Explorer of the Seas Cruise Compass, Meuns & Photos 9 August 2015

[Blatherskite]

Excellent thread, thanks to sky0000547 and everyone else who've posted, I'm really looking forward to our cruise on Explorer on the 18th Sept. Thanks again.

[hammerbees]

Hi Blatherskite! see you there, we also join her on 18th Sept.

[April_2000]

Great thread, brilliantly informative and a pleasure to read through. Thanks for taking the time and trouble. :)

[CKC]

Can someone please tell me if shampoo, conditioner, lotion and umbrellas are provided in the cabin? Anything else? Thank you!

[sky0000547]

Can someone please tell me if shampoo, conditioner, lotion and umbrellas are provided in the cabin? Anything else? Thank you!

 

 

Don't know about suite but in other staterooms as shown in post #81 you will get a dispenser with 2 in 1 body wash/shampoo. You will also get a couple bar of soaps. No conditioner, lotion or umbrellas.

[CKC]

Thank you. I appreciate your info on toiletries and umbrellas.

[troynmaria]

great review

 

just a question on the wifi ? did you use it ? how fast or maybe should I say how slow was it . last cruise I was on it was so slow that it was not even worth it . do you know if they have any apps blocked - such as whats app or facebook . I really need to keep in touch with home periodically during the cruise for business. last time we just found wifi hot spots at the ports but it would definitely be more convenient if the ship wifi worked

 

we are on the repositioning cruise leaving southhahmpton on oct 2

[Marianna49]

great review

 

just a question on the wifi ? did you use it ? how fast or maybe should I say how slow was it . last cruise I was on it was so slow that it was not even worth it . do you know if they have any apps blocked - such as whats app or facebook . I really need to keep in touch with home periodically during the cruise for business. last time we just found wifi hot spots at the ports but it would definitely be more convenient if the ship wifi worked

 

we are on the repositioning cruise leaving southhahmpton on oct 2

 

Last year when I used the ship's wifi and a notebook I brought, it was incredibly slow on Serenade on Adriatic Sea cruise. This past June, on Royal's Radiance in Alaska I used my iPad for email and it was fantastic. Very fast. All I really need is email. Facebook was easy to access and post photos on through the iPad. I would imagine most ships have the same wifi, but I could be wrong. Anyone else have different experiences? Or, similar? Could be the location of the ship too. Maybe Europe is different.

[sky0000547]

great review

 

 

 

just a question on the wifi ? did you use it ? how fast or maybe should I say how slow was it . last cruise I was on it was so slow that it was not even worth it . do you know if they have any apps blocked - such as whats app or facebook . I really need to keep in touch with home periodically during the cruise for business. last time we just found wifi hot spots at the ports but it would definitely be more convenient if the ship wifi worked

 

 

 

we are on the repositioning cruise leaving southhahmpton on oct 2

 

 

I didn't use wifi so I wouldn't know but Explorer doesn't have the super duper wifi installed yet unlike the Oasis and Quantum class ships. So expect wifi to be slow on Explorer.

[reedy8]

Drinks & Dining Package

 

Thankyou Sky0000547 for a really helpful post.

The $45 Speciality Restaurants package flyer you have posted on page 3 of your reviews have different drinks packages printed along side of them.

Do you know if you have to buy one of these drinks packages to take advantage of the Speciality Restaurant package offer?

thanks

[sky0000547]

Thankyou Sky0000547 for a really helpful post.

 

The $45 Speciality Restaurants package flyer you have posted on page 3 of your reviews have different drinks packages printed along side of them.

 

Do you know if you have to buy one of these drinks packages to take advantage of the Speciality Restaurant package offer?

 

thanks

 

 

They are totally separate entities, they did it this way I guess is to fit it all on one flyer. The $45 specialty restaurant package is also advertised on your MDR table.

[reedy8]

Very glad to hear that.

Thank you

[dawso53]

May I ask are these cokes free or only available with drinks packages

[Clarea]

May I ask are these cokes free or only available with drinks packages

Cans of Coke are around $2.50. Fountain Cokes (including those from the Freestyle machines) are not free and not available for individual purchase. You must have one of the unlimited beverake packages to get a fountain Coke.

[Coyote10]

Firstly thanks for your amazing review. So excited about our impending cruise from Sydney in March 2016.

 

A couple of questions for you if I may...

 

Could you confirm for me if there is still any kind of kiddie pools left on Explorer? When I booked I was going off the plans on the website which shows an "adventure beach". Reports I have heard about this have been conflcting. Some say it is gone all together to make way for the flowrider. I have heard that some of it is still there.....

 

Of course the website still shows it as being there along with the roller blading :)

 

Also could you explain how the specialty dining operates? Is there a flat fee for each one, no matter what you eat? Or do you pay per plate, depending on what you order?

 

Kind of disappointed in the prices of the drink packages. What you have shown above is soooooo much cheaper than in Australia, despite still being in USD. The ultimate package is $92 for my cruise, the premium $78 and the beer and wine $57. So obviously prices go up for us Aussies :mad: I am trying to decide if it is worth it. I am hoping to have 2-3 cocktails a day and wine with dinner........of course coffees would be nice but not at $92 a day!

 

Thanks again!:)

[Marianna49]

Firstly thanks for your amazing review. So excited about our impending cruise from Sydney in March 2016.

 

A couple of questions for you if I may...

 

Could you confirm for me if there is still any kind of kiddie pools left on Explorer? When I booked I was going off the plans on the website which shows an "adventure beach". Reports I have heard about this have been conflcting. Some say it is gone all together to make way for the flowrider. I have heard that some of it is still there.....

 

Of course the website still shows it as being there along with the roller blading :)

 

Also could you explain how the specialty dining operates? Is there a flat fee for each one, no matter what you eat? Or do you pay per plate, depending on what you order?

 

Kind of disappointed in the prices of the drink packages. What you have shown above is soooooo much cheaper than in Australia, despite still being in USD. The ultimate package is $92 for my cruise, the premium $78 and the beer and wine $57. So obviously prices go up for us Aussies :mad: I am trying to decide if it is worth it. I am hoping to have 2-3 cocktails a day and wine with dinner........of course coffees would be nice but not at $92 a day!

 

Thanks again!:)

Sadly, I think the kiddie pools have been replaced with the flow rider.

The premium drink packages are pricey, and unless you drink 7 cocktails a day (@ $12 a drink) I am not sure it is worthwhile.

Specialty dining is a flat rate per person in Chops or Giovanni's. If you eat in Izumi it is ala carte and you pay for what you eat. We didn't go to Johnny Rockets, but that is also charged for what you eat. The Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's ice cream on the Promenade is charged per item, but there is a snack bar on the Promenade with wraps and sandwiches, regular coffee and lemon water that are free.

[sky0000547]

Could you confirm for me if there is still any kind of kiddie pools left on Explorer? When I booked I was going off the plans on the website which shows an "adventure beach". Reports I have heard about this have been conflcting. Some say it is gone all together to make way for the flowrider. I have heard that some of it is still there.....

 

 

The kiddies pool on deck 12 aft is definitely gone. It has been replaced with a seating area with tables and chairs. If you see post #133 you will see a photo of the area. Unfortunately there really isn't a place for young kids to swim except the main pool provided they are potty trained.

[Amandah1987]

Thank you so much for posting this, it's answered so many questions I have as a first time cruiser.

I'll be going on the explorer in February, when it's in Australia.

I think the cruise compasses they give every day are amazing, first time I've seen one for the explorer with all pages.

[ash88]

Kids pool is most definitely gone. Don't bother calling or emailing them as they will tell you it's definitely still on there. Have it in writing from them. They say kids not toilet trained are not allowed in the pools but we saw many in there so don't stress if your kids aren't. No one seemed to mind the little kids in pool, it has small ledge they can play on. I must say RCI need to updste their website & learn what is available on each ship. They also told me not to buy discounted Internet package as they have free Internet for email only which is not true. I usually wouldn't care bout this but my dad had passed away recently needed to be in contact with home for certain things which was all via email so had to pay $200 for this. They did not even offer apology for their stuff ups or any compensation which we found really disappointing. There was many people on board upset with kids pool missing.

The food was great on board and staff were amazing. Entertainment was great would definitely cruise again. Just would do alot more research beforehand.

[Amandah1987]

I actually have one random question. Might seem a bit odd.

But the ice skating rink, is it actually ice? Like you would get at a regular ice skating rink?

I only ask because last year I booked a friend and I to go ice skating at a shopping centre. And upon arrival we found the "ice" was some sort of styrofoam board type thing that supposedly was like ice. It wasn't, I've never had problems ice skating before and I couldn't stay upright at all, I actually tore the bottom my pants from falling and slicing it with the skate.

So I want to know if it's real ice, cos if it isn't I'll know to not bother going there lol

[Clarea]

I actually have one random question. Might seem a bit odd.

But the ice skating rink, is it actually ice? Like you would get at a regular ice skating rink?

I only ask because last year I booked a friend and I to go ice skating at a shopping centre. And upon arrival we found the "ice" was some sort of styrofoam board type thing that supposedly was like ice. It wasn't, I've never had problems ice skating before and I couldn't stay upright at all, I actually tore the bottom my pants from falling and slicing it with the skate.

So I want to know if it's real ice, cos if it isn't I'll know to not bother going there lol

The ships have real ice.

[Amandah1987]

Great! Thanks

[reedy8]

Sadly, I think the kiddie pools have been replaced with the flow rider.

The premium drink packages are pricey, and unless you drink 7 cocktails a day (@ $12 a drink) I am not sure it is worthwhile.

Specialty dining is a flat rate per person in Chops or Giovanni's. If you eat in Izumi it is ala carte and you pay for what you eat. We didn't go to Johnny Rockets, but that is also charged for what you eat. The Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's ice cream on the Promenade is charged per item, but there is a snack bar on the Promenade with wraps and sandwiches, regular coffee and lemon water that are free.

Just of Explorer (2 weeks ago) Johnny Rockets had a fixed price of $6.95, not al la carte.

I don't eat a lot of hamburgers, but I really enjoyed the one I had.

[MissPiggy1984]

Hello, just quickly how long did it take for MDR to serve dinner? Am tossing up whether to do most of our dining in the MDR or Windjammer as we have a 2yr old with us and she may get impatient very quickly. Last time we cruised she was able to bear 1hr or so with lots of distractions =)

 

Cruising in 5 days on explorer to NZ, cannot wait!! :)

[sky0000547]

Hello, just quickly how long did it take for MDR to serve dinner? Am tossing up whether to do most of our dining in the MDR or Windjammer as we have a 2yr old with us and she may get impatient very quickly. Last time we cruised she was able to bear 1hr or so with lots of distractions =)

 

Cruising in 5 days on explorer to NZ, cannot wait!! :)

 

This all depends on how many people are at your table, if you are a family of let's say three, you might get away with an hour.