Explorer Alaska Cruise Review

[doowopbob]

Completed 14 day Vancouver to Vancouver on Explorer this past Wed.  Boarding was no problem at all. After reading all the horror stories about waiting over 2 hrs to board we were pleasantly surprised to be on board in less than 45 minutes from the time we were dropped off.  Unfortunately due to a surprise coast guard inspection that morning none of the rooms were ready until around 4pm.  Our cabin was F2 forward.  Very nice. Had a minor problem with the deck doors not closing all the way but that was taken care of quickly. Met our cabin attendants and like all the crew they were wonderful. We like having a drink in our cabin before dinner and my wife has hers with OJ and Cranberry juice. On other cruises they would put a couple of glasses in the fridge in the am.  Here our attendant gave us a carton of  OJ and a bottle of cranberry juice so it was always fresh.

 

Dinners were excellent.  How can you complain about dinning in Compass Rose when if you don't see anything you like in the specials you can always opt for a filet along with a large lobster tail which we did on several nights. Pacific Rim was wonderful as were the steaks and Lobster at Prime 7.  We are not big fans of French food so one night there was enough.  Breakfast was good and we liked that lunch was always available in Prime 7 if you didn't feel like eating it the buffet.  I will say that the burgers at lunch were pretty bad.  Don't ask for them well done they are literally like shoe leather.  Also the pizza is pretty bad and cold by the time you get it since the pizza oven is at the pool grill.

 

The entertainment was much better than we expected especially the Whitney Houston CGI show. That was incredible, it was really like she was there.

The tours were hit and miss.  We chose to cancel a couple due to the weather especially in Victoria when it was very cold with a strong wind and going to the gardens and having tea didn't seem to make much sense.

 

Now for the bad part.  On the day we departed I was feeling a little off.  Felt like I might be getting a cold.  When we got home It was worst and yes I tested positive for Covid.  Now my wife has it too.  I really wish Regent would follow Oceania's example and have servers dish out the food in the buffet rather than help yourself. By the time you grab the big spoon it's probably had a 100 hands on it.  It didn't seem like anyone was washing there hands before going in.  One day right before the end of the cruise there was someone stationed at the entry insisting that you wash. She said it was mandatory.  I asked why it wasn't mandatory before.  She said that there were a few cases of the Flu.  I wonder now if it wasn't Covid.  Lousy was to end the cruise but at least if wasn't during it.

 

All in all a wonderful cruise on our favorite cruise line.

[briar14]

3 hours ago, doowopbob said:

Now for the bad part.  On the day we departed I was feeling a little off.  Felt like I might be getting a cold.  When we got home It was worst and yes I tested positive for Covid.  Now my wife has it too.  I really wish Regent would follow Oceania's example and have servers dish out the food in the buffet rather than help yourself. By the time you grab the big spoon it's probably had a 100 hands on it.  It didn't seem like anyone was washing there hands before going in.  One day right before the end of the cruise there was someone stationed at the entry insisting that you wash. She said it was mandatory.  I asked why it wasn't mandatory before.  She said that there were a few cases of the Flu.  I wonder now if it wasn't Covid.  Lousy was to end the cruise but at least if wasn't during it.

We disembarked Explorer on March 1. During the 30 days we were onboard, I saw very few people sanitizing or washing their hands before eating or going into the various venues. Guess what—the last few days of the cruise I had a terrible cough which sent me to the Medical Center. I was tested for Covid, Flu and RSV. All negative, but the cough sounded like what I heard around the ship and on tours. I was very careful, using masks and washing my hands. So, the last few days of this wonderful trip were disappointing as I chose to do the right thing and curtail events and socializing. It was a difficult trip home. Two and a half weeks later, the cough was finally gone. Regent did nothing to remind guests to sanitize their hands at least before eating. I know these trips are very expensive, but if you don’t feel well, please don’t mingle with other guests.

[BBWC]

And what does Covid have to do with hand washing/sanitizing? I thought we had finally learned that it is an airborne disease.

[fizzy]

One of my very favorite things about Regent and Silversea are the serve yourself food options. Removing that would be a deal breaker for us. Oceania would not work for us. Yes, you should wash your hands but you can't avoid all germs. I've seen hundreds of photos of dining venues on these ships where the majority of passengers have their dirty little cell phones sitting front and center on the table. Does Oceania jump to change the tablecloth in between each meal?  I doubt it. Aren't we always told that phones and tv remotes are the dirtiest everyday things that we handle? Try banning the electronics in the restaurants and see how that goes. Avoid the buffets if they are not your thing.

[Aloha 1]

1 hour ago, fizzy said:

One of my very favorite things about Regent and Silversea are the serve yourself food options. Removing that would be a deal breaker for us. Oceania would not work for us. Yes, you should wash your hands but you can't avoid all germs. I've seen hundreds of photos of dining venues on these ships where the majority of passengers have their dirty little cell phones sitting front and center on the table. Does Oceania jump to change the tablecloth in between each meal?  I doubt it. Aren't we always told that phones and tv remotes are the dirtiest everyday things that we handle? Try banning the electronics in the restaurants and see how that goes. Avoid the buffets if they are not your thing.

To each his own, I guess, but my experience on O is that you get as much as you want of what you want without having to handle a potentially passenger contaminated serving utensil. There are more cases of flu and norovirus out there than covid and those are surface virii.

[labonnevie]

If this is a real concern, the simple answer is to sanitize your hands after you go through the buffet line. 

[fizzy]

1 hour ago, labonnevie said:

If this is a real concern, the simple answer is to sanitize your hands after you go through the buffet line. 

That is the perfect answer and keep the phones, etc. off the tables.  You'll survive for the time it takes you to enjoy a meal.

[baybridge]

And I thought I was the only one who washes up after getting my food and before I eat.  Also I use the serving pieces with my right hand eat with my left.

[2SailingNomads]

Oe go on Explora where no pax serves themselves.  Worked perfectly fine for us.  You tell them what you want they serve you.  Downside is it costs them more having people at those stations.

 

Edited June 7 by 2SailingNomads
Typo

[RachelG]

On 6/3/2024 at 7:11 PM, BBWC said:

And what does Covid have to do with hand washing/sanitizing? I thought we had finally learned that it is an airborne disease.

exactly correct--I was just fixing to write that when I saw your post. 

[RELS]

On 6/3/2024 at 12:41 PM, doowopbob said:

Completed 14 day Vancouver to Vancouver on Explorer this past Wed.  Boarding was no problem at all. After reading all the horror stories about waiting over 2 hrs to board we were pleasantly surprised to be on board in less than 45 minutes from the time we were dropped off.  Unfortunately due to a surprise coast guard inspection that morning none of the rooms were ready until around 4pm.  Our cabin was F2 forward.  Very nice. Had a minor problem with the deck doors not closing all the way but that was taken care of quickly. Met our cabin attendants and like all the crew they were wonderful. We like having a drink in our cabin before dinner and my wife has hers with OJ and Cranberry juice. On other cruises they would put a couple of glasses in the fridge in the am.  Here our attendant gave us a carton of  OJ and a bottle of cranberry juice so it was always fresh.

 

Dinners were excellent.  How can you complain about dinning in Compass Rose when if you don't see anything you like in the specials you can always opt for a filet along with a large lobster tail which we did on several nights. Pacific Rim was wonderful as were the steaks and Lobster at Prime 7.  We are not big fans of French food so one night there was enough.  Breakfast was good and we liked that lunch was always available in Prime 7 if you didn't feel like eating it the buffet.  I will say that the burgers at lunch were pretty bad.  Don't ask for them well done they are literally like shoe leather.  Also the pizza is pretty bad and cold by the time you get it since the pizza oven is at the pool grill.

 

The entertainment was much better than we expected especially the Whitney Houston CGI show. That was incredible, it was really like she was there.

The tours were hit and miss.  We chose to cancel a couple due to the weather especially in Victoria when it was very cold with a strong wind and going to the gardens and having tea didn't seem to make much sense.

 

Now for the bad part.  On the day we departed I was feeling a little off.  Felt like I might be getting a cold.  When we got home It was worst and yes I tested positive for Covid.  Now my wife has it too.  I really wish Regent would follow Oceania's example and have servers dish out the food in the buffet rather than help yourself. By the time you grab the big spoon it's probably had a 100 hands on it.  It didn't seem like anyone was washing there hands before going in.  One day right before the end of the cruise there was someone stationed at the entry insisting that you wash. She said it was mandatory.  I asked why it wasn't mandatory before.  She said that there were a few cases of the Flu.  I wonder now if it wasn't Covid.  Lousy was to end the cruise but at least if wasn't during it.

 

All in all a wonderful cruise on our favorite cruise line.

 

We were also on this cruise, and were pleasantly surprised by the ease of boarding.

 

A lot of our excursions were very wet (Ketchikan, I'm looking at you!), but as Pacific Northwesters we were prepared with our rain pants and waterproof whatevers and managed to have a good time anyway.

 

We were on the very ill-fated Kenai Fjords excursion in Seward, and that does color the rest of the cruise a little, but we managed to have fun, anyway.

(https://cdn-www.adn.arcpublishing.com/alaska-news/2024/05/30/a-broken-distress-call-as-waves-swamped-their-boat-near-seward-then-silence/)

 

I'm sorry you decided to skip the Butchart gardens in Victoria. By the time our bus pulled into the parking lot (the first bus there) the rain and wind had stopped and even though it was cloudy, it was also very beautiful. The end of the day was glorious, and we were so glad we'd gotten onto the afternoon Abkhazi Garden excursion, which also included a very generous tea (included excursion) and highly recommend that excursion to all who like gardens.

 

I have to disagree with you on the Whitney Houston show. I found it extremely creepy, and very much hope that sort of entertainment isn't the future (though I fear it is, since you only have to install the set up once, as opposed to hiring, training, and feeding performers). I thought Patty Dess's Diva show was great, and would love to see more of her.  As usual the Regent Signature Orchestra was fantastic.

 

Food was good, wine was good (the head sommelier seemed to think I know more about wine than I do :-), laundry was always back before dinner (we put it out at night before turn-down), and we were recognized and welcomed by so many crew from previous cruises and other ships. 

 

All around a great cruise!