Dr. Cocktail

Now you tell me! That explains my situation….. As much as I am a cheerleader for Explora on these boards and LOVED the on board experience, there really is no excuse for the website. While EVERY cruise line’s sites have their quirks and known hacks, they’re at least mostly functional.

No comparison to the cloudy plexi shield on the back of Splendor .... And the bartender will hand you a glass of Moet while in the pool on E1!

Now THAT I have a picture of!

I couldn't find a picture of the forward adults-only pool which is more of a plunge/wading pool....

There are THREE other pools to choose from! Unequalled in the luxury segment. And …. Five giant whirlpools….

The pool roof can indeed be opened. The AC isn't working properly at present so with the roof closed, it is quite stifling inside.

Second night at 9:45 pm.

We were on for 9 nights and didn’t even come close to trying all the menu possibilities. In fact, we stayed calm by telling ourselves we could try more things on our return in three months!

Thanks for taking time out of your vacation to post! I have certainly been a cheerleader for Explora and had a great time with some reservations. But - I fully agree that the bathrooms are an epic fail. It's sort of unbelievable that the Penthouses have the same bathroom as the OT's, let alone the Residences. Add in no electrical outlet, no nightlights, the open door that blocks the shower entry and a mirror that fogs in two nanoseconds (for the engineer in you!) and you think: "what were you thinking when you designed this!!!"

Thanks! If you're walking behind us on a ship and call out either of those words, both my partner and I will turn around!

Absolutely! They would actually ask your preference. As for the spirits in the room, we were in a PH that "officially" includes 3 bottles but as soon as we were even vaguely close to finishing one, a replacement magically appeared. For all intensive purposes, there was no limit.

I pointed this out to fellow cruisers when I was on board! The original marketing showed this but it really hasn't been mentioned again. You can see a staircase going down next to the Astern Lounge that's mysteriously roped off. The platform itself has obvious docking pillars. I'm sure that it will eventually be used.

We’ll discuss in person over a drink (or five)(you’re buying) but …. One down, one Boarding Pass printed and three more to go … so far!

I'll simply say that keep an open mind and that you'll love it. You might miss production shows and some of the activities but the food leaves Regent in the dust as do the outdoor decks. Have a great time!

Fancy! And as of today, Animal Crackers is now in the public domain!

Small world! I've always used Moocher, Cadger and Schnorrer for my complicated legal transactions!

Thanks for your spot-on review! I am 60 and my partner is 58 and we LOVED the overall product with some reservations that I see are being addressed. My cruising friends have asked why I didn't place a review and I said I was tired of being attacked by the Seabourn and Regent trolls who took great offense that MSC could somehow deliver a luxury product. Thanks again for taking the time and I'm counting down the weeks to my next one!

Nope .... it was just as good in November! VERY pleased that you're having a good time. Entertainment was hit and miss and Explora was aware of it and you're the beneficiary of the changes. I strongly feel that the negative reports stemmed from people who simply wanted Seabourn, Regent or Silversea in a different colour and then were shocked when Explora (for the most part) delivered an extremely different luxury experience.

I'm completely going to side with Stickman1990 here .... Danny: I'm sorry that it's not working for you but you really are making some pretty big generalizations. You really can't say "most cruisers enjoy" - we're all very different in what we look for in a cruise. 1) no music at the pool? Great! I really don't like live music poolside and the playlists that they use on Explora are all good in that they let you chat or read 2) no entertainment? Piano players, vocalists and a great band actually qualify as entertainment and as a real show too! I've suffered through far many click-tracked, theme park "shows" to keep count of 3) the pools are an ABSOLUTE selling point - different views and vibes, all beautifully furnished with their own "feel" 4) I know that the lack of a pool grill has been an issue for some but again, not something that I require 5) a computer room? Now really ..... 6) LOVE the smaller venues - a nice atmosphere that leads to conversations with people around you 7) So funny - I'm 60 and my partner is in his late 50's and we both commented on how FABULOUS the vibe was onboard. I just hate the faux enthusiasm whipped up by hyperactive CD's and loved how we were treated as adults and the wonderful conversations that we struck up. I think that the fault here lies with you or your travel agent .... they are basically delivering what they promised. The deck plans, pools and lack of a show lounge were all known. But .... that's the beauty of there being so many choices out there - it may be better for you to stick with a more "traditional" choice. Thanks for taking time out of your vaycay to comment!

It was a jealous and disgruntled Seabourn shill on a drunken rampage two weeks ago .... Actually, I'm pretty sure it did actually happen on our sailing. I was wondering if it was a stress fracture but my partner wondered if the wind had thrown a chaise lounge chair on a particularly windy day. The outer decks were closed for a few hours until Heike and the Captain gave the "all clear". Oooops .... I just saw that uktog beat me to the punch! The initial "new" Viking ships (also built by Fincantieri) had more than their fair share of shower stall glass enclosures also spontaneously shatter.

I had a fantastic time on Explora and have a much more positive outlook on the entertainment even though I was less than satisfied. These are all "software" issues that are easily correctable and are being addressed. It's much simpler than changing interior design! The concept of no show lounge and associated (generally) awful production shows is excellent - the execution is presently lacking but can be fixed. The piano players around the ship are excellent and ... there are players, (including one who sings too) not just one! The house band is excellent but is hampered by the unfortunately not particularly good singers. They just need to hire some more seasoned performers. But - again, the show concepts are good - they just need to be done better. I think that they will need a slightly more "heavy handed" CD than what they have now to introduce evenings and such but I'm not worried. The overall pro's far outweigh the cons. On top of my next one in a few months, I booked three more!

I've only been sailing for 34 years (?)(!) and the only time on any of my cruises that people took it seriously was the old days of HAL. During the drills, they would actually lower a couple of the lifeboats to show you "this is what would happen". While a picture is worth a thousand words, the actual presentation of a situation is even more striking!

We were really not impressed at the over reliance of the less than ideal performers on iPads and iPhones for lyrics. They really should have hired singers who actually had a repertoire or could use their very extensive down time to learn the songs!

It actually appears that they were filming the commercial!!!

It's my understanding that on our shared sailing, the Cruise Director (or whatever they're called) literally packed up and walked off the ship on embarkation day in Barbados! We said hello to her on boarding, chatted about which part of Toronto she was from and never saw her again! That most certainly would have affected the general programming and schedules. The male singer was actually witnessed by our friends having a micro-meltdown on stage at the end of his set ....