florisdekort

7 hours ago, pyffii said:

Just booked a 2026 cruise and was surprised that the members only exclusive fares are 25% higher than this years cruise on a per person daily rate....Rang Seabourn who gave me a robotic reply that these are members fares only !!!....I'm really peeved with the false advertising and the steep price increases...thoughts ???

 
If, as you say, you booked it, they made the right decision to raise their price. They’re a business, publicly traded at that, and their objective is to maximize revenue and profit. If you and others stop booking, then it becomes a different story. But clearly that isn’t the case.

Promoting travel agents is against forum rules. 

Interesting changes. Encore in Alaska and Ovation for Canada and New England.

“Slobs.” There we go 🍿🥤😂

Hooray, a dress code discussion!
 

Getting the popcorn out! 🍿🥤

I can’t comment on this particular issue, but hull cleaning has been a major issue for many cruise lines the past 2 years, because ports and/or countries keep changing the rules on what’s allowed in port for environmental reasons. Google it, and you’ll find stories of Viking and Princess ships stranded offshore from Australia due to failure to clean their hulls prior to arriving. In none of these cases was it an “oversight”; hull cleaning had been planned, but ports withdrew their permission to do so because the rules are getting stricter and stricter. (Again, I’m not saying that’s the case here, but it’s likely more complex than someone forgetting something.) And the irony is, hull cleaning is - for example - mandatory prior to arriving in Australia, but Australia also recently banned hull cleaning in port for environmental reasons. So if Seabourn had planned to do this in for example Darwin… 

Meanwhile Emirates serves me Dom Perignon, Dom Perignon Rose, Opus One and Chateau d’Yquem in First Class to LA for my upcoming Seabourn Sojoun cruise… 

22 hours ago, uktog said:

Well our start has been an adventure arriving in a tropical storm (yes rollercoaster approach in) and then struggled to get cab to go to South Beach. As we drove in we were sticking in floodwaters 
Our hotel, like the airport, has sprung lots of leaks. No lifts as the shaft is flooded and water was even getting in our lovely original deco windows 

Somehow I think our planned sunning it on the hotel’s loungers on South Beach might just be substituted with a mall trip. 
Anyway we’ve taken the buckets of rain for the team. Just remember that IF we have a great weather cruise. 

Have a fabulous cruise! I hope the weather improves for you. 

6 hours ago, Critically Cruising said:

 

Reason being is that you can use 3 devices with a standard account, just not simultaneously.  So unless she is a serious multi-tasker, she would be fine as it logs you into the new device and disconnects the other.

 

This is in contrast to some cruise lines where it is one dedicated device per person - as opposed to one login per person at a time.

 

And for the times where two might be needed simultaneously, she could always use your login for one of them.

 

(Why does this remind me of the days of drug dealers with multiple phones AND multiple pagers?)

 

 

I’m not sure this is accurate. On our recent cruise, both my iPhone and my laptop were connected to my WiFi account simultaneously without any issues. I did not have to log out the one to activate the other.  

10 hours ago, Até said:

One perk Explora mentioned for Residences was private priority tendering from that lower aft lounge area.  Is there anything like that?

Given the ship is sailing half empty, it’s simply not needed. We had 2 tender ports on our recent cruise and every time there were less than 10 people on the tender. (We were in a Residence suite.) 

On 11/7/2023 at 10:33 PM, pyffii said:

Whilst I completely understand cancelling Israel,Jordan and Egypt for the immediate future I cannot understand why our cruise in May 2025 from Haifa has been rescheduled as of today.....leaving from Athens and stopping in Cyprus instead of leaving Haifa with a stop in Ashdod....Can anyone enlighten as to why ????

Because Seabourn wants to sell out the ship and no sane person is currently booking a cruise from Haifa, regardless of its departure date.

4 minutes ago, Azulann said:

InsGuy3,

How are  the excursions? What are some of the activities for guests on a sea day? 

It seems like your informative  trip report has devolved into a comparison among some posters many of which have not been on board yet, about other cruise lines. . So sorry  that this has happened to your thread.

If you read the daily programs he posted, and that were posted on the thread covering the previous cruise, you’ll know precisely what the activities are. 

The excursions are just like any other mainstream cruise line. Same vendors as MSC. 

20 hours ago, sasejm said:

On one of these threads, I read that the retractable glass roof was non-operational. This may have already been asked and answered. Does anyone know if the retractable glass roof has been fixed and is operational?

 

Ed

I think it’s operational but it was *never* open during our 14 night cruise from Quebec to Miami and I was told it’s unlikely to be opened a lot in the Caribbean as “it rains too often” and “we already have 3 outdoor pools”. 

13 hours ago, PrivateIdaho said:

Hmm, not our experience. We were pleased with our OTC suite. For an entry level accommodation we found it large, comfortable, plenty of storage and it was more than we expected based on the pre cruise literature. Probably one of the nicest entry level suites we’ve experienced while cruising. We were later moved to a Premier Penthouse and while very nice, we actually liked the open space in the OTC better. 
 

Perhaps the Explora experience isn’t for everyone and frankly you’d need to pay me to sail on mega MSC YC. Glad there are different choices for all. We will be going on our third EJ cruise in December, in an OTC suite. 

I think it depends on what you’re used to. They’re large compared to, for example, Azamara, but small compared to Seabourn. The bathrooms in particular are a joke compared to Seabourn, where all rooms have both a large tub and a separate shower, and dual vanities. 

On 10/20/2023 at 6:50 AM, cruiseej said:

These cruises are NOT all sold out. There is NOT a problem with the website/booking system. As reported by fellow Seabourn cruisers on Facebook, if you call Seabourn — or your travel agent — you can get pricing and can book those cruises. I think they show as not available because they are visible to anyone, not just the Diamond members who received the early-access invitation. They wanted to show you the available itineraries and dates, and then have you inquire about pricing and availability. But they should have said so more clearly in the email they sent out!

This is the correct answer. 
 

Off menu - not when we were on board the previous sailing. They’re very rigid. Very different from Seabourn where they’ll literally serve you anything you ask for as long as you give 24 hours notice.

Large salad - there’s a salad station at the buffet. 
 

Floris 

2 hours ago, LostAtSeaForever said:

Part of the cluster mess in port on Friday was because they were letting Travel Agents tour the ship.  So boarding did not begin until after 11 and there was no real direction from anyone so everyone made for the check in area…who can blame them! No mimosas, champagne or any other delights in the waiting area other than funky tasting cucumber water. Did not feel like luxury cruise line. 
 

We had OT1 cabin and it was very small and narrow. We went to customer service to inquire about upgrading. Especially since we heard only 450 on board so we expected availability. They literally told us the only thing they had were the very best premium penthouses and above because all the TA’s were upgraded to the penthouses. Did not sit well with us or others we know that also inquired about upgrading because the Ocean Terrace Categories are quite small not at all as promised. They wanted another 10k to upgrade!! Unbelievable!!! there also was no room for negotiation.  
 

The night from Miami to Key West it was also quite loud in our cabin. Ship groaned and moaned all night. Second evening was much quieter. 
 

Food and service is amazing as reported and ship is lovely. Although the very low chairs are a struggle for some. 

Disappointing to read that Explora did not learn from past mistakes. 
 

1 minute ago, kelleherdl said:

Our lowly OT2 is right next to a section bulkhead, so I was concerned.  Absolutely nothing. 

It honestly didn’t bother us. We don’t mind sleeping with earplugs. 
 

The loud creaking noises were there every night in our suite. We slept with earplugs in.

On 11/2/2023 at 10:34 AM, InsGuy3 said:

I see Explora safely docked at Port Canaveral. Hopefully the ride down from NY was not too bumpy with the heavy winds and waves. Looking forward to embarking in Miami tomorrow. 

Just disembarked this morning. It was bumpy enough to crack a glass panel on our balcony! 
 

We’re currently racing down the US east coast much faster than we need to, I assume to get ahead of some weather that’s forecasted to build up tomorrow morning. The pics show wave height today at 2 pm and tomorrow at 2 pm. 4 feet vs. 14-18 feet.
 

Explora has no dress code. Wear what makes you happy. People focus way too much on what others do and don’t do. Regarding Anthology, nobody suggested that we wear a jacket, and hardly anyone does. 
 

1 hour ago, Cruisergal1208 said:

I’m watching you leaving NYC to bring her to us in Miami on Friday 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

More Sakura and our arrival in cold, rainy New York this morning.  It’s an overnight stay and we are dining in town tonight, so no food pics tomorrow, sorry! 🙂 
 

It’s a stunning afternoon as we make our way to New York. The north Atlantic Ocean is being very kind to us.