger suites but they are all booked this cruise. Had to settle for the same pictures on-line. Ambassador rubs it in...the pictures don't do the cabins justice. Thanks.

[Essiesmom]

Cruisedeckplans has copious pics of 7002 and 8001, video of 7001 and 8001, but the one for 7001 says offline.  Didn’t try the other.  EM

[morpheusofthesea]

Here is some worthless information. Our waiter is stationed at the grill in the Emporium Market Place taking orders and handing out electronic beepers. Last journey he averaged 30 hamburgers per lunch, today’s crowd astounded him 98 burgers. Must be a more MSC crowd this journey?

  Also astounding was a woman who came to the restaurant for breakfast after closing and demanded to be served. Now if that doesn’t scream MSC….

Edited December 31, 2023 by morpheusofthesea

[morpheusofthesea]

Today we anchor and visit the port of Saint Pierre, Martinque. "Saint Pierre once rejoiced in the title “Little Paris of the West Indies.” It was one of the first settlements on the island and was the prosperous capital of Martinique."

"Then on May 8, 1902, Mount Pelee erupted. In 30 seconds, all but one of the town's 30,000 inhabitants were killed. The sole survivor had been arrested the night before for starting a brawl and had been thrown into a deep cell in the town jail. Although badly burned he was found alive four days later. He became such an international curiosity that he toured with P.T. Barnum's circus."

"Do not expect Saint Pierre to be the Pompeii of the Caribbean. Although there are ruins of the old town here and there, it is not an archeological site. A new town has been built among the ruins and so Saint Pierre is once again a living city although it has never regained the importance it had before the 1902 eruption."

[morpheusofthesea]

Tonight's special menu in the Fil Rouge and Med Yacht Club will be the same. 290 made reservations for dinner in Fil Rouge and 200 in Med Yacht Club, out of 650 passengers. Masked Ball tonight, masks being given out at the door. Having read the Travel Weekly article on the promo for NYE on Explora DW ordered a black feather mask for the occasion.

We will probably not make it to the midnight event as we are not as young as we used to be. Perhaps Explora knows so just like the the nightly performances Act I and an hour later is Act II , there are two mask ball times before NYE celebration. New guest performer is a Ms. Skyy and the final countdown 2 hours is the all female group Roxx.

  With all the hoopla about MSC butlers not up to standards, we find our butlers on MSC to be more attentive than the one we have on Explora. For example at the beginning of our first cruise we got a gift and bottle of Champagne. Beginning of 2nd cruise nothing, except refreshed flowers. On MSC we get a number of bottles of liquor and champagne which our butlers on MSC duplicate on the 2nd cruise. We tip all our butlers at least $200 for the first week if the service is what we expect. We go home with at least 10 bottles of alcohol on a B2B on MSC. Just saying, do not expect the same level of amenities from Explora for 3 x the price. Also one needs a butler more on MSC to be escorted on and off the ship, no need for the escort on Explora to cut a swath through the inhumanity.

   Along with today's daily planner a list of finer Champagnes is being offered for a price. $100- $500. I wonder when or if I get to post all this information someone will post if MSC is doing the same thing?

  P.S. Still  NO lobster for lunches in the Emporium, only lobster tails for dinner.

Edited December 31, 2023 by morpheusofthesea
p.s.

[morpheusofthesea]

The elevators are great on Explora. Regular up/down buttons outside deck key pad inside. 5-30 seconds an empty elevator comes and generally nonstop to desired deck. MSC Yacht Clubers NEED an over ride. Have to see this cruise if this holds true on a sea day with 650 passengers. Went to teatime. Everyday at 4-5 in Explora Lounge, reminded us of the Top Sail Lounge with the same doors outside at the front of the ship 1/2 for smokers. Thought it was just okay. No scones. I think MSC does a better job. Guests here were playing cards while sipping tea. Not as elegant as we expected. This ship needs more guests like @no1talks to give this cruise line more class.

[morpheusofthesea]

It is such a beautiful day here in Saint Pierre. We really hit the jackpot in fine agreeable weather. This is a big difference we have just come to realize sitting on our balcony on the Explora versus sitting on our balcony on MSC Seaships. Though the balconies are comparable in size and amenities, the view in ports like this are so very different. We are anchored only a hundred meters from beautiful sailboats dotting the surrounding waters. Super yachts, like the 400 million dollar "Infinity", as our next door neighbors, enjoying the same weather and views as we. Mega ships of MSC anchoring  miles away don't have the same views. Or compared to being docked next to another mega ship peering into a  housing tenement, all too common, with laundry hanging over the railings of our neighbor cruise ship a few meters away. And it didn't cost us $400 million for the exact same experience.

  P.S. Again we are so close to shore the tender ride is under 5 minutes. Where I posted that the tender ride for Seascape was 15 minutes for Grand Cayman and a fiasco trying to accommodate 5500 passengers on 5 tenders that only carry 80 guest safely back and forth took hours and left little time ashore with butting and rude guests trying to get back onto the ship from shore. Hundreds to a thousand waiting for 80 to load and leave so another empty tender can dock and load again. Loading took 13 minutes. I timed the process.

Edited December 31, 2023 by morpheusofthesea
p.s.

[morpheusofthesea]

Have to give Explora the gold medal for getting passengers ashore and back tendering. Even Yacht Clubbers did not get preferential treatment RETURNING to the ship from shore at Grand Cayman. We were grouped together with steerage waiting in the hot sun. Our next port was supposed to be Belize on the Seascape. The Seascape being so big we had to anchor even farther away. The night before arriving the captain was notified that the tender company in Belize was having mechanical difficulties with their high speed hydrofoils and could not keep the tender trip down to 20 minutes, but could only do it in one hour both ways. The Captain scrapped Belize and we docked in Cozumel instead. Explora wins this one.

[morpheusofthesea]

On 12/30/2023 at 4:26 PM, bundtkate said:

can't be bothered with a live while onboard.

Most of us feel the same way until we encounter just one perceived inconvenience. Then we join every social media platform to vent. Present company excepted.

[bundtkate]

41 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

Most of us feel the same way until we encounter just one perceived inconvenience. Then we join every social media platform to vent. Present company excepted.

Not me. That just calls for another beer. Now if the requested beer doesn't arrive, then maybe we have a problem ... 😜