Onboard Explora 1 (Sept 25- Oct 13) with Hank

[KJB416]

2 hours ago, IdRathrBCruzn said:

Thanks for the replies. My DW only drinks sparking water. She has a soda stream at home. The ship-made CO2 water would be fine at dining venues. I'm just curious as to how we can have it available for her in the suite. Should we bring some on board? She prefers Perrier so maybe we can pick up some liters of it in Quebec City and bring them onboard.

I had 5 large glass bottles of water refilled every day in our room, since I let our attendant know we drink a lot of water.  As for refillable water stations, they are in Crema and Emporium and I’m sure elsewhere that I’m not remembering, with bubbles and still options. I never refilled with bubbles but it is an option for you to refill your own water bottle at anytime. I’m sure it can be accommodated for you in suite as well as it seems others have had it provided. 

[Stickman1990]

58 minutes ago, KJB416 said:

As for refillable water stations, they are in Crema and Emporium and I’m sure elsewhere that I’m not remembering, with bubbles and still options. I never refilled with bubbles but it is an option for you to refill your own water bottle at anytime

Might be good if someone onboard could check that refill station at Crema - I think I recall a sign there when we were onboard two weeks ago advising guest not to refill bottles there (don’t know about the ones at Emporium)

 

I think it said something about hygiene issues but it was fine to fill the glasses available at that dispenser to have a drink of water 

 

As I say best if someone can check that for us 

[Waltershipman]

8 hours ago, KJB416 said:

I had 5 large glass bottles of water refilled every day in our room, since I let our attendant know we drink a lot of water.  As for refillable water stations, they are in Crema and Emporium and I’m sure elsewhere that I’m not remembering, with bubbles and still options. I never refilled with bubbles but it is an option for you to refill your own water bottle at anytime. I’m sure it can be accommodated for you in suite as well as it seems others have had it provided. 

Yes same for us

[Hlitner]

Good Morning readers,

Today is the first of two sea days before our Tuesday arrival in Halifax.  The nasty weather did change our itinerary (it took about 24 hours for guests to be notified of the change) where we spent yesterday in Gaspe and dropped PEI.  Todays weather is nasty, but seas seem to only be a couple of meters and the ship handles that quite well.

 

We are relaxing in very comfy loungers at the all weather pool, which is being kept comfortably warm.  
 

Last evening we decided to try dinner at the Emporium.  This is a self service venue and not our style since we prefer sit down dining.  However, the Emporium does have some nice dinner options.  It is basically similar to the lunch lay out with some extra goodies.  One can choose from lots of seafood items such as grilled lobster tails, grilled lobster ( a spiny lobster which is the same they use to make the excellent Thermidor served in Fil Rouge.  They also had raw oysters, nice looking crab claws and several fish offerings such as sea bass, swordfish,

and salmon.

 

I spotted real Prime Rib (no bone) at the carvery station and had them cut me a very nice slice.  I then asked for

some horseradish, which caused problems.  Two servers looked all over the galley and could not find any horseradish, so I thanked them and went to our table to eat.  Another server soon came to the table and said one of the crew had gone down to Marble and Co ( 5 decks below) to get horseradish.  We were very impressed that they went to all this trouble.

 

While the food in the Emporium was great, the buffet format is not for everyone.  However, there was a good crowd (over 50) using the venue.  
 

The main entertainment was the “Experience Manager” (cruise director) singing for about a 75 minute show.  Tanya Roberts has tons of singing talent and we enjoyed every minute of her show which ranged from pop, Broadway, to Opera (she is a classically trained soprano).  I will mention that Tanya (Canadian born and living in NYC) is terrific at her job and an absolute delight.

 

Hank

[Waltershipman]

18 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Good Morning readers,

Today is the first of two sea days before our Tuesday arrival in Halifax.  The nasty weather did change our itinerary (it took about 24 hours for guests to be notified of the change) where we spent yesterday in Gaspe and dropped PEI.  Todays weather is nasty, but seas seem to only be a couple of meters and the ship handles that quite well.

 

We are relaxing in very comfy loungers at the all weather pool, which is being kept comfortably warm.  
 

Last evening we decided to try dinner at the Emporium.  This is a self service venue and not our style since we prefer sit down dining.  However, the Emporium does have some nice dinner options.  It is basically similar to the lunch lay out with some extra goodies.  One can choose from lots of seafood items such as grilled lobster tails, grilled lobster ( a spiny lobster which is the same they use to make the excellent Thermidor served in Fil Rouge.  They also had raw oysters, nice looking crab claws and several fish offerings such as sea bass, swordfish,

and salmon.

 

I spotted real Prime Rib (no bone) at the carvery station and had them cut me a very nice slice.  I then asked for

some horseradish, which caused problems.  Two servers looked all over the galley and could not find any horseradish, so I thanked them and went to our table to eat.  Another server soon came to the table and said one of the crew had gone down to Marble and Co ( 5 decks below) to get horseradish.  We were very impressed that they went to all this trouble.

 

While the food in the Emporium was great, the buffet format is not for everyone.  However, there was a good crowd (over 50) using the venue.  
 

The main entertainment was the “Experience Manager” (cruise director) singing for about a 75 minute show.  Tanya Roberts has tons of singing talent and we enjoyed every minute of her show which ranged from pop, Broadway, to Opera (she is a classically trained soprano).  I will mention that Tanya (Canadian born and living in NYC) is terrific at her job and an absolute delight.

 

Hank

Yes well said 

[Waltershipman]

How the ship handles  weather. Today we are near a tropical storm and the ship glides easily in the water.  I have no issues and love a touch of movement. I find the ship very stable and wonderful.  Our compadres who were in Greenland and did the crossing may have other thoughts but actually very delightful. I hope that answers one of the prior inquiries 

 

 It was a joy waking up this morning and seeing ocean waves and the open seas. 3 outiof final 4 days will be sea days my favorite.

 

 

[Whipsnade]

We came across on the Iceland/Greenland cruise and had no issues with moderate seas. Very stable vessel. No engine noise. No vibrations. Like floating on a cloud. Don’t get me wrong, you know you are on a ship and couple times pool was netted and emptied but as stable a ship as I have ever been on. I remember ships before stabilizers. They stayed away from North Atlantic and Arctic cruises for very good reasons especially this time of year. Just take a look at Cruise Mapper and see the number of ships near Explora. Looks like the Caribbean in winter. Could never happen without modern design and stabilizers. 
In general The Whip is not a fan of change but this one he loves. 

[Stickman1990]

An eerie quiet…..

 

Hope alls well onboard?

[Waltershipman]

39 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

An eerie quiet…..

 

Hope alls well onboard?

[Waltershipman]

Just now, Waltershipman said:

Last night dinner at Emporium big fest

[Waltershipman]

Just now, Waltershipman said:

Last night dinner at Emporium big fest

Tomorrow top brass from Geneva comes on board

[Stickman1990]

31 minutes ago, Waltershipman said:

Last night dinner at Emporium big fest

Perhaps everyone’s in a food coma 😂😂😂😉🥂

[uktog]

9 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

Perhaps everyone’s in a food coma 😂😂😂😉🥂

Possibly 

When it was quiet yesterday an influencer was posting elsewhere all sorts about cooking classes so maybe they took over the kitchen with interesting effects 

[florisdekort]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Possibly 

When it was quiet yesterday an influencer was posting elsewhere all sorts about cooking classes so maybe they took over the kitchen with interesting effects 

The €150 2-hour cooking class was apparently “excellent” and “amazing” - which makes sense if you get it for free 🤣

 

[uktog]

14 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

The €150 2-hour cooking class was apparently “excellent” and “amazing” - which makes sense if you get it for free 🤣

 

You spotted the give away clue "I think it was"..... if I paid for it I would know it was.....

 

Husband and I can go for a whole day with a Michelin star chef, get real hands on and a lovely 3 course lunch for that price so it is not amazing for a two hour session

[Hlitner]

On 10/8/2023 at 1:04 AM, Stickman1990 said:

Might be good if someone onboard could check that refill station at Crema - I think I recall a sign there when we were onboard two weeks ago advising guest not to refill bottles there (don’t know about the ones at Emporium)

 

I think it said something about hygiene issues but it was fine to fill the glasses available at that dispenser to have a drink of water 

 

As I say best if someone can check that for us 

Am in Crema right now.  The water filling station has two taps (regular and sparkling) and does have a sign asking folks to use clean glasses and not refill for health reasons.  That being said, nobody is standing over you and acting like a traffic cop.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

Good Morning,

Just pulling into Halifax, which is our last port prior to NYC and the big Naming Day.

 

There is a problem aboard and it is the lovely Cigar Lounge located on Deck 11 adjacent to the Wiskey Bar.  The odor from cigars leaks out the door into the Whisky Bar and corridor.  We could also smell it in the nearby section of the Conservatory, and friends in one of the large Deck 9, near the bow, can sometimes smell it in their suite.  They claim the cigar odor is coming through the ventilation system.  Onboard staff are aware, but whether anything is to be changed is a question.

 

For now, my suggestion is folks might want to avoid suites close to the bow.  There are not a lot of cigar smokers on this cruise, but things could get stinky when there are more cruisers.

 

We are suppose to pick up another 40+ folks in Halifax, many of whom are travel agents and related folks along with the EJ CEO.

 

It is only 8:08am and they have just started putting out a huge display of Moët Champagne, near the gangway.  I think our new guests will feel very welcomed as they board this gorgeous vessel 😀

 

Hank

[jsea]

Will they have the pools open by then? At 9:30am on our first sunny day in a while, all pools are empty or closed. This despite the daily schedule showing the Conservatory Pool open at 8:00am.

 

[happy cruzin]

13 minutes ago, jsea said:

Will they have the pools open by then? At 9:30am on our first sunny day in a while, all pools are empty or closed. This despite the daily schedule showing the Conservatory Pool open at 8:00am.

 

Wow!

[kidless]

5 hours ago, florisdekort said:

The €150 2-hour cooking class was apparently “excellent” and “amazing” - which makes sense if you get it for free 🤣

 

😂 I thought same thing when I saw that post! It took great strength not to comment. 😂🤣😂

[jsea]

As an update:

 

• Helios pool is open and looks great. 
• Conservatory pool remains closed. 
• Atoll pool remains closed.

• Astern pool is partially filled and open.

 

[happy cruzin]

1 minute ago, jsea said:

As an update:

 

• Helios pool is open and looks great. 
• Conservatory pool remains closed. 
• Atoll pool remains closed.

• Astern pool is partially filled and open.

 

That is good news....but any word on when all the pools will be operational?

[Whipsnade]

I am betting conservatory pool closed so they can have NY ceremonies there tomorrow. We just spent 30 days on board and swam in conservatory pool all but two days when closed for rough seas. Best and biggest pool on the ocean. 

[Hlitner]

So lets talk about an ugly truth.  The priority on this line, for this cruise, has been the travel agents and the upcoming Naming Ceremony.  With the CEO coming aboard today, and the owners coming aboard in NYC, and many VIPs attending the Naming events, paying passengers have been relegated to lesser role.  For example, just this morning all the paying passengers who had dinner reservations on Oct 12, were told that their reservations were cancelled, and the only dinner option will be the buffet in the Emporium.  We learned this from a supervisor who found us at breakfast! Why?  All the restaurants are being reserved for the VIP guests.  The pools and many deck areas have been closed on-off for many days so that the staff (and contractors) can have everything looking perfect for the VIPs.  

 

While one could be understanding about the upcoming Events, what is unforgivable is the constant lack of communications not only between senior management and paying passengers, but also between management and their own crew.  In many cases, we have found that the crew (called hosts in "EJ speak") have to act with incomplete information.  At times this has been almost laughable.  One morning, one of our favorite deck waiters stopped by our loungers to take drink orders.  He disappeared for nearly a half hour and returned with our drinks and an apology.  What happened was that he went to two bars (to get the drinks) that were scheduled to be open!  Both bars were unstaffed and closed.  He had to finally call a supervisor to discover that there was only one staffed bar, which was on Deck 4 (we were on Deck 11).  

 

EJ have not been completely unreasonable as they did make the generous hotel offer (for folks who wanted to disembark one day early) and have offered a few free excursions for the morning of Oct 12.  But keep in mind that they created their own situation, and now find themselves trying to make amends.  From my point of view, nothing offered makes up for the lack of communications and last-minute changes.  When we booked this cruise, we assumed we would be on a ship that had been sailing for over 4 months.  Even with all the delays we are on a voyage after the ship has been operating for 2 months!  Nobody expects to get screwed out of a nice port day by a Naming Event on a 2 month old ship!  And who would have predicted a naming ceremony for an Italian cruise line with home offices in Geneva, would be in NYC?

 

Hank

[Waltershipman]

14 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

So lets talk about an ugly truth.  The priority on this line, for this cruise, has been the travel agents and the upcoming Naming Ceremony.  With the CEO coming aboard today, and the owners coming aboard in NYC, and many VIPs attending the Naming events, paying passengers have been relegated to lesser role.  For example, just this morning all the paying passengers who had dinner reservations on Oct 12, were told that their reservations were cancelled, and the only dinner option will be the buffet in the Emporium.  We learned this from a supervisor who found us at breakfast! Why?  All the restaurants are being reserved for the VIP guests.  The pools and many deck areas have been closed on-off for many days so that the staff (and contractors) can have everything looking perfect for the VIPs.  

 

While one could be understanding about the upcoming Events, what is unforgivable is the constant lack of communications not only between senior management and paying passengers, but also between management and their own crew.  In many cases, we have found that the crew (called hosts in "EJ speak") have to act with incomplete information.  At times this has been almost laughable.  One morning, one of our favorite deck waiters stopped by our loungers to take drink orders.  He disappeared for nearly a half hour and returned with our drinks and an apology.  What happened was that he went to two bars (to get the drinks) that were scheduled to be open!  Both bars were unstaffed and closed.  He had to finally call a supervisor to discover that there was only one staffed bar, which was on Deck 4 (we were on Deck 11).  

 

EJ have not been completely unreasonable as they did make the generous hotel offer (for folks who wanted to disembark one day early) and have offered a few free excursions for the morning of Oct 12.  But keep in mind that they created their own situation, and now find themselves trying to make amends.  From my point of view, nothing offered makes up for the lack of communications and last-minute changes.  When we booked this cruise, we assumed we would be on a ship that had been sailing for over 4 months.  Even with all the delays we are on a voyage after the ship has been operating for 2 months!  Nobody expects to get screwed out of a nice port day by a Naming Event on a 2 month old ship!  And who would have predicted a naming ceremony for an Italian cruise line with home offices in Geneva, would be in NYC?

 

Hank

Well I read with interest and curiosity on Hanks take on on board life on this cruise. I too am currently  on board and agree with Hank 💯 

 

I am disembarking on the 12th to return home a day earlier than originally planned and hope EJ perform as promised that I get to the airport for an early flight and off the ship timely.

 

I love the ship as it is beautiful.  The crew cannot do enough for us. The food is fantastic.

What is of deep concern is that when it comes to the businees aspects of the cruise such as communication with the company on every level falls short. I should expect seemless accounting. I should expect seemless transfers

 I should expect to receive what i purchased.

Well while we have been enjoying this trip and will continue to enjoy until we get off EJ needs to really pick up its game so that passengers are able to rely on EJ for communications  just as EJ relies on passengers for payment. I am hopeful that we get off the ship as promised and that we leave the ship with a good taste in the mouth and not soured by poor communication or lacking performances by E J.

That will determine our future with this cruise line

 

Best to all love gratitude and blessings