Nashna

We will be sailing on EJ2 in January.  Can we make dining reservations in advance?

No, there isn't. We would have been fine in one on our recent Intensive Ireland cruise, as the temperature never went over 68, and the weather was rainy. However, I would not cruise in one in the Caribbean, as we cherish our time on the balcony.  

You will love the Yacht Club.  

In January 2023, we were on back-to-back X Edge and Apex cruises and were subjected to their "new" menus.  No prime rib, tough beef dishes, and casseroles that offered very little meat.  We switched to Viking, Oceania, and Azamara.  All of those lines have excellent food quality and selections.  While we enjoyed our other sailings, we miss the varied entertainment we found on Celebrity. Over time, I've noticed an improvement in the Celebrity food posts since January 2023. We are returning to X this January.  We don't like sailing in the Infinity staterooms, so we chose the sunset verandas on Edge and Apex.  The problem is, we missed Aqua class.  We are trying the Eclipse in Aqua class and hoping the recent food reviews have been accurate.   

Update.  I went back to my account and pulled up the sailing trip that I was originally unable to reserve as it was "restricted".  Today, the site allowed me to reserve the trip.  Not sure what happened, but I now have it booked.  We shall see.  In January, Oceania allowed me to book and pay for a snorkeling trip.  Three weeks prior to sailing, they cancelled that reservation due to age restrictions.  

On 8/4/2024 at 9:41 PM, pavementends said:

Glad I checked in here as I had been idly considering Azamara and Explora. Crossing them off now.

 

I greatly enjoyed some hiking excursions on Silversea without any questions asked.

Sadly, I believe they all have similar restrictions.  

Yup.  I'm just happy that we both can still be active.  

That is a shame.  I will find a way to spend that money. 

Are you able to use OBC for extra tips?

I sailed on Oceania Vista in January.  I was unable to book a snorkeling tour in St. Bart's in advance because I was over 70. They also claimed that it was the vendors insurance company that had this restriction.   While onboard, I checked with the excursion desk, and they said they could get me on the tour.  Unfortunately, weather conditions wouldn't allow us to tender in St. Bart's so no one got to go.  I wondered if perhaps the fact that I appear younger than 70 might have caused me to clear the age restriction or that might be wishful thinking on my part.  Today, I attempted to book a similar tour for a St. Bart's swim sail and the response was that the tour was restricted.  Explora did not mention any upper age restrictions in the details.  Getting old rots...

Our port stop in Virgin Gorda is Spanishtown.  We are arriving on February 1st on the Explora II.  Have spent a lot of time sailing around the BVI's years ago.  Our last two cruises we took a day sail with Aristacats and they were wonderful.  Unfortunately, they don't sail from Spanishtown.  We are looking to do some sort of a day sail or spend the day on a nice beach with facilities.  Suggestions are greatly appreciated.  
 

That's too bad.  We really enjoyed their sail.  I am just starting to look at options for our January 28th Explora 2 cruise.  When are you sailing?

4 minutes ago, Waltershipman said:

Hi Nancy 

 

My cruise is end of January and am wondering if you have any info on when excursions will post and be book able

 

Many thanks 

No idea.  This is just what they are now posting under their excursions.  I haven't seen anything for our January 24th cruise.

On 8/4/2024 at 3:44 PM, Arizona Travelers said:

May I ask what resort you will visit in Antigua?  We have done this the past two times we've visited (Blue Water and Hawksbill) but are not able to find any willing to book ahead of time for our cruise in November.  Do you just wait and call the day you arrive to see if they have availability?  

Looks like Explora Journeys is offering Blue Waters in Antigua.  

Activity Level: Moderate

Features: Beachside Experience, Meal Included

6 Hrs

Meal Included

English

We will be visiting Bequia in January on Explora Journey II.  Has anyone visited for just one day while on a cruise?  If so, what did you do?  This is a new port for us and we would like to see as much as possible.

18 hours ago, Arizona Travelers said:

May I ask what resort you will visit in Antigua?  We have done this the past two times we've visited (Blue Water and Hawksbill) but are not able to find any willing to book ahead of time for our cruise in November.  Do you just wait and call the day you arrive to see if they have availability?  

Blue Water.  We also did a Resort for the Day at a great resort that has gone out of business.  I do know that Blue Water is very particular about the number of day guests they serve.  We had stayed there many years ago, and I had mentioned that in my request.   

19 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

Would you mind sharing what tour company you are using in Virgin Gorda?  I have been hoping to see what excursions Explora are offering before booking privately but it seems we won't have any info on excursions earlier than 90 days out and maybe not then.  I have been looking at the Oct 25 cruise that does a crossing and no excursions have been posted for their Caribbean stops. I am on the 14 day Dec 6 cruise.

It was Aristocats.  Home - Aristocat Day Sails in the BVI

They were excellent.  They provided an excellent lunch.  The cat was in great condition and the crew were very pleasant.  

You might be very surprised at how enjoyable Caribbean Islands can be.  We are on Explora II in January and have already planned our days in port.  For example, Virgin Gorda is a wonderful, quiet, beautiful island.  We will spend the day on a sail around the islands with a stop for swimming and walking on amazingly beautiful beaches.  Our sailing also takes us to Antiqua.  We have been to this island many times, so we won't be taking an island tour.  However, there are some fantastic resort hotels on the island that do allow guests to visit for the day.  While there are many Caribbean Islands where we don't get off the ship, many others offer excellent opportunities to experience island life.  What islands will you visit on your cruise?

This is an older post.  We actually sailed last January on the Vista and did not bring any floats.  The pool was fine for me as I am a swimmer.  However, anyone under 6 feet could not stand in the pool.  This left non swimmers who wanted to get in the water holding onto the pool sides or the stair railings.  It appears that this pool was designed to discourage folks from hanging out in the pool.  This makes since as the pool is very small.  We decided we would not sail Vista in warm climates as the pool was small and the chair hogs had taken all the shady deck areas by 7:30 am.  We have booked the Explora Journey for our annual January 2025 Caribbean cruise.  

My husband has sampled all of the above.  He has enjoyed…NA Gin and tonics as well!  No charge and always accommodated without an issue on the Onward.  Currently onboard and loving Azamara!

If you look at the available staterooms, there is very little inventory. All cruise lines offer last-minute deals when they have any availability—even limited. I just got some fantastic offers for June from Silversea. These offers came from my TA. The cruise line often offers these deals to select agencies, so the public never sees them.

I am so sorry for your loss. If you plan to file for insurance reimbursement, you need to notify Celebrity prior to the cruise. Some policies require notification a given number of days after the death or injury.  My advice is to contact Celebrity immediately to advise them of your situation.  Your travel insurance should reimburse you for your spouse's cost and, depending on your policy might pick up any additional charges.  This way, you needn't worry about showing up at the pier with explanations; your reservation will be in your name only, and you will avoid any awkward conversations.  If you don't cancel your spouse's reservation, insurance will not reimburse you.  If you do not have insurance, I would show up to avoid the extra charges.  FYI...I am a retired travel consultant and agency manager.  I hope the cruise helps you heal.  Take care.

We are active 76 and 78-year-olds.  If we are lucky, we have another five years of cruising.  We are a short-term target for the cruise lines. Explora is wise to anticipate the next generation of luxury cruisers.  The cruisers who want the 7–10-night cruise today will be sailing on the 14-day plus cruises in ten years.  It will be interesting to see if all the new luxury cruise lines will have enough clientele to be successful. 

It appears that Explora Journeys is targeting the upscale working luxury market. This market is not likely to take 14- to 21-day sailings. I've had difficulty finding MSC YC and Explora itineraries that fit my needs. Perhaps they will have one ship dedicated to longer itineraries when they get more than three ships.

I was surprised that my one Azamara cruise automatically transferred over with my Celebrity/RCCl points to my new AZ booking.  I didn't need to do anything; they suddenly appeared a few weeks after my initial AZ booking.