Please help choose a Family Oceanview on Explorer

[InsideCruiser]

Hi,

 

We're booking a FO on the Explorer.

 

Deck 9 is gone but 6, 7, and 8 are available. The Deck 8 staterooms have a totally different layout on the deck plans than the the staterooms on the other decks.

 

Anyone familiar with the layouts? Do you prefer the Deck 8 layout or the standard one?

 

Everything being equal we're leaning towards Deck 6 with easy access to the Promenade on Deck 5.

 

Thanks,

IC

[P&C4/16/67]

Never booked that category but looking at the deck plan, I would go for deck 8. 8200 would be my first choice.

[InsideCruiser]

Thanks for the response.

 

What appeals to you about the stateroom layout on Deck 8?

 

Or is it the deck you like?

[P&C4/16/67]

We prefer convenience to the pool and sports deck. If you have small children, it will be more convenient to Adventure Ocean. I would guess that 8200 or 8500 might have more room and possibly a better layout than deck 6 or 7. Try doing a search on those cabins here. Try looking at cabin reviews here also.

[InsideCruiser]

Thanks.

 

Found this thread that suggests 8200 is the largest.

 

IC

[CruiseDancer]

We had cabin 8500 on the Explorer two years ago. We are a family of five - mom, dad, and three boys aged 13, 11, and 7 at the time. I don't have any pictures, but I can describe the room to you. You enter in what I would call the living room. To the left is a door behind which are the bunk beds. That room also has a closet and a low shelf. It also has a porthole. The living room has the sleep sofa, a chair, the mini-fridge and the TV. There is also a porthole in this area. Then, there is a curtain that can separate the next area that includes another closet, another chair, another porthole and access to the bathroom. Finally, behind another door is the bedroom, with another closet, another porthole, and another TV.

 

While my only complaint would be the single bathroom, the room definitely lent itself to much privacy. All three of my boys slept in the bunk room, with the two younger boys sharing a bunk. Having the doors allowed that if anyone wanted to stay up late or get up early, they had somewhere to go in the room without disturbing everyone else. We never used the sleep sofa as a bed, so I can't say how much room it would have taken up.

 

I would definitely recommend this cabin. I did not get to see how it was different than 8200, but it was definitely nice. It seemed more like a suite than an ordinary cabin.

 

Enjoy.

[InsideCruiser]

Thanks a lot.

 

Can you confirm that the 8500 bunk room had an actual door?

 

I've read that the other FO's just have curtains separating the bunk room.

 

IC

[InsideCruiser]

8200 was gone, booked 8500.

 

Thanks for your help, gotta love CC. :D

 

IC

[CruiseDancer]

Thanks a lot.

 

Can you confirm that the 8500 bunk room had an actual door?

 

I've read that the other FO's just have curtains separating the bunk room.

 

IC

 

Yes, 8500 had an actual door. We were quite surprised by it as we had heard only of the curtain separating the bunk rooms.

 

Enjoy the room.

[InsideCruiser]

Found this

of stateroom 8500 posted by a CC member.

 

It's Liberty but I believe Explorer 8500 is the same layout.

[InsideCruiser]

For comparison I also found this

that shows the layout of the regular FO's on floors 6, 7, and 9.

 

You can briefly see the bunk room separated by a curtain on the right when she enters the cabin.

 

IC