Exploration Central

[BobbiSox]

Been cruising with HAL for 23 years and still don't know what this is. What is it? Never knew what the "Oprah" thing was either. 

[KirkNC]

It’s a figment of Orlando’s imagination.......

[BobbiSox]

51 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

It’s a figment of Orlando’s imagination.......

Thanks! That's what I was afraid of. BTW, I know I'm not booking anything until all is said and done, but I can't resist 'window shopping'. ☺️

[YXU AC*SE]

1 hour ago, BobbiSox said:

What is it?

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/onboard-activities/cruise-activities/explorations-central.html  Scott. 

[bcummin]

Did EXC get lost, when HAL quit offering the extra special cruises on ms Maasdam?

Barbara

[oaktreerb]

I think this concept was lost with the pandemic.   !n 2019 the Maasdam had a great 21 day Alaska itinerary with almost constant lectures and activities along with enhanced shore excursions.  It was a great concept with inclusive, enriching activities even for the less able cruisers.  The Maasdam which had been modified for EXC programs has been sold.  The CDC has restricted cruising in USA to 7 day itineraries so we’re back to basic cruising.

 

Some ships have added interactive screens for enrichment in the Crow’s Nest and books that are destination focused instead of the former libraries.

 

One of my favorite elements of the EXC is the Port to Table dining selections in the dining room, a dining choice focusing on local regional foods.  That  concept should continue as it offered a fresh update of the standard menu.

[Himself]

Most of the ships have this with the possible exception of the Koningsdam

[rkacruiser]

EXC was once upon a time the shore excursion folks.  An "expert" EXC guide was hired who may or may not have been an "expert" in the area in which one was sailing.

 

The changing of the facilities in the Crow's Nest did not cause me any angst while it did others.  That''s OK.  (The loss of the Library was not appreciated however.)  The interactive destination tables were "interesting", if one chose to use them.  

 

I would not be surprised that the entire EXC concept as well as any connection with Oprah will be a concept on which the door has closed in the new era of cruising that, we hope, will begin for Holland America Line.  

[bcummin]

Actually, EXC faded before the coronavirus pandemic.

HAL's exquisite EXC In Depth Maasdam cruises were watered down to less than they had been.  When capable port experts were eliminated, the EXC label was tacked onto shore excursion speakers and then combined with the cruise director responsibilities.  HAL destroyed its own golden goose.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/shore-excursions.html

(found this link, but previous link posted was far better)

 

Barbara

Edited January 4, 2021 by bcummin

[BJzink]

5 hours ago, bcummin said:

Actually, EXC faded before the coronavirus pandemic.

HAL's exquisite EXC In Depth Maasdam cruises were watered down to less than they had been.  When capable port experts were eliminated, the EXC label was tacked onto shore excursion speakers and then combined with the cruise director responsibilities.  HAL destroyed its own golden goose.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/shore-excursions.html

(found this link, but previous link posted was far better)

 

Barbara

I was on the initial EXC cruise which included Easter Island.   There was an overall coordinator who was responsible for the presenters who were experts, including guest chefs from the areas visited.  There were cultural ambassadors who represented their countries.  This was the highlight cruise of my experiences.  

[Ichiban Nekko]

On 1/3/2021 at 8:07 AM, KirkNC said:

It’s a figment of Orlando’s imagination.......

@KirkNC  While many (including me) may agree with you, I was told in a conversation with a HAL Executive that the Oprah sailings were all sell-outs. And they sold quickly. So, what do I know about marketing? Obviously, nada.

 

We had a couple of terrific EXC guides on a few sailings and really enjoyed their perspectives, information sharing and approachability. It was sad to see the role diminished. Who knows what cruising will be like when it returns?

[KirkNC]

7 hours ago, bcummin said:

Actually, EXC faded before the coronavirus pandemic.

HAL's exquisite EXC In Depth Maasdam cruises were watered down to less than they had been.  When capable port experts were eliminated, the EXC label was tacked onto shore excursion speakers and then combined with the cruise director responsibilities.  HAL destroyed its own golden goose.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/shore-excursions.html

(found this link, but previous link posted was far better)

 

Barbara

We spent 76 days on the Maasdam in 2019.  The EXC speakers were fine but the zodiac concept seemed semi dead.  They only offered a handful of zodiac excursions which appeared to consist of looking through a megaphone shaped tube into the water, like a handheld glass bottom boat.  Personally I think it’s another case of an idea that originated in the board room but was implemented in a half assed manner in the field.  HAL has a track record of such.

Edited January 4, 2021 by KirkNC

[KirkNC]

18 minutes ago, Ichiban Nekko said:

@KirkNC  While many (including me) may agree with you, I was told in a conversation with a HAL Executive that the Oprah sailings were all sell-outs. And they sold quickly. So, what do I know about marketing? Obviously, nada.

 

We had a couple of terrific EXC guides on a few sailings and really enjoyed their perspectives, information sharing and approachability. It was sad to see the role diminished. Who knows what cruising will be like when it returns?

I am sure you are correct, Oprah has a large and loyal following.  I bet they paid a pretty price for the privilege.  I never thought that was a fit for HAL given their clientele but HAL seems to pay more attention to attracting new clients versus retaining existing ones.

[bcummin]

For us, this was the best of the best EXC in December 2018, sailing from Sydney, Australia.

Barbara

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by bcummin

[TiogaCruiser]

5 hours ago, KirkNC said:

We spent 76 days on the Maasdam in 2019.  The EXC speakers were fine but the zodiac concept seemed semi dead.  They only offered a handful of zodiac excursions which appeared to consist of looking through a megaphone shaped tube into the water, like a handheld glass bottom boat.  Personally I think it’s another case of an idea that originated in the board room but was implemented in a half assed manner in the field.  HAL has a track record of such.

Not to mention the way HAL never effectively differentiated between regular cruises and Maasdam EXC cruises. They would include them as part of “other dates available” under a cruise location. They would use the same illustrations as other ships/dates and not say a word about it being different. 

[KirkNC]

20 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Not to mention the way HAL never effectively differentiated between regular cruises and Maasdam EXC cruises. They would include them as part of “other dates available” under a cruise location. They would use the same illustrations as other ships/dates and not say a word about it being different. 

It’s a shame as I think it may have been a way to differentiate themselves.

[rkacruiser]

I wish to add to this conversation that the most superior destination/shore excursion, whatever one wishes to call such, that I have experienced was on the Zaandam's Antarctica/South American Cruise in 2018.  EXC?  Not sure, but I think it was.  Whatever.  The personnel that provided the lectures, the commentary, the programming, and even the display in the Crow's Nest that I first encountered on the day of embarkation told me:  this will be the special cruise that I expected.  It was!

[bcummin]

You probably had Peter Carey in charge of Antarctica on your cruise.

Peter Carey pretty much created the EXC In Depth cruises for HAL.  I was disappointed that he was not onboard ms Maasdam during our 12/2018 to 2/2019 cruise.  He was in Antarctica, his first love.

Barbara

[BJzink]

12 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I wish to add to this conversation that the most superior destination/shore excursion, whatever one wishes to call such, that I have experienced was on the Zaandam's Antarctica/South American Cruise in 2018.  EXC?  Not sure, but I think it was.  Whatever.  The personnel that provided the lectures, the commentary, the programming, and even the display in the Crow's Nest that I first encountered on the day of embarkation told me:  this will be the special cruise that I expected.  It was!

I was also on that cruise - so memorable - will never forget the "Birdman"!

[TiogaCruiser]

14 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

I wish to add to this conversation that the most superior destination/shore excursion, whatever one wishes to call such, that I have experienced was on the Zaandam's Antarctica/South American Cruise in 2018.  EXC?  Not sure, but I think it was.  Whatever.  The personnel that provided the lectures, the commentary, the programming, and even the display in the Crow's Nest that I first encountered on the day of embarkation told me:  this will be the special cruise that I expected.  It was!

I can concur that the Antarctica Veendam cruise in January 2013 was similar. Our team included the Wilson brothers (Dr. David and the late Dr. Chris) and a former member of the group that oversaw the international treaty (Dr. David?).  We had 3-4 lectures a day. Captain Bos had said he combed eBay and Amazon in the months prior to buy books on Antarctica and had them placed in the crows nest. That’s where the charts were hung, and updated by navigation staff. In pencil.
 

And Captain Bos and team took us on quite the sightseeing mission.😁

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Captain Bos had said he combed eBay and Amazon in the months prior to buy books on Antarctica and had them placed in the crows nest. That’s where the charts were hung, and updated by navigation staff.

 

I never had the pleasure of sailing when Captain Bos was at the helm, but everything that I had ever heard/read about the gentleman has been exemplary.  Doing such for that cruise by him was beyond his normal span of duties.  This is what the "Signature of Excellence" slogan was all about!!

[rkacruiser]

11 hours ago, BJzink said:

I was also on that cruise - so memorable - will never forget the "Birdman"!

 

I need a "refresher" of that name.  Yes, I do recall it during our cruise.  But, no specifics.  There were many, many "birders" on that cruise, I thought. (And nothing wrong with that, either.  They pointed out things that I would have missed when I was out on the open decks.)  

 

22 hours ago, bcummin said:

You probably had Peter Carey in charge of Antarctica on your cruise.

Peter Carey pretty much created the EXC In Depth cruises for HAL

 

Yes, I think he was the gentleman in charge.  Informative, entertaining programs and lectures as well as others of his team who were no slouches.  There was an Argentinean scholar who presented lectures relating to her area of expertise that was interesting and made me more interested in the history/sociology of her country.  

[whogo]

As best I can tell:

 

Shore excursions were EXC.

Cruises on Maasdam were EXC.

Port lecturers were EXC.

An area of revamped Crow's Nests were EXC.

Guides were EXC.

 

EXC was the most confusing concept Holland America ever came up with and yes, I am aware of As You Wish Dining.

[Btimmer]

We were on the inaugural EXC cruise from FL via Easter Island to French Polynesia plus another 2 weeks in Polynesia.  We followed it up with a segment from Singapore to the Maldives and then from Seattle to Sydney.  We thoroughly enjoyed the cruises, but nothing IMHO matched the inaugural cruise in terms of quality. Plus we met some terrific people on all of these cruises and we maintain contact to this day.  Captain Arno was an outstanding a quite approachable skipper on our cruises.

[erewhon]

On 1/5/2021 at 5:06 AM, bcummin said:

For us, this was the best of the best EXC in December 2018, sailing from Sydney, Australia.

Barbara

 

 

Is that Cruise director Kay from Rotorua beside the EXC sign?