M/V Explorer

[SamKaplan]

Lisa and I are booked on this trip. We are looking forward to this wonderful itinerary. We understand this is the 2nd “non-academic” cruise for this ship.

 

A few questions I haven’t seen on the board yet.

 

1. Entertainment – On other cruise lines there are Las Vegas style shows. I don’t expect anything like that on this cruise, but I don’t know what to expect. Can anyone tell us what types of entertainment there are onboard?

 

2. Dress code for dinner – yes, I read Bellingham Belle’s account. However, we will be celebrating New Year’s Eve on this cruise. Are the men expected to were tuxedos and women long gowns?

 

Probably more questions to follow over the next six months.

 

How about we start our own roll call here?

[Bellingham Belle]

I started a roll call on "Roll Calls all other cruise lines" for the Dec. 18th cruise. It was a very different kind of cruise, we've done 41 cruises and never had one like this. It was great not to have to pack a formal, Tux, shoes and all the extras!-esp. with all the airlines restricting baggage to 50 lbs. I don't know if New Years will be different. On our trip for the Captains Welcome Dinner and the Farewell dinner the most formal wear we saw for men consisted of a Jacket, some had ties, for women, it seemed it was what you would wear if you went out to a nice place for dinner. The entertainment was an Opera singer and her pianist husband, a wonderful Barbershop Quartet, a great singer, pianist, who performed all kinds of great tunes. There was also a passenger show with a lot of talented people. There were times they had programs on the next port, telling about the history and the people, not just where to shop. This was a two week trip with no special holiday as we will have. I believe it was the first cruise that was not a "Semester at Sea"cruise.

[eleanordew]

Hi - I've been away on a cruise (imagine that!?), so I didn't get to see this until tonight.

 

Entertainment -- They don't have Las Vegas-style shows during the semesters (Fall, Spring, and Summer). I don't think they will have them during the intersession cruises either.

 

New Year's Eve -- During the summer, we only had two events that required a formal, and those were the Captain's dinner and the Ambassadors' Ball at the end of term. He invited each one of the faculty to one of the dinners. (My mother was invited to sit at the Captain's table twice, however -- I guess she entertained the Captain! LOL) I would suspect that for an intersession cruise, you could set whatever standard you wished for these special events, such as New Year's Eve.

 

I responded to Ruth privately, but would be glad to edit my comments for posting in case anyone else is interested in mobility issues on the ship. -- Jean (eleanordew)

[rascalrider]

Jean, nothing has shown up in my emaiil box yet. I will keep watching. Hope you had a great time on your cruise!

Thanks,

Ruth

[eleanordew]

It was a great cruise - we went to Alaska on the Mercury.

 

Re: MV Explorer:

 

I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. You can also contact Semester At Sea directly; you can ask for Jill Wright. She is the Director of Semester At Sea, and was just recently on the ship as Executive Dean. You can tell her I recommended that you contact her. (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to give you the website or Jill's email address here, but you can do a Google search for "Semester At Sea University of Virginia" and find it that way.)

>>How are the accessible issues for a wheelchair or mobility scooter on board? I have found out that there are 5 handicap cabins on deck 5, but they are already booked. I need to know if my small mobility scooter (37" long x 17" wide) would fit in a standard cabin and have space to turn around, park and plug in to charge. <<

 

I have never been in the standard cabins - normally those are used by students, and I never went to down to decks 3 and 4. I've been told they are a normal-size for a standard cabin (which to me means a small room), but if you are rooming alone, you could have them take one bed out and have some space to turn around.

 

>>Are there any bump-overs into cabins and to outside decks and if so approximately how high? Could I get into any of the public restrooms with my scooter or are there any dedicated w/c public restrooms? Are there any areas that I could not access due to stairs only? Are the elevators of a decent size to accommodate my scooter plus other guests ? I am painfully aware of the step-up into the cabin bathroom, but by bringing a half-step along, I could manage that with a little struggle. At the buffets, are there crew that will assist with serving and carrying the food trays?<<

 

Yes, there are bump-overs into the cabins, but I don't think they are very high, maybe a half inch. There are two sets of elevators (one forward and one aft), and you can pretty much get to every deck by using them. They are of average size, and I think that you could get two -three people inside in addition to your scooter. In fact, the able-bodied students are asked to not take the elevators, so that the older folks and those with mobility issues can use them.

 

The public restrooms have fairly narrow doors, but I can't recall if there is a step up - I don't think so, but they probably have a threshold like for the cabins, i.e., about a half inch high.

 

Yes, there are waiters that help everyone with carrying their trays and serving, so that should be no problem for you.

 

>>Have you seen any wheelchair/scooter users on this ship? And how is tendering handled for w/c in ports if tendering is required. Or is this ship small enough that it is always is able to dock?<<

 

The only scooter I saw on the ship was one used by an elderly lady to get on and off the ship at the beginning and end of the voyage. She did not use it during the voyage, but she did use a walker with wheels. (My mother reminded me that while we were on board there was a visitor on the ship who used a scooter. I believe he was on board for 3 days, but I don't know if he had any logistical problems.)

 

Getting onto and off of the ship at ports is going to be the big problem for you. We tendered into only one port (Panama) on last summer's voyage, but it was a difficult process in rough seas. I'm not sure it could be done with a scooter or wheelchair, or even someone who is uncertain on their feet. The ship tends to dock at ports that don't have many tourist facilities, so we always had to navigate a long, narrow staircase to get on and off the ship. The only easy ports with ramps etc. were Ensenada and San Diego.

 

>>Any other useful information would also be appreciated.

Thank you, Eleanor, for any information that you can give me. The travel agency offering the cruise did not have the answers. I thought that you might since you worked on the ship.<<

 

 

I'm happy to help as much as I can. Let me know if you have other questions. I have a message out to my contacts on the ship, so I may have additional information for you shortly. -- Jean

[rascalrider]

Thank you, Jean, maybe I should stick to the ships I know and those built in the last ten years. I would have a cabin mate. I will attempt to contact Jill for further information. The port conditios seem bleak so expect that I will not be taking this cruise.

 

Thank you Jean and Jeanne for your help.

Rurh

[MMDown Under]

These Enrichment Programme Cruises sound absolutely wonderful. I have bookmarked the link for the future. Thanks so much.

[Woofhounds]

Hello,

We just received imformation that we need yellow fever shots and need a visia for Brazil ! Both are very expensive. At least the shots are good for 10 years. Hope everyone is well .

[Bellingham Belle]

Woofhounds We got that message too. Lucky for us ours are still good from 7 1/2 years ago and they were free, the medical plan we had at the time covered them. We'll probably use the same Visa service we used at that time. We are going to be in Reno Aug. 10 to 14. If you have the time and interest maybe you could e-mail me and we could set up a coffee date. jeannesherwin@comcast.net

[NorcalGuy]

I have also discovered the explorer and the trips look interesting...but I really can't find anyone who has been on the ship. I know there is no casino and no photographers (now there's a plus)..but how is the food? Even a bigger question is how much to the field excursions cost...they aren't even priced yet for the May 2008 trip.

Hello all,

I'm also interested in people's reports of how the Field excursions were and some general prices. I'm hoping they are a lot better than the typical main line ship cruise excursions, which are usually too short and often very shallow in nature. If the excursions are really super, I may give them a try. I won't miss the casino, photographers, bingo, etc.

[eleanordew]

The ship just set sail on the Fall 2008 semester voyage. I spent the last three months gathering the reserve materials for the library!

[SamKaplan]

Eleanor

 

Are you onboard now? Is there a Bridge Cam link? I would like to see this semester's cruise from home.

 

Sam

[eleanordew]

I'm not on board this voyage. I'll look for the librarian's blog and send it to you, if you'll give me your email.

[SamKaplan]

Eleanor

 

My email address is Sam6226@Comcast.net Thanks!

 

Sam

[eleanordew]

Sam - I just sent you an email with a blog link. - El

[SamKaplan]

Thanks!

[maplecroft]

My husband and myself are taking the Amazon cruise on MV Explorer in December. Have read all the info and it sounds different. Since we are on cruise 50, we believe it will be a nice change. Keep us informed of get togethers on the ship. Any other Canadians on board.

See you soon

[maplecroft]

We will be there. Keep us up to date on meetings. Donna and Mac Lewis

[QuePasa]

Hi All,

We are Dianne (ontdi),& Bill, (QuePasa), from SW Ontario & just north of Detroit, MI.

We are sailing on the MV Explorer on May8/09. Usually we are "big ship" cruisers, but this itinerary looks very interesting.

Most of the reviews have been positive, the main complaints being small cabins, good but not great food & entertainment. The very liberal alcohol & wine policy, & free Internet are major bonuses.

Anyone else out there going with us on this cruise?

Not looking forward to the heat & humidity, but will try to keep my fussing to a minimum!

Is the tipping policy similar to other cruises? (On a shipboard account or handed out personally)?

Also, nominal fee for specialty restaurant----anyone been to it & how much is the nominal fee? Was it worth it?

Thanks so much in advance!

Looking forward to hearing back from anyone else on this cruise.

 

Cheers, Dianne & Bill

 

PS: Bellingham Belle: Wondering if we were on the same NCL Jade TA in Feb/Mar of 2008? We really enjoyed that crossing.

[ontdi]

Just a quick post to enable instant notification from this thread. Thanks for your understanding.

Looking forward to hearing back from others who are planning this trip. Smaller numbers of passengers will be a great way to meet new people.

Cheers,

Dianne

[SamKaplan]

Nothing is all good or all bad. I am not a complainer, but . . . .

 

The ship itself looks beautiful. The cabins are small, the bathroom is small, but surprisingly the shower is large. The entire crew onboard will do anything to please you. Food is sometimes really good, sometimes just OK. There was a lot of dining variety. During the three week Amazon cruise I don't think there was a single meal that was repeated.

 

Our cabin was on the 4th deck, just aft of the mid-line. The cabin was noisy, not people noise, but mechanical noise. Every once in a while it felt like the drive shaft was out of balance and shook us for about 15 minutes, then stopped. This happened several time a day - and night.

 

The wait staff in the dining room was outstanding. One night we were offered prime rib. A person at our table asked for an end piece - and the waiter got him one. My wife wanted a rare piece, and she got it. I think that was amazing. The problem was that there was not enough wait staff for the amount of passengers onboard. At least one one occasion the early seating was rushed (forced?) out of the dining room to get ready for the late seating already online at the door.

 

At several of our ports-of-call the gangway down to the pier was on deck 5. For college students and other healthy people this may not be a problem. But, the median age of the passengers on this cruise was in the mid-70's. The deck 2 gangway would have suited them better. It should also be noted that everything at one port was basically closed because it was Sunday. At another port, we were the first cruise ship to arrive in 5 years (maybe 7 years, depending on who you ask) so they was not really ready, nor well equipped to handle several hundred sightseeing, souvenir hunting American tourists.

 

I don't believe I will sail on the M/V Explorer in the future.

[ontdi]

Thanks so much for all your good information. I appreciate your candour. I feel that we are aware of any of the shortcomings of this ship & are willing to make allowances for them. It is not a "cruise ship" as such. We are up for the change.

Hope we won't have your noisy stateroom!

Again, ---thank you,

Dianne

PS: Would any of our ports have been the same? Not sure what your exact itinerary was.

[Bellingham Belle]

Yes, we were on the Jade crossing. Didn't Muse Clio do a great job setting up so many things? The M/V Explorer is a different kind of cruise. We sailed on the two week May cruise last year. Then did the three week Amazon cruise Dec 17th to Jan 8. It doesn't have all the "fancy stuff" but we had a great time anyway. We live in the Pacific Northwest, just below B.C. so the air included was a great feature.I think the air fare for the Jade trip was a lot more than our balcony on the ship. All the things Sam Kaplan said about the good and bad were true but we still had a great time. We also were on the fourth deck, starboard side, outside cabin but we didn't have the noise and shaking. We had the same cabin on both trips. Someone told us about OLVstock. If you have 500 shares (today it is about 55cents a share) you get a 5% credit at the conclusion of the trip and sure enough about 2-3 weeks after we were back we received our check. We wished we had known sooner so we could have gotten it for both trips. There was a great advantage to the free internet too. Our Laptop worked in our room. Laundry was great. You could have all the laundry you could get in the sack washed and folded for six dollars or ironed for nine. The dress of course is very informal.:)

[ontdi]

Hi Bellingham Belle,

Thank you so much for responding to my posting. I totally agree with you that Muse Clio did a wonderful job of arranging everything for us. It was our 1st TA & we loved it so much that we came home & booked 2 more. One was last Dec on the final Galaxy TA crossing & we are doing the 1st Equinox TA in Nov of this year. I was also very impressed with the number of officers & staff that attended the first CC meeting on the Jade. The last several Celebrity cruises & also the last HAL cruise that I was on had no representation from the ship at all! Too bad, but perhaps timing was an issue for them.

We are fully aware of the differences on this MV Explorer ship. Should not be a problem for us at all. We booked a GUAR outside cabin. I wonder how long before the cabin #'s are assigned. I hope we get lucky!

Laundry is a wonderful perk too.

I had forgotten about the stock info. May consider it. Was it a 5% reate on the price of the cruise package that was booked with the company. I have used it for CCL & RCL successfully but took at beating with stock price.

Thanks again for your input.

Perhaps our paths will cross again!

Cheers,

Dianne

[QuePasa]

I'm Bill, Dianne's sig. other -- and I'm looking fwd. to another great cruise.

 

Bill