Explorer LA to Miami Panama Canal Jan 15-30

[DeepFreeze63]

What would I do without Cruise Critic.

QUOTE]

 

Up early on A Sunday, waiting for a football (soccer game to U.S). Saw this and had to say I agree! Thanks to all on CCers for both the info and the "entertainment".:)

[flossie009]

purpleally,

Sorry to hear of your difficulties; hope your arm heals soon so that you can relax and enjoy the rest of your cruise

 

 

Gilly,

We have just caught up with your blog; it is such a good read and the photos are excellent - it is definitely helping with our Regent withdrawal symptoms :)

The descriptions and photos of the Explorer are very useful and allow us to appreciate the new ship without unnecessary hype ;)

Thank you

[liptastic]

Thanks to you all onboard giving us daily posts which are so enjoyable. Can I ask about the speciality restruants lunch menus. Are they the same menu as evening? Are they small manageable portions?

They sound good from your descriptions but I just wanted to know if they are same as evening menu.

Thanks and hope you all having a lovely Sunday onboard. Jean.

[purpleally]

What did you think of the "secret" room? To me it is an elaborate closet. Hopefully it will "secretly" disappear!:D

 

Definitely a closet! None of us were impressed and wouldn't use it. Never mind we "can't use it"

I don't know why someone would want to so good for them, not for me.

[purpleally]

Sitting on the balcony drinking coffee and looking at the ocean is one of my favorite things about cruising!

 

We had the lobster tempura in the Pacific Rim the second night of the cruise. While delicious, the second time we all tried something different and I was at the height of my illness and not eating much.

 

Speaking of that, I am beyond HAPPY that I'm on the mend and so much better. Yeah for steroids! Cannot be in the sunshine but that is better than being MEd Jet home which I was sure was going to happen. So, if you're looking for me, I'm in the shade, wearing purple, eating lunch at P7 and usually a before dinner drink in the Explorer lounge. Not tonight tho; the religious service is at 6pm

Don't look for the bandaged arms-they are gone! The bandages, not the arms.

 

Have only been to the P7 for lunch and it is my favorite place for lunch. The menu is different from dinner. Definitely manageable portions. Love the service at lunch. The staff is not as rushed as they are in the evening

 

Last night was had so much fun at Compass Rose. The miso glazed sea bass that I've been hearing about for years(?) was AMAZING!!! I don't know if we should hope for it to show up another night or special order

 

I'm giving up another excursion today and will continue to lay low. I certainly do not want to have a relapse. Will go see the dr this morning. We had discussed sending me to a specialist but I hope it won't be necessary.

 

No rain, a shady but warm balcony. A day of great food and laughing with friends. Life is good

[Gilly]

Purpleally, life is indeed good and all the better for knowing you are on the mend!

 

Yes, as purpleally says, the lunch menus are 'appropriately sized'. I will try to upload one in the next few days, though we have entered our busiest time: three port days in a row. Today was Antigua Guatemala and we were in the same group as eager2travel and her dh....excellent company, wonderful day!

 

Glad you found my blog useful flossie - I will do my best to get everywhere before our time runs out on board! Like you, we found it hard to look beyond the hype and are happy to at last be able to make our own judgements.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Gilly

[Travelcat2]

purpleally - so good to hear that you are on the mend! Lots of people hoping and praying that you would start healing and feeling better!

 

Also glad that you enjoyed the miso glazed sea bass. Food is so subjective that I hesitate to recommend something since what I like may not be what others like. You can special order it but it takes 3 days to get it due to the length of time it needs to marinate.

 

Reading our this cruise makes me crave the Explorer even more. Unfortunately, after our March cruise, we won't be on the Explorer again until 2019 (that sounds really far away). Guess I'll have to live vicariously through others.

[JPR]

Purpleally,

 

Can't you go on a shore excursion or otherwise outside if your go with a wide-brimmed hat, long sleeve shirt, and slacks?

[DeepFreeze63]

Thanks to you all onboard giving us daily posts which are so enjoyable. Can I ask about the speciality restruants lunch menus. Are they the same menu as evening? Are they small manageable portions?

They sound good from your descriptions but I just wanted to know if they are same as evening menu.

Thanks and hope you all having a lovely Sunday onboard. Jean.

 

During our recent Explorer cruise, we ate lunch in both P7 and Chartreuse and loved them. Menus were decidedly different from dinner menus and delicious BUT decidedly NOT small! DW thinks lunch there is better choice for her than dinner.

[liptastic]

During our recent Explorer cruise, we ate lunch in both P7 and Chartreuse and loved them. Menus were decidedly different from dinner menus and delicious BUT decidedly NOT small! DW thinks lunch there is better choice for her than dinner.

 

Thanks for letting me know. I seem to enjoy quite a good lunch and often smaller evening meal onboard. Look forward to trying both the lunch venues. Jean.

[purpleally]

Purpleally,

 

Can't you go on a shore excursion or otherwise outside if your go with a wide-brimmed hat, long sleeve shirt, and slacks?

I am today

[purpleally]

The benefits of getting up early besides watching the sun rise. Out on the veranda and hear a splash that was different from the rythemic waves. Dolphins! 🐬 jumping out of the water.

 

We do not dock until noon today and we are doing the train ride. Tonight a barbecue on the pool deck but Italian may be calling our name. Since we don't leave until 10m, it's a good opportunity to eat outside.

 

Two days ago we were docked in Guatemala, one of the nastiest ports I've seen. Holland America was on the other side, the "prime" space. We were near something that spewed out dark smoke. They were power washing Deck 5 yesterday morning. It was dirty! Unfortunately, our verandas also got some of that. Definitely noticeable.

 

Still loving the suite, especially the bathroom! On the first day our stewardess unlocked the partition between our rooms, so it's been fun hanging out on the verandas together. She continues to amaze. In and out, hardly see her at all but when we do always a smile on her face. I like how regent uses the small roller bag style cleaning cart instead of the big ones that block the hallways.

 

Last night we had a surprise drill. At 530 pm. Seemed like an inopportune time to me. Bet half the ship were getting ready for dinner. Plus, we were there so long we missed sail away; one of my favorite parts of cruising. Also surprised that we had another drill just eight days after the first. We were on a cruise 24 day in November and only had one drill.

 

Went to chartreuse last night. Very elegant. We had a drink at the bar before (and after) dinner. Very pretty bar area. The place settings very nice. The food service was spot on; the wine service not so much. Not a deal breaker, just an observation.

 

Time for room service coffee

[Gilly]

I inadventently posted this to the wrong thread earlier...my apologies if you've read it already but I felt it needed to be posted in the correct place!

 

Whilst we are enjoying being on Explorer very much indeed, there are some aspects of our experience which make us look forward to another cruise on our favourite Voyager or close second, Mariner. (Ha...our next cruise is on board Navigator....!) Most of this centres on our evenings. On board Explorer, Compass Rose becomes very busy indeed and even sitting on our favoured table with our favoured team of servers (not saying who!) we find that we need to dine earlier than we'd normally choose simply to have time for a relaxed meal in time to make it to the theatre in time to get a decent seat (ie one with a reasonable view). So, pre dinner drinks are generally in our suite - not in a relaxed bar chatting with friends, which is a significant change to our on board routine.

 

The theatre experience on board Explorer is where we feel really let down. So many seats are difficult to access or have tricky sight lines that once the first few have arrived and taken the ends of rows, one finds oneself in an "excuse me" situation, squeezing in between the chairs and the pillars to reach the remaining seats. Since the new entertainment crew are, in our opinion, a few streets ahead of the JAR group (sad to say...because we were fond of them all) the theatre gets full and one needs to be there in good time to get a seat at all, let alone a reasonable one.

 

So, our evenings are no longer the relaxed times they were! Maybe it's just us? Perhaps others are able to overcome the demands of reduced seating in both CR and the theatre? But personally, I would quite like to be back on Voyager and have that lovely, laid back approach to an evening on board.

 

On an aside, however, I noted on my mid cruise comment that a nightlight in the bathroom would be useful (and appreciated). Guess what we found on our bed as we returned to our suite tonight? (Bravo, Regent Explorer people and Thank You!)

[Eager2Travel]

We had a very pleasant time today in Costa Rica. We started the day with breakfast outsides of La veranda. They had umbrellas to provide shade. Service was outstanding with Gilbert standing by. We ended up with 4 bowls of berries one of which is now in our refrigerator. DH is very pleased with the banana pancakes and perfect over easy eggs. I had an omelet and my favorite chocolate filled roll. The fresh fruit has been wonderful with plenty of tasty papaya and mango.

 

We did the Eco mangrove cruise which is always a pleasant way to spend some time. We had an excellent guide.

 

Tonight was the pool BBQ which was great. The food was wonderful and we had a table for two on the rim of the pool. Have to agree with Gilly that it was more relaxed to not have to worry about rushing to Compass Rose to get our favorite table. We enjoyed our drink on our balcony watching a magnificent sunset fade into twilight with the lights twinkling on the shore

[purpleally]

Writing this from the O bar where many are gathering for the big event. I got here about 5:20 am and beat the next person by 20 minutes. Staff is setting up coffee and some food.

Not having outside viewing areas in the bow is, IMO, a serious flaw. When I went thru the Canal 12 years ago, the outside was PACKED.

We will see.

 

Gilly, loving your blog. I don't even have to put down my book to go look at the ship😜

 

Completely spoiled at breakfast Compass Rose. Emmanuel has the decaf, regular, green tea and bloody Mary's ready the minute we walk in.

Had lunch at la Veranda yesterday. I think many stayed at the pool grill because it was not crowded at all. Very nice sitting outside. But, why oh why, do the two tops get the rail (and the windows in the restaurants) while four tops have to sit in

 

Dinner at my favorite P7. This was the original reservation I made way back when. Would love to have another but probably won't work out. They know us so well and take We even have "our" table. I had every intention of trying the chocolate cake. I failed.

[JPR]

Best place to watch is the Infinity Pool area. (But don't spread this around or it will be mobbed....)

[liptastic]

Gilly so enjoying your blog and the time you take to explain all the excursions and today all the art onboard. You mention the meridian lounge?. Where is there a post dinner band and dancing on Explorer that would be similar to horizon lounge on Mariner? Thanks for keeping us all updated with your wonderful cruise. Jean.

[Gilly]

Jean, as you know, I enjoy recording my thoughts and our experiences...happy to share them and glad to think they are of use. We had lunch in P7 yesterday and Chartreuse today and I thought of you as I took pictures of both menus! They will appear shortly!

 

The Meridian Lounge is where there's pre dinner music...tonight, it's the house guitarist, playing 'jazz fusion'. Later the show band play music for dancing in here. Nature's Rhythm play in the Explorer Lounge (adjacent to Compass Rose) both pre and post dinner. The pianist plays in the Observation Lounge. In our opinion, there isn't really the equivalent of the Horizon Lounge...One of the features we miss on board Explorer. I guess the nearest is the Observation Lounge (where tea time and Trivia happens) but it's a different vibe in there, I think.

 

We are very happy with the "house music" and really enjoy all the options. I haven't had volume issues anywhere, but perhaps that's just me!

 

Right. We are through the canal and a drink and dinner is calling! Suddenly, we are on the 'home straight' with just Cartagena tomorrow. The Captain has just announced that we might have a bumpy ride. Ooooh.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Gilly

[liptastic]

Gilly thanks for your reply. So glad you are enjoying this cruise. It's great to get all this info before we board Explorer in the spring. Hope the predicted rough sea is not as bad as expected. Thanks, Jean.

[Gilly]

Jean, after a bit of a topsy turvy night, we've woken to calmer conditions this morning, thank goodness. Up here on deck 12, it got a bit "interesting" from time to time, with one or two bumps and a sliding door which just keeps on sliding, in spite of a wooden wedge holding it open (definitely something for the snagging list!) Anyway, the internet is up to speed and I've just posted the lunchtime menus from the last couple of days (I don't think they change often, if at all?)

 

Cartagena today. We're booked on a walking tour, having been here before, so perhaps we'll walk off some of those calories?! Can but hope!

[sharon2975]

Gilly, what cabin are you in on 12??? We will be on 12 in a few weeks. Thanks ever so much for all the information. We are enjoying it.

[flossie009]

Gilly,

We are still enjoying your blog, immensely

 

Didn't know whether to laugh or cry at your photo of the seat and table behind the column in the theatre................what was the designer thinking (or drinking) at the time those drawings were checked?

 

Sounds like Explorer is a fabulous ship...............but could have been even better with a bit more thought and attention to detail at the design stage. Hope someone in NCLH/Regent learns lessons for the next new build

 

Thanks for the lunch menus...........yummy. As you say, P7 is often too much at dinner, but the lunch offerings look perfect

 

Glad to hear the NZ Sauvignon Blanc is flowing well; they kept running out on our recent Voyager cruise :eek:

 

Thanks again for your informative posts and blog :)

[liptastic]

Gilly thanks for posting the lunch speciality menus. They look very good and like the fact they are smaller portions. Oh the deserts to share?? Sounds like an elasticated waist approach for an explorer cruise for sure.

Enjoyed the Panama Canal transit photos. Glad to hear things are a bit calmer now for you all. Thanks again, Jean.

[sharon2975]

can't see the lunch menus you posted, can you please tell me where to find them.

 

thanks so much for all you do.

[liptastic]

Sharon, if you go back to the first page of this thread and about half way down, I can't remember the post number, but in Gillys post she has a link written in the thread there, you just click on that and it takes you into her blog.

It's really good and she has each day dated and the port written and lots of super photos. Hope you find it ok , Jean.