rrrrtt

You're missing a couple of pools. There's one on deck 10 aft which is deeper than the forward or deck 5 aft pool, and a balneotherapy pool in the deck 5 forward spa. We were pretty much 2 decks right above your initial cabin and had no noise issues. Poor cabin finish and fitting, I wager. The panel above the bed is, I wager, something to diffuse a/c flow so it doesn't blow directly on one. I agree that staff need a lot more training.

Got off today. There's some capability to connect to the TV by Bluetooth.

Looks like they do discount wine. Just got handed this in the yacht club

European mentality often features a deep loathing to cut prices as it cheapens the product. Occasionally you see a slip up which is how I got a Ponant cruise for an unbelievable USD 130 pp of or some such and this current Explora cruise ~USD360 pp pd. Certainly raise prices closer to cruise date no matter how empty the ship is (at least for this current cruise).

Our first reservation for the day at Astoria got cancelled because they said there were only the 2 of us. Count yourself very lucky as you may have Claude Le Lohic supervising the kitchen or dressing up the dishes prior to serving if not doing the cooking

Food ingredients are no doubt top notch for the most part but there are various failings in how they're prepared for at least some of them. It's taken us until the upcoming Last meal on this cruise to realise that we'll have to analyse if the dish can be cooked right onboard, or is likely to be. We don't like sending food ,- or even leaving uneaten food - back as we're not food wasters. In addition to my examples above, my wife ordered the daily wok special at Sakura for lunch. Cut of beef and sauce wasn't what is traditional for what the description was. In addition, no gas in ship kitchens so the wok doesn't get anywhere near as hot as it should for wok frying. The noodles and vegetables were just a wet mess as a result. Even saw a huge amount just sitting in the wok stewing away. Then again, this would be the same for any cruise ship. Also had the teriyaki beef for lunch 3x on this short cruise and it's come out different every time. Today was the worst at merely o.k. Walked through the buffet for dessert and my wife saw there was what was labelled at Pekin duck (their spelling) on a spit. We had a closer look and the skin was definitely not any thing close to a Peking duck. We just had one at a Michelin starred (not that we thought it deserved it) restaurant in Vancouver prior to boarding. My wife hasn't had many before she met me (definitely not a feature in the continent where it originates) and she said even she knew it wasn't right M.

There's so many nationalities aboard that I am sure there's a currency exchange operating among the crew that will take Nepalese rupees, Tunisian Dinars and Kenyan Shillings among others.

Re: food being subjective - a point much brought up at CC - I'm not one who is fussy about food (sailed on my share of mass market lines) but there are inconsistencies in preparation from one day to the next, as well as improper usage of premium products. The avocado toast at Fil Rouge this AM was so hard (the toast) my wife couldn't cut it with a steak knife. The lamb chops this morning were seared better than the previous morning. The bacalao in the Yacht Club was cut too thickly and wasn't soaked in milk sufficiently long enough to leach out the salt making for an extremely salty dish. At Marble, my wife had a now-gone French prime rib which was either aged improperly or too long but the usually-delicious cap was rancid. Some people don't care for European beef but I found the German Simmenthal beef was delicious. We eat grain fed beef too but are flexible. Better Grass fed beef is a treat for us. Pizza is also different day to day. Crust rather hard last night.

Well, had EUR 300 of OBC to burn so why not? It was very good as I generally don't find French food to be exquisite as much as I like it (disclaimer, only eaten at 4 Michelin star restos in France, and only for bargain lunches, and the most recent one was Chinese...). Also had the wine pairing of which you're actually offered refills except for the dessert (a Sauternes). FWIW, the menu at L'O is USD 205/295 depending on courses (5/9) with a supplement of USD 105 for the wagyu beef which was sublime and exquisite if you've never tried it before. Add in tax and tip not to mention wine pairing at the real McCoy ..... Man of the elderly cruisers next table commented it'd save them $400 over eating in S.F. The chef came onboard for 10 days to train the crew to recreate the menu according to Vijay, the sous chef.

Ah. I mistakenly thought you were implying that it was Le CC not being able to go where the Explora could. Even the older Ponant ships can go to many more places.

Had dinner at Anthology day before the ship got to S.F. where the curator of the current menu, Claude Le Lohic's L'O restaurant is located. Anyway, walked through the cafe this morning and espied some dude wearing a tricoleur collar which takes culinary talent for the right to wear one. Walked by again and saw it was M. Le Logic onboard.

How so (if you mean Le CC isn't capable)? Serious question.

The long-derelict Sutro baths.

Uneducated guess: No place to put the machinery required.

There's a good number of young pax (20s to 40s) on the reportedly 560 pax current short sailing. And a good number of older pax some of which are able but may not be able to handle longer distances. Certainly a younger average age than longer Holland America cruises and maybe same as a long Ponant one (my only other higher end cruise experience).

All the iconic landmarks (well, not the Coit tower and Transamerica pyramid)

Whoop, there it goes

Haven't seen any mention of the sunset aperitivo onboard.

Well, about 1/4 the size of an Explora ship too....

Increased suite size (or more suites to cabins) and more public space, according to the Business Relationship Lead - West Coast. Not that I've run into him on the ship (if I even recognize him) or he and the Explora team came aboard in Astoria and left after the show and tell.

Supposedly 3 & 4 will have LNG and electric drive systems (as Ponant's Le Commander Charcot has) so will be about 60' longer but with no increase in pax count. According to Explora rep on a TA talk today.

No more priority security for GE or a GE immigration line. Does have the facial recognition development does which clear known, low risk pax fast however. Non-U.S. and non-Canadian pax will take lo ger to clear.

Mileage earning, ability to change esp. weather & travel waivers among a few.

I asked on another forum here but no answers. I'll find out if there's still one for U.S.-bound cruises tomorrow. There was one in 2017.

The biggest and (at least for 2023) most-profitable part of MSC's business does not complain about anything.