National Geographic Explorer Review

4.5 / 5.0
51 reviews

Canadian Maritimes Aboard the National Geographic Explorer

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on National Geographic Explorer
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KeithZ
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Sep 2015

Some background first: my wife and I are retired and in our mid-60's. She's a retired human resources professional and I'm a retired public servant. She's also a professional gardener for a fine dining restaurant. She loves natural science and wildlife preservation and I'm an avid amateur historian. Neither of us are heavy drinkers or partiers although we enjoy a good glass of wine, good food and the companionship of others with similar interests. We're first-time cruisers so we searched for a cruise that we thought would match our personalities and interests. After due diligence we decided that a large cruise ship with thousands of passengers probably wasn't for us for a first cruise, so we chose Lindblad's Canadian Maritimes cruise that circumnavigated Newfoundland aboard the National Geographic Explorer, a smaller ship that accommodates 148 passengers. This was to be our "beta" cruise; we hoped to have a great time and to learn if cruising was a desirable lifestyle choice for us. As you read my review, keep in mind that I have no prior cruising experience so my comments are based on my own subjective conclusions and on thoughts and comments from the very experienced fellow travelers I met aboard the National Geographic Explorer. Your mileage may vary!

The ship: small by cruise standards with a 148-passenger capacity and about 90 officers and crew. Embarkation, orientation and disembarkation were easy, smooth and fast with no complications. Adjusting to the ship's geography is easy and, although the ship is small compared to many cruise ships, it doesn't feel cramped or crowded and one can always find some solitude on a deck if a little time away from a group is desired. We ran into some rougher seas on a few days during our voyage but the ship was pretty stable. I had one experience of sea sickness one day but I was over it in an hour or so. More experienced fellow travelers told me that overall the seas were mild to moderate on this voyage.

Cabin: we were assigned a Category 3 cabin, #317, amidship, starboard side, with a large window. The cabin was well designed and comfortable. The beds were very comfortable with soft comfortable linens. The bathroom was larger than expected with very nice amenities and excellent hot water quantity and pressure. We uncovered the large window at night so awakening to a sea view in the morning was wonderful! There were no power outlets near the beds. The outlets were opposite the beds at the small desk so engineering provided an extension cord to power bedside stuff (I use a CPAP and we had cellphones we wished to keep charged at bedside).

Cabin Review

Cabin 3

The cabin was well designed and comfortable. The beds were very comfortable with soft comfortable linens. The bathroom was larger than expected with very nice amenities and excellent hot water quantity and pressure. We uncovered the large window at night so awakening to a sea view in the morning was wonderful! There were no power outlets near the beds. The outlets were opposite the beds at the small desk so engineering provided an extension cord to power bedside stuff (I use a CPAP and we had cellphones we wished to keep charged at bedside).

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