WVUGammy

I wanted to share too, but my pics aren't of the quality found here. Hope these are OK to share.

A few sunrises from Explorer.

A few morning sunrises from a land vacation in St. Simons, GA.

Anne: Great review and pictures. Helped me relive our cruise on Explorer back in March. So happy you had a great time and able to make some wonderful memories with your daughter and her friend.

Look forward to meeting you in person on Quantum in April.

Just a little different view at the top.

Always love the colors of the caribbean.

Chris: So love the fact that I Will be there Live sailing with you when you and Dale do your tag team live review on Quantum. And can't say it enough-great job on ALLURE!!!!

Hugs!!

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While I have stopped to have a sandwich on the way home let me give a huge kudos to the restaurant staff on Allure...

 

Erika, who goes by efields2 on the boards here, had her parents with her and her mom had made a request in advance for a gluten free diet.

 

The very first night in the MDR, a very nice manager came over with a special menu for her and the staff made sure to alert her to any possible problems when she ordered.

 

Not only that they had called ahead to Chops because we dined there the next night and they made sure to alert them to Erika's mom's needs. She was well taken care of when it came to her dining needs.

 

So any dietary or allergy issues you may have will be well taken care of by the restaurant staff aboard Allure

 

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Chris: So happy you are home safe!! I can't say it enough, but what a great LIVE review!!! Thank you so very much for all your time and effort for taking us along for the ride.

Just wanted to share a similar "rave" on the staff except on Lady "O." My sister is deaf and we took her on Lady "O" last May. I did contact RCCL and the staff went out of their way to make everything convenient for her. They set up the necessary equipment for her room door, phone, and alarm. Of course, they also provided interpreters for anything we wanted (i.e. the shows, excursions) in order that we could enjoy all too. The staff was wonderful and went out of their way to help make her cruise enjoyable! Their attention to detail really stood out. Something I really like about RCCL

We also had Ken Rush and really enjoyed him.

Anxiously awaiting your announcement. What a tease......:D

Chris: Have really enjoyed this trip. I,too, am very thankful for all the time and effort it takes to do this live review-time from YOUR vacation. Really appreciate the wonderful pics no matter what camera you used. Especially loved the pic of the day today!

Looking forward to your next LIVE!! And our Quayzie cruise on Quantum! Safe travels home.

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Breakfast of course and plenty of coffee...

 

Sure wish they would offer breakfast at JR's on the other ships. Really enjoyed it when we were on Oasis.

Sure hope you are having a great day in St Thomas. Cool, rainy, and dreary here.

Loving the ride. Keep up the great work. Anxiously awaiting your pics from today.

Yes goodnight Chris. Awesome review and WOW on your number of views. Great pics. Sure enjoying the ride.

Regarding the yacht in Nassau, when we were there a few weeks ago there was one with a swimming pool and an actual helicopter with a custom cover on the helipad on the back deck. Will and I asked if there was an excursion for it, but "not quite" was all we got. :(

Looking forward to tomorrow and all you Will have to share.

Chris: Sure hope the internet situation gets better and you don't have similar problems as the last time. Food porn was great! Anxiously awaiting more of your LIVE review! Do enjoy yourself though and don't stress over the internet situation.

Gambee: Thanks for the awesome pictures of Chris and the rest of the Pink Boas and Fedoras.

Emmy: The guys on the webcam did a great job zooming in with such clarity. Sometimes I have watched previously and not that clear. Great webcam time on the Pink Boas and Fedoras!!!! I know you must have been very proud of them. Can only imagine the group on our Quantum sailing.

Looking good Pink Boa Cruisers. Boy you had a large group Chris. Have a wonderful cruise!!!!!

Chris: An awesome job as expected! Pics are great. Happy your Bimini experience this year was better. We really enjoy sitting outside overlooking the canal. When evening sets in, the lights out around the canal really make the setting.

Also, in the Harbor Shops behind the Embassy Suites is a great burger place if you like burgers, Gilbert's.

Pics atop your hotel were great! And loved the bell boy shot. Keep 'em coming. A great ride and you haven't made it to the ship yet. Woo Hoo!:D

Just think: less than a year from now we will be on Quantum together.....:D

Chris: So happy and sounds/looks like you enjoyed Bimini better than last year. Still one of my favorite places. All the food porn looked great.

Love the pics this morning too. Enjoy your day! Looking forward to sail away pics!

I am here too Chris!

Have one great cruise. I know I have only been back for three weeks, but sure wish we were on this cruise with you!

Looking forward to all those great pics!

Beautiful pics Jonathan. Still enjoying your continued review with pics!

Three more Sundays to go for us before we board Explorer. Your review has helped these cold(polar vortex) days go by quicker. Thanks for taking the time out of your priceless vacation time to share.:)

They have not even broken ground on the new cruise terminal at Cape Liberty so who knows if it will be ready for the Quantum. The current rumor aboard Explorer according to several of the officers I have spoken with is that our beloved Explorer is heading for the Asian market following her dry dock.

 

We have fallen in love with this ship and will be very sorry to see her go.

 

The Captain's Table was tremendous. It was hosted by the Food and Beverage Director, there were 12 people in attendance including ourselves. The service was first class. We were seated at a large round table directly underneathe the beautiful star painting of the Magellan Dining Room on deck 3.

 

Each of the guests names were printed on cards in front of our place settings. Throughout the sumptuous meal waiters liberally poured wine and the special menu consisted of shrimp cocktail with caviar, escargot and soup. Most everyone at the table ordered the Lobster Thermador as for the entree, it was easily the finest lobster I have ever had, tender and sweet with a rich buttery and garlic taste, superb.

 

We all posed for a photograph before the meal and by the time we were sipping coffee and enjoying a trio of desserts we were presented copies of the photograph listing the names of each guest. In addition each couple received a copy of the Official Royal Caribbean Cookbook signed by the Food and Beverage Director, the Executive Chef and Hotel Director John Denton.

 

Earlier in the day we enjoyed a very pleasant visit to Nassau, Bahamas. The sun beamed with a high of 78. I have read many negative reviews of Nassau, it's too crowded, it's a terrible stop, well, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. On this February day there were only three ships in total at the port the other two smaller vessels the RCCL Enchantment and the Norwegian Sky.

 

The streets had only a smattering of people, it was enjoyable to walk along the narrow sidewalks and gaze on the pastel colored buildings. One of my favorite things to do in port when we don't have a particular excursion planned is to visit a local resort hotel and have cocktail. Our first stop was the famous British Colonial Hilton, it is the oldest hotel in Nassau dating back to 1964. If you've visited Nassau before you've sailed right past this large pale yellow building shrouded in towering palm trees.

 

The British Colonial is only a five or ten minute walk from the pier, here we sat outside by the pool and basked in the lovely view of the harbor, the three giant liners and that lovely blue tropical water shimmering in the sun. The Pina Colada's here particularly tasty, refreshing and not too sweet.

 

Next up we walked up the hill toward the Governor's Mansion toward the Graycliff Hotel. This is a must visit, this historic hotel built by a pirate three hundred years ago simply oozes with ambience, character and style. From the cozy front parlor to the lush grounds to the ornately painted swimming pool, the touches of elegance and detail were fairly mesmering. This is the quintessential tropical oasis your read about in books, a beautiful resort and worthy of your time during your next visit to Nassau. There's even a chocolate store and tour. According to Jeron one of the staff members there Graycliff has the largest wine cellar in the entire Caribbean.

 

After purchasing a bottle of Ricardo Spiced Rum for a friend of mine back home we made our way back to the ship. Everything has been wonderful during our cruise, the only flaw however are the excursions. I will go into greater detail when I write my review but, it is very surprising for a veteran line like RCCL with a ship that has made this Bahamas run numerous times, that there should be issues.

 

We continue to be very pleased with the food aboard. I had read multiple unsettling comments about the meals aboard Explorer but, you needn't be concerned because the food aboard this ship is really very good. We haven't had a bad dinner yet. We really enjoy the ability to have breakfast each morning at Portofino's by virtue of our Grand Suite. This is a delighful venue and such a sublime place with it's soothing interior and large windows awash with views of the ocean and ships traversing the horizon's edge.

 

The Grand Suite is wonderfully spacious, includes numerous perks but, the real wow factor of this cabin grade is the constant invitations to special dinners, cocktail parties aboard and on shore. We have been treated Royally and we have fallen hard for this line and ship. It's 70's night and the strains of "Dance to the Music" are thumping up from the centrum as the Explorer is rocking along the Atlantic bound for Bayonne.

 

I will talk about our trip to Coco Cay tomorrow. Tomorrow we are expecting temperatures in the high 70's as we savor every last vestive of this tropical weather before we hit reality on Sunday.

 

Jonathan

 

It was a very exciting evening

Jonathan: I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share with us your Explorer experiences. I too thoroughly enjoy your writing style and creative descriptions! Your review is my temporary fix to pull me through this unpleasant winter until we sail her the end of March.

We also enjoy Nassau and don't quite understand why so many don't favor that stop. Your descriptions put me right there on the street with you. Thanks for the get away, even if only in my mind.

Continue to enjoy the rest of your cruise. So looking forward to the rest of the story.:)

WVUGammy,

Where did you get that bug. I thought there was one crawling in my phone! Lol.

 

Subscribing Jonathan. I will be on the Explorer in 38 days with WVUGammy. I can't wait!! I love your writing style, by the way.

Just copied it from a fellow poster. Same thing happened to me and heard similar reactions from my roll call. It has been fun. Copy and paste if you like.

Jonathan: great job on the live review. So enjoying riding along with you.

Happy hump day all!!

Subscribed. So excited to read the rest of your review. You are off to an awesome start. Love your vivid descriptions so far.

We will be on her in 6 weeks and can't wait to get away from this weather! Love RCI, but this will be our first time on Explorer. Have read so many good reviews on her and soooo looking forward to yours.

Enjoy every minute of your cruise. Thanks for taking the time to do this "Live Review."

I'll second that! These reviews have been amazing. Hope Dale will join us on the Q too and especially Andy. Thanks for doing this Chris. It has been a very enjoyable trip.

 

Luvs

 

PS: Looks like you might be coming home to some snow next week.

And I third it Chris. You can convince him can't you?!?!

Great pics Chris! Looks.like the Prohibition Party was a blast.

You continue to do a great job despite the Wi-Fi.:thumbup::)

Have a great rest of your cruise!!!

Karen: I will definitely go there - do they greet you as soon as you walk in for breakfast, early morning? and the say Bye to you when you leave? what about the servers... do they dance during breakfast too? Host Corkey

They have someone outside checking you in-ask if you want to dine inside or outside. We have done both. Servers are great and do welcome you and bid farewell as you come and go.

Yes, they did dance during breakfast. So fun watching. There were a few smaller kids that got up and tried to dance with them. It was great. And the food was good, could order your eggs the way you wanted them. And my OJ was delish. Yum, so fresh. On Oasis breakfast is free at JRs , I'm not sure about the other class ships.

Chris, the pics are great and what beautiful weather! Really enjoying this trip with you.

Have a great evening!

Never thought of having breakfast at

Johnny Rockets but now that I see your pics, I will certainly go in there more often for breakfast - have a fun day Bugsy and I am ready for another fun day with you all - Host Corkey

We also really enjoy JRs for breakfast. Love the morning outside and the entertainment inside- either way.:):thumbup: Something different.

Good morning friends and welcome to day three of LIVE from Allure of the Seas! It's a bright and sunny morning here and we are beginning our arrival in Labadee. Looking forward to the day as I have a beach cabana reserved at Neille's Beach and friends will be joining me. :)

Don't want to wish my life away, BUT I sure wish that was all of us at our Nellie's Beach Cabanas. Still can't get over how fast they sold out for our Q cruise.

Hope you have an awesome day Chris!