On Explorer Now - Just a Few Observations

[Wrh2016]

On Explorer now - currently day 8 of a 9
Day cruise.  My fifth cruise with RC.  This a not a full review, Just a couple of observations that have stuck out to us this time:

1. Service is exceptional.  The crew in the dining room is our favorite so far, and everyone goes out of their way to please you.  
2.  Drink card was offered starting on day 4!  That’s is the first time we’ve seen it offered so early.  It was posted on the first page the the compass the night before (night 3).
3.  The cruise compass has significantly shrunk.  It is only 4 pages compared to the novels we used to get.  For me, this has been a welcomed change.  😉
4.  Unfortunately, what we read before cruising seems to be true.  The food in the main dining room hasn’t been as good as all our other cruises with RC.  Not sure what it is.  A lot of dishes are over cooked and bland.  Appetizers are pretty good and deserts have been ok, but main dishes are not what we have come to expect on RC.  Windjammer has been good!  
5.  On the same note,  the drinks are not great on this cruise.  Many of us agree the drinks seem “watered down.”  We have the drink package, so we have tried many things.  Some bars are better than others.  If you are getting drinks with a straight liquor cocktail, no fillers, drinks are good!  Mixed drinks seem off.  Our beloved mojitos and pina coladas on this cruise are not good.  
6.  Get up early if you want a chair, in the sun, in the solarium.  They go fast.  And, don’t leave your towel alone for too long.  They are very diligent on the ship about chair hogs.  We watched many people have all their belongings bagged and taken away if they were gone for more than 30 minutes.  Again, we think this is a welcomed change.  😉
7.  We haven’t done any shows or games, so I can’t comment on those.  

Hope this helps some people wondering about reviews they have seen leading up to their cruise.  They were helpful to us before we left, so I wanted to share what we experienced.  
 

[Wrh2016]

8.  One more thing...  wifi on the ship was much better than we though it would be.  

[birdylady]

On 2/14/2020 at 7:32 AM, Wrh2016 said:

6.  Get up early if you want a chair, in the sun, in the solarium.  They go fast.  And, don’t leave your towel alone for too long.  They are very diligent on the ship about chair hogs.  We watched many people have all their belongings bagged and taken away if they were gone for more than 30 minutes.  Again, we think this is a welcomed change.  😉

This is great news.  I hope they decide to do this on all their ships.  On the flip side, I hope if I were in the pool and saw them heading to my chair, they would respect that I was in the pool if I say something. Granted, If I'm in the pool (or hotub) more than 30 minutes, I might need to reminder to get out as I've probably turned into a prune. 🙂
Erika

[Eddie Wilson]

We were also on this Explorer cruise, and agree with Wrh2016 plus one addition. 

Debarkation was a disaster this morning.  Wrh2016 I am not sure it you left the ship or were staying for the Ohio State charter. 

 

Eddie

[carolv712]

Were the forward elevators working? 4 out of the 6 were broken on the 1/23- 2/1 cruise  This was a major hassle

 

Edited February 17, 2020 by carolv712

[Saab4444]

Still not working!

[IAMGPW]

We were also just on this cruise. 9 of us and we’re happy with everything. We did specialty dinners too. Not one complaint