Sidney68

50 minutes ago, English Tim said:

in order to utilise this upgrade, one must book an Amex 2-4-1 fare in business class and then hope that seats in First become available nearer to travel, indeed using Seat Spy, as Adrian noted.

 

We look forward to meeting you.

Thank you Tim, unfortunately we didn’t purchase our business class tickets on that Amex offer, never mind. The f nothing else I have now found out about Seat Spy 😊

4 hours ago, English Tim said:

We board on May 12, so I’m a bit early.

 

Originally we booked from LAX to Miami, one cruise, but we accidentally discovered that our cruise had been split in two and extended by three days. My UK TA was unaware of the changes until I notified them. It was a worrying time, but we had already booked flights.
 

I suggested to our travel agent that Explora give us the extra three days free of charge, rather than compensation for a cancellation. They agreed and fortunately we were able to change our arrangements. We have booked our transatlantic flight using a voucher and paying most of the fair by airline miles, plus taxes, fortunately there were still flights available for UK.
 

We also had to change internal flights, as after the cruise we were flying up to Washington to visit my sister-in-law, who lives in Delaware. We also had to change the car hire, but fortunately no change fees.

 

So now we are all set, but last weekend I was notified by an app that I subscribe to, Seatspy, offering two seats in British Airways first class, for an additional £400 per per person, which I considered excellent value and snapped them up. As the flight is just over 11 hours, I considered the top service and access to the Concord lounge at London Heathrow too good an opportunity to pass up. For comparison, I checked what the cost would be had we paid money and tickets are around £11,000 each way!

 

I imagine we will get an Uber from the airport to our hotel, which is the residence inn downtown Long Beach, where we stay for two nights using our hotel points. Apparently, there is a free bus which runs around the loop, visiting the main locations in Long Beach.

 

On cruise departure day, again we expect to take an Uber to San Pedro Cruise terminal.

Your upgrade sounds great value, unfortunately I haven’t been notified of such an offer so may look at the app you use in the hope that we get a similar deal! We fly on Wednesday and have a few nights in LA before joining the ship on the 12th. I look forward to meeting you next week. I will too be adding my thoughts to this thread; CC members posts have certainly been of great interest and help to me in the lead up to the cruise. 

2 hours ago, K-Lo Luxury Cruiser said:

We, literally, never got off the ship.  Too much to do on board and we're doing Panama to Miami with friends in a few weeks so we wanted to save the port opportunities to do with them.

 

 

2 hours ago, K-Lo Luxury Cruiser said:

We, literally, never got off the ship.  Too much to do on board and we're doing Panama to Miami with friends in a few weeks so we wanted to save the port opportunities to do with them.

 

 

Sounds like we may be on the same trip. See you there! 

7 hours ago, 2SailingNomads said:

We boarded in Vancouver and had 290 fellow pax to Honolulu. Have gotten multiple answers as to how many are going back to Vancouver. Will find out more later.  

 

Have found the food, which is subjective, to be some of the best we have had with over 600 nights of sailing on luxury lines. Love all the bar options.  Crew are extremely friendly.

 

Dislike limited included spirits options although vodka choices are 2 of the 3 I normally drink. Included wines certainly could be better. Lack of shade on outside decks is a big problem as been noted by others.  Stupid design of switch to turn on the bathroom light outside the bathroom.  No option of course by course room service from one of the restaurants for dinner.

 

Thank you for sharing your initial thoughts. It will be interesting to see how passenger numbers change on each leg, we join on 12th May in LA. Previously sailed with SB (who we love) and Regent (not so fond of). Hoping that this line will have the quality of ship as Regent but with the service of SB, let’s see! Looking forward to more updates and enjoy your cruise 🤗

6 hours ago, K-Lo Luxury Cruiser said:

My husband and I were on the Miami to Panama cruise in February, 2024 and have booked 2 more cruises on Explora I.  This ship is nothing short of fabulous and the restaurants were all delicious.  We had no trouble getting into any of the restaurants we wanted.  We enjoyed the "reservation only" restaurants (Sakura and the steakhouse) but our favorites were Fil Rouge and Med Yacht Club.  We did not try the restaurant requiring an uncharge but we will next month when we return to Panama.  We had the lowest level cabin and it exceeded our expectations in terms of size, space, functionality and decor.  The service by every staff member was impeccable.  I can't believe it gets any better than Explora.  My only disappointment is that they are not considering the Alaska market because it's covered by so many others. 

Great to hear your positive feedback, I am so looking forward to my LA to Miami trip in just under 2 weeks.  When you did your cruise in February, can you recommend any of the tours as it looks like we are visiting many of the same ports? Thank you 

2 hours ago, maggie.1008 said:

I’m in Honolulu right now and excited about trying a new cruise line tomorrow. 
I will let you know. 🥂

Enjoy! I look forward to hearing how it goes 

13 hours ago, KJB416 said:

Per my request in February, 2024, Explora emailed me all of the drink menus and I’ve attached a couple here. These are just what the back office had and may not be accurate. I’ll be onboard right before you and will try and post here to give you a better idea of what’s on board. Or maybe we are on the same cruise out of LA on the 12th?
 

On our last cruise they ran out of their one IPA on the second day and also fever tree tonic became hard to find and staff would have to go to other bars on other floors to get it. Hoping these things have been resolved. 

EXI_EXPLORA_LOUNGE (1) (1).pdf 845.96 kB · 20 downloads EXI_MALT_WHISKY.pdf 517.82 kB · 12 downloads

We will be on the same cruise - joining on 12th from LA

13 hours ago, CJANDH said:

Chair Hogs are getting busy. This is the Astern Pool at 7:30am. All loungers are "reserved" no people in sight.

Looks a lovely pool area though! I am looking forward to parking myself on one of those beds for a day although I have no intention of getting up at 7.30 to do so! 

Random request for those of you who are on board at the moment. Do you know if they offer lash extensions in the spa/beauty area please? Third world problem I know but trying to work out options when I am board for 20 nights soon … 🫣

I too am unable to access my booking. I filled in the contact form a few days ago asking for assistance but no response. I may have to resort to phoning.

Which itinerary did you choose? I took booked the LA to Miami route on 12th May this weekend, I am very excited! 
 

This will be my first sailing with Explora, having previously sailed with Seabourn and Regent who were amazing. I will be interested to see how it compares. 

On 8/12/2023 at 5:06 PM, 1982CruzStart said:

If you want a table for 2 and are particular about what time you eat you may want to go online as soon as reservations open. If you are more flexible with the time and are open to shared tables it probably isn't as crucial. I always book on the first day when reservations open because we like to to for dinner between 6:30 and 7:00 though we are always open to share a table. 

I have just been on my account as reservations open at 8.00pm for my trip in November. I cannot see how we book them, does a customise button appear at the bottom like for the excursions? It’s 15 mins late unless it’s US time of course and I am just too keen 🫣🤣

First time with Regent and our reservation window opens on Sunday. What time do the shows usually commence please? Thank you 

On 3/11/2022 at 10:47 PM, VegasTW said:

Hi all!

 

Is CD John Barron still sailing?  I've seen other CDs mentioned but not John lately...

 

Hope he is well...

 

 

John was CD on a Seabourn cruise we took last summer. I am not sure if he is still with the line, but a great guy! 

I am travelling on Quest on 21st June from Venice and have heard this evening that our port has been moved to Ravenna some 3 hours away. Seabourn have scheduled two transfers at 12.30 and 5.30 and so I am hoping that my flight gets in early enough for the first as I certainly don’t want to be hanging around the airport for hours! I also have an add on 2 nights in Venice at the end of the trip so will need to perhaps look at a private transfer back to Venice as early as possible on the last day as I really want to make the most of the short stay I have. 

Hi, I am looking at a cruise in June on Quest and have been offered three cabins 748 next to the card room (and under pool deck) and 815 which is next to the lift shaft and 829 which is closer to the pool access area. Any views on which is the better option, it appears that there is very little choice remaining. Previous feedback indicated that cabins underneath the pool area could be noisy? Anyone have any experience or views? Thank you! 

I would say whatever cruise you are on you probably need to remain flexible and open to change. I am about to embark on my first ever cruise on Odyssey this coming Saturday (beyond excited!) and took the opportunity to pre-book excursions on the advice of others given that currently in a number of ports you can only disembark if on the ships organised trips. Unfortunately, there have been a number of itinerary changes and as such I have had quite a few excursions cancelled (4 so far) due to ‘operational’ reasons. So in reality I should have just waited until on board. Lots can change week on week so difficult to tell. 

Hi, Is it possible to make reservations for Th Restaurant on Odyssey? I have managed to book TK for one night (hoping to change time onboard as availability is low) but wondered about The Restaurant? Cannot see an option on the Seabourn web page. Also how likely is it that I will be able to get another reservation for TK during my 14 day cruise and how do I find out when the formal nights are so I can coordinate bookings at The Restaurant if possible for that day.  As always appreciate your help and guidance.

23 hours ago, SDuckers said:

Highly recommend the Aerial Tram and Zip Lining on St. Lucia.  We also enjoyed the Catamaran sail and snorkling at Carombola beach.

I love the sound of this as I am both adventurous and active.  Unfortunately I am not however great with heights so wonder if I may struggle with this?

19 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

December 2018 review ( has some ports you are not going to, others you are)

 

 

What a well written review - really enjoyed reading your account. 

6 hours ago, cruiseej said:

 

Let me chime in about St. Kitts...  We've now been to the big "Caviar in the Surf" beach day on St. Kitts twice. The first time in 2019, we decided not to do any morning excursion because we wanted to get the the beach as early as possible, get our beach chairs, and enjoy a nice beach day, complete with the caviar event and, more importantly, the grilled lobster tails at lunch. (Okay, it's technically a full-on barbecue with ribs, burgers, fish, salads and more, but as far as we're concerned, the ability to have unlimited lobsters tails hot off the grill is all this was about!) We were there on Christmas, and the staff was celebrating as much as the passengers; many, many staff members, including all senior managers up to the hotel director, f&b director, and cruise director, were thrown in the water by fellow crew, and it was just a great, joyous day for passengers and crew.

 

Last month, we were back, and after talking to the Destination Services managers about how the tours were specifically timed to get back to the beach around noon, before the caviar at 12:15 and lunch following, we decided to book one of the excursions: the St. Kitts Scenic Railway. We wanted to actually see some of the country, not just go to the beach and then back to the ship. There was both a good and bad component to our decision. The excursion was definitely worthwhile: we saw a lot of the St. Kitts countryside and learned a lot about the country's history and culture from our excellent tour guides on the bus and the train. The bad part was just a fluke, I assume: there were some mechanical problems with the train after we boarded, and we sat for almost 45 minutes before the train pulled out. Well, you can't shorten train tracks, and you can't speed up a narrow gauge train beyond its rated speed, so there was no way to make up the time. Most people rolled with the delay, since there wasn't anything we could do, but a couple passengers were uptight and grouchy about us being late. 

 

The railway folks were in constant contact with the ship, so they knew we were going to be late getting back, and indeed, we arrived at 12:45 instead of noon -- just in time for the caviar in the water portion of the day to be ending. In the graceful way Seabourn deals with most things, they did their best to deal with our delayed arrival, as a team of crew members and senior managers swarmed to meet our buses with glasses, flowing champagne, and caviar on crackers. (Perhaps the first-ever Seabourn "Caviar in the Parking Lot" event? 😉) We went straight to the lobster lunch, enjoyed that every bit as much as the first time we were here, and enjoyed several hours in the afternoon relaxing on the beach and in the water.

 

Despite the delayed train, I'm glad we did that excursion because now I feel like I have actually visited St. Kitts. But if it had been my first time and we missed the caviar event in the water, I would have been disappointed. (I should also note that we had caviar almost every day on the ship, so we did not suffer from the lack of caviar on the beach!) I assume our delayed excursion was an anomaly, and I'd recommend the scenic train tour if you want to see much more of St. Kitts than just the beach.

 

The train tour starts with a short bus ride from the port to the train depot, a train trip around more than half the island, and then the bus picks you up to travel the rest of the way back to the beach. The train is a two-level train: a fully-enclosed, comfortably air-conditioned lower level, and a fully-covered but open-air upper level. Seabourn books enough space so it was easy to freely move up and down -- which was important when we had two short torrential rain downpours and everyone retreated inside while the staff repeatedly worked to dry the seats so we could go back topside. 

Thank you for your helpful advice the scenic rail trip sounds fabulous. I note on the itinerary there is potentially another opportunity to undertake the rail trip from Basseterre? Am I correct in assuming that the beach day happens at Carambola, it sounds amazing, I can’t wait! 

Hi, I am new to cruising and will shortly embark on a 14 night cruise starting and ending in Barbados. Ports include St Kitts, St Barts, Antigua, Dominica, St Lucia, Guadalupe, St Maarten, BVIs. Given the Covid situation currently, I understand that we will only be allowed off the ship for Seabourn organised excursions; the choice is slightly overwhelming and therefore I wonder if anyone could recommend any in particular?  I am pretty active, love the beach and sea, but also would like to experience some culture - any guidance would be appreciated! Also, do you have to book in advance or is it possible to organise once on board once the onboard schedule is known? In addition, I have seen reports that docking can be subject to last minute change, what happens if you book and then there is a slight change in the itinerary, would we get a refund? Thanks in advance. 

Hi, great to connect and what a helpful resource this site is proving to be!

As someone who is about to embark on their very first cruise, what advice or tips would you give me or perhaps wish someone had told you? 
 

My partner and I are due to depart on a 14 night cruise on Odyssey departing Bridgetown on 13th November. Whilst I am very excited, I am also slightly daunted too, any advice would be appreciated!   Thank you 

Hi, my partner and I are new to cruising and have booked our first trip departing Barbados on 13th November. We would be really interested in a referral voucher if anyone has one. Thank you! Sarah