Stickman1990

Nice - so how does one arrange the samples? Ask the butler I guess? Hope they have that option available next month I’ll skip those whiskeys but happy to see some new gins being stocked

You’ve been on a few days and have worked your way through all the menus in the 4 restaurants and the options at Emporium? That’s impressive With the range on offer my feeling is you have a wider selection each day than you might find on say Regent or Crystal and if you like something then you know it will be there next time you dine in that restaurant rather than having to request it - to me that’s a good thing. From memory I believe Fil Rouge does have a daily special option We were on for almost 3 weeks and never tired of the menus and the diverse range of dishes on other - and the quality was amazing We never ran out of lamb chops either

The brand of the products provided is Mandala Blue manufactured by Culti The Dyson hair dryer comes with attachments

There can be a line of people waiting for Waterside to open - once that initial rush is dealt with there are unlikely to be delays in being seated The line could not be considered to be a scrum

It’s now called Waterside and it’s open dining with no reservations possible

So no Dom onboard? I wonder his just how true that is Perhaps you should ask at one of the restaurants if they have it available to buy - when they undoubtably say yes just say no thanks and tell the Food & Beverage you want a bottle on your Residence Suite as per the deal

We have sailed both Regent Explorer and Explora Journeys in the last 3 months - we enjoyed both lines but loved Explora I - the food, service and features of the ship are very impressive. Of your list you’re taking quite different lines with Ritz and Seadream being much smaller ships than Explora or the newer Regent ships I should add however that Explora Journey have been guilty of major itinerary changes on a number of occasions in their short time on the market - so you could find yourself finding the same issue if booking with them. It certainly hasn’t stopped us booking with them - we can’t wait to return

The cruise ship schedule I can see has Serenity at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal - so you’ll be in Manhattan and can choose the best airport that suits your travel plans https://nycruise.com/manhattan-terminal/schedule-mct/

Can anyone really complain about not being able to wear shorts and flip flops to restaurants after 6pm?

Clearly we sailed on different ships as that was not our experience when on for 16 nights in September It may be the approach they’ve taken doesn’t suit you and the things you like on a cruise but that’s not to say it’s a miss for many others I can’t agree about your claim of no lectures and no “real” shows and these days who needs a computer room as we’re all equipped with our own devices and boy their computer network and internet speed is amazing - the best at sea! We didn’t use any of the pools when cruising in Iceland and Greenland so they weren’t a factor in our assessment of the ship The dining options are the best we’ve experienced at sea - I know they will continue to improve on them but they’ve made an amazing start with the current offering We’ve sailed on Regent, Silversea, Viking and Explora in the last 12 months and will soon sail Crystal again and after all those experiences we definitely rate Explora Journeys in comparison with the other lines. Are there areas for improvement? - undoubtably but the current package is still very compelling I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on the attributes of Explora and what they’ve chosen to focus on and package We can’t wait to return

I’m guessing you’re not aware but the Reflections images are unreadable

Fancy that Ovant is from Western Australia - https://www.ovant.com.au Between that and the Four Pillars Shiraz gin and if I recall a Aussie Shiraz as well Australia seems to have managed to get the Beverage departments attention

It’s actually working fine - certainly lots of ships there - all getting ready for their holiday cruises

Actually it’s 16 nights or more - days and nights onboard are different calculations

Yes back when we were onboard it was very confused - the Captain would say take your medication and proceed to your muster station without it being made very clear it was only an exercise although earlier on the person running the drill did say it was an exercise but many were confused as it proceeded over a long period - very very confusing

Are you saying the bar was shutting at 9.45pm????? Which one? - the lobby? Btw we loved listening to Natalia at various times of the day during our cruise Thats crazy I hope the bars in the Explorer lounge and the aft lounge with the duo were open longer

No this was beyond what was necessary Were you onboard then? It was an issue that those who were raised with the senior managers

On a related note how often are they doing the crew drills these days? And have they found a reasonable volume for the emergency sirens around the ship (of course they need to be loud and clear to be effective in an emergency) but they were very loud and piercing back in September

Is that across all restaurants? Lamb chops are on Marble (French), Sakura and Fil Rouge (New Zealand) at least so that’s a big miss

Everyone of the luxury lines do sea days differently - and each has its ups and downs In the last 12 months we’ve sailed Regent, Silversea, Viking and Explora and very soon we’ll sail Crystal - our schedule on a sea day on each of these lines is quite different but equally enjoyable - sometimes we do things on one line but don’t on another even though the same activity is on offer Turning to the speakers in particular - some speak on multiple lines - Mr Ocean Liner Bill Miller or Commander Scott Kelly from the ISS come to mind there as examples while some repeat the same lectures time after time on the same line (best I don’t give examples for that!) So I think that mileage varies on this across all lines. When we were on Explora they had several great speakers - a music historian, the navigators who guided us around Greenland and a more local speaker who described some of the history of the region and current day port briefings - she also happened to be a astro physicist who also did a lecture on that which went over the heads of most of us. So at least during our time on Explora back in September we were very happy with the on board activities and the speakers Having said that I think we’d all pretty much agree that the onboard entertainment and activities on Explora are still a work in progress

Do you mean sitting in the lounge area of the bar or at the actual seats right at the bar? Personally I prefer to sit on a lounge when with a group rather than spread across the seats at the bar

These awards are so subjective without knowing the criteria used to rank lines (assuming there were criteria) - take them for what they are - opinions. I’ve never cruised on Oceania but I have to wonder if they’re that great why doesn’t everyone cruise on them? We felt the new Explora Journeys dining was exceptional - but once you’re at a certain level how much does it really matter?

The devils in the detail - until they get all the information between what you paid and what you’d have to pay it’s all guess work I don’t see Crystal in the business of doing things that lose money - thankfully

It’s certainly been turned to some degree as we loved our time on board Explora Journeys back in September and we’ve booked a 26 night back to back (including a crossing with lots of sea days) on Explora I for 2025 (in a sale which priced them very nicely for us at a per diem I’ve struggled to match on only a few occasions previously). Explora has many highlights and certainly is not relying on just the hardware to impress, the dining for example is sensational as well I have price points in mind as to just what pain I’m prepared to suffer to extract the pleasure of cruising so they guide many of my choices. The last 12 months have seen us cruising on Regent, Silversea, Viking (a means to an end and we likely won’t return) and Explora Journeys so we now have a good basis for comparison and as someone once said “choice is good” with each offering us something different Crystal is far from slipping away from our minds with a couple of cruises booked and a keen eye checking itineraries as they roll out. Our visit has reinforced the relative uniqueness of Crystals offering onboard, the ability and intent of the new owners to invest in a way to strengthen the brand and just what the total package offers. The issue at this point is the limited choices in itineraries that a fleet of two ships can deliver as we have much of the world still to explore (although we all know cruising is not really the way to truly explore countries)

But it does apply to Doubles with veranda - sometimes you might have to consider different options if they provide benefits - it pays to check out all the option s In this example for A$900 more for the veranda option over a non veranda option you’d become eligible for an Aquamarine upgrade