saminina

She departed the day you came on board. Ask Rick about her.

Over and over. Subtitle to a song....."the world we knew."

Plus, where else were they to house the influencers?

Has anyone sailed on Explora not figured out their Steinways play with or without? Good as Natalia might be, she operates at a much lower level than the Korean young lady doing a two week gig on Serenity. Talent beyond belief was consensus. Coming from Royal Caribbean. Not SS, not Celebrity. RCCL, to which she will return. Why? Because she is 25 years old and has a life better lived there. We currently have two favorite lines for North American market. Both being compared here.

I've never been on a Seabourn vessel that has been anything less than almost perfect. To paraphrase a previous poster, or two.

They rid menu of origin source on main courses, which had noble intent and probably followed for three months. Still printed menus long after program was dismissed.

This has proven to be my favorite restaurant. After two visits, the bread basket is a waste. Will order two types of desired bread and beef carpaccio.....homage to what was Prego and N/A recent time on Serenity. Will rotate main courses. It also underscores why 14 days is time enough on Explora.

I can do empathy. Never realized many come from the global south. Good to know. Still, never a nickel to any one individual. More crew will be taking the route you described if they can do better elsewhere. Passengers, too.

It's about time. It's human and anything else that breathes nature to expect to be fed once the habit begins. Feeding your pet is expected. Animals/birds not living in cages find a way to survive. Crew survives quite nicely without your added contributions. Total insanity.

Interesting!

About same guest size we would draw at the Armargosa Opera House.

October-November Very few if any paperbacks December-January Maybe six used paperbacks

Disagree

So tough it out in Civitavecchia for up to 150 minutes of your life. I'd dump the luggage, walk to train station and take a ride on a 3rd class Italian train to get a grip on a different type of travel. And yes, I've changed ships same day, same port. The advice offered by Woodrowst is solid. Just hire a car for two hours and have a place to sit. You are 38 miles from Rome, drive in opposite direction for an hour. Luggage is your problem.

Yes, I thought Explora was winning the battle for worse marketing department. RCI is in contention with this move.

SS needs more exposure within the RCI group. Not a bad decision, if they properly invest to compensate affected passengers. A minor expenditure missed in the process. Our 2025 scheduled cruise was cancelled yesterday. No loss as we come out even cashing in milestone award for two week Endeavor trip.

A tip for future cruisers. Freshly squeezed OJ has been available in Fil Rouge.

Thanks for skipping the toilet stop photo op. 400+ passengers is not enough to cause havoc at the boarding day buffet. Add 100+ travel agents and freeloading influencers and there you have it.

Why would you post about leaving behind a $40-50 cash tip? You would have to be very foolish to book on board without incentive. It was so easy to do that on the last Explora cruise. People do it....I did it on my first with incentive, did not on second. One of the many marketing failures by the company. The list is so long that it should be a case study at Phoenix University.

You are being way too hard on a particular individual. I no nothing of the person. Except it sounds like they were very well paid with an expense account that would qualify them to experience everything you suggest they have not. If you think the Frette sheet on Explora resembles the genuine Frette bedding so many of us sleep with nightly, it does not. So Explora does not fit your purposes. It probably does not fit mine. Hardly a big deal. It's been tried and not necessarily proven.

Like other cruise lines, poor management away from ship is where I place blame for a poor experience on board. That would include putting personnel on board into positions for which they are not qualified. I've had no problem with people in responsible positions on board Explora. Wish I could say same about other companies. The two most recent posts are examples of marketing decisions that have cost the company more than they will ever earn by introducing them. While I understand bringing travel agents/writers on board, how about qualifying them before they set foot on the ship? Every one of them should be catering to an audience capable of booking future cruises. 90% of them are not. 50% of those create unpleasantness among the paying passengers. Influencer....whatever that is.....put them on a cruise without paying passengers. Very poor marketing from the get go that continues today. The limited time deep discounting of basic cabins another poor decision. How about a competitive fare structure that makes sense to fulfill long term goals?

Same supplier as Silversea, yet a very different product. Explora paying the higher price (today).

Pricing a few cruises as solo and it's beyond acceptable. For Explora product, I consider per diem of $400 a bargain for OT1. 500 to $600 reasonable. Add 50% for holiday. About same as Silversea, more $ for Crystal, less S for Seabourn.

Because 600 passengers have 215 different ideas how to operate this vessel......we'll do it my way.

From a conversation 22 years ago on first SS cruise when I asked this question to a couple veteran sailors. The response was to leave something for the crew fund. Do not tip individuals. For many reasons, makes total sense to me. At the time, I believe most passengers subscribed to this policy. Times and especially passengers have changed......unfortunately.