Review of 7/2/11 Explorer 5-Night Cruise to Bermuda

[KelJ]

This was a five-night Bermuda cruise on Explorer of the Seas out of Cape Liberty (Bayonne, NJ). This was my seventh cruise (all on RCCL), my children's fifth cruise, and my boyfriend's first cruise. This was the first cruise that my kids and I sailed as diamond members. My kids are boys, ages 16 and almost 19.

 

Day 1 - We left our home in Ebensburg, PA, at 6:15 a.m. and arrived at Port of Bayonne parking area at 11:00. Things were backed up a little as the ship had gotten in late. We had to wait a short while to unload our luggage before parking the car and heading inside. We are diamond but, although we were in the priority line, there were really no lines at all to check in. Once in the waiting area, there was a sign that the shuttle buses would start running at 12:00. We had #3 tickets. Wedding parties boarded first, and then 1, 2 and 3 were called very soon thereafter. Once onboard, we purchased soda stickers and a wine package (platinum 5-bottle) and were eating in the Windjammer by 12:30.

 

We had requested a table for four in the MDR when booking, and this is the first time that our request hadn't been honored. We had been assigned a table for six, and it only took a few minutes to get switched to a table for four. While I was doing that, my boyfriend was booking our excursion at the Explorations desk (Wild West Clear Kayak). There was no line at the Explorations desk. We then had extra cabin keys made at Guest Relations, again no line. We then headed to the spa to book couples rasul, again no line. By now (1:30) our staterooms were ready. We were in 9318 (center hump JS), and the kids were in 9344 (D2).

 

Diamond coupon books (and a child's coupon book for my DS16) were in the staterooms, as were gift boxes containing chocolate chip cookies and dried fruit. The JS had a can of Diet Coke with the gift. The D2 had a bottle of water with the gift. Our JS had a coffee pot.

 

As I recall, our luggage had arrived by 2:30 p.m. Our stateroom attendant was Dolores. She did a wonderful job all week. We had towel animals four of five nights. Our stateroom was cleaned twice a day, and ice was delivered twice a day.

 

We got ready for dinner and headed up to deck 12 for sailaway and to watch as we sailed under the Verrazanno Narrows Bridge.

 

We had early seating in the Magellan dining room. Our waiter was Gokhan from Turkey, and our assistant waiter was Rudy from ???? They were both attentive and personable. The bar waiter in the dining room was nearly nonexistent. We had to repeatedly ask to have him sent over. There were nights he never did come. We ate in the MDR for dinner every night, though we never ate in the MDR for lunch or dinner.

 

We caught the end of the Welcome Aboard Show. The comedian, George Kanter, was so-so. We hit the casino before turning in for the night.

Day 2 - This was a sea day filled with lots of ship exploring. We had breakfast in the Windjammer. We played trivia today and several times during the cruise. I think this was the day that a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and a couple chocolate-covered cookies were delivered to each of our staterooms along with our diamond pins. We grabbed a small lunch in the Promenade Cafe. DS16 climbed the rock wall today and most other days. My boyfriend and I did the couples rasul in the spa. Tonight was a suggested formal night and was also Captain Olav Nyseter's welcome-aboard reception on the Promenade. We made more donations to the casino. We had to turn the clocks ahead an hour tonight.

Day 3 - We arrived in King's Wharf at 9:00 a.m. We had a quick breakfast in the Windjammer, and then my boyfriend and I walked through Clock Tower Mall and then to and from Sea Glass Beach where we filled a couple Ziploc bags with glass. We then walked through the rum cake factory and the glass making and also a building with local art. We then got back on the ship for a quick burger and to get the kids and head to our excursion, Wild West Clear Kayak. We met right on the dock, took a boat to the Somerset beach where the two-person kayaks were, and we kayaked for a couple hours. The guide, Dean from Fantasea, was very informative and made several stops along the way to tell us about Bermuda history and Bermuda living. He also gave us a short swimming break. When finished kayaking, the group walked up to a resort to use restrooms and have complimentary soda/water. When back on the boat, Dean took us under the Somerset Bridge (world's smallest drawbridge) before dropping us back off at the dock. He sold soda and beer on the way back.

 

After dinner in the MDR, we headed to the grassy area by Clock Tower Mall. The ship's entertainment was held off of the ship and featured "The Comedy Magic of Fred Becker and the Gravitational Comedy of Sean Laughlin." There were many local vendors set up selling food, jewelry, cigars, art, t-shirts, and offering hair braiding, etc. We then bought some rum cakes at the rum cake factory and had a few beers at the Frog & Onion.

Day 4 - We had breakfast in the Windjammer and then bought 1-day transportation passes for $12 each and caught the 9:40 ferry to Hamilton. We wandered around Hamilton, did a little shopping, and had lunch at the Bermuda Bistro on Front Street. We bought some liquor at great duty-free prices, and the bottles were delivered to the ship and then delivered to our stateroom the afternoon of Day 5. The ferry lines from Hamilton back to King's Wharf were long and are not shaded. I think we caught the 1:30 ferry back. We then wandered around King's Wharf with DS18 a little more. All aboard was 4:30.

 

Offered at dinner tonight was the fisherman's plate. Our waiter brought two plates to each of my kids without their asking. He often surprised us with extra appetizers and entrees and never batted an eye when my boyfriend ordered two entrees.

 

We sent out a $25 wash & fold bag of laundry which only cost us $15 with our coupon. (The clean laundry was delivered to us the afternoon of Day 5).

 

Tonight was the Quest, which was held in Studio B and was hilarious. We got there about halfway through. We watched but did not participate. Jimmy Rhodes is a wonderful, funny, hardworking cruise director.

Day 5 - This was another sea day. We grabbed coffee and pastries in the Promenade Cafe and headed to bingo, then had lunch in the Windjammer. We watched the belly-flop contest. We went to a special viewing of the ice show in the afternoon that was for platinum members and up. Free cocktails and sodas were offered. It rained in the late afternoon and early evening. We said our good-byes to the waitstaff at dinner after listening to them sing. After dinner, we packed and put our luggage out and then went to the casino one more time and then watched the island frenzy farewell parade on the Promenade. We turned the clocks back an hour before we headed to bed.

Day 6 - We had one last breakfast in the Windjammer, then proceeded to the Columbus Dining Room which was our designated waiting area. We were Green #7. Estimated departure time for our tag was 10:00 to 11:00. Our tags were called around 9:30. We exited the ship, rode the bus back to the terminal, gathered our luggage, went through customs/immigration, walked to our car and were driving away by 10:00. We drove to Atlantic City for a final night of vacation at the Tropicana before heading back home on Friday.

Comments: We prepaid our gratuities after we were onboard, and this was the first week that the higher gratuity rates were in effect. This was the first cruise where we barely attended any shows. If there was a diamond lounge or a welcome-back party for platinum and above, we never received information on them.

We took advantage of many of the diamond coupons, to include free internet, free and discount drinks, free pictures, free bingo cards, spa discount, laundry discount, free pulls and match plays in casino. On formal night, guests were dressed in varying attire in the dining room from very casual to very formal. The ship rarely felt crowded.

A wonderful time was had by all! Feel free to ask any questions. :D

[papajak]

Thanks for taking the time to post. We did this cruise in October, and loved it so much that we are doing it again in May! Its a great getaway!

[ERIE 13]

Thanks for the review. Will be doing that cruise again in Sept. Love that ship and its easy acess from NJ.

[jessicalorene]

Thank you for this review, my husband and I are thinking about doing this cruise next year for our anniversary. How much was it to park in NJ? We are trying to figure out if the train is more economical then driving.

[rncruiser]

Thanks for the great review. You should have received a notice about the Diamond Lounge in your cabin. It is easy to miss though. It is mentioned in one of the several pieces of paper that is there upon arrival. We were on the 9 night sailing just before yours and it was our first time as Diamond members too. We took advantage of the free wine in the Diamond lounge most evenings. It was located in the 19th Hole Bar in the Viking Crown. You did not miss the welcome back party for Platinum and above. It has been replaced by the ice show.

[beej]

Love the idea of replacing the Welcome Back with the Ice Show.

[njmomof2]

Am hoping that the rates come down on this cruise so that we can take it the last week of August just before school starts. Have never done Bermuda and the 5 night is a perfect getaway with the kids (13.5 and 9).

 

Mom is diamond so she gets the extra amenities...I'm emerald.

[nyer]

Thank you for this review, my husband and I are thinking about doing this cruise next year for our anniversary. How much was it to park in NJ? We are trying to figure out if the train is more economical then driving.

 

We were also on this sailing. It cost $19 per day to park. ($95 for the 5 days.)

[yogimax]

We were also on this sailing. It cost $19 per day to park. ($95 for the 5 days.)

 

I'm still waiting for some entrepreneur to offer offsite parking and shuttle service.

[The 4 of Us]

What was on the Fisherman's Plate?

[rncruiser]

Fisherman's plate is a lobster tail, a few shrimp, and broccoli. It is a small serving and you definitely have to order two, or order something else as well. I order the prime rib and have surf and turf.

[KelJ]

Love the idea of replacing the Welcome Back with the Ice Show.

 

I missed having the Welcome Back. I like hearing the captain speak to the repeat cruisers. I also like when they award the people with the most cruises. And I like the hors d'œuvre (not that I need them!).

As for the Diamond Lounge, I never read anything about it in the papers in my cabin or in my kids' cabin. Guess I missed it. :( This was my boyfriend's first cruise, so it wouldn't have been that appealing to go to the lounge alone anyway.