Nov 1 2014 - Explorer to Fla from NY, Lifeboat Crashes

[The Big Booper]

Day -1

 

 

We had moved from the NY Metro area to the South Florida area early in Summer 2013. Booking the 14 night Explorer repositioning cruise from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, NJ to Port Canaveral, Florida represented a whole new world for us. Instead of being dropped off and picked up at Cape Liberty by car we would now have to plan getting up to NY/NJ by air, staying overnight near EWR and, at the end of the cruise, getting home to Boynton Beach from Port Canaveral.

 

Since I use Marriott extensively for business, in August I received an E-Mail from them awarding me one free night at most Marriotts to be used by the end of the year. Nice to be rewarded by a company I use extensively. We chose the Courtyard by Marriott near Newark Liberty Airport, right off Rts. 1/9, a hop skip and jump from the airport. As an additional bonus, when we checked in, we were upgraded from a large hotel room to a suite. Sweet. No one at the front desk batted an eyelash when we walked in with our Halloween traveling headgear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had made arrangements for our adult son to come by after work and we all went out to eat in the Ironbound section of Newark, Great restaurants in this area and we used our usual method of choosing, lots of good cars in the parking lot and the place looked well kept. We ate at the Spanish Tavern and the food and service were very good. Don’t try this at night if you are not familiar with the area; the place is a block off 1/9 which is loaded with NY/NJ drivers hustling to get somewhere and the streets are poorly marked.

 

Back at the hotel, we asked the front desk to get us a vehicle to get to the port the next day with a 9:30 pickup at the hotel. We wanted to beat the crowd into Cape Liberty.

 

 

This review will also test my new web hosting site.

[The Big Booper]

Yea, I figured out Photobucket. More to come.

[The Big Booper]

Day 1

 

Morning of the first day, we had all our luggage in the lobby at 9:15 AM, as DW gets slightly nervous when traveling. A large Suburban showed up promptly at 9:25 and by 9:30 AM we were loaded and off to Cape Liberty. We paid cash and from memory I think it was Gold Limo Service. The flat rate for the two of us was $50 from the airport to the pier including tolls.

 

The driver knew shortcuts after getting off the Turnpike Extension and hustled us to the luggage drop-off station by the overhang before 10:10, fast and efficient. We beat the traffic in; I would rather sit in the luxurious terminal waiting area then in a vehicle inching it’s way in from 440.

 

Eventually we lined up and were checked in and then sat some more but finally we started to board by category. For the last time, we rode the shuttle bus to the ship and were aboard before noon. We then headed up to the Windjammer for brunch along with a whole lot of other people wearing cold weather gear. After lunch we went down to the Promenade to check things out and then, since it was after 1:30, went up to our cabin to wait for the luggage. We were aiming to be fully unpacked by the time of sailaway at 4 PM or shortly after.

 

Our cabin, 7622, was at the center hump. And when the door was opened, we could see straight across the elevator tower and the same for people standing in the tower and library. Next time in this class of ship, move down a cabin to lessen the chance of our opening the door and giving people in the tower a show. Anyways, all of our luggage showed up timely and DW did her usual efficient unpacking and telling me where to put stuff. We finished in time to head down to deck 4 for the lifeboat drill. Our boat was C16, two down from the infamous C20. Not wild about standing outside in the so-so weather but at least we got there early enough to stand at the back and lean against the wall. And no lifejackets required. The process didn’t take that long and we then made our way up to the Viking Crown for sailaway. With the bad weather, we didn’t have the desire to stand on the open upper decks for maybe our last NY trip under the VZN Bridge. Because of the gathering dusk and shooting thru glass, these photos aren’t the best but…

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Big Booper]

Here are the gray sail away pictures.

 

 

Statue of Liberty

 

 

Chrysler Building, note the scallops on the spire.

 

 

Empire State building.

 

 

New World Trade center building

 

 

Going under the bridge.

 

 

The Parachute jump at Coney Island.

Edited November 28, 2014 by The Big Booper

[The Big Booper]

We wandered about the ship after the drill and then went back to the cabin to change for dinner. We had late seating at 8 PM and had requested a large table. The first night only one other couple showed up but on the second night another couple appeared and the six of us spent the entire cruise ensconced at one end of the ten top talking and talking every night. Marc & Chantal from Antwerp, Belgium and Alfred & Samia from North NJ.

 

We were so engrossed in the conversation that we almost missed the welcome aboard parade. By the time we got to deck 5 it had already started so I stood at the end of the Promenade behind the staging area, never been in this location for any parade. Hey Panda. At least I got a different perspective at the behind-the-scenes organized chaos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We eventually wound up in our favorite haunt, the Schooner Bar, and spent some time listening to Wally B, a New Orleans oriented piano player. DW loved his hat. At the end of his current set, we went up to the cabin, a long day. We looked forward to a nice and relaxing first night on the ship after the stressful travel and boarding.

 

 

 

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Nice pics

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[psupa]

Nice pics and can't wait to read more. We love the Explorer and will miss her. We did the last 9 night RT Bayonne. We didn't have the adventure you all had with the weather and lifeboat.

 

Theresa

[Langley Cruisers]

Yep. Cold sailaway - frozen feet, but I knew it would be short-lived as we would eventually hit warmer weather. Just a small price to pay for a short time. :)

[Newsbuff16]

Enjoying your review....we really liked our cruises on the Explorer!

[The Big Booper]

Best is yet to come.

[Retired LEO]

You must have caught that piano player in the Schooner off guard. He certainly doesn't look happy to be there. :D

[The Big Booper]

Day 2

 

 

BANG !

 

 

We were woken up at 5 AM by a loud crash and the sound of glass breaking in the bathroom. Our cabin, 7622, was port side center hump and two decks up from lifeboat 20, almost below us. A large 40-foot rogue wave had slammed into the ship and just about ripped # 20 from both it’s supports, as well as sending water into deck 4 thru broken doors and windows and down the elevator shafts. We didn’t know that at the time but did see all the broken glass on the bathroom floor. We called maintenance immediately and were told that someone would be up soon. Soon turned out to be over an hour because the crews were doing mop up all over the ship. Eventually a couple of fellows showed up accompanied by our faithful friend Henry and the mess was cleaned up. We still were not fully aware of just what had happened until we got dressed and went out for breakfast. None of the elevators in the main tower were running so we decided to walk down two decks to Café Promenade rather then up four decks to the Jammie. We saw the roped off areas and the crew directing the passengers around the danger spots explaining what had happened. Bummer, what a way to start a long planned vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

After our small quickie breakfast we headed over to Maharajas Lounge just down the Promenade for the Meet & Mingle, scheduled earlier then usual at 8:30 AM. There were over 300 people signed up and it appears that a whole lot of them were in attendance. I guess that the unscheduled 5 AM wakeup call helped out.

 

Erky-from-Turkey (Hereafter to be called EFT) ran the show and lived up to his advance billing. Lots of goodies were given out throughout the raffle and we got the new small document holder without the neck cord. Lucky we had several of the older corded models. We won a ticket for 2 free movie rentals and donated them to Jenn who needed them with her collection of 6 kids along on the trip. All her kids were good kids. At the end one of the passengers came up front wearing his EFT tribute teeshirt. I think he was named Billy and we did run into him later in the cruise. So I took his picture, great tee shirt

 

 

 

 

[The Big Booper]

The weather was still awful with rolling seas and the ship was rolling along with the water plus it was dank outside. With the main elevators still shut down and the open decks on top not safe there was a whole lotta crowding on the Promenade. We had a mostly older crowd on board, many with mobility issues, which further exacerbated the situation. The calypso band played all its sets on the Promenade for the first few days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Promenade finally quieted down right before people began to get dressed for dinner and the evening activities. In fact it was almost a ghost town, a welcome change from hours ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Big Booper]

Tonight was the first formal night. Because of luggage weight issues, this was the first cruise ever where I didn’t bring a suit, just 2 pair of dress slacks, shirts and ties. All our bags were close to the 50 lb. cutoff and it was tight. Nobody said anything. I don’t keep track of what we ate so please don’t ask me. I do know that because of the rough seas, the production show “Fast Forward” was pushed back a day and the ventriloquist, Brad Cummings was advanced a day. Reactions to Brad were mixed; we liked him especially with his puppet dragon. The human dummy was named Jeff and somebody said that it was not pre-arranged, Cummings knows where to manipulate the neck to cause you to spaz like a dummy. Other people we talked to did not like Cummings at all. Different strokes. After the show we headed back to our cabin where we had the first of many mysterious visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest maddycat]

I'm enjoying your review. Great pictures. We've sailed on the Explorer many times and will miss her and her wonderful crew.

[imjoyful2]

Thanks again for sharing your movie rentals with us. We did use them all surprisingly! The kids rented a few & hubby & I rented one as well. :)

 

(and thanks for the compliment on the kids! :o )

[The Big Booper]

Thanks again for sharing your movie rentals with us. We did use them all surprisingly! The kids rented a few & hubby & I rented one as well. :)

 

(and thanks for the compliment on the kids! :o )

 

Do you mind if I post a family picture of your group here on CC?

[The Big Booper]

Day 3

 

 

We woke up to another dreary day at sea. Some of the main elevators were running now so we headed up to the Windjammer for a quick bite before heading down to the Schooner Bar for Morning Trivia. We didn’t have much luck this 15 day cruise, aside from a few wins, we usually did no better then a gentlemen’s second, a couple points behind the winners, usually Dumb and Dumbest ( I think). I don’t usually write down all this stuff. Our team was usually Dazed and Confused, an apt description.

 

After trivia we headed up to the theater for the Top Tier Event for, well, the top tiers. Plus one new Pinnacle member, from Pennsylvania. That makes 45 P’s on this cruise along with some 350 Diamond Plus and around 650 Diamonds, whole bunch of people who cruise with RCI lots. Pre-event entertainment provided by Robbin and one of the guy singers, she has some voice. The Captain had a unique entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A brief aside for the Ice Show schedule, “Spirits of the Seasons” The Explorer used to have two shows on a concurrent basis, this show and “Blade” I am guessing that with the current cast who came aboard at the end of September and with the new schedule of shorter runs, the secondary show has been dropped and “Spirits” will be the sole ice skating show. There are no more tickets, you go when your lifeboat number is scheduled plus there was one more show that was open for anyone towards the end of the cruise. If you want to see a performance other then your assigned seating, there was a standby line. The staffers were looking at Seapass cards. Our assigned date was later in the cruise.

[The Big Booper]

At the start of the day the weather was not that great. There was a blur of trivia, lunch, trivia etc. plus checking out the condition of the main elevators. Some of the area had been un-roped and some elevators were running but the port side outside promenade deck had been closed and would stay closed for the duration of the trip. If you wanted to avoid the Casino on deck 4 in going from one end of the ship to the other, your sole choice was the starboard side where the smokers hung out. Or go up to 5 and walk past the Promenade Café with it’s tempting goodies including cheesecake lollypops and Pink Lemonade Tarts. I got pictures, will be posted here later. However, by afternoon the sky had cleared, the temperature went up and we could see blue skies and puffy clouds. And people in bathing suits. Plus our mystery visitor from last night who was still hangin’ around our room had his shades on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Big Booper]

Tonight was the postponed show, Fast and Furious, uh, Fast Forward. Showtimes reverted back to the usual, late seating before dinner and early seating after their dinner. We were tied up with other stuff and forgot about it. Of course we’ve seen it 3 times before so not a great loss.

 

After dinner we headed over to Studio B to catch the 50’s & 60’s Rock and Roll Party, to watch all the seniors try to recapture their youth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went back to the theater to catch the late night comedian, Jeff Nease. He had appeared in the opening night show, which we had missed. We both liked him and he really wasn’t that blue. Guess he knew he was playing to a bunch of older adults and not a bunch of smashed 20 and 30 somethings.

 

 

 

 

 

Erky !

 

 

 

[A Pisces]

I am enjoying your review and pictures. Looking forward to reading more!

Kathy

[imjoyful2]

Do you mind if I post a family picture of your group here on CC?

 

Sure, why the heck not!? :p After you post, I may come back & share our formal photo so everyone can see a more polished picture of us as we dressed up every dinner & formal night (just want others to see that a large family does love going all out, kids & all! :D )

[The Big Booper]

Day 4

 

 

This was the last of the three full sea days so after the usual morning activities of breakfast, trivia, etc. we hit the MDR for the Tutti Salad lunch. We bumped into our tablemates, Alfred and Samia, and hit the salad bar for our customized lunches. The rains had returned again and we were looking at another washed out day. While near the Aquarium Bar we did spot a Scottish couple getting ready for a wedding renewal ceremony.

 

Later in the day I discovered that the damaged lifeboat hung down right outside the Champagne Bar on deck 5. Deck 4 was still off limits so I took this shot thru the circular window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She took a sneak picture of me!

 

[The Big Booper]

We had scheduled the Murder Mystery Theater up at Portofino that night. We were to meet in the Viking Crown Lounge for a pre-meal drink and then head down to the restaurant for the meal and show. We were pre-assigned tables while up in the VCL and when we got to our table, the Scottish party was there, kilts and all. Nice coincidence. I did not photograph the performance. After the meal we headed down to Schooner for late night music and then up to our cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The women in front of the bride are Fiona, Amy and Denise, in no particular order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The intruder from two nights ago had left the premises to be replaced by another mysterious critter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The headliner for tonight was Tony Pace. We missed the show since we were up in Portofino.

[The Big Booper]

Day 5

 

 

Land Ho! It’s sunny and we’re in St. Maarten. The ship pulled in around 9 AM and it was great to go out on our balcony and see civilization, even though it was the first time since leaving Cape Liberty that we couldn’t go out there dressed for Club Orient. We were joined by Oasis, Reflection and the fuggly NCL Epic. As well as a refueling barge, which was pushed into position right below our balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we joined the taxi line and headed out to Orient Beach to check out the damage from the recent hurricane and work on our overall tans. The driver eventually dropped all his passengers near Pedro’s near the rocks. Since we had gotten off to a late start we decided to do a little shopping for a couple of things and grab an early lunch before heading off down the beach past the rocks. Our favorite haunt, Baywatch (now Andy and Cheryl’s) was still closed and was being rebuilt so we eventually settled in at Orange Crush. These beach shacks are on land 5 feet higher then the beach and a lot of the wooden stairs had not been fully replaced so it was an adventure to move around this area. At our age we don’t scramble up and down hillsides even if they are 5 or 6 feet high, need those steps.