REVIEW: Explorer/5Nt. Bermuda (AKA "Family Bonding Cruise" !)

[gaechann]

Very interested as Explorer is coming Down Under for our 2015-2016 summer season!

 

 

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[F27TW]

Thanks for your great and entertaining review. My partner and I are sailing in the Explorer in just over 3 weeks for the 9 day cruise and reading your review and seeing your pics are getting us so excited. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. :):)

 

You will both really enjoy the cruise .. I will tell you that 5 nights was just not enough for us ... it went by so quickly .. the 9 night cruise is gonna be amazing .. I hope you will do a review too!

[F27TW]

Very interested as Explorer is coming Down Under for our 2015-2016 summer season!

 

 

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...you're gonna have a newly refurbished Explorer to enjoy too ... you have a wonderful ship to look forward to !

Edited June 10, 2014 by F27TW

[F27TW]

Nice job Tony.

 

OF COURSE a New Yawk/Joisey crowd won't be Monaco but that can make it fun if a little weird to people from normal parts of Planet Earth. LOL

 

We got off Explorer two weeks before you got on.

 

hey John ... definitely agree with u .. it was a fun crowd along with us for sure .. but you could tell the non northeasterners from a mile away! LOL

 

Loved your review too, by the way .. I just finished reading it .. you write a great one !

[F27TW]

Thank you so much for this review been on 8 other cruises with the other company aka party cruise which my hubby and I love so it's refreshing to hear you loved it. I'm going in august on this same cruise and my first time with this company so thanks again

 

 

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I am so glad youre enjoying it !! Trust me .. this'll be just as much a party cruise .. its all in what u make it .. its a beautiful ship ... no way you could have a bad time on Explorer!

[F27TW]

Hey Tony great review so far!

 

Of course, I'm tuning in hoping for some, er, revealing photos... let's see what happens when beach day or poolside rolls around... but in the meantime, I'll wrassle your partner's mom for that tasty assistant waiter x:eek:;):p:)

 

Seriously, glad it all worked out with the interesting family dynamics. You're old enough to remember the tv show "soap" which at the time my parents referred to as "the only show on tv about real people leading real lives"... so yeah, interesting family dynamics I'm used to:D

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review!!

 

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Hey Empress!!

 

I'm so glad you caught my review .. glad you're enjoying it ... I've enjoyed each of yours ... especially that LAST one ... with the "scenery" being uh, sported in it! LOL

 

Nothing quite as revealing or exciting in my next installment .. its pretty Bermuda pics tho!

 

Thanks for the encouragement to keep my review going .. i'm getting a lukewarm response overall so far :( .. but I so appreciate the nice comments I've gotten !

 

The next installment will be up tmrw night ... these things are alotta work, no ?!

[trvlmil]

Nothing quite as revealing or exciting in my next installment .. its pretty Bermuda pics tho!

 

Thanks for the encouragement to keep my review going .. i'm getting a lukewarm response overall so far :( .. but I so appreciate the nice comments I've gotten !

 

The next installment will be up tmrw night ... these things are alotta work, no ?!

 

I am looking forward to your next installment! I think you have done a great job and I can't wait to see your pictures and read more. :D And yes - these things are a lot of work! The time you have spent is appreciated!!!! :D

[boaterette]

I am enjoying your review. Looking forward to more.

[F27TW]

I am looking forward to your next installment! I think you have done a great job and I can't wait to see your pictures and read more. :D And yes - these things are a lot of work! The time you have spent is appreciated!!!! :D

 

thank you! that makes me happy to hear!

[wk1226]

Will be going on the Explorer July 17th for the 9 night with my boyfriend and family. Looking very forward to it. Loving your review and can't wait to see more pics! :)

 

 

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[Snookie415]

Oh! I'm so excited to find your review! We are going on the 5 day to Bermuda in July and CAN.NOT.WAIT! I'm looking forward to seeing you Bermuda pictures tomorrow. This is our 1st RC cruise too!

[BriAlDam]

Thank you Tony for the great review and pictures. My partner and I board in a little over a week and we enjoyed getting the low down from you.

 

- Brian and Danny

[kleo30]

I am really enjoying your review. I love the Explorer :)

[ajdickinson]

Yeah, don't feel unappreciated! I've been loving these reviews and anxiously awaiting each new installment-- the fun pics are really getting me excited for my own trip on this route this Saturday!

[gaechann]

...you're gonna have a newly refurbished Explorer to enjoy too ... you have a wonderful ship to look forward to !

 

 

Yes we already have Voyager here for our Summers which I understand is also being re-fitted hopefully with the same cabin plan as I have a Deck 9 middle JS booked for next February.

Explorer will be replacing the Rhapsody which we loved but Legend will also be here for our 2015-16 summer so we will have 4 ships including the Radiance each season.

Many cruise lines are increasing their presence Down Under as Aussies have really taken to cruising as a value for money way of holidaying.

We can cruise for 2-18 nights from our 5 major cities usually to the South Pacific, New Zealand, Asia & the 32-35 night circumnavigation of Australia.

As we have 4 weeks leave each year we have plenty of time to fit the longer cruises in prior to retirement so you'll find every age group represented on the ships.

 

 

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[Mrsfabo]

I hope you get time to post Bermuda soon thanks

 

 

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[F27TW]

PART ..(uh .. what's this now?) .. 4, maybe? :D

 

Sorry for the delay in continuing .. it was a hell week @work for me so its only just now that I;m relaxed (and cocktailed up) enough to resume … and yes, I do write better with some Stoli on board!

 

I will also apologize to anyone who looks at this report from the beginning now .. I pulled a major boner and deleted some of the pics in the first 2 parts. I didn’t make the connection that if I deleted pics off Photobucket, this report no longer has access to them … I feel SO stupid !

So ..

Monday we arrived in Bermuda and I was immediately confused. I was thinking that due to where the ships dock, we would come straight at Bermuda, make that hairpin turn to starboard and dock at the Naval yard. So imagine my surprise when I saw us sailing and sailing and sailing for a long time with the island to port. Huh ? Did we circle the whole island early in the morning? I’m still confused at the route we took coming in .. maybe someone can enlighten me on this!

 

In port with us was the Norwegian Dawn, having arrived from Boston. We had pre-booked the “Island Tour By Private Taxi” excursion .. and I highly recommend it. Its only $67 per person. It takes a max of 6 people and it is the way to go! We didn’t see the entire island, but it was a nice tour from the Dockyard, along the coast and ending in Hamilton. We had a great taxi driver named Gladstone A Brown. Such an entertaining guy and obviously very proud of his beautiful island. We made stops at Fort (Schaum..?) which was up at the top of a hill with a beautiful view over the bay. Then at a small house which showed us how the stepped roofs unique to Bermuda collect rain water for each individual house and store it in their own water tanks. Also went into detail on all the plant life on the island, which we were fascinated with. We stopped at the Lighthouse (but did not climb it!), went past Horseshoe Bay Beach and then ended up in Hamilton where the tour ended.

 

This was the only mistake we made that day. We walked a little bit around Hamilton but were getting hungry. Since going back to the ship required a ferry ride, we figured that we’d eat downtown at a place called the Pickled Onion. Gladstone had recommended it so we went in. Nice enough place, they even have an outside patio on the second level. It was full, and the restaurant was pretty crowded in general, so the 6 of us decided to sit at the bar to have lunch.

 

If you decide to go there .. and sit at the bar .. and you see the middle aged woman with the glasses and short hair … don’t sit there .. wait for a table somewhere else in the joint. This woman was not nice in the LEAST. She acted irritated that people actually were bothering her at her bar for lunch. Now mind you, the hostess told us lunch was served there and we were ordering a few rounds of their overpriced drinks too. She slammed silverwear down, tried rushing us by acting impatient (i.e. “do you know what you want ?” and “I couldn’t hear you .. speak louder” … that kinda thing). This is where Tony normally goes ballistic on someone who is acting like that. Here this fool is working behind a bar treating CUSTOMERS like they are an imposition. So Guy (seeing that I was about to blow) went over, found the manager and had a word with him .. to the effect that this bartender was being far less than hospitable.

 

Things changed a bit after that and she became a little nicer but man I was ready to swing at this chick. The food was just OK .. standard stuff like Coconut Shrimp, some nachos, and we all got some form of burger or fish sandwich. Nothing memorable .. decent quality. I will say that the rum drinks were very good and they were generous on the pour there. The bill for 6 of us for lunch with 2 rounds of drinks was $220! We expected a high check tho since we read the menu before going in, so we weren’t shocked by it. But I honestly can’t recommend this place because of the crappy service we got. You should not have to go complain to a manager that some nasty server with a chip on her shoulder was being nasty.

 

That downtown area was very chaotic and we were ready to go back to the beautiful ship waiting for us back up at the dockyard so we jumped on the ferry and, after a short 15 minute scenic ride, we were back at the dock. Loved the ferry ride .. and the ticket for it was included in the price of our taxi tour.

Next day was a bit overcast and drizzly. Justin, Teresa, Guy and I really wanted to go and see the pink sand beach .. and were debating whether or not to chance it. It was beginning to rain harder, but the idea of sitting on the ship ducking raindrops all day or walking around the touristy shops seemed like such a waste of a day. So we decided ti go for it and jumped on the bus, which leaves right over from where the ships are docked. $8.00 Round Trip and SO worth it. It POURED the entire way to the beach, which is about a half hour ride. I mean POURED. So we figured that we would just jump off and come right backto the ship . Hey, at least we tried. But the minute we got to the beach the clouds parted, the sun came out and it was a beautiful 3 hours of sunshine!

 

(And no, I have no idea who that little Asian lady is .. I just noticed her! LOL)

 

 

 

The beach was deserted then too because many people probably were scared off by the rain. We had the entire place to ourselves .. and darn if that sand really IS pink … see ?

 

 

More pics to follow below in the next posts. We swam, walked all over to the other coves with the most beautiful rock formations; walked along the pathways seeing the vegetation and admiring the views and then decided to head back to the ship

 

A note for you about getting to and from the beach from the bus stop: you have to walk down a pretty long road from the main road to the beach. Its perfectly fine on the way down, but it’s a long uphill walk coming back to the bus. We huffed up it, but for $2.00 per person, taxi cabs will run you up the hill to the bus stop. Next time we WILL be doing this. Are you reading this, Guy?! LOL

 

The busses run every 20 or 30 minutes and we had one pull up just as we got there. And just as we jumped on, the skies opened up again. It POURED rain all the way back . I still can not believe the incredible luck we had that day. We were so glad we took the chance in going! It’s a gorgeous beach and I could have spent several days happily exploring.

 

We found out the Guy’s daredevil daughter Megan, who was there on the previous day, climbed up to the top of one of the big rocks and did a 50 foot jump into the water with some other people. That girl’s nuts! But I guess many people jump of that rock .. wish I could have seen that !

 

More pics from the Bermuda beach day to follow .. and I will have more commentary and pics posting later on tonight! Hope you enjoyed the most recent installment!

[EpcotBill]

Most of your pictures aren't showing up for me. I'm getting the Photobucket "Sorry" box.

[Mrsfabo]

Thanks :)

 

 

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[F27TW]

Most of your pictures aren't showing up for me. I'm getting the Photobucket "Sorry" box.

 

Hey Bill .. sorry about that .. it should be fixed now. I am such a bonehead when it comes to Photobucket .. I deleted them all not realizing that this CC review still needed them in that library on Photobucket .. :rolleyes:

[sharonlacey]

Thanks for the review we will be on the Expl. in 4 days so really enjoying it. Thanks again and keep up the good work;)

[F27TW]

BERMUDA PICS:

Here's Guy making his grand descent down the gangway into Bermuda.

Now That's a Beautiful Ship ...

OUR ship is definitely prettier than this one (Norwegian Dawn) .. this thing looks like it has lips painted on the front and the back of it looks like a bus .. urrrrgly ship !

Heading east (toward Jobsons Cove) from Horseshoe Bay Beach on one of the trails.

Horseshoe Bay Beach (notice that pink sand!)

The rock formations at this beach are unbelievable !

[F27TW]

MORE BERMUDA (in random order!)

Local tradition states that all just married couples step through this big ring for good luck. It's located on the western side of the island, but theres also a replica at the cruise ship dock!

Leaving Hamilton on the ferry back to the Dockyard:

Back To The Dockyard .. there's just something about returning after an excursion to "your" ship, isn't there? (and see what I mean about the back of the Norwegian Dawn looking like a bus?! LOL!)

This is the view looking back toward the Dockyard from the Lighthouse (or was that the fort .. I forget!). But does it get any prettier than that ? And can u spot the 2 ships off in the distance?

This Is Justin looking all pretty with the bougainvillea flower behind his ear and Guy pretending not to notice! LOL .. But behind them is the country's (or maybe the tour guide said "the world's") narrowest drawbridge ... only 22 inches! It was only enough for the mast of a sailboat to clear .. and back when it was actually being used, the bridge man would actually kneel down. grab the mast and guide it through! Can you make out that little opening ?

 

Our Selfie while walking on the beach ... we absolutely loved Bermuda and would (WILL!) go back again !!

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review. Thanks.

[F27TW]

THE LAST PART …

So Bermuda is behind us and we are on our way back home. Somehow the “Mehhhh” never set in tho, as it usually does on the “heading home” part. We still had a fantastic time and had a ball on this beautiful ship.

This is where I get a little random because of now remembering exactly where things fell on which day.

One of the thngs we did was the Martini Seminar in the Champagne Bar. That was one fantastic time. We were all there and loved it .. watched them make (and then sampled!) some deeelicious martinis. Not stingy in the least here. It was an extra charge event, but so worth it. Loook at those drinks!

Here was where we got to meet bartender Tikka . She is the bartender from Brasil that does the daily TV broadcasts introducing the drinks of the day along with the schtick of the Cruise Director Leigh Xeureb and Erky from Turkey (the entertainment director) ! They called her “Tikka Masala” even tho she was not Indian, but Brasilian. This was just her nickname. She took good care of our party each night in the Champagne Bar .. we loved it there.

Back to Erky and Leigh. I will be honest, at first I thought these 2 guys were kinda tools on this daily show. Their broadcasts are done the night before at various spots around the ship and they seem like theyre either really punchy and tired (or toasted) and bordered on unprofessional. They would kinda crack some jokes about passengers and were a little inappropriate at times (i.e. making fun of a teenage boy walking by telling him he was a 10 year old with gigantism .. huh?! not cool) .. but u know what? These two tools kinda grew on me. I started laughing along with them and really did see them all over the ship at so many of the events and got an appreciation for how hard these dudes work. So Erky and Leigh .. you are OK in my book, And it doesn’t hurt that you are both HOT too! ;)

Speaking of Erky and Leigh .. this was the show that was put on one night on the Royal Promenade with a 70s theme. These two sexy guys are up there somewhere .. I forgot which was playing which of the Village People. But these straight guys have GOTTA hate dancing and prancing around up there like the VP!

We did the Love & Marriage and Quest shows and they were as funny and entertaining as they always are. But what DID blow me away was the Ice Show. Now I am not one for musical or dance production type numbers of any kind - (and yes I know being gay I am supposed to loooove all that kinda thing, but I just don’t!) .. once I actually fell stone cold asleep at Mama Mia in London while everyone around me was singing, dancing and screaming! Ask Guy.

But this ice show is utterly fantastic. Such talent and such a SMALL ice rink! What these performers do here amazed me. Even –I- was standing up clapping ! They had a special guest skater named Irina Grigorieva (nice Italian girl..LOL) from a show in Las Vegas performing with them and she did this segment in the dark with glow-in-the-dark hula hoops .. she was utterly amazing. HIGHLY recommend this ice show to you .. you will not be disappointed.

We are now almost home .. the last morning spent drinking that horrible jet fuel coffee on my balcony watching as or ship sullenly passes back under the Verazzano Bridge (I can never seem to spell that correctly!). Somehow its just not as exciting coming back in under it as it was going out 5 days before. It’s like the bridge is looking down at all of us saying “Sucks, Don’t It?”

No more Bermuda blues or coral reefs. It’s raining, it’s gray, it’s grimy, it’s Staten Island, it’s Jersey, it’s cargo ships, it’s the Staten Island ferries busy shuttling people to Manhattan to work on a Thursday morning. NOW the “Mehhh..” sets in. Cruise is done.

I have cruised several times now .. enough to know what the last morning on board means. The cabin steward who, the days prior, couldn’t do enough to please you now sees you as a hindrance to getting your room made back up again .. he wants you OUT!

We –and this SUCKED- thought it would be a great idea to self-assist disembark because our normal time would have been like 11:00 .. so Guy and I took our big bags and those of his parents with us. We were assigned Deck 4 DaGama Dining Room as our meeting spot. Well we were in the forward section of Deck NINE. Yea. DaGama is in da back !! And forget getting on any elevators. HAH!! Jammed full each and every time …so we walked down the stairs! I know I must have knocked a few people on their a**es on the stairwells .. Guy;s parent’s bags were just way too big to have attempted this manoeuver but it was too late at that point and we were goin DOWN! I must have sheepishly said “uh, Sorry..” a hundred times on the way down to Deck 4 ! Then we got there .. it was a SEA of people … that area was just heaving with pissed off people and bags. Hardly the elegant, tranquil dining room it was on the nights prior. Now people were camped out all over the floor drinking coffee, eating stale Danish, pissed off that no announcements were being made as to why we weren;t moving.

The same nice cruise staff British girl who was so smiley and personable throughout the cruise was now on a walkie-talkie doing crowd control barking at passengers to “move out of the entrance” or “we are NOT GOING DOWN YETTTTT!” .. typical ending to every cruise I have ever been on. Disembarkation SUUUUUCKS! And this was no exception..

But when you expect it, it’s somehow easier to just shrug your shoulders and say “Mehhhh .. yea we’re home!”

Absolutely loved this cruise .. the ship, the crowd, the staff, the food, the destination. The Explorer is leaving NJ soon and will head to far off places to please even more people after her refurbishment. How cool is that, though?

And for us? Well, we have enough cruise withdrawal syndrome that we just booked our next one ! Next June, the 7-Day Independence Of The Seas Eastern Carib FLL-SJU-SXM-SKB-FLL .. and I cant wait!

For those (few) of you who followed along, encouraged me and enjoyed the pics and the report .. thank you so much! If you have any questions for me about Explorer or what we did, fire away!

Oh ... and I just found out we're Platinum now .. WooHoo! (?)