Just Back From Explorer!

[jwolf2006]

This board was so helpful to me in planning our trip that I would like to of similar help to others. Rather than post a long review now, let me mention so of the "hot buttons" I saw before we left.

 

We started our trip staying in Holiday Inn Airport. This worked out great since they had a free shuttle from the Airport Saturday and on Sunday had free shuttles to the pier every hour starting at 10:00 am. Accomodations were fine and restaraunt was excellent - and it was only $94 on easyclicktravel.com! On Sunday we got to the pier at 11:30 and almost literally walked straight onto the ship!

 

1) Ships condition was excellent! I looked and the only real wear was in some of the carpeting (and they were replacing some of that during the cruise) and the labels on TV remote were worn down (a real hardship!)

 

2) My SO had a basket with wine delivered from "Just Because of You" for my birthday :) . It was delivered to our cabin just after we sailed and we left it out in plain view until it was gone with no problem. We never tried to take it to dinner so I don't know if that would have been an issue.

 

3) The solarium was a wonderful place to relax, read, and use the hot-tubs! You could harldy hear the pool bar band and the loungers were padded. It was our favorite place except on windy days when we sat inside at Dizzys (the Crown Lounge) and watched the sun worshipers fight the gale to get their tans/burns.

 

4) I don't know about the old bedding, but regardless of what RCI says the new bedding is closer to King size than queen. I did a rough measurement and got about 72 inches across (Queen is 60, King 76(?)). Also very comfortable.

 

5) Shows were good to excellent, Ice show was spectacular and Quest was a riot. Amazes me what people will do when they get caught up in a competive frenzy!

 

6) Dinner had a wide range in entry quailty from ordinary (leg of lamb) to excellent (prime rib). We didn't try Portifino's since my SO has a food intolerence to gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barely. RCI handled this very well. She reviewed the next nights menu every dinner and they (usually) could make anything gluten-free. Also bake their own Gluten-free bread.

 

7) Took one RCI shore excursion on St. Marteen to Pinel Island. Beach was great but snorkeling very poor. Dead coral and few fish. Walked around Old San Juan with my Frommer Guide. Well worth getting off the ship and felt perfectly comfortable. Yes it is an urban environment with (gasp) poor people but interesting and different for someone whose never been there. On St. Thomas we took a cab to Coki beach. Snorkeling and Coral World were both excellent although Coral World might not have been worth the price if it didn't include lockers and showers. Nassau was not very interesting.

 

This is now longer than I intended so I'll stop here and answer any questions you might have. It was a great trip and we booked on board for an 8 day cruise of the Greek Islands from Venice in July 08 (those bookings are now open)!

 

Jim

[barbaragrace]

Sounded like a great trip Jim. Did you get any good underwater pictures at Coki beach?? I LOVE the water there!

Click here: St Thomas Coki Beach Underwater Marine Life Caribbean Vacation Photos | Ultimate Taxi

[ChristieNJ]

This board was so helpful to me in planning our trip that I would like to of similar help to others. Rather than post a long review now, let me mention so of the "hot buttons" I saw before we left.

 

Jim - Thanks for the review!! Glad to hear that Explorer still looks beautiful and that you had a great time! She is a source of some AWESOME memories for me and I hope to add to that this coming October!! :)

[raina*faith]

Thanks for your review! We were on her in Oct. of 06 and fell in love! We are on her again this December! I'm glad you had a great experience! :)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thanks for the review! I am anxious to sail on her again next year. I agree - the new bedding is awesome and very roomy. The bed took up most of our tiny room on the Monarch last December!:D

 

 

I was interested to see your appraisal of Coki Beach. We loved Sapphire Beach - the snorkeling there was very cool. We have a year to decide what beach to go to next year. Do we want to return to Sapphire, try out Megan's or take the the time to go over to St. John's......decisions, decisions.:confused: After what you said about Coki I will probably cross that one off the list....

[jwolf2006]

Just to clarify, it was Pinell Island in St. Marteen that had bad snorkeling. Coki beach had very good snorkeling, especially towards Coral World. It was a beautiful beach. It is small, but even with 5 large cruise ships in port, it was not crowded in the morning. They rented chairs, masks, and fins for $5 each and had excursions with "communal" breathing tanks so even novices could get a scuba like experience. Coral World was nice, just wouldn't have been worth $15 (there is a $3 discount you can find online) by itself. But throw in nice showers, lockers, and a short walk to the beach with unlimiter re-entry and to was well worth it.

 

I understand from other posters that the best snorkeling is on St. Johns but we're not that avid that it was worth getting up early enough to cab-ferry-cab to/from St. John and still make it back to the ship comfortably before 4:30.

[Mr Veendam06]

Good review will be on her doing an 12 day from NY 2/24/08 .

Mr Veendam

[Macwoman]

My husband also has a gluten intolerance, celiac disease. We were so impressed by Mariner's handling of it last time that we came back. We tried Carnival and needless to say it was not a good thing. Did your family meet with anyone ahead of time, or just when you ordered?? On the Mariner's everytime my husband sat down they brought him his GF bread immediately. We also ate at one of the specialty resteraunts and not only did they bring his bread and they went out of there way to make his food and provided us with great service and a great time!!!!

 

Macwoman

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Just to clarify, it was Pinell Island in St. Marteen that had bad snorkeling. Coki beach had very good snorkeling, especially towards Coral World. It was a beautiful beach. It is small, but even with 5 large cruise ships in port, it was not crowded in the morning. They rented chairs, masks, and fins for $5 each and had excursions with "communal" breathing tanks so even novices could get a scuba like experience. Coral World was nice, just wouldn't have been worth $15 (there is a $3 discount you can find online) by itself. But throw in nice showers, lockers, and a short walk to the beach with unlimiter re-entry and to was well worth it.

 

I understand from other posters that the best snorkeling is on St. Johns but we're not that avid that it was worth getting up early enough to cab-ferry-cab to/from St. John and still make it back to the ship comfortably before 4:30.

OOPS! I misread - sorry!:o I guess Coki Beach is back on the list. I would love to go to St. John's to do that snorkeling, but we also are hesitant to spend the extra time. Is Coki near a lot of traffic? I thought I read that somewhere. And what is Coral World like? I wonder if we go to Coki and feel iwe would prefer Sapphire it would be worth our while to grab a cab and go there instead......

[jwolf2006]

Traffic was very light - or at least I never noticed it. Here is a link to Coral World:

 

http://www.coralworldvi.com/

 

Its small and can be seen easily in an hour but the people there are very friendly and knowledgable. I got to feed a sting ray! They also have an underwater "sea trek" where you wear helmets and walk on the seabed around the reef adjacent to the park. Costly ($50/person) but really looked neat.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the link to Coral World! Actually that looks like a very relaxing and fun day. I guess I'll have to move that up on the list! We are hoping for a relaxing beach day & snorkeling in St. Thomas. With the addition of the aquarium with it's bar and grill and lockers to boot we may have just found it.:)

[jwolf2006]

My husband also has a gluten intolerance, celiac disease. We were so impressed by Mariner's handling of it last time that we came back. We tried Carnival and needless to say it was not a good thing. Did your family meet with anyone ahead of time, or just when you ordered?? On the Mariner's everytime my husband sat down they brought him his GF bread immediately. We also ate at one of the specialty resteraunts and not only did they bring his bread and they went out of there way to make his food and provided us with great service and a great time!!!!

 

Macwoman

 

I didn't want to do any comparisons to Carnival since that always starts very active and sometimes heated discussions, but I have to object to the "needless to say" comment above. We took a similar cruise on the Miracle last March and they handled the gluten-free diet very well. Every night the assistant Matre'd came to our table to review the menu and get her order for the next evening. They don't make gluten-free bread but they have a warm flourless chocolate that is to die for! Overall, the cruise was very enjoyable. I could have done without some of the "Carnival" atmosphere (everyone on a color team??!) and garish decorations but the Miracle is a beautifully laid out ship and everyone was friendly and helpful. I'm sorry if your experience was not as positive.

[dclcruiselover]

:confused: I have some questions about the Exporer of the Sea, as I get ready to pack.

Does the ship supply shampoo in the staterooms? Do you know if the ice skates and roller blades go up to size 14 (my son has large feet)? Is there a refrigerator in the promenade staterooms (my husband has insulin that has to be kept refrigerated)? Do I need to bring hangers or are there some supplied in the closets? Can a 15 year old boy wear dress shorts to dinner, with a nice collared shirt? Can we take towels off the ship or should we bring our own beach towels for the beaches? Is there a sports bar that would broadcast, for example....Red sox games or similar (my son wants to know :rolleyes: )? What beverages are free to everyone all the time? Is Ice Cream free or do you have to pay for it? Did you hear any good or bad about the San Juan Quad excursion (we are booked on it)? What was the average temperatures in each of the ports (do we need a light jacket)?

I guess that is some of my questions. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

:D

[Shaden1982]

Thank you for the review.....I can't wait to try the new bedding!!!

I'm very happy to hear that Explorer is in excellent shape, although I really wouldn't expect anything less from RCCL and their Voyager class ships!

Some have said she is starting to show her wear but very happy to hear that she is as beautiful as ever!!! :D

 

17 days until we leave for Miami.....19 days until we sail.......

[Sunny AZ Girl]

:confused: I have some questions about the Exporer of the Sea, as I get ready to pack.

Does the ship supply shampoo in the staterooms? Do you know if the ice skates and roller blades go up to size 14 (my son has large feet)? Is there a refrigerator in the promenade staterooms (my husband has insulin that has to be kept refrigerated)? Do I need to bring hangers or are there some supplied in the closets? Can a 15 year old boy wear dress shorts to dinner, with a nice collared shirt? Can we take towels off the ship or should we bring our own beach towels for the beaches? Is there a sports bar that would broadcast, for example....Red sox games or similar (my son wants to know :rolleyes: )? What beverages are free to everyone all the time? Is Ice Cream free or do you have to pay for it? Did you hear any good or bad about the San Juan Quad excursion (we are booked on it)? What was the average temperatures in each of the ports (do we need a light jacket)?

I guess that is some of my questions. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

:D

 

I can't answer all of your questions, but here is what I can help you with:

 

1. Can a 15 yo wear dress shorts to dinner?

Shorts are not appropriate at dinner in the dining room at any time, even on a 15 yo. However, should you choose to dine in the Windjammer (buffet) they would be fine.

 

2. Are hangers supplied?

There are a few hangers in the stateroom. However, depending on how many people you have in the stateroom and how much you want to hang up it may be wise to bring a few along.

 

3. Beach towels off the ship?

Don't wait precious packing room for beach towels. You will need the room for souveniers! Just be sure to bring the towels back at the end of the day, or you'll be paying for some very expensive beach towels that you don't even have!:eek:

 

4. Free beverages?

Ice tea, water.

 

5. Shampoo supplied?

Yes, but I bring my own.

 

6. Ice cream free?

There are frozen yogurt dispensers on the pool deck and at the Windjammer with free frozen yogurt all the time. There is a charge for Ben & Jerry's on the Promenade.

 

Suggestion: Relax and have fun on the cruise!:)

[claud925]

What the heck are dress shorts?

[Shaden1982]

What the heck are dress shorts?

 

I'm sure she means something like khaki shorts or black docker shorts or something similar, meaning not jean shorts....

 

I live in jean shorts!!

 

I went to dinner on a formal nite on Mariner in 2005 in jean shorts and a tank top, it was lobster!!! We had been at Senor Frogs in Cozumel and just continued the party when we returned to the ship. I did not feel like showering and changing for dinner, and most of our group went to dinner so I apologized my way through the dining room and no one seemed upset at all!

[jwolf2006]

:confused: I have some questions about the Exporer of the Sea, as I get ready to pack.

Does the ship supply shampoo in the staterooms? Do you know if the ice skates and roller blades go up to size 14 (my son has large feet)? Is there a refrigerator in the promenade staterooms (my husband has insulin that has to be kept refrigerated)? Do I need to bring hangers or are there some supplied in the closets? Can a 15 year old boy wear dress shorts to dinner, with a nice collared shirt? Can we take towels off the ship or should we bring our own beach towels for the beaches? Is there a sports bar that would broadcast, for example....Red sox games or similar (my son wants to know :rolleyes: )? What beverages are free to everyone all the time? Is Ice Cream free or do you have to pay for it? Did you hear any good or bad about the San Juan Quad excursion (we are booked on it)? What was the average temperatures in each of the ports (do we need a light jacket)?

I guess that is some of my questions. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

:D

 

SunnyAZ answered most of your questions, but the few she missed:

 

1. We had an inside stateroom and it had a small fridge with soda, snacks, etc. We had our porter empty it first day and it had plenty of room.

 

2. No jackets needed on shore, average tempratures around 85 (and you can go to weather.com and put in "san juan" or "virgin islands" or "st. marteen" and get current weather and 10 day forecasts).

 

3. Sports bar on 14, 19th Hole, has three large TV's but hard to see during the day because too bright. I know there was at least one place on Prominade showing NCAA tournament, "Weekend Warrior Sports Bar" I think, but not sure who controls what is shown.

 

4. Can't help you with the shoe size!

 

Enjoy!!

[IKE]

A friend of mine is planing a 12 day cruise next 2/08 on the Explorer . She asked me if I ever heard of this. She was told by her TA that there will be a $4.00 cover charge per day for the regular Dining Room. I was on Voyager last Sept. and the only extra dining charge was in Portofino and Chops. Has this changed? Never heard of a cover charge in the Main Dining room on any Royal Caribbean Ships. Any info will be appreciated. Thanks IKE

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I went to dinner on a formal nite on Mariner in 2005 in jean shorts and a tank top, it was lobster!!! We had been at Senor Frogs in Cozumel and just continued the party when we returned to the ship. I did not feel like showering and changing for dinner, and most of our group went to dinner so I apologized my way through the dining room and no one seemed upset at all!

 

I hope the shorts you're wearing now are flame-proof!!!:eek: :D

[Sunny AZ Girl]

A friend of mine is planing a 12 day cruise next 2/08 on the Explorer . She asked me if I ever heard of this. She was told by her TA that there will be a $4.00 cover charge per day for the regular Dining Room. I was on Voyager last Sept. and the only extra dining charge was in Portofino and Chops. Has this changed? Never heard of a cover charge in the Main Dining room on any Royal Caribbean Ships. Any info will be appreciated. Thanks IKE

There's never a charge for the dining room. Someone gave you the wrong information!

[Shaden1982]

I hope the shorts you're wearing now are flame-proof!!!:eek: :D

 

Oh yeah.....I thought of that while I was typing it out...

I've only done it that once, normally I look presentable in my fancy duds!! :D A little alcohol seems to give you the 'strength' to do anything....the guy at the door let me in and no one gave me any hassle all the way through, we were at the back of the dining room.....I would have left without any problem if an RCCL employee told me to. :o

I am not ashamed!!! I did get my lobster!

[dclcruiselover]

Shaden1982, we are on the same cruise as you. You were right about the dress shorts. My son goes to catholic school where there is a dress code and he can wear these docker shorts in Navy blue or beige. I will tell the 15 year old that he will be wearing long pants to dinner. I am sure he will be fine. See you at the Meet and Mingle. We are counting the days! :D

[Matronly Mom]

The bedding is awesome! The ferry ride to St. John is lovely in itself. I took the Eco Hike and found it to be fascinating.

[KJHorton]

Did they have many gluten free desserts to offer? I just read on a Celiac message board that they didn't have any on their cruise, which I find hard to believe. Tell me that's not true because I really look forward to my desserts when I cruse.

 

Also, how was the gluten free dining in the Windjammer? Was your SO able to get info on the food? Do you know about the burgers and hot dogs? I understand the fries have gluten in them. Any info you can provide would be great.

 

Thanks,