Explora Journeys' CEO Michael Ungerer to Leave

[Stickman1990]

Michael Ungerer is leaving his role as CEO of Explora Journeys, with Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of the cruise division at MSC Group taking over his responsibilities for the time being.

Ungerer is leaving for undisclosed "personal reasons." He will remain as an advisor for the brand through the end of August.

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/Cruise/articles/Explora-Journeys-CEO-Michael-Ungerer-to-Leave

 

I wonder what, if any, changes follow this change at the top?

[commodoredave]

15 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

Michael Ungerer is leaving his role as CEO of Explora Journeys, with Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of the cruise division at MSC Group taking over his responsibilities for the time being.

Ungerer is leaving for undisclosed "personal reasons." He will remain as an advisor for the brand through the end of August.

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/Cruise/articles/Explora-Journeys-CEO-Michael-Ungerer-to-Leave

 

I wonder what, if any, changes follow this change at the top?

Maybe the new guy will do some listening. If he does, he will discover that the biggest issue with the ship is lack of shade. It’s a criticism that is universal.

[kelleherdl]

27 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

Maybe the new guy will do some listening. If he does, he will discover that the biggest issue with the ship is lack of shade. It’s a criticism that is universal.

I found quite a few folks, like me, love the sun. With loungers on all sides of the ship it’s easy to find shade wherever the sun ISN’T. The great number of lounger locations for me is a strong design element. Now if you choose to stay in the same place all day long it can be an issue. The earth does rotate, so as we all know shade will move throughout the day. I’m willing to move with the sun and use the copious availability of towels to set up a fresh lounger.

Edited March 5 by kelleherdl

[commodoredave]

10 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

I found quite a few folks, like me, love the sun. With loungers on all sides of the ship it’s easy to find shade wherever the sun ISN’T. The great number of lounger locations for me is a strong design element. Now if you choose to stay in the same place all day long it can be an issue. The earth does rotate, so as we all know shade will move throughout the day. I’m willing to move with the sun and use the copious availability of towels to set up a fresh lounger.

I think you will find you are in a very small minority with your opinion. Start a conversation with anyone on the ship, as we are doing this week, and the first comment about the ship is lack of shade. This is our 83rd cruise, and we have never been on any ship with so little shade as the Explora 1. Does it matter in Alaska? Heck no. Does it matter in the Caribbean? Absolutely!

[Wheelhouse]

I am a pasty Irishman who can’t stay in the sun too long.  Even with as many as 800 passengers we had no trouble finding shady loungers even at the Conservatory pool.  There were plans the designers had for shade providers at one of the other pools, but they were impractical and couldn’t withstand any wind.  You can see them in some of the pre-construction videos. 

[commodoredave]

2 hours ago, Wheelhouse said:

I am a pasty Irishman who can’t stay in the sun too long.  Even with as many as 800 passengers we had no trouble finding shady loungers even at the Conservatory pool.  There were plans the designers had for shade providers at one of the other pools, but they were impractical and couldn’t withstand any wind.  You can see them in some of the pre-construction videos. 

Yes, there are a handful of shaded lounges in the Conservatory pool, but where many would normally have been are replaced by two very long hot tubs. As for the other 3 pools, they have been nicknamed Melanoma 1, 2 and 3 for their lack of shade. I challenge anyone reading this to point to any other ship with less shaded chairs per passenger than Explora. This is a well known fact and already an accepted issue by management, and I was told they are looking into possible fixes.

[PaulMCO]

As new CEO, I promised to make the following changes....

 

Reshuffle the itineraries for the 5th time.  Move Explora 1 where 2 was 2 where 1 was.

Do away with Explora speak..... no more host nonsensa

Everyone will be equal -- no butlers for anybody

Make the Emporium a true buffet lika that of Royal Caribbean, because everyone should toucha their food

Replace the Baristas at Crema, because only an Italian can make a Illy coffee

 

Ciao

 

Francesco

[saminina]

Because 600 passengers have 215 different ideas how to operate this vessel......we'll do it my way.

[Wheelhouse]

3 hours ago, commodoredave said:

Yes, there are a handful of shaded lounges in the Conservatory pool, but where many would normally have been are replaced by two very long hot tubs. As for the other 3 pools, they have been nicknamed Melanoma 1, 2 and 3 for their lack of shade. I challenge anyone reading this to point to any other ship with less shaded chairs per passenger than Explora. This is a well known fact and already an accepted issue by management, and I was told they are looking into possible fixes.

I will accept that challenge. We were recently on Oceania's new Vista which holds 1200 passengers and there was very little shaded area besides their one pool.  

[commodoredave]

1 hour ago, Wheelhouse said:

I will accept that challenge. We were recently on Oceania's new Vista which holds 1200 passengers and there was very little shaded area besides their one pool.  

Glad you responded. First, Oceania is not in the same luxury class or price point as Explora, Regent or Silversea, which one expects more from. Putting that aside, there are just 24 chaise lounges in the shade in Explora’s Conservatory Pool, which is the ship’s largest pool area.  In contrast, the main pools on similar sized Regent and Silversea have nearly twice that amount. Furthermore, Explora has no dedicated shaded loungers in its bow and stern pools. If one doesn’t want a shaded area to sit in, that’s not an issue. But for the many people who want shade, Explora is indeed deficient and a poor choice for hot weather cruises. It’s a consideration that is important in choosing a cruse line.

[Wheelhouse]

On Oceania's newer ships (Vista and Allura) a veranda is as expensive or more so than an OT (the vast majority of cabins) is currently going for on Explora.  I just looked at a 14 day cruise on Regent's Grandeur (14 Aug 2025) and the entry level cabins were running 16.5K per person (ex air).  Price wise Explora is nowhere close to that class ship.

 

Explora does have a number of double cabanas too, but they are not near the pools and I can't recall how many there are.  Speaking from my own experience it was not a problem getting a covered lounger.  

[commodoredave]

1 hour ago, Wheelhouse said:

On Oceania's newer ships (Vista and Allura) a veranda is as expensive or more so than an OT (the vast majority of cabins) is currently going for on Explora.  I just looked at a 14 day cruise on Regent's Grandeur (14 Aug 2025) and the entry level cabins were running 16.5K per person (ex air).  Price wise Explora is nowhere close to that class ship.

 

Explora does have a number of double cabanas too, but they are not near the pools and I can't recall how many there are.  Speaking from my own experience it was not a problem getting a covered lounger.  

Speaking from our experience this week, with only 650 on board with a capacity of 900, we have not been able to get shaded lounges on most days. Now, part of this may be chair hogs, but only a small part. Once again, please post if you have actual factual numbers that prove Explora has the same number of shaded chaise lounges as Regent and Silversea on similar sized ships. I can’t verify Oceania numbers as I have never sailed on hee ships. 

[Whipsnade]

About time Ungerer left for  “personal reasons”.  It shouldn’t be more than six months to find a competent replacement, another year for that person to organize a new team and probably another year to organize changes. So by early 27 perhaps there might be a revitalized Explora brand. 
Better yet sell the whole lot to D’Ovidio and Kent at Crystal as they surely know how to  run a luxury operation and let MSC stick to mega cruises and freight at which they do quite well. 

[commodoredave]

Another day, another day without shade. Traversed the entire ship twice without finding a aingle lounger in the shade and it’s only 10:00 am.