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

[Waltershipman]

3 minutes ago, saminina said:

Don't forget Ballantines.    I can survive on the included single malts.  Too soon to tell on the wines.

 

After just a few hours on board, I really do not want to comment.  But......initial impression is very positive.  Over the top positive.  Thanks to Hlitner, I knew packing certain items would cut angst. 

 

 Something else learned from Hlitner, ask security for the true passenger count.

 

Have a fantastic time❤️❤️❤️

[Stickman1990]

40 minutes ago, TER777 said:

Sounds like you had way more variety in entertainment than the 9 days I was on. We had essentially the same show each evening, all very well done, just different songs. …..

 

One issue EJ acknowledged when I was there, was that the room design and bar were resulting in many in the audience chatting with one another throughout the show - very irritating for those of us who wanted to listen the show.

Thanks T - looks like you experienced a lower level of entertainment as a an early pioneer on the line

 

Just trying to recall the the way it went over the 16 nights - certainly more use of the standard singers who did an intro show then a few others - and on ours there was a new Entertainment head, Tanya Roberts who was a trained soprano so she supplemented resident artists Layke and Lydia. Then they also did themed shows like a Post Modern Jukebox style shows well as a Broadway themed show  - then we had guest artists Indigo May (a duo) who did two shows, Rachel York did one show, the duo from Astern Lounge did one show. Brett Cave (guest artist) did a couple of shows - one of which was a Billy Joel tribute show - I think I’ve remembered them all (apologies for any omissions) 

 

We didn’t see any people talking during shows - certainly not at an annoying level and the waiters circulated regularly taking orders and bringing drinks around - I liked the style of the theatre and felt I had a great view and experience with no pillars in the room so no obstructed views 

 

I should say the shows were generally not well attended - certainly well below capacity of the space - they were at 9.30pm which worked well for us after dinner

[Stickman1990]

12 minutes ago, saminina said:

ask security for the true passenger count

Have a great cruise - enjoy all they have to offer 

 

We look forward to hearing how many fellow guests are on board. Some friends who boarded today dined at Sakura this evening - it’s nice hearing how others feel about their experience 

[florisdekort]

42 minutes ago, saminina said:

Don't forget Ballantines.    I can survive on the included single malts.  Too soon to tell on the wines.

 

After just a few hours on board, I really do not want to comment.  But......initial impression is very positive.  Over the top positive.  Thanks to Hlitner, I knew packing certain items would cut angst. 

 

 Something else learned from Hlitner, ask security for the true passenger count.

 

Very curious to learn how many paying passengers are on board for this 7 night New York to Quebec sailing. 
 

[Hlitner]

19 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

Very curious to learn how many paying passengers are on board for this 7 night New York to Quebec sailing. 
 

Getting the real number is not too difficult if you become friendly with some of the crew.  Just ask.

 

Hank

[aururab]

2 hours ago, saminina said:

Thanks to Hlitner, I knew packing certain items would cut angst. 

I missed this - what did you pack to cut the angst? 🙂

[saminina]

Best source for accurate passenger count.....gangway.  How many on board at the moment.  How many are booked.  How many coming on board at next port.   Same for crew.  

 

 

[Khareef]

19 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

My reaction would have been different. Haven’t been on Explora, but despite a very nice cruise on Ponant, the feeling that Anglophones are second class has put me off that cruise line (except for Smithsonian co-marketed cruises, which isn’t available to solve Explora’s poor passenger service issues). 

So most of the staff is Italian and can't speak English?

[kelleherdl]

35 minutes ago, Khareef said:

So most of the staff is Italian and can't speak English?

Quite the contrary.  English is the primary, well only, language on Explora. At least on Explora 1 so far.

Edited October 14, 2023 by kelleherdl

[Whipsnade]

in case anyone is wondering if MSC Explora has the financial “chops” to dominate the luxury cruise market read this. 
 

https://splash247.com/mscs-financial-results-leaked/

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Whipsnade said:

in case anyone is wondering if MSC Explora has the financial “chops” to dominate the luxury cruise market read this. 
 

https://splash247.com/mscs-financial-results-leaked/

For us, the big surprise is the profit:revenue numbers.  But about two years ago, I read an interesting article that talked about how they were able to fully pay for a container ship on a single voyage!  This happened late in the COVID cycle when the cost to ship containers skyrocked to new highs.  The revenue and profits of the shipping giants (i.e. MSC, Maersk, etc) hit levels never anticipated.  The Apontes were in the right place at the right time.  Simply amazing for a company owned by one couple.  During the naming ceremony, the ship showed a video highlighting the family company and Mr. Aponte talked about their ability to make quick decisions without needing to deal with a Board of Directors.

 

Will EJ dominate the luxury market?  We think they will be a big player, but the size of their ships will create some limitations since many of us who cruise luxury lines still favor smaller ships (for us, 400 passenger is about ideal).  By the way, the Aponte's also talked about cruising the world (not just Europe and the Americas).  We asked a couple of senior staff (including one person from the Geneva office) if they were contemplating longer cruises, but that does not seem to be anything under discussion...at the moment.  I would speculate that once EJ expands beyond 2 ships we might see some more ambitious (and exotic) itineraries.

 

Hank

[Dr. Cocktail]

1 hour ago, Whipsnade said:

in case anyone is wondering if MSC Explora has the financial “chops” to dominate the luxury cruise market read this. 
 

https://splash247.com/mscs-financial-results-leaked/

 

6 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

For us, the big surprise is the profit:revenue numbers.  But about two years ago, I read an interesting article that talked about how they were able to fully pay for a container ship on a single voyage!  This happened late in the COVID cycle when the cost to ship containers skyrocked to new highs.  The revenue and profits of the shipping giants (i.e. MSC, Maersk, etc) hit levels never anticipated.  The Apontes were in the right place at the right time.  Simply amazing for a company owned by one couple.  During the naming ceremony, the ship showed a video highlighting the family company and Mr. Aponte talked about their ability to make quick decisions without needing to deal with a Board of Directors.

 

Will EJ dominate the luxury market? 

 

Hank

These are astonishing numbers - they really do make RCI, Carnival and NCLHI look like rounding errors!

 

The sniffy attitudes among many on these boards re Explora/MSC will have to face some new realities!

[Hlitner]

36 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

 

These are astonishing numbers - they really do make RCI, Carnival and NCLHI look like rounding errors!

 

The sniffy attitudes among many on these boards re Explora/MSC will have to face some new realities!

We have long heralded MSC as an innovator and not a follower.  This is best evidenced by their very popular Yacht Club concept.  
 

Now we have EJ where we were impressed by their onboard emphasis on cuisine.  We are very curious to see how the current Oceania product compares.  We also expect that EJ will drive some of their luxury line competitors to up their game.  
 

Hank

[Dr. Cocktail]

3 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have long heralded MSC as an innovator and not a follower.  This is best evidenced by their very popular Yacht Club concept.  
 

Now we have EJ where we were impressed by their onboard emphasis on cuisine.  We are very curious to see how the current Oceania product compares.  We also expect that EJ will drive some of their luxury line competitors to up their game.  
 

Hank

The Haven and Retreat are both YC copies.

 

 

[Nunagoras]

51 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

For us, the big surprise is the profit:revenue numbers.  But about two years ago, I read an interesting article that talked about how they were able to fully pay for a container ship on a single voyage!  This happened late in the COVID cycle when the cost to ship containers skyrocked to new highs.  The revenue and profits of the shipping giants (i.e. MSC, Maersk, etc) hit levels never anticipated.  The Apontes were in the right place at the right time.  Simply amazing for a company owned by one couple.  During the naming ceremony, the ship showed a video highlighting the family company and Mr. Aponte talked about their ability to make quick decisions without needing to deal with a Board of Directors. - True!

 

Will EJ dominate the luxury market?  We think they will be a big player, but the size of their ships will create some limitations since many of us who cruise luxury lines still favor smaller ships (for us, 400 passenger is about ideal).  By the way, the Aponte's also talked about cruising the world (not just Europe and the Americas).  We asked a couple of senior staff (including one person from the Geneva office) if they were contemplating longer cruises, but that does not seem to be anything under discussion...at the moment.  I would speculate that once EJ expands beyond 2 ships we might see some more ambitious (and exotic) itineraries. - Considering the everyday more drastic ecological regulations for cruise ships round the first world, me thinks that E1-E2 are both of them out question for the more exotic itineraries on the most sensitive areas. They'll to make E3 onward for them and retain E1-E2 for the regular operations on ports that will still continue accepting traditional fueled ships with no restrictions.

 

Hank

 

[Hlitner]

17 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

The Haven and Retreat are both YC copies.

 

 

Not sure if the Haven came before the YC, but both are good products.  The Retreat is somewhat of a hybrid since it is not self-contained like the other two.  But, we should not minimize the impact of Cunard which has always maintained a higher class program.

 

MSC reinvented the YC when they added some lower cost inside cabins on the newest ships.  I cannot recall any other line offering such a high level of service to lower cost insides.  Years ago the Crystal Harmony had a few insides but that is long gone.

 

DW and I remain fans of the YC and have long suggested it is the best “value” in the cruise industry.  
 

Hank

[jsea]

Slick marketing clip from Explora:

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyYf4YxrK2f/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[Whipsnade]

A big waste of money. They have been captivated by expensive “feel good” marketing people. But since they have all the money in the world, what difference does it make? 
And I agree that when 3,4,5 and 6 come along there will be longer itins to more exotic spots. In the meantime some of their seven day btobs offer non repetitive ports allowing for diversity if you stay for two or three weeks. Suits me fine. 

[InsGuy3]

Does someone know if you are allowed to bring in VSOP for consumption in your suite in your luggage? We are avid Remy Martin VSOP consumers after dinner and would be very upset if not available on board. TIA. 

 

[Whipsnade]

Of course you can bring booze aboard. 

[InsGuy3]

5 minutes ago, Whipsnade said:

Of course you can bring booze aboard. 

Thank you, Whipsnade! That would make our journey much more pleasurable in November.

[Hlitner]

During the 3 hour drive home, from NYC, DW and I spent some time chatting about EJ.  There is one issue that really bothered DW, and I think she has a very good point.  We were in an OT3 suite and this would apply to any OT cabin with a shower and even many of the higher category cabins with the normal walk-in shower.  The showers are large, and quite nice.  But they have a huge design fault.  There is only one small grab bar and it is at the far end (under the valves).  Since it is a large rectangular shower, that small grab bar is near-useless as an aid in getting out of the shower and is wholly inadequate if one has balance issues, or if the ship is rocking and rolling.  

 

We also viewed some other suite types that had full size tub, and I do not recall any grab bars (I might have missed it) that would help folks get in or out of that tub.  The tub was pretty deep (i.e. a very high step to get over the rim) and it may also prove to be a real challenge for the "challenged"  :).

 

Folks who think they need some kind of easy access to a grab bar, might want to give this lots of consideration before choosing a suite.  Since we only saw a few suites, we do not know if there are certain ones that have more handholds..

 

This goes to an issue that the designers seemed to sometimes put style over substance.  The showers should have a long grab bar along the long shower wall, but the designers likely wanted to preserve the beautiful design without an ugly hand bar.

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

This goes to an issue that the designers seemed to sometimes put style over substance.  The showers should have a long grab bar along the long shower wall, but the designers likely wanted to preserve the beautiful design without an ugly hand bar.

I wish such designers a long life, so that they can get old and experience these design faults on their own.  Karma!  😏

[TER777]

I was in an OT3 as well and had the same concerns re no grab bars. 

[Whipsnade]

PHs with tubs have the same grab bar issue. 
As we booked a PH we just assumed wrongly that they would also have separate showers. There are many suites in every category that have tub showers only. I was told this was done because many Europeans prefer tubs. Well, most Americans do not. So beware when booking. Look carefully at deck plan to make sure you get a cabin with the shower you prefer.