boooomer

The deck plans show a “T” next to the cabins with twin beds. And on My Cruise Preferences it does not offer a choice of twin or king. So i don’t think the beds are convertible.

The videos for the penthouse and residence suites on the Explora shows what looks to be an Illy espresso maker. An unusual feature for a stateroom. For those that have had suites - how did you find using them? Did it use pods or loose coffee? Did it have a steamer to steam milk?

That is with the one category upgrade. All the prices shown on their website reflects the upgrade…I think…. at least for the penthouse. But so are the other cruises that I looked at. The pleasant surprise was the 600 OBC which wasn’t shown on their website. And the website required a non refundable payment in full. But the TA said EJ only required a 10% refundable deposit - which on the website was a higher fare. Their pricing and their website is wonky. You would think that their website would have the best terms available encouraging folks to book directly. That would save them the commission. Free cabin upgrades and overlapping special offers are confusing at best. I’m always wary of the word “free”. It usually means something else. Bernie

Thank You! From the YT videos, we’ve been considering EJ for a while. However this thread about overcrowding in the dining rooms & Emporium got my attention. But it seems to have sorted itself out as maybe an isolated incident. So we decided to try EJ. Our timing is flexible so it was a matter of comparing pricing from one departure dat to another. We booked the 14 day Dec 6 ‘24 Miami-Bridgetown- Miami B2B. I picked that cruise because, for some reason, EJ has the Penthouses priced at 18800 about 4 to 6k below their other comparable 14 day Carribean cruises. EJ is also giving 600 OBC. And 10% deposit. The strange thing is all their OT cabins for that same cruise are higher than their other 14 day Carribean cruises. (Maybe partially due to their cheaper OT1s being sold out) At 18800 and the OBCs it’s cheaper than HAL’s midship Neptune Suite (about the same size but better location). We like HAL but i don’t think it’s in the same league as EJ or MSC YC for that matter. BTW, in your comparison, the MSC World suite looks to be closer to EJ’s Residences which are way more expensive than the any of the EJ Penthouses. I also pick the cabin and then pick a TA to book. That usually yields another 8 to 10% discount. Bernie

I love the analysis. I thought I was the only one that did stuff like this. Question:what is the source of the 10% discount shown at the top of your spreadsheet? Is it an MSC discount? Bernie

All the booking opportunities im seeing now are from the Explora website. Apparently they themselves are holding back available cabins. And currently there’s large variance in fares between non refundable full payment and fares with deposits. Maybe I should wait until Thanksgiving to book. Bernie

Great posts everyone. Thank you for the info. I feel a little better about booking. What software are you guys using?

Normally I wouldn’t focus on something like this; I would just find the cabin I wanted, book it myself or tell the TA that’s the cabin I want. I’ve sailed on the HAL Rotterdam at a 110% capacity. The ship’s dining facilities handled it well. Especially with CLub Orange. HAL wisely limits access to CO. But based on user experience comments on these forums a fully booked Explora might have dining room capacity issues. What good is great food if you can’t get to it? From photos, videos and ship plans Explora’s dining rooms look beautiful and intimate. But much smaller than comparable sized ships. My source is the Explora website for the 12/6/24 14 day RT Miami Cruise. It shows OT1 as unavailable (presumably booked). My count: 44 OT (11 each for OT 2,3, 4, and GT); 29 Penthouses; and 21 Residences including the Owner’s residence as being available. That’s a total of 94 - 20% of 461. Maybe Explora’s website doesn’t show all the cabins that are available?? Bernie

I’ll look again. I hope you’re right. Bernie

A Tedious way - but fairly accurate. On their website you can see the available cabins on a particular cruise by logging in, picking the cruise, then a class of cabin to reserve. It then shows the list of cabins available for that cruise for that class of cabin. I do it for each class of cabin and then tally them up. The cruise I’m interested in - early December ‘24 is now up to 80% occupancy and likely to go up. The website can also show the location of each cabin. Always important. Bernie

I really appreciate your updates. Thank you!! An 8:45 seating is really not a good solution. I’m considering an early December Carribean 14 day cruise RT Miami. Not so sure now. It’s currently booked at about 80% capacity. I would guess about the same as your cruise. Please let the forum know if the situation improves. Bernie

Thank you for posting this! We have reservations for the Pinnacle on the NS for NYE… but now I’m having second thoughts about spending $162 for what is essentially avialable in the MDR & CO at no extra cost. Bernie