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. 

4 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

It probably depends on category. We booked 2 cruises on Vista for 2025 in FV for less than $400/night. Explora is around $550-600 on average, with some exceptions. So 30-40% more expensive. Of course if you book standard veranda on O, the gap is smaller. Drinks package on O is offset by excursions credit, so the only difference is gratuities (and $20/day is not really material when you pay $400-500 per day).

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. 

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

 

We also met a nice European couple who has cruised (3 times) on Explora Journeys.  This was their 2nd O cruise, but they said they intend to focus on future cruises with EJ.  Interesting comment for us (we have also cruised on EJ) and Waltershipman (who is likely following this blog).  In all fairness to O, Explora Journeys is generally a lot more expensive than O.  

 

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. 

7 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Oh, I did forget something quite negative.  It is the tissues and toilet paper!  :).  Digging deep to go negative on such important items.  The tissues are made in China where they should stay!  As to the toilet paper, it is a bit thin and not like what most of us have at home.  The marine engineers would probably tell us that the toilet paper is selected because it easily breaks-down in the onboard sewer system.  But no such excuse to justify Chinese tissues.  

 

 

 

 

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. 

21 minutes ago, magnus1977 said:

Thank you all for your thoughts, really appreciate it🙂

 

It looks like some have «desided» that Crystal is better that EJ and vice verca. I like brand new and luxurious things, I am 46 years old so I guess the EJ suits me a bit better. So I have to deside if the $1500 in difference is «worth» it for a Brand new ship plus bigger cabin and a balcony. I think so… Get $500 obc as well.

 

I have looked at some itineraries, anyone here that have any thoughts of which to choose?

 

EJ 1: Bridgetown Barbados-Fort de France Martinique-Castries St Lucia-St Johns Antigua-San Juan Puerto Rico-sea-sea-Miami

EJ 2: Miami-sea-sea-Road Bay Anguilla-Roseau Dominica-Basse Terre Guadeloupe-Marigot St Martin-San Juan Puerto Rico

EJ 3: San Juan Puerto Rico-Gustavia Sain Barthelemy-St Johns Antigua-Bassererre Saint Kitts and Nevis-Spanish Town Virgin Gorda BVI-sea-sea-Miami

EJ 4: Miami-sea-sea-St Thomas UVI-Road Bay Anguilla-Roseau Dominica-Saint Pierre Martinique-Bridgetown Barbados

 

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.

6 hours ago, Whipsnade said:

I happen to agree with many of your opinions and certainly I am entitled to mine even if they conflict with some of yours. 
 

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.  

25 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

Don’t start the “party “ yet, sometimes these offers are not “combineable” at least that is what has happened to us.  It makes a difference what offers and discounts you may already have on your booking, at least that is what we were told. 
Mauibabes

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.

14 minutes ago, nancygp said:

Crystal doesn’t have inside cabins

 

nancy

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.

6 hours ago, CJANDH said:

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.

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.

1 minute ago, CJANDH said:

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?

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

15 minutes ago, uktog said:

We are UK passport holders, we filled in no form anywhere either on the ship, the port or at the airport. 

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

10 hours ago, uktog said:

We did not need it in December 

You definitely do not need to pre-complete the immigration form as you can just go to a kiosk and fill it out, but if you have already done it online you can take skip to the immigration officer and save some time.  I guess this only matters if there is a big crowd at the airport. 

I agree with this one hundred percent and have stated it in the past.  

I took a ship's tour at Virgin Gorda for 95 euros and found it very enjoyable.  Two pleasant and very informative islanders (think Bob Marley) took us in the small open and very colorful Copper Mine bus for a complete circle of the island pointing out high level resorts and the locations of the homes of famous people like Richard Branson and Larry Page.  At the Top of the Baths restaurant we were guided down to the best route to traverse the Boulders. This was followed by some beach time.  It was a bit strenuous for some, but I felt that I received an excellent experience.  

7 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

No. We book on board because there are usually good deals offered to do so. For example, on our Amazon cruise with Seabourn in October, they promoted several great deals including some to the Antarctic. We bought one. As Explora offered us no incentives, we might as well wait until they do one day.

I received an additional 5% discount and 800 euros OBC for booking onboard.  I did have to ask the future cruise consultant if there was any advantage to doing so as there was no messaging to indicate the benefit. 

While on my 800 passenger nearly full sailing last month I talked at length with two separate well-to-do younger working couples who had never cruised before.  Both couples booked the cruise no more than two weeks before embarkation.  They were very impressed by the ship, food, and the service.  They are the demographic that Explora is looking to attract and hopefully get to return. They will never book a cruise anywhere near a year in advance. With all it's pools and bars the ship was designed for a younger cliental rather than the fossils that permeate Crystal. 

Do they need to improve in a lot of areas?  Surely they do and they working on it.  The line has barely been at sea for half a year.  

On Oceania's newer ships (Vista and Allura) a veranda is as expensive or more so than an OT (the vast majority of cabins) is currently going for on Explora.  I just looked at a 14 day cruise on Regent's Grandeur (14 Aug 2025) and the entry level cabins were running 16.5K per person (ex air).  Price wise Explora is nowhere close to that class ship.

Explora does have a number of double cabanas too, but they are not near the pools and I can't recall how many there are.  Speaking from my own experience it was not a problem getting a covered lounger.  

3 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Yes, there are a handful of shaded lounges in the Conservatory pool, but where many would normally have been are replaced by two very long hot tubs. As for the other 3 pools, they have been nicknamed Melanoma 1, 2 and 3 for their lack of shade. I challenge anyone reading this to point to any other ship with less shaded chairs per passenger than Explora. This is a well known fact and already an accepted issue by management, and I was told they are looking into possible fixes.

I will accept that challenge. We were recently on Oceania's new Vista which holds 1200 passengers and there was very little shaded area besides their one pool.  

After this spring Explora is only offering the Med and Caribbean up to the last released cruises scheduled in March of 26.  I am not including the Middle East cruises which may not happen. 

Just now, CruiseCrew123 said:

Is there anyone on board now who saw Nathan James singing last night - looks like it was the livliest it’s ever been 

Tiano, a West End duo, go two standing ovations when I was on. 

I am a pasty Irishman who can’t stay in the sun too long.  Even with as many as 800 passengers we had no trouble finding shady loungers even at the Conservatory pool.  There were plans the designers had for shade providers at one of the other pools, but they were impractical and couldn’t withstand any wind.  You can see them in some of the pre-construction videos.