CJANDH

I was in 6089 right below you. There was noise from the aft pool. Also, there was noise from the thruster engines when we were "anchored" at a port. They do not use anchors. They remain in place with a GPS linked thruster system that vibrates the ship and makes a lot of noise all the time they are in tendering mode. If your itinerary is tender intensive, I would think twice about an aft facing cabin.

But at home you have to pick up your towels and make your bed 🤪

The Regent comparison is actually understated a bit as Regent includes shore excursions and unlimited laundry for every stateroom. I took out the airfare and hotel costs, but could not price the value of the included perks. Thanks for your thoughtful reply. There are indeed many things to consider as you compare cruises. But at the end of the day, whatever your choice among these excellent brands, you will have a great cruise. Chris.

And that might be another area that distinguishes EV from the competition. Perhaps they are going after a passenger who is looking for a better experience from the "cheap seats" than they can get with RSS or SS. I am just suggesting that their high end is not competitive.

Your thoughts are welcome anyway.

It seems to me that Explora may have missed out on attracting the high end of luxury cruisers with their selection and design of Ocean Residence suites. I am talking about those cruisers who are currently booking the large suites (over 600 sf. excluding balcony) on Regent and Silversea. Regent has 20 large suites for a 744 pax ship. Silversea has 10 over 800 sf. for a 596 pax ship, plus 34 Silver Suites that are almost 600 sf. Of Explora’s 23 Residences, only three are truly big suites. The huge Owners suite is 1668 sf. and the two Cocoon suites measure 797 sf. The rest range from 603 sf. To 678 sf. Additionally, only the Owners and Cocoon suites have 1.5 bathrooms. The rest have one small bathroom. Finally, the most expensive Residences are located at the aft of the ship overlooking the rear pool deck. This is a noisy location when children are playing in the pool and also prone to noise from the thrusters when the ship is in tender mode at a port. Comparing pricing across the brands, not including air and hotels, for a 14-day Caribbean cruise, Explora doesn’t appear to be good value for those wishing to spend more for more cruise space (perhaps the most profitable customers). Explora Regent Silversea Cove (10) 603 sf $19K Seven Seas (4) 577 sf $18K Silver (34) 590 sf $14K Serenity (4) 646 sf $22K Grandeur(12) 655 sf $19K Royal (2) 800 sf $20K Retreat (6) 678 sf $20K Grand (4) 800 sf $21K Grand (4) 880 sf $23K Cocoon (2) 797 sf $23K Master (4) 1100 sf $24K Owners (4) 800 sf $29K We have stayed in a Cocoon Residence. It is a beautiful suite with a huge deck provisioned with a hot tub and lots of comfortable seating. However, on a Caribbean cruise with lots of tender ports and kids in the pool below the deck, it wasn’t for us. I will be interested to hear comments from other Residence guests.

I was in a Residence in March and the bottle waiting for me was Mercier. I complained that I did not get the advertised 2013 Dom Perignon. A couple of days later a bottle of Dom arrived from the head Butler with compliments. Squeaky Wheel!!!

Almost certainly right. Cherry Blossom Season is always an excuse for dressing up in Kimono.

Can you buy the SSP with OBC ahead of boarding or do you wait until on board?

Thanks for the tip. I will "search".

I have booked my first Viking Ocean voyage, an Iceland/Greenland cruise on Neptune embarking July 13, 2025. I was surprised to find that the final payment date is April 30, 2024, over a year ahead of embarkation. This seems awfully early to have to tie up the full cruise amount (including airfare and hotel). I am used to 4/6 month dates on Regent, Silversea and Explora. How come Viking is such an oddball?

Must have had a sleepless night 🤪.

Explora will meet some of your requirements well, but miss out on others. Specifically, the ship is ultra clean; the Emporium Marketplace is the best buffet at sea with all the food served by staff in very hygienic conditions behind screens. However, there is only limited outdoor dining space and what there is is not very convenient to get to. The live music is very good, but limited. On our cruise there were two very good pianists playing in the lounges, a proficient house band and two talented singers handling most of the main stage shows. Try it. You may like it!

Out of UK since 1971. In USA since 1985. American spellcheck 🥸

Good try. I just found mine in spam.

Adrian. Great job with the live report. I was expecting to post a bit myself but you covered everything in great detail and with a (typically Brit) sense of humor. Well done.

That might have been true earlier in Explora's short history. But it is totally wrong now. I have just come off Explora I and can confirm that the pianos were played each evening in two locations by very talented artists. The "few tired singers" have been replaced by two extremely talented singers and a very good in-house band No sign of reading computer screens. While I understand that you were disappointed by your cruise some months ago, please accept that the entertainment on Explora now is as good as on most small luxury ships.

We have just disembarked from Explora I in Bridgetown. We were advised we would get a survey emailed to us, but have received nothing. Has anyone else had a problem getting the survey?

I saw your link before. I am just saying that we left the ship and entered Barbados without that form. We are spending two days here and then flying back the US. The only contact with Immigration was the 5 minutes with one of the agents in the Explora Lounge before we disembarked.

We are US citizens and did not have to complete any form to enter Barbados. Are you talking about a form needed to leave Barbados?

The Helios pool area at the front of the ship is adults only. The Astern pool is not, as I can testify from the noise of screaming kids right below my rear facing "Residence". Not making that area adults only is a big mistake as the disturbance effects the guests in the most expensive suites on the ship. We were planning a Christmas cruise in the Cocoon suite, but dropped the idea when we realised that over the holidays there will likely be many more kids in the pool beneath us.

That was us. Beautiful room but noisy from both the thrusters and the kids in the pool.

We have learned that lesson this trip. This is the first time that we have booked an aft facing suite. It is gorgeous but VERY noisy all day in tender ports. Unfortunately, almost all the larger suites are at the back of the ship on Explora. So I guess we will stick to Regent and Silverseas after all.

What a rude awakening this morning. We arrived at our tender station early and instead of cruising around a bit, the thrusters were turned on a 6:05 am and have been running continuously since then. We are in a Cocoon Residence at the aft of the ship on deck 6, right over the rear thrusters. Believe me it is like living right in the engine room. Noise and vibration is awful. At the price we are paying I would have thought we might be entitled to a full nights sleep.

Thanks for that info. Makes sense and clearly that was what was happening. I don't agree that all of the latest ships avoid anchors routinely. I have been on several in the past year that have anchored. Maybe it depends on the location and the nature of the sea bed. I am all for protecting the ocean bed. But I still don't like the noise associated with doing it (selfish, I know.)