drpclarke

THIS is what I needed! Thank you so much. I always go through the learning modules before I book a cruise, and I didn't see any with Explora...so your input is so valuable and appreciated! Thank you!

Rachel

12 hours ago, saminina said:

You need help......and this is not the place to find it.

I've found these boards to be helpful in answering all of my questions about cruises, whether it be for myself or my clients. People are always willing to help and offer recommendations, which I have found valuable. No reason to be rude to me; you don't even know me. My question was legitimate as I'm just learning about Explora and wanted to be sure I wasn't overlooking anything obvious. Thanks!

11 hours ago, KJB416 said:

I agree, what’s there to figure out here? 

I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything. As you know, sometimes a rate is higher but includes so much more that it is worth it to book. I couldn't figure out what that would be in this situation based on what I was reading, and I want to do the best for my client. Thanks!

5 hours ago, mike@sea said:

Hi Rachel, understand your confusion. EX website, very good in some places, very bad in others.  
EX pricing originally only displayed 2 fares ( and still does).

1. The regular and quite expensive „Cruise Only“ fare with a 20 or 25% deposit, due within 6 days of booking. 
2. An „Early Booking“ fare, which included a certain discount, usually 10%.  No deposit, but instead full payment within 6 days. 
 

About a year ago, they started to introduce other offers as well. Pricing on website always displayed only 2 fares to chose from. Maybe due to a limitation on the user interface or booking engine. Not sure. So you could usually chose between the original fare with deposit and the offer. 
 

Recently this has somewhat changed. The original fare with deposit disappeared, as it makes no sense over the offer, instead the Early Booking fare re-appeared, along with the special offer, and with that displaying the two cheapest fares to chose from. 
 

Given the fact, that the Early Booking fare requires full payment and does not come with any extras, other than the slight discount, it becomes clear, that the best offer right now would be the Unique Escapes. Only a slight downpayment necessary. 
 

Hope this helps. 

 

Thank you so much. With there being such a price difference, I thought there was something I was overlooking. I appreciate it!

9 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We just booked Explora 1 for April through our TA. We booked an OT1 and used the Unique Escapes price which apparently is a promotion to encourage the booking of OT rooms. It was definitely the cheapest for us by quite a bit.

Thank you! I appreciate your help!

Rachel

 I did contact Explora, and got this message....so it still seems like the Unique Escapes is the way to go for my clients, unless I am understanding it wrong. I probably am the only TA not to have been comped because I've never had a client ask about Explora before :0)

The Unique Escapes is a time-limited offer to enjoy value savings on select journeys and a reduced deposit of 10%. It is only applicable when booking an Ocean Terrace Suite or Ocean Grand Terrace suite. 

Explora Early Booking Benefit is available for all suite categories and journeys and is a saving of 5% when booking by paying in full within 7 days of booking. It is available up to 180 days prior to departure for Ocean Residences and up to 105 days for the rest of the suite categories.
 

So a cruise is "Journey" and the shops are "the Journey"...

oh my, no wonder I'm so confused :0)

...and this is my first rodeo with Explora.

Explora doesn't seem to offer additional trainings for TAs, so I'm just popping on these boards, visiting their websites, and trying to understand all things Explora. While I am learning about it, the pricing is just baffling to me.

For example - the cruise they are looking at...(April 2025, Explora 2) ...the "Unique Escapes" rate (this looks like a short term promo) starts at $5285 per person. The "Early Booking" rate starts at $6695 per person. It goes on to say that the "early booking" rate is a great deal on the "journey" fare.

Huh? Journey fare? Is the unique escape not a journey fare?
 

I just don't know all of this Explora terminology...can anyone here help?

Thanks!

Rachel

Hello travel friends!

Looking at Norwegian Sun, September 17, 2025 out of Papeete for a client...only to see there is also a September 18, 2025 cruise on the Sun out of Papeete.

So I look at the 9/17 itinerary and sure enough, the Sun sits at Papeete on the 17th taking on new passengers, and doesn't take off until later on the 18th.

Of course, the cost to embark on the 18th is cheaper.

I've never known of a cruise to sit there a day before sailing away. Is that because of waiting for flights to come in?

Thanks!

Rachel

Hello travel friends!

Helping a client with her Princess Royal cruise. She upgraded to Princess Premier, and gets two specialty dinners. A few questions for you (as I'm on everlasting hold with Princess customer service)..

1. It says two specialty dinners. Is that two for two people, or just one dinner for two people together?

2. The client tried to book specialty dining today, and she was asked for her credit card number. If she has Princess Premier, what is her credit card being charged for? 

Thanks, everyone!

Rachel

I have a client asking -

the cabins next to elevators on the Norwegian Prima - do those cabins hear a lot of racket from the elevators?

Thanks!

Rachel

My first Celebrity cruise!

For reference, I've sailed several times on Carnival (never again), Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. Went on my first Norwegian cruise back in June and loved it so much I booked several more.

...and then came this Celebrity cruise.

EMBARKATION - what? Ten minutes? If even? SPEEDIEST EMBARKATION EVER.

CABIN - a surprise upgrade was awesome to get. Balcony cabin, spacious and plenty of storage. My only gripe was the lack of outlets. 3 of them, all by the desk. My husband and I were continually fighting for outlet use. No outlet in bathroom, so had to dry my hair there by the desk.

OVERALL SPACE: I was told that this cruise was fully booked. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but hey, I WAS NEVER IN A LINE and NEVER IN A CROWD. There is plenty of creative and cozy seating throughout the boat, and I could always find a seat on deck too.

BAR: The martini bar is pretty crowded and loud, it's right in the atrium. My room wasn't far, but I couldn't hear the noise. Martini flight was not included in drink package but got it anyway and it was yummy. Smaller martini glasses, but that was okay. Bar by the specialty restaurants was quiet and nice.

SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS: didn't hit any except for "Le Petit Chef" which was just precious, and the food was pretty good too!

MAIN DINING ROOM: my only complaint about this cruise. The food was uninspired, bland, and the menu just wasn't appetizing. Two salmon dishes on the menu? NO thank you. (however, I will say the escargot was teeny but good, and that is offered every night)

THE BUFFET FOOD: I make a practice of staying away from all buffets, but I broke that practice on this cruise. In the words of Stefan on SNL: "This place has everything": salad bar, mexican, indian, carvery, hummus bar, pasta bar..I don't even know what all they had and I appreciated the fact that things didn't stay the same throughout the cruise either. I thought the quality here was better than the MDR.

CASINO: Penny slots with the lowest bets at 50 cents. Some bad seating by the "Huff and Puff" machines...too many machines, not enough space.

ENTERTAINMENT: SIlent disco is a must. I did hear a bit of the "LIFE" Musical and my ears bled, so I ran off.

DEBARKATION? Ten minutes, tops!

SERVICE: SMILES EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OVERALL? I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to go on another Celebrity cruise!!!!!!!! I hate that I'm late to the Celebrity life!

Oh y'all...

I have a client who wants to take his wife on a cruise for their 69th wedding anniversary! The cuteness of it is killing me!

He wanted to go on Celebrity, but he just can't make that work financially. Pricewise, it looks like Enchanted Princess or Caribbean Princess are the best bets for him. I looked at reviews, and it looks like there MAY be more children on Caribbean Princess, but I'm not sure. 

I imagine he and his sweetie want a nice, quiet, and relaxing cruise without tripping over little ones.

Anyone know these ships well enough and can offer an opinion?

Thanks so much!

Rachel

Please?? 😁

I am a travel agent and I have booked a group on Royal Princess. Unfortunately, I haven't been on this ship, so I'm at a disadvantage in answering their questions!

One of the clients has many questions, and I'm hoping you all can answer:

1. This is an Alaskan sailing going Seattle RT. He thinks the port side is the best side because he'll have views of the glaciers, etc. more often than he would should his cabin was on the other side of ship. Thoughts?

2. He wants to do Penthouse suite. They are available on decks 12, 14, and 15. However, he has heard that on deck 14 and 15 that those on penthouse balconies can look up and see people above them looking down. Anyone have thoughts on that?

3. In addition, he has heard that soot is a problem on the ship, so the upper deck (especially in the back of the ship) can get a light coat of soot and it can be problematic. This was the first I've heard! Anyone know anything?

If you have any opinions on where best location of penthouse suite would be, please let me know.

Thanks!!

Rachel

Hello all-

I must be losing my mind. I can't find out when Adventure's dining times are for the late seating. It looks like early is 5:30, there is something called "My Time", and then there is some later seating. I'm sure I am overlooking the obvious. Can someone help me?

Thanks!

Rachel

Hello travel friends!

I will be on the Norwegian Encore in June. It's my second trip to Alaska, so the only things I want to do are DOGSLEDDING and WHALE WATCHING. Looking at the price of the shore excursions offered by NCL, I'm hoping some of you can recommend something a bit less expensive!

Our ports are Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.

Thanks so much!!

Rachel

Hi everyone!

Looking at balcony cabins on the Norwegian Bliss - and want to avoid the cabins with bunk beds.

I went on this page https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/bliss/staterooms/Balcony to look at the various balcony plans, and the same pic is posted for all of them. Am I to believe that there are no bunk beds in any cabins? It looks like all of them have a sofa bed instead.

Thanks!

Rachel

Looking at having a group of four share a cabin on Norwegian bliss.

Knowing that balconies vary in size - if there are 4 people in a balcony, do they have 4 chairs on a balcony so everyone can be out there at the same time?

Thanks!

13 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

They are really identical except that the Encore does not have Spice H20 and Bliss does not have Onda (the specialty restaurant). I have sailed Encore twice and Bliss 3 times (and both to Alaska). I give the slight edge to the Bliss...can't really explain why but you can't go wrong with either one.

 

I have been on the Jade also and it's an entirely different ship experience....much smaller and without all the bells and whistles. I loved it too but it was a port intensive Greek cruise so we didn't spend much time on the ship.

Thank you so much! Can you elaborate on SpiceH20? It sounds glorious, but then I question if that is something I'd love in Alaska!

I THINK.........if you booked with a cruise agent, that agent is able to get the better price for you. I just saw something about it two days ago - I should have paid better attention. Ask your agent!

Setting up a June 2024 Alaska cruise with friends, either on the Bliss or the Encore. I only see one difference in the itineraries (no big deal)..but I'm anxious to hear y'alls thoughts on the ships, especially if you have been on both. I just went on Jade last week and loved how even though the boat was full, it never seemed crowded. However, I'm wondering if that is the case with these ships - I have seen that Encore can feel crazy crowded. Help!

Thanks!

Rachel

10 hours ago, sunnydreams said:

Thank you! It does help to hear the multiple steps. I'm confused about customs because we are visiting 6 Greek ports and will have passed customs to get into Greece already. We do go to Turkey one day and I don't think they are full members of the European Union- maybe that's why? Just very confused that we have to do customs to get on the boat in Greece? 

Anyways, yes, we are going to just try and go early. 🙂

Honestly, it was confusing to me. We went to Athens a few days prior and did customs at the airport upon entry...and then had to do it again at the port. You are probably right about Turkey as we did not go through any sort of customs there. Have fun!

On 7/5/2023 at 3:43 PM, sunnydreams said:

Have a quick question about the Jade since we will be on in a few weeks. I'm not sure what time to put in as Check in time? Did you have to wait a long time between checking in and boarding? I don't know if I should just throw my luggage in a locker for a couple hours or get to the pier early and just board. I don't want to spend a lot of time waiting at the pier if they won't let me on for awhile. 

Thanks in advance! Loved your review!

 

I'm not sure I can help you with this...so let me share my experience. First, we stayed in Athens for a few days prior to the cruise, so we just took a cab to the port so we would be ready at our "assigned time"...not that it mattered. Once we got there, we were given a number, and when they called our number, a group of us that were all assigned that number went up to do the first part of checking in. That went quickly, and we were excited..then we had to go into another room in which they gave us a COLOR. We waited about 15 minutes for our color to be called and we went through whatever the next step was (I"m sorry, I just don't remember)...and then we went to customs. Aargh. They took forever!!! 

So...my thought is....just get there early and it probably won't matter about your check in time. Hopefully customs will have straightened their act out (we were in line for customs for about 45 minutes...aargh...so frustrating, especially after NCL had been so speedy).

I hope this helps!

On 6/28/2023 at 8:07 PM, mcmomny said:

Thank you drpclarke for the review!

 

I was wondering if you have any idea about days and times for shows as we will be sailing on The Jade in July and were hoping to see Blazing Boots.

 

Thank you!

I didn't keep all of my little "Freestyle daily" bulletins, but from what I can tell...shows are at 7 and 9 pm FOR THE MOST PART. There was one day it was 7 and 9:30, and two days that it was just a vocalist show at 8:30.

1 hour ago, genealogyfan said:

Thanks for the review. We will be on Jade in Nov, doing a transatlantic cruise from Lisbon. Any tips for the Jade? Did you use the Thermal Suite?

no, I did not...I'm sorry!!