Returning to Explora 1 after almost a year

[Dr. Cocktail]

47 minutes ago, cruisr said:

Some people like to share their opinions.  I welcome all opinions and views on a cruise.  you may see posts as complaining I see it as people taking time out from their holiday to report on their perceptions.  I appreciate that.

100% agree!

 

uktog crafts well written and considered reviews that are anything but mean spirited.    She has been on other cruise lines and is able to contrast and compare based on her experiences. As I've said before, it's called cruisecritic, not cruisesycophant! 

 

Just as everything isn't all doom and gloom, it's usually not sunshine and lollipops either.

 

By writing a comprehensive review while taking valuable time out of her vacation, we get her thoughts as things unfold.  She also follows up her initial impressions with a reassessment at the end.

 

What more could you ask for?

[uktog]

I’m not complaining but I’m not home yet 🥲

We had a beautiful three days down at Cape Sounio (about an hour from Piraeus) thoroughly recommend for some chill down time. Beautiful sunbeds on the beach,

view of the temple which is about 20 minutes walk away and is stunning day and night

 

 

 

renowned sunsets 

and an excellent restaurant 

 

The hotel organised all our taxis. On the way to the airport we had a wonderful driver who had studied in the UK spoke perfect English and was a history buff so we learned a lot about the silver mining which was the original source of Grecian wealth. 
 

And then a 90 minute flight delay (so we knew we’d have problems aa we only had 2.5 hours at Heathrow) became the least of our issues!
 

A faulty plane could not be fixed so the flight was cancelled with no assistance given other than find your own hotel and we pay you back. I’m not sure what was happening in Athens but finding a hotel wasn’t easy. Luckily as a BA gold travelling in business we got rescued and put up by BA in the Marriott 

 

Now we have to hope today’s flight is ok. They’ve rebooked us on an even tighter connection but we will take each step at a time. 
 

For now we are speeding back to the airport- speed not needed or our choice - in a taxi being driven by the drivers knees as he chats on his phone and enjoys his breakfast. Yes I’m complaining about Greek taxi drivers sorry! 😂

[uktog]

On 9/30/2024 at 8:39 AM, Elizabethbea said:

I am sure its not personal . These e mails go out to all pax. 

Actually the emails haven’t been sent to everyone - they’ve a system problem as explained below in the email I received today having followed up with Customer Services 

 

Having talked to other people, we were not the only ones who have not received the survey so if you are missing a survey contact customer services as I think the link I have will only work for me

 

Thank you very much for your email.

Please see below the link to your Survey. The system shows that your survey was completed, but I can imagine this is an error which maybe explains why you have not received it. I apologise for the inconvenience.

Please do not hesitate to let me know should you have any issue in opening the link and filling in the survey.

[Dr. Cocktail]

10 hours ago, uktog said:

 

For now we are speeding back to the airport- speed not needed or our choice - in a taxi being driven by the drivers knees as he chats on his phone and enjoys his breakfast. Yes I’m complaining about Greek taxi drivers sorry! 😂

Please .... on Carnival, this would be a shore excursion in the "Adventure" category!

[Host Jazzbeau]

I'm in Naples now, and Rick Steves lists a taxi ride as worth at least 1▲, and 2 if it's particularly chaotic.  DW says our taxi ride in from the airport counts for a 2!

[uktog]

23 hours ago, uktog said:

Actually the emails haven’t been sent to everyone - they’ve a system problem as explained below in the email I received today having followed up with Customer Services 

 

Having talked to other people, we were not the only ones who have not received the survey so if you are missing a survey contact customer services as I think the link I have will only work for me

 

Thank you very much for your email.

Please see below the link to your Survey. The system shows that your survey was completed, but I can imagine this is an error which maybe explains why you have not received it. I apologise for the inconvenience.

Please do not hesitate to let me know should you have any issue in opening the link and filling in the survey.

You could not make this up.  I was travelling yesterday so could not complete the survey until later last night only to find the link I have given does not work.  (I had not clicked on it previously or copied it over here as I know that can cause issues with some surveys)

 

Grrrrr

[Tsunami74]

On 9/21/2024 at 10:05 AM, mike@sea said:

I am really surprised to read all this and learn, that neither the entertainment nor the repetitive food in the restaurants, nor the excursion issues have been adjusted despite so many passenger complains and feedback during Explora1’s past first year.

Mr Smeets was on Explora 1 in February/March and listened to all remarks and complains : 

-The necessity to offer daily specials in all restaurants or 2 different menus alternating every week.

 

Am I to gather from this that the restaurant menus never change?

 

That would be a deal breaker for us.

 

How many different restaurants are open for dinner?

[Bongomeme]

14 minutes ago, Tsunami74 said:

Am I to gather from this that the restaurant menus never change?

 

That would be a deal breaker for us.

 

How many different restaurants are open for dinner?

I am on board now…my 3rd trip in 1 year.  There are 4 free sit down restaurants, as well as one Very good buffet type place with excellent made to order food and 1 special place (which virtually no one goes to) charging a fee. I can’t imagine getting bored with the food or the ambiance in 7-14 days. Our first trip was 23 days and I admit it got a little repetitive by then.

[johng75370]

1 hour ago, Tsunami74 said:

Am I to gather from this that the restaurant menus never change?

Yes.  There is some variety in the Marketplace, but the restaurants have menus that are decided by corporate and have not changed since launch.  For a 7 day (or even 14) there is a lot to choose from, but the menus are static.

[Waltershipman]

9 minutes ago, johng75370 said:

Yes.  There is some variety in the Marketplace, but the restaurants have menus that are decided by corporate and have not changed since launch.  For a 7 day (or even 14) there is a lot to choose from, but the menus are static.

Statically great IMHO

[uktog]

The level of choice all depends on how restricted a diet you have.  If you eat any protein or fish you will have a great choice from the restaurant menus, if not you would find it limiting.  Bear in mind, catch of the day has never been caught in Med Yacht since the day it opened!  There are very rarely daily specials for mains (as I recall over 14 nights we were offered them twice).  If you are a dessert eater after a while the choice is very limited as there only seemed to be a rotation of 4 tarts of the day.  

[Sololux]

Given how repetitive my home cooking is EJ is still a win win!  I actually like the idea that I will enjoy a specific course and will want to enjoy it again two weeks later!

 

I don’t need every dish for every meal to be different.  I just want each course to be so good that I want to eat it again!  Bizarrely that’s what I’ve been doing where I’ve had to stay when visiting my 101 year old mum.

[TrinaLC]

Muzak is a deal breaker. I mean that!  

[Khareef]

15 hours ago, Sololux said:

Given how repetitive my home cooking is EJ is still a win win!  I actually like the idea that I will enjoy a specific course and will want to enjoy it again two weeks later!

 

I don’t need every dish for every meal to be different.  I just want each course to be so good that I want to eat it again!  Bizarrely that’s what I’ve been doing where I’ve had to stay when visiting my 101 year old mum.

That's what I think as well. I talked to some passengers on my 2 week trip and they claimed it got repetitive after a while but my guess they tend to order the same things over and over. There is enough variety for a 2 week cruise for sure if you try the different offering on each menu (add  one evening at the anthology). Then again if you get really bored on port days you can try some local places (better to spend the money on food than on those useless excursions)

 

It is true though that a lot of dishes on different restaurants are a basic variation of the same thing (the French and Med are basically two different takes on the same stuff).

 

But in my experience the best restaurant are those that do a few things very well, when I see large menus I am almost always sure the food is not gonna be that great (seabourn anyone? everything tastes the same..)

 

I do think they could use a 2 week rotation to make a bit more fun.

[Hlitner]

Just wanted to "shout out" a big thank you to Uktog, for her excellent thread.  Reading through the posts (and some of the posts from others who were on the ship) has convinced me that EJ has failed to fix the error of their ways (i.e. "we are not a cruise ship but rather a floating resort").  I would have told the GM that a "resort" does not run out of basic supplies such as wine.

 

We have upcoming cruises on SS and SB, and after reading this thread, will not be booking another EJ in the near future.  I suspect that Heike left EJ, because she became frustrated with the lack of helpful support from above.  Even the best GM cannot work their magic unless they have support.  What I find somewhat shocking is that the supply and excursion issues happened on a European cruise, which is a place where MSC has lots of experience and clout.

 

 

Hank

[Khareef]

27 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just wanted to "shout out" a big thank you to Uktog, for her excellent thread.  Reading through the posts (and some of the posts from others who were on the ship) has convinced me that EJ has failed to fix the error of their ways (i.e. "we are not a cruise ship but rather a floating resort").  I would have told the GM that a "resort" does not run out of basic supplies such as wine.

 

We have upcoming cruises on SS and SB, and after reading this thread, will not be booking another EJ in the near future.  I suspect that Heike left EJ, because she became frustrated with the lack of helpful support from above.  Even the best GM cannot work their magic unless they have support.  What I find somewhat shocking is that the supply and excursion issues happened on a European cruise, which is a place where MSC has lots of experience and clout.

 

 

Hank

I am on the opposite end, After explora i am not going back to Seabourn and their dated ship interior design and average food (exception being the pursuit in the pacific maybe).

 

Silversea yes especially their newest ship.

[olindacat]

 

On 9/14/2024 at 3:43 PM, Dr. Cocktail said:

As for the wines, the lack of choice and variety was my #1 complaint last year and I spoke to a LOT of senior people onboard about it. I’m disappointed to hear that nothing has changed.

 

But - I have a Seabourn cruise coming up and their boards are abuzz with alcohol cutbacks…🤷‍♂️

 

This is a bummer to read. I see good pricing for a solo like me to go, but the notion of being onboard with no good white wine to drink kind of kills my buzz.

Bummed to read what you noted about S as well, as I have been looking for alternatives to Silversea and Regent, which are the two lines I've cruised mostly.

 

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I would have told the GM that a "resort" does not run out of basic supplies such as wine.

 

We have upcoming cruises on SS and SB, and after reading this thread, will not be booking another EJ in the near future. 

 

Also a bummer to read, as were many of the OP's great- but disappointing-posts here....

[Beamafar]

On 9/25/2024 at 5:15 PM, uktog said:

If you can ever stop here on a cruise it’s very special in my mind. I’ve decided if I run away that’s where I’m going - oops I’ve told folks where to find me. 
 

Just change your name to Shirley Valentine. 😁

[PaulMCO]

On 10/2/2024 at 12:11 PM, johng75370 said:

Yes.  There is some variety in the Marketplace, but the restaurants have menus that are decided by corporate and have not changed since launch.  For a 7 day (or even 14) there is a lot to choose from, but the menus are static.

 

Yes lots to chose from --- and as Bubba Gump says " shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it. 

 

In short after 10 days -- it was a non starter for either lunch or dinner. Med Yacht was better for both Lunch/Dinner and Sakura was good for lunch without a reservation.

 

Edited Thursday at 11:20 PM by PaulMCO

[Tsunami74]

On 10/2/2024 at 11:15 AM, Bongomeme said:

I am on board now…my 3rd trip in 1 year.  There are 4 free sit down restaurants, as well as one Very good buffet type place with excellent made to order food and 1 special place (which virtually no one goes to) charging a fee. I can’t imagine getting bored with the food or the ambiance in 7-14 days. Our first trip was 23 days and I admit it got a little repetitive by then.

Do you need reservations at the 4 free sit down restaurants?

 

(We prefer not eating at buffets - end up eating more, enjoying less than a composed dish)

[uktog]

3 hours ago, Tsunami74 said:

Do you need reservations at the 4 free sit down restaurants?

 

(We prefer not eating at buffets - end up eating more, enjoying less than a composed dish)

You do not need a reservation for Med Yacht or Fils Rouge, you are allowed at least on reservation for each of Sakura (evening) and Marble. 
 

I would give the Marketplace a try as it is all served to you and many of the dishes are pre composed eg beautiful salad combinations, cerviche and small desserts.  (There’s also the option for them to prepare salads, cerviche etc to your preferred combination but I found the lovely pre-made salads in bowls very innovative combinations. This is an example of one based on bulgur wheat. 

Pasta dishes are made to order so you can portion control. It’s certainly not a pile it high buffet.  I shared your thinking before the cruise but became a fan of the Emporium so included a couple of nights in there over the 14 days.

[CruiseCrew123]

We also made reservations for Med & Yacht via the app when on board . Ageee to try marketplace . Because of the way it’s set up with a lot being cooked to order we just picked a main and then added salad etc . There is no need to pile your plate high with a mix of foods .

[uktog]

No joy in getting a working survey from them. They are having IT issues (sounds familiar).

 

I now have to email my feedback (it will be positive and less positive) but doubt it will do anything but go down that black hole.  Both destinations experience team and the Cellar Master onboard asked we feed back on our surveys to reinforce the issues they are facing. How frustrating we cannot help them as clearly they were frustrated and did not appear to feel listened to. 

Crazy thing I was asked to email my answers to the questions- doh- if I could see the questions I would be completing the survey online. Oh well they’ll just get an email covering what I want to talk about! 

[kelleherdl]

On 10/2/2024 at 3:57 PM, Tsunami74 said:

Am I to gather from this that the restaurant menus never change?

 

That would be a deal breaker for us.

 

How many different restaurants are open for dinner?

They do change, by region of sailing and we found out quality of the food supplied to the ship.  We boarded Explora II in Tarragona ready to order Dover Sole at Med Yacht.  It was off the menu for that sailing. Chef was not satisfied with quality of fish supplied. There are also some one offs per week, like Lobster Thermidor.