mets550

Do you know when pools and hot tubs close on Enchantment of the seas. Really wanted to float around at night and watch the stars.

There is usually one of each open 24/7.

Can someone please tell me what time the Shows are in the evenings. Need to know for booking MTD.

 

Many thanks

You are best booking MTD times at the same or similar times as the traditional dining, as the shows are based around those dinner times. If there is just one showtime, it is usually at 7:30/7:45 or 10:30/10:45. Other times there is a 9 p.m. for the people with early seating. If you do dinner in between early and late seating (e.g., 7:00 p.m.), you will likely end up missing all the shows except for the post-late-seating ones.

We received our assignment for our balcony guaranty cabins. 7226 and 7228. Are there any cons to these cabins? I know it is pretty forward on the ship, mostly I am hoping there is nothing to obstruct the views, such as lifeboats. Anybody know?

I don't believe Explorer has any obstructed balconies, at least not due to lifeboats.

Are pre purchased soda packages cheaper than purchasing the day of embarkation?

Nope--same exact cost. The only benefit of prepurchasing is to save the two minutes onboard.

Morning!

 

We are going on the Explorer soon and can't wait! I have been on the ship before, but not for a few years. Do we need to make reservations for anything except restaurants, ice show etc in advance?

 

Thanks!

 

Music

You can book excursions and spa appointments in advance too. If you know what you want to do, then booking your excursions now is better, so you don't have to wait on a long line at the Explorations Desk once onboard and you won't risk getting sold out. Booking a spa appointment in advance is helpful to get the time you want also, but if you are a Crown & Anchor member, you will have discounts that you can use; I'm not sure if they will refund you the discount amount if you prebook (and thus prepay) beforehand.

Great review! Love the photos and descriptions of all the food and drink. (That is, of course, the main reason to cruise! :D)

Thanks for the pictures and the reviews. Did anyone else experience the stray dogs? That would potentially be a deal-breaker for us.

Has anyone done this through RCCL? Any reviews or pictures would be appreciated. Also, I read that, even though the tour says it is only four hours, you can take any shuttle back to the port, as they leave once per hour; is this true? Finally, can you purchase lunch once you get there, or do you have to book it in advance? Thanks!

sorry if Im in the wrong place here. we have booked for the first time with royal on explorer. booked cabin 7614, a balcony, which we enjoy. can anyone explain the design of the deck, especially the promenade. We cruised on ncl and princess where there isnt this feature. Also any comments on the cabin. thanks for any input.

The best way to think about the promenade is to think about a mall, just a bit narrower. It is like a central esplanade that is very high and runs almost the length of the ship. The rest of the ship (at least the interior) revolves around the promenade.

Balcony rooms on Explorer are very nice too. We had a deck six balcony. I believe decks seven and up have glass halfway up on the balcony, so you can see through even when you are sitting.

Embarkation day....is there any place other than the WJ to have lunch?

Cafe Promenade.

I had the same concern, but now that I've sailed her, my take is this:

 

There are times when one wants to be indoors. Perhaps it's windy or hot, maybe one's dressed up, or just wants to be out of the sun.

 

So now you're going inside. You're going to be in a public space. Would you rather be in one with a huge empty space and a ceiling that's way above you, or in the typical bar?

 

Of course in the Royal Promenade you actually spend most time in a venue not much different from most ships, but when walking about from place to place, it's so nice having that sense of space.

 

I'm 6'3" and I've often felt on cruises that the ceiling is way to close to my head.

 

So any "mally" feeling is more than compensated for by the long sightlines, the high ceilings, and the general sense of openness that is usually only found on deck.

 

Whoever designed it should be in the cruise ship hall of fame.

I too like the openness of the promenade. Also, it feels less like a mall to me and has more of a city square type feel--most malls I go to don't have multiple bars within 100 yards of each other! :D

First time RC cruiser, we are sailing on Explorer out of Cape Liberty in June. What time can we start checking in the morning we depart. My Setsail documetation says 12:00-3:30pm. Can we show up earlier. I know alot depends on when the ship clears customs. I don't want to get there early and have to wait until 12:00.

Boarding usually begins around 11 a.m. It could be a bit later if there is an issue, but it would probably be the exception rather than the norm if it doesn't start until noon. It is unlikely to start before 11 a.m., however.

Please give us some more tonight!

Thanks for the great review so far. We usually request a table in advance (with others, just for two, etc.). I have even requested a window table and gotten it. We will be eight people--where would you recommend in the MDR we request? Are there any round eight-person tables (it looks like the round tables are all for six from your pictures)? Where is the best location? If I ask for something very specific, they just might do it, so I want to know what I should ask for. Any preference on deck also? Thanks!

Absolutely loving your review! Please keep it coming! We are sailing this August and can't wait.

May I suggest that anyone try the Bank of America Royal Caribbean Visa.

I have had it for a couple of years. I went on EOS in January & didn't have to spend a penny out of pocket because of on board credit from the points I earned using my Visa.

I will probably go on Quantum in 2014. I should have a good amount of points built up again by then for on board credit. Nothing like free on board credit!

Love the RCI Visa card. There are obviously cards that you give you better points-per-dollar, but--for certain redemptions (like upgrades)--you get 2% (which means 4% on RCI purchases).

Not exactly an EOS specific question, but since im sailing on it I guess this would be the thread to ask it in. Im sailing on The EOS on the May 30th cruise (cant wait!) The same day we disembark, I have a test for a job at 1pm about a half hour away from the port. Any chance the EOS crew will let me deboard as early as possible? Obviously I want to give me self enough time to get to the test just in case theres traffic.

Self-disembarkation usually begins between 7 and 8 a.m., so you should have no problem getting off and and making it there with more than enough time to spare.

I think prices in the NYC area are higher just because the median income in the area is much higher than much the rest of the country. Thus, they can charge more money, especially when people in the area won't have to fly. Quantum will probably get new-ship-prices plus the standard premium for sailing out of Bayonne.

Does the EOS have the game bean bag toss or (cornhole) as it is sometimes called onboad to play?

Yes, I played this game on the pool deck while aboard Explorer in January 2012.

Several years ago, I was in balcony cabin 9648 and I seem to remember that the baclony cut-out was rounded and there was a solid metal partition separating my balcony cabin from the adjacent cabin balcony. Looking at cruise critic pictures, I see there are glass dividers separating most balcony cabins. Is my memory correct in that there are some balcony cabins with solid metal partitions and others with glass partitions? Thanks.

On deck six we had metal partitions. Not sure about the other decks.

Interesting I never thought of using the airplane mode on the ship. Does it still allow you to text to others on the same ship?

No, your phone can't get any texts, calls, or Internet access while in airplane mode. However, you can still take pictures and access your music.

Sorry if asked & answered already, but the thread is 58 pages long:

 

the 2 free bottles per stateroom is for wine. Does anybody know whether you may take 2 bottles of champagne (sparkling wine) instead in your carry-on for consumption in stateroom?

You can take either wine or champagne.

See, i would take that as "ooh i've got 15 drinks, best start drinking then!"

Normally i'd only have 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks, but if i paid for the drinks package, i'd want my moneys worth, so i would probably try and have all 15 drinks!

This would cause me to be piss drunk, which i wouldn't usually be if there was no limit and i drunk more sensibly!

15 drinks per day is a lot, even for a heavy drinker. And if they were really concerned about intoxication, they would have made the limit far less than 15. I think this policy is driven primarily by financial concerns; 15 drinks is a lot for one person, but it might not be that much if two or three people are trying to "split" the package.

Thanks. I'll also be sure to go find the C&A person to ask if I don't find anything in my cabin.

 

BTW, my wife and I are booked in separate cabins with one of our kids (just Gold) in each (booked it like that to get the 55+ rate on both). We will rearrange at guest services when we get there, but will their cards not be Platinum and will we be able to bring them into the Platinum event with us? We should get the robes in both cabins since the booking has a Platinum member in each. This is obviously not an Explorer-specific question.

Assuming your children are minors and have at least one completed cruise already, they will have the same member-status as you.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cas/viewAllBenefitsLoggedout.do?memberTier=Platinum

Is this still the case for the 7 night Bahamas cruise? Also, what is the "Exclusive Top Tier Event" for Platinum? It's actually my first cruise since I hit that level (thanks to Celebrity reciprocity, but this cruise puts us over Platinum on RCI as well, too bad they do not combine points!).

We were on a seven-nighter and there was a poolside buffet combined with music and dancing. The top-tier event for us was a special ice show with drinks. We didn't know that was to be the case, so we waited on line for tickets to the regular show.