Review Explorer of the Seas Sept 19-29

[Stevie44875]

As I am waiting at the airport at 9am for my noon flight from Newark Airport I figured I would write my review on the cruise while it is still fresh in my mind. Just to give you a little background average age on cruise was at least 60 and we are in our early 30's......yes there were lots of slow moving people to say the least.

My hubby and I boarded the Explorer of the Seas on Sept 19 in Quebec City, which doesn't get many airplanes and wasn't fun trying to get a flight to. Arrived @ 5pm to board out ship which was there Sept 19 & 20. It was very windy in Quebec! Headed directly to the windjammer and at supper. I thought it was good food! I have had some really bad food a lot in the windjammer but I would recommend this one.

Ship:

Overall in good condition. Didn't see a lot of wear and tear on her. For all the passengers it wasn't very crowded. We did have a lot of windy cold rainy weather so I thought there would be a lot of people around but they must have been hiding in their rooms. Used the exercise room a few times. Some times busy and some times dead. It was good enough but the weight equipment was kinda blah for my standards. Plenty of treadmills and other. Hot tubs were not used much since it was cold most the time and pools too although they were heated. Theatre was huge. We had to get there 30mins early to get a decent seat. Dinning room was OK. Some nights there were really good options and others we ended up in the windjammer which was very good. Ice skating show was very good and worth watching. Most shows were good and outside entertainment brought on was well worth it!

Ports:

Quebec City was great to walk around. Weather was windy and sort of cold.

PEI - didn't take a tour which we probably should have. Stopped on a sunday so not car rentals and the town is dead on sunday! nothing opens till 11am and even at that some stores were closed. Walked around the town and ate at a local restaurant that served beer from the local brewery which was very good. All I remember is the restaurant name started with a G... sorry

Corner brook- disappointed in this stop. took an independent tour to gros morne park. Cold rainy and yucky day. Drove in a van with 8 other people for 7 hours and didn't get to see much. also out tour guy didn't inform us of much on the ride. I heard from another passenger we should have done a tour with the ship were you meet locals and taste local food.

Halifax- took a tour to by royal to bay of fundy. that was great. another day of rain.... we ended up walking in the city a bit when we returned. didn't see much in the city that was worth wild for us.

Bar Harbor- very touristy town. took oli's trolley around and had a great lesson on the area. would recommend. easy walking around.

Portland - did a land and sea tour by discovery tours. really enjoyed the sea tour.

Departing: was pretty easy. Signed up for self assist. Got off around 8:15 and at the airport waiting at the gate @ 9am. When you go out the terminal you can either get a shuttle or a taxi. Shuttle was $16pp to Newark airport.

Overall got to see places we probably would never have made it to. Weather wasn't great most of the time and I did miss having nice warm sunny weather to enjoy sea days on. Our last day was nice and sunny and warm! Another good cruise by Royal but I have to admit i would much rather have been in the warm weather on a cruise and without so many slow people....

[celebrity]

As I am waiting at the airport at 9am for my noon flight from Newark Airport I figured I would write my review on the cruise while it is still fresh in my mind. Just to give you a little background average age on cruise was at least 60 and we are in our early 30's......yes there were lots of slow moving people to say the least.

My hubby and I boarded the Explorer of the Seas on Sept 19 in Quebec City, which doesn't get many airplanes and wasn't fun trying to get a flight to. Arrived @ 5pm to board out ship which was there Sept 19 & 20. It was very windy in Quebec! Headed directly to the windjammer and at supper. I thought it was good food! I have had some really bad food a lot in the windjammer but I would recommend this one.

Ship:

Overall in good condition. Didn't see a lot of wear and tear on her. For all the passengers it wasn't very crowded. We did have a lot of windy cold rainy weather so I thought there would be a lot of people around but they must have been hiding in their rooms. Used the exercise room a few times. Some times busy and some times dead. It was good enough but the weight equipment was kinda blah for my standards. Plenty of treadmills and other. Hot tubs were not used much since it was cold most the time and pools too although they were heated. Theatre was huge. We had to get there 30mins early to get a decent seat. Dinning room was OK. Some nights there were really good options and others we ended up in the windjammer which was very good. Ice skating show was very good and worth watching. Most shows were good and outside entertainment brought on was well worth it!

Ports:

Quebec City was great to walk around. Weather was windy and sort of cold.

PEI - didn't take a tour which we probably should have. Stopped on a sunday so not car rentals and the town is dead on sunday! nothing opens till 11am and even at that some stores were closed. Walked around the town and ate at a local restaurant that served beer from the local brewery which was very good. All I remember is the restaurant name started with a G... sorry

Corner brook- disappointed in this stop. took an independent tour to gros morne park. Cold rainy and yucky day. Drove in a van with 8 other people for 7 hours and didn't get to see much. also out tour guy didn't inform us of much on the ride. I heard from another passenger we should have done a tour with the ship were you meet locals and taste local food.

Halifax- took a tour to by royal to bay of fundy. that was great. another day of rain.... we ended up walking in the city a bit when we returned. didn't see much in the city that was worth wild for us.

Bar Harbor- very touristy town. took oli's trolley around and had a great lesson on the area. would recommend. easy walking around.

Portland - did a land and sea tour by discovery tours. really enjoyed the sea tour.

Departing: was pretty easy. Signed up for self assist. Got off around 8:15 and at the airport waiting at the gate @ 9am. When you go out the terminal you can either get a shuttle or a taxi. Shuttle was $16pp to Newark airport.

Overall got to see places we probably would never have made it to. Weather wasn't great most of the time and I did miss having nice warm sunny weather to enjoy sea days on. Our last day was nice and sunny and warm! Another good cruise by Royal but I have to admit i would much rather have been in the warm weather on a cruise and without so many slow people....

 

Your experience sounds similar to mine 2 years ago. The Canada N /E itinerary draws an older demographic. I'm glad I did it once but won't repeat that itinerary.

[teddie]

Longer itineraries via Cape Liberty seem to have a higher proportion of 60+ year-olds. Not sure if this is true for all longer itineraries in general, though. No school or work obligations, is part of it, I guess.

 

Too bad you had such crummy weather; we did a 9 night NE/Canada round trip from Bayonne, and we had glorious days. We absolutely loved Bar Harbor and Halifax-- in fact, it was one of our favorite cruises out of many Caribbean forays. We have been talking abot repeating this one--and we are not in our 60s :)

 

It is a big change, though, from warm-weather cruises, and it's not for everyone.

 

Teddie

[shelpt]

You stated the pools were heated. I had heard they weren't, but that would be great if they were considering we're on the Explorer late November. Were all the pools heated, or certain ones? Thanks

[Clarea]

You stated the pools were heated. I had heard they weren't, but that would be great if they were considering we're on the Explorer late November. Were all the pools heated, or certain ones? Thanks

Only the hot tubs are heated on Explorer.

[nyer]

As I am waiting at the airport at 9am for my noon flight from Newark Airport I figured I would write my review on the cruise while it is still fresh in my mind. Just to give you a little background average age on cruise was at least 60 and we are in our early 30's......yes there were lots of slow moving people to say the least.

My hubby and I boarded the Explorer of the Seas on Sept 19 in Quebec City, which doesn't get many airplanes and wasn't fun trying to get a flight to. Arrived @ 5pm to board out ship which was there Sept 19 & 20. It was very windy in Quebec! Headed directly to the windjammer and at supper. I thought it was good food! I have had some really bad food a lot in the windjammer but I would recommend this one.

Ship:

Overall in good condition. Didn't see a lot of wear and tear on her. For all the passengers it wasn't very crowded. We did have a lot of windy cold rainy weather so I thought there would be a lot of people around but they must have been hiding in their rooms. Used the exercise room a few times. Some times busy and some times dead. It was good enough but the weight equipment was kinda blah for my standards. Plenty of treadmills and other. Hot tubs were not used much since it was cold most the time and pools too although they were heated. Theatre was huge. We had to get there 30mins early to get a decent seat. Dinning room was OK. Some nights there were really good options and others we ended up in the windjammer which was very good. Ice skating show was very good and worth watching. Most shows were good and outside entertainment brought on was well worth it!

Ports:

Quebec City was great to walk around. Weather was windy and sort of cold.

PEI - didn't take a tour which we probably should have. Stopped on a sunday so not car rentals and the town is dead on sunday! nothing opens till 11am and even at that some stores were closed. Walked around the town and ate at a local restaurant that served beer from the local brewery which was very good. All I remember is the restaurant name started with a G... sorry

Corner brook- disappointed in this stop. took an independent tour to gros morne park. Cold rainy and yucky day. Drove in a van with 8 other people for 7 hours and didn't get to see much. also out tour guy didn't inform us of much on the ride. I heard from another passenger we should have done a tour with the ship were you meet locals and taste local food.

Halifax- took a tour to by royal to bay of fundy. that was great. another day of rain.... we ended up walking in the city a bit when we returned. didn't see much in the city that was worth wild for us.

Bar Harbor- very touristy town. took oli's trolley around and had a great lesson on the area. would recommend. easy walking around.

Portland - did a land and sea tour by discovery tours. really enjoyed the sea tour.

Departing: was pretty easy. Signed up for self assist. Got off around 8:15 and at the airport waiting at the gate @ 9am. When you go out the terminal you can either get a shuttle or a taxi. Shuttle was $16pp to Newark airport.

Overall got to see places we probably would never have made it to. Weather wasn't great most of the time and I did miss having nice warm sunny weather to enjoy sea days on. Our last day was nice and sunny and warm! Another good cruise by Royal but I have to admit i would much rather have been in the warm weather on a cruise and without so many slow people....

 

This part made me laugh so hard...I am 60 and I take care of a 17 month old baby every day. I move faster than most 30 yr olds.

Anyway, I love the Explorer but we always do the Caribbean itinerary.

[Stevie44875]

The two pools on the main pool deck - one was heated (yes I stuck my hand in it and it was bath water warm) and the other pool was ice cold. Now my hubby did say one day he went out there and the heated one wasn't. So they must only do it certain times. Can't say if the solarium was heated or not but I was surprised that it didn't have a roof that opened and closed - no roof on this ship for the solarium at all!

 

It was nice getting away from some times the young crowds of people and tons of little kids. Going into it we knew it would be an older crowd and its a nice change of pace. At least going once was great, wouldn't go a second time since not enough to do at certain port of calls.

[P&C4/16/67]

The two pools on the main pool deck - one was heated (yes I stuck my hand in it and it was bath water warm) and the other pool was ice cold. Now my hubby did say one day he went out there and the heated one wasn't. So they must only do it certain times. Can't say if the solarium was heated or not but I was surprised that it didn't have a roof that opened and closed - no roof on this ship for the solarium at all!

 

It was nice getting away from some times the young crowds of people and tons of little kids. Going into it we knew it would be an older crowd and its a nice change of pace. At least going once was great, wouldn't go a second time since not enough to do at certain port of calls.

 

The solarium pool is heated by the fountain near the stairs. If you turn the water on, warm water comes out.

 

BTW, thanks for the review. Thinking of doing C&NE next year.

[Sassy19305]

We were on the cruise before you and had the same experience in Corner Brook. That tour guide needs a few more lessons!

We loved Bar Harbor. It was so quaint and picturesque. We had lobster rolls every chance we got.

Did you by chance have ice cream at Cow's in PEI? It was wonderful!

It also sounded like you had the same ports in the rain that we did.

[EWM]

Hi good review of your trip on the Explorer. It is one of my favorite ships. I am from PEI and the restaraunt beginnin with G in Charlottetown is the Gahan House. It is a great spot to eat. Yes Sundays on the Island are fairly quiet. Not sure what tours they offer but seeing the Island on a tour would be nice. If any one takes a tour I would suggest going to the north shore where cavendish beach and rustico are. Beautiful area.

[welshrich]

We just got back from this cruise too and had much the same experience, enjoyable but would not rush to do this itinerary again, loved the heated whirlpools in the mornings and a couple of time the solarium pool was nice and warm too, food was good, entertainment so-so, I did think the CD, John Blair was very good and really 'out there'.

[drarill]

Great review, thanks for sharing. :)