johng75370

Agreed; in fact I think when they dropped the “soaps on a tray when you embark” is around when they started offering the selection of 4 large MB bottles. Or close enough that in my mind it was a swap of sorts. Was delighted when they brought back the soap selection (we buy the sea loofa one on Amazon for home), but just never thought the larger MB selection was a “for-charge” item - but now I do! If I tried all 4 would I be charged 4x? (Yikes!) Cunard for Queens Grill suites would offer a complimentary “scent library” sampler from Penthaglion; maybe SB could collaborate with MB for something similar.

We’re all friends here, and hoping no one rats me out 🫣. I will be on notice next time. But checked and we’ve done 7 SB sailings from 2021 onwards (when I think they started this “offering”) and have never seen this charge at the end of the voyage, and have not held back in trying the soaps. @Tony UK I am sorry for what you had to struggle with SB overall, and to have this charge also is not very nice. I’ll be back onboard next month and will ask if this was something recent, or if there are reasons it may have been waived before. But thanks for letting me know I’m not as innocent as I thought 😇

We’ve always used them while onboard since they were rolled out and have never been charged. We usually try all four before settling on a favorite that stays in the shower. We have occasionally bought the MB products in the gift shop, as we like them and the pricing is good, but would have noticed if we were charged for what was provided in the room. Just checked my last few statements and don’t see any charge. Stumped as to what the ~$40 charge would be; either incorrectly charging for taking one of the MB bottles, or a transfer from the ship. Otherwise not sure what else could be charged.

Explora dropped the “celebrity chef” concept for Anthology and now it’s a high end Italian restaurant with an Explora chef (at extra cost). The “celebrity chef” was not on the ship full-time; both times we ate there the chefs were not onboard. Did not do the cooking classes but the space and kitchen setup for it looked very nice.

We’ve done 4 transatlantic crossings with Seabourn, and have 1 booked for next spring. Have done others on HAL and Celebrity. Clearly we really like the experience, and have found SB to be as active (or more) as the larger ships. There are a good number of special activities on a crossing; art classes (guest art show at the end), ship building competition, noon team trivia with daily/final prizes, bridge instructors, etc.. Guest lecturers are usually great. Entertainment was very good on the crossing we did in April, including a current Broadway singer (Jonathan Christopher), incredible cello player Wendy Law, and a South Africa woman vocalist (Corlea), along with the normal Seabourn entertainers (6 singers/dancers, The Band with vocalist, the Trio, bar pianist). For a small ship there is a lot going on during a crossing from our perspective. Seabourn treats and staffs crossings specially compared to normal cruises.

Thank you for sharing your current experience; we did a lot of HAL cruises earlier in our cruising lives (4* Mariner), but have not been onboard in 10 years or so and have been wanting to go back and see what has changed. Will temper expectations! Loved Eurodam; did a few great journeys on it, including Amsterdam to New York. Been sailing with Seabourn and others since then and have found the changes at Seabourn have been happening but are not as alarming or severe as may be reported. At heart SB remains a unique offering with an incredible staff, an entertainment and vacation offering that punches above its weight, with an overall company attitude that genuinely seems customer focused. Will be back on board in 6 weeks and can’t wait. But I would not be honest if I didn’t say I’ve been worried about the direction of the changes; such as “included” having changed by dropping VSOP cognacs and inconsistent wine offerings. But I have not seen it yet myself over Ovation and Odyssey sailings in the past 10 months, last being July. The other reason I don’t think cruising is going downhill is that there are A LOT of good options at the premium/luxury end of the market, more than ever before. Ultimately there have been a lot of improvements that come from that. Explora, Viking, Scenic, Ritz Carleton, etc. Competition is good, and will (at some point) overcome needing to dig out of the debt hole most cruises are dealing with.

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.

His book is a good read and I’m a bit surprised not sold onboard. And don’t get me started on his wardrobe! https://a.co/d/3lbSH76

It’s a great question, and thank you for calling me out on it. When I go to a hotel (a few days at most) I have a different set of expectations versus going on a cruise ship (a few weeks at most). I don’t expect to interact much with the person servicing my room, I don’t expect the hotel to offer me much in terms of entertainment, I don’t to see and have access to the “officers” of the hotel, but I do expect to have responsive service and local knowledge, and the very same level of experience each time I visit that property. Maybe most important is that a hotel treats it’s guests as transients; SB and it’s peers treat it’s guests as part of a bigger family. I have an affinity for some hotels, but I have a love for some cruise lines. That’s why Explora building and launching a new hotel concept is great, but now they are in the midst of several changes because many of what makes a great hotel are 100% opposite of what some cruisers (me included) expect. Last point: when I casually chat with someone at a hotel I would be shocked to cross paths with that person again. When I travel on SB, I always have travelled with both guests and crew I’ve sailed with before. Just a different scale, and I don’t think Explora embraces how different the customer experience is with that aspect.

FWIW, here is a link to a comparison I did recently between SB and Explora: conclusion was that despite it being a beautiful new ship with amazing food, we simply just prefer the smaller environment, more personal service, and many itinerary choices SB has to offer. What I think sums up the corporate attitude on Explora of wanting desperately not to be a cruise ship and instead be a luxury hotel is that they initially told the cabin attendants not to interact and make small talk with the guests. Also, when SB christens a new ship they have a permanent plaque on the ship with the inaugural passengers; Explora 1 naming ceremony had the guests kicked off the ship "unceremoniously", and Explora 2 had no passengers invited. SB has loyalty program, Explora does not. SB seems to actually care a bit about the passengers, Explora makes it clear they do not. We've been on Crystal a few times, but won't be back on New Crystal until next year (but based on feedback from friends, it's as good as ever). Great to have choices, but Explora just didn't work for us.

No, not that I'm aware of. Explora does not have a loyalty program and is completely disconnected from the MSC Cruiseline/Yacht Club.

Sounds like @highplanesdrifters is planning a wine run to the Carrefour there (and hopefully the ship's F&B manager)! The Carrefour also has some local items as gifts for a good price.

We've done a couple of Explora sailings and a bunch of Seabourn. Both are great in their own ways, just different (Explora aims to be a resort hotel, Seabourn aims to be a luxury cruise). In terms of differences from Seabourn, here's a few: - no Officer-hosted tables or much interaction with the ship's officers on Explora - Explora has a "solo host" and solo activities (same person who hosts other groups like LGBTQ+ or Friends of Bill) - no special food orders or changing menus on Explora - no unlimited caviar 24/7 on Explora (just a few specific menu items that contain caviar, but no caviar for purchase) - fewer entertainment or guest speaker options on Explora - Much nicer/newer/bigger "hard product" on Explora as @PrivateIdaho highlighted - More pool/hot tub options, but prefer SB's service around the pool (chair massages, cold fruit on sticks, etc). - Excursions on Explora are more expensive and less certain to run than SB; can't use OBC on Explora for excursions you've booked in advance. - Spa on Explora much bigger/modern than SB, but treatments are more expensive. - SB has "signature events" like caviar in the surf or marina day or evening at Ephesus - SB has a loyalty program, Explora does not - Explora can have more people (~900 vs SB's 450 or 600) FWIW, my brother was a solo traveler on Explora II recently and had a fantastic time. Congrats on giving Explora a try; please share your experience after you sail.

We’ve stayed in 421 on Sojourn before, and had no issues with either strange noise or just noise in general. It was a quiet cabin.

FWIW, I listed to the "Insider Travel Report" YouTube video with Chris Austin from Explora, and he said that they would not repeat entertainment for 14 days, so doing 2 7 day B2B should get you different offering each night. Fingers crossed for you that this is true!

No, just a limited number of people.

@whogo, thanks for sharing your secret method; we’ll try to book suite 543 going forward. It’s better than my current approach, which is to use the chat function in the Source app to randomly reach out to people asking if they are really smart and need a trivia teammate. Has not worked too well 🤔

How so? The only Malbec they are currently pouring is the Borga from Italy that sells $15 for a 5 liter box. All Explora choices are lower average retail price per bottle for similar category than on the SB Pursuit list recently posted.

Here’s a drawing of the 2024 Helly Hansen jacket; we were also on in 2023 and got the black jacket made by Storm Creek with a minimal lining, which is the one we kept/preferred. Hard to say who they will go with for 2025, but both years we saw had very good quality, and easy exchange in ther Grand Salon on the first day if you need a different size. This blue one (2024) was better insulated than 2023, which was mainly wind/water proof while breathable. Also, from what we observed people doing kayak or Zodiak excursions were outfitted with outerwear as part of those excursions (onboard before starting off). We did the catamaran excursion which didn’t need anything more than jackets, but if we were more adventurous I feel like we would have been taken care of (but worth checking into).

We’ve done three SB sailings and 2 Explora in the last 10 months, and they are hard to compare because I think they are aiming at different audiences and are not “apples to apples”. Both deliver excellent vacation experiences, but just quite different. Long story short the physical ship and the food are exceptional on Explora; the overall service, crew, and shipboard experience we find better on SB. Really was turned off by how Explora bent over backwards to accommodate “influencers” to the point of ignoring paying guests, and the overall attitude towards real paying guests (e.g. kicking off passengers in NY so they could have the naming ceremony, or not inviting guests to today’s EX2 naming). A year post-launch and Explora still does not have a loyalty program. On SB we like the flexibility; special orders no problem and a genuine friendliness across the whole ship. On SB you can share a coffee with the Captain; on Explora you would never see that person. Staff on SB seem relaxed; on Explora they are worried who is watching them. That’s the feeling we’ve come away with. We’ve got upcoming SB bookings, but taking a wait and see approach on Explora. But then again we’re the type of people who don’t feel “at home” hardly ever at a Ritz Carleton or Aman Resort, yet feel back home within hours of being onboard SB. Best I can say is experience them for yourself, as they both have good and bad depending on your tastes.

The third party can be anyone, not just travel agent. We’ve had this situation where getting the American Express “cruise privileges” benefits ($300 OBC) negates getting the $250 referral OBC.

They have a very good selection of non-alcoholic “adult beverages”, including some nice N.A. spirits from Australia. We didn’t care for the N.A. wines they were serving, but were very impressed with the French Bloom, a N.A. sparkling option. For N.A. beer I think it was Heineken (we prefer Tuborg’s N.A. offering, but at least they had options).

My brother will be on the maiden voyage for Explora II on Monday, and I’ll see if he can pass along what is on the launch. FWIW, it’s his first cruise and I can’t imagine a better starting point.

We almost always bring a couple special bottles with us, regardless of cruise line. It's only on Explora that the Caymus Special Selection Cab we brought was offered to other guests because some waiter thought it was one of the "included wines" because our waiter just left it with the others unmarked. At least Seabourn or Crystal has always properly handled wines in such situations.

A bit “apples and oranges” as the Seabourn complaints are coming from a higher starting point than Explora; Explora started low and has gone lower. The most recent SB list that is being complained about contains several that retail $15-$20 USD, and mostly covers the main requests (Malbecs from Argentina, Cabs from California, Pinot from Oregon, Rose from Provence, etc..). All cruise lines make changes/adjustments to optimize their business, so as they receive more feedback I’m hoping Explora moves their budget for wine higher. It was a negative from our two Explora cruises (one of a few factors) that holds us back from booking another one right now, but if there are included wines on Explora that work for us (along with reasonably priced premium wines) we’d be more likely to come back.