Explorer - Miami to Venice March 26 to April 19

I will also be doing a member Review.

Embarkation was very easy and we headed up to lunch. When out suites were ready I also learned that there had been a place where we could have checked out carry on bags (this would have been nice to know earlier).

We had a G1 suite and there were many things that we liked with the suite. It had plenty of room for us, the bed was just great, there was plenty of storage room and drawers, the shower was very comfortable, the balcony was nice. There were also things we didn't like about the G1. We did not like the TV being in the sleeping area, did not like the height and size of the table in the sitting area, this did not work for in suite dining. A table that was higher and had a pedestal with room for feet under the table would have made the area seem even larger.

The Explorer was just great and many things to like/enjoy about it. The spacious public spaces were very nice and at no time did it seem crowded. The Café and Pool Grill were very handy with different schedules of excursions. LaVeranda was very enjoyable and seemed to have extra space between the tables. It never seemed over crowded or chaotic. I found that the fish that they had on the buffet was surprisingly good (not what I expected from a buffet) The main complaint about LaVeranda was the salt grinders, that never seemed to work. We had many staff members looking for one that wasn't clogged up each day. Dining in the Compass Rose was always enjoyable and the expanded menu was great to choose from. Of the specialty restaurants, Pacific Rim was our favorite. They had special outdoor lunch buffets on many sea days, but I didn't find much that I would want and the few things I tried were cold (and they tried really hard to keep the items hot). There was always plenty to choose from with the LaVeranda and Pool Grill.

There were about 600 of the 725 passengers on the crossing that were repeat customers which had a positive impact.

There were also some things we did not like about the Explorer. The steps in the Theater were shaded with darker carpet on the edge and that gave (at least to me) the illusion that the step was sooner than it was. After 2 misses and almost falling, I made sure to hold on to the seats and take each step carefully. The landing at the Aft Elevator on deck 5 has also been mentioned and when the area is crowded there is a chance someone could fall off the landing. There doesn't seem to be enough room for a scooter to back out of the elevator there without being close to the steps. The hand rails in the forward glass elevators are at a level/angle to do damage bumping into them trying to get out. I also did not like the "Ship Location" on the TV. The little square with the name Explorer blocked the exact information I wanted to see.

Our time on the ship during the sea days was a lot of fun and very relaxing. The Smithsonian lectures were very interesting. Trivia was so popular they moved it the theater. The library was very nice with a great collection of books and newspapers. We could not stay up late enough to see the shows. One day we did a galley tour which was very informative and one day we had a bridge tour. The captain spent 45 minutes with us explaining many of the systems.

Our excursions were very good. Some of the buses were not comfortable. What we had in Bermuda was a city bus, but I think that is all they had on that island. The bus we took for Gibraltar was over booked and very crowded, but we only spent 5-10 minutes on it. We enjoyed all of our guides.

I would sail on the Explorer again but I will make my choice based on the itinerary.

Thanks for posting. I agree about the steps in the theater. They are a broken bone just waiting to happen.