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parallax

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  • Location
    Maryland
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Crystal
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Med

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  1. parallax

    Casino?

    We were on the Explora in December and there was a big group (friends and family) that traditionally sail on Crystal. I asked why they weren't on Crystal for this trip and they said it was due to a lack of casino. A few of them had sailed on NC and they did not like the fact there wasn't a casino. They wanted that option, especially on cruises with multiple at sea days. We agree with that sentiment and have not booked an cruises on NC. We are sticking with Explora and trying Regent.
  2. We are in our 50s and we have been a couple Crystal cruises. It is a very good product but it is safe to say that we are not their target demographic. What happens when the current Crystalites are no longer able to cruise? Where are these next generation cruisers coming from? I'm more comfortable on Explora. What some see as negatives on Explora others see as positives.
  3. The numbers aren't great on Crystal but where is the doom and gloom with Crystal. Explora can play the long game because of its parent MSC. Just like Stickman, we have booked a future cruise on Explora with friends because we know that they will love the product.
  4. We did a holiday cruise and our daughter (16) came along with us. There must have been 50-60 kids on the cruise but one couldn't tell. Our daughter did spend some time at the club but she also attended some of the shows, enjoyed the pool, had great dinners, etc. They have pool tables, foosball tables and board games. There are always going to be naysayers when it comes to kids on luxury cruise lines. Ignore it. Some kids, and it sounds like it is the case with yours, thrive on these sorts of cruises.
  5. We did the Christmas cruise in December and had a blast. We are doing it again this year. The stafff was wonderful, Santa came to visit and they had special treats and events during the cruise. We brought along boxes of See's Candies for the staff.
  6. The more space per passenger is an interesting position. I'm less interested in the overall ratio and more interested in the space at the places I spend time in (cabin, bar, restaurants, etc.). While Crystal's ratio is better, the cabins are very small.
  7. I haven't been on NC since the reboot. We loved OC. The food and service were top notch. I was not a big fan of their cabins and it was the one negative in cruising with them. Due to our wonderful cruise on Explora in December, we have two cruises booked with Explora. We looked at doing a 2025 cruise with Crystal but the price point per day was too high. We can receive much better value on Explora, which includes a bigger standard cabin. Another downside is there is no casino onboard the Crystal ships. I believe they are planning to bring them back. It is a nice change of pace.
  8. I think they can provide UTH if people are interested. You can take out chips as a room charge. There is no extra cost in doing so.
  9. The BJ table was $25 on our cruise.
  10. I wish I had known that when we were on the cruise. We did provide additional tips to those who provided exceptional services.
  11. I will preface this by saying that we never have been on Regent. However, soon our kiddo will be heading off to college and we will have more flexibility to travel. Therefore, we were very interested in the Grandeur and the cruise line in general. Our travel agent was able to get us on a tour. It encompassed a walkthrough of the public spaces, viewing several of the different types of cabins available and lunch. We thought the ship was stunning. The Compass Rose restaurant was beautiful, as well as Pacific Rim. Explora's restaurants while very well designed, had a little less style in our mind. One strange aspect is that the Atrium's ceiling on Grandeur rose to the top of the ship. It looked like a giant white wall rising 6/7 stories. We thought the Atrium or Lobby in the Explora had a nicer design and seemed more elegant. The main pool on the Grandeur was very nice but the aft plunge pool, if you really can call it that, does not compare to what one can find on the Explora. If pools are important to you, the Explora wins hands down. The spas facilities on both ships are very nice but we liked the facilities on the Explora slightly more. The salt room on the Explora was a big draw for us. On the Grandeur, we saw the different top level suites and they were beautiful and well appointed. The concierge suites had a very nice layout and were over 400 sq ft. The one category of rooms we found somewhat disappointing was the veranda suite and the deluxe veranda suite. The storage in the veranda suite was somewhat lacking. The biggest issue for both categories of suites is that they had an extremely small bathroom. I thought the base level suites on the Explora were nicer. One last note on the suites. Regent told us what type of champagne that each category of suites received. For penthouse and above, the customer received Veuve Clicquot. On Explora, we received Veuve for our basic ocean terrace suite. Dom was provided to certain upper level cabins. Finally, the one thing that jumped out to me about the Grandeur is that the ceilings seemed to be very low in some areas and the passage ways to seem somewhat narrower that one would find on a cruise ship. I'm 5'11" and I kept on looking up because my head was closer to some of the fixtures than I'm use to. Overall, the Grandeur was a stunning ship and I'm sure one day we will try Regent. I think the Grandeur is more traditional in design and would be a comforting to traditionalist cruisers. I'm more partial to the more modern looking Explora and their somewhat different spin on luxury cruising.
  12. On Friday, we disembarked from Explora's Christmas Cruise. It was everything we hoped it would be. There food was great, service was impeccable and we met interesting fellow passengers and crew members. Two days in, we booked one cruise in 2024 and have an option for another one in 2025. Since I'm tecnically still on vacation, I'm too lazy to write a comprehensive report. Instead, I will just list things that are of front of mind. The number of passengers on the ship is somewhat of a mystery. I was told by one crew member that there were 600 people on the ship. Another officer said there were 700. It is my understanding that kids were not always calculated into the count. My best guess is that the ship was 3/4 full. It sounded like the NYE cruise was almost at capacity. The staff did say it was the busiest sailing yet. A fuller ship did not impact service. Service was top notch and akin to what you would receive on Crystal. I was extremely impressed at the level of service. I found that the bartenders appreciated the opportunity to show off their skills. I would talk about the drink profiles I like and let the come up with a drink. I came home with an expanded cocktail list. The food was exceptional. Med Yacht Club was the only place that had some problems. We went there on the second night and the food was slow on arriving and the food was a tad cold, especially the dover sole. In talking to fellow passengers, it sounds like they had similar problems on Christmas Eve. We went the last night and everything was perfect. Sakura is fantastic and is better than Umi Uma in my mind. It is the hotest restaurant on the ship and hard to get second reservations. The Marketplace is the best buffet in the cruise industry. I loved the options and the quality of the food. We went there for dinner and enjoyed the grilled seafood immensely. There are wonderful outdoor spaces to eat but hardly anyone ever used them. The internet is fabulous. You can stream videos. I saw people watching football games on their phones and tablets. We played a couple of nights in the casino and it was very popular. For BJ players, the minimum was $25. They would rate your play and you could use the free play obtained in one of the slots. It was interesting to note that several families that typically cruise on Crystal during the holidays did not do so because there was no casino. The Rolex Store was a busy as busy can be. My wife ended up getting a Rolex and so did many other passengers. I do not know much about watches (not my interest) but it is my understanding they had availability that you cannot usually find in the States. If you love an Old Fashioned, go see Darryl at the Whiskey Bar and he will provide you a show and a great drink. We were in a base level suite and we had plenty of room and storage. Our room attendant was fabulous. We had two adults and teenager in the room. She slept on a rollaway and found it to be very comfortable. There are so many pools on the ship and so there is no challenge in finding a lounger in a prime localtion. We preferred to sit at the Atoll Pool. The staff was fabulous and we were one level below the Marketplace. The Kids' Club was amazing. My daughter had a wonderful time. On Christmas Day, Santa came to visit. The younger kids received a very nice Lego set. The older kids received Beats Headphones. Even kids who didn't go see Santa had these gifts waiting in their rooms. The fact that they do not have a loyalty club up and running is annoying. It is unclear why there is a delay. The daily program is very barebones. One needs to use the QR code at the program to get additional information. We found the entertainment to be very good but not great. The tribute to Billy Joel was bizzare. They played some more obscure songs and the order was perplexing. It needs fine tuning. Our take away from the cruise is that it was almost perfect. As people in our early 50s, we are less interested in the more formal or more traditional approaches to cruising. If one is looking for the same structure you can find at other luxury cruise lines, it might not be right for you. However, if one has an open mind, then you can have a great time. I'm happy to answer any questions. I will also share my thoughts on the Granduer vs. Explora, as we had an opportunity to visit the Granduer the day before boarding the Explora. These will be more observations than anything else.
  13. I’m on the cruise and almost everyone we talked to loves Explora and will be back again. The day before we boarded we toured the Regent Granduer and we both thought it was a beautiful ship. The one thing we didn’t like on the Granduer was that the corridors seemed narrow and the ceilings were very low. My wife was worried that Explora would not meet her expectations after seeing the Granduer. She was blown away in the first 10 minutes on the ship. We have booked two more cruises. We love the service, the food is amazing and the layout of the ship is perfect for us. The smoked old fashioned at the Whiskey Bar is part of my nightly routine. There are some minor kinks that need to worked out but they had no impact on our cruise.
  14. We will be on this cruise. Two adults and one 16 year old.
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