An Interesting Video Review of Explora 1

[Dr. Cocktail]

This was just posted by one of the most watched travel vloggers - he has over 1 million followers.   He actually paid for his voyage and didn't notify Explora in advance. I've seen his videos before - he comes across as a 2024 version of Robin Leach on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous!

 

It provides some excellent info but is a bit disingenuous on pricing.  I'm amazed that it was posted 22 hours ago and already has almost 250 000 views!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8 by Dr. Cocktail

[Jim Avery]

Veery nice looking.  We have to put up with a lowly penthouse in November.🥃

[saminina]

Wonderful video....thanks for posting.   Ironic that this was the suite I spent time during last voyage visiting what were my very disappointed neighbors being served by the absolute worse butler.  Case in point was his refusal to remedy the Champagne situation as shown in the video.

 

Walked away being very pleased with my lowly suite with extended balcony, never to be tempted to upgrade on Explora.

 

Easy to see how this fellow has such a high number of followers.  What would you like to be when you grow up?  A follower.

[Sthrngary]

@Dr. Cocktail Thank you so much for sharing.  Very nice video.  Loved the suite which I will never stay in, but one must have goals.  Really love the balanced review by the young man and his father.  Thank you again for taking the time to post this.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[GregoryPaul]

1 hour ago, saminina said:

Wonderful video....thanks for posting.   Ironic that this was the suite I spent time during last voyage visiting what were my very disappointed neighbors being served by the absolute worse butler.  Case in point was his refusal to remedy the Champagne situation as shown in the video.

 

Walked away being very pleased with my lowly suite with extended balcony, never to be tempted to upgrade on Explora.

Interesting. Thank you. Tempers my enthusiasm to upgrade. 

 

 

[Dr. Cocktail]

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@Dr. Cocktail Thank you so much for sharing.  Very nice video.  Loved the suite which I will never stay in, but one must have goals.  Really love the balanced review by the young man and his father.  Thank you again for taking the time to post this.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

I found that this is the first review that really captured the onboard “feel”. I actually wouldn’t have minded it being longer so he could have included the Med Yacht Club and Marble & Co.

 

[Sthrngary]

1 minute ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

I found that this is the first review that really captured the onboard “feel”. I actually wouldn’t have minded it being longer so he could have included the Med Yacht Club and Marble & Co.

 

@Dr. Cocktail I see your point.  For me, it showed some things different from my past cruising experiences.  I am taking my older sister on her first and last cruise on the Explora I. This should get a rise out of her for sure.

 

A few examples of things that are a bit different then my past experiences: 

 

• Really no main dining room.  The dining is smaller venues which makes it more pleasant for me. 
• A buffet that is not a buffet and has nice quality and choices. For me, this approach is perfect.  No passengers touching food with their hands, a nice selection of made to order items.  And what looks to me to be decent sushi. 
• Access to spa amenities without having a spa service done. This seems so little and petty.  However, I always thought is was cheap of cruise lines to charge for thermal spas. Nice to see Explora does not.  Also, lots of hot tub in lots of areas cutting down on them being only centrally located. 
• Everyone on the same adult beverage program so no cabin card needed to gain a drink. It is kind of a pain, to have to pull out your card every time you wanted a drink on other cruise lines.  The reason was, many different types of drink programs.  I like everyone on the same plan much better. 
• A lounge chair on every balcony even the entry level. This is kind of special.  You don't see that much.  My sister is going to love that. 
• Double sinks in the bathrooms even the entry level. I have been in Penthouses and only had one sink so this is nice. 

 

The look and feel seems luxuriously casual.  It helps that there is a 1:125 ratio of guest to crew.  Still, they are evolving so my hope is the future allows them to truly get their sea legs.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

1.  

[Waltershipman]

15 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

I found that this is the first review that really captured the onboard “feel”. I actually wouldn’t have minded it being longer so he could have included the Med Yacht Club and Marble & Co.

 

Thanks for posting

[Waltershipman]

1 minute ago, Sthrngary said:

@Dr. Cocktail I see your point.  For me, it showed some things different from my past cruising experiences.  I am taking my older sister on her first and last cruise on the Explora I. This should get a rise out of her for sure.

 

A few examples of things that are a bit different then my past experiences: 

 

• Really no main dining room.  The dining is smaller venues which makes it more pleasant for me. 
• A buffet that is not a buffet and has nice quality and choices. For me, this approach is perfect.  No passengers touching food with their hands, a nice selection of made to order items.  And what looks to me to be decent sushi. 
• Access to spa amenities without having a spa service done. This seems so little and petty.  However, I always thought is was cheap of cruise lines to charge for thermal spas. Nice to see Explora does not.  Also, lots of hot tub in lots of areas cutting down on them being only centrally located. 
• Everyone on the same adult beverage program so no cabin card needed to gain a drink. It is kind of a pain, to have to pull out your card every time you wanted a drink on other cruise lines.  The reason was, many different types of drink programs.  I like everyone on the same plan much better. 
• A lounge chair on every balcony even the entry level. This is kind of special.  You don't see that much.  My sister is going to love that. 
• Double sinks in the bathrooms even the entry level. I have been in Penthouses and only had one sink so this is nice. 

 

The look and feel seems luxuriously casual.  It helps that there is a 1:125 ratio of guest to crew.  Still, they are evolving so my hope is the future allows them to truly get their sea legs.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

1.  

Dinner at Emporium 

[Dr. Cocktail]

9 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

 

• Double sinks in the bathrooms even the entry level. I have been in Penthouses and only had one sink so this is nice. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

1.  

Unfortunately, single sinks only in all categories under the Owner’s Suite!

Edited July 8 by Dr. Cocktail

[Grandma Cruising]

Try Azamara - you don’t need to take out your key card to get upgraded drinks. Initially they ask your room number, but after the second or third drink they know you and remember.

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Try Azamara - you don’t need to take out your key card to get upgraded drinks. Initially they ask your room number, but after the second or third drink they know you and remember.

Yes but you have to buy a package. On Explora package level drinks are included as standard. 
Explora overall is in a different league to Azamara (the only issue was the entertainment and they’re fixing that)

To be fair their per day price is also higher 

Edited July 9 by uktog

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Yes but you have to buy a package. On Explora package level drinks are included as standard. 
Explora overall is in a different league to Azamara (the only issue was the entertainment and they’re fixing that)

To be fair their per day price is also higher 

A lot higher! The point being made was that the poster liked not having to show their room card.

[uktog]

8 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

A lot higher! The point being made was that the poster liked not having to show their room card.

Yes but they were on Oceania - never need cards on Explora apart from the usual opening the doors.  So for the Explora board its not an issue

 

By the way, we did need our cards on Azamara in February for a few days so its intermittent depending on the system and the staff's familiarity with the techonolgy

[CJANDH]

15 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Double sinks in the bathrooms even the entry level

That is wrong. Even the spacious Cocoon Suites have only a single wash basin.

[Sthrngary]

6 minutes ago, CJANDH said:

That is wrong. Even the spacious Cocoon Suites have only a single wash basin.

@CJANDH Sorry.  I was wrong in that comment.  I am also going on the Oceania Vista Penthouse, that used to have one sink and now has two.  So I get mixed up on the Explora I.  Sorry again.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[chill6x6]

Wow! Thanks for posting this! EXCELLENT review! One of the best I've seen.  

 

1. Overall decor looks very nice! Both ship and suite!

2. Nice to be able to actually SEE what folks are wearing in the various venues.

3.Enjoyed seeing some of the dining options.

4. The suite...that one is very nice. I seriously considered this category. I'm a balcony snob...that one checks all the boxes. I'm going to almost always pick suite/cabin based on balcony.  Also at least 1.5 bath snob. Once you've had it in your suite/cabin, you know!. Another box checked. 

5. Nice to see what their butler actually did/does.

 

[CJANDH]

5 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

 Also at least 1.5 bath snob. Once you've had it in your suite/cabin, you know!.

I believe that the Cocoon Suite is the only one with 1.5 baths. The balcony is exceptional with the hot tub and lots of very comfortable furniture. Only negative is that it directly above the deck 5 infinity pool area which can be quite noisy, especially if full of kids.

[PaulMCO]

If you believe the influencer paid 21K pounds pp - I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn that is for sale.

 

That Champagne issue -- only a few weeks ago.   They pulled that trash with us in January and the promised DP was removed from the web site also in January.   What they could not change were the thousand of brochures they mailed to all of those influencers.

[Dr. Cocktail]

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

If you believe the influencer paid 21K pounds pp - I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn that is for sale.

 

That Champagne issue -- only a few weeks ago.   They pulled that trash with us in January and the promised DP was removed from the web site also in January.   What they could not change were the thousand of brochures they mailed to all of those influencers.

Is that amount too high or too low?

 

He does state that he paid the amount himself and did not let Explora know in advance but I guess we'll never know.  But... you can make a LOT of money on YouTube having over a million followers. This video has now been watched 411 00 times - again a HUGE money generator. That's easily $12 000 right there + his sponsors....

 

Gary Bembridge who is the most watched YouTube cruise reviewer most certainly pays his way for all of his trips.

Edited July 10 by Dr. Cocktail

[saminina]

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

If you believe the influencer paid 21K pounds pp - I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn that is for sale.

 

That Champagne issue -- only a few weeks ago.   They pulled that trash with us in January and the promised DP was removed from the web site also in January.   What they could not change were the thousand of brochures they mailed to all of those influencers.

21 GBP is totally believable.   21 GBP for two people......not pp.

 

If you are not a frequent sailor, one might believe what is told to them regarding the champagne, the food, the everything a crew member might tell you.  So they believed what the butler told them and they were smart enough to press the issue.    Telling lies is part of the job when you are following orders. 

[chill6x6]

4 hours ago, CJANDH said:

I believe that the Cocoon Suite is the only one with 1.5 baths. The balcony is exceptional with the hot tub and lots of very comfortable furniture. Only negative is that it directly above the deck 5 infinity pool area which can be quite noisy, especially if full of kids.

Thank you for straightening me out on that.  I really thought it did.  I THINK the Retreat Residence Suite has 1.5 baths.  When I was picking out suites the Serenity Residence Suite was more expensive than the RRS so I jumped to the conclusion the SRS(in the video) had 1.5 baths...which as you pointed out it doesn't.  

 

 

[boooomer]

I watch a lot of Treck Trendy videos. He typically stays in the best or near best suites. He makes a point of saying he pays his way. Sometime he posts the discounts he’s able to attain. His costs are for 2 people. When you look at the costs you have to adjust for when the video was taken. Fares have gone up dramatically in the past year - especially for the premium suites. Also some of the itineraries he picks are not the most popular. 

 

He does a great job of recording the menus and the meals that he’s ordered. He’s rarely critical of the food - but if you watch enough of his videos some of the meals look pretty mundane - like man dining room stuff. But he leaves that determination up to the viewer.

 

If you compare the food from different ships, I think they pale in comparison to Explora. Visually at least. I guess I’ll find out in December on EJII’s Carribean cruise. 

 

His video of Explora was the most recent review I’ve seen. And it was good to see other pax in the video.

Bernie

 

[CJANDH]

18 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

you can make a LOT of money on YouTube having over a million followers.

And I think he does make a lot. If you look back at his videos you will see he almost always is reviewing a very expensive cruise, first class flight or exotic train journey. Nice work if you can get the people to subscribe at his level.