Lord Haw Haw

On 5/27/2023 at 6:08 AM, Keith1010 said:

I am not sure how one qualifies this.

 

What I do know is Explora Jouney started with not many people and not a lot of details.

 

I actually booked a cruise in the early stages and know someone who was working with them in a key role with no one else but him.  

 

I would say most of what I learned was from a web event they did and a lot of that was high level with not a lot of detail. It sounded good. Otherwise I wouldn't have booked it. I did cancel after Crystal published its itineraries.  

 

I would say what we knew at the early stages is very similar for both companies.

 

Start ups have the challenge of when to ramp ups with hiring and that applies to most startups since they don't have a true revenue stream.  

 

I wish them success as I do new Crystal.

 

Keith

Hi Keith,

Just wondering what the main drivers were for you to cancel Explora and book on Crystal?

Thanks in advance.

There are two options for payment, standard booking is 25% deposit with the balance three months out from sailing or payment in full at time of booking which attracts a 5% discount. 

As far as location goes I would avoid deck 6 as the restaurants are below the suites, the cheapest are mid ship as the don't have the extended balcony that the forward and aft suites have on this level.

There was an earlier cross promotion for MSC diamond loyalty customers, you may want to look at the previous thread in relation to this.

Always found a wider selection of paddles in Copenhagen.

4 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

No courses for me.Cunard is at the top of my price range. No desire to cruise less often by spending more on upscaling. I’ve known some people spend more per night than I do on my whole cruise !! 100% their choice but not mine. Can’t see the point . Cunard ticks all my boxes so that’s a no from me. 😀🚢

 

As I said horses for course, best of luck and keep on sailing...I just like to keep an open mind.

Safest pla

On 12/2/2022 at 6:51 AM, fourmile.ranch said:

QM2 8089

Safest place on the ship

On 5/16/2023 at 6:11 AM, Winifred 22 said:

I agreed.I started with P &O took a Cunard cruise and that was it. Smitten . First choice for me now. Having said that I was booked on the cancelled QM2 in April, all I could get on  was P&O Britannia and I must admit I had a good time. Of course it wasn’t the same but it was a good second. Couldn’t fault the value and to be honest the food was as good as Britannia restaurant. Few differences.

Wow, wait till you try a luxury cruise line. I started with Crunard which was lovely but then got serious.

I really don't want to burst anyones bubble but horses for courses.

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

Sidenote.   Our new cabin attendant cleaning cabin today and noticed my Crystal logo tee shirt.  Oh I was with Crystal before they shutdown.  Will you return to them I asked.  Response was no, not really interested.  
 

Unscientific but the poll is now 4 Yes and 4 No on past 4 cruises.  Those 4 cruises were Regent, Oceania and Seabourn (2).  They included 3 housekeeping, 3 waiters, 2 bartenders. 
 

Guests run around the same ratio including some guest lecturers who were on the yes side. 

I would be interested to know if the ones saying no were now on Seabourn as from what I saw recently the staff do next to nothing...why on earth would you want to return to somewhere you had to work?

Not sure how many people have applied for this initiative but after about two weeks I received confirmation, as I came to this rather late I was surprised the certificate number was so low circa 900.

Looking a previous posts and the conditions it appears that a booking must be made prior to the 1st of June 2023 to activate the first portion of the credit otherwise the balance of the certificate becomes null and void.  

Is someone able to confirm the above without a long winded speech. please

Thanks in advance.

I wonder if the adults only pool is more a nod to European culture. 🤭

16 hours ago, kool kruiser said:

I think that we may be at cross purposes. The Crystal Vintage Room is only available on select evenings on a cruise, has very limited capacity ( I may be wrong, but I think this may be only 12) and can be cancelled if demand is insufficient. Perhaps this can be likened to a private dining experience.

On the other hand, Anthology has a potential capacity of 70 (48 indoors and 22 outside) and I would imagine that it will be open every evening. More like an exclusive restaurant, with staggeringly high pricing for a luxury inclusive line, with high per diems to begin with. I absolutely respect and understand that some may wish to splash out but my previous comments nevertheless remain.

Although I agree that the price seems fairly high, it would only need each passenger to dine once in the restaurant every fourteen days to keep it full and with the chefs being rotated there will not be the same problem some other lines face with regulars finding the menu getting stale. It will be interesting to see if the concept stands the test of time.

It does look good.

I believe the butlers will anticipate lesser gratuities in the lesser suites.

On 4/21/2023 at 7:17 AM, Stickman1990 said:

Actually I think you’ll find there’s a surplus of Australian wine on the market as the Chinese are currently boycotting it due to a political fight we’re having with them - so theAussie export market is a little challenged - so it’s got to go somewhere….

Yes you are right and they are serving it on Seabourn. 

De Bortoli The Accomplice $6 a bottle.

Sorry Ice Bear, I just remembered after posting that we used our Seabourn status number.

9 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

Yes we successfully did a status match based on our Crystal status - we submitted a copy of our last booking confirmation which listed the number of completed cruises - that was all they required from us 

Same here, just had to provide my Crystal society number.

Hope you don't mind me asking but we were issued with black rather than diamond status that others have mentioned in earlier posts, this seems to be the highest level available in our part of the world...are you able to confirm Stickman?

On 4/19/2023 at 10:10 AM, PaulMCO said:

New Cruise line has plans for Odyssey...

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Insights/buying-Odyssey-Japanese-line-market-us

 

For those that want that kind of luxury experience, a unique way to visit Japan in a comfortable way so they don't have to take the trains, take the buses, worry about the language -- everything like that will be taken care of for them," said Kaufman, who has held senior positions within Carnival Corp. brands and Holland America Group and spent time developing the inbound and outbound markets in Japan.

Looks like it will business as usual, Seabourn by another name.

Not sure if this is correct but I have been told that passengers that are disembarking who have tested positive need to quarantine in a hotel for at least three days (at there own expense) prior to leaving the country. 

Thanks for the information Keith.

I see that currently Crystal is only showing departures till the end of 2024 but the credit can be used for 2025 as well. Do you think that the schedule for these sailings will be released soon so that we may be able to take advantage of the offer?

20 hours ago, SLSD said:

Well, all I can say is that there is jazz and then there is jazz. 

https://jazzfuel.com/best-jazz-musicians/

https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/15-jazz-piano-albums/

 

But, I totally understand.  Dated Broadway show tunes are not my cup of tea.  

 

 

Thought I must be missing something......nope

The schedule for Explora 1 for late 2024 and early 2025 has now been posted on the website. There is a substantial increase in price from what was offered prior.

3 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

No idea - and just for clarity my post was not intending to infer that might be the case ie a pre-requisite to recognition of previous status

 

I think we're all interested in just what recognition of previous Crystal Society status and benefit might be offered by new Crystal (I guess anything will be an upside)

 

We've already seen some other lines grant status matches based on previous Crystal Society levels so new Crystal recognising Crystal Society status would make sense - now just what that (might) extends to remains to be seen

Thanks for the quick response, it's nice having people in the same time zone.

It seems to have become fairly common to match status in the industry, I guess time will tell.

5 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

That’s absolutely your prerogative, 100% your choice - but please don’t return in a couple of weeks bemoaning the “fact” that the new Crystal didn’t give you any recognition as a past customer of old Crystal as this programme is part of their recognition of that relationship 

Just curious, does anyone know for sure that entering into the early deposit program will be a requirement to transfer any previous status? I am keen to sail on the new Crystal but have already committed elsewhere to cruises up to 2025.

10 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

Let's add some excitement to this thread and perhaps "unhijack" it by actually using it to show "what's new" as opposed to comparisons of other and defunct cruise lines!

 

For your viewing pleasure:

 

 

I'm with you we already have 35 nights booked in the first season and can't wait to enjoy the new ship.

Just curious, if the service dog must go everywhere with the owner does that mean they can go in the pool?

Just curious if anyone is experiencing problems booking a cruise with Explora?