Stickman1990

We continue to have an absolutely amazing time on Explora Tonight the lights came out to play for us once again

Yes they will - we received advice of the options in a letter tonight - needless to say they are what I would consider eye wateringly expensive - but they are on offer across a range of dedicated and shared options We will be arranging our own transfers to the airport from the ship when we disembark

Just off Greenland on Explora 1 and the Northern lights are out to play for us tonight - amazing

Interesting - I’m on Explora now also along with several regular other Crystal cruisers and were all very impressed and will return to Explora Journeys The only wish I would have for a time machine would be to prolong our time on board Explora so we could enjoy the experience longer The food, service and ships facilities are excellent and definitely a luxury experience. Imagine when they have 6 ships in their fleet

So what did you say about the escrow situation at the time? That statement fooled many who trusted old Crystals assurances re keeping money in a seperate account only to be accessed as cancellation provision milestones were reached - which turned out to be totally false

Very calm seas and she sails well I did see a forecast that we could counter heavier seas in the next few days but to date on this voyage it’s been very calm

Excellent - good to see them responding as that beef carpaccio was very special I’d like to hear from someone onboard how big the loaf is that the soup is served in - it got smaller over the years (not a bad thing)

Indeed while I haven’t posted much on here during our cruise (is it really day 6 already - someone stop the clock!) I can confirm Stickman along with Mrs Stickman and the friends we’re travelling with are all impressed and will definitely return to Explora (but we’ve currently got Regent, Silversea and Crystal cruises as well) I echo many of Whipsnades comments and almost unbelievably we too think Sakura is better than Umi Uma - I never thought I’d say that - and they’re open for lunch with an extensive sushi, sashimi and several main course on offer. The quality of ingredients is superb For us service, food and entertainment/enrichment are the important elements - plus now we’re adding the ship and it’s facilities and ambience - who would think that having auto opening/shut doors throughout the ship would be that enjoyable - I guess Covid changed our view on the simple things on life like touching doors I did grow bored and disappointed with many comments on these forums before our cruise which made claims about the onboard experience based on very little fact or practical experience. Let me give an example - getting restaurant reservations at Sakura and Marble - we had people saying you could only go to each of them once - or maybe twice Well that’s sort of true if you take it literally - you will only be able to actually reserve that number BUT if you turn up to the restaurant at 6.30 or later if you wish and ask the maître d if they can accommodate your party then you may be pleasantly surprised. We have 5 in our group and we’ve done it twice in Sakura and once at Marble and been able to get a table either immediately or within 30 minutes. Now of course that is subject to availability and this cruise is only 520 out of 920 guests so that will also be a factor in availability Similarly with entertainment and enrichment - Explora’s got some good in house entertainment as well as guest entertainers and specialist speakers on topics that are relevant to the area you’re in. Is it as many as say Crystal - no - but how many speakers etc do you really need? I like the style of having the evening show broken up into sets with breaks in between and with dancing when appropriate and ongoing bar service throughout the performance We are blessed with excellent weather and that has made our itinerary just so enjoyable - sunny but still cool but you don’t notice if you dress appropriately whereas when you have cold wind driven rain the wind chill makes it hard to enjoy some sights. Can’t credit Explora with that of course but it certainly helps Here’s a few shots from today amazing journey through Prince Christian Sund

and now my first iceberg as we enter Prince Christian Sund at the bottom tip of Greenland and the littlest iceberg our route is marked on the map

We’re just off Greenland and look who came to play for us last night Excuse my photography but it was a pretty good display (they interrupted the show to tell us they were visible - needless to say the theatre emptied quickly Hopefully we get to see more while we’re up in Greenland for the next few days

Currently cruising in Greenland on Explora 1 and the lights came out to play for us last night Excuse my attempt to capture them but it was very impressive - hopefully more to come as we spend a few days in Greenland

So what’s the carbon foot print on that little exercise? It makes no sense at all Another example of companies greenwashing their activities and not thinking it through

There’s a big gap in Serenity's schedule after the world cruise - from May 10 to June 6 Seems like a very long dry dock or maybe a charter?

We just flew Icelandic Air Saga class last week from Amsterdam to Reykjavik and we’re very happy with the experience and would definitely fly them again We flew on one of their older Boeing 757s - the seats are large but not lie flat We had a couple of large heavy bags checked and they arrived off the aircraft promptly If you like gin they have a gin menu with a good range of gins The meal included Icelandic lamb The snacks were interesting

I’m a big fan of airline status as getting priority service when dealing with airlines can mean the difference of being in the phone for minutes versus hours One point to note is that those upgrades are now generally “paid” for by using air miles or points - the days of the complimentary upgrade are long gone

Hello fellow insomniac - it’s 4.30am onboard now so I see you posted at around 2am If you’re ok with it would you mind if I join you in posting impressions and experiences onboard from Reykjavik to New York over the next couple of weeks - rather then starting another thread on the same voyage? Twenty four hours in and we’re absolutely happy with our onboard experience - for us food, service, the ship’s facilities and entertainment are the important factors and Explora is scoring highly on all four Food We’ve dined at Emporium - great concept with various themed stations where they serve you rather than a self service buffet - it’s our go to for lunch but I’ve talked to others who also dine there at night We went to Sakura the first night - absolutely fantastic - our comparison being with Crystal's Nobu restaurant Umi Uma - Sakura is in our opinion equal or better - in fact we only had sushi and sashimi dishes and were too full for main courses although most of my companions did have desserts 😉). We will need to return several times to work our way through the extensive menu We had breakfast a la carte in Fil Rouge - my omelette was great We spent time in Crema cafe and were impressed with the coffee (Ily) and the food including a great toasted panini Last night we had dinner in Fil Rouge - the caviar and lobster were perfect and our friend who is a foie gras lover was happy with his appetiser - every dish our group of 5 had was a winner The wait staff and sommeliers are very good and communicate well and respond to requests well - and example was last night one friend wanted some cheese during the early courses - they brought it without issue, someone wanted more caviar which had been part of an appetiser - they said no we can’t serve just the caviar but we’d be delighted to serve you the appetiser and of course you may not choose to eat it all 😉) - the caviar was great. They are listening and responding very well and will only get better as some of them get more experience onboard - some are new to the sea but I think they’ve come from other service based facilities as they certainly have the customer service skills Service The crew are providing great service and are so keen to make sure the guest experience is good - I feel they’re going that extra mile. Senior staff are visible and keen to engage. I’ve run into many of them, including the head of food and beverage, and they seem genuinely interested in hearing feedback The lobby staff are helpful and take ownership of issues Ships Facilities Wow - just wow! Magnificent hardware across the board with every mod con. A few bugs to iron out - the PA system is a little loud and trust me the emergency alarm is loud and clear - my feeling is the volume could go down a notch - but better to be heard than not of course We continue to explore and discover but it’s easy to find things and the lifts are the biggest we’ve ever seen on a ship - and they have controls on either side of the lift - very impressive She sails well and we slept like babies with no noises at all (some have reported creaking but I’ve not heard anything like that) The Explora App which has a ton of information works well on board and the Skylink internet is fantastic with reliable and very fast speeds - if it holds up to initial experiences it will be a major win over what we’ve had on other lines. Plus each guest (not suite - so two guests get up to 6 devices) can have 3 devices connected simultaneously- more than enough to cater for most guests Entertainment Here I include things like speakers, band and singers as well as activities like Trivia All very good - I went to a destination lecture yesterday and the speaker was knowledgeable and entertaining. The theatre/lounge is well equiped and has nice relaxed seating. Last night the band and singers were very good as they presented a showcase preview. I was very pleased to hear modern songs including a Taylor Swift song - it’s great they’re singing material from recent times along with classic eras. The live band were very good and it’s nice to have things like trumpet and other woodwind instruments present in the mix I know they’ve got some great guest artists scheduled like Rachel York who has appeared on other luxury lines and last leg they had the McDonald brothers who we’ve heard on Crystal The signs are positive in things area Not sure where to fit this comment in so here goes - fellow guests who contribute to the culture and vibe of the cruise - my feeling is they are well travelled and well mannered - our interactions with fellow guests have been fun and entertaining, most have travelled other luxury lines multiple times and enjoy a chat. There are a good number of non English speaking guests on board - so conversations with them are limited but the smiles on their faces suggest to me they’re enjoying themselves too I could go on but suffice to say first impressions are very good and we’re looking forward to the next couple of weeks onboard So is it perfect? Of course not - no line is but every sign says to me that Explora are keen to try to make guests experience top class - and they may just pull it off One negative and I think it’s about our only one was a brusque crew member whose manner was not friendly or helpful (I emphasis this was only 1 interaction among what must have been over a 100 so far) - she basically argued with my wife and I rather than listening to what we were telling her - we’ve never had a crew member talk to us like children and we told other crew that we won’t accept that going forward. It was the only thing that detracted from day 1 onboard for us Today we will be in Akureyri and we’re hiring a car to explore - but we’re also looking forward to more time onboard and getting to experience more Throw us any questions and I’ll be happy to try and answer them

Ditto - I may run into you onboard - speaking to a number of fellow guests there’s a lot who have sailed Crystal in the past

You just complete this form and submit it to Crystal I’ve always just done it direct but I guess your TA can assist you with it if you want Visitor Request Form - GUEST 2023.pdf

I’ll be interested to hear with a 25% guest loading whether any services are reduced eg reduced hours or even restaurant closures I know we had a similar percentage loading on Symphony on a Honolulu to San Diego leg and there were some reduced facilities On the positive side of the ledger there should be no issue getting extra dining reservations in Umi Uma and Od’O The crew will be fighting over you to be the one to provide service!

That’s just weird - why would a TA tell their client to ring a cruise line direct? Surely they have contacts that they can and should be leveraging rather than telling clients to do the donkey work directly. That’s part of the value add of a good and well connected TA. I’m guessing they’re still expecting the booking to go through them? If it were me I’d get a new agent who took the lead in resolving issues such as this

Yes that wind could have made things challenging. We could have joined you for dinner after all! Bon Voyage and enjoy meeting your fellow guests It’s actually just about midnight now and according to marine traffic you are yet to get underway

So close….Crystal Serenity in Reykjavik just now - ready to leave very soon - without us unfortunately

That's very surprising as I can’t believe that’s the case as I’m sure that travel agents with clients on Explora would have been notified. I know mine was

Has your TA sailed on Explora 1 yet? What was their personal experience like?

No the first two are conventional and I’ve never seen Explora advertise or mention anything different than that