Noggins

We are home in warm and sunny Scotland! The Virgin flight was on an A330 with a business class product we were unfamiliar with - it is an old product they must keep on the leisure routes. The thrusting young business types would never accept such a poor product when there as so many better options!. Never have I sat in a business cabin and felt like I was in an old people's home - everyone in a line facing the trolley moving along the line dishing out food! Fortunately when the seats converted into beds and you shut your eyes the experience improved. I actually got a decent rest and (deliberately) dozed through breakfast. We landed a little early and BA kindly swapped us on to an earlier flight giving us just time for breakfast in the BA lounge before the short hop up to Aberdeen. An hour after landing we were home. Adrian

Hello Maggie - this feels like a question where the answer is loaded with responsibility..... We were in 6054. We weren't using the terrace all that much but we certainly witnessed / heard the water coming down on at least 3/4 occasions. The last occasion was the sound of quite a lot of water landing on 6052 terrace and coming through to us under the partition. (the neighbours were out when it happened) The first time we heard it I would say it affected 4/5 rooms in the opposite direction. A lot of water was coming down - it made us wonder what on earth was going on. ('sprinkles' certainly do not describe it) What eventually bothered me most was when moments after my wife had been looking over the rail a considerable amount of water came down. If it had hit her on the back of the neck it could have been a lot worse than just an unexpected dousing in water. It would, at the very least, knock glasses off. As to the cause, it is harder to speculate as we never used the jacuzzis (dreadful, unhygienic things!). But my hunch is that the problem is twofold - movement of the ship (we had very little movement but it was still enough to send water down at seemingly random moments. It happened at night too) but also, probably, by displacement of water from people using the jacuzzis. They hold quite a number of people and, who knows, perhaps just two people could displace quite a bit depending upon ...... 🤭😳😬. To keep this in context the terrace furniture is placed under the covered part of the terrace so only the foot end of the lounger is at risk of getting wet. We never got hit directly and didn't sit there in trepidation of an unwelcome alfresco shower. The room host was well aware of the problem and he warned us early on. Furthermore, one day when we mentioned it had happened he said he would be reporting it again. (we didn't ask him to). I've gone into quite some detail here as I understand why you are a bit worried. If I were you and I was told it wasn't possible to change room I would go ahead and just use the knowledge that you now have to avoid any possibility of a surprise or a disappointment - maybe you'll never experience it. If there is a room available that you'd be equally happy with that is not under the deck 11 jacuzzis then I would move. Does that help at all ....? NB I still intend to go into a bit more detail on the room in general.

I had posted a reply last night but I see it didn't land. In the meantime I see you've started a new thread. It's very difficult for anyone to advise without knowing more about you etc etc (that's more or less how a consultant starts his pitch, isn't it ..?) The few comments I made last night were: - 7 night cruise fine from a repeat menu point of view. - I think EJ may take the service dips that so often happens when an additional ship joins. Quality, experienced crew get spread thinly across 2 ships (in this case) supplemented by a lot of completely inexperienced folk. Takes a few months for everything to level up. In that regard Crystal are much more stable and in the groove. - if room size is of great importance then EJ wins hands down. (but avoid GT's under the deck 11 jacuzzis - the comment about occasional 'sprinkles' in the new thread belies the fact that the occasional torrent of water has the potential to injure someone.) Hope you get the help you want but both options would likely give you a great cruise.

You're right, it's not a visa as such - but visa is a nice short word that folk understand! If you want to know what they call it look at this... https://travelform.gov.bb/

Time to get back on track Last night we had our 3rd visit to Sakura. Two things made it feel less 'samey'. The second visit we ate outside on their terrace beside the aft pool and the the third time (last night) we had taken the precaution of, with advance notice, requesting an off menu main course. I think we were fortunate and the light passenger load must have made a difference. Furthermore, it was not a complex dish! But, as it was so good, it made a difference to the experience. It was a leisurely meal and seemed to make a fitting last evening - even without a show. (Others will need to report on the other two evening scheduled events - farewell from the crew and what we used to call 'a dance'! Perhaps I've described them inadequately) Then to this morning. It's a sure sign your cruise is at an end when the view from your room changes from a beautiful view to a view like this - an ugly warehouse Our disembarkation / breakfast experience may not reflect that of most passengers and that goes back to a chance happening yesterday... . I was aware of the need to organise a visa for entry into Barbados and was all organised to do it on line. But as I was curious to know why the ship had not offered any advice I decided to have a chat at reception. It turned out we should have had a full set of instructions on the special onboard arrangements for immigration to take place this morning prior to leaving the ship. This would commence at 8am. We should also have been issued luggage tags. So, we were not recorded as guests leaving the ship! If only I had known we could have stayed on! Perhaps.... Later, the luggage labels arrived but we never got the instructions on how debarkation was to be organised. Anticipating a zoo of 400 guests at 8am all wanting to get processed by Barbados immigration in the show lounge we decided to go a little early. We were the only ones there and got 'done' almost immediately. Result! Then off to a leisurely breakfast in Fil Rouge. Great, well paced service again. Then back to our room to finally sort bags and chat to our charming host who was also going home today. He has the means now to buy himself a few beers in the many airports he'll visit on his long journey home - darn it, I promised myself I wouldn't use that word again - on his long TRIP home. Meanwhile Michael had been busy making announcements calling guests by group. But as these announcements were not relayed to the rooms we had no idea whether our group had been called. So we walked off the ship. Easy peasy. There was a brief hiatus, as in Miami all that time ago, rendezvousing with our driver but she got us as quickly as she could to our hotel for the day. A pleasant lunch was very nearly in the ocean. Then Tanya collected us again to bring us to the airport. Virgin sorted us out very quickly and deposited us in their lounge. (Which is not quite the Clubhouse in London ...) But more importantly the plane is here and we are hopeful our bed for the night will prove adequate.

After some careful thought I've decided to offer you my very best advice (and, I'll have you know, I used to be able to charge outrageous sums for my advice!) which is not to jump to any early conclusions. Perhaps in a blind tasting you wouldn't even taste the difference...? And if you're looking for a cruise line that never 'cut' anything (I rather think Explora has swapped ' unnecessary ' spend in one area to allow extra investment elsewhere.) then good luck with that. If Explora do embark on cost cutting then they will be awash with opportunity. There are no end of things in the 'money no object' category at the moment. Go ahead and have a wonderful time - I am sure you will (if you let yourself).

I remember that - it seems a long time ago! It was caused by poorly managed seating - sort of inevitable 'first in last out'. Apart from the first lunchtime debacle which was a bit of a different issue there was never any sense of status. In fact we were addressed by name on so many occasions we almost felt we were being mistaken for occupants of the 'owner's suite'. You do need to give your room number at every restaurant so they do know who you are. Whether or not there are comments / warnings on the screen to warn / alert / advise staff I cannot say!

It was open then closed a lot last cruise. I couldn't quite see what the problem was other than that they often failed to put the right amount of water in it. It works like a conventional infinity pool and there is a glass wall in front of the overflow channel. Most of the time the at up worked effectively but when they overfilled the pool the bases of the double loungers were in the water, the overflow channel overflowed and water seeped under the glass wall damaging the timber and allowing some water onto the deck. (A minor issue compared with the floods raining down on GT terraces!)

Hello Maggie My answer was going to be aft pool but given Chris' comment about noisy children (possibly prompting your question) the answer would seem to be one of the following: - I don't know - it's the aft pool but no-one checks - it's not the aft pool but the 'cool crowd' are prone to screeching like kids. Children definitely used the central conservatory pool. Adrian ps I'm very sorry about the book misunderstanding.....🤭

We may be off the ship (and therefore allowed to revert to a normal vocabulary?) but we've still got a bit to finish up: - remainder of last night - disembarkation and probably not today - a closer look at our room. some extra photos of features plus some suggestions - including which rooms not to book! - some sort of summary. Adrian

Some imaginative thinking going on in that CGI image. It maybe not be entirely clear from my photo but no lounger would ever fit on that rear platform. And is that a glass wall showing?!

For the curious...

Well, hand on heart, it was not us making a racket in the pool.....

We went to the aft pool disco event for sunset last night. It was the place that all the cool people go to. So, we kept a low profile and found a perfect hidden away spot with an uninterrupted view of the ocean. Fortunately we were not so hidden away that champagne failed to find us. A state of serenity most definitely emerged - putting out of sync all other plans for the evening. Being on the aft deck - a deck so many ships don't have - it did give an opportunity to review the aft facing accommodation. If you look closely one room must have such a small bathroom the tub has been put on the terrace. I hope no-one was trying to catch up on sleep following a brutal early awakening - those disco beats might have been a bit intrusive? (if, reading between the lines, you're spotting a trace of envy you might not be entirely wrong...)

Given you're the moderator on the Crystal board I would jolly well hope so too, HJ!! I am always surprised how many people have never even heard of Crystal.

Sorry there's been some confusion over this lazily short sentence. The Serenity I was referring to is a ship - Crystal Serenity. I wasn't referring to a possible mental nirvana that might come about with another champagne / sunset experience later. (You can see why I don't do Instagram too - instantly correct grammar is a tough ask. As you will have witnessed throughout.)

Becquai today. Firstly I have to eat my words on tender helmsmen. I don't think he got swapped in when I was seen approaching deck 3 but our man was supreme in confidence and competence. I had to check that he wasn't the Captain out for some 'small boat' fun. Secondly, I owe our daughter an apology. How easy it is to be a failed parent.... I was convinced I had never been here before. She tells me she bought me a very luxurious birthday lunch here when she and I had a dad / daughter cruise several years ago.... Most stops we have been the only vessel in town but today Ponant (French cruise line if you weren't aware) had their little Le Ponant here. Looks like a fun sailing ship experience. (oo la la) There is a lot more money here but not nearly so much that it has lost the local colour and character. (but fewer signs of homelessness and unsupported mental health issues) Online research rather than destination luminary provided the information we needed for a very pleasant morning. Pictures speak louder than words... and finally, what a civilised Sunday morning venue... VID_20240317_111828741.mp4

Yes, indeed, Ivi. Symphony last Fall. It was the Crystal we had grown to know pretty well. And the groundswell of opinion that it is back as it was but better still is what we felt. We had a sapphire veranda suite. That's why I feel confident to recommend. Serenity to come.

I realise I have fallen behind a bit. There is a reason but I'll leave that for now. Last night. I don't need to go into detail on last night's third visit to the Yacht Club but suffice to say 3 visits is fine but I don't need to see that menu a fourth time. What I haven't mentioned is the excellent bread basket - best of all the restaurants, especially the focaccia. But before dinner there was a surprise. Maybe there was some Explora speak for confusing us into thinking the 'behind the curtains' event was a talk rather than a backstage tour. There were just 10 or so of us and it was interesting to see behind the scenes. It underlined the 'show lounge ' nature of the space - it is not a theatre. But, we were told, there are early plans for significant additional investment in resident entertainers. The electronic support to staging, lighting and sound appears state of the art. Well done Explora (Michael) for taking the time to do this. The show was focused on theatre show music, following the format of previous evenings but with the addition of countless (electric) candles. We continue to enjoy the voices of Lydia and Nick.

That's a shame, Chris & Heather. It must have been annoying to form that conclusion. If Explora does not fit then you should try Crystal. No problem finding good midship accommodation there. And IMHO the product is a good step up on Silversea and Regent. I'll summarise some comparison thoughts between Crystal and Explora in due course on the Crystal board.

No worries - but I figured that if I told you to 'clear orf' it would have revved you up into a constant stream of your 'quality' jokes 😎 It would have been fun to meet!

Yes, odd that we the proletariat are so well looked after in some of the most stable and comfortable parts of the ship .. (apart from the ruling classes depositing their bath water - ok jacuzzi water - on our terrace from time to time)

All dead quiet this morning in 'social housing ' class on 6... 😎🤪

Just one on this cruise - Grand Tourismo.