Recent Explora 1 Experience

[Cody-wody]

Many time cruiser on MSC Yacht Club, NCL Suites, Celebrity, Carnival, HAL....

 

Bottom line is we enjoyed Explora 1 but have no desire to sail Explora again. We sailed them in mid-August Europe and the ship was literally LESS than half full! Judging by some of the fellow cruisers onboard, I tend to think they are heavily discounting in Europe. There was also, probably, a half dozen very senior MSC executives onboard taking notes, including, we were told, the assistant to the owner/CEO of MSC. I really think changes are coming...  

 

Good, for us:

1. Food was best ever experienced on a ship. Coldwater lobster available every evening. Simple, high quality ingredients. Really delicious. Wine is decent but very cheap. Lots of $5 bottles being served. 

2. Staff (for the most part) pretty good. Well-meaning but not super empowered.  

3. Ship is very pretty with EXCELLENT stabilization (apparently a new kind of propeller and other innovations). That said, it's a hotel-design in the sense that the sea isn't the focus. There are fewer unobstructed vistas of the ocean and lots of high glass walls outdoors. If you love the sea this might not be your ship. 

 

Ok, for us:

1. Entertainment was pretty typical mid-sized ship fare. We honestly didn't love the Cruise Director (ahem - Entertainment  Manager). He has a pretty fake and somewhat snooty/condescending style that definitely won't charm everyone. Ex Holland America guy. Entertainment events were VERY badly attended. Like embarrassingly so. We're talking less than five people in the huge show lounge for TED-style talks. Featured singers at the evening show (who were very good) would get a few dozen people. 

 

Bad:

1. Five glorious pools - including the spa. What's wrong? NO SHADE. If you like baking in the sun then you'll be fine. If you prefer to layout in the shade your going to have problems. Consequently the pool areas are often empty. We asked why they do this and were told the billionaire owners of MSC are extremely superstitious and believe umbrellas bring bad luck to ships. I KID YOU NOT. For this reason, no umbrellas! Multiple staff told us this and honestly it's enough for us to never sail them again as that's just ridiculous. This completely ruined the pool scene for us.

 

2. Embarkation was a disorganized mess. Great way to start things off! Security officers far less friendly than other lines. Saw them vaping in full view of customers, etc. My first thought was "these guys belong in front of a nightclub, not a supposedly five star luxury ship."

 

Bottom line in my humble opinion is Explora is definitely in a state of flux. I'd expect major changes. Sailing half full during the peak of the peak season tells you everything you need to know (a year post launch). I wouldn't be surprised if they folded the line into MSC or did something else dramatic... and the one REALLY good thing, the food, is likely to get cut if they need to cut costs. 

 

 

 

[CruiseCrew123]

I board Friday , so half full and plenty of sun beds sounds amazing to me 😍

[saminina]

Good, objective review.  Sad to say. 

[Redking]

3 hours ago, Cody-wody said:

Many time cruiser on MSC Yacht Club, NCL Suites, Celebrity, Carnival, HAL....

 

Bottom line is we enjoyed Explora 1 but have no desire to sail Explora again. We sailed them in mid-August Europe and the ship was literally LESS than half full! Judging by some of the fellow cruisers onboard, I tend to think they are heavily discounting in Europe. There was also, probably, a half dozen very senior MSC executives onboard taking notes, including, we were told, the assistant to the owner/CEO of MSC. I really think changes are coming...  

 

Good, for us:

1. Food was best ever experienced on a ship. Coldwater lobster available every evening. Simple, high quality ingredients. Really delicious. Wine is decent but very cheap. Lots of $5 bottles being served. 

2. Staff (for the most part) pretty good. Well-meaning but not super empowered.  

3. Ship is very pretty with EXCELLENT stabilization (apparently a new kind of propeller and other innovations). That said, it's a hotel-design in the sense that the sea isn't the focus. There are fewer unobstructed vistas of the ocean and lots of high glass walls outdoors. If you love the sea this might not be your ship. 

 

Ok, for us:

1. Entertainment was pretty typical mid-sized ship fare. We honestly didn't love the Cruise Director (ahem - Entertainment  Manager). He has a pretty fake and somewhat snooty/condescending style that definitely won't charm everyone. Ex Holland America guy. Entertainment events were VERY badly attended. Like embarrassingly so. We're talking less than five people in the huge show lounge for TED-style talks. Featured singers at the evening show (who were very good) would get a few dozen people. 

 

Bad:

1. Five glorious pools - including the spa. What's wrong? NO SHADE. If you like baking in the sun then you'll be fine. If you prefer to layout in the shade your going to have problems. Consequently the pool areas are often empty. We asked why they do this and were told the billionaire owners of MSC are extremely superstitious and believe umbrellas bring bad luck to ships. I KID YOU NOT. For this reason, no umbrellas! Multiple staff told us this and honestly it's enough for us to never sail them again as that's just ridiculous. This completely ruined the pool scene for us.

 

2. Embarkation was a disorganized mess. Great way to start things off! Security officers far less friendly than other lines. Saw them vaping in full view of customers, etc. My first thought was "these guys belong in front of a nightclub, not a supposedly five star luxury ship."

 

Bottom line in my humble opinion is Explora is definitely in a state of flux. I'd expect major changes. Sailing half full during the peak of the peak season tells you everything you need to know (a year post launch). I wouldn't be surprised if they folded the line into MSC or did something else dramatic... and the one REALLY good thing, the food, is likely to get cut if they need to cut costs. 

 

 

 

They had some interesting itineraries when they first launched. Looks like they're now focussing on the already crowded Caribbean and Med Markets. I might consider them if they offered something different. 

[Stickman1990]

9 hours ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

I board Friday , so half full and plenty of sun beds sounds amazing to me 😍

You may be disappointed - I was talking to someone on board at the moment and they have told me the ships full on its current sailing

Edited September 10 by Stickman1990

[CruiseCrew123]

It’s definitely not full at the moment as I’ve been looking at the availability- so fingers crossed - will report back 

Edited September 10 by CruiseCrew123

[Khareef]

I am on board right now (brindisi), the ship seems pretty full to me. Excursions and spa treatments are really priced way too aggressively, embarkation in venice was a bit amateurish. Suites are nice, food very good, i found the ac too low everywhere and you can’t turn it off on the suites (thanks god i can eat outdoor most of the time). The lack of a proper spacious forward bridge space is quite appalling to me, not sure why they designed the ship this way. Coffe and cocktails are good, it seems quite a few guests are enjoying the dj nights and live music. I still prefer expedition cruising but for a relaxed vacation this is an excellent choice. 

[Cody-wody]

40 minutes ago, Khareef said:

I am on board right now (brindisi), the ship seems pretty full to me. Excursions and spa treatments are really priced way too aggressively, embarkation in venice was a bit amateurish. Suites are nice, food very good, i found the ac too low everywhere and you can’t turn it off on the suites (thanks god i can eat outdoor most of the time). The lack of a proper spacious forward bridge space is quite appalling to me, not sure why they designed the ship this way. Coffe and cocktails are good, it seems quite a few guests are enjoying the dj nights and live music. I still prefer expedition cruising but for a relaxed vacation this is an excellent choice. 

Sound similar to our experience. I agree on Excursions... too few and too expensive. The ShorEx manager is a nice guy (if it's same person) and admitted there's a problem. I was told they have trouble getting vendors to work with them because the European guests in particular don't like  to book excursions and they wind up cancelling a lot of tours and/or not selling many seats. The ShorEx team also seems pretty uniformed about ports and thus can't even make good recommendations if you want to "go it alone." Overall - ShorEx was a stressor for us.

 

Also the Spa, to me, was underwhelming. I don't think it's nearly as nice as the Viking Spa (which they seemed to be emulating) and yes the treatments were VERY highly priced. It's almost like they haven't figured out their demographic... the shops were the same way... they are gearing towards much wealthier people than they are actually attracting.... 

[CruiseCrew123]

Even with a lot of OBC I couldnt justify using it for in the spa - I would stress about the cost even if I didn’t actually pay for it 

Edited September 10 by CruiseCrew123

[Khareef]

Last night i asked: one of the crew member told me 600+ guests and that there will be much less on the next cruise.

 

I do think they need new itineraries, i mean competing in the med and caribe with this ship does not seem very smart to me. The Middle east, Africa, south pacific seems quite natural destinations for the sort of guests they want to attract (and for the price tag).

 

Btw the crew members are terrific, great service and very funny and friendly 

 

P.S.

One of the guests was wearing shoes inside both saunas yesterday….so maybe I am overestimating a bit their potential clientele…
 

 

Edited September 11 by Khareef

[mnocket]

11 hours ago, Khareef said:

I do think they need new itineraries, i mean competing in the med and caribe with this ship does not seem very smart to me

 

On 9/9/2024 at 5:48 PM, Redking said:

They had some interesting itineraries when they first launched. Looks like they're now focussing on the already crowded Caribbean and Med Markets. I might consider them if they offered something different. 

The lack of compelling itineraries is mentioned often, and I agree completely.  I wonder if this is a case of corporate management not being in touch with the market, or if they know it's an issue but either can't or won't do anything about it?  In either case, I'm not a customer until they do something about their "been there, done that" itineraries. 

[Sololux]

I’m not sure I agree there is a lack of compelling itineraries.  Below is itinerary for a cruise I’ve booked in May next year.  Yes, there’s some of the old favourites, which I’m looking forward to revisiting again but there’s also quite a few that are new to me - I’m used to the smaller ports having done quite a few eastern and western med cruises on both Silversea and Seadream in the past.

 

[Dr. Cocktail]

At present, I think that they are still aiming for their stated target audience - "the working wealthy".

 

This group generally can't get away for longer than a week or so.  I'm pretty certain things will change as E3 and E4 come online.

 

They're also smartly (in the long run) aiming at a younger target audience than the "legacy" luxury lines.  These younger travelers will hopefully age into older travelers with more time!

 

[Cody-wody]

18 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

At present, I think that they are still aiming for their stated target audience - "the working wealthy".

 

This group generally can't get away for longer than a week or so.  I'm pretty certain things will change as E3 and E4 come online.

 

They're also smartly (in the long run) aiming at a younger target audience than the "legacy" luxury lines.  These younger travelers will hopefully age into older travelers with more time!

 

That's us. Late 40s. I guess you can call us "working wealthy" in that this wasn't terribly expensive for us. We probably have a 40-50k per year vacation budget. That said - we have no interest in going back to Explora so they missed us completely. We'd see them 2-3 times a year if we really liked them (we're trying Windstar next and have high hopes). 

 

What I saw onboard was very little of our demographic. We were on for a week. I saw a surprising number of overweight Europeans (mainly British) who gorged at the buffet then passed out drunk in the common areas... I also saw several obvious influencers (I think any influencer can have a high end suite anytime they want..) 

 

I really don't know who this line appeals to other than foodies trying to enjoy it before they inevitably cut back... they said intergenerational was a priority and while my parents might enjoy it, the kids would hate Explora. Was there even a video game room? The only kids/teens area I saw was near the center pool and it was pathetic. The casino is the size of a cabin so that part won't appeal to anyone either (including my parents who like some casino). 

 

I also don't think most of the "working wealthy" are going to drop 10-20k on a watch on a cruise ship.... or other trinkets which seemed to be the focus of the retail. 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11 by Cody-wody

[Dr. Cocktail]

18 minutes ago, Cody-wody said:

That's us. Late 40s. I guess you can call us "working wealthy" in that this wasn't terribly expensive for us. We probably have a 40-50k per year vacation budget. That said - we have no interest in going back to Explora so they missed us completely. We'd see them 2-3 times a year if we really liked them (we're trying Windstar next and have high hopes). 

 

What I saw onboard was very little of our demographic. We were on for a week. I saw a surprising number of overweight Europeans (mainly British) who gorged at the buffet then passed out drunk in the common areas... I also saw several obvious influencers (I think any influencer can have a high end suite anytime they want..) 

 

I really don't know who this line appeals to other than foodies trying to enjoy it before they inevitably cut back... they said intergenerational was a priority and while my parents might enjoy it, the kids would hate Explora. Was there even a video game room? The only kids/teens area I saw was near the center pool and it was pathetic. The casino is the size of a cabin so that part won't appeal to anyone either (including my parents who like some casino). 

 

I also don't think most of the "working wealthy" are going to drop 10-20k on a watch on a cruise ship.... or other trinkets which seemed to be the focus of the retail. 

 

 

 

 

Wow - what a difference from our two Caribbean cruises!

 

Easy embarkation in Barbados both times with efficient check-in.

 

A well behaved, quiet international crowd with mainly Americans and the rest a mix of Europeans and Brits.  All nicely dressed and no-one passed out anywhere!

 

The crowd was interchangeable with that of Regent and many were Seabourn cruisers.

 

We also didn't have a problem with shade - we would just go from one side of deck 12 or the other. Lots of whirlpools on that deck or a short walk to dunk in one of the large pools.

 

I personally liked the quiet of it all - no announcements, nice people to chat with and good food.

I'm happy with live music and hate all the production shows.

 

But is this a ship to bring teens?  Almost certainly not ....

 

If you're looking for a higer end cruise to keep kids entertained, it really has to be a larger ship with a "ship-within-a-ship" concept like the Haven or the Yacht Club as you've experienced. The vast majority of luxury cruisers (and this is a documented fact) still prefer a suite on a large ship as opposed to a smaller, luxury vessel.

 

But .... you must put the blame here on your travel agent for basically putting you on the wrong ship! I thought that the Explora delivered what they promised - an elegant and quiet ship with great food and beautiful cabins. 

[Stickman1990]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

The vast majority of luxury cruisers (and this is a documented fact) still prefer a suite on a large ship as opposed to a smaller, luxury vessel.

 

Really? So who and where is this a documented fact?

 

Consider the cumulative capacity of Explora, Silversea, Regent, Crystal, Seabourn and any other luxury line you consider versus the ship within a ship concept offering supposed luxury cruises - do you think they might outnumber the latter?

[Dr. Cocktail]

12 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

Really? So who and where is this a documented fact?

 

Consider the cumulative capacity of Explora, Silversea, Regent, Crystal, Seabourn and any other luxury line you consider versus the ship within a ship concept offering supposed luxury cruises - do you think they might outnumber the latter?

I am desperately trying to find the article but will keep looking ... I think 🤔 that it may have been a CLIA report from a few years back.

 

Notice that I didn't say "luxury cruisers prefer a ship within a ship", I said "luxury cruisers still prefer a suite on a large ship".

 

 If you look at all of the suites on RCI, Celebrity, Princess, HAL, Cunard, P & O, Costa, Disney and Virgin, well yes, they would outnumber the latter!

 

I will report back later!

[Elizabethbea]

Well I agree with Stickman--Luxury usually means a smaller ship and cruisers choose these ships for that reason.Difficult to talk about luxury and large ships in the same breath....

[as3369]

I've only sailed on 2 Luxury ships.. Regent Splendor in July 2023 and Explora 1 in Feb 2024.  Here's my thoughts overall.

 

Food - I will give the nod to Regent for the numerous options in the Compass Rose and the outstanding meal in Pacific Rim.  I did not care for the specialty dining in Explora but their buffet was nice.

 

Embarkation - I felt as though Explora offered a more luxurious experience with offering a glass of champagne and having guests wait in the theater area until called.

 

Service - Overall, they both were excellent but will give the nod to Explora.

 

Ship Overall Design - Both are lovely ships, but other than the lack of a forward facing public space, I will give the nod to Explora.

 

Cabins - 100% goes to Regent.  The bedding was outstanding and the double sinks along with marble tub, separate shower and walk-in closet (F2 Superior suite) was amazing.  

 

Laundry Service - Loved Regent included laundry service.

 

Entertainment - Neither ship was superior to the other - tie.

 

Casino - 100% Regent.  As a matter of fact, during a 9 day journey on Explora, we never saw one person in the casino.  The table limits were way too high.

 

They both are wonderful and I wouldn't hesitate to travel on either line.. actually have a cruise booked on Regent Splendor to Mediterranean in April 2025.  Looking to book a trip in February for our anniversary but haven't decided yet.  

[chill6x6]

1 hour ago, Elizabethbea said:

Well I agree with Stickman--Luxury usually means a smaller ship and cruisers choose these ships for that reason.Difficult to talk about luxury and large ships in the same breath....

Well really, no it's not.  For example....I have cruised Star Class on Royal Oasis, Harmony, and Allure in a 2-BR Aqua Theater suite.  Cabin and balcony....2 bedrooms, 2 baths, huge balcony...basically any and all dining venues included...any beverage other than hard spirits stocked in your suite so much as an iced cooler with Dos Equis...front row seats at every production show....Genie takes care of every reservation for you....  Just about anything you desire within reason is taken care of...all the way to a cart of ice cream delivered to your suite. And of course also included Suite Lounge, Coastal Kitchen, and suite sun deck.  PLUS all the best at sea entertainment venues!  All on ships in the 225K ton plus category.  So yes...you CAN have the conversation of luxury and huge ships!

[Elizabethbea]

Hum, Im not sure the class system on a ship sits comfortably with me ...I prefer  for all passengers to have the same amenities..but each to his own..

[PaulMCO]

Two tier systems are not luxury.  You still have huge crowds even if segregated in a separate deck or area -- Yacht Club, Haven, Grill or whatever it is still a big ship with huge crowds.  Not luxury in my mind. Even premium lines like Oceania and Azamara show more "luxury" than the big ships.

[Dr. Cocktail]

5 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

Really? So who and where is this a documented fact?

 

Consider the cumulative capacity of Explora, Silversea, Regent, Crystal, Seabourn and any other luxury line you consider versus the ship within a ship concept offering supposed luxury cruises - do you think they might outnumber the latter?

I am waving the white flag of surrender as I can't find the article!  Again the gist was most people still preferred a suite on a mass market or premium ship as preferred to spending the same amount on a luxury ship.

 

But ... as I can't prove it ........

[cruisr]

5 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

Wow - what a difference from our two Caribbean cruises!

 

Easy embarkation in Barbados both times with efficient check-in.

 

A well behaved, quiet international crowd with mainly Americans and the rest a mix of Europeans and Brits.  All nicely dressed and no-one passed out anywhere!

 

The crowd was interchangeable with that of Regent and many were Seabourn cruisers.

 

We also didn't have a problem with shade - we would just go from one side of deck 12 or the other. Lots of whirlpools on that deck or a short walk to dunk in one of the large pools.

 

I personally liked the quiet of it all - no announcements, nice people to chat with and good food.

I'm happy with live music and hate all the production shows.

 

But is this a ship to bring teens?  Almost certainly not ....

 

If you're looking for a higer end cruise to keep kids entertained, it really has to be a larger ship with a "ship-within-a-ship" concept like the Haven or the Yacht Club as you've experienced. The vast majority of luxury cruisers (and this is a documented fact) still prefer a suite on a large ship as opposed to a smaller, luxury vessel.

 

But .... you must put the blame here on your travel agent for basically putting you on the wrong ship! I thought that the Explora delivered what they promised - an elegant and quiet ship with great food and beautiful cabins. 

If my TA ever put me in a suite on a large ship as opposed to all the luxury, all suite, small ships I have experienced she would be fired.  Just joking, she knows My DH and I and all of our friends would never sail on a large ship, even in a suite in a ship within a ship concept.  No clue where this documented fact came from but certainly it is not the preference with my circle of friends.  Seabourn and Silversea and under 700 guests and all suites for me.  Choice is good, of course. 

[cruisr]

The no shade is a little concerning.  Actually, quite concerning.  We love sitting outside, but in the shade of an overhang or an umbrella.  We also love to dine outside, but in the shade.  Is there any outdoor dining which has shade?