Sales Volume Very Low?

[Waltershipman]

23 minutes ago, BartonX said:

 

Thank you. That is what I thought as well! I believe there is enough variety across all restaurants but only time will tell - once we cruise. Food is very subjective. 

We were on 9 nights without a problem. In fact, sometimes we did all order the same things from the same menu. Because we loved it

 

 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

You might find that the never changed menus get a bit boring for a 14 night cruise.

We did 17 nights on the original fixed menu. Never had an issue choosing, no boredom for us and repetition only of dishes we loved and wanted to enjoy again eg the lamb chops in Sakura 

[Wheelhouse]

40 minutes ago, Waltershipman said:

We were on 9 nights without a problem. In fact, sometimes we did all order the same things from the same menu. Because we loved it

 

 

16 nights for us and I wholeheartedly agree.   There is plenty to chose from.  

[CJANDH]

47 minutes ago, Wheelhouse said:

16 nights for us and I wholeheartedly agree.   There is plenty to chose from.  

I can understand that if you have no dietary restrictions. But as I don't eat seafood the choice was not that great. I know it is my problem not Explora's, but I am not alone in having some things I cannot eat. A change in menu once in a while helps overcome this. I do accept that with a constant menu the chefs should be better able to "get it right".

[mike@sea]

17 nights for me and I am also thinking they need to revise or completely exchange the menus for Med Yacht Club and Fil Rouge after each cruise or alternatively introduce a daily special in those two restaurants. 

My cruise was b2b and I would have loved to see different menus on the second part of the b2b. I wasn’t a fan of the Med Yacht Club food ( which surprised me, as I initially thought that this would be my favorite restaurant, but that proved wrong ) and had a hard time finding something I liked on that menu after the third visit. Fil Rouge would also benefit from offering more variety. 
 

Being really full after around 10 days on the ship eating all its great food of course did not help either to pick and chose at dinner. 😉
 

 

[santos949]

On 6/4/2024 at 11:53 AM, maggie.1008 said:

Wow, it`s hard for me to believe that I was on the same ship as many of you. My experience was positive and can`t wait to book another EJ cruise. Loved our Premere Penthouse and would book the same cabin again. 

I am not a travel agent or influencer and honestly did not notice any of them on our Hawaii cruise. Maybe I wasn`t looking for them. 

I have been on SS,SB,Regent,Crystal, Azamara,Oceania and Windstar. Were any of those cruises perfect, no. I had wonderful time on all of them and would gladly return. 

All of those lines have been around for much longer than Explora and still have problems. 

 

How lucky we are to live the luxury cruise life! Cheers

I totally agree that it is hard to believe that I was on the same ship==the Explora 1.  We loved our first Explora cruise and have booked two more.  
 

We have cruised all of the luxury lines so this was not our first rodeo.

 

i hope anyone reading this thread does not give up on booking Explora.  It is an incredible experience! The negativity on this Explora board really surprises me.  I suggest you book a cruise and make up your own mind.

 

i predict great things for this cruise line.

[Waltershipman]

4 minutes ago, santos949 said:

I totally agree that it is hard to believe that I was on the same ship==the Explora 1.  We loved our first Explora cruise and have booked two more.  
 

We have cruised all of the luxury lines so this was not our first rodeo.

 

i hope anyone reading this thread does not give up on booking Explora.  It is an incredible experience! The negativity on this Explora board really surprises me.  I suggest you book a cruise and make up your own mind.

 

i predict great things for this cruise line.

Absolutely agree 

[RlyLvn]

We are on Explora I now. Incredible experience!  Way too many positives to list. I should be keeping a journal but I’m just soaking it up. 

[Waltershipman]

7 minutes ago, RlyLvn said:

We are on Explora I now. Incredible experience!  Way too many positives to list. I should be keeping a journal but I’m just soaking it up. 

Would live to hear more on how great your trip is going 

 

Maybe starting a new more positive thread? Just an idea

 

Thanks for sharing 

[loge23]

Explora doesn't seem to advertise very much compared to say Viking or Oceania, the latter two from which we get almost daily mailings.

I don't think the ownership group of Explora is worried. They command a multi-billion dollar fleet of container ships, cruise vessels, and their little boutique play Explora. They can afford to wait until the word of mouth catches up with potential cruisers - or they can jump right into the advertising game which many cruisers have become conditioned to. 

Just in passing, not many of our friends who travel know about the Yacht Club on MSC either. 

Looking forward to our Explora cruise next February!

 

[no1talks]

28 minutes ago, loge23 said:

"Just in passing, not many of our friends who travel know about the Yacht Club on MSC either."

 

Thank goodness! Yacht Club is getting crowded. 😆

[Wheelhouse]

Since the topic of this thread is sales volume I am curious if anyone has an idea on how this summer's Med bookings are going.  I know that Explora pricing is somewhat fluid, but the fare has just dropped a bit on one sailing that we have been looking at.  

[HappyInVan]

18 hours ago, loge23 said:

Explora doesn't seem to advertise very much compared to say Viking or Oceania, the latter two from which we get almost daily mailings.

I don't think the ownership group of Explora is worried. They command a multi-billion dollar fleet of container ships, cruise vessels, and their little boutique play Explora. They can afford to wait until the word of mouth catches up with potential cruisers - or they can jump right into the advertising game which many cruisers have become conditioned to. 

 

 

 

 

Explora has only one ship in operation.  Very expensive to run a proper promotional campaign.

 

Explora and MSC are professional organizations.  There will be targets and schedules.  Recently. Explora lost their top management abruptly. So, all is not well.

 

 

[Dean]

What sailing are you looking at ?  We are looking at the 3/24/25 one out of Miami

 

Dean

[English Tim]

58 minutes ago, Dean said:

What sailing are you looking at ?  We are looking at the 3/24/25 one out of Miami

 

Dean

The last time I looked, Miami was not in the Mediterranean! 😉

[At Sea At Peace]

2 hours ago, Dean said:

What sailing are you looking at ?  We are looking at the 3/24/25 one out of Miami

 

Dean

 

Yes, it is out of Miami and it is 'empty' nasty, especially for a 9N RT Miami!

 

It's going to have to come down or stay empty.

 

OT1 - 78% Unbooked

OT2 - 95% Unbooked

OT3 - 92% Unbooked

OT$ - 83% Unbooked

 

6/7/2024

[Jratlanta]

At Sea, How are you able to see bookings?  I don't see the option on the website; are you a TA?  Sailing Explora 1 in January.  Cheers

 

[Waltershipman]

5 minutes ago, Jratlanta said:

At Sea, How are you able to see bookings?  I don't see the option on the website; are you a TA?  Sailing Explora 1 in January.  Cheers

 

What dates do you sail 

[At Sea At Peace]

53 minutes ago, Jratlanta said:

At Sea, How are you able to see bookings?  I don't see the option on the website; are you a TA?  Sailing Explora 1 in January.  Cheers

 

 

Not a TA, wish I had access to the populated data though.

 

I just simply go to a website where the bookings are integrated with Explora Journeys and start a mock booking.  Each deck for each stateroom category comes up that you select and the staterooms with blinking red circles are the ones you are allowed to select; i.e., currently unbooked.  I did it for OT's 1, 2, 3 and 4 on that specific sailing.  It can be done for all categories.

 

What January date is your sailing?

 

 

[Jratlanta]

Thanks to both of you for your quick replies.  My wife and I are sailing on Jan. 21 out of San Juan.  We are looking to book a Mediterranean cruise if we enjoy Explora; I believe we will do so.

[Dean]

The 3/24/25 cruise out of Miami has just lowered their price for the Ocean Terrace Suite 5%. They must have read the post from "At Sea at Peace"

[At Sea At Peace]

2 hours ago, Jratlanta said:

Thanks to both of you for your quick replies.  My wife and I are sailing on Jan. 21 out of San Juan.  We are looking to book a Mediterranean cruise if we enjoy Explora; I believe we will do so.

 

That's a really interesting booking profile currently.  No OT 1's show as available.  Then, oddly, the lowest deck of OT 2 is quite full, while the deck above is almost empty.  The OT 3 and OT 4 are also quite empty.

 

Wonder if an earlier promotion booked the the OT 1's, or promotional cruise for TA's and the like?

 

 

[At Sea At Peace]

1 hour ago, Dean said:

The 3/24/25 cruise out of Miami has just lowered their price for the Ocean Terrace Suite 5%. They must have read the post from "At Sea at Peace"

 

The previously recommended "Yacht Club Credit Promotion Program," (rewarding prior Yacht Club sailing passengers with a tiered credit based upon # and stateroom category) with over a million Yacht Club passengers to date, that I posted earlier, would seem to be a 'no brainer.' 

 

Seriously, the entire brand was conceived on the success of the Yacht Club, but the marketing ended up being built to entice new luxury and younger cruisers via TA's and influencers. 

 

The Yacht Club formula was to 'offer something better, for less.'  

 

I'd like to see them 'chew gum and walk at the same time' and offer multiple marketing program platforms.

 

 

[Mommapadraig]

On 6/5/2024 at 4:02 PM, santos949 said:

I totally agree that it is hard to believe that I was on the same ship==the Explora 1.  We loved our first Explora cruise and have booked two more.  
 

We have cruised all of the luxury lines so this was not our first rodeo.

 

i hope anyone reading this thread does not give up on booking Explora.  It is an incredible experience! The negativity on this Explora board really surprises me.  I suggest you book a cruise and make up your own mind.

 

i predict great things for this cruise line.

We are looking forward to our a January 2025 cruise on Explora ll.we used to book NCL then switched to MSc yacht club. Now on to Explora.ll we can’t wait!

[peder]

7 hours ago, At Sea At Peace said:

 

The previously recommended "Yacht Club Credit Promotion Program," (rewarding prior Yacht Club sailing passengers with a tiered credit based upon # and stateroom category) with over a million Yacht Club passengers to date, that I posted earlier, would seem to be a 'no brainer.' 

 

Seriously, the entire brand was conceived on the success of the Yacht Club, but the marketing ended up being built to entice new luxury and younger cruisers via TA's and influencers. 

 

The Yacht Club formula was to 'offer something better, for less.'  

 

I'd like to see them 'chew gum and walk at the same time' and offer multiple marketing program platforms.

 

 

We are just off the Euribia, and not a hint of marketing for Explora onboard. Seems like the future cruise consultants within the Yacht Club should be pushing that aggressively.