Explorer-The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

[Jeronimo]

Sailed many times on the other 3 ships but my personal observations after one cruise on the Explorer:

Comments are based on Penthouse C suite and are largely with reference to previous cruises on the other 3 ships i.e. this is not a stand-alone review of the Explorer.

 

Good

Shower – much bigger, 1m by 1.4m

Balcony – now wooden dining table and two chairs

Much more room around food counters in La Veranda

Sette Marie – Partition slides back at night to show full kitchen area. Brilliant to watch the “artists” at work.

More spacing between tables generally in La Veranda

Much more spacing around the food counters in La Veranda

La Veranda outside area much bigger.

Small bar/waiting are just outside Prime 7 and Chartreuse.

Speciality restaurants open for lunch some days

Tenders much nicer and cleaner plus step straight onto them, no more external stairway

Main areas bright and airy

Stateroom power sockets spaced apart so can use 2 with adaptors simultaneously.

Two USB charging ports by each side of the bed

More laundrette space, never seem to be full

No vibration felt at all – mid-ship suite

Key card no longer needs inserting into the door lock, just hold it near. Sadly same technology not adopted by security on entering /leaving ship

The TV now supports Miracast and Widi so you can look at your photos etc on the big screen. But the remote control is crippled so you need a genuine one; bring your own (Samsung), borrow one from the laundrettes or use a PC with an IR port.

 

Bad

TVs, 2 off, far too big, 48”, for the viewing distance

TV locked up every few days requiring a service call the first time and a pull out the plug the other times

No DVD player, despite TV having a DVD icon

No iPads available despite brochure featuring them in Penthouse suites

Only power outlet in bathroom is shaver socket and that not compatible with UK shaver plugs

No washing line in suite

Compass Rose staff now carry tablets to take your order – takes twice as long as before

Compass Rose now a rectangular box, albeit broken up with partitions, other ship’s CR have curves to break the area up

Non-speciality wine selection in CR reduced (many of the standard wines are now only available in the speciality restaurants)

Just 4 PCs in “Business Centre” aka Computer Club, although 2 more in Library

Launderettes – Instructions are for a different ship! Plus soap dispenser now not connected to washers so a cup, which is too small, provided to transport soap to the washer

Bed-side reading lamp poor, too low down. Form over function

Whilst the new shower is great, one flaw. I opened the shower door inwards, it opened a small amount only and I could not push it the other way, I was trapped in the shower

No table, shelf or hook by the door so nowhere to put anything or hang any coats etc

One set of lifts are key-hole shape with narrow entrances meaning that frequently you have to get out of the lift to let someone out before your floor if they are in the bulbous end of the lift

Compass Rose menu. It’s now turned into more of a fast food outlet with an everyday list of plain meats and fish along with a list of sauces. Clearly the meat/fish are not being marinated as any good restaurant would do. There is however a list each day, much shorter than it used to be, of the day’s dishes which hopefully have been prepared as dishes rather than just pouring a sauce over a piece of meat or fish

 

 

Ugly

No dressing table

No desk

Too many staff (mainly serving staff) are miserable, fail to smile and don’t seem to understand the concept of service. Staff transferred from other regent ships are very good but many new staff are poor

Very dark and narrow (approx. 2m by 8m) suite

 

 

Three examples of the poor customer service:

My partner enjoys raw vegetables for breakfast. Not seeing any in La Veranda she looked in the Pool Grill and saw there a plate of raw carrots. She took a couple and a member of staff said “What are you doing”? “Eating them” was the response. To which the staff member said “These are not for you, they are for staff only to make drinks with”

 

The tray in La Veranda of breakfast cereal boxes had no corn flakes one morning. I asked a waiter at my table, who had brought tea, about the lack of corn flakes. She walked off and returned a few minutes later and said “There are corn flakes over there” pointing to the other side. I thought this mildly amusing that she would report back but not bring any. I again walked over to the display and found again no corn flakes. On the way back I said to the same waiter “There are still no cornflakes over there”. She again went across and came back showing two boxes neither of which were cornflakes and which I did not want. I then went out to the Pool Grill and found plenty of corn flake boxes. On my return I showed the box to the waiter and explained that was what I wanted and they did have some outside. The supervisor then came over and said they were in the process of restocking, completely missing the point about not getting some corn flakes for me

 

In the Compass Rose my first course came dried up, I asked the waiter to change it which he willingly agreed to do, however the same waiter brought my main course a minute or so later. I asked him about my starter course, he said “You eat this now and then I bring the first course”.

 

Titbits

Compass Rose not open at lunchtime, one of the speciality restaurants generally is.

The lift signs show the Compass Rose to be deck 4 aft, but the aft lifts only go down to 5. If you walk along deck 5 towards the back of the ship you find the stairs down to deck 4 aft are blocked off. If you want to go to the Compass Rose it’s deck 4 fwd.

50% of the ports of call using the tenders were cancelled due to predicted swell. Is this normal? Could it be a new ship or new tender effect or a nervous Captain or just luck of the draw?

At the mandatory lifeboat drill it was announced that “We will not be asking you to leave the theatre and go out onto the lifeboat deck”. Heard that said many times before but then came; “as there is not enough room for you all on the lifeboat deck.” Saves going out there but somewhat alarming!

There is a new desk, opposite reception, for “Dining reservations”

 

Conclusions

So would I choose the Explorer again? Not until the attitude of many of the serving staff has been significantly improved

Would I then choose the Explorer over the other 3 ships? No but once the service issue is sorted out I would not rule out an Explorer cruise but neither would I particularly choose one

[RachelG]

Not an excuse, but I think the issue with the server and the cornflakes was a "lost in translation" issue with the server thinking that "cornflakes" was "cereal". When I was a little girl, and this is growing up in the US, we called any kind of dry cereal "cornflakes" even if there was no trace of corn or a flake in it.

 

Don't understand the comment about no desk and no dressing table. I thought all the suites had a desk that could also be used as a dressing table.

 

Definitely agree about the laundry with the soap dispenser not connected to the washer. Since those of us who have sailed on the other ships are accustomed to the soap being connected, it takes some getting used to.

[eliana]

Oh dear! We are embarking on the Explorer in a couple of months. I hope they sort the many issues by then. The new Compass Rose menu seems problematic compared with what we have been used to. I find the staff issues very worrying as they have been mentioned on a number of other threads. Is something going wrong with Regent management in the office and at sea?

[UUNetBill]

Well, I was pretty bummed that we weren't able to book a cruise on Explorer until April, but now it's looking like it might be a good thing, give them some time to sort out the service issues.

[Travelcat2]

Regarding CR, most passengers seem to love the new menu. Remember that they do not just have cooked fish/chicken/beef cooked and lying around waiting for sauce. Whatever you order is cooked to your specifications (for instance, lobster tails can be grilled, poached, steamed, etc.) In the past we rarely ordered from the everyday menu but now find that it has great choices. Don't forget that the other side of the menu changes daily - just as it was before.

 

I appreciate reading all reviews - even if I do not agree with them. I haven't posted much about the staircase and elevator to nowhere. It seems that someone thought that CR would have a rear entrance as the other ships have. CR on the Explorer only has a forward entrance. So, you can't take the forward elevator to get to CR. This is something that will undoubtedly be changed when the second Explorer class ship is built.

 

I was fine with the lighting next to the bed but my DH did not like the ceiling light above the bed. When I turned the light on, the light was shining on his face. Wish there were a way to turn that one light on and off on its own.

 

We really did not find much wrong with the Explorer and what we enjoyed far outweighed the few quirks. I understand that some people will prefer Regent's other ships - this has always been the case ....... most of us have a Regent ship that we prefer over the others.

 

Thanks for the comprehensive review.

Edited October 25, 2016 by Travelcat2

[UUNetBill]

....... most of us have a Regent ship that we prefer over the others.

 

Yep. And mine is "Whichever Regent ship I'm currently on."

 

:D

[UUNetBill]

PS - I've had the darn theme song from the movie stuck in my head since I read the title of this thread. Thanks a lot...

[Travelcat2]

PS - I've had the darn theme song from the movie stuck in my head since I read the title of this thread. Thanks a lot...

 

I'm lost (as usual) - what song would that be? My head is stuck on mentally reviewing CR on Regent. On the Voyager, there is a large space - kind of rectangular and the Mariner with the big "thing" in the middle blocking the views - no curves anywhere. What am I missing?

 

In terms of service, I heard various things and they are not related to the Explorer. First I read that 25% of the crew is new (on all ships) - that was back in July. I was of the opinion that the servers in particular needed more training. Then I read that there were a lot of crew members from Oceania. This definitely made me unhappy because passengers and their service needs are so different than on Oceania. Even G.M.'s have difficulty coming from Oceania and Regent (with a couple of exceptions).

 

I've commented before on the PH suites - we do not care for them and did not know that there was no desk (just know that the bathroom and closet are smaller than in concierge or "F" suites).

 

We are hoping to find one of our favorite servers onboard next week and will stick with his/her section of CR. This has always worked well for us.

[Mudhen]

PS - I've had the darn theme song from the movie stuck in my head since I read the title of this thread. Thanks a lot...

 

Good one! Giggling now.....I can see Clint with his cigarillo dangling, wearing that awful black and white poncho.....too funny!

[flossie009]

Jeronimo,

Thank you for the detailed and thoughtful review

It is unfortunate that the Explorer designers seem to have made a few fundamental errors and that Regent are struggling to train their staff adequately

 

 

 

Regarding CR, most passengers seem to love the new menu.

 

I must have missed that survey of Explorer guests :rolleyes:

 

 

We are hoping to find one of our favorite servers onboard next week and will stick with his/her section of CR. This has always worked well for us.

 

.................but this is not going to help the rest of Regent's guests :(

[Travelcat2]

:rolleyes:

Jeronimo,

 

 

 

I must have missed that survey of Explorer guests :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

.................but this is not going to help the rest of Regent's guests :(

 

Actually, it may help the rest of Regent's guests. I have suggested finding a server you like in CR and sticking with them for years. This gives you the best of both worlds -- it is a little like "set seating" in terms of getting to know your server and your server learning your preferences.

 

In terms of a "survey of Explorer guests :rolleyes:" there obviously is no survey -- my observations are based on what we saw and heard onboard the Explorer as well as reading Explorer (and Navigator) posts regarding their experience with the "new CR".

 

In the opinion of many, the "new CR" is a hit and a big improvement over CR's previous menu options. On the other hand, results are still out on Chartreuse and Pacific Rim -- there appears to be strong feelings about both dining venues - both positive and negative.

[liptastic]

Jeronimo, your post gives a vast amount of information and you have covered lots of areas not mentioned as yet.

Simple thing like no clothes line in bathroom, that for me will be a miss. We always book penthouse suites on the other ships, but when we looked at the penthouses on explorer it was a definite no, and i think I have read a few people commenting on their disappointment.

I will keep an open mind for the compass rose new menu and execution and presentation, but again here and there I have read comments about food temperature being cold and poorer than usual service.

Thanks for being so detailed and honest in your report. Jean.

[fizzy]

[quote name=Travelcat2;5140518

 

In terms of service' date=' I heard various things and they are not related to the Explorer. First I read that 25% of the crew is new (on all ships) - that was back in July. I was of the opinion that the servers in particular needed more training. Then I read that there were a lot of crew members from Oceania. This definitely made me unhappy because passengers and their service needs are so different than on Oceania. Even G.M.'s have difficulty coming from Oceania and Regent (with a couple of exceptions).

 

[/quote]

 

Why are the service needs of O passengers so different? In what way? Do they expect better service or less service and why? We have friends who swear by O.

[UUNetBill]

Good one! Giggling now.....I can see Clint with his cigarillo dangling, wearing that awful black and white poncho.....too funny!

 

[Travelcat2]

Okay - I "get it" now ....... loved that song and it is now going through my head (your fault;))

 

Back to the Explorer, there are currently so many mixed reviews on the Explorer and the Mariner. One thread explains why the Mariner cruise did not meet the OP's expectations and another why the Mariner is so good that there is a fear that the refurbishment will change it negatively (IMO, it will make it better). So, I went to the "review" section of CC and found mixed reviews again.

 

I really appreciate that the OP has sailed on other Regent ships - this somehow makes the review more meaningful for me (may not be for others). Apparently, more things are subjective than I thought .

 

Hoping to get more clarity on our two Explorer cruises next month and also hope that there will be posts from the November 2nd cruise. I know that there will be plenty of posts from the November 16th cruise which should be enlightening since most of the posters will also be repeat Regent cruisers. I will also make a point to learn if there are a majority of new and/or Oceania crew members on the ship to try and figure out why there have been so many less than stellar reviews of the service in CR. From my experience, only untrained newbies or crew members that are used to serving on Oceania would account for this (sorry Oceania but your servers in the Terrace Café either have never worked in the food industry or have experience at McDonald's).

Edited October 26, 2016 by Travelcat2

[Pam]

My mother loved that movie! She watched it over and over again, but has forgotten all about it and I'm not going to try to find it for her.

 

As to not having pieces of beef, etc., lying around... I am learning a lot about things like that since I bought an Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker). There is a method of cooking meat called sous vide, and it's brilliant! I would just about bet that cruise ships use this, especially the upper scale steak restaurants. I'm not going to try to explain it here, but it's easily found by search engine.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Why are the service needs of O passengers so different? In what way? Do they expect better service or less service and why? We have friends who swear by O.

 

Some people don't believe that there are Regent servers on Oceania and vice versa. Some of the best service I have had came from Oceania employees. Some of the best food ever was on Oceania. Staff rotates, contracts get renewed. Most of the staff comes from high end hotels in Europe and Asia. Some even come from other lines like Princess, HAL and Carnival.

[Emperor Norton]

Why are the service needs of O passengers so different? In what way? Do they expect better service or less service and why? We have friends who swear by O.

 

From my experiences -

 

On Oceania outside of the bartenders staff usually reacts to requests for anything off menu or issues that arise with NO or "tough luck".

 

On Regent they try to be more accommodating. So a different mindset.

[Pies4u]

I'm just puzzled about the criticism re: no sockets in the bathroom! That has been illegal in the UK for years under the electrical regs - it is highly dangerous to put electrical sockets in a bathroom.

 

The lack of a washing/drying line (NB: we had a SS suite) was a bit strange, granted.

 

I noted some fundamental design flaws in the ship, notably the lack of any forward outdoor seating beyond the pool & the rather claustrophobic and ill thought out spa area (infra red sauna & no hydrotherapy pool, what is that all about?).

 

Overall, there are a few issues, as there are with any ship. Is Explorer luxurious and spacious? Yes it is. Are the suites incredible? Yes they are. Would we travel in Explorer again? Yes, any time you like, tomorrow if possible please.

 

It is an exceptional ship and, overall, with exquisite food and outstanding service in my limited, 10 day, experience. There will always be the odd exception to those standards, which is unfortunate, and different aspects will appeal (or not) to different people.

[ROLLTIDE2]

Pies4u -- How were the sinks in the SSSuite? In the photographs they look very shallow. Thanks for any info.

[flossie009]

I'm just puzzled about the criticism re: no sockets in the bathroom! That has been illegal in the UK for years under the electrical regs - it is highly dangerous to put electrical sockets in a bathroom.

 

 

Sorry to disagree, but my understanding is that shaver sockets are allowed in bathrooms under UK regs

What is very surprising is that Regent failed to fit the international shaver sockets that one finds in most hotel bathrooms around the world

[UUNetBill]

Well, I don't use an electric shaver, but I do find that the bathroom outlet is the perfect place to plug in my LED nightlight. :)

 

I always take a vintage razor, soap stick, and shaving brush on board (kind of old school that way) but being of the lighter-bearded crowd, I don't usually shave more than once or twice on a cruise if I can help it.

 

Vacation=scruffy. :D (although DW would disagree with that assessment)

[Pies4u]

Sorry to disagree, but my understanding is that shaver sockets are allowed in bathrooms under UK regs

What is very surprising is that Regent failed to fit the international shaver sockets that one finds in most hotel bathrooms around the world

 

Shaving points are fine, it is electrical outlets thst are not. The OP complained that there were no electrical sockets!

 

I simply used an international adaptor - just plugged it in next to the bed, no problem. That worked for charging both my electric shaver & toothbrush. Does anybody still use a non chargeable shaver, I don't think they manufacture them anymore?

Edited October 26, 2016 by Pies4u

[Pies4u]

Pies4u -- How were the sinks in the SSSuite? In the photographs they look very shallow. Thanks for any info.

 

Very good point. The sinks are shallow - that would be OK if not for the ridiculous fixed tap that prevents you from actually getting your face close to the water! So many sinks are designed this way that I am starting to believe that I'm the only one who ever washes their face at the sink.

 

The sink and tap arrangement in the "guest" bathroom is far better and much more usable, sadly thst isn't much help when you are in the main bathroom.

 

It isn't a major issue but, IMO, another poorly designed and badly thought out item tbh.

[Travelcat2]

From my experiences -

 

On Oceania outside of the bartenders staff usually reacts to requests for anything off menu or issues that arise with NO or "tough luck".

 

On Regent they try to be more accommodating. So a different mindset.

 

Our experience as well. The servers and at least one of the cooks in the Terrace Café on the Explorer were clueless. In one case (the "cook" trying to pry open the clam to serve it to me) he was not only clueless but dangerous.

 

From reading the Oceania boards, it seems that a good percentage of Oceania passengers are from mainstream and premium cruise lines so Oceania exceeds their expectations by miles. Some posters are amazed that water is included and that you can bring alcohol onboard so I agree that the "mindset" of some Oceania passengers is quite different than Regent passengers.