u/me-you-everyone-ok

Hello! I am planning a trip with Explora either in the Mediterranean or Caribbean for next summer. My wife (F30) and I (M35) have been on 4 cruises all different lines (Royal-Virgin-NCL-Princess) in the past 2 years. We want to try Explora out and i was hoping to get advice on if it’s right for us. We basically do only 3 things on cruises and on the surface Explora seems like the best option on paper but let’s see if I hear otherwise. We eat specialty dining, play roulette and poker (i play tournaments) in the casino, and most importantly spend many hours on the thermal suite spas.
Like I said I think Explora sounds like a no brainer but my doubts are:
- will the casino be “vibrant” (fun)?
- will the food be as good as advertised?
- and most importantly given that the thermal suite is included will it always be packed?

Thank you very much!

Probably the best looking truck lineup I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame I would NEVER buy one only because it doesn’t support APPLE CAR PLAY. I hope GM understands that this “minor inconvenience” affects this much. Does anyone else feel this way?

I want to take my in laws, wife’s sister, and nephew to their first cruise. I convinced them but it has to be from our home port to avoid flying which is Los Angeles. I already narrowed it down to two options but looking for advice or thoughts.

NCL Encore 7 days Mexican Riviera - I like this option because in my experience NCL is a nice blend of all cruise line styles. It’s got a bit of everything and the food is above average. The Encore seems BIG and looks loaded. My only problem is that it’s a 7 day trip. My in laws are very hesitant about cruising and they rather take a short 3 night cruise. And for that reason i have option two….

RoyalC Quantum of the Seas 3 nights Ensenada - This is a nice option but this class of ship has never been on my list of “must”. I’ve been on 2 RC mega ships and they were amazing to look at and wonder around. Shows are cool but If I am not mistaken I wouldn’t get anything close to that on Quantum. Another thing.. i know I am in the minority but I don’t think RC’s food is good. But I do agree with many that the ships itself are top and that helps with first time cruisers, plus this trip is short and sweet.

Thoughts? Thank you.

Has anyone here tried out the Encore from LA (Mexican Riviera)? I want to take my in laws and nephew (11yo) for their first cruise ever and I am thinking this one due to LA being our closest port and the ship having a little of everything. But their concern is motion sickness. I haven’t departed from LA in many years and I don’t remember how bad are the waves from there to Cabo etc. Any recommendations on the best months? And if this is a good choice. Thanks!

After 4 cruises with my wife from different lines my wife (not me) decided to make Virgin Voyages her favorite and wants to board again. After I told her that all virgin “ladies” are identical she paused and passed…
I wanted to know how other cruisers feel about this and most importantly what you would like different for Virgin’s next ship class if any.
Imo The class (I boarded Valiant lady) is beautiful, the food is amazing, the staff is great, and the room (brilliant suite) is perfect.
But… again imo, I thought the experience was pretty boring for my taste. The two most important things on any cruise for me are the hydro thermal suites and casino. Being an adult cruise I expected both to be honestly the best from any other line. And I think they’re the worst by far. Both super small and ugly imo. In comparison NCL Aqua and Princess SUN have amazing spas. And all other lines I’ve boarded in my life have larger, nicer, vibrant, and friendlier casinos. So i would change those two things and add more pools.
What would you change or add?

I’m trying to figure out if anyone has experienced something like this, because I’m honestly stuck.

I had a free night award booked for a stay at a Courtyard in San Diego for April 21. At some point, that reservation was canceled and replaced with a points booking for the same property — costing me 44,000 points.

Here’s the problem: I did NOT cancel that reservation, and I did NOT rebook it with points.

What makes this even more confusing and frustrating is that when I checked in, the front desk agent actually said something along the lines of: “I see you’re using your free night award.” So at least at check-in, the system still appeared to show the free night attached to my stay.

I called Marriott and spent about 40 minutes with a supervisor. Their response was basically:
- Their system shows that I canceled the original booking
- Then “I” made a new reservation minutes later using points
- Because of that, they’re saying the points deduction is valid

I pushed back (I was honestly angry because I was basically called a Liar in many ways) and explained:
- I never made any changes to the reservation
- I didn’t authorize any cancellation or rebooking
- There’s no reason I would use 44,000 points when I already had a free night applied
- Even the front desk at check-in acknowledged the free night award

They just kept repeating that “the system shows it was done from your account.”

No real investigation beyond that. No explanation of how this could happen. No offer to restore the points.

Apparently I still have the free night award due to the “cancellation” but I don’t want it! I want my points back. I’ve been saving points for months to use them for a nice hotel one day in the near future.

At this point I’m wondering:
- Has anyone had Marriott reservations changed without their consent?
- Could this be some kind of account glitch or unauthorized access?
- Has anyone successfully escalated something like this beyond phone support?

Any advice or similar experiences would really help. Thanks.

I wrote about AQUA on day 4 now that I am back home decided the write the full thought. Hope this helps.

The Ship - Amazing but a bit “compacted”. I personally loved it but I can see how some people could be annoyed with the tight spaces. The layout is super friendly imo but the venues are pretty small. It’s like NCL decided to add as much as they could to compete with Royal in a much smaller ship and you can tell with the spaces being very small and sometimes feel a bit out of place. I personally don’t mind because my wife and I are not your typical travelers. We don’t wake up early and we don’t think of doing stuff at the same time as the majority of cruisers, we’re pretty odd. An example: we go to the slides or pools when people are resting or dressing up to go to dinner. Our first meal is brunch not breakfast and our dinner is at 9:00pm-9:30pm. But walking around those “prime times” of “obvious” activities we could see it was super packed.
Furniture and decor is incredible, by far the best I’ve seen at sea and all the last 3 cruises before this one where all as new or newer than AQUA. In summary, very nice ship, has a bit of everything like royal but in a tighter space.

The Food - this was a very pleasant surprise. We honestly did not expect much in this area. The buffet is delicious but this is where you’ll feel the tightest of spaces mentioned before. Specialty dining is a hit or miss but the restaurants are beautiful and the prices are very fair. We went to Cagney (steakhouse) 4/5, Le Bistro (French) 3/5, Our top pick was Onda by Scarpetta (Italian) 5/5, Palomar (Mediterranean) 4/5, unfortunately our least favorite when it comes to taste was Hasuki (Japanese) 2/5. Food in the off hours options are Burgers and Hot dogs next to the buffet (it’s good) and The Local which is OK gets the job done. Drinks are great in any bar. We were not fans of Indulge food hall, I know we’re in the minority but we did not like the food options nor the taste of what we ordered, went once and never went back. Tip: at the end of the buffet there’s a small bar the makes freshly squeezed orange juice which is very good.

The Spa - Wow. Purchased the week pass before the trip and it was the best money spent. Went every day on those crazy hours of the day when everyone is in the pools or eating lunch and we had it all to ourselves. I am not hating on people doing things differently is just the reality of our situation. The pool is very modern and has a perfect temperature (2 pools hot and cold). The experimental showers and saunas were great. The best part of the spa imo is the heated lounge area facing front ocean view. It’s very peaceful and relaxing. The spa (even when full) is the only place in the ship that didn’t feel compacted or crowded imo.

The Room - This is the real negative for us. I mentioned in my day 4 thoughts that it had efficient spacing but that the bed could’ve been more comfortable. Well this got worse and other annoying stuff. The AC never worked properly. The tv always broke signal in middle of live sports. The spaces started to feel tighter with that days. The uncomfortable bed started to feel on our backs by the end, The worst bed we’ve had on a cruise unfortunately. On the positive side.. the bathroom and balcony are perfect for a cruise.

The Entertainment - Went to Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right. Both were very fun and production stood out, very technologically advanced and well produced.

The Casino - At first I found it very odd. The layout is very different from other ships, it’s not a designated space per se it’s all over the floor combined with other event spaces, think of a las vegas casino in a hotel. I think they were going for that. Not the best casino at sea but far from the worse. The tournaments were fun and the dealers were friendly but some do need some more practice. Overall all it’s an above average casino at sea.

The Staff - 80% of the staff is amazing. Very friendly and helpful. 20% seemed new to NCL or the ship. Some gave wrong flooring instructions or some just didn’t know what I was talking about. Example: where is the guest services desk? 9th floor, it didn’t make sense and I helped out just with the logical layout that I knew so far. But overall great staff.

The Funtivities - Amazing. Aqua coaster, the Drop, Mini Golf, and so on… everything was very fun and exhilarating. The day to day activities like raffles and mini shows were also great.

The Prices - Is it pricy? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.
I recommend the Free at Sea PLUS. It’s expensive but the fast Wifi costs close to that and it includes it. The specialty dining imo isn’t expensive. I’ve had bad meals for much more in land. The gift shop prices are cheaper than others yet still expensive as you’d expect. In board stuff it’s ok.

At the end we enjoyed the NCL AQUA and would most definitely cruise with them again. Keeping an eye out for the Aura coming soon.

NCL Aqua imo 4/5. In comparison to the last 3 ships..
Princess SUN 3/5
RC Wonder of the Seas 4/5
Vg Valiant Lady 3/5

Who do I recommend this ship for:
- Young couples.
- Small Group no children.
- Small family with teens.

Happy cruising!

Currently on day 4 of the NCL Aqua, docked Bermuda.

This ship is amazing. The food is by far better than my last two ships (Wonder of the Seas & Princess SUN). The layout is NOT confusing (don’t understand why people say it’s confusing). It has a weird layout (positive) that feels really small and fast/easy to get from back to front. The design and decor feels very elegant and modern while still being comfortable. The Aqua Coaster is as exhilarating as advertised. The wifi is fast. The room is well thought out, very efficient spacing. My only complaint is that the bed mattress could be a bit more comfortable, shame because the pillows are amazing.

Before boarding I spent many hours reading and watching reviews and videos and the consensus was that the ship was nice but everything else SUCKS. Many complaints of nickel and diming. Food being bad and too crowded.

Yes, it’s crowded (sold out trip) but after boarding Wonder of the seas nothing surprises me nor bothers me just my way of thinking.

Nickel and dime, NOT ONE thing has tried to be sold or push to me. My wife had a massage yesterday (she always gets at least one per cruise) and she said that this was by far the best one yet. That the sales pitch for products was very short and sweet and she actually ended up asking for a product they used on her and gave her a discount.

The food, obviously is subjective but the buffet and all special dining have been well above average or even delicious. But we have a way of critiquing ALL INCLUSIVE food very differently from on land restaurants. But IMO the food is much better than Royal and Princess (not Virgin though).

I am officially a top fan of NCL and will definitely book another trip with them in the future.