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UPDATE: My travel agent just called me back. Here is what has to happen to make this promotion work for me. Please remember, I have a booking, with deposit for February 2025 on Explora I. Using that as our foundation, here is the facts as I now know them. I have to Cancel My Original Reservation: I figured this would happen. But I knew enough about how the rules work if I did cancel that reservation to approve this scenario with my Travel Agent. Refund of some of my Initial Deposit: Some of my initial deposit will be credited to the credit card used. The other amount will be held until final payment and applied to the balanced owned. New Deposit: My Credit Card will be charged a deposit for the new booking. Not an issue for me, I figured so much when I read the rules for this promotion. My New Stateroom: It will be the exact same stateroom, the promotional fare I purchased will also be the same fare. Benefit: By jumping these hoops, I will receive and On-Board-Credit of 400 euros. I already had an On-Board-Credit of 300 euros so this will make an On-Board-Credit of a total of 700 euros. The more expensive the stateroom, the more OBC you can receive. They range from 400 to 1000 euros. I hope this helps other who have a booked reservation. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Stelkp You know, before I took my first Haven Cruise many years ago, I did what I always do, Studied All Things Haven. If was interesting, fun and created anticipation. The first thing way back then a person told me was have Lunch in the Haven Restaurant the first lunch. I followed that advice and I really enjoyed it. The next Haven Cruise, I did the complementary specialty restaurant and missed the Haven Restaurant. From that point forward, I only did the Haven Restaurant for lunch that first day, UNTIL.... I took my whole family and we stayed in the H2 Haven Deluxe Owners Suite. My family insisted on going to the complementary specialty restaurant which just happened to be the American Diner. I like but did not love my lunch and my family hated their lunch. It is a tradition to have that first Lunch in the Haven Restaurant. Takes for ever but perfect for that first lunch. Just my little story. "Cruise Well and Enjoy Every Moment"

Email Subject Line Just Received: "A Unique Summer Special Offer" When ever I get something like this, I will share with everyone. This looked interesting. I called EJ and asked if it applied. It works with the promotion I booked my cruise with so that is my reference in Double Dipping. I also leveraged my American Express Platinum Card Cruise benefits which gave me $300.00 obc. That benefit may or may not be applicable. Again, I will let everyone know what happens. If this applies to you, I hope the information is helpful. Screen Shot Below: I am having my Travel Agent call EJ. My approach is to see if they will honor this for a current booking. If not, I will cancel my booking, and re-book it since the administration fee is not lost when you do that. I am sure at a OS-2 Level, it won't be EUR 1,000.00 credit (Up to EUR 1000) but it would be a value or benefit. I will let everyone know how it goes. "Cruise well and enjoy every moment."

Here is a Update: After so many attempts I can't remember to fix EJ Website issue using email, I just gave up. I called again and was promised a call back that day or the next morning. That was three days ago. Then after all that, I got a survey this morning on how the representative did on the phone with me. You know, the one that promised to call me back and never did. So, I did something I rarely do, I did the survey and it was NOT Pretty. My verbatim (Written) comments were very detailed expressing my frustration and disappointment. They survey system company they use is one I worked with in my business career. I know how to gain attention. My intent is to help EJ, not hurt them. To express how failed promises effect a luxury clients willingness to take a chance on a new brand. How making excuses makes the brand look common and does not endear them to the guest. I was as always professional, detailed, told the story and gave recommended recommendations to fix the issue. If anyone from the company gets back with me, I will let this blog know. To be clear, I am NOT canceling my cruise. I am seeing how much it takes to simply get a simple request handled when the brand wants to change the luxury cruising landscape. Let us call this an experiment. "Cruise well and enjoy every moment."

Hotel in Paris, Hotel Rochechouart. My daughter and I stayed in this hotel for three nights. Nice not GREAT, location GREAT, Close to key area's, complementary Breakfast and Roof Deck with view of the Tower. Stay here if you want some culture. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Thank you for the shout out. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Bravo on your opening history: @Doorkey and other interested parties. Love your setup with history @Doorkey. Some of the brands you have traveled are "Ultra-Luxury", with a much higher price point. Yet, if a new brand want to call themselves "Luxury", and or their marketing department want to claim "they will change the luxury landscape", there is an expectation. One can clearly see that the EJ brand is attempting to do the right things. Just as Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection attempted to do the right things in their first year. There are also obviously growing pains many of which you kindly and professionally pointed out. Some will be corrected in the future, others like less then the best quality aspect of the stateroom will be present until a renovation way down the road. I am quite sure the Explora II ship will have some changes based on Explora I. The reality of your first ship in a new brand is simple. One ship, one order of everything from fuel to food to labor, knowing how the costs will breakdown to create a desired profit margin or future profit margin is happening currently. I can tell this with the simple change in champagne brand/quality since the first sailing. Normal for a start up who have very few ships for their first two years. Question: Now why are reviews and comparisons like yours so VERY important to me, other cruiser thinking about a new brand, and CruiseCritic.com? Answer: It allows ALL future cruisers on EJ to set "Realistic Expectations". The current investment of any OS series stateroom is on a special sale. That sale seems to be for three (3) reasons: 1) To fill the ship; 2) To gain Ultra-Luxury and Luxury Brand cruisers to consider booking this new entry to the Luxury segment. 3) To also gain those like you and I who also enjoy the NCL Haven, MSC Yacht Club and the Celebrity Retreat to compare, contrast and book if only for the current (not future) price point which is in most cases less then the three choice I just listed for the same type of cruise. I call the a "New Luxury Brand Test Drive". The Art of Realistic Expectations: What veteran cruises have learned over time, don't pay one bit of attention to the cruise brands marketing department. The "Over Promise and Under Deliver" strategy is insulting. Instead, embrace reviews like yours and make strategy decisions when you cruise happens. Avoid some things, embraces other things and test things that other told you were less then great to see if the brand is doing "Continuous Improvement". Your review does just that and from my standpoint, I say thank you. Much needed and it was also fair and balanced which is a credit to YOU. Closing: It took the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection over a year to almost get their act together. As current reviews show, they are 90% there. It will take EJ that plus some more time to do the same. While it is happening, we can get a price break knowing just like a soft opening with a new restaurant, things are not quite there yet. If EJ, make changes throughout the process, they will be a great brand. If not, they will be looking to cut costs and offer themselves to the mass market as a small ship alternative. Just my humble crystal ball. I am still booked for February of 2025. "Cruise well and enjoy every moment."

@Grandma Cruising Your comment is exactly why I wrote my post. I knew others where having the same issue. As you may recall, I called the issue an announce. For me, when I had access for that short time, I notice the box for separate twin beds were not engaged. That sent a red flag for me. Hence the reason I want access. My whole strategy of cruising is mainly one concept, "Realistic Expectations". To do that, one has to know the hiccups, road blocks, and pot holes. We can simply avoid them or not be surprised when they effect our journey. Other folks get upset with post on things that are less then perfect on a cruise. I love them for my education applying accident avoidance. On your excursions not being listed. Thank you for sharing. Nice to know. I usually do my own excursions so I can control them. The Caribbean itinerary I will be going on are places I have been many times before. I think I have been on every Catamaran ride, snorkeling journey, beach retreats, and tour of sights in each port. Personally, I like to get off the ship, see if there is a vendor for a golf cart, book it for a couple of hours (especially Key West), find a comfy place to have a drink/appetizer and watch the people. Just me. I do the same thing in the Mediterranean but on Hop on/off busses that have audio of the locations they go by. All easy google searches and rates/comments on the reviews. Just me. Thank you for your post. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Disclaimer It is Saturday, June 22, 2024. I woke up early, had a double shot of espresso and got wired. So I started to write on CruiseCritic.com. The below comment is WAY to long. It is full of misspellings and horrible grammar. It comes across as a huge complaint but in reality it is about this topic of gaining help on choosing a new cruise brand. I write by story telling, not fewest words. I believe folks having a similar issue, want context. If a long story, to explain a situation on a Cruise Blog is not for you, please move on to another topic. You have been forewarned. So I wrote this topic, post on May 15, 2024. Prior, I read as much as I could about the concept, ship and limited experience other cruisers had with Explora Journey and the Explora I ship. After writing the initial topic, I saw the potential for the brand, the brand was having a very nice sale, the reviews were somewhat consistent. So I booked a OS-2 because I needed twin beds. OS-1 did not have them. My older sister, will be joining me and this is her first and last cruise. What better way to cruise then a Luxury Cruise. As is normal for me, I continue to read posts on the products and brands I am considering and have booked. I did this same approach for the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat, Crystal Cruises, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and MSC Yacht Club. The only one I cancelled was the Ritz-Carton but that was years ago and their first ship was two years from being finished. They claimed luxury and their staff at the time was really horrible. Since then, Ritz-Carlton has fixed their glitches and is becoming a effective choice for luxury cruising. My time on cruise social media is equally split between Explora and Oceania both lines I have future booking on. After years of this kind of process, pretty quickly one sees trends and patterns with the topics being posted. Inconsistencies, Positives and some Negatives. The more folks that actually experience and write about that experience, makes creating a on-board strategy much more effective. Example: If one restaurant or entree is consistently listed as bad, I avoid it. By avoiding something that lots of folks have an issue with, I never negatively effects my cruise. Some items can not be avoided, that is the foundation of this topic, brand websites". The one topic that is very much an annoyance to me is the "Explora Journey Website". I am quite away of another topic stream on this area. I choose to comment here on this stream because I started it and it is on topic to choosing a new cruise brand. I heard all the reason why, Explora is having so much issues with their website and I don't care. Why, I am a consumer. A consumer of a new product, a cruise brand that wants to change the way we all look at luxury. That is a tall statement. My career prior to a stroke and retirement was focused on fully understanding a luxury clients wants, needs and motives. Prior to experience any brands product or service, ALL touch-point were critical for any Luxury Client to make a change or consider a new brand. In todays day and age, a website is a critical Touch-Point. It is an expectation just as the announcement on Delta Airlines of, "Our commitment first and foremost is to your safety." If my safety is in question, I want off this flight. Your commitment should be to my first drink. Somethings simply need to be assumed like Safety to a air brand and website to a cruise brand. I booked my cruise a month ago. For that entire month, I have attempted to gain access to my account on the website. The Host, Crew or Team members I have communicated with are very professional when emailed or on the phone. There is zero follow-through to resolution. ZERO. I have eight back and fourth's with emails first. Promises of an IT/Website department getting involved never happened. I am on my fourth live Telephone Visit, fourth escalation to another level within the company with zero resolution. I haven been promised with no solicitation on my part, to get back a phone call that day, or at the latest the next morning and received NONE. My access worked for 12 hours after I used a second email address then it was not accessible and asking to reset my password never produced a link to that email address. "Third World Problems" I know but impressions mean everything. Follow-through with a new company on a client issue that is somewhat simple creates a feeling of luxury. The continued excuse "we are a new company and having some growing pains" is concerning. I get that WHEN building a SHIP like when they announced the Explora II was delayed. But, building website that works in a user friendly way should be a no-brainer for a company like MSC. No excuses, Balls and Strikes; Blocking and tackling. Basics especially for a luxury buyer or a company that wants to be in the luxury segment while changing the industry. Conclusion: I will KEEP my booking. I figure between now and February 2025, they will fix the glitch. This should NOT deter others from considering this new luxury brand. Mostly they seem to have a target and when it did not work for clients, it seems they are adjusting policies and procedures to fine tune their product. Commendable. Some adjustments are welcomed, other are evaluating/changing items like quality of champagne in the lower priced stateroom. Yet the owners and leadership need to know, the feeling new clients get from promises of an issue being repaired or a follow up phone call deeply disappoint the clientele they are courting. For those that know me, my history and my approach. I have sent a very professional letter to the company, certified mail, expressing this topic with a solution. I wait two weeks, then send the same letter again until someone with authority contacts me. I am the squeaky wheel because the world NEEDS new, exciting and quality brands that focus on exceeding a clients expectations. Thanks for reading. "Cruise well and enjoy every moment."

@scooter6139 "Fluffy Cruiser", I resemble that remark. On your original question, I can't answer it. I can tell you, American Express had a special that if I paid up to $4,000.00 to Oceania, I would get 10X the reward points. I called my Travel agent and paid $4,000.00 early. So obviously they will accept money early. It is a cruise company isn't it? They like the money and cash flow. If your question was, can you do it online, that one I can't answer. I would call Oceania or your travel agent. On the Viking thing. They are not the only ones that do that. Some brand say they give you a break for paying upfront. One such brand is Explora Journeys. Again, cash flow. The Concierge is a nice level and gains you a few perks. I was on the Riviera in October doing a 10-day cruise to Mediterranean. I really liked the ship. The crew was also lovely. You will have a nice time. BTW, since you are both in the Concierge and going to Alaska; when the do Glassier Bay, you have access to the Thermal Outdoor Spa Area in the front of the ship. Never crowded and perfect view when the ship is turning around so you can see the scenery. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@scooter6139 I am here, ask me anything. If I don’t know the answer I’ll tell you where you can find it. If you don’t wanna read the book and you have a specific question, tag me and I’ll get back with you as soon as I can. Cruise well and enjoy every moment

@CaptainCook808 Hello Dave, first welcome to CruiseCritic.com. I see you join mid-2023. Great to have you. The topic you are asking about food on Oceania has be hashed out several time. The number one answer is food/dinning is subjective, like we all already don't know that. Using Subjective as our foundation, allow me to give a personal Observation of the Oceania Food/Dinning. First, I NEVER believe the marketing departments on cruise brands. They do not understand the concept of Under Promise and Over Deliver. The Food/dining on Oceania in my humble option was not the best at sea. The best at sea for me (Subjective) was Crystal Cruises. Was the Food / Dining good on Oceania, yes. We had many good meals, several excellent meals and yes some bad ones. I am NOT a fan of the Grand Dining Room however I love it for breakfast. That is my post and I am attempting to be balanced with my remarks. FYI, I study cruising and most brands. It has come to my attention that the new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collect food / Dining is OUTSTANDING. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I really love cruising. I love talking, discussing and writing about cruising. There was a time, when I thought, I could be a good travel agent since I am retired now. All my life, every part of my business life, I was on some sort of commission. My friends would say, to risky. They all wanted a salary and bonus. I on the other, I wanted to create my own salary and bonus through commission. A great travel agent is worth all the commission the cruise brands will give them. Just like a great real estate agent, or dare I say it, a great automobile salesperson. Now those in their craft that paint by the numbers, don't deserve all the commission given and usually give that commission away to sell their products and services. Why, because they don't think they are worth what they are getting paid and usually they are right. I hope those that are promised huge rebates get them after their cruises. If it is in the form of a credit card, they receive that card. The same hold true for those that buy cruises from a big box store. I personally am completely willing to allow my Travel Agent to have ALL of her commissions. Every red cent. She offered me some after many cruise and I turned her down. WHY, I was on commission all my life. I only work or buy from those that deserve all they earned. "If a person or organization is so willing to give you a deep discount, how much of the personalized service when I really need it will also be deeply discounted." Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

When something looks to good to be true...... Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

For anyone who wants to know where the staterooms with twin beds are located, simply go to the deck plans, look at the legend. You may also see many of the staterooms with Twin Beds are adjourning and have bath tubs. My understanding is most but not all of the OT categories MAY have twin beds. Again, deck plan is clear as a bell. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Normally this kind of topic is way to technical for me to comment. However, I just spent two weeks going back and forth with the Guest Support in Europe simply to enroll me on the website so I could look at my booking. It seems, Explora Journeys has good taste. They did not like my main email account. As Rodney Dangerfield said, "Respect, I don't get no respect at all." I gave up and then I tried my google email. BINGO. The corporate office had to combine two accounts. I had no idea I had two accounts, how lucky am I. I could then make a password and see my account. UNTIL today when my password did not work nor did the "Password Reset". I also tried to look at a specific cruise and the screen went to an error message every time I tried. My point in writing this. My career which is long over was all about understanding the luxury buyer's motivations, needs and wants. Interesting study for sure. To a luxury client, the debate on why this website is "kind of bad" and "not client friendly" makes no difference. Luxury buyers just want it to work and when it does not, it is a poor reflection on the brand. The luxury brand category comes with premium prices and the client expectations are noticeable higher. I am sure this will get fixed in the future. As we all know, it is a Third World Problem for sure. Still, a tad bit disappointing. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Barsoap I tend to do a lot of research. I am NO expert and my first Oceania Cruise was November 2023. My next one booked on the ship is October 2025. Please comment on your thread, exaction what you want to know. Break down your questions and make them as specific as possible. I and others will look at the questions and do our best to help you. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@lelak Now this is what I am talking about. GREAT job. Really. Super helpful. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@njhorseman Your point is well taken. Therefore when we find a brand that provides the approach to cruising we want, has an Itinerary we want at a time, that we want to go, we book it. When that brand changes their approach and some of things we liked get lost or changed, we have to reevaluate future bookings. Our money, our choice. In my humble opinion this is why there are so many brands that go to the same places. A great example is Oceania. I choose them because I did not like all the items provided by Regent Seven Seas that made their price so very high. Items I would not use and therefor was a waste. Lost value and money to me. So I choose the sister company Oceania. Then Oceana changed their approach not to be as much as a "A La carte" cruise line by bringing in Simply More. Some folks loved it, some likes it, other did not like and some hated it. The ones that hated it or did not like it simply moved on to another brand. But not before the complaints as if they owned the company and how upset they were that the company that they were loyal to let them down. And that like this topic and pages of talk about chair hogs is a venue called Social Media. I like everyone else have an opinion. If the brand changes and you don't see the value, leave. No fanfare needed. Simply find a better brand for you and be happy. Your money, your decision. The brand can't please everyone every time. Brand loyalty does not mean when the brand does not suit you needs any more. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Thought2go Thank you for sharing. The issues is, some folks simply don't like Carnival because it is designed for a much different demographic. When I was in my mid-20's, I went on Carnival. OR, at least I think I did. It is ALL a fog. I started doing shorts of tequila on day one and sobered up on the last day. People tell me I has a BLAST. Needless to say, I am 67 NOW. I think? Without drinking because I simple cannot drink much any more, I still can't remember what happened last week. It is a fog. Every week is like being on Carnival Cruises, the Fun Ship. Funny how that happens as you age. All kidding aside, I hope the trend that Carnival is doing sets an example for ALL Cruise Brands. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@commodoredave Hi Dave, how are you? You hit it out of the ball park. But it goes far past the VIP area's. Here are some examples. If you want early boarding, Pay me a fee. If you want to stay in the private sundeck, like the Vibe Beach Club, pay me a fee. If you want to utilize the Thermal Spa, payment a fee. If you want to stay in the private VIP area like Haven, Retreat and Yacht Club, pay me a fee. In Disney world, if you want the express line with little or no wait, pay me a fee. Same with Universal. Delta, if you want to check bags, pay me a fee. My list can go on, and ON. I don't believe this is the brands creating folks like Chair Hogs. I do think it is their was of adding more revenue. Increasing their bottom line. We have not even talked about increasing the fee for gratuities. This and other reason is why I have started to go Book, Premium-Plus and Luxury brands. I compared all the stuff I would receive (Perks and Amenities) and still have to pay for area's like Haven, Retreat and Yacht Club. I then had what call a "Total Price". I then would convert it to total cost per person, per day. I then would look at in my case three different cruise lines that were considered Premium-Plus or Luxury. Crystal Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Explora Cruises. The results were amazing. 80% of the time, when you compare the total price per person, per day, the Premium-Plus and Luxury brands were actually less then the VIP areas on Mainstream Brands like NCL, Royal, Celebrity, and MSC. I literally had to check my figures three times because I thought I made a mistake. Sure there was some things lost like Water Slide, Go Carts Tracks, and Virtual reality. Give and take is simply the reality of the world we live in. Now, are their still rude guest. Yes, you hear the all the time at guest services. They put on quite the show. Are their still Chair Hogs and folks that save entire rows for their families for the big shows, then their family's don't show up. Answer, ABSOLUTELY. Just far less, less of an issue and makes ones vacation better. Hope all that makes sense. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Eloise4Ever I am an acquired taste like scotch. But I assure you, I am FUN to drink, eat and go to shows with. Something happens to me when I go on a cruises, it is strange. For 7-14 days, all I want to do is have fun, be happy, engage with people, eat way to much and drink ever so slightly more then I normally do. In real live have a drink a week. I break the rule on a cruise. If you ever cruise with me, we will do shots, by the pool, in a lounge chair far from the pool because I will not tipping to get the chair. We will laugh, watch the action and I assure you. That show will be better then the Oceania Shows we have seen. All the way you look at things. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Eloise4Ever Oh, NO. Sorry If I gave you that idea. There is NOTHING I dislike more than entitled guest on a cruise ship that simply don't play fair. Really, as I was writing, I had a huge grin on my face not a frown. I am SO sorry if I gave you that idea. I find social media for cruising a much needed therapy. I have what is obviously a very strange sense of humor. Again, I find what that client and crew member did as appalling. Instead of getting mad about it, I just made fun of it. Chair Hogs are here to stay. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Harters I just checked the Oceania Cruises FAQ section and this approach to gain a Day Bed at the pool on a sea day is not listed as a suggested approach. Let the guest bidding work begin. Let the poorest guest lose. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I was SO scared and really it was effecting my attitude and mental health at home. It had been at least a week, 7 long days, since I had seen a stream on the subject of "Chair Hogs". Really I was getting worried and I know each and everyone out there is with me. Then this morning, in a state of total and complete depression, finally the cloud parted, the lovely light of rays came to me from the sky's. Here was the topic I was needed like a hot cup off illy (sorry Oceania Brand Coffee they dropped illy) coffee in the morning and a tasteless dry Oceania cookie. Chair Hogs still exist, the topic will never die and the world is right again. All brands can have all the rules they want. However, we guest know rules are made to be broken and whether it is right or wrong, some guest are more then willing to break those rules. Oh wait, this rule break was by a crew member, not the guest. That makes all the difference. NOT, Like little children throwing a tantrum because they did not get a bigger piece of cake. Entitlement is obvious to those with the "Chair Hog" affliction. "I want a chair, if my old technique of getting up early and putting my beach bag on a chair won't work anymore, I have come up with a fail safe new idea. I got it, Bribery. That will get the job done. Bribe a crew member." The best part of cruise critic is learning NEW innovative skill sets to get everything I want. The hell with all those other losers. Now I have the perfect plan to get my "day bed" by the pool in the perfect location when I am on the Vista next year in October. I will start saving my extra milk money because the bribe amount might turn into a bidding process. But if I start saving today, it should not be an issue. Pool day bed, here I come. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.