Avoid Explorer of the Seas

[Ocean Boy]

11 hours ago, island lady said:

 

For us (on same B2B) it was more the shortages (of everything) and the very rude, obnoxious, "me first' pax that were on board.   Unreal lack of manners!!  Ugh....😡

I'm really glad I did my last two cruises on Allure. The ship must be the "chosen one" as I thought they were both excellent cruises.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, ONECRUISER said:

As said I just got off Jewel myself the 29th, one my better Cruises. No waiting, Staff was Fantastic. Daughter and Grand Daughter were on with me threw Easter agree

I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Jewel. We'll be on her July 26th for the Arctic Circle. Really looking forward to this itinerary.

[Gaynors]

4 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

On Explorer now, back to back with the previous cruise.  The staffing issue is definitely apparent and the food has been sub-par.  It is a real shame because the staff who are here are overworked and tired.  For the first time ever I had a bartender snap at me when I requested something.  They are completely out of Pinot Noir and very low on bourbon!  One bartender said that a new supply of bourbon was loaded on board but is still in storage because they lack workers to unload it. There are no mushrooms so no mushroom soup.  The onion soup has had no onions.  The litany goes on and on.  Add to that 2100 first time cruisers and you have a lot of people lined up at Guest Relations questioning everything.  So I hope they get a lot of new hires and get them trained quickly!

Thank you we are on the explorer just 10 days from now... hoping to have a better experience.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I never found a crew issue with the sailings I did on Adventure all the years the ship sailed out of San Juan.

We've sailed out of SJ a few times also and the crew was always great regardless of which ship it was. I think the biggest problem with our recent EXP was that it was extremely understaffed....which certainly wasn't the crew's fault. And to make matters worse the 1st leg of our B2B was over run with large local groups that were pushy and rude to everyone.

[Gaynors]

We were on the explorer Thanksgiving of 2019 and really had a great experience.  Crew works so hard to make everyone happy. It is unfortunate if they are so understaffed now that it makes this difficult.

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

We didn't have a small table in our cabin. Asked the cabin attendant for one, sorry, no can do. When we needed a table, I would bring the one in from our balcony and then put it back on the balcony when we were done with it. 

Wow, sad

[PhillyFan33579]

10 hours ago, PaulS said:

We were on the same 8 day sailing of the Explorer as the OP and can say it was not one of our favorite cruises. The crew was working very hard, but there just were not enough of them. We spoke with one waiter who said they need an additional 30 waiters.

I think the shortage of crew affected dining the most. Izumi and Johnny Rockets were only open for lunch and service was slow in Johnny Rockets the day we had lunch. The fellow who was in charge of Johnny Rockets was actually acting as a waiter for several tables in the dining room at the late seating each evening.

I know that the cruise line needs to have high occupancy in order to make money, however having high occupancy without a full crew will only result in complaints even though the crew is doing their best. Many posters on Cruise Critic are fortunate to be able to take multiple cruises a year. For us, these temporary problems will not mean much. However, those who save to take a cruise once a year or every few years, may not come back because they may feel the current service is what is always provided.

 

 

 

 

That’s a really good point about frequent cruisers. I have been on nine cruises since last August with cruise number 10 literally 10 days away. I have been on several cruises where the ship was obviously short staffed, but it didn’t have much of an impact on enjoying the cruise. Most of the OP’s comments wouldn’t phase me, since I am happy to be cruising again. But like you said, frequent cruisers likely view things differently than people who may only cruise once a year, for example. 

[Qextor]

8 hours ago, TopoChico said:

I will never say never but it will be a long time, if ever,  before I book on Royal Caribbean again.

Try some other ships.  I had a very good experience on the Quantum (no shortage of staff there).  Yes, Seattle is one of the worst ports to embark from, but using a carry on suitcase and a small backpack/satchel means you can just rock on up to check-in and just carry your stuff onboard.  The x-ray machines are big enough to handle carry-on suitcases, so no issues there.  Usually, your keys will be in a packet on the wall, so you can start settling into your room right away.  I know some people won't feel this way, and there can be other issues that make carryons impractical, but for one week, how many clothes do you really need, anyways? 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Qextor

[Guest TopoChico]

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

And to make matters worse the 1st leg of our B2B was over run with large local groups that were pushy and rude to everyone.

“over run” with large local groups 

 

leaves from Puerto Rico

Is upset there are Puerto Ricans on the ship. 
 

This perfectly describes how Caribbean Island residents feels when a cruise ship is in port.

 

[Guest TopoChico]

8 hours ago, davekathy said:

We didn't have a small table in our cabin. Asked the cabin attendant for one, sorry, no can do. When we needed a table, I would bring the one in from our balcony and then put it back on the balcony when we were done with it. 

Sounds exhausting. 

[island lady]

21 hours ago, davekathy said:

Agree. Sure the Explorer is in much need for a lot of TLC. For us the food in the MDR for breakfast and dinner was good. At least our selections. We both are beef eaters and our selections were always good and cooked perfectly. Great attentive waitstaff (AM and PM), head waiter in the evening was entertaining and always around. We never ate in the WJ. "Fuhgeddaboutit"! We thought we would one sea day on the second leg. Walked in and walked right back out. A free for all. We thought the DLC and his staff were some of the best. Including the VCL. Our cabin balcony had a cosmetic issue that I immediately reported and it was taken care of the next day while we were in port.  Entertainment (theater and Studio B) was the same we've seen before on past Explorer cruises. Some shows we went to others we skipped. Missed not having QUEST. We prefer the guest entertainers over the ships production shows. Our cabin attendant took very good care of us. She worked her butt off on the second leg from what we saw when we walked by a few cabins that had the doors open. A lot of quad occupancy. I don't get how people can live like that even for a short time. Other than the casino host (😮) the crew we interacted with were friendly and polite.  We would sail on the Explorer again. Just not out of SJU. This thread is a good example of why I (we) wouldn't or would book a cruise line, ship, itinerary, etc. based on someone's positive or negative experiences or opinions. 

 

Totally agree with all!   Also had very good service and decent food in the MDR.   WJ...yeah...what a zoo!  OMG...avoid at all costs!  Ground zero for rude shoving "me first" pax with total lack of manners.  Ventured in a couple of times for glasses of water...and quickly back out.  

 

Bar service we adored at the VCL bar every night.  And indeed our cabin attendant for both legs in same cabin was top notch.  

 

Also totally agree that we would sail EX again...but definitely not out of PR, which brought on all the rude people....and apparently had the supply issues out of there.   So many things out of stock during both legs.  

[island lady]

11 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm really glad I did my last two cruises on Allure. The ship must be the "chosen one" as I thought they were both excellent cruises.

 

We are enjoying our current cruise on Mariner.  None of the rude pax as we had coming out of PR.  Same thing with recent cruises on Odyssey and Harmony.   Good cruises both, and looking forward to Harmony B2B again on the 22nd.  

 

We still have one cruise coming out of PR for next February...would cancel, but it was my sister's request for her birthday.  (She has never been there)....so will be doing Voyager out of there.  

[John&LaLa]

13 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I never found a crew issue with the sailings I did on Adventure all the years the ship sailed out of San Juan.

 

Empress, Jewel, Freedom.  

 

We're done.

[John&LaLa]

16 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

Which is why we’re seeing more of this……

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27378-royal-caribbean-group-to-launch-major-recruitment-drive-in-antigua-and-barbuda.html

 

Last week I saw an ad on Instagram for Celebrity. They were advertising for Cruise Directors and activity staff. I have never seen that before. 

 

I see ads for medical staff all the time on FB

[RFerrington]

30 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I see ads for medical staff all the time on FB

Dan said he saw an ad for a safety engineer (that’s what I do/did).  Thought about it for a full 1/2 second before laughing out loud.  

[John&LaLa]

38 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Dan said he saw an ad for a safety engineer (that’s what I do/did).  Thought about it for a full 1/2 second before laughing out loud.  

 

Pretty sure you need to be vaccinated to apply

[davekathy]

13 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Wow, sad

 No need to be sad. We weren't. 🤣

[RFerrington]

20 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Pretty sure you need to be vaccinated to apply

Yeah I’m sure you’re right !

😂

[davekathy]

5 hours ago, TopoChico said:

Sounds exhausting. 

Speaking for yourself. It wasn't  for me. 🤣

Edited May 13, 2022 by davekathy

[Cruising89143]

14 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I never found a crew issue with the sailings I did on Adventure all the years the ship sailed out of San Juan.

We cruised on the Adventure out of SJ in 2009 and no issues at all. It’s too far to deal with air now for going back to the same places but we would do it again. 

[RocCruisers]

We're on board in a few weeks.  Not enough time to cancel and rebook something else. 

The pandemic is not over.  Supply and Demand has not reached a comfortable level to all things in life.  RCI needs more income, so they sell more rooms. You, I and thousands of others want to enjoy the cruising lifestyle.  More rooms means more staff, more food, more everything.  Whoops!  Can't find the supply!!  With Icon, Utopia, Ascent upcoming and Odyssey, Wonder, Beyond entering service this year, it may get worse in the next few months.  

Maybe the cruise compass should list things NOT to ask for that day!  Unless we go back to the 30% occupancy rates.  Which most of us would welcome with open arms.  

[Guest TopoChico]

53 minutes ago, RocCruisers said:

We're on board in a few weeks.  Not enough time to cancel and rebook something else. 

The pandemic is not over.  Supply and Demand has not reached a comfortable level to all things in life.  RCI needs more income, so they sell more rooms. You, I and thousands of others want to enjoy the cruising lifestyle.  More rooms means more staff, more food, more everything.  Whoops!  Can't find the supply!!  With Icon, Utopia, Ascent upcoming and Odyssey, Wonder, Beyond entering service this year, it may get worse in the next few months.  

Maybe the cruise compass should list things NOT to ask for that day!  Unless we go back to the 30% occupancy rates.  Which most of us would welcome with open arms.  

To be fair, even with mediocre food (which is subjective,) limited selections of certain items, we still had a really great time.  Perfect weather, awesome beach time, and the room service food was pretty awesome!  The Rum Old Fashioneds with coconut syrup were phenomenal!  And the daily Pusser’s Rum shots and Red Stripes in the pub after a day on the beach were not too shabby either. Have a great time on your cruise 😊

[baelor]

 

On 5/12/2022 at 8:11 AM, Plum Happy said:

 jmo, you don't realize how blessed you are to be able to go on a cruise or even travel.

No.  Bad.  Incorrect.  Wrong.  And ridiculous, to boot.

 

Cruises are a service.  You pay money in exchange for that service.  That money could have gone to another service, like Airbnb, a chartered boat, a hotel, an all-inclusive resort, or whatever other thing you want to spend money on for vacation.

 

Everyone should count their blessings, but the blessing here is having the money in the first place.  The reasoning that people should accept sub-par products they paid for is complete insanity.  If my cabin steward punches me in the face, should I still consider myself blessed?  What if my server spits in my food or negligently gives me food I am allergic to?  What if I get bedbugs?  Where exactly is the line here?

 

 

On 5/12/2022 at 8:11 AM, Plum Happy said:

Try standing in line at Disney or Universal or pay through the nose to get on those rides first.  Pack your patience and now, you need to pack your understanding too.

 

 

Disney's upcharge for Genie+ is $10-20 per person.  That is not really "paying through the nose."

Edited May 13, 2022 by baelor

[alexgtp]

Same can be said for Oasis April 17th sailing we just did. They were severely under staffed and were running out of specific foods and spirits.

 

But still had an amazing time. According to captain they were 250 staff short.

 

We noticed on embarkation day when we ate at Giovanni's there was 1 waiter taking care of entire restaurant. 

[FLHugh]

8 hours ago, TopoChico said:

“over run” with large local groups 

 

leaves from Puerto Rico

Is upset there are Puerto Ricans on the ship. 
 

This perfectly describes how Caribbean Island residents feels when a cruise ship is in port.

 

But they sure like the money!