All Things Explorer of the Seas! -- Part 2

[aeonix01]

They show ESPN International and any other channel available on the ship. Not sure about specific college games - more soccer than anything else. They did show NBA playoff games.

 

It is kind of funny how they advertise the sports bar as something in which you can watch games just like you were still at home, only at sea.

 

I was kind of hoping that they would have Yankees / Mets games, however I'm pretty sure unless they're using DirecTV, that won't happen. Either way, for me, it's probably not that important because it's my honeymoon vacation, and my wife would get really really REALLY mad at me for taking time to watch the game. Lol.

[dajulieness]

I just notice the JS humps 9628, 9328,1328 & 1628 also have an odd shaped balcony. So, if you've stayed in one of these, I love to hear about advantages/disadvantages of the small on one side and big on the other space. Is it really tight on the one end and is it made up for by the larger other side. Someone must have booked these cabins in the past???? Or, maybe they "NEVER COME BACK." :eek:

 

I've asked this before and the answer was its a regular size balcony. Only on the Radiance Class the end hump balconies are bigger.

 

I have 9328 for my 8/13 cruise.

[Nyorker11]

Is it safe to leave the kids 3 of them in the kids club when we are on shore n bermuda? Can they get in touch with us on the ship when we leave the kids in the club? If nit i was thinking if throwing someone $5 to watch them close and give them my cell. What do u think? $5 a day might be good for one of the workers. Thats $20-25 for the week just for keeping an eye on the kids.

[madhatter262]

Thanks for the info related to the sports bar. When we booked the trip, our husbands asked us to find a ship where they could watch games in a larger area than our cabins. The Weekend Warrior should pacify them. We really were hoping that it was non-smoking. The posted Compasses have said to check the TV channel once we board. Thanks again!

[rolotumasi]

Hi folks! We have an Explorer cruise booked in September and we were hoping that someone could give us some info on the Sports Bar - Weekend Warrior. We have seen the pictures of the bar, but were wondering - are college games shown there? Are they "real-time" games? September is a huge sports month are we were curious. By chance, does anyone know if it is smoking or not? Thanks for your help.

 

when I went in Oct 09 they showed the Pittsburgh-Minnesota NFL game on sunday on the tv in the cabin as I was getting ready for formal night. Then the next day in the sports bar they replayed the game in the afternoon as we were docked in Bermuda. As I was sitting there 3 men came in and asked me if this was the monday night game?:confused: it was 2:00 in the afternoon come on. As far as college goes I am not sure. John

[LovesCruising]

Is it safe to leave the kids 3 of them in the kids club when we are on shore n bermuda? Can they get in touch with us on the ship when we leave the kids in the club? If nit i was thinking if throwing someone $5 to watch them close and give them my cell. What do u think? $5 a day might be good for one of the workers. Thats $20-25 for the week just for keeping an eye on the kids.

 

 

Im sure its safe, however there would be no way for the staff to reach you on shore. I don't know about the $5 to watch the kids - in cabin babysitting was $19 per hour and they sent 2 sitters. Don't know if one crew member would want the responsibility.

[beachbuddy]

Thanks for the info related to the sports bar. When we booked the trip, our husbands asked us to find a ship where they could watch games in a larger area than our cabins. The Weekend Warrior should pacify them. We really were hoping that it was non-smoking. The posted Compasses have said to check the TV channel once we board. Thanks again!

 

The Sports Bar used to allow smoking but our last cruise on the Explorer, no smoking was allowed in that bar. I really never understood why smoking was allowed there since it's right in the center of the Promenade.

[beachbuddy]

Is it safe to leave the kids 3 of them in the kids club when we are on shore n bermuda? Can they get in touch with us on the ship when we leave the kids in the club? If nit i was thinking if throwing someone $5 to watch them close and give them my cell. What do u think? $5 a day might be good for one of the workers. Thats $20-25 for the week just for keeping an eye on the kids.

 

I don't think I'd leave my kids on the ship if I were getting off. I'd be to worried about them. You didn't say what age your kids were, why wouldn't they get off the ship with you?

[Nyorker11]

My kids are 6 6 and 8. We will take them to the beach but we wanted to do the jet ski tour in port but of course if the kids are with us we cant. So if the kids club were safe and secure i might of left them there for that hour and a half or so. We probably wont. This trip was supposed to be for my wife and i since we dedicate 100% of our time to them and our 2 year old which will be with my mother. But i felt guilty going without them. Last year we did cancun twice once with and once without. Having 4 kids took a toll on our lives. Its just work and kids not much time for fun. Its been a tough 8 years. Wife already had a nervous breakdown 2 months ago.

[beachbuddy]

My kids are 6 6 and 8. We will take them to the beach but we wanted to do the jet ski tour in port but of course if the kids are with us we cant. So if the kids club were safe and secure i might of left them there for that hour and a half or so. We probably wont. This trip was supposed to be for my wife and i since we dedicate 100% of our time to them and our 2 year old which will be with my mother. But i felt guilty going without them. Last year we did cancun twice once with and once without. Having 4 kids took a toll on our lives. Its just work and kids not much time for fun. Its been a tough 8 years. Wife already had a nervous breakdown 2 months ago.

 

Wow...........sounds like the 2 of you need an "alone" vacation every now and then! I'd be really nervous leaving the kids on the ship but then again, I don't have any little ones anymore.......that was a long time ago. So I'm really not a good person to give you advice. Hopefully, someone else on the boards that expereienced the kids club can help you out.

Good Luck!

[misty57]

My kids are 6 6 and 8. We will take them to the beach but we wanted to do the jet ski tour in port but of course if the kids are with us we cant. So if the kids club were safe and secure i might of left them there for that hour and a half or so. We probably wont. This trip was supposed to be for my wife and i since we dedicate 100% of our time to them and our 2 year old which will be with my mother. But i felt guilty going without them. Last year we did cancun twice once with and once without. Having 4 kids took a toll on our lives. Its just work and kids not much time for fun. Its been a tough 8 years. Wife already had a nervous breakdown 2 months ago.

Could you bring another person along on your cruise to mainly take care of the children? It would be expensive but then again, you might have more free time and come back more rested. When I was young I used to go on our neighbor's vacations with them to entertain their youngest child :). We had 4 children ages 5 and under. We only took weekend trips with them until they were jr high to college age. We went on one trip alone for a week between child 1 and child 2, and two cruises while leaving them with our parents. It was hard to leave them, but they were fine ( now I realize what a wonderful thing our parents did for us by keeping the kids for those three trips).

[bkrickles1]

I actually had a dream last night that I was hanging out on the pool deck with my crew and having a great time. We'll be on the 6/23.

All I could think about on the drive in to my office this morning is what kind of beer I'll have to choose from. I've become a light beer drinker over the past couple of years and my favorites are Sam Adams Light and Yuengling Light.

Anybody have a clue what Explorer has to offer?

Thanks in advance..

[snowgreg]

My kids are 6 6 and 8. We will take them to the beach but we wanted to do the jet ski tour in port but of course if the kids are with us we cant. So if the kids club were safe and secure i might of left them there for that hour and a half or so. We probably wont. This trip was supposed to be for my wife and i since we dedicate 100% of our time to them and our 2 year old which will be with my mother. But i felt guilty going without them. Last year we did cancun twice once with and once without. Having 4 kids took a toll on our lives. Its just work and kids not much time for fun. Its been a tough 8 years. Wife already had a nervous breakdown 2 months ago.

 

Perhaps you could find someone on your roll call who might be willing to watch the children (onshore) while you jet ski (like a teenager perhaps)? The other thing you could do is jet ski separately (one at 11AM, one at 12PM, etc.) but I know that's not quite as much fun.

 

Greg

[snowgreg]

I actually had a dream last night that I was hanging out on the pool deck with my crew and having a great time. We'll be on the 6/23.

All I could think about on the drive in to my office this morning is what kind of beer I'll have to choose from. I've become a light beer drinker over the past couple of years and my favorites are Sam Adams Light and Yuengling Light.

Anybody have a clue what Explorer has to offer?

Thanks in advance..

 

Somebody else posted this, which has the beer offerings. It looks like you may need to pick a new favorite for the cruise.

 

http://www.scribd.com/full/33759184?access_key=key-bkjmazztxk8nbrcj108

 

Greg

[bkrickles1]

Somebody else posted this, which has the beer offerings. It looks like you may need to pick a new favorite for the cruise.

 

http://www.scribd.com/full/33759184?access_key=key-bkjmazztxk8nbrcj108

 

Greg

What I didn't say was that I went to light beers so I could eat more. lmao!

Thanks for the info.

I have plenty of selection there and I will be quite happy with Blue Moon, Amstel Light, Heineken (reg or light), and Bass Ale

I do plan on visiting the english pub in the promenade (I went there every night before dinner on Liberty). I can't for the life of me remember whether they had anything on tap. They must or how could they call themselves an english pub.

Anybody know what they have there?

I know it's petty stuff, but I can't help myself.

[Pomperaugrr]

What I didn't say was that I went to light beers so I could eat more. lmao!

Thanks for the info.

I have plenty of selection there and I will be quite happy with Blue Moon, Amstel Light, Heineken (reg or light), and Bass Ale

I do plan on visiting the english pub in the promenade (I went there every night before dinner on Liberty). I can't for the life of me remember whether they had anything on tap. They must or how could they call themselves an english pub.

Anybody know what they have there?

I know it's petty stuff, but I can't help myself.

 

 

Brian,

I know that the Explorer's English Pub had Bass Ale and Guiness on tap last year. There are a few other selections too. I'll have to join you for a pint on this cruise! :cool:

 

Eric

Edited June 14, 2011 by Pomperaugrr

[davidwar]

Hello all. I just booked myself and family (wife, 2 daughters, 9 and 12) on the 9 night leaving NJ on August 18th. This will be our first cruise on RCI after cruising on Princess and NCL.

 

I am sure this has been covered on other threads, but what is the WiFi situation? I have seen comments about the per minute rate, but on one other site (not Cruisecritic) I saw something about a flat $130 rate for the cruise. Also, is there WiFi (or wired) available in the cabins or just in hotspots? Is it as slow as has been reported?

 

Thanks and appreciate any answers on these.

[bkrickles1]

Brian,

I know that the Explorer's English Pub had Bass Ale and Guiness on tap last year. There are a few other selections too. I'll have to join you for a pint on this cruise! :cool:

 

Eric

You see, now this is the info that gets me really excited!

Thanks for that.

I'll be there. The first pint is on me.

[efields2]

I am sure this has been covered on other threads, but what is the WiFi situation? I have seen comments about the per minute rate, but on one other site (not Cruisecritic) I saw something about a flat $130 rate for the cruise. Also, is there WiFi (or wired) available in the cabins or just in hotspots? Is it as slow as has been reported?

 

There is no flat rate, but you can buy discounted internet packages that MAY last you the week, depending on how often you use the internet. It's pretty slow (dial-up) but if you need to check your email once in a while, it won't be too bad.

[mamaza]

I've asked this before and the answer was its a regular size balcony. Only on the Radiance Class the end hump balconies are bigger.

 

I have 9328 for my 8/13 cruise.

I love to hear back from you once you get back. We finally took the chance and booked 1628 for 12/01 so I'll find out soon enough, too. I do know that aft JS balconies on Voyager class ships do have extended balconies; I've been on a couple. Post your opinion when you get back:) I'd still like to here it.

[efields2]

Oops double post

Edited June 14, 2011 by efields2

[molole]

I have heard there is a lab on Explorer? I would be very interested to visit but I can't seem to find any recent information about it.

 

Is it still there?

[Foyt20]

I have heard there is a lab on Explorer? I would be very interested to visit but I can't seem to find any recent information about it.

 

Is it still there?

 

Like a dog or chemistry? :D

 

Ill check it out for you at the end of August.

[Pomperaugrr]

I have heard there is a lab on Explorer? I would be very interested to visit but I can't seem to find any recent information about it.

 

Is it still there?

 

The Explorer Lab was removed a number of years ago. I think it was to make more room for the Aquarium Bar.

 

Eric

[dajulieness]

I love to hear back from you once you get back. We finally took the chance and booked 1628 for 12/01 so I'll find out soon enough, too. I do know that aft JS balconies on Voyager class ships do have extended balconies; I've been on a couple. Post your opinion when you get back:) I'd still like to here it.

 

I thought of switching to 1628 its taken now but it was available. I figured we should stay where we are.