Explorer of the Seas – 9 Night Bermuda/Caribbean Cruise (31 Jul -9 Aug) Review

[nyer]

Annefran, we had Rohan for our assistant waiter on our Explorer cruise in July 2013. We loved him and wanted him on our cruise this July. We do MTD and he had moved from MTD to traditional dining. What a disappointment for us. I am glad that you liked him.

[Wildcatfish]

Great review! Looking forward to this itinerary next year.

[rock the boat]

Great review. Keep it coming . We sail on her in 42 days. :)

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Great review. Thanks!

[hardingk]

Thanks for the great review! We are sailing on EOS in 9 days!

 

When you were in Bermuda, did you do the Horseshoe Bay beach trip through the ship? Was your cabana in Labadee at Barefoot beach or nellies? TIA!

[Annefran]

Thanks for the great review! We are sailing on EOS in 9 days!

 

When you were in Bermuda, did you do the Horseshoe Bay beach trip through the ship? Was your cabana in Labadee at Barefoot beach or nellies? TIA!

 

 

Yes we did Horseshoe beach through the ship. We did the 9am time. I liked the early time because it got us back to the pier area around 1pm and time to walk around, ship and have some lunch.

 

Our cabana was on Barefoot Beach.

 

 

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[Annefran]

Will finish the review tomorrow and upload more photos from my album. In the mean time if anyone has any questions, please ask away.

 

 

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[hardingk]

Yes we did Horseshoe beach through the ship. We did the 9am time. I liked the early time because it got us back to the pier area around 1pm and time to walk around, ship and have some lunch.

 

Our cabana was on Barefoot Beach.

 

 

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Thanks, any reason why you chose that over doing it on your own? Debating what we should do. We are doing the 5 nt Bermuda so we have 2 days there.

[Guest maddycat]

Great review. We're on the Explorer for one last time in Oct. That will be our 12th cruise on her. We always have a wonderful time on the Explorer. We find the crew to be very friendly and accommodating.

[wk1226]

Great review! I was on the 9 day from July 17-26th. I wouldn't have minded the two twins at your first table, it sounds like they would have been fun and interesting! But everyone has their own opinions. I had a great time on my cruise and I'm glad to hear you did as well!

 

-Will

 

 

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[Annefran]

Thanks, any reason why you chose that over doing it on your own? Debating what we should do. We are doing the 5 nt Bermuda so we have 2 days there.

 

 

The first time we went to Horseshoe we took the local bus. That was fine for getting there but the buses get very crowded as it gets later in the day. We haven't taken a taxi there though, that may be a better idea. You get dropped off at the top of the hill and have to walk down to Horseshoe beach. I'm not sure if the taxi will drop you off at the top of the hill or will take you to the bottom. The excursion through the ship drops you off at the bottom of the hill and will pick you up there too. I just prefer the timeframe they give us too.

 

 

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[cruisinfanatic]

The first time we went to Horseshoe we took the local bus. That was fine for getting there but the buses get very crowded as it gets later in the day. We haven't taken a taxi there though, that may be a better idea. You get dropped off at the top of the hill and have to walk down to Horseshoe beach. I'm not sure if the taxi will drop you off at the top of the hill or will take you to the bottom. The excursion through the ship drops you off at the bottom of the hill and will pick you up there too. I just prefer the timeframe they give us too.

 

 

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wonder what a taxi costs

[gowensricks]

Thank you so much for posting. This sounds exactly like the itinerary we will have next year on our Liberty 9 day. This is awesome, really makes me excited for our trip...

[mychild]

Enjoying your review!! Can't wait until tomorrow!!

 

 

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[mstea]

how much are the cabanas ?

[Clarea]

how much are the cabanas ?

Labadee cabanas range from $175 to $250.

[nc2sc]

wonder what a taxi costs

 

I believe it was 34 for up to 4 people and 43 for 5-7 people. (or something like that.) for a microbus, it was 7 pp. Both of those would drop you off at bottom of the hill at the bathhouse.

 

We did the bus. Right off the ship, you could purchase 2 tokens per person. I believe the adults rate was 4.00 and kids were 2.50. We spent 31 for a family of 5 roundtrip. The walk was easy, especially down hill. You could alway pay 2pp to have a small shuttle take you from bottom of hill to top on way back.

 

I'll admit, we hit the bus schedule perfect. Bus was at the stop when we arrived both directions. So, I dont know how frustrating it would have been had we had to wait 20-30 minutes for the next one.

 

We were at the beach before 10, and left at 12. Went onboard, ate and changed, and back to the shops for an hour or so before had to be back.

[hardingk]

The first time we went to Horseshoe we took the local bus. That was fine for getting there but the buses get very crowded as it gets later in the day. We haven't taken a taxi there though, that may be a better idea. You get dropped off at the top of the hill and have to walk down to Horseshoe beach. I'm not sure if the taxi will drop you off at the top of the hill or will take you to the bottom. The excursion through the ship drops you off at the bottom of the hill and will pick you up there too. I just prefer the timeframe they give us too.

 

 

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Thanks! It included chairs and umbrella too?

[Annefran]

7 Aug – Sea Day

Today we woke up to a sunny bright day and mostly calm seas. I have to say we were very lucky with the weather this cruise. I have never cruised in the summer and was a little leery with a possible tropical storm or hurricane. Thank goodness we dodged that bullet. I’m not a big breakfast person, so I was very happy to stop by the Concierge for a light breakfast before starting my day. I was up on deck 12 in my lounge chair enjoying the great weather by 9:30. My cruise friends joined me and the girls slept in but eventually joined us.

We opted to go see the ice show at 2pm. I think it was called Seasons on Ice. It is always a spectacular show on such a small area. The guest ice skater was a young lady from Las Vegas that could hula-hoop with 100s of hula-hoops. It was really something to see. We weren’t scheduled to see the show that day but it wasn’t crowded and got right in. Leigh, the CD skated out on the ice after the show to tell us what was scheduled for later that night. He is one of my favorite CDs, up there with Richard Spacey. He actually was the assistant CD with Richard on our May 2012 Explorer cruise. They were so in synch together. Will try to find a photo I have of them with me from that cruise and post it too.

After the show, I was in desperate need of a power nap. All the late nights were getting to me, lol. Plus tonight was “The Quest” and I wanted to be wide awake for that. If you have never seen the Quest, think of it as a scavenger hunt for adults and a reason for grown men to dress as females. They break up the audience up into maybe 12 teams and ask for 4 team captains to do all the running. All our new cruise friends came and we sat in the same area of Studio B to form our own team. My daughter, Ros and their 2 brother friends were team captains. You have to experience the Quest at least once. There were a few new requests this game but the concept is usually the same. We ended up getting second place with only a 5 point difference from the winning team. The girls went to the Chamber to dance and mom went to bed. Last sea day tomorrow.

[Annefran]

Thanks! It included chairs and umbrella too?

 

 

No it does not. You have to pay to rent chairs and umbrellas. You're mostly paying for the comfortable/easy transportation. They will stop along the way to show different landmarks too. You have to have cash to rent the chairs and umbrellas. Keep your receipt when you return the items, to get your deposit back.

[JohnGaltny]

Really terrific review Anne. I've enjoyed it immensely.:)

[Annefran]

8 Aug – Last Sea Day

We made today about relaxing and packing up since we woke up to cloudy skies. Forgot to mention we went to MDR for lunch yesterday and today. If you have the opportunity to go to lunch, do it. They have this great tutu salad area. It’s all fresh veggies, meats, cheeses, breads and toppings. There is a chef there to make your salad fresh from scratch. You just tell them what you want and they whip it up for you. Very delicious!

I decided to just walk around the ship, taking some last minute photos and take it in my last glimpses of the ship. I sat up on deck over the pool area watching the line dancing lessons and enjoying a virgin Miami Vice drink (half pina colata & strawberry daiquiri), very yummy. I sat and talked to friends for a while by this time the sun came out but it wasn’t as hot as the previous day. A very relaxing afternoon.

That night we stopped by the Concierge to have a drink and say our goodbyes. Dinner was wonderful as usual. Our wait staff went over and above for us. We went to the Farewell Show and then to the Battle of the Sexes in the Maharaja’s lounge area. This is a game where they pit women against men to do different tasks for team points. They would call up about 6 people at a time and give them a task. One task was running around the room to collect as many ladies shoes as possible in a 2 minute timeframe and then build a pyramid with them. Each team had to do that. They counted the number of shoes and whoever had the most shoes won. The place was packed with standing room only. I was back in my cabin by 1130pm to put out our luggage for midnight pick-up. Disembarkation Day tomorrow!

[Annefran]

Really terrific review Anne. I've enjoyed it immensely.:)

 

Awww thanks so much John. ;)

[Annefran]

9 Aug – Disembarkation Day L

We had a 9:30am tag to get off the ship. Our waiting area was the Palace Theater. They had tea, coffee, water, juices and pastries while you waited. We were out of our cabin around 8:15. I had heard recently that getting off the ship was a nightmare recently. We actually didn’t have any issues at all. They called our tag right at 9:30am. We were off the ship, grabbing our luggage in 5 minutes and through immigration in less than 10 minutes. The lines moved very quickly. We had a car service picking us up. I called to tell them where we were. We were in the car around 10:15am and on our way home. Of course we hit the usual Jersey Shore traffic when we got off the turnpike and picked up the parkway. It was already backed up before the Driscoll Bridge so we opted to get off on route 9 and then route 18. It took an extra maybe 20 minutes to get home. It’s usually only a 40 minute drive.

Last Thoughts

This cruise ranked up there as one of favorites. Not sure if it was because we love the Explorer so much, the wonderful friendly new cruise friends we made the spectacular crew or just being with my daughter and her friend. Sure the Explorer is in desperate need of refurbishment which is scheduled for her soon. We probably won’t cruise in the late summer months again. I found it a bit too crowded for my tastes. Most people were courteous and friendly but you always encounter those people that just complain about every little detail of their cruise rather than enjoying it. I think you find that on every cruise though. Kudos to Leigh X and his activities crew, they go out of their way to ensure everyone is having a good time, take photos and stop to talk to you. High five to Denzil the Concierge for taking very good care of us and becoming a lifelong friend in the process. I am scheduled to sail on the Quantum next April 2015. I hope to make the same type of wonderful memories on that ship. Although the Explorer will be a hard act to follow! Happy Cruising!!!

[Annefran]

Some photos as promised.

 

The girls did a tour of the bridge.

Ice show.

 

One of the things I love about a JS the walk in closet.