Help? Explorer advice and concern...

[rosie40]

Empty nest cruise to Alaska with DH in 39 days and very excited about our first "colder weather" cruise... We're in Texas and it will be a WELCOME CHANGE in July! :) Our previous 5 cruises with RCCL have all been Carribean.

 

I've not read very favorable reviews about Explorer in Alaska... I understand she's somewhat new in that part of the world and it will take some time to find their groove... However, I would love any insight/advice her recent cruisers might be able to offer. Heard she's had a recent dry dock and that great!! Just not reading very positive reviews in terms of food and service.

 

Of course I take reviews with a grain of salt...often we tend to quickly post the negative vs. the positive...

 

I sure would appreciate feedback and any recommendations from recent cruisers regarding excursions, etc. Thx!

[JoyMouse]

I was on the May 27 cruise and found it to be on par with my other Royal cruises which is to say I liked it. We ate in the Windjammer and MDR and had no overall complaints about the food. We're not foodies, though.

 

You could sense there was still a bit of entertainment adjustment going on from Australia to Alaska, but it was only the second week. I'm not a big fan of the Royal Promenade style ships, but found ample deck space for outside viewing of Alaska.

 

We had absolutely no complaints about service and that's with three cabins total. The ice show was excellent. I had read a lot about how Royal doesn't do anything special for Alaska, but they had a geologist and a retired Mountie giving enrichment talks almost twice daily throughout the cruise. My sister said that they passed out tomato soup on the helipad one morning.

 

The seats near the front of the Solarium were warm enough with towels and blankets. You could check out fleece blankets as well as towels at the pool for watching movies or just lounging.

 

Go have fun and enjoy the cool weather!

 

 

Photos are from Endicott Arm Fjord as Tracy Arm Fjord was iced in.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited June 15, 2016 by JoyMouse

[rosie40]

Thank you very much for the encouraging post and the beautiful photos!!

 

I'm not finding much information since Explorer is new to Alaska. Are ther still formal nights? If so... Do you happen to recall which night of the cruise?

 

I also did not have an option to choose traditional dining seating times to my reservation online... Only My Time Dining and pay venues. Were you able to choose a traditional seating (same time/table every night)?

 

I don't mind the MTD option, but it makes it difficult to plan for shows, etc. since they are typically designed to work around the traditional dining seatings.

 

Any recommendations what times would be best to dine in order to make showtimes...and do you happen to remember which day the ice show was? I can't recall if they only did it one particular day on previous cruises.

 

Sorry..so many questions! Lol

 

Thank you!

Edited June 15, 2016 by rosie40

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you very much for the encouraging post and the the beautiful photos!!

 

I'm not finding much information since Explorer is new to Alaska. Are ther still formal nights?

 

I also did not have an option to choose traditional dining seating times to my reservation online... Only My Time Dining and pay venues. We you able to choose a traditional seating (same time/table every night)?

 

I don't mind the MTD option, but it makes it difficult to plan for shows, etc. since they are typically designed to work around the traditional dining seatings.

 

Any recommendations what times would be best to dine in order to make showtimes...and do you happen to remember which day the ice show was? I can't recall if they only did it one particular day on previous cruises.

 

Thank you!

 

There are still officially two formal nights on a one week cruise, but things are hardly formal these days. On any ship. On any itinerary. Dress as you please.

 

The shows are scheduled to accommodate the traditional seating times, so use that as your guide. Since you already know that, you are ready to go in terms of making your dining reservations.

 

The ice show will be performed multiple times, both in the evening and the afternoon.

[Hoopster95]

Empty nest cruise to Alaska with DH in 39 days ...

I sure would appreciate feedback and any recommendations from recent cruisers regarding excursions, etc. Thx!

 

Read through this very recent May 20, 2016 Alaska sailing review, with all the daily compasses, dinner menus, pictures and advice, courtesy of fellow CC'er Kinney.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2358400&highlight=explorer

[JoyMouse]

Formal nights were the second and fourth evenings (Saturday and Tuesday). People did dress up. Show times varied based on the evening. Sometimes 6:30/8:30 and sometimes 7:15/10(?). This is partly what made me think they were trying to figure out what worked best.

 

Perhaps if you go to the dining room upon boarding they would be able to move you to traditional dining. We had no problems getting early traditional, but I also booked the first day the cruise was available. If you don't mind eating earlier, I think a 5:30 booking would work most nights.

 

There were six ice shows at 2 pm and 4 pm each sea day, so Saturday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Each muster station was assigned to a specific show in the cruise compass. We had the last show of the cruise and there was plenty of seating available, so you probably would be able to go more than once.

 

Let me know if you have other questions.

 

I keep forgetting to say to get to the dock as early as possible Friday. It is a large volume of people coming through with both Explorer and Solstice there. They delayed Solstice disembarking by 1/2 hour when we got back and that helped.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited June 15, 2016 by JoyMouse

[rosie40]

Thank you all very much for the responses. It is very helpful! Particularly the link to the review.. Although it was a shorter itinerary, it gives me good general idea of what the days might look like.

 

JoyMouse, what time would you recommend arriving? I have read that embarkation is particularly chaotic there. Normally we like to arrive early, but wondering if we might be better off waiting until later when the crowd thins.

 

However... probably the sooner the better to iron out any wrinkles with dining, etc. before everything fills up.

[JoyMouse]

I would recommend getting there around 10:30. We left our hotel by the Space Needle at 11 and had to wait in a taxi line at the port. We were able to walk to the terminal though. As the day went on, a line formed outside the terminal and just kept getting longer.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[nekzaadvakil]

We just finished our 7N Alaskan cruise on the Explorer of the Seas and we absolutely loved it. We were on the Allure of the Seas, a bigger, more modern cruise ship a week earlier so many from my family were comparing the two ships.

 

At the end of the trip, nearly everyone unanimously preferred the Explorer to the Allure! We're used to ultra modern ships (we've sailed on Celebrity's S class ships as well) and we honestly thought that the Explorer of the seas was just as good. We had a choice of going on the Celebrity Solstice or the Explorer of the Seas (both sailed out from 3-10 June 2016) and we didn't miss Celebrity at all.

 

The food in the windjammer is better than the food in Celebrity's oceanview cafe. The service on the Explorer was better than the service on the Allure of the Seas! The only thing we didn't like on the explorer was the smoking allowed in the Casino.

 

I'm in the midst of writing the review of the Allure of the Seas, post which I will be writing a detailed review of my Alaskan cruise on the Explorer. However here are some pictures to help you decide if the Explorer is right for you.

 

 

 

 

 

[tinawhitecar]

 

I've not read very favorable reviews about Explorer in Alaska... I understand she's somewhat new in that part of the world and it will take some time to find their groove... However, I would love any insight/advice her recent cruisers might be able to offer.

 

Thank you for this topic. We just booked an Sept sailing on the Explorer and we are considering canceling because there are so many bad reviews. We have a couple of days to decide. Alot of people have complaints about the food.

[Hoopster95]

Read through this very recent May 20, 2016 Alaska sailing review, with all the daily compasses, dinner menus, pictures and advice, courtesy of fellow CC'er Kinney.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2358400&highlight=explorer

 

Thank you all very much for the responses. It is very helpful! Particularly the link to the review.. Although it was a shorter itinerary, it gives me good general idea of what the days might look like.

 

Link is for the regular 7 night Alaska sailing, exactly like the one you're booked on, not a shorter itinerary.

[AVN]

Will be sailing the Explorer in August to Alaska from Seattle. Have a question: It there a White Party on deck on this ship. Making my packing list and want to make sure I have it covered without being overpacked. (yeah, right) Thanks for your help. ;)

[lovecrusing4life]

We were on the June 3rd sailing. I thought the service was great. The food was o.k. My biggest complaint with the food were the deserts (especially the cookies). One of our favorite things to do on a cruise is to sit in the Cafe Promenade, people watch and eat cookies. The cookies were as hard as a rock! The coke machines kept breaking down or were out of Diet Coke and Coke Zero (often). I couldn't stand the smoke smell in the casino. You could even smell the smoke as you walked by the casino on the Promenade. I choose the Explorer because I knew it was the largest ship to sail in Alaska and I figured the kids club would be great (and it was). This was also our first "cold weather" cruise and it was very different not sitting out on our balcony as much as I would in the caribbean (although my husband didn't care and wanted to see as much wildlife as he could). Alaska is gorgeous and I'm so grateful that we were able to see it. Would I cruise the Explorer again, yes. Was it my favorite ship, no.

[Rosy1013]

subscribing to this thread, as I would love to hear positive experiences on the Explorer as well!

[duluthga]

We were on the June 3rd sailing and loved it.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2366616&highlight=explorer

No big complaints at all. If you've never had a midnight or chocolate buffet you can't complain about them not being there in my opinion. Given the price we paid we thought it was great value.

Coke Zero was out but did have diet. Cookies in Cafe are hard but the cheesecake pops are excellent.

You're on vacation. Enjoy it, don't sweat the small stuff and have a good time.

[lovecrusing4life]

We were on the June 3rd sailing and loved it.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2366616&highlight=explorer

No big complaints at all. If you've never had a midnight or chocolate buffet you can't complain about them not being there in my opinion. Given the price we paid we thought it was great value.

Coke Zero was out but did have diet. Cookies in Cafe are hard but the cheesecake pops are excellent.

You're on vacation. Enjoy it, don't sweat the small stuff and have a good time.

 

 

Yes, cheesecake pops were good!

[juanrod]

We were on the May 27 cruise and had a great time.

 

• Embarkation was a breeze droped off Alamo Rental car about 10 near Pike Market and was on the ship by 1100... really quick considering we had to drop the car and wait for the shuttle to the pier then check in 2 cabins.
  
• Weather wasn't bad at all, I am a Southern Californian at heart and was fine walking around in jeans and a sweatshirt during the daytime. We packed thinking of the 'layer' method that everyone talks about but really didn't need any real heavy jackets/coats.
  
• The Capt was wonderful and seemed to really flow that down to the rest of the crew, he even came to the Meet and Mingle for a few minutes to talk to us all.
  
• Food as always is objective, but I didn't have to cook, clean, etc. and I don't have a multiple course meal at home so I was happy with the food. I also look at it like this - The galley is cooking for 1500 people at one sitting so...
  
• The ship is in good shape, nothing really seemed to be lacking for maintenace.
  
• Entertainment was fun, the cruise director even did his own standup routine for one of the shows.
  
• Derbarking on last day was painless as well, used the ship shuttle to the airport for a 2:00pm flight. We were group 16 if I remember, and got off the ship about 9:00. All our luggage was together, easy quick move through Customs, then boarded the large shuttle to SEA-TAC. Our driver gave some quick narration about the sights on the way back to the airport. TSA line moved REALLY fast and we were at our gate waiting for the flight, quick and easy.
  

 

If you want to find the negative you will, just remember you are on a cruise and make the most of it... You will have a wonderful vacation, especially if you go into it with that mindset.

 

Enjoy!

Edited June 18, 2016 by juanrod
Added Embark/Debark Information

[Spa girl nana]

Thank you very much for the encouraging post and the beautiful photos!!

 

I'm not finding much information since Explorer is new to Alaska. Are ther still formal nights? If so... Do you happen to recall which night of the cruise?

 

I also did not have an option to choose traditional dining seating times to my reservation online... Only My Time Dining and pay venues. Were you able to choose a traditional seating (same time/table every night)?

 

I don't mind the MTD option, but it makes it difficult to plan for shows, etc. since they are typically designed to work around the traditional dining seatings.

 

Any recommendations what times would be best to dine in order to make showtimes...and do you happen to remember which day the ice show was? I can't recall if they only did it one particular day on previous cruises.

 

Sorry..so many questions! Lol

 

Thank you!

 

On the May 20, 2016 cruise, the ice shows were assigned according to muster stations. I didn't attend the ice show, since I didn't go to Alaska to see "an ice show in Studio B", I went to see the Alaska live Ice show outside!!!! I did see pictures and it looked very nice.

[Merion_Mom]

On the May 20, 2016 cruise, the ice shows were assigned according to muster stations. I didn't attend the ice show, since I didn't go to Alaska to see "an ice show in Studio B", I went to see the Alaska live Ice show outside!!!! I did see pictures and it looked very nice.

 

I do not see how these two things are mutually exclusive. :confused:

[stevez]

Thanks for the feedback on this ship and the cruise. I must say that I was concerned after reading review after review of very negative feedback on the food. While I'm not cruising primarily for the food, I do want it to be decent and the feedback suggested it wasn't that at all. Not looking for 4 star food. We are on the July 8th cruise and I was starting to get a bit worried. Do you all recommend upgrading to the higher places to eat like Chops over the MDR? Also, can you decide on the ship to do that or is it much better to decide/pay in advance? Thank you.

[duluthga]

Do you all recommend upgrading to the higher places to eat like Chops over the MDR? Also, can you decide on the ship to do that or is it much better to decide/pay in advance? Thank you.

 

We bought drink and meal package onboard to use up on board credits we had. They offered a 3 meal speciality package for $70 all the time.

We did that and went to Chops 2x and Giovanni's 1x. If I did it again I'd go to Chops 3x. While the mash potatoes were better in the MDR the rest of Chops was great. The steaks are outstanding, big shrimp appetizers, warm goat cheese salad excellent, desserts (mud pie) wonderful. Service was great in both places, liked evening "sunset dinner cruise" in Chops in early evening as it's on deck 11.

Individual price is $90 for 3x Chops so it would be a 20+% savings.

[stevez]

We bought drink and meal package onboard to use up on board credits we had. They offered a 3 meal speciality package for $70 all the time.

We did that and went to Chops 2x and Giovanni's 1x. If I did it again I'd go to Chops 3x. While the mash potatoes were better in the MDR the rest of Chops was great. The steaks are outstanding, big shrimp appetizers, warm goat cheese salad excellent, desserts (mud pie) wonderful. Service was great in both places, liked evening "sunset dinner cruise" in Chops in early evening as it's on deck 11.

Individual price is $90 for 3x Chops so it would be a 20+% savings.

 

Thank you very much. Sounds like a good plan.

[Bklyn11214]

I enjoy reading all the reviews as everyone has a different opinion. Bottom line is, everything is subjective. I loved the cruise. This was my 4th RC cruise but my first cold weather one. First, let me say that what to pack was a major concern for me before the cruise. As it turned out, I didn't use half the things I packed. There are two formal nights, so I made use of the cocktail dresses I packed. Yes, times have changed and not everyone dresses up but most people do and I feel the ones in jeans look a bit out of place for formal nights. It was pretty cold out on deck. I pretty much lived in my workout clothes (leggings and short sleeved workout top with a waterproof fleece lined jacket I purchased onboard for $39.99. I had brought a lightweight columbia rain jacket which I only used in Victoria. I didn't use any of the jeans or sandals I packed as I was always running up and down the stairs in an effort to not gain 10 pounds from all the food I was eating. If you are a Crown and Anchor Gold member or above, embarkation was a breeze in Seattle. We got on the ship around noon so the cabins weren't ready yet. We went to the Windjammer and had lunch. Before we were even done, the rooms were ready. We dropped off our carry on luggage and set about exploring the ship. The only glitch was on the first day. Although I had requested two beds, when we first got in the room it was made up as one bed. I called the service desk and I also left a card on the bed requesting that it be made into two beds. Also, I had ordered a package of two bath robes and only one was delivered. When I mentioned it to the stateroom attendant, he said that the card he was given said quantity: 1. I explained to him that, yes, it was quantity of 1, but that 1 was a package of 2! I then went down to the service desk and had to explain the same thing. They did not understand until I showed them my email receipt which stated that 1 order was for 2 robes. The robe issue got taken care of fairly quickly but after spending ample time at dinner and around the ship, I returned to my cabin at 8:30 pm to find that the beds were still not made up as two. Shortly after my 3rd phone call, the bed situation was taken care of. After those two little glitches, the rest was "smooth sailing"! I, personally, am not a big fan of the Windjammer. I don't like the lack of portion control that comes with a buffet and I feel as if I am at a buffet in Vegas. When I am on a cruise I enjoy someone else cooking, cleaning, and waiting on me so I almost always eat in the MDR. So, the fact that I didn't have to cook or get my own food, probably influences how much I enjoy the food in the MDR. We were seated by the window in the 3rd floor dining room. When I booked the cruise the only time available was the 8:30 seating but the very first place I went to when I boarded the ship was the MDR to see about changing my seating to 5:30. I was accommodated with no problem. Everyone at our table ordered 2 starters, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts most nights! Pigs, I know, but how often do you get to try so many different dishes?? Nearly all were really good. The only exception was something that they called strawberry cheesecake. It was dry and tasted like a dry sponge (unanimous opinion from everyone at the table). The two formal nights were night 2 and night 5). Lobster tails were served on the second formal night. Hot chocolate was available on deck for the cold early morning glacier viewings, as well as hot soup. I had the cookies and the cheesecake on a stick from the Cafe Promenade. I did not think the cookies were awful, as some others expressed, but the cheesecake pop was really good. As for the casino, I am particularly sensitive to cigarette smoke and I have to say that the times I was there (and there were many times!) I was not bothered by anything overwhelming. I did, however, find a couple of machines I really liked that were in a non-smoking section so perhaps that helped. The gym was great with a nice view of the ocean from the treadmills. Much better than on the Oasis. If you are planning on getting a spa treatment, I would suggest waiting until the second to last day when they have some pretty sweet deals that include around 5 services for $149. The shows were great and we never had a problem with seating. The main attraction is the ice show and since that is assigned seating (you are given the day and time you will be attending) there is no problem with seating for that show either. Another reviewer said there were 500 kids on board (I don't know how that reviewer came up with that number) it certainly didn't seem like that to me. I can't state whether they were riding the elevators and pushing all the buttons, as I didn't take the elevators. Every passenger I encountered onboard was very friendly with the exception of one man I saw being verbally abusive to his approximately 80-90 year old father. I would have liked to have seen another shop onboard that sold reasonably priced clothing. I also missed the Oasis of the Seas Park Cafe - that was a go to place for lunch! My cabin was on the 8th floor 8622 and was a perfect location with a nice balcony. The weather the first couple of days was drizzly and cold. The rest of the days cold but beautiful. Alaska was amazing. In Skagway I did the Glacier Wilderness Safari which was really cool for getting up close and personal with a glacier but the timing did not allow for us to do the White Pass Railway, which I heard was great. In Juno, I took the shuttle bus (not through the cruise line) to Mendenhall Glacier and hiked to the falls. It was beautiful and gave us unlimited time to spend there. I definitely recommend hiking to the falls. Our dinner friends did the helicopter ride to the glacier and dog sled ride and they loved it. All in all this was a great cruise.

[stevez]

Thank you Bklyn11214 for all the good information.