Elizabethbea

I am sure its not personal . These e mails go out to all pax.

If you get a good TA ( hard to find amd no im not one) they will be worth their weight in gold.

I may not be majority opinion here- hence my post aski g what other people think. Thank you Anne for your opinion.

A description of behaviour ( which as we know is somewhat subjective) is with respect different from labeling people with personal derogatory adjectives. Which is 100% subjective. Crew members work hard, have hundreds of pax to satisfy and to me, calling one “ arrogant” is uncalled for.

I may be shot down. However I have noticed that people on this site feel that it is OK to personally attack crew members. Recently we had a posthere in which the crew member was described as “ arrogant”. To me this should not be allowed. It is wro ng to attack someone who cannot defend themselves. i wonder what other people think?

There is only one restaurante open for lunch which is usually Sakura.

I have found that often very well priced cruises , booked well in advance --often on Spirit or Muse--get cancelled for no apparent reason--it is usually a Charter...Business..

Your TA should be able to fill you in on this .

Understand--it is difficult to explain the emotional investment in a future cruise...

What do you mean by "had to play the legal card". Cruise lines have legal advisors on tap. Your TA isn't a lawyer. Cruise lines are a business, once they realise you know your onions they are usually very reasonable. Maybe your TA is egging the cake?

To avoid misunderstanding--TA s ability to achieve the desired result for you --does not depend on the consumer rights of your country. Not at all.

Deary me --we do not need to get into Consumer Law of the country where you booked the cruise. Your rights are the same whether your TA is from USA or GB--it depends on the calibre of the TA. I live in Australia and have a US Travel Agent --because she is excellent --nothing to do with Consumer Law. ( But yes I do get a better price). So, sorry--your rights are not "weakened" if you book with a US Travel Agent. You get very similar " consumer protection " in GB, USA, Aus, NZ etc. Anyway with respect one does not need to immediately jump to the law--its a heavy handed. If you have paid for something , or part paid, and it is not supplied, just ask for your money back. Nicely. Really very simple and no agro or rushing to quote the law.

Oh just put on a Hat and sunblock!

Hum, Im not sure the class system on a ship sits comfortably with me ...I prefer for all passengers to have the same amenities..but each to his own..

Well I agree with Stickman--Luxury usually means a smaller ship and cruisers choose these ships for that reason.Difficult to talk about luxury and large ships in the same breath....

Dubai is perfectly safe --I have friends who live there--no problems at all. Yes I get that the ship has to get there.I hope they don't " obviously stay in the Med". There are only so many Med cruises one can take!

True--but maybe preferable to have planned alternative cruises at the same time as cancelling? The ship will be cruising somewhere.As it is ,those with their cruise cancelled have not been offered any alternative. Also it is usual that when a cruise is cancelled by the cruise line, that the latter offers a 10 or 20% discount off a future cruise--Explora have done nothing.I was taking a BTB cruise with another line after the cancelled cruise--this has also got to be cancelled ( by me ) as I will no longer be in Dubai in order to take it . The repercussions of a line cancelling a cruise are far more than just not being able to go on the cruise--it affects other cruises as well.

The Q posed was whether it was necessary to buy an OT3 in order to get a twin. Since the OT suites are all the same size--surely it shouldn't be necessary to buy an OT3 when an OT1 is the same size. With respect, Amusea, comfort and dimensions whilst riviting reading, makes no impact as to whether an OT1 suite can accomodate twin beds.

Paul--it has cancelled even the Dubai cruises which are no where near the Suez. I see other lines eg Crystal is still offering Dubai cruises...

Explora has now pulled Explora 1 from the Middle east area for Dec-Feb 25/26. No replacement itineraries out yet. For those of us who had back to back from these cruises on other lines for over Xmas it has really stuffed up ones plans...

Regarding the higher price that you say Explora charged you--their website is often quite unstable --and although it states that it will charge you in the currency of your country, often this is not the case until payment!

Exactly--I totally agree with Mike at Sea--Explora does not charge 100% solo supplement for the majority of its rooms. Whoever told you that was wrong, or maybe you misinterpreted what you were told. There are sites freely available that track reductions and Explora's reasonable ( NOT 100%) solo supplements have remained constant.

Not so. Most luxe ships don't allow basket ball caps after 6 pm either--its not a "them problem" it is just suitable attire.Ships don't allow bare chests for men at dinner either--are you suggesting the ship has a problem? of course not --it's just what is suitable for the venue. If one gets "overheated " in pants then maybe, yes, that is a problem.

I agree, here in Australia we get the printed and it has been needed in the past.

I believe Explora gives Travel Agents 20% commission. Thus 5% doesn't seem to be very generous.