Learning the Ropes for Explora Journey For Our First Time Cruising On Them

[jmdlv1]

Not trying to hijack but since the You Tube video was mentioned, thought I would bring up a few content creators that I have followed . There are dozens.

 

Some do daily news reports and updates on cruising while others like Gary @Tips for Travelers do updates ,ship reviews  ,tips  and opinion pieces on the industry.

In no particular order:

 

The Travel Scouts

Cruise News Today w Doug Parker

Cruzely.com

The Ship Life

La Lido Loca

Life Well Cruised

Ben and David

Live a Little

 

All different styles but occasionally good info is included.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr. Cocktail]

16 hours ago, jmdlv1 said:

Not trying to hijack but since the You Tube video was mentioned, thought I would bring up a few content creators that I have followed . There are dozens.

 

Some do daily news reports and updates on cruising while others like Gary @Tips for Travelers do updates ,ship reviews  ,tips  and opinion pieces on the industry.

In no particular order:

 

The Travel Scouts

Cruise News Today w Doug Parker

Cruzely.com

The Ship Life

La Lido Loca

Life Well Cruised

Ben and David

Live a Little

 

All different styles but occasionally good info is included.

 

 

 

 

 

A good list but I am again stating that you can enjoy the images and commentary but many are no more than infomercials.

 

Except for Gary B, they never state whether or not they’re receiving some sort of reimbursement directly from the cruise lines.

[napria]

Cruise News with Doug Parker is a great, unbiased news short on all the goings on in the cruise industry.  He also has a podcast “Cruise Radio” that often — but not always — has a news segment before presenting a structured trip report interview. Usually the cruises are on large lines, i.e. Celebrity, HAL, Carnival, NCL, etc.

 

Gary Bembrige is great, and I think he’s for the most part unbiased, but we just took a cruise on Queen Mary 2, one of Gary’s favorite ships.  I think like so many who love Mary, he failed to really convey how the ship is simply not in as good repair as one would expect from what is billed as “Luxury” 

 

We have sailed with Silversea in the past but are now retired and looking for a pleasant cruising experience without the Ultra Luxury price.  We appreciate some drinks included in our fare, and including gratuities would be nice, but the big thing for us is great food, good service, and a well maintained ship.  We’re currently looking at Explora, Oceania, and Azamara.

[clskinsfan]

On 10/7/2024 at 11:31 PM, jmdlv1 said:

Not trying to hijack but since the You Tube video was mentioned, thought I would bring up a few content creators that I have followed . There are dozens.

 

Some do daily news reports and updates on cruising while others like Gary @Tips for Travelers do updates ,ship reviews  ,tips  and opinion pieces on the industry.

In no particular order:

 

The Travel Scouts

Cruise News Today w Doug Parker

Cruzely.com

The Ship Life

La Lido Loca

Life Well Cruised

Ben and David

Live a Little

 

All different styles but occasionally good info is included.

 

 

 

 

 

Tony and Jenny are great on la lido lico. Watch them a lot. 

[cruisr]

The thing about these YouTube people is that most do not post about luxury cruise lines which is what I sail 95% of the time.  i do occasionally do Oceania which accounts for the 5%.  i did find Gary’s review of QG on Cunard interesting and Seabourn expedition ship was interesting.  I only cruise Grill class on Cunard and have sailed every ship on Seabourn, except the Pursuit and Venture, which I have no interest in.

I thought it was cute how Ben and David were blown away by what I consider a normal experience on luxury lines.  They seemed shocked that they didn’t have to wear a wristband or show a key card.  I am glad they were impressed with everything but seriously if one never experienced luxury such as this before of course they would be blown away.

[jmdlv1]

3 hours ago, cruisr said:

The thing about these YouTube people is that most do not post about luxury cruise lines which is what I sail 95% of the time.  i do occasionally do Oceania which accounts for the 5%.  i did find Gary’s review of QG on Cunard interesting and Seabourn expedition ship was interesting.  I only cruise Grill class on Cunard and have sailed every ship on Seabourn, except the Pursuit and Venture, which I have no interest in.

I thought it was cute how Ben and David were blown away by what I consider a normal experience on luxury lines.  They seemed shocked that they didn’t have to wear a wristband or show a key card.  I am glad they were impressed with everything but seriously if one never experienced luxury such as this before of course they would be blown away.

That is absolutely true .Most of the YouTubers  focus on mass market or premium lines.

There are numerous content creators though that have done Seaborn and SS.

They try to appeal to the most people so they maximize their compensation.

I'm not familiar with most as I have not sailed on either line yet.

 

 

 

[Sthrngary]

YouTube for me is about picking up some information here and there.  As it relates to Explora Journey, they are still to early to rate so anything I could see would help me.  Like all social media, I take everything with a grain of salt. 

 

A great example of how YouTube helped me was with a cabin tour.  I just wanted to see the offerings.  Each present told me a little bit more about the amenities.  Must of us here read reviews and comments to fill in the gaps. I personally find the Marketing done by all brands to be OK but much less helpful.  Brand marketing departments have never learned the art of, "Under promise and OVER deliver". 

 

Side note, just after covid allowed for cruises to come back, I called one of the travel agents that did GREAT ship and stateroom tours.  This person claimed they cruised on the brand I was considering many times.  Their video's were awesome and professional. This agent was horrible at communication, keeping telephone appointment and following up.  So I now just watch the videos for the value they give me.  That is my lesson on YouTube so called influencer.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[uktog]

If I watch these videos I do so with the sound off - I’m only interested in seeing things on ships not hearing because there’s so many backhanders going on it’s hard to filter out the gratuitous verbiage. 
There are also pages on social media I’m disconnecting from - posters are always the guest of this or that captain (Mr Invisible in most guests experience so I’m glad he does eat), attending naming events, going on about wonderful excursions, chefs kitchen, anthology etc. The minute I saw back at a fabulous naming ceremony that confirmed there is no objectivist- you’re “in their pocket” to a greater or lesser extent. I looked back and saw they had never once in over a year found one thing wrong with Explora -  I’ve rested my case 😀

[Dr. Cocktail]

Hey Gary!

 

I know you saw the video which has been moved but I  wanted to restate for others to see.  Gary B, based on a survey of different reviews (not his own) ranked Explora as THE #1 Luxury Line sailing today!

 

Again, NOT his personal view but a survey.

Edited Monday at 10:57 PM by Dr. Cocktail

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

Hey Gary!

 

I know you saw the video which has been moved but I  wanted to restate for others to see.  Gary B, based on a survey of different reviews (not his own) ranked Explora as THE #1 Luxury Line sailing today!

 

Again, NOT his personal view but a survey.

@Dr. Cocktail I hope you meant me when you said, Hey Gary.  Yes, I saw the entire video and found it rather interesting.  What it did for me was again support my decision to not only take a Explora Journey cruise myself, but to also insist on my older sister who NEVER cruise before to join me.  I wanted her to have the best experience possible.  

 

I have loved my research on all cruises, cruise brands and categories.  My first adventure into luxury cruising was Crystal.  This is before they went belly up and got new owners.  Called it a Luxury cruise test drive. For the most part, I found some of what I was looking for.  The issue was it was right after Covid was allowing cruising again, and the ship was less then half filled.  Normally I would love that but those on the ship were the Crystal Most Loyal Clients and some were well, not my cup of tea.  Sorry to say that, but it did put a damper on the week. 

 

What I did love was the service, food, and feeling like no matter which suite you were on, you were treated like Rock Stars.  There is something to say about true personalized service.  All indication, Explora Journey will be the same or better with a much nicer ship.

 

If I could do things all over, I would have booked Explora Journey for my October 2025 Mediterranean cruise with our friends.  We booked, Oceania for the second time on their newer ship the Visa. I am already trying to sell my wife and friends to do Explora Journey the year after.  

 

Thanks for the shout out.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.