Explorer of the Seas, as this ship gracefully ages -- What's New / Old?

[Funcouple]

I posted a similar question a few days ago and the majority of the responses were in regard to the couches and love seats being replaced. I was on the ship 5 years ago and, since then, I've heard some Positives / Negatives about the ship -- as far as changes over the last 5 years.

 

How about other details like:

 

- Dining room food / service?

 

- Johnny Rockets / service / food / fees / kids?

 

- Entertainment?

 

- Club scene (the Chamber?)

 

- Portofino's?

 

- Is there a crow's nest bar/club?

 

- Pool scene? Adult only pool?

 

- Labadee (off ship)

 

- Any specialty bars?

 

- Pizza bar / Sandwich bar at the end of the Promendade?

 

Thank you.

[Theresa522]

Hi, just off the May 19th sailing and this is MPO..

 

1: The dining room food was great and so were our servers.. They work so hard!!

 

2: The food was good but I didn't think the shakes were anything special. However, my husband loved them So to each his own. The fee was well worth it. The service was good and there were hardly no kids.

 

3: What I saw I loved.. The ice show, and comedian were excellent!

 

4: Went to Portofino's on two different nights and LOVED IT!! So worth the $20 bucks.

 

5: Not sure about this one.. sorry..

 

6: The adult only pool seemed very nice.. Everytime I walked through 90% of the people were sleeping so it is a very relaxing place to be.:D

 

7: Labadee was a gorgeous island. My only complaint would be the VERY PUSHY market people. I did not shop as it was impossible to look at things without EVERYONE screaming for you to go see there items.

 

8: The sandwich bar at the end of the Promendade was also excellent and we visited there often.

 

We had a wonderful time and I would go back in a heart beat.. Again this is JMPO.. :D

[csbenedict]

Theresa--

Do you know who the captain is? What did you think of him?

 

Also, do you know what pier you docked at in San Juan?

 

Glad to hear you had a great time! Leaving in 2 weeks :D !!!

[catilope]

Theresa--

Do you know who the captain is? What did you think of him?

 

Also, do you know what pier you docked at in San Juan?

 

Glad to hear you had a great time! Leaving in 2 weeks :D !!!

 

Captain is Sverre Ryan - nice guy - not silly like Johnny Faevelin or Gerry Larssen-Fedde but pleasant and friendly in a professional way. That's only my opinion of course, your mileage may vary :)

 

I think the pier we docked at was #4 (the one with the Carnival terminal), you could walk into Old San Juan if you wanted to.

[seaventurer]

Compared to the expected lifespan of a well built and maintained ship, she's still a baby...the question is what will she be at age 40? A floating casino or hotel perhaps? or a piece of junk being scrapped in Asia somewhere...

 

With all of the new ships coming out and those that have emerged in the past ten years, many "newbie" cruisers are getting spoiled. Actually, a good ship gets better with age...many of the staff and crew settle in and make the experience unforgettable unless they are constantly transferred to the next newest ship ensuring a successful launch, leaving a mass of trainees and lacking service on what was...the last new ship...

 

Expect wear and tear but as long as RCI is profitable, they will maintain their vessels abeit at a minimum.

 

Beware though, as this industry grows from its' infancy into a global travel force - the bean counters will dictate the service and overal quality on board...not the Maitre'D or Bar hop...it's now becoming fiercely competitive and those famous brands and variations in line to line are quickly becoming very fuzzy...

[superjerryw]

I have to agree with the last post. The Explorer is only a few years old so it's a little to ealry to talk about how its aging. If you look at the past there were many cruise ships that sailed for over 50 years. You could check their history and see how they were moved from cruise line to cruise line and were redesigned and had their name changed each time. There is probably little difference in the Explorer now as compared to when she first sailed.

[bride and groom]

We're giving serious thought to joining a group that's forming on Explorer. I'm glad to hear it's in good shape and that the food is good too! Do you recommend first or second seating?

[Funcouple]

We're giving serious thought to joining a group that's forming on Explorer. I'm glad to hear it's in good shape and that the food is good too! Do you recommend first or second seating?

 

Second Seating!

- allows more time for afternoon acivities

- Allows more relaxed early evening for getting showered and dressed

- Allows relaxing early evening for cocktails / pre-dinner gathering