PaulMCO

We are enjoying the cruise. Some misses but the good outweighs the bad. Not going to do a review yet. Still another 8 days. You can see the fitness classes on tomorrow’s program.

Yes. I will check. But I did hear 300 off and 200 on in Cartagena. So that would mean around 550.

Yes but it does have a USB-A and C connections - next to the toilet. I guess it is for extended toilet breaks... Did not realize the door issue until I tried it. Yep.. and the fogging.

Guess what showed up today. Cheers... 🙂

Since I promised to post photos of the Cove Residence in #22, I will post them now. Overall size is 600 sq ft. We are enjoying the suite. What I like about the suite. Great layout of the living space given the size constraints. Big 65 inch TV in living space, 55 inch in the bedroom USB - connections on every outlet (both A and C) Lucent Phone with directory Large Sofa/daybed - great for naps. Well done fit and finish -- we will see how it holds up after 5 years. Walk-in Closet has plenty of space, lots of drawers. Daybed on the terrace (all suites have these) Full size safe - able to hold a laptop Do not likes Biggest dislike is the midget size bathroom - one sink, zero storage space Bedroom is really too small -- easy to bang toes Location of the makeup desk, blocks entering the closet and toilet if being used Jetted tub on deck -- does anyone use these. A second daybed would have been preferred. TV does not allow connection of external devices. Electronic light system. Never a fan of these on a ship, takes awhile to get used to them and know how to operate them (I am an Engineer and very technically proficient) - by the time you fully understand them -- time to disembark.

We are letting our butler try to resolve the issue first. He understands the issue and will address it with Housekeeping and the Stores. Then if no resolution will escalate to the GM. @Host Jazzbeau pillows are firm, down, and memory foam. They only could find one down. Both the pillow incident and the champagne has my DW in anger mode. Her disappointing meal in Fil Rouge did not help. I am a fatalistic person having travelled in some of the worse hell holes in the world. It takes a lot to get me riled.

We are currently on Explora I and this cruise has not gotten off to a good start. Since this topic is wines etc.. I will discuss the Champagne. We are in a Residence and the so called perk is Dom 2013. Needless to say we were disappointed to see yellow label Veuve Brut ($65 retail) as a substitute. Our butler hinted that other guests have complained. The ship is near full and there are issues with lack of supply -- like pillow choices (none).

Our TA had to step in again for more Explora BS.. Received this two days before boarding. Needless to say we were fully paid and just another back office screw up. Dear Guest,

Yes but the two Category upgrades also include an upgrade to a PH, which in our case was a 3K savings. Reduced deposits was at less than 10%. You just have to factor the "free" pre cruise night (we all know it is not free) into the mix. You do get the extra amenities of wifi logins and early bookings of excursions.

Always good to check.... and they did raise the price for one we were looking at... Seabourn has their Sail Away promotion - we saved 4K and 5K on two bookings Silverseas had a Christmas sale -- only saved 1K Explora had a 50% off Black Friday sale... (they did raise prices prior)

Probably not a "story" In our case my TA call the head of USA sales who then call Geneva, to get some action. My issues were resolved in a day. I received an immediate apology with a some additional OBC for the inconvenience

As a lover of both lines -- would be interested in a review. We get to see for ourselves the same -- as we board on 5 Jan... @parallax many thanks for your review.

Newark (EWR) is by far the easiest to get from any of the three - considering traffic. There are only you and Carnival at the Port of New York with no overnights (so that is the most likely choice).

@BWIVince a large amount of money was spent on the Genting new build class for Crystal. Obviously paid for by Genting but I wonder who own the IP rights.at least for the design. But even that design probably is too old with the latest buzz being LNG and Hydrogen power. You are correct - new expedition ships are definitely needed for Crystal to compete and possibly would fit in the A&K model and get away from the Ponant leases. In order to see many places in this world an expedition is clearly the way to go. Seabourn is really pushing the envelope here. Other than Endeavor, Silversea's expedition fleet is old and tired.

Departing port at 1830h

She is Sitting pretty in Miami Terminal G. Web cam view.

Actually the residences can order from any menu via their butler (during dinner hours). Will test the perk in 14 days.

Friday is a busy day -- there is another MSC ship in port that same day so instead of Terminal D - the port schedule shows it docking a Terminal G (adjacent to the Virgin terminal)

Understand the frustration. Have you call called their support number, they can do the documents manually. After all the garbage, I still had to use the iphone/android App to do the checkin. Since you did say 2 weeks -- hope to see you on board on 5 January.

Also -- "Only eligible for new reservations made after December 14, 2023" So no refares (which differ from a cancel/rebook) They are obviously trying to compete with Regents Extended Black Friday and Seabourn's Sail Away promotions. Seabourn covers 2025 too and Regent's is voyage selective (the percents are 20 to 25%) - but both of these lines are allowing refares as we did one.

Promenades are dead. They are dead for the simple reason that they take much needed space. How many People on a ship use a promenade ??? Less than 10 percent. Do the Math.

The OT are pretty much sold out because of the Black Friday sales. Still PH and Residences available so 700 to 750 is about right.

That is the risk -- they have been cancelled because of not enough passengers. We have close to 2K OBC much of it promotional that we have to use. Excursions are $$ on Explora so should not be an issue (but we accept the risk),

The change of piers is always an issue on returning unless you are Regent/Oceania (Term J), NCL and RCL who have dedicated terminals. How did you drive in -- thru the tunnel is the easiest. What we do is use the port WEBCAM at 8am to where the ship is located. Todays Webcam shows Regent in Terminal J and only 1 ship in cruise line row. Seabourn has a unique shape so it should be easy to pick out... https://www.portmiamiwebcam.com/

Do people not read #27. You can mark through the account number.... "I have never had to provide statements ...." Well Brazil has always required bank statements and your first born to get a Visa. Don't want to go through the exercise -- don't travel to Brazil. As I said earlier use a visa service like CIBT -- call them for info and pricing since this is all new. They will walk you through the documents needed and do all of the frustrating work. Another visa service passportvisaexpress.com is also good. I have used them over 20 times for Visa and quick passport renewals.