kool kruiser

Couldn't help but notice that a duo are playing in the Saloon. How odd ? No piano bar artiste ?

They are both different and terrific !

Thanks, appreciated.

Somewhat late I know but thanks to everyone for their warm, kind comments and for not ''flaming'' me if my personal views did not reflect yours. I have received so much kindness and help on cc boards and this was my chance to repay.

Just to add, generally endorsing uktog's views, Explora is, in our view, a class above AZ.Everything is more upscale, food sensational, service tip top and ship beautiful. To be honest, overall we were not wowed by entertainment on either line but enough to keep us happy.. AZ really beats Explora hands down on itineraries. We would be happy to be on either line..

I know this is a real ''oddball'' question but are the Waterside menus still available to look at on the Cove bar ? Thanks Colin

Explora is definitely not pretentious, which is why Exploraspeak is both tedious and unnecessary.. Did it affect our enjoyment, of course not...see my lengthy review. Just don't give in to this rubbish.

Host Jazzbeau...having sailed on Explora, it IS pretentious, in the extreme. My rebellious teenage streak seems to have re-emerged (I am in my sixties !!) and my posts here will not succumb to using such drivel. If only all posters did the same....

Wow Rob, you clearly can't stay away ! I understand that Mark is one of the best in the Saloon. If so, could you please arrange for either him or Joel to be there in july and November when we are onboard😀 Have a great cruise Colin

We can but pray for the total demise of Exploraspeak😀

Thanks Keith. As ever, really helpful. Colin

Hi Keith Happy to confirm that your current method of downloading Reflections is terrific and they are very clear and readable. Would be great if the dinner menus could be downloaded in a similar way (cheeky I know😀). Hope you don't mind me asking but has the increased passenger loading, when compared to your earlier sailings, resulted in any noticeable differences ? Keep enjoying Colin

Embarkation Day !! Have a wonderful time, Season's Greetings and smooth sailings Colin

We had a guest speaker on each of our 7 day b2b legs. Notable that attendance was really tiny, even on sea days, which we found very surprising. No destination lecturers on our cruise.

FYI, General Manager is Explora speak for Hotel Director, the same role !

Thanks Adrian, as ever, for your really kind words. Steph is far too busy being a domestic goddess to get involved in cc matters !! I know that Elaine and you will have a lovely time. We were lucky, our cruise didn't change at all. Seasonal; greetings to you both Colin

Does this mean that there is no Crystal Society discount with this promotion, as I cannot find reference to this in the terms and conditions ?

In turn, your posts were really helpful before our first AZ cruise. Thanks for those !

Final thoughts today... Smokers I agree with others who have observed regarding the smoking areas. Our cabin was above the smokers area outside Crema but fortunately we did not smell anything. However, we were unable to enjoy a coffee outside as we did not want to be joined by smokers. We are regular walkers on the jogging track and were surprised to see another smoking area en route. Fortunately very few smokers on our trip. Finally, there is very strong cigar smell leaking from the cigar lounge which could be sorted. Conclusion As I mentioned in my spoiler alert on my initial post, we had a great time. We try to balance the pluses and the minuses (for us) and we felt the former far outweighed the latter. Bearing in mind the newness of the line, ship and crew, we expected glitches and they were far fewer than we envisaged. Having followed these boards and other social media regularly before our cruise, it is clear that Explora are carefully reviewing critiques and amending/improving constantly. Our principal concern is how the ship will cope in various areas with a near capacity loading and we look forward to hearing from passengers on such cruises. Our plans for 2024 and 2025 are largely likely to be destination driven and Explora will almost certainly not offer what we need. However, we will eagerly follow the evolution of the offering, including the further ship roll-outs and would certainly consider travelling with Explora again. Thanks to all those who have been kind enough to post some positive words on my ramblings and also to those who may have differing perspectives for not flaming me. Hope this may have been of help to fellow ccers. Colin

So, today I reflect on... The crew...I can only concur with everyone else and simply say...wonderful ! Explora's recruitment policy has clearly paid off. We spoke to some lovely people really enjoying their first cruise contract, having previously worked in top end hotels. On the other hand, all of the senior crew members who we engaged with had come across from other luxury cruise brands and were highly experienced. The overall standard reached was so high, bearing in mind that passenger operations had only started some three months earlier. Remarkable. Contrary to some early reports, the word 'no' did not seem in their vocabulary and everyone was so eager to please. It was also noticeable how senior crew members 'rolled their sleeves up' when necessary and did not simply stand and direct junior staff, as we have experienced on other cruises. A word here about Captain Diego, who was accompanied on our trip by his charming wife and cute son. An extremely gracious, personable and classy act, a great asset for Explora. Finally, it was great to share some thoughts with Heike, a terrific Hotel Director who never goes into automatic defensive mode and who really has drive to iron out the glitches and build on such a great start for a new brand and ship. Thanks Heike for allowing me (Colin) to make some constructive comments and suggestions. Thanks also for finding my contact lens when it popped out, you're a star ! We loved...the warmth, friendliness, professionalism, kindness, help...in other words...everything ! Room for improvement...onwards and upwards ! Home stretch coming...

No problem. On alighting the tender there was a desk manned by local tourist board representatives, who will be pleased to assist in any way they can. We took a shared transfer to the top of the baths, cost $5 each. When there, we bought tickets from the booth, cost $3 each. We then walked down a path, past a shop/bar to the beach, where the baths walk ends. We rented some lockers for our clothes, not sure but I think they cost about $5 each. Took off our summer clothing etc and walked back up the same path in our swimwear to the ticket booth, where we started our Baths experience. There is a beach bar at the beach where the walk ends but we decided to change, walk back up again to the start and have a drink at the bar there. We then found a bus to transfer us back. Make sure the bus is going to our jetty at Spanish Town and not to the ferry across to Tortola.Cost $5 each again. Total cost, excluding drinks less than $20 each, a snip !! We paid for everything in cash. Hope this helps.

Back in harness, so... Itinerary, Excursions etc As we were in the Caribbean, we would only have been tempted by the more adventurous ship tours. We are not beach people so did not research these options, although I would imagine that they could be reached from all ports. When it comes to this aspect of our cruise holiday, we are, quite frankly, value driven. The options that appealed were, in our view, too pricey and we thus did everything independently, based on my pre-cruise research. Others have commented that their booked tours were cancelled by Explora so maybe take up is not great at current price points. Our back to backs had a mix of regular stops such as Antigua and St Kitts, together with smaller ports on other islands, such as Spanish Town in BVI, rather than the usual Tortola. This proved to be a mixed blessing. Although the ports were very quiet and relaxed, there were limited excursion options available. Spanish Town was great for the Baths or a beach visit, but not much else. Deshaies in Guadeloupe was similarly great for the beautiful Botanical Gardens or a Death in Paradise tour but that was about it. We went to the Baths independently and ditto the Botanical Gardens. We are quite confident ashore on our own and managed everything pretty easily, due to our research, etc. Of course, we saved lots of dosh by avoiding the ship offerings. In St Kitts we organised the Scenic Railway trip easily as independents and saved again. With another lovely couple, we organised a trip around Antigua with a charming local at the quayside, at $30 each plus admission fees to Nelson's Dockyard etc. A steal ! We heard that the ship organised trip to the Baths was a disaster and we know a couple who received a full refund. However, they definitely did not enjoy the same terrific experience as us ! The biggest itinerary negative was definitely Samana in the Dominican Republic. On the basis of our research we decided to make this an additional day on board. This was extremely wise as we constantly heard of our fellow passengers alighting from the tender, seeing what a dump this place was and immediately returning to the ship. Others chanced it with local operators but did not seem to enjoy their experience. Not sure why Explora went there... We loved...the ease of disembarkation and re-embarkation at every port of call, together with the exemplary tender operation customer care. The great tour descriptions in the app. The abundance of cool flannels, drinks etc shoreside at all ports. The excellent berths. Room for Improvement... we really missed the usual printed port guides delivered to our cabin. The dearth of port information in the daily printed programme. The absence of a destination guest speaker onboard. Hopefully these issues will be addressed. More soon...

It will not surprise you that today I follow drink with...you guessed it... Food Sorry to merely repeat what others have said but this was simply, overall, by far the best food we have ever enjoyed on a cruise. In our entire 14 nights, although, of course a small number of dishes were not to our particular liking not once did we need to return/reject a single dish. The consistency of delivery was unbelievable and the quality outstanding.When I come to my improvement suggestions a bit later please do bear in mind that they are made within this context. I would mention that we always took breakfast and lunch in the buffet, utilising the outside terrace when weather permitted (it was sometimes TOO hot, believe it or not !). Dinner was always in one of the four no-upcharge restaurants, save for our final night when we sampled the buffet. No anthology for us, as felt no need to spend so much extra when so much great food was available anyway. We loved...the buffet, as is now well known is all served by the warmest most friendly serving staff. Yet again, passenger feedback has been listened to and we found great flexibility shown when requesting offerings. The food was wonderfully fresh and the layout a brilliant concept, with numerous stations. So so many memorable items but I simply have to mention the baguettes, together with the breakfast pains aux raisins and brioche, the best we have ever had, even on land ! The offerings in all four eateries were great and, once again, so many standouts. amazing to be able to order dover sole every night in two separate locations and also to get lobster, a real luxury for us Brits, any night. I know that a current cruiser, who I absolutely respect, may not agree but we really loved the afternoon tea experience, including clotted ( not just whipped ) cream. The trolley method allowed us not be given so many items that we really didn't want, with a sumptuous dinner on the horizon and would be wasted if the tiered cake stand method was utilised. We soon discovered that the best way for us would be to order our rolls/sandwiches alone after the offerings had been described. Once finished, the very attentive waitstaff would promptly clear our plates and ask whether we would like a further selection from the trolley. More often than not, we were simply not tough enough to resist ! Our best dish ever (amongst so many great ones !)...the duck starter in Sakura, sensational ! Room for improvement As is well documented, we could only make a single reservation before boarding for Marble and Sakura, although we were on a back to back. The reservations desk lady advised that we could make additional reservations two days before the second leg started. A system that, like exploraspeak, is too silly for words ! Too frequently there were language comprehension issues with the buffet serving staff and finger-pointing was often needed. These positions need to be filled by only those who can communicate effectively. We arrived at Fil Rouge and also Med Yacht Club on one occasion each, when a number of others arrived with us at the same time. It was abundantly clear that the galley could simply not cope with such a significant number of simultaneous orders. It was politely explained to us that orders were prepared ''a la minute'' but the delays were awful and led to a slippage in service standards from the front of house team, who became frazzled by the disgruntled passengers. Remember that we were only half full so I dread to think what might happen on a near full capacity sailing. This experience was in such stark contrast to all of our other visits. I know this may surprise but we had ''outgrown'' and, frankly, ended up a tad bored with the non-changing menus, particularly in the two walk-ins, by the end of our time onboard. My personal view would be to introduce a menu comprising a selection of each restaurant's ''classic'' dishes , coupled with daily specials. The current policy would also deter people booking long trips or making frequent return visits to the line. JMO ! As is so often the case with a ship's coffee shop, Crema's food offerings, whilst perfectly acceptable, we found to be bland and seemingly never changing. A missed opportunity to differentiate from the competition, which seems to be the Explora mantra elsewhere. we are away for the weekend but more to come soon....

Thanks Tracey. Glad to see the naff costumes have finally gone. How did the churrascaria buffet work, bearing in mind the usual red/green disk concept ? Great to have such an increased variety of offerings.

On to today's offering ... Drinks We are not particularly knowledgeable or expert in this area. We tend to only drink alcohol in the evenings, a cocktail before dinner, wine with and a martini or similar afterwards.. Coffee, tea and soft drinks, including water, during the day. We see no need to pay upcharges and were more than happy with the wine and other included beverages. Like others, we thought the lobby bar looked great but was impractical, with a lack of seating. The piano was sited so that it looked impressive but could hardly be heard when a modicum of passengers were present. Bar staff were ...interesting. From our crew chats we discovered that some had been recruited as specialist bartenders and were terrific in all respects. However, some others clearly had little experience, as evidenced by their lack of knowledge and constant reference to their hand held devices. A tad disappointing. Drinks were generally well made, although we had a couple of misses regarding composition...no real issue. We loved... pink as well as standard champers being available. The excellent staffing levels, resulting in prompt service. The crew's warmth and friendliness, coupled, in the main, with very high standards. The excellent coffee and the terrific crema coffee lounge, the best spot to passenger watch !! The provision of sommeliers in every restaurant, who were all very knowledgeable and helpful, not attempting to upsell and explaining unfamiliar offerings etc. The wide range of sakes provided with no upcharge in Sakura. Room for improvement... include wine listings in every restaurant menu.Replace the dull nuts and crisps offered with pre-dinner drinks with pukka canapes, as other luxury lines do. Expand the drinks menus with regard to cocktail and martini suggestions. That's all for now. Sorry, there may be a delay before my next instalment.