Wheelhouse

I sat with Hamish on a ship’s tour at Virgin Gorda. He is the yoga instructor and came over from Carnival. I have no idea if the yoga classes are included.

I have been on #1 Explora I and #2 Oceania Vista and in my opinion Travel and Leisure has those two ranked in the correct order. Surprised that Regent's Grandeur follows. I was looking at a 14 night cruise next August but at $16,199 pp ex-air for the least expensive cabin I am having a hard time finding value with that Regent cruise.

My Explora I bookings in OT3 and OT1 have both run well under $400 pp per day. There is also currently an excursion credit included with Explora bookings ($400 pp on my most recent). I booked CV on Vista and Allura.

Your blog has been excellent. Thank you for doing this. I beg to differ with you on the cost difference between Oceania Allura Class and Explora. Even without adding in the gratuity cost and drinks expense necessary to bring Oceania up to the more inclusive Explora, I have found my per diem cost to be less on Explora than Oceania. I have two somewhat recent bookings on each.

We were on the Vista in October and I noticed the very poor quality of the toilet paper. I mentioned in the ongoing thread that next time I would bring my own. Expectedly, I was hit with a deluge of comments explaining that the single ply was necessary to satisfy the ships plumbing requirements. This was debunked by the Chief who claims that the primary reason the paper is so cheap is exactly that. The line is saving a few pennies.

I have your EJ2 and EJ3 booked B2B for next January, with Miami as both the departure and arrival point. If you are doing only one St Barts and Virgin Gorda are great ports.

Whip, the problem here is that you were a very early traveler on Explora and the experience today is much different from the one that you project. I get you are unhappy that they didn't discount the more expensive rooms, but there aren't that many available and they were most likely selling well enough that it was unnecessary for the line to drop those fares.

But there is nothing to combine the offer with. You or your TA just charge 1K to Oceania and the credit appears on your AMEX statement. The offer doesn't have anything to do with any other offers you have and as far as Oceania goes they know absolutely nothing about it. Basor was a bit quicker than me with his response.

Thanks. The offer is on my no fee AMEX Blue Sky card.

You are correct, my mistake. They are oceanview (no balcony) at 215 sq ft. The ones I looked at are priced higher per diem than the OTs (377 sq ft including the balcony) that I have booked on Explora.

"Entertainment on Explora pretty much non existent." No, the entertainment has vastly improved if you are following the various threads "Explora has player pianos." No. Explora has some very good pianists. "If you are over 60 Crystal would be a choice. More sedate. A little dressier crowd." -- Not everyone over 60 wants to dress up. My 76 year old cousin does 10 cruises a year (she likes Viking's expedition ships) and wouldn't consider a cruise necessitating fancy attire. Explora's entry level staterooms are brand new and spacious, all with verandas. Never been on Crystal, but I understand for a comparable price you get a small inside room. "Crystal has actual movie theaters. Explora shows movies every now and then around the pool." Who goes on cruises nowadays to watch movies? I can stream any movie whenever I want in my home theater. It's important to note that Explora is a brand new line and is constantly evolving.

Really enjoyed your Explora postings and looking forward to hearing about your journey on Vista. Since we have also been on both in the last six months, I hope you can include a bit of a comparison.

I guess that contact was sufficient for the immigration authorities. When you fly into Barbados as a US citizen you are led directly through the immigration hall and it is handy to have the pre-approved immigration form rather than using the kiosk.

This form https://travelform.gov.bb/

I assume that you are correct. My comment would apply to US citizens.