Live from EJ1 - Miami to Barbados 8/3 (or 3/8 if you insist) >

[Noggins]

11 hours ago, magnus1977 said:

Noggins, what a marvellous reading, I have so much appreciated it😀

 

If I can ask, what is your thoughts of Explora vs Crystal? I will do a 7 night solo cruise in november/december on either Explora 2 or Crystal Serenity in the Caribbean. Solo outside cabin on Crystal and ocean terrace suite on Explora. $3500 for Crystal and $5.000 for Explora, including $400 on board credit for Explora. Any recommendations? 

I had posted a reply last night but I see it didn't land. In the meantime I see you've started a new thread.

It's very difficult for anyone to advise without knowing more about you etc etc (that's more or less how a consultant starts his pitch, isn't it ..?)

The few comments I made last night were:

 

- 7 night cruise fine from a repeat menu point of view.

- I think EJ may take the service dips that so often happens when an additional ship joins. Quality, experienced crew get spread thinly across 2 ships (in this case) supplemented by a lot of completely inexperienced folk. Takes a few months for everything to level up. In that regard Crystal are much more stable and in the groove.

- if room size is of great importance then EJ wins hands down. (but avoid GT's under the deck 11 jacuzzis - the comment about occasional 'sprinkles' in the new thread belies the fact that the occasional torrent of water has the potential to injure someone.)

 

Hope you get the help you want but both options would likely give you a great cruise.

[PrivateIdaho]

Safe travels home. Enjoyed your daily reports.  

[maggie.1008]

We are in grand ocean terrace cabin 6053.Should I be worried about water splashing on my balcony? 

[Noggins]

16 minutes ago, maggie.1008 said:

We are in grand ocean terrace cabin 6053.Should I be worried about water splashing on my balcony? 

Hello Maggie - this feels like a question where the answer is loaded with responsibility.....

We were in 6054. We weren't using the terrace all that much but we certainly witnessed / heard the water coming down on at least 3/4 occasions. The last occasion was the sound of quite a lot of water landing on 6052 terrace and coming through to us under the partition. (the neighbours  were out when it happened) The first time we heard it I would say it affected 4/5 rooms in the opposite direction. A lot of water was coming down - it made us wonder what on earth was going on. ('sprinkles' certainly do not describe it)

What eventually bothered me most was when moments after my wife had been looking over the rail a considerable amount of water came down. If it had hit her on the back of the neck it could have been a lot worse than just an unexpected dousing in water. It would, at the very least, knock glasses off.

As to the cause, it is harder to speculate as we never used the jacuzzis (dreadful, unhygienic things!). But my hunch is that the problem is twofold - movement of the ship (we had very little movement but it was still enough to send water down at seemingly random moments. It happened at night too) but also, probably, by displacement of water from people using the jacuzzis. They hold quite a number of people and, who knows, perhaps just two people could displace quite a bit depending upon ...... 🤭😳😬.

To keep this in context the terrace furniture is placed under the covered part of the terrace so only the foot end of the lounger is at risk of getting wet. We never got hit directly and didn't sit there in trepidation of an unwelcome alfresco shower.

The room host was well aware of the problem and he warned us early on. Furthermore, one day when we mentioned it had happened he said he would be reporting it again. (we didn't ask him to).

I've gone into quite some detail here as I understand why you are a bit worried. If I were you and I was told it wasn't possible to change room I would go ahead and just use the knowledge that you now have to avoid any possibility of a surprise or a disappointment - maybe you'll never experience it. If there is a room available that you'd be equally happy with that is not under the deck 11 jacuzzis then I would move. 

Does that help at all ....?

 

NB I still intend to go into a bit more detail on the room in general. 

[Noggins]

We are home in warm and sunny Scotland!

 

The Virgin flight was on an A330 with a business class product we were unfamiliar with - it is an old product they must keep on the leisure routes. The thrusting young business types would never accept such a poor product when there as so many better options!. Never have I sat in a business cabin and felt like I was in an old people's home - everyone in a line facing the trolley moving along the line dishing out food! Fortunately when the seats converted into beds and you shut your eyes the experience improved. I actually got a decent rest and (deliberately) dozed through breakfast. We landed a little early and BA kindly swapped us on to an earlier flight giving us just time for breakfast in the BA lounge before the short hop up to Aberdeen. An hour after landing we were home.

 

Adrian 

[uktog]

I have really enjoyed your review, it has brought me back some happy memories from November and gives some hopes for our remaining bookings.  They look like they have taken on some of the feedback regarding the entertainment and you had a more proactive Entertainment Manager who was there not "for show".  Still some learning as well but I see EJ very much like a smart hotel - several restaurants and its about choosing around menus and if on board for a larger number of days you may well have to enjoy a favourite one more time.  Like you we find an OT room to be a reasonable amount of space, certainly enough for us.

Ive often wondered about testing Virgin but I think I will stick with BA even though my children think I should be put in a home from time to time

 

Thanks for all your input and balanced comments

Edited March 19 by uktog

[Wheelhouse]

10 hours ago, uktog said:

We did not need it in December 

You definitely do not need to pre-complete the immigration form as you can just go to a kiosk and fill it out, but if you have already done it online you can take skip to the immigration officer and save some time.  I guess this only matters if there is a big crowd at the airport. 

[uktog]

1 minute ago, Wheelhouse said:

You definitely do not need to pre-complete the immigration form as you can just go to a kiosk and fill it out, but if you have already done it online you can take skip to the immigration officer and save some time.  I guess this only matters if there is a big crowd at the airport. 

We are UK passport holders, we filled in no form anywhere either on the ship, the port or at the airport. 

[Wheelhouse]

15 minutes ago, uktog said:

We are UK passport holders, we filled in no form anywhere either on the ship, the port or at the airport. 

I assume that you are correct.  My comment would apply to US citizens.

[Noggins]

14 minutes ago, uktog said:

We are UK passport holders, we filled in no form anywhere either on the ship, the port or at the airport. 

when we arrived in Barbados by air last March we had to visit the terminals to produce the required document for entry. It was a complete zoo and in the heat and humidity too. Which is why I felt the need to be forarmed this time given that the Barbados government  guidance had not changed. All that happened on the ship was that the immigration officer took a photo of the passport - nothing more.

[CJANDH]

1 hour ago, Wheelhouse said:

I assume that you are correct.  My comment would apply to US citizens.

We are US citizens and did not have to complete any form to enter Barbados. Are you talking about a form needed to leave Barbados?

[Wheelhouse]

1 minute ago, CJANDH said:

We are US citizens and did not have to complete any form to enter Barbados. Are you talking about a form needed to leave Barbados?

This form    https://travelform.gov.bb/

[CJANDH]

1 minute ago, Wheelhouse said:

This form    https://travelform.gov.bb/

I saw your link before. I am just saying that we left the ship and entered Barbados without that form. We are spending two days here and then flying back the US. The only contact with Immigration was the 5 minutes with one of the agents in the Explora Lounge before we disembarked.

[Wheelhouse]

6 hours ago, CJANDH said:

I saw your link before. I am just saying that we left the ship and entered Barbados without that form. We are spending two days here and then flying back the US. The only contact with Immigration was the 5 minutes with one of the agents in the Explora Lounge before we disembarked.

I guess that contact was sufficient for the immigration authorities.  When you fly into Barbados as a US citizen you are led directly through the immigration hall and it is handy to have the pre-approved immigration form rather than using the kiosk.

 

[Noggins]

I have been promising a few more comments on our ('standard') room. Here goes....

 

Corridors are just what you're used to - nicely done with occasional large, framed pieces of art.

 

Room doors are in pairs - very close to each other. We never set eyes on our neighbours. This arrangement means bathrooms are back to back with a neighbour who is further down the hall - although we never heard their vacuum toilet. (possibly because the room was empty!)

 

 

Could you hear anything through the walls? Well, yes we could. Loud voices and a child's voice could be heard - but not clear enough to hear conversation.

 

The room was very well thought through, in the main and of all the luxury lines we have experienced this was probably the best for this category type. It was unusual to have an extensive hot drink set up coffee machine and kettle.

 

 

The fridge gets a mention too on account of the door design which allows for one bottle. Not seen that before in this sized fridge.

 

 

The space in the wardrobe is compromised by putting the dressing table in there - and the bathroom door is on the right hand side. On the other hand the safe is in the bedroom - in a drawer 

 

 

 

We are fairly light packers these days and we both only took slightly more than we needed. Unusually we needed to use all the bedroom storage in addition to the wardrobe.

 

Temperature control was very accurate and responsive.

 

Power to the room required a key card in a slot by the door. Some other random card did not activate the power, so no cheating! It was slightly annoying as it meant you couldn't leave a phone on charge over breakfast, for instance, unless you left one of your room cards in place. Opening the veranda door did not appear to switch off the a/C. Speaking of which that door was heavy and the opening / closing handle needed considerable strength!

 

The usual problem of 2 people being unable to pass at the foot of the bed existed. I this case due to the, admittedly, useful shelf 

 

 

The display shelves / room divider was a nice feature. (Yes, all nailed down. Pinch anything and a notice advised such action would lead to 'a charge being conveniently made to your account'!)

 

 

Light switches were, as is the way these days, a little complicated and it took several days to even begin to know which switch did what. But at least it gave some nice lighting options and effects. Slightly controversial were the motion activated night lights hidden in the bedside tables / night stand. There was one on both sides of the bed.

 

They were certainly handy in the night but light sleeping partners might be disturbed by having their light activated as their partner tried to creep to the bathroom.

 

Unfortunately once you reached the bathroom things were not so clever. There was only one switch operating the very bright lights. There was also very limited power options in the bathroom. If there was a shaver point it was very well hidden. My strong advice would be to bring your own night light which could be powered from here .. USB A or C

 

 

Whilst on the bathroom, it was great. The toilet was very good at cleaning itself! The walk in shower very spacious and the counter top offered good space.

 

 

The main problem was the steaming up of the mirror. The no door shower and the lack of an extraction vent in the shower meant the steaming up was rapid and slow to clear. Much has been said about the slightly unnecessary heated floor when a heated mirror would have made far more sense. A bit of a rookie error (even we have not made that mistake in bathroom renovations at home!) especially as there is no shaving / makeup mirror either.

 

The shower (Grohe - just like home .) is great but does not use the latest push button technology. Consequently the usual opportunity to test your reflexes applies. Can you turn on the shower and remove your arm before cold water catches you?!

 

 

You can see that bathroom products are locked in place. We like the products and bought some in the shop to take home. I'm not a fan of the refill nature of things on hygiene grounds. The sink hand wash was a free standing dispenser as per the shower item.

 

Finally, back on power outlets. The room was very well provided. US / European and USB A/C everywhere 

 

 

 

Any questions, just ask.

 

Adrian 

 

 

Edited March 20 by Noggins
Spelling

[travelberlin]

It looks very nice as an entry level cabin. Much better than the balcony cabins at Azamara or  the solo cabins at Crystal. If this is an important criteria, I guess Explora wins. What I like is that all cabins at entry level at Explora, are balcony cabins. I am finding very difficult now to cruise without a balcony. Not because I need the balcony to spend time there, but I need the fresh air in the bedroom. Specially after the pandemic this has become very important to me.

 

Ivi

[Waltershipman]

15 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

It looks very nice as an entry level cabin. Much better than the balcony cabins at Azamara or  the solo cabins at Crystal. If this is an important criteria, I guess Explora wins. What I like is that all cabins at entry level at Explora, are balcony cabins. I am finding very difficult now to cruise without a balcony. Not because I need the balcony to spend time there, but I need the fresh air in the bedroom. Specially after the pandemic this has become very important to me.

 

Ivi

Entry level on EJ are excellent 

[marelind]

On 3/19/2024 at 9:23 AM, Noggins said:

Hello Maggie - this feels like a question where the answer is loaded with responsibility.....

We were in 6054. We weren't using the terrace all that much but we certainly witnessed / heard the water coming down on at least 3/4 occasions. The last occasion was the sound of quite a lot of water landing on 6052 terrace and coming through to us under the partition. (the neighbours  were out when it happened) The first time we heard it I would say it affected 4/5 rooms in the opposite direction. A lot of water was coming down - it made us wonder what on earth was going on. ('sprinkles' certainly do not describe it)

What eventually bothered me most was when moments after my wife had been looking over the rail a considerable amount of water came down. If it had hit her on the back of the neck it could have been a lot worse than just an unexpected dousing in water. It would, at the very least, knock glasses off.

As to the cause, it is harder to speculate as we never used the jacuzzis (dreadful, unhygienic things!). But my hunch is that the problem is twofold - movement of the ship (we had very little movement but it was still enough to send water down at seemingly random moments. It happened at night too) but also, probably, by displacement of water from people using the jacuzzis. They hold quite a number of people and, who knows, perhaps just two people could displace quite a bit depending upon ...... 🤭😳😬.

To keep this in context the terrace furniture is placed under the covered part of the terrace so only the foot end of the lounger is at risk of getting wet. We never got hit directly and didn't sit there in trepidation of an unwelcome alfresco shower.

The room host was well aware of the problem and he warned us early on. Furthermore, one day when we mentioned it had happened he said he would be reporting it again. (we didn't ask him to).

I've gone into quite some detail here as I understand why you are a bit worried. If I were you and I was told it wasn't possible to change room I would go ahead and just use the knowledge that you now have to avoid any possibility of a surprise or a disappointment - maybe you'll never experience it. If there is a room available that you'd be equally happy with that is not under the deck 11 jacuzzis then I would move. 

Does that help at all ....?

 

NB I still intend to go into a bit more detail on the room in general. 

Thank you for the warning. We just booked Explora II in September and I will be in GOT 6053. It would be nice if they solved the problem, but I'm grateful to be forewarned. 

 

I loved your reports and am looking forward to our cruise.

[CJANDH]

Adrian.

Great job with the live report. I was expecting to post a bit myself but you covered everything in great detail and with a (typically Brit) sense of humor. Well done.

[Noggins]

Thanks Chris - and I'm sorry we didn't get to meet up.

Sorry also for the quality of the humour - and all those extra 'u's'. (I don't know what you think you're doing dropping your own 'u's' like that - how long have you been over there??)

 

With so much being written in different threads on comparisons and summaries I think I may leave my summary thoughts a little briefer than I had planned. It's hard not to be controversial or shot down in flames! I think (I hope) it was clear we had a jolly good time. The EJ misteps were relatively minor in the context of the whole and I do appreciate that our dietry preferences are a factor in of our lack of satisfaction with the set menus. (but don't get me started on EJ saying they can't print things on paper because of the environmental impact. Many of the menu items have environmental impacts that are off the scale. Enough said...)

What I will say is that, for us, EJ would be a good choice for a particular itinerary or 'offer' whereas our previous go-to line, Crystal, would get our booking rather more readily. Crystal feels more like home, more like a ship where 'Corporate-itis' doesn't exist. Crystal on board management seem to have an attitude of 'we own this and it lives or dies by how we deliver' - whereas EJ felt more like a performance from generally well trained folk performing to a Head Office script. 'If it goes a bit wrong don't blame us, we're just doing what we were told to do'.)

 

So that's it. As they say in Hollywood - 'It's a wrap.'

Or as they say in Ealing Studios, London - 'OK chaps, I do believe we're done. Jolly good show.' (OK, I'm guessing)

 

Adrian

 

Ah - but there is a final postscript.......

If you here at the beginning you may remember we left an unwell cat at home. He ended up needing 24/7 care from the family as he slowly declined. He had some better days now and then but immediately on our return he reached the point of no return - and we had to say goodbye. He was a real character and a fine cat. We buried him in the grounds last night. RIP Tonto.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[May B]

Oh, Adrian. Thank you for sharing Tonto with us. Good that you made it home to give him a proper good bye.

 

Great description of your journey and the short comparison. Happy planning, and enjoy enjoy enjoy.

 

—May B Muriel

[Dr. Cocktail]

56 minutes ago, Noggins said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So sorry to hear this! Losing an animal is THE worst.

 

The same thing happened to us after a cruise 16 years ago but unfortunately, she didn't last until our return.

 

Her "replacements" (personality so big that two required) are turning 16 but please don't tell them that they're geriatric! They would both strenuously object!

 

Again, so sorry that you had to go through this.

 

I'm glad that you got to enjoy Explora but disappointed that it wasn't the best fit for you. At my stage in life, the product works exceptionally well for me.

 

Edited March 22 by Dr. Cocktail

[Waltershipman]

50 minutes ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

So sorry to hear this! Losing an animal is THE worst.

 

The same thing happened to us after a cruise 16 years ago but unfortunately, she didn't last until our return.

 

Her "replacements" (personality so big that two required) are turning 16 but please don't tell them that they're geriatric! They would both strenuously object!

 

Again, so sorry that you had to go through this.

 

I'm glad that you got to enjoy Explora but disappointed that it wasn't the best fit for you. At my stage in life, the product works exceptionally well for me.

 

EJ fits me too

[nancygp]

Adrian,

 

so sorry about Tontos passing…May his memory always be a blessing

 

Nancy

[maggie.1008]

Thanks so much for the wonderful review and useful information.

may the many times Tonto made you laugh fill your heart ❤️