Explora Journeys vs Crystal

[Noggins]

Yes, I know we've been here before and, yes, I know we have Terry's (Stickman's) review / comparison coming up following his recent Serenity cruise.

But the EJ product delivery is clearly evolving. Almost 2 years ago, when Crystal was no more we booked a 10 day Caribbean trip. It has finally come around and we are a few days in. I have been trying to capture the daily essence of things and, if that could be of interest to you, pop across to the Explora forum.

It's too early for conclusions but what I will say at this point is:

- it's way better than expected (but not perfect. Who's perfect?)

- it feels like it could be future Crystal. The hardware is just what Crystal could do with. (I forget who suggested Crystal take two of the 4 EJ ships off their hands. An inspired idea - but surely won't happen!)

 

I'll be back here when we're done to offer my detailed summary comparison to help anyone still deciding whether to mix up their cruising experiences with something new 

 

Adrian 

[Stickman1990]

Making it easy to find Noggins work in progress

 

 

I’m still in “Middle Earth” on holiday so my comparison won’t be until next week 

[bitob]

Paul mco has been on both lines

Maybe he will post

 

 

[PaulMCO]

2 hours ago, bitob said:

Paul mco has been on both lines

Maybe he will post

 

 

I think, I have made my Explora feelings known and will not do anything over 10 days on Explora, even though we loved the ships amenities, staff, environment, and even most of the food.  The killer for us is the never changing menus.  For us the food grew tired after 14 days.  Especially since we found at least one restaurant Sakura -- subpar (1 decent meal out of 4).

 

Then there are their itineraries, which are rather basic Caribbean and Med.

[magnus1977]

Anyone have any thoughts of Explora vs Crystal? I will do a 7 night solo cruise in november/december on either Explora 2 or Crystal Serenity in the Caribbean. Solo outside cabin on Crystal and ocean terrace suite on Explora. $3500 Crystal and $5.000 Explora, including $400 on board credit for Explora. Any recommendations? 

[History&Wine]

3 hours ago, magnus1977 said:

Anyone have any thoughts of Explora vs Crystal? I will do a 7 night solo cruise in november/december on either Explora 2 or Crystal Serenity in the Caribbean. Solo outside cabin on Crystal and ocean terrace suite on Explora. $3500 Crystal and $5.000 Explora, including $400 on board credit for Explora. Any recommendations? 

Why not compare more similar rooms?  The ocean terrace suite is much nicer than the solo outside cabin on Crystal.  

[Stickman1990]

6 hours ago, magnus1977 said:

Anyone have any thoughts of Explora vs Crystal? 

I’ve been on both lines recently (just got off Serenity two weeks ago and was on Explora last September) and do plan to do a bigger comparison but I’m still working on that to be fair to both lines 

 

Bottom line is both are excellent luxury lines - for different reasons and we’re booked for a month on both Crystal and Explora Over the next year

 

We felt the food and service was excellent on both lines (in most cases) and in each case there are some restaurants we prefer over others - so for us we don’t see any major difference when compared across all the options - both lines have very high quality options across a range of cuisines - we did 18 nights on Explora and never tired of the options available to us and I struggle with some of the negative comments I see about menus and dishes - but o guess everyone has different tastes 

 

The entry level Explora cabins are much larger than the Crystal solos

 

It depends what’s important to you as to which you might prefer - if you like dancing and entertainment Crystal wins but the physical features of Explora are hard to beat

 

As I say I’d be happy on either and I don’t think it’s a case of one being better than the other - there are differences and it depends what’s important for you

 

The itinerary would be one important factor for us as both lines are limited at the moment with 2 ships each (once Explora 2 comes into service). I know you’ve shared the itinerary options elsewhere but I can’t comment the Caribbean is not an area I’m familiar with 

 

The other thing would be to look at what you like on your cruises and that will guide you - if you like shows and dancing then it would be Crystal. If you like pools, fitness centres and spas then I’d be looking at Explora

 

I see someone raised the issue of comparing similar cabins - if that were to happen you’d be comparing an entry level OT1 with an Aquamarine suite (no butler on Explora - but other than that pretty similar

[May B]

Saving $1500 when you can’t decide can be helpful! 

[JTor]

We are old Crystal fans, not on new Crystal until next year; just got off Explora in January.  Explora is a luxury product and I agree with others that the ship itself is beautiful and the food is great (we were only onboard for a week so didn't get tired of menus but I think I could eat on that ship for at least 2-3 weeks with no problems - many options appeal on all the different restaurant menus and the buffet also has a very diverse selection).  What I missed on Explora: lectures were not as many or as interesting; no ballroom dancing; no promenade deck (walking track is much shorter).  The service was good but not as "loving" as I recall on Crystal.  Agree about the dull itineraries but once Explora has more ships they will likely offer more options.  The kicker for me at the moment is that the pre-cruise experience on Explora was dreadful..... serious website problems and not much help when we called them.  They are working on fixing it. Right now that is a deal breaker for me.  Also, they did not even read our feedback forms, in the end it was also because of a tech issue which I think they HAVE fixed now, but I did not feel sufficiently that they "cared" about guest experience and that leaves me very unsatisfied.  Ultimately I was able to talk to a manager about our issues and she was sympathetic but no incentives offered to get us back on board so I am not feeling the love.  In the next 18 months we are playing the field with Disney, Viking, AMAwaterways, Crystal, Windstar, Virgin and Cunard, so if we don't fall in love with any of them maybe I'll "date" Explora one more time and see if it has improved with a bit of maturity.  Or maybe I'll get back on Silversea and Regent instead.

[oakridger]

1 hour ago, JTor said:

we are playing the field with Disney, Viking, AMAwaterways, Crystal, Windstar, Virgin and Cunard,

 

That's quite the diverse cruise line up! I would think that you will find your "style/fit" somewhere in that group along with other previous lines you have tried!  I would love to hear your impressions after all these experiences!

 

Thank you and have wonderful cruises over the next 18 months!

 

~Nancy

 

 

[vistaman]

On 3/14/2024 at 8:17 AM, bitob said:

Paul mco has been on both lines

Maybe he will post

 

 

i will be on the Symphony early June  -  will report

was on the silver Dawn 7 days  : was 4th time in 16 months  

transformation was of such a kind  that i did cancel another week an no more SS

[PaulMCO]

17 hours ago, JTor said:

 The kicker for me at the moment is that the pre-cruise experience on Explora was dreadful..... serious website problems and not much help when we called them.  They are working on fixing it. Right now that is a deal breaker for me. 

 

I agree, I just got on their site and tried to check my booking and magically it was gone...  Known issues for over a year and "working to fix this" is always the excuse.

 

Dreadful site reflects on the line.  Imagine when they have 5 ships...

I have been on the fence about canceling my next cruise with them, this may put me over the edge.

 

Now compare this to Crystal.  Spent 30 minutes to book two excursions and reservations each specialty, and enter my data.  Today went back to update our new passports into their system -- finished in 5 minutes. Perfect.

 

Went to Regents site and updated the passport info into our next cruise and the info filtered into all reservations.   Now that is how a web site should work!!

Edited April 27 by PaulMCO