Almost Live from Explorer

[cinnamon]

Lovely short stay in La Palma. Took the ship’s tour, North Island and Rum Factory. Very enjoyable but a bit more strenuous than anticipated. Winding coast road so Clare had to sit on other side of coach as she didn’t like looking down. 
Only 11 on the tour so no profit for them on that I would think. 
 

Sailing shortly so no internet now till tomorrow in Madeira. 
 

Food is pretty good, especially for the price paid. The show last night was patchy. The Cruise Director Abby very nervous and unsure of herself  I hope she settles into her new job quickly. 

[paulatsea]

4 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

Lovely short stay in La Palma. Took the ship’s tour, North Island and Rum Factory. Very enjoyable but a bit more strenuous than anticipated. Winding coast road so Clare had to sit on other side of coach as she didn’t like looking down. 
Only 11 on the tour so no profit for them on that I would think. 
 

Sailing shortly so no internet now till tomorrow in Madeira. 
 

Food is pretty good, especially for the price paid. The show last night was patchy. The Cruise Director Abby very nervous and unsure of herself  I hope she settles into her new job quickly. 

Will look on Madeira web cam to see the ship tomorrow . Glad you are enjoying it.

[cinnamon]

Just docking in Madeira, going on the Tuk Tuk tour at 10.45. Was going to have MDR breakfast but at 8.55 the queue was very long so we’re back in the buffet. 
 

Dinner last night it Latitude 53 again. Fair quality but nothing memorable. 
Shows are at 20.00 and 22.00. With only 900 passengers it means we can sit very socially distanced but it’s hard for the cast I guess with small audiences. 
Before the show we had Captain Chris introduce himself and senior officers. He also interviewed them a little so the whole thing lasted till 21.15. 
I’m fortunate enough to have taken 45 cruises so must have seen well over 100 production shows. COGS was undoubtedly the most bizarre I’ve seen. The singing and dancing quality was pretty good but the costumes, weird plot, choice of songs for that plot and choreography was just weird. 
 

Any questions please feel free to ask. 

[cinnamon]

One thing that annoyed me. Yesterday morning I bought a Flat White to go from Coffee Port before the tour. I was charged £2.50 because it was before 10.00. This is not advertised on the price board or Navigate app. If I get a chance I will tackle an officer about this. 

[paulatsea]

3 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

Just docking in Madeira, going on the Tuk Tuk tour at 10.45. Was going to have MDR breakfast but at 8.55 the queue was very long so we’re back in the buffet. 
 

Dinner last night it Latitude 53 again. Fair quality but nothing memorable. 
Shows are at 20.00 and 22.00. With only 900 passengers it means we can sit very socially distanced but it’s hard for the cast I guess with small audiences. 
Before the show we had Captain Chris introduce himself and senior officers. He also interviewed them a little so the whole thing lasted till 21.15. 
I’m fortunate enough to have taken 45 cruises so must have seen well over 100 production shows. COGS was undoubtedly the most bizarre I’ve seen. The singing and dancing quality was pretty good but the costumes, weird plot, choice of songs for that plot and choreography was just weird. 
 

Any questions please feel free to ask. 

Just watching you reversing in !

[Pensioncruiser]

14 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

One thing that annoyed me. Yesterday morning I bought a Flat White to go from Coffee Port before the tour. I was charged £2.50 because it was before 10.00. This is not advertised on the price board or Navigate app. If I get a chance I will tackle an officer about this. 

Thanks for your reports. The 10.00 thing has always been the same on Marella and is in small print. 🌞

[okavango]

16 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

One thing that annoyed me. Yesterday morning I bought a Flat White to go from Coffee Port before the tour. I was charged £2.50 because it was before 10.00. This is not advertised on the price board or Navigate app. If I get a chance I will tackle an officer about this. 

Aways been drinks packages valid 10:00 am through till 2:00am

[davecttr]

Last year if you had the premium drinks package coffee port drinks were free whenever it was open. However all those premium gins had my liver ringing alarm bells so if i ever sail with Marella again i will have to consider the cheaper alternative.

 

I enjoyed COGS, especially the second time when I knew it was a Steam Punk themed show about lost love.

[howmuch!]

When we were on a staycation cruise on Explorer in August, I thought many of the

singers were having to shout the words, over the very loud backing music, which was a shame.

Edited January 13, 2022 by howmuch!

[ferretktf]

3 hours ago, cinnamon said:

I’m fortunate enough to have taken 45 cruises so must have seen well over 100 production shows. COGS was undoubtedly the most bizarre I’ve seen. The singing and dancing quality was pretty good but the costumes, weird plot, choice of songs for that plot and choreography was just weird. 
 

Any questions please feel free to ask. 

 

COGS was on EX2 on my New Year Cruise - I'm wondering if the whole Show cast transitioned instead of heading down to the Caribbean?  OR of course it could be the same show with a different case.

However, will agree it was a tad bizarre and the plot .... Well ... Did she leave to become a "lady of the Night" and if so, why did she come back .... What was in the letter that forced her to leave?  Very disjointed!!

As a further aside, Captain Chris was on Discovery on my October Cruise 

Edited January 13, 2022 by ferretktf

[cinnamon]

Thanks for chatting and engaging with this blog. 
I’ve heard of Steam Punk so I’m glad to know that that’s what it was. 
 

Clare and I had a fun Tuk Tuk ride this morning. Booked through the ship but of course we could have saved a fair bit if we’d walked round to the taxi rank and bought it independently. 
Our driver though, Gonzalez, was brilliant. Young man with perfect English. We thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t feel ripped off. Clare had wanted to book things in advance to know her budget. 
 

Weather glorious so sunning ourselves on Deck 14 aft. Peaceful and relaxing. Just wanted to make the most of 22 degrees and blue sky in case the weather changes. 
 

Tonight we’re going to Vista for an Italian dinner so will eat a little later and watch the 22.00 show, Elton. 
We sail at 21.00 and I won’t have 4G again till Saturday morning in our next port. 
Tomorrow at sea we’ve booked into Musical Afternoon Tea. Clare runs a tea shop and catering business so for her it’s essential research. 😂

[paulatsea]

Great blog - really interesting to hear how it is all going and what you are doing.

[Tizzy-Jo]

So pleased you are having a good time, Madeira is lovely. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[dronnygirl]

Thanks for the updates cinnamon, takes me back to cruising - it just seems so long ago,  our last cruise was October 2019.

Hope Captain Chris is on form, he was so entertaining when we were on board.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

[Pensioncruiser]

42 minutes ago, dronnygirl said:

Thanks for the updates cinnamon, takes me back to cruising - it just seems so long ago,  our last cruise was October 2019.

Hope Captain Chris is on form, he was so entertaining when we were on board.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

With you on that Dronnygirl perhaps one day🙄. We have actually used our vouchers, before they ran out this month, and booked for September 23 but honestly don't think we will use the booking. 

[cinnamon]

Good meal in Vista. About to sail. 😀

[cinnamon]

Too many drinks.  😅  Not sailing for another 20 minutes. Captain Chris made his departure announcement early so as not to disrupt the first show 

[Cardiff girl]

Thanks for the updates & pics, Corinne - really interesting. Can I ask, do you think most people are complying with the mask policy, and is it being enforced? Is the buffet self serve now? Thanks. 

[ferretktf]

Glad to see you chose to rub Ronaldo’s hand and not the other place that - judging from the gleam - many others choose!

[Rebel Rouser]

Thanks for the updates & pics, Corinne - really interesting. Can I ask, do you think most people are complying with the mask policy, and is it being enforced? Is the buffet self serve now? Thanks. 

 

 

 

poster is on a day at sea, so she probably won't see this until tomorrow unless she has ships Wi-Fi.

Edited January 14, 2022 by Rebel Rouser

[cinnamon]

On 1/13/2022 at 11:42 PM, Cardiff girl said:

Thanks for the updates & pics, Corinne - really interesting. Can I ask, do you think most people are complying with the mask policy, and is it being enforced? Is the buffet self serve now? Thanks. 

Yes, mask wearing adhered to, though of course nor when eating or drinking so just sitting in a bar means no mask. They give out drinks as you walk  into the theatre which encourages masks off. 
We were at a game show in Squid & Anchor the other night, having fun, but felt we had to leave when it got too busy. People were sitting in seats that are meant to be kept empty and the staff didn’t stop them. 
 

Buffet not self service at all. 

[cinnamon]

Had a relaxing sea day yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the Musical Tea in the Dining Club. 
 

Also went to the interview with the outgoing cast who have been onboard for 9 months. Tonight’s show will be first time onstage for the new cast who boarded with us in Tenerife I think. 
Later we went to watch CD Abby interviewing Captain Chris who I really like. He was amusing and informative. 
Abby relaxing into the job a bit but still not totally confident. 
 

Last night was Dress to Impress. Mostly well adhered to. Show was comedian Scotty Miller who is often a warm up man on live tv shows. I laughed a lot in the first half but not the second when he had an audience member up on stage with him.
 

This morning we took the Flavours tour here in Fuerteventura.  After blue sky but strong wind, a dust storm blew in and visibility became limited. No sunbathing today. 
 

Apparently we’ll slowly sail at 18.00, reaching Lanzarote by 22.00 and be docked overnight. 

[Cardiff girl]

Thanks, Corinne, glad the musical tea was good🧁 Shame about the dust storm, hope you have better weather in Lanzarote. 

[cinnamon]

Good evening. We’re approaching Lanzarote. It’s such a short distance from Fuerteventura that we’ll be docked overnight. 
Had a lovely dinner in the Italian restaurant, Vista, again. The new ‘Cast’ joined the ship when we did and they performed their first show tonight, Pop Icons. It was SO good. Unsurprisingly They seemed to have much more energy than the ones who are finishing after 9 months onboard.

 

Tomorrow we have a 9.15 start for a tour to Timanfaya. 
It’s quite handy having 4G again, so soon after leaving the previous port. 😀

 

Photo was taken earlier today before the dust storm hit. Mercifully it’s looks clear here now. 
The forecast for Monday ( our last day) in Gran Canaria is horrid. 🙁 ☔️ 

[Pensioncruiser]

29 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

Tomorrow we have a 9.15 start for a tour to Timanfaya. 

Hi and thanks again for the blog, thats a great trip you are going on enjoy and try to bring back some of the volcanic ash but it is hot🙄, they will let you keep it if you can hold it👌