Latest news about Explora Journeys

[LuiK]

Sorry I am not counting statistics nor searching for the rare exceptions or give quotable statements. It’s just my casual observation that I almost exclusively see nicely dressed cruisers on Explora. At dinnertime there are men with and without jackets but in good shirts (with collar) - not polos nor t-shirts. The exceptions I noticed were groups of TA and Influencers filming themself during nonsense talking… Maybe this was not observable during the free of charge „Travel Influencer Precruise“ in the absence of regular customers. 🤣 

 

Just have a look at people in the restaurant of your local golf club and a McDonalds „Restaurant“ – you will spot a huge difference in attire. I like both but would not dare to show up with my t-shirt and shorts combo to the Explora buffet.

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by LuiK

[Waltershipman]

Thanks much

[happy cruzin]

Has anyone seen a list of services that are available in the Spa of the Explora? 

[Stickman1990]

5 minutes ago, happy cruzin said:

Has anyone seen a list of services that are available in the Spa of the Explora? 

 

I've just posted a separate thread with the list and pricing

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

I've just posted a separate thread with the list and pricing

 

 

I'm sorry: there is no Ocean Wellness without Gin (or at least wine)...  🤣

[Stickman1990]

19 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'm sorry: there is no Ocean Wellness without Gin (or at least wine)...  🤣

Yes!
They have some interesting Gins on the all inclusive menu - I’ll take one for the team and sample them all 😉😂

More chance of that happening than me going to the Spa

Edited August 15, 2023 by Stickman1990

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

Yes!
They have some interesting Gins on the all inclusive menu - I’ll take one for the team and sample them all 😉😂

More change of that happening than me going to the Spa

Amen brother!  Please give a full report of the gins onboard – I know it will be a tough job working your way through them all, but with perseverance you can do it!  

 

And don't forget the tonic.  A true luxury cruise line must include Fevertree or better – preferable the full range of Fevertree because as they show, different gins require different tonics:

[Stickman1990]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

And don't forget the tonic.  A true luxury cruise line must include Fevertree or better – preferable the full range of Fevertree because as they show, different gins require different tonics:

Great chart! 
It’s added to my essential travel documents now - as important as my Passport 😂

 

I believe that Explora do have some variety of Fevertree onboard so I’ll check that out 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks to a long thread on the Azamara forum about G&Ts, I discovered the pairing of Silent Pool gin with Fevertree elderflower tonic.  That gin is hard to find in the US [I got it at the LHR dutyfree, and my daughter found it at Total Wine when she lived in LA...].  I keep both in the fridge so I won't water down the delicate taste with ice.  Following the Fevertree recipe of 1/4 gin and 3/4 tonic, I could drink it all day.  [I just couldn't stand up after a few...]

 

When I'm in Australia in February, I will look for the Ukrainian-relief gins that @drron29 mentioned – and try to figure out which Fevertree tonic they pair best with:

 

[Pitts27mf]

How's the dining situation? How many nights have you had to eat at the Emporium Marketplace?

[nrc]

7 hours ago, Pitts27mf said:

How's the dining situation? How many nights have you had to eat at the Emporium Marketplace?

"Had" to eat at the Emporium Marketplace??  We ate at the Emporium Marketplace every lunch and dinner, with the exception of three dinners (one at Marble & Co, and two at Sakura.)  It's not your ordinary cruise ship buffet.  Last night I had beef tenderloin and lobster tail, both delicious.  There are so many choices, it's sometimes very hard to decide!  I enjoyed bouillabaisse and green curry seafood chowder at two lunches, fresh oysters and giant prawns at dinner.  Roast lamb in several versions (with mint sauce or gravy).  Lunch the first day was melt-in-your-mouth prime rib.  The tables are set with glasses and cloth napkins, service is over the top (my husband complained that it took 15 seconds for someone to clear his plate one day at a very busy lunch... LOL.)  Wine and other beverages are offered table-side.  I am not a cruise-buffet woman.  I was blown away by this spot.

[Nunagoras]

2 hours ago, nrc said:

"Had" to eat at the Emporium Marketplace??  We ate at the Emporium Marketplace every lunch and dinner, with the exception of three dinners (one at Marble & Co, and two at Sakura.)  It's not your ordinary cruise ship buffet.  Last night I had beef tenderloin and lobster tail, both delicious.  There are so many choices, it's sometimes very hard to decide!  I enjoyed bouillabaisse and green curry seafood chowder at two lunches, fresh oysters and giant prawns at dinner.  Roast lamb in several versions (with mint sauce or gravy).  Lunch the first day was melt-in-your-mouth prime rib.  The tables are set with glasses and cloth napkins, service is over the top (my husband complained that it took 15 seconds for someone to clear his plate one day at a very busy lunch... LOL.)  Wine and other beverages are offered table-side.  I am not a cruise-buffet woman.  I was blown away by this spot.

And forgive me to ask, but from your perspective: With ao many shellfish (prawns, lobster, and the likes) available, do they still have options enough on the Emporium Marketplace for the ones just allergic to shellfish? Or does one need to give them notice and dine elsewhere to avoid that cross contamination?

[uktog]

In the Marketplace in the evening are you having to go and select your choices or can you get some "service" at your table?  The food sounds lovely but I am someone who just wants to sit down and enjoy my evening meal.  I do not enjoy buffets, not because of the handling of tongs etc but because of the need to jump up and down

[KJB416]

I totally agree with NRC about how excellent the food is in Emporium and it’s stuff you will find on the menus in the other restaurants a lot of the time and there’s always something new each night along with staples.  The pizza and pasta were my favorites since it tasted like I was eating pizza and pasta as if I was in a restaurant in Italy and Marco was an amazing pizza chef working so hard to keep up with the demand!  The raw bar had sections and the oysters and crab or shrimp were together and then next to it they would have small cups of ceviche or some type of fish salad that changed daily.  In the grill area, they offered salmon, swordfish and other types of fish along with the lobster tail. I don’t remember in Emporium, but in every restaurant they asked if we had any food allergies as soon as we sat down. 
 

My only issue with the dining/alcohol is that they ran out of Lagunitas IPA on the second day and we do not drink Heineken and that is what they have on draft and promote. They also had trouble at some of the bars locating fever tree tonic and had to go in search of it. There was just regular fever tree on board that I saw. There was also no Maine lobster in Fil Rouge as they didn’t have access to get any and the muscle appetizer in Med Yacht Club was not available. The lobster and muscles have a caveat on the menu that’s says when available or something like that, so I was not completely surprised they were not available, but it was disappointing in these little things not being available. We managed just fine without them, but the one IPA on board to run out the second day was really disappointing. 

[Waltershipman]

28 minutes ago, KJB416 said:

I totally agree with NRC about how excellent the food is in Emporium and it’s stuff you will find on the menus in the other restaurants a lot of the time and there’s always something new each night along with staples.  The pizza and pasta were my favorites since it tasted like I was eating pizza and pasta as if I was in a restaurant in Italy and Marco was an amazing pizza chef working so hard to keep up with the demand!  The raw bar had sections and the oysters and crab or shrimp were together and then next to it they would have small cups of ceviche or some type of fish salad that changed daily.  In the grill area, they offered salmon, swordfish and other types of fish along with the lobster tail. I don’t remember in Emporium, but in every restaurant they asked if we had any food allergies as soon as we sat down. 
 

My only issue with the dining/alcohol is that they ran out of Lagunitas IPA on the second day and we do not drink Heineken and that is what they have on draft and promote. They also had trouble at some of the bars locating fever tree tonic and had to go in search of it. There was just regular fever tree on board that I saw. There was also no Maine lobster in Fil Rouge as they didn’t have access to get any and the muscle appetizer in Med Yacht Club was not available. The lobster and muscles have a caveat on the menu that’s says when available or something like that, so I was not completely surprised they were not available, but it was disappointing in these little things not being available. We managed just fine without them, but the one IPA on board to run out the second day was really disappointing. 

Wonderful summary thank you 😊 

[Pitts27mf]

Thanks to all for the information regarding the Emporium. It sounds like everybody's having a great experience at that venue. Have a great cruise!

[Waltershipman]

12 minutes ago, Pitts27mf said:

Thanks to all for the information regarding the Emporium. It sounds like everybody's having a great experience at that venue. Have a great cruise!

Absolutely looks that way thanks to all

[Wheelhouse]

For me, my current balance and ability to pay said balance on my booking has disappeared from "My Account" at the Explora website.   I assume this adjustment has to do with the fact that I used a travel agent and must now go only through him.  

[daleandrews]

3 minutes ago, Wheelhouse said:

For me, my current balance and ability to pay said balance on my booking has disappeared from "My Account" at the Explora website.   

I added a tour the other week for a substituted port on our Glasgow to NYC trip and also found that there was absolutely no payment button that would "click" to enter payment information.  I sent Explora an email asking about this and they sent back an email letter with a link at the bottom for payment.  When I clicked the link to pay, however, and after selecting "credit card" and providing my card information, the site returned a page asking if I wanted to proceed to payment BUT the amount shown on that page was the total price of the whole cruise (which I had long since paid), not the cost of just the newly added excursion.  I wasn't going to click that (!!) so I emailed Explora again and was told that I had to delete the erroneous total cruise price on the page and insert the amount for the newly added excursion.  That worked but . . . the experience indicates that all of this is still pretty much a work in progress.  🙂 

[Waltershipman]

9 minutes ago, daleandrews said:

I added a tour the other week for a substituted port on our Glasgow to NYC trip and also found that there was absolutely no payment button that would "click" to enter payment information.  I sent Explora an email asking about this and they sent back an email letter with a link at the bottom for payment.  When I clicked the link to pay, however, and after selecting "credit card" and providing my card information, the site returned a page asking if I wanted to proceed to payment BUT the amount shown on that page was the total price of the whole cruise (which I had long since paid), not the cost of just the newly added excursion.  I wasn't going to click that (!!) so I emailed Explora again and was told that I had to delete the erroneous total cruise price on the page and insert the amount for the newly added excursion.  That worked but . . . the experience indicates that all of this is still pretty much a work in progress.  🙂 

Will love to hear avout your ship experience on the way to new york o get on in Quebec thank you 

[Bongomeme]

@dale I am on your trip. What is the substitute port you mentioned? 

[daleandrews]

10 minutes ago, Bongomeme said:

@dale I am on your trip. What is the substitute port you mentioned? 

It's the second day out -- the Isle of Lewis.  It's been listed on the itinerary correctly for quite a while but back when we first booked and tours were first available the second day out was a port on the Isle of Skye.  I had booked a tour there but then cancelled it when they changed the itinerary and booked the new tour for Isle of Lewis. 

[Bongomeme]

Thanks @ dale

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

3 hours ago, daleandrews said:

I wasn't going to click that (!!) so I emailed Explora again and was told that I had to delete the erroneous total cruise price on the page and insert the amount for the newly added excursion. 

If this was posted on the MSC site, one would be posting a completely different result. Better check to see if you did not cancel your entire cruise. We just paid via our travel agent for an excursion and not directly (on Explora) as many horror stories resulted by passengers dealing directly with MSC.

[frankhi]

4 hours ago, Wheelhouse said:

For me, my current balance and ability to pay said balance on my booking has disappeared from "My Account" at the Explora website.   I assume this adjustment has to do with the fact that I used a travel agent and must now go only through him.  

My EJ agent is awesome and saved me thousands. She advised me I could transfer my reservation to a TA, but I would have to go through that TA from then on instead of her.