CntPAcruiser

Land-based response, but this is in Germany. Check out the Hotel Hohenlohe in Schwäbisch Hall. The area was known for the salt trade, and the hotel has an extensive sauna garden and indoor water feature area, including salt and therapeutic pools. It's also an interesting area to visit, albeit off the normal path for most American tourists.

Adventure is my favorite, our first ship and most recent ship to sail on, so it has that going for it, plus it's the right size, not too large or too small.

It shouldn't be necessary to bring your own olives, unless you prefer something very specific. On our last cruise, they were stringing three or four small pimento-stuffed olives on a pick for martinis. I've not seen premium vermouths in use. It would likely be Martini & Rossi, to my recollection.

On 2/22/2023 at 5:42 PM, Racer70 said:

It appears most of the boat tours take you to similar spots: Malmok, Boca Catalina Reefs & the German ship wreck, SS Antilla.

 

it seems the German ship wreck is in deeper water & sometimes the water can be rough or choppy.

The locations have been the same on every snorkel excursion we've done in Aruba, either ship-based or arranged from the beach/dock on the day. The scuttled German ship is in deeper water, and it did freak us out a little the first time to be out in the middle of the ocean, but we were wearing float vests and had guides in the water with us. There were also huge schools of fish swimming around us, and a few rather large fish nosing about as well. The water was not particularly rough any of the times we were out farther over the Antilla, and it was amazing to see the scuba divers closer to her decks. It feels like you could just reach down and touch her. 

15 minutes ago, tcneal said:

We went to the top tier event today and the captain talked about the dry dock.  He said the only visible changes other than cleaning were the water slides, mini golf, and the basketball court.  I didn't pay much attention but I guess they are all new.  He said everything else was mechanical and behind the scenes. 

Thanks again for reporting. Elsewhere on CC someone mentioned that Freedom just took out the nice locker rooms for the fitness center to create more cabins, and we were hoping this was not done on Explorer.

8 minutes ago, Ships and Dip said:

 

Bad info. Adventure and Explorer definitely have the free steam, sauna still. I would never trust these chat representatives to have accurate information. 

Correct, we were on Adventure in October 2022 and these facilities are still there. An early report from someone on board Explorer currently, post-dry dock, indicates they are pretty sure the fitness center was not "amped" out of existence this time around.

Sadly, these facilities were already removed on Freedom and Navigator in the so-called amplifications done pre-pandemic.

12 hours ago, tcneal said:

I didn't go in but I believe it's still there.  I do plan on going this week so I'll report on the machines.

Thank you. It wasn't expected there would be enough time to make this extensive a change, but you never know.

6 hours ago, tcneal said:

On right now.  Haven't found any new restaurants yet.  New carpet in staterooms but haven't done much exploring yet.

Could you please confirm that they did not remove Explorer's forward-facing fitness center and locker rooms like they did on Navigator?

Definitely a good idea to bring your own tea if you have specific ones you like. The selection can vary, though we were overall pleased on our most recent cruise (October 22 Canada/NE on Adventure). They had a decent selection of brand-name teas, like Bigelow or Twinings. Prior to the pandemic, they had some awful organic brand that was weak and flavorless.

4 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

Havarti cheese, try it......

Agreed--beautiful, creamy texture. Mild but not bland. I've actually also tried aged Havarti that was excellent, though not as suitable for a grilled cheese. I like to use a whole-grain bread and an assertively flavored cheese, such as an aged cheddar. I lightly butter the inside-facing bread, which helps hold the cheese in place to some extent and--gasp, horror--spread a very thin coating of real mayonnaise on the sides of the bread that get toasted. It seems to brown more evenly than butter and gets quite crisp.

On 3/11/2023 at 3:27 PM, BklynBoy8 said:

 

Had conch in St Thomas and great. Fried and in a Soup was soft and buttery texture.

 

Dad liked kippers on the QM2 done very well to tender.

I suspect Cunard would prepare any traditionally British food better than most other lines. My mistake for trying it on Royal.

Enchantment had the free steam/sauna facilities removed when they "stretched" her way back when, but there are still locker rooms associated with the fitness center that you can use free of charge to shower. I understand that the locker room may have a steam shower, but there is no sauna or steam room.

Tried kippers for breakfast on board Royal Caribbean for the first (and last) time. Too salty, too bony. I've had boneless tinned kippers before and liked them, but these were the whole fish real thing.

Tried conch for the first time while in St. Kitts and found it okay, but not in a hurry to have it again.

This could also be a workspace for collecting dishware, obtaining ice, etc. I am extremely wary of booking anywhere near such blank spaces on deck plans ever since we booked a cabin across from one on Vision. At the time of booking, we were told it was just storage, but it turned out to be where they collected dishware from room service in the early hours of the morning. Between going in and out of that room with carts and banging around with the door blocked open, it woke us up and was generally annoying to deal with.

On 3/1/2023 at 4:54 PM, Mim Lloyd said:

The cruises we've been on in the last 3 or 4 years have been on the big ships that have a Central Park, and we used the Park Cafe for breakfast. Previous to this we remember being on a ship that offered pre-made and wrapped sausage and egg or bacon muffins in the Promenade Cafe. But we can't remember which ship! We're on Explorer again in September and wonder whether it's this ship. Does anybody know?

They had something like this on Adventure of the Seas last October for a NE/CAN cruise. They were even nice enough to make a custom one with no cheese for my lactose-intolerant DH.

26 minutes ago, Eamon Chute said:

Has anyone come across an issue with a bartender on board that will not make a cocktail that they are unfamiliar with, even though they have all the ingredients at the bar? 

Most of the bartenders I have gotten to know a bit have been happy to mix up something new if they are not super busy at the time. This has generally been in the diamond lounge, though. On our most recent cruise, there were a number of us who were interested in different cocktails, and two of the bartenders were likewise interested to learn some new recipes. They did their best to accommodate, and we did our best to tip extra.

That said, on our last cruise before the pandemic, we were on Grandeur out of Baltimore and had the worst experience with the bar staff ever on board. I can only assume it had something to do with the management and possibly an untrained or inexperienced staff. There was only one bar on board where I could consistently get decently made cocktails, even of the most basic sort. The few times I tried elsewhere or made a request to modify, it resulted in disappointment, disaster, or on one occasion purposeful sabotage. (I asked for a gin martini with a little more vermouth than normal and very nearly got an upside-down martini, i.e., more vermouth than gin.) 

The point is, your experience may vary by ship and even by venue. You just hope that there is a basic level of training for any bar staff, and if you find those who are willing and able to experiment, that is a bonus.

We did this one in October of 2022, our first NE cruise. We did ship-based excursions in Boston and St. John, did our own thing in Portland and Bar Harbor, and booked a private excursion in Halifax.

We would not do the same thing in Boston if we had to do over (In the Footsteps of Paul Revere tour). I think instead of an excursion, we would plan our own day and use public transportation/app-based rides to get around. There's plenty to see on your own, no bus tour needed. It was dull and largely a time-waster.

Portland is walkable (lots of uphill, though), good restaurants, some interesting shopping and a few historical/natural sites/sights.

Bar Harbor is tops for this itinerary. After tendering over, walk off and get a map, then head out for the gravel bar and walk across and back. Enjoy the shopping and dining in town, then do the shore path before heading back to the harbor to see the tide come in. Incredible views and nature to see. Of course, you could arrange to go to Acadia in the alternative.

Our bus tour of St. John was ok and did show us a lot of the city/area (especially the Bay of Fundy). That one I haven't done much research on. For Halifax we used Paul McNeil and were not entirely pleased. His van was fine and we did get to see a lot without the bother of a large-group bus tour, but he seemed to like the sound of his own voice and spent too much time talking about his own achievements and even showing images of past famous clients. He inserted too many of his own opinions into the tour and even made an unnecessary remark about the monarchy in England. We would not recommend.

5 hours ago, nelblu said:

... No bananas for the first 3 days, but saw green figs at the fruit stations.  I love figs.

 

For lunch, on any given day, they have multiple made to order pasta stations and a new to my attention a stir fry station(s).  Quite popular, I may add.  One day, for lunch they had an entree called "Italian chicken beef steak."  Being Italian, never heard of such as specialty.😜  But it tasted moist and pretty good.

 

I had a craving for tuna salad but could not get it at the WJ.  They had seafood, chicken, egg spreads, but the preparation left a lot to be desired.  Verry liquidity and not appetizing.  Decided to try 2x70 cafe (Park Cafe) and they had on their blackboard tuna salad wrap. Ordered it, and to my surprise they handed me a plate with a bit over an inch length wrap.😊  I did not ask for finger sandwiches.  The person seeing not so happy face, offered me 2 additional wraps.  Got to say, the tuna wraps tasted pretty good.

 

Again, I will never starve, but sometimes there a bit of disappointment on the quality and preparations of dishes.  Is it the quality of the ingredients or the chefs.

 

 

 

They had fresh figs? Lovely. I'm used to seeing poached figs in syrup at breakfast in the WJ, but I've never seen fresh figs on board.

As for the "Italian chicken beef steak," I can only wonder. Translation error? It reminds me of an old menu item from the MDR dinner menu, "Sweet and sour vegetarian chicken chunks." We were never sure if the chunks were vegetarian or the chicken.

Assuming your ship is docked at the main cruise ship dock, yes, it is a walkable distance from in town in Willemstad. You would cross the floating bridge, turn left and follow the canal back toward the Rif Fort/dock to get to your ship. There is shopping along the way back, individual vendors and artists. Smaller ships sometimes tie up right in town not far from the floating bridge.

In town, you can walk through the streets between Breedestraat, where you come in from the floating bridge, and the canal with the floating market. Plenty of stores and restaurants to explore. My recommendation is a t-shirt and souvenir shop called The Best of Curacao, which is a cross-street or two in from the canal/Handelskade. 

We designate one of the suitcases for dirty laundry and put everything in there, and it resides under the bed, so it's out of the way and not taking up space in the closet. I'm not sure how the room attendants navigate around the piles of stuff everywhere in people's cabins. We try to keep things picked up to make their job easier. 

If you ask, they will change your sheets (for instance, if they get sweaty and you need fresh ones). I just wouldn't ask to have new sheets every day. 

2 hours ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

Yep! One of the many reasons why the Mariner is my favorite Voyager ship, hands down. 🙂 

Never sailed Mariner, but we've been on Adventure five times, and I do like her.

Our sailing was out of NJ last October, so thankfully no such limitations.

My understanding is that Mariner still has the nicer original fitness center with men's and women's locker rooms, and that in each of those locker rooms are free sauna/steam facilities. A couple of the other Voyager-class ships lost these when they were "Amped," but I don't think Mariner has been ruined just yet. 

The app was very helpful in planning ahead as well as on board, to know which venues had what. Not every bar had the same liquor selection, and the stocking was overall uneven. The first day/night of the cruise they hadn't restocked many bars, so the selection was limited. And then toward the end of the cruise it seemed they were running out of some brands/bottles.

I may not have been the only one to have mentioned this tip, but it was what we did on our last cruise, in part because the cooler wasn't cooling, but also because it made more noise than was acceptable. We just unplugged it and kept it cold with a bucket full of ice. Eventually our cabin attendant just put it inside for us even. 

The old method of cracking open the cabinet for more airflow hasn't worked for us in years--I think they have a completely different type of cooler now, or at least one the ships we've sailed more recently.