Roland4

On our Reykjavik/Quebec cruise in September, with only 150 of us, it was closer to 5:1crew to guest!!!🙂

I have been following the Explora board since the ship started sailing, and it would seem that once you "back out" the numbers of "freebies" (TAs and "influencers') it would appear the actual number of paying guests was right around the 150 we had on Serenity!!🙂 We will at some point try Explora, but not until we see what happens once the ship is sailing closer to capacity. I remember all the negative comments during the first sailing(s) about crowding and the unavailability of restaurant reservations in certain venues, and that was with maybe 300 guests?? What is going to happen when that number gets up to 750 - 900?? I asked that same question of an Explora rep at an industry event, and the response was "It is going to be interesting"!! I wish them success, as we do need additional options in the "luxury" end of the market.

It is indeed. The Viking Crown Lounge is a dead give-away! Looks like a Freedom Class ship, a mere twice the size, plus some, of Serenity!!!

"Bug Light Park"?? Having never been to Portland, I am intrigued by such an unusual name!! 🙂

On many of the newer ships, if you want a room of a certain size, you have no choice. One of the things we really liked about Silver Moon is La Dolce Vita lounge obviated the problem, as we always went from our room to that lounge before dinner! 🙂

When we were on Serenity a month ago I had an interesting conversation with the Onboard Consultant. Crystal fully expected these low numbers through the Summer and Fall. They were so late coming to market with the 2023 itineraries that most people, like ourselves, already had made bookings with other lines. We actually "squeezed in" the sailing we were on. She said that numbers would start to increase significantly starting the beginning of November and right through into 2024. Anecdotally, many of the cruises around the holidays are close to fully booked.

We have been on Quest, Ovation and Silver Moon in the last year, in rooms forward on/or above the pool deck. In order to get to the rear of the ship, where all the amenities are, it was necessary to cross the pool deck, which is no big deal in wamer, dry weather. In cool/wet weather, it was necessary to drop down to a lower deck and walk down the hall to the aft. Not a big deal, but that is what AtA is referring to.

When looking from the ship to the left, the street between the pier and the Old Town does a sort of S-turn and it is just at the top of the S, where the tour buses unload.

If you are directing this to me, re-read my post above. It is about a ten minute walk from the pier that is directly in front of the Old Town.

When we were in Quebec off of Serenity two weeks ago we did a foodie walking tour. A five course meal over four hours, at four different restaurants. The second stop was at a restaurant in the Old Town, near the port, called Archibalds, where we had the most increible french onion soup we have ever had! If you go nowhere else, go there!!!🥣🥣

Probably Yellow Jacket Wasps. They are bad at this time of year up here anyway, but they are worse this year because it has been so unseasonably hot the last two weeks! The "good news" is it is supposed to get a lot cooler over the weekend, so that should be the end of them.

It is on the starboard side of the pool deck, under what used to be the retractable roof. On the port side is The Grill, on the starboard side is Tastes. Under the previous regime, it was called Silk. It is open for Late Risers Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and has a wide selection of offerings at both lunch and dinner. We had both lunch and dinner on our sailing a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed them both.

As I recall from our Quest cruise last year, you didn't miss much!!

That is correct. We have applied four of five credits to bookings. If we receive anything from the administator (Moecker) before that fifth credit is applied, the amount of that credit will be reduced by the amount we receive.

Under the terms of the EI, if the credits had already been applied to a booking, they would not be reduced by any subsequent recovery of funds.

I tend to agree with you, but the poster who "started" this was so far "beyond the pale" as to be ridiculous! The surprise would have been if no one reacted to the post.

I had a chat with our Explora DSM at a trade show yesterday. They have heard the "complaints" about food not being available between 2:00 and 5:00, and plans are afoot to address that issue.

March 2020 with Stickman!! And other than some of the fries, we finished it!!

Since you are going to be there four nights, I highly recommend a trip out to Doyle's at Watson's Bay for lunch. You can take the ferry from Circular Quay out to Watson's Bay, and the restaurant is right off the pier to the left! Some of the best seafood in the Sydney area, as Stickman, a good friend, will attest! Reservations recommended, and try the Seafood Tower!!! Just don't plan on a big dinner that evening!!!!

But apparently, room service is only for those who have not been "trained" to have lunch in Waterside! The arrogance in that post is almost breathtaking!

Waitlists are unpredictable. I have put clients on a waitlist that cleared the next day, and others that never cleared. As a minimum, you might not find out until after the final payment date when people decide to cancel rather than make the final. If you work with a TA, ask them to contact Crystal and see how large the waitlist is. Some lines will tell you, some won't, but it never hurts to ask.

I suspect the mistake they made, and to some extent it is inexcusable, was to install non-dimable LED bulbs. We have this problem in our dining room fixture, if you dim them too far they begin to flash on and off, but it was installed seven years ago, and we know how to deal with it. To make that mistake in 2023............. 😮 😮

Having just come off Serenity a week ago, you will feel like you are "coming home" when you board her. Looking forward to your thoughts on the entire trip! Great that you are able to travel again! 🙂

Okay, let me break this down in terms even YOU can understand. Assuming we have two EI slices worth $2,500.00 each which have NOT been applied to a booking. We get back from Moecker $1,000.00 each. Crystal will reduce the EI for each of us to $1,500.00 each on the UNAPPLIED credits. On the other hand, if we have already applied the entire $2,500.00 each to a new booking, then there will be NO reduction of the EI credit. This really is not that complicated. The moral of the story is apply your EI credits ASAP!! The simple fact is, the most any of us is going to get back is about $2,500.00/person and New Crystal had no obligation to do anything. Be thankful that they did and stop whining about it!

I hope the government has relaxed the "dress code" for female tourists! In 2010, all the women had to wear an abaya (sp?) and there was much stressing over how much hair could be allowed to show! In the end, the immigration officers just stamped the passports and moved the line along almost without looking. Best line of the port stop goes to the barkeep in The Cove; "All these people in dark robes going back and forth, I thought I was working in a monastery!"