Just back from Explorer - My Top 25 Random Thoughts - Cruise 2/27/12 to 3/9/12

[goldesq]

Unorganized random thoughts as I just got home and have not even decompressed but thought someone might find them useful:

 

1) Embarkation was very quick. I arrived at about 11ish and was on in half an hour.

 

2) Rooms could not be entered until 130 PM (not even to drop off luggage). There was no set time to leave your room on disembarkation day. We left at about 915 AM without problems (Breakfast was served in the dining room until 845 AM).

 

3) If you are a Crown and Anchor Member, be sure to get WOW Cards before boarding as they do not have WOW Cards onboard (for security reasons, they claim).

 

4) The dining rooms are closed on port days as well as embarkation day.

 

5) The dining room opens for breakfast at 8 am (much to my father's disappointment as he is an early riser and doesn't like buffet breakfast).

 

6) Best service overall I have had on any cruise, especially my waiter Erwin on the 5th floor My Time Dining.

 

7) The internet is VERY slow and logged me off many times. It did, however, work in my room even though they claim it only works in their hot spots.

 

8) Debarkation was quicker than my last cruise. They also were ahead of schedule about 30 minutes.

 

9) My aft balcony room 1692 was excellent but it had virtually no sun. Being on deck 10 meant no one looked down on us but it also meant the balcony was covered. Lower aft balconies had more sun but had a large amount of super structure surrounding it yet more sun since they were half uncovered.

 

10) I was disappointed with the fact that the announcements from the Captain could not be heard in the staterooms. RCI should find a way to let the cruiser choose to hear the announcements in the room and have an override system for emergencies (They do have this for the music). For example, 2 of the featured shows were cancelled on my cruise due to a electrical malfunction). The shows were rescheduled & announced 3 times via the 'announcement system'. I did not know about this rescheduling because 2 of the announcements were while I was in the room (which we could not hear) and one announcement was while I was in port. (RCI should have left a mass voicemail as they do with the art auctions or posted signs by the Windjammer and Dining rooms or at the very least, told the waiters to tell the passengers).

 

11) I had My Time Dining and people booked their seats on day one for the entire cruise. Be sure to call for reservations between 9 and 4 to do this if you so choose asap.

 

12) Book Shore Excursions if you can as soon as you get onboard. There were no lines and we booked all the tours we wanted except one.

 

13) My best tour was with a local tour operator I met previously in St Kitts (booked via Princess). He is a 5th Gen St Kittian. However, all my other tours via RCI were good and I would recommend them. PM for deets.

 

14) The Cruise Director Jimmy was excellent however, he is going on vacation today so there is a new CD as of today.

 

15) The Captain, Henrik Loy, is 36 (and cute)! :o He was friendly and accessible.

 

16) The 2 ice skating shows (especially the second one) are a must. Get tickets!

 

17) One of the shows was the music group, The Happenings. They were popular in the mid 60's. Wasn't my 'thing'.

 

18) There was a woman on the cruise who was 103 and made the Book of World Records for the oldest person to cruise.

 

19) The pizza was terrible (but I am used to excellent NY pizza) and all the desserts were served warm or room temp (when most should have been cold).

 

20) The art auctions/ art tour were/was really poor.

 

21) The soups were awesome.

 

22) No one was left at any of the ports per Guest Relations.

 

23) Steer clear of the fake 'Pandora' bead bracelet and watch sales on the Promenade. You WILL get trampled. People stake out a spot one hour before the sale starts! :O

 

24) I did not receive my luggage on day one until around 7 PM so I went to dinner in jeans. Most people had the same issue. (You absolutely cannot get into the dinning room in shorts for dinner per my neighbor; he brought no long pants for some reason).

 

25) Possible missing person: My neighbor was cashing his account out at about 730 AM this morning and stood next to a family/group in which they were missing one person in their group. The husband apparently last saw her at about 2 am this morning and thought she was in their bathroom. He woke and couldn't find her. Security and the family was at the front desk while my 'neighbor' was cashing out. He overheard the details (because they had a hard time finding a key to one of the cash drawers). As I left the ship, I asked if the woman was found and the crew member said yes because he had not heard anyone was missing. Truly hope that everything turned out ok.

 

If anyone has questions, please feel free to PM me or email me davisesq212 at aol dot com.

[my4luvs]

seems like you had a good cruise. we were on the feb 17th one and was surprised jimmy was still on since he was supposed to get off with us. i see item 3 says something about a wow card. what is that? i have never heard of it.

[DonnaK]

Excellent comments, containing very useful info. We were on the New Year's cruise, and agree with your opinions (except that we didn't care for Jimmy as CD). We will be on Explorer again in May, so it was nice to hear from someone who's been onboard during our interim.

[goldesq]

seems like you had a good cruise. we were on the feb 17th one and was surprised jimmy was still on since he was supposed to get off with us. i see item 3 says something about a wow card. what is that? i have never heard of it.

 

Dont know what WOW stands for but it is a card where you can write about a specific employee who went above and beyond to make your cruise better.

[bigeagle12]

10) I was disappointed with the fact that the announcements from the Captain could not be heard in the staterooms. RCI should find a way to let the cruiser choose to hear the announcements in the room and have an override system for emergencies (They do have this for the music). For example, 2 of the featured shows were cancelled on my cruise due to a electrical malfunction). The shows were rescheduled & announced 3 times via the 'announcement system'. I did not know about this rescheduling because 2 of the announcements were while I was in the room (which we could not hear) and one announcement was while I was in port. (RCI should have left a mass voicemail as they do with the art auctions or posted signs by the Windjammer and Dining rooms or at the very least, told the waiters to tell the passengers). Thought all the Voyager class ships had a volume contol in the room .. maybe it was turned down. Even if turned down Emergency announcements override it.

 

19) The pizza was terrible (but I am used to excellent NY pizza) and all the desserts were served warm or room temp (when most should have been cold). Unfortunately if you want good pizza at sea .. you need to sail with Princess :eek:

 

quote]

[Puffinater]

4) The dining rooms are closed on port days as well as embarkation day.

 

I assume you mean for lunch?

 

19) The pizza was terrible (but I am used to excellent NY pizza) and all the desserts were served warm or room temp (when most should have been cold).

 

Have to agree do like the pizza on any RCI ship.

[jeh4554]

Thanks for sharing your impressions. Captain Henrick is pretty easy on the eyes and very charming. Who was your tour guide for St. Kitts?

[Freo]

>>Book Shore Excursions if you can as soon as you get onboard. There were no lines and we booked all the tours we wanted except one.<<

 

Agree with this, we booked our St. Thomas excursion on the cabin television on our last Explorer cruise.

[39august]

You absolutely CAN eat in the dining room in shorts the first night on any RCI ship. It is super casual due to possible late luggage delivery.

[GGBNJ130]

Was their Chinese Food on the Explorer of The Seas? In Windjammer or anywhere? Fried Rice, Egg Rolls, General Tso's Chicken, Lo Mein?

[odessy]

The dining rooms are closed on port days as well as embarkation day.

 

??I Am going to Bermuda and we will be in port for 3 days..Does this mean no dining room open for 3 days? Where do we eat ? Windjammer?

[ashmac8]

I am bummed to hear that we need to make dinner reservations for the whole week on the first day :(

 

I had hope to show up when we felt like eating, isnt that the point?

[sharonlacey]

We had MTD last year and this year also. You do not have to make reservations for the whole week, you can call during the day to make reservations. If you want same waiter and table than it is a good idea to make it for the same time, but if it is not important call that day and you will be fine:D

[smdc2012]

I am bummed to hear that we need to make dinner reservations for the whole week on the first day :(

 

I had hope to show up when we felt like eating, isnt that the point?

 

From what I've heard and have read on here, you only have to make the reservation if you want a specific spot and waiter and time for your cruise. If you really don't care about that you can just show up, but may have to wait a short period of time for a table. Also I think the only thing you really have to set up a reservation for is the specialty restaurant. If this isn't true can someone please correct me and clarify.

[Catperson]

We have done MTD on our last three cruises and we just show up for dinner. The longest wait was maybe 10 minutes and that was only because we requested a specific table.

[39august]

odessy- The MDR will be closed for lunch, open for dinner and probably breakfast.

[jt'scruisinmom]

Was their Chinese Food on the Explorer of The Seas? In Windjammer or anywhere? Fried Rice, Egg Rolls, General Tso's Chicken, Lo Mein?

 

 

There is an oriental food section toward the rear of the windjammer, with an assortment of dishes. Seems to me the chef was also there for special requests.

[jt'scruisinmom]

10) I was disappointed with the fact that the announcements from the Captain could not be heard in the staterooms. RCI should find a way to let the cruiser choose to hear the announcements in the room and have an override system for emergencies (They do have this for the music). For example, 2 of the featured shows were cancelled on my cruise due to a electrical malfunction). The shows were rescheduled & announced 3 times via the 'announcement system'. I did not know about this rescheduling because 2 of the announcements were while I was in the room (which we could not hear) and one announcement was while I was in port. (RCI should have left a mass voicemail as they do with the art auctions or posted signs by the Windjammer and Dining rooms or at the very least, told the waiters to tell the passengers). Thought all the Voyager class ships had a volume contol in the room .. maybe it was turned down. Even if turned down Emergency announcements override it.

 

19) The pizza was terrible (but I am used to excellent NY pizza) and all the desserts were served warm or room temp (when most should have been cold). Unfortunately if you want good pizza at sea .. you need to sail with Princess :eek:

 

quote]

 

 

There is a problem with the announcement system on the Explorer. We've been on that ship 5 times now, in different cabins, deck 10, and have had the same issues mentioned above on a couple of cruises. The problem wasn't the volume control. We sometimes would have to open our cabin door to hear the announcements in the hallway.:)

[bsbcgirl]

To Goldesq,

 

Did you have any of the "smell issues" that many folks have been talking about?

[eh0101]

3) If you are a Crown and Anchor Member, be sure to get WOW Cards before boarding as they do not have WOW Cards onboard (for security reasons, they claim).

 

What is a WOW card?

[crisndeefromde]

just on the adventure...had to open our cabin door to hear the captain or any of the announcements after the first day.

 

been on 25 rccl cruises..after day 1....nope no capt...not even the alpha calls. you can turn the dial in the cabin up and down all you want ...just music.

 

it is their system. not sure why...

 

 

Glad you like the capt. we love capt olav...couldn't believe it when he told us that he was promoting this fellow to captain and he would be his new relief...awesome young man and not hard on the eyes either....capt zini on allure is pretty good on the eyes too and young but this gentleman is far younger.

[goldesq]

10) I was disappointed with the fact that the announcements from the Captain could not be heard in the staterooms. RCI should find a way to let the cruiser choose to hear the announcements in the room and have an override system for emergencies (They do have this for the music). For example, 2 of the featured shows were cancelled on my cruise due to a electrical malfunction). The shows were rescheduled & announced 3 times via the 'announcement system'. I did not know about this rescheduling because 2 of the announcements were while I was in the room (which we could not hear) and one announcement was while I was in port. (RCI should have left a mass voicemail as they do with the art auctions or posted signs by the Windjammer and Dining rooms or at the very least, told the waiters to tell the passengers). Thought all the Voyager class ships had a volume contol in the room .. maybe it was turned down. Even if turned down Emergency announcements override it.

 

19) The pizza was terrible (but I am used to excellent NY pizza) and all the desserts were served warm or room temp (when most should have been cold). Unfortunately if you want good pizza at sea .. you need to sail with Princess :eek:

 

quote]

 

It's funny that you mentioned the volume control. For about 24 hours, I kept thinking the room next to us had their tv on high with the canned music on always. I finally found the volume control and turned it off and on during the cruise to see if I would hear announcements. I could not. I even asked at Guest Relations and they said that announcements are not piped into rooms or the dining room.

 

I like Princess a lot and felt that they were slightly more refined when it came to food. I also thought their food was better. I truly never had a bad meal on Princess in the MDR whereas the food on RCI in the MDR was good about 75% of the time. I do prefer the food in the Windjammer though as opposed to Princess's buffet. However, the buffet with Princess always seemed to be open whereas the Windjammer closed quite early.

[goldesq]

Have to agree do like the pizza on any RCI ship.

 

I did mean to say the dining room was closed on port days for lunch...sorry about that.

 

I did not like the pizza on the Explorer but loved it on Princess. It seriously was close to NY Style pizza....not exactly but close enough. RCI's pizza was worse than Jenos frozen (sorry to all those Jeno lovers).

[goldesq]

Thanks for sharing your impressions. Captain Henrick is pretty easy on the eyes and very charming. Who was your tour guide for St. Kitts?

 

Tour guide in St Kitts was Gregs Safaris. One of the best tours I have taken (if not the best) in the Caribbean. The tour was called Off The Beaten Path - Plantation Tour. Greg also has tours that involve more adventure/ hiking but since I went with my dad (82) this time, we did this easy-going/ non-strenuous tour. I had done this tour 4 years ago, several months post op from a foot operation and had no problems. It is 4 hours and explained in detail here: dubya dubya dubya dot gregsafaris dot com You can book with Greg directly and I would highly recommend him as your tour guide. Ask him to confirm that if he can! Both times he was my guide and it was worth it.

[goldesq]

Was their Chinese Food on the Explorer of The Seas? In Windjammer or anywhere? Fried Rice, Egg Rolls, General Tso's Chicken, Lo Mein?

 

I ate dinner only one night & one lunch in the Windjammer. One night I did eat a spring roll. There was some type of chicken or beef satay (forgot which). I also had Mongolian Wok that night (pick your meat, noodles and vegs and the cook tosses it with some type of soy sauce). I know in the MDR, there were versions of lo mein but they did not call it lo mein. One night it was Singapore Noodles (good). One day at lunch in the MDR there was a variation of the Singapore Noodles dish (also good). I live 10 blocks from NY's Chinatown and my parent's live close to 2 versions of Chinatown so I expect a lot from chinese food. The RCI chinese version did not compare at all but it was sufficient enough to scratch the itch.