santos949

I quoted you because your comments were so positive and your views seem to align with mine. No offense intended...

We disembarked in Vancouver (from Los Angeles to Vancouver). We are seasoned cruisers--having cruised 85 times, ranging from Carnival in our younger days to Silversea, Seabourne, Crystal and Regent in our retired years. Without a doubt, Explora is now our favorite. We booked another cruise while on board and I check daily for their new releases. We intend to take all of the cruises we currently have booked on Silversea and Celebrity, and then concentrate solely on Explora. That is how impressed we were. I am amazed at the negative comments about this cruise line. I cannot imagine how it could get any better.

Thank you for the correction. Both Regent and Oceania are "one and done" for us. There are just so many great cruise lines to choose from. Like I said....a personal preference.

This was a great review! You have a precious family and obviously have a lot of fun together. We just got off of the Breakaway today and, while the crew was amazing and the ship spotless, we will probably not be booking NCL again. It was not our first cruise. It was our 83rd cruise. We have cruised every line except Viking and Virgin. I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke and just could not seem to get away from it on the Breakaway. The casino is open to decks 6, 7 and 8 and the smoke lingers unless you are at the extreme front and back of decks 6,7 and 8. We had booked the specialty restaurants and had to request seating as far from the atrium area as possible in order to avoid the smell of cigarettes. Our room was on deck 9 (cabin 9798) and it literally shook every night with the booming music from the deck below us. I never found out what was below us that could produce such vibrations... so much so that our bed shook and the glasses in the bathroom rattled. Thank goodness it stopped very night by 10:30. Be careful when you book your cabin on this ship. Check what is above you and what is below you. Disembarkation was a zoo. We live in New Orleans so we chose self-assist. The elevators (only forward bank of elevators were being used). It was a log jam of unbelievable magnitude. We all finally got smart and got on the "up" elevators, and went to the 15th floor so we could travel back to the 7th floor where we were disembarking. I do not want to sound like I am all negative. The two fitness instructors (Daniel and Jean) were some of the best I have ever had on a cruise ship. The gym is well equipped and very large. The bartenders outside of Cagney's were friendly and knew our names after 2 nights. Our food in Moderno's, Cagney's and Le Bistro was second to none. We also discovered the banana split in O'Sheehan's. Yummy! I think NCL could easily improve in some areas. We have cruised Seabourn (owned by NCL and considered 6 star), so they know how to provide a good product. Seabourn is one of my favorites! I know cruising (just like food choice) is a personal thing, so many people will cruise NCL Breakaway again and again. This is just my observations....

This is my third Windstar cruise that has been canceled. Never again! Fool me once,...

We just returned from this cruise on the Oceania Riviera. A little background may be necessary here in order to understand my comments. This was our 79th cruise. We have sailed every cruise line except Viking Ocean, Windstar, MSC and a few of the lesser known brands. This was our first Oceania cruise. I organized this cruise for 12 individuals (good friends). The POSITIVES: (1). The crew was amazing. They could not have been nicer, more helpful, more respectful. They were a pleasure to be around. (2). The food in Red Ginger was some of the best Asian food I have ever eaten. I can still taste the crispy duck/watermelon salad. WOW! (3). The guests on the cruise were really friendly and genuinely nice to be around. (4). The ship was absolutely beautiful and spotlessly clean. I could eat off of the floor...even in the workout center. Our cabin (concierge level) was well appointed and simply gorgeous. The NEGATIVES: (1). The cruise was exceptionally boring until we arrived in Charleston. There were 12 of us traveling together and we played cards and played cards and played cards... I am not someone who has to be entertained, but this cruise just seemed long. Usually I hate to see a cruise end, but I could not wait to get home. (2). The food was adequate, but not anything special. I know food is subjective, so I will not elaborate. (3). One of our group of 12 got covid and was isolated, as she should have been. She said the medical staff was amazing, but communication from the upper level staff was seriously lacking. The couple (wife had covid/husband tested negative) did not know what was going on, once they were confined to their cabin. I do not judge a cruise line after one sailing. Had I done that, I would never have tried Seabourn a second time (my husband got covid and we disembarked on our first sailing). I adore Seabourn after our second sailing. I will probably try O again in the future.

Wow! I must say that had I never sailed with Silversea, I would be hesitant to do so after reading some of these posts about Crystal. These comments are a little surprising to me since the folks that I have met on Silversea cruises are great, not petty! Again I say, Wow! I love Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal. They are my favorites.

A little history here--My husband and I have taken 79 cruises, from the Carnival Cruise experience to the Seabourn experience. We have cruised them all except for Viking Ocean, Windstar and Oceania. We have cruises booked on Windstar and Oceania for 2023. We were on the Seabourn Odyssey in May 2022 (Los Angeles to Vancouver) when my husband was diagnosed with Covid. We disembarked in San Francisco and managed to get home. Seabourn was very generous and credited us with the days we missed as a future cruise credit. They also reimbursed the taxes, port fees and excursion costs. As our substitute cruise, we booked the Miami to Miami cruise (December 10 - 21, 2022) on the Seabourn Sojourn. I was not excited about the cruise, nor thrilled about the time of the year we would be away from home. But I am not one to allow any kind of credit expire. We boarded the Sojourn and after a day or two I was seriously "hooked" on the cruise line. So much had improved since May 2022. During our very brief two days on board in May, I had NOT been impressed. At that time the crew seemed stressed and our meals took at least 2 hours. There were very few smiles on any faces at that time. "Good" I thought...I can cross Seabourn off my list! When I say I fell in love with Seabourn, it is truly an understatement. My two favorite lines were Silversea and Crystal. And here comes Seabourn! There is something special about the crew and staff on Seabourn. Their friendliness is warm and genuine, yet remains perfectly professional. I never thought I would find another cruise line staff that would call us by name on the second morning we were on board. Everyone on board could not do enough to make our cruise the very best. At one meal I was struggling, trying to get the huge pawn out of its attached shell. One of the ship's officers sitting at the table next to us came over and insisted on removing the obstinate critter for me. How would we adapt to eating at 7:00 pm when were were used to eating at 5:30 at home? We found a wonderful table (Table 93) with a fabulous server (Alex from Honduras) who made sure we had eaten and were out after 1 hour. He got to know our preferences and they were waiting for us when we arrived each evening. Our meal in The Grill (Thomas Keller) was one of the best onboard any ship. How can food taste that good? How can so many servers anticipate what you want? My favorite area was the Seabourn Square. That is a unique concept for a cruise line to adopt. It proved to be a great gathering place with the best coffee, tasty snacks and all the library books you could possibly want. And Victoria (from Hungary) is the star of that show!! My husband and I loved to go to Deck 5 for pre-dinner drinks. The musical trio was exceptional. Deck 10 was always crowded before dinner and there were very few places to sit. Deck 10 was also noisy compared to Deck 5. Probably the high light of the entire cruise for me was the BBQ on Carambola Beach. It was magical. We had been to all of the islands on the itinerary, so we would get off the ship at each port and just walk around. But the BBQ on Carambola Beach was comparable to White Night on Azamara, the huge feast in the main atrium on Crystal and the various specialty events on Silversea. I could go on and on. Needless to say, I put a future cruise deposit down that can be used in the next 4 years. But I will be on Seabourn long before that 4 years has passed. Like I told all the crew and staff..."Darn you! I really did not want to fall in love with Seabourn!" But I did.