Pitts27mf

Back to the subject at hand - dining. I disagree that luxury lines like Oceania limit you to just one night in each specialty restaurant. We reserve one night in each one, but on the nights that we do not have a reservation. we walk in about 5-10 minutes past the hour or half hour (when most people are seated), and we are almost always able to be seated. Also, if you're in an executive lounge suite (not the most expensive suites - just median priced - the concierge will almost always be able to get you into extra nights in the specialties. This rigidity of policy seems to be unique to Explora and is not, in any way, consistent with what you'll find on luxury lines, which this one is certainly not.

You will have a fabulous journey!

BCN to BA would be a fabulous trip - leaving one really interesting city and going to another really interesting city. What cruise line?

We've been staying at the Hotel Mercer for 10 years, as we take a Transatlantic crossing to Spain annually. The Mercer is not cheap, so if that's an issue, there's no need to read further. The Mercer is an elegant boutique hotel in the old city. The staff and concierge are wonderful. It's only 10 years old, and it was built right into the old Roman walls. The rooms are excellent and the public spaces are beautiful. We always have breakfast in their restaurant. It has great variety and is always tasty. There's a tapas restaurant attached to the hotel, and we eat dinner there about half of the time that we're in Barcelona. The location is fabulous. You walk out of the hotel into the historic shop and coffee shop-filled winding cobblestone streets. It's only a 10 minute walk to Las Ramblas and only about a 15 minute walk to the Passeig de Gracia, where you'll find all of the high end stores as well as some of the Gaudi-designed houses. It's also only about a 10-15 minute walk to La Boqueria, the famous market in Barcelona that's way fun to stroll through (and sample some goodies). It's also a fairly short walk to the fabulous Picasso Museum. Wherever you stay, have a great time in Barcelona.

If possible, several of us would like to hear about the experience of an Explora Journey - ambiance, food, how you like each dining venue, activities during sea days, level of service in dining venues and oherwise throughout the ship, and would you book an Explora cruise again. This would be so helpful for those of us who are considering an Explora cruise. In the meantime, all the very best for a great time onboard your cruise!

Thanks to all for the information regarding the Emporium. It sounds like everybody's having a great experience at that venue. Have a great cruise!

How's the dining situation? How many nights have you had to eat at the Emporium Marketplace?

First, all the best for your cruise. Were you able to get specialty restaurants for each evening?

We're scheduled for the Panama Canal cruise in March of 2024. There are several red flags for me: 1. They scheduled their first sailing way too soon after they expected to receive final certification. Given the magnitude of that project, they should have expected something to go wrong. It did, and they weren't prepared. Somebody skipped Management 101. 2. This is not their first delay, although it's the first one where passengers were booked. Only a year ago, they expected to be sailing in May. 3. The response from their corporate office to all of you who've booked canceled cruises is atrocious. Branding and differentiating are what cruise line management is all about. They should have been all over you guys to make sure that you're beyond pleased with their response. They've certainly differentiated the brand, and not in a good way One thing that I'll be very interested to hear about is the dining experience. For us, it's a great idea to get rid of the main dining room. The inference is that passengers will be dining in specialty restaurants every night. Super idea. However, I wonder if those specialty restaurants have the capacity to do that once their cruises reach full capacity or close to it. If they don't, the default restaurant will be Emporium Marketplace. That venue looks okay, but it appears to be a glorified buffet. Regardless, it's even a step below a main dining room. It's definitly not a fine dining venue. So, the good news might be that you don't have to deal with a main dining room, which most of us are not crazy about, and the bad news might be that you can't get into the specialty restaurants every night and have to eat in the Emporium. If that's the case, I would have preferred that they keep a main dining room. This is one thing that I'll be quite interested in hearing about from people who are finally able to take a cruise on Explora. I wish everybody who has a booking on the near-term cruises the very best, and I hope that the company will come through and provide you with a great experience. The concepts behind this brand are excellent. I hope they are able to execute much better than they have so far.