Explorer New England 9/28-10/7 Review

[petesweet]

This is going to be a review with more practical information as opposed to impressions of the ship and description of cabins, etc. I wrote down the type of information I was looking for before I took our recent cruise. There were four of us in our party (two inside cabins).

ARRIVAL AT NEWARKAIRPORT: We had read on official news reports that the Newark airport is the worst in the country for late flights and that USAir is the worst airline. So we had two strikes against us from the start. That is the reason we went a day ahead of time. The first leg of our flight was delayed 30 minutes and the second leg was delayed 50 minutes, putting us into Newark late. Then the air train at the airport was having problems, so we had at least a 30-minute delay to reach ground transportation. We would not have made it to the ship on time if we had not allowed that extra day.

HOTEL: We chose the lowest price airport hotel we could find on the Internet (EconoLodge), and it was AWFUL! We booked through Travelocity. If we had paid the regular price, the room with one double bed would have cost $90 and the one with two double beds would have been over $100. As it was, we saved only about $15 per room. After we had settled the deal, I read on Cruise Critic were someone had bid through Priceline and paid less for another airport hotel, and it could only have been better than ours. Oh, well, we did have free shuttle from the airport. (I can tolerate a lot for one night, but I would gladly have spent an extra $100 a night to improve on this.)

TRANSFER TO PORT: I had tried to pin down ahead of time the best way to get from the hotel to the port, but it ended up that we had to play it by ear once we were at the hotel. As it turned out, the hotel made the reservations for us and we were told it would cost us $46. Turns out another party of four going to the cruise port was quoted $64 for four people because they were told they needed a minivan. When we questioned this, the hotel staff told us ours would be that high; however, our driver came in the smaller vehicle and we were fine. We paid the $46 plus a couple of dollars for tolls and a tip. (See end of report for our experience coming from ship to airport.) I’m sorry I can’t put my finger on Sergio’s business card right now.

ARRIVAL TIME AT PORT: Our cab picked us up promptly at the time requested, and we left the hotel at 10:35 and arrived at the port at 10:55. Since there was no line at all, it took us only 20 minutes to check in and get our boarding pictures taken. Then we were seated in a room where we waited for the ship’s shuttle. The room was already filled with people who had checked in even earlier. We boarded the shuttle at 12:00 and were eating lunch by 12:15. If we had arrived later, we probably would have gotten on board at just about the same time, because once they started shuttling us to the ship, things moved pretty quickly.

CABIN: For those for whom this is important information, I will tell you that our cabin numbers were 6469 and 6477. It was a bit of a hike down the hall from the elevators to get to the rooms, but they were extremely quiet and comfortable. I would actually choose those again as opposed to cabins closer to the noisy elevators.

The luggage was in the room by 3:30 when we returned to the room after exploring the ship.

I couldn’t believe all the storage space. Although the bathroom had three storage shelves behind the side mirror, I was glad I had followed one tip and taken an over-the-door shoe rack since it helped to have everything at eye level. That was a wonderful tip. Nice closet space and plenty of hangers. Others have written in details about things like this, so I won’t go into them here.

I will mention that the bathroom has three-way mirrors, so you don’t need to take a mirror to check out your hairdo. There is a laundry line in the shower. No amenities except the small soaps and shampoo in the shower dispenser.

Lots has been written about the new bedding. Gorgeous and comfortable!

Our carpet was replaced while we were on ship; also the carpets in surrounding rooms. They just put our suitcases in the bathroom but moved the furniture into the hall.

FOOD: Although I’m not a vegetarian, I do lean in that direction, so I tried a lot of the vegetarian selections in the dining room (which, by the way, is BEAUTIFUL!). For the most part, they were really quite good. In addition to the offerings in the dining room, the vegetarian sandwiches in the Promenade Café were really great.

SHIP: There is no way to describe how beautiful this ship is. I would say my favorite activity was the ice show (!!!) and my favorite spot on the ship was the Royal Promenade. Since we were on the New England/Canada itinerary in the fall, we didn’t take advantage of the swimming pool, but the concept of an adult-only area is wonderful. The spa area and gymnasium are lovely.

I tried my hand at miniature golf. Didn’t do well, but it was fun trying. I had wondered if it would be hard to find a time when it wasn’t busy, but that was no problem at all. Although the rock-climbing wall was open at scheduled times, I never saw anyone climbing. It was windy much of the time.

PORTS OF CALL: Some people have posted that you do not need a photo ID when you leave the ship for port; however, this is NOT the case. Although you use your Sea Pass card to enter the ship and this shows your picture when swiped as you board the ship, there is peripheral security totally separate from the cruise line, and for this you need picture ID. So unless you want to carry your passport around, be sure to take your driver’s license.

New Londonwas a real treat. The mayor actually met our shuttle bus and welcomed individuals as we disembarked—not in a big speech, but as individuals. The entire town went out of their way to welcome us.

We did not take any of the ship’s excursions, so I can’t comment on them.

We were delayed twice by passengers who did not get to the ship by our scheduled departure time. Once the captain left port and actually turned around to get the latecomers. The second time he just announced that we were holding the ship. Actually held it almost an hour, as I recall. I asked our head waiter why he didn’t leave them behind, and he said the captain must have been in a good mood. This does not always happen.

MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS:

Passenger makeup: This itinerary and date ensured an older passenger group. In fact, one crew member told us there were only 35 kids on board. We hardly saw any kids.

Dinner: PLEASE be prompt. We saw people coming in more than an hour late!

Formal (and informal) ship photographs: Watch out for the background you choose when you have your special picture made. We saw some lovely pictures but the background were so busy that the effect was awful. You may think the Royal Promenade is lovely (and it is), but as a background for your formal portrait, it is terrible. The portraits posed in front of a false backdrop as opposed to stairwells, etc., were much more appealing.

I like the way the Explorer posts your pictures. Easier to find than on many other ships.

Ice show tickets: We ate in the Magellan dining room, which is right across from Studio B, where the ice show tickets were given out the first night. My husband left dinner during dessert, picked up the tickets as they were distributed at 7:15, and was back at the table in time for his ice cream. On Monday morning, available tickets were set out at the Explorer Desk to pick up. Actual ice shows were Sunday (one show), Wednesday (two shows), and Saturday (one show).

For those who want to skate, watch for the available times posted in your Cruise Compass. You will need long pants and socks. As you enter Studio B, go down the left staircase and someone will be available to have you sign a waiver. Helmets (if desired) and skates of all sizes are available free of charge.

Movies: There are only 60 seats in the theater (the Screening Room on deck 2), so you need to get there early to get a seat. Unfortunately, there is no description of the movie—just the title.

Daily News: Each day there is a daily synopsis of news headlines available in various languages. (News from France in French, etc.) Languages available: Italian, Spanish, German. English news available from USA, Canada, and Great Britain. You will find these news sheets in the Library on deck 7 each day about 9:30 a.m. The USA issues go fast, so don’t wait!

Ice water: You can fill your water bottles (using a cup, please!) at the Promenade Café on deck 5 or the Windjammer on deck 11. There’s also a drinking fountain in the exercise room in the spa and perhaps other places I didn’t notice.

Game room: If you like to play games on cruising days, you will find the game room on deck 14. It’s called “Seven Hearts.” Seems when I bring my own games, the ship I am on has them. This time I didn’t bring the ones we like, and the ship did not have them. Here is what they did have:

Decks of cards

Dominoes

Pictionary

Scrabble (including Junior Scrabble)

Checkers

Monopoly (including Junior Monopoly)

Mancala

Mah-jongg

Community bulletin board: There is a bulletin board available at the Explorer Desk. Use this to schedule meetings for your group or find bridge partners, etc. They have printed forms there for you to use.

Public Restrooms: I never could understand this. You will see signs that direct you one or two decks down to the public restrooms; however, my husband didn’t notice the sign and asked someone where the restroom was and was directed to one on that floor. I asked two different people at the Explorer Desk what these signs meant if there were more available restrooms, and neither one of them knew anything about the signs. One fellow said perhaps it was because of cleaning the restroom. Of course, that was an incorrect statement! The other person I asked also was not aware of these permanent signs. I was told, however, that there are public restrooms on any floor with public rooms (yet these signs were posted outside the “public” library on deck 7) but not on floor where there are just cabins.

Shipshape Dollars: This is the first time I’ve collected shipshape dollars. They are not exactly equitable in the way they are given out. For example, this 67-year-old woman (me) got one buck for a 45-minute session of kickboxing, whereas you can get one buck just for showing up for the 8:30 and/or 5:00 walk. The guy distributing them didn’t care whether we walked or not. In fact, one “brisk” afternoon he actually gave us our bucks and told us not to finish our five laps (one mile).

For those of you who are new to this, as I was, you might want to have this information. The Cruise Compass listed the morning walk at 8:30 at Skylab Lounge on deck 12. I thought that meant we would MEET there, and I waited for some group to gather. Then somehow I found that we don’t meet; we just start walking laps and a staff member is stationed beside the Skylab to distribute the bucks. He or she is not there for a long time; so you should be there no later than 10 minutes after the listed time for the walk. You can do your mile before or after you collect your buck.

On the last day of the cruise, you redeem your bucks up on deck 13. Here’s how many you need:

Key chain 1 buck

Neck lanyard 4 bucks

Carobiner 7 bucks

Sport bottle 12 bucks

Sport towel 14 bucks

Viser 15 bucks

T-shirt 18 bucks

Backpack 20 bucks

DISEMBARKATION: Breakfast was served beginning at 6 a.m. in the Windjammer. We ate at 6:30. Breakfast was also served in the dining room.

I had one matter that had to be cleared up at the Explorer Desk. No line at all. I made it a point to check regularly during the morning to see if there were long lines at the desk, but there were not. I guess the reason things went so smoothly is that people could check their Sea Pass accounts online in their rooms during the course of the cruise. I’m used to seeing long lines of people with questions and complaints.

We cleared out of our rooms at 8:15. We were told to wait in lounges until our luggage tag colors were called. We were early enough to get a table on the promenade so we could wait, and people watch, and eat pastries and drink coffee. Can’t beat that for making the wait less painful!

There was an announcement at 8:40 that the ship had cleared customs, and at that time the first tag color was called. I don’t know how the colors were assigned, but we were next to last. We were called at 10:57. By then, it was easy to find our luggage since things had cleared out so much, and we were through customs and ready to depart at 11:05. (The customs guy just took our form and said, “Have a nice day, Sweetheart.” Took one second.

We had decided to take a taxi to the airport rather than pay $25 per person for ship transfer or $14 per person shuttle transfer. The taxi cost us $42 plus tip for the four of us. That included the toll. There was a very nice system as we left the ship. We got into the taxi line and there were several people supervising taxi and shuttle assignments. Got the number for the local Yellow Cab from them (201-339-5000). This will come in handy next time we need to call a taxi to get to the port. We were at the airport by 12:30.

[willysgrandma]

Nice detailed review.

 

Did the showers have a shower curtain or a shower door?

[silentbob007]

Thanks for the review. I take it that Newark is the closest airport to fly into? I'm probably going to go the way of Priceline/Hotwire for booking a hotel there ... is the airport area that bad or was it just the hotel you stayed at? Thanks.

[GMoney]

Thanks for your review; it's very well done. Where else did you stop other than New London?

[megr1125]

newark is the closest...the area isn't THAT bad....you just have to be careful of what hotel to choose...

 

i generally stay at, and recommend these 3 properties..all have airport shuttle and are about 40-45 bucks for a cab to the pier. All are adjacent to jersey gardens outlet mall, IKEA and there is a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in the parking lot.

 

there is a grocery store about 5 miles away, you would need a car or cab if you need to pick anything up. (it is in a mainly residential area and isn't scary!)

 

the hotels, all with addresses on Glimcher Realty Way (and all of which i have stayed in) and at exit 13A off the NJ Turnpike (the town will be Newrak/Elizabeth) are:

 

Courtyard and Residence Inn by Marriott and Country Inn & Suites. ....there is also an extneded stay america but i tend to skip them...no shuttle, no tissues, no shampoo.

 

The Country Inn and RI have a free breakfast, the courtyard offers one at extra charge, but they generally have a rate that includes it...i think it is about 10-12 bucks, so if the rate that includes bkfast for 2 is only about 20 bucks more, it is a deal.

 

Otherwise, there is a full service Marriott right at the airport that is fine. There are other hotels but there isn't much around them to eat and, if you are driving, unless you pay attention, have good directions and a good navigator, they are a PITA to get into and out of!

 

hth.

[megr1125]

Nice detailed review.

 

Did the showers have a shower curtain or a shower door?

 

our balcony room had the curved doors...no curtain.

[megr1125]

nice review....sorry about the motel.....

[bubbadog]

how were the fall colors????, did you have any rain??, were the ports easy to do,like taking tours,getting around,quality of the tours???,sounds as tho you had a fairly decent cruise overall,and thank you for the insight greatly appreciated:))

[petesweet]

Thanks for your review; it's very well done. Where else did you stop other than New London?

 

It was really a lovely itinerary. New London was a last-minute replacement for Newport because of problems a ship the size of Explorer would have in Newport. The city of New London said the Explorer was the best thing that ever happened to their little city, and they really showed their appreciation to us.

 

Other ports were Portland, Halifax, Saint John (we got fogged in and had to have a sea day there, unfortunately), Bar Harbor, and Boston.

 

[scopewest]

Great review, thanks for taking the time to post it!

[petesweet]

how were the fall colors????, did you have any rain??, were the ports easy to do,like taking tours,getting around,quality of the tours???,sounds as tho you had a fairly decent cruise overall,and thank you for the insight greatly appreciated:))

 

The colors were late this fall, so there wasn't much to see in the way of fall foliage, but that didn't spoil this trip. The weather was also unseasonably warm, and that made it perfect for walking tours. Fortunately, we had packed for warm and cold weather. No rain to speak of - just a little drizzle. Saint John day was foggy, however, and we could not go into port, which was a disappointment.

 

We did our own thing in the ports. I might suggest you investigate two that we had planned on but couldn't do. We wanted to go on the Little Lulu Lobster Boat in Bar Harbor (info@lululobsterboat.com), but that didn't work out because of our schedule. We did take the Ollie's Trolley tour there, and it was good. You can sign up on the pier for that. We also had planned to do the Down East Duck Adventure in Portland, but the vehicle had some mechanical trouble. info@downeastducktours.com

 

In Boston, we walked the Freedom trail.

[green eyed lady]

What did you do in Boston? We are sailing Explorer in 3 weeks...goes to Bermuda and Boston. Is there anything near the port? I was thinking of going to Fanuel Hall but have no idea how I would get there! Any suggestions?

[petesweet]

What did you do in Boston? We are sailing Explorer in 3 weeks...goes to Bermuda and Boston. Is there anything near the port? I was thinking of going to Fanuel Hall but have no idea how I would get there! Any suggestions?

 

Boston is a very friendly town for walkers. You are not near the city where you dock, but the ship has a shuttle ($12 each way) or you can take the Silverline bus (turn left off the ship and go down to the bus stop about a block or two down the street). The bus costs $1.25, and you need exact change. Once you get into the main area (Quicy's Market, etc.) everything is clear.

 

Google Boston's Freedom Trail and you will find a description of each stop along the way.

[eswanborg]

I was on this trip with my wife, two daughters and in-laws. Had a great time.

 

This was the best Royal Caribbean trip we've been on. The staff was VERY attentive and friendly - across the board. From the maintenance workers to the officers - all were great. The food was VERY good as well - better than any other cruise we've done (even better than our Celebrity trip). We lucked out and got a Royal Family Suite for the four of us - talk about space! And a balcony that could probably hold about 20. Was great.

 

Ports were great. New London, as others have said, was very nice and we were greeted very warmly. Took the girls to the aquarium - small'ish, but nice. Halifax we went on the "tall" ship excursion. Not so tall in the ship, but a very nice vessel and Captain Tim was great to talk with - cold however out in the harbor, take a coat. We did the Acadia National Park tour in Bar Harbor and it was perfect. Got a bit of history of the area and saw the highlights of the park - then were left with the majority of the day to explore town. Boston, we took ourselves over to the Museum of Science and got on the Duck Tour - very fun. Our 8 year old even got to drive while we were on the river. Then walked Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market (get a cab over - about $12 from the pier, then you can walk to almost anywhere). Boston is easy to do on your own.

 

Weather was very quirky. Had gorgeous days until Halifax - warm, but not hot, and sunny. The calmest water I've ever been on during our At Sea day to Halifax - how does a ship that size not create a wake? Then the fog set in - to the point that from Dizzy's on Deck 14, we couldn't see the front of the ship. Maybe 150 yards visibility for the whole day and be ready for that Fog Horn, it's loud if you're up front. Then cleared for Bar Harbor - about 85 by lunch and almost 90 in Boston. Then our last day, back to the fog - again, so thick we could barely see the water. I'll take the warm and sunny while in port, any day.

 

VERY few kids - we were also told about 30 total, I think we only counted about 20. The girls loved Adventure Ocean though - at most there were maybe 8 once. So they got to spend all their time together even though they should've technically been in different rooms. For anyone at the 3:00 Wednesday ice-show, my girls were the two who got pushed around by the skaters on the sleighs. They loved it.

 

The ship is great - second trip on her. But could be due for a dry dock visit soon. Several places that looked like they needed help - the handle on the outside of our balcony door was VERY corroded. They were even replacing carpeting in staterooms on our last sea day (with people staying in those rooms). Generally nice on first glance, but if you looked closely there were many details that were showing some wear. Not awful though.

 

Two surprises - the service in Portofino's was less than stellar - food was good, although not terribly better than the dining room (again, we thought the dining room was very good this time). Our waiters in the dining room took very good care of us - especially the girls (ages 8 & 4).

 

The other trouble we had was with the spa - and not the first time this has happened. They are always (so I'm told by my wife) VERY pushy about buying their products. To the point that my wife has decided she won't ever go back to them while on board. The massage is always great, but then the relaxation is killed by the high-pressure sales pitch. Well this time around that held true again and they really put my mother-in-law in a horrible spot. She had a scalp massage - full of oil and such. It was great. But part way through the woman asked if she wanted her hair blow dried at the end. "Sure" she said. On the way out she notices that her $29 massage has a bill of over $70 now because of the $40 blow dry. After speaking with the spa manager several times and fighting with the Purser's desk for 4 days they finally refunded the extra charges. She was never told of a price - or that there even was a cost - which we found to be extremely tacky and low-class.

 

[edit] - the one other surprise was how upset people were clearing Immigration in Bar Harbor. Granted, it's an odd process - the whole ship has to clear Immigration before leaving on a tender, or at some point in the day if not leaving the ship. It was sort of disorganized, with long lines of people waiting to see the officers. Now, it was very foggy early in the day and we were told that Immigration was late in boarding. But I place fault with Immigration - they had a whopping TWO agents in the Theatre to clear all passengers leaving on excursions. Really? Two agents to check passports of probably 800-1400 people? All of whom are anxious to get to their tours!! Seemed like very poor execution by them. The ship could have perhaps planned things out a little better, so the lines weren't so disorganized, but again, I think the fog and late arrival threw everyone. And it certainly wasn't the fault of the staff standing along those lines - so many people were attacking the cruise staff along the lines, it made me very angry with the passengers. They are just doing what they've been told to do. If you're that unhappy go find someone who can do something about it. Or complain to the cruise line - but don't attack the poor lady from Adventure Ocean who has to stand there for the morning and direct traffic.

 

All-in-all a fantastic trip. Hope the rest of you enjoyed it as much as we did.

 

Happy to answer questions if you have them.

 

eric

[eswanborg]

I guess the one other thing I would say is that I would NOT recommend the Candlewood Suites hotel in Jersey City. If you want anything other than a bed to sleep on the night before, this is not the "hotel" for you. Front Desk staff very UN-helpful. No restaurant. They really are a "long-term-stay" hotel as they claim and don't offer the normal niceties that one might expect from a standard hotel. Again, if you're just looking for a bed to sleep on, probably OK - but with kids or family I would not recommend.

[danp]

Loved the reviews.We will be on the November 4 cruise,Bermuda/Boston.A message to Eswanborg,in Boston we are thinking of taking our two granddaughters [9 & 11]on the duck tour.can you give me some info on the tour and how long it was.I think it would be great for the kids.

Thank you in advance

[eswanborg]

Sure - it was 80 minutes. You can do it round-trip from either the Museum of Science or Copley Plaza. Tickets are in the neighborhood of $25 for adults (can't recall exactly). You can also purchase tickets up to 5 days in advance from their web site. We were a little surprised when we arrived at the Museum because we got there at about 9:45 and got tickets for the "next" tour which wasn't until 11:00. Now they did say to be outside in line by 10:30, so the tour could actually leave at 11:00, but we hadn't planned on that delay - so perhaps an advanced purchase could help that, but I couldn't say for sure. Our girls loved the trip. And as I said, our driver let our 8 year old and a 5 year old drive the Duck while we were out on the river. We enjoyed the trip too - you get a quick and good tour of the city, and on the limited one-day stop it's done pretty quickly which is nice.

 

The taxi stand at the pier suggested the Museum instead of Copley because it would be closer/cheaper. And that put us just two stops from Fanueil Hall via the subway, so we were into the heart of downtown quickly after the tour. Also a pretty good spot to do part of the Freedom Trail if that's of interest to your granddaughters - you could work backwards from the Hall to Boston Common and see some interesting sites along the way.

 

Hope that's helpful. I would certainly suggest the Duck Tour as a way to see the city.

 

eric

[grandsix]

Great job explaining details. We did the 8/31 cruise and had a great time.

For "willysgrandma", the showers have sliding doors. For "eswanborg", if you feel you are being pressured, go to the spa manager and tell them. We are sure you will receive an apology.

[Robkatcruisers]

What did you do in Boston? We are sailing Explorer in 3 weeks...goes to Bermuda and Boston. Is there anything near the port? I was thinking of going to Fanuel Hall but have no idea how I would get there! Any suggestions?

 

 

However you get to the city the museum of fine arts is great. I am sooo not a museum person but have been there on highschool field trips from Vermont no less....seing Fenway park is cool even if your not a baseball fan and always Quincy Market....I havent been to Boston in years but loved it when I was there.

[eswanborg]

Oh, we've gone to the manager on several ships and they did not have any good explaination for their high-pressure tactics, much less an apology. It's the way the Spa company works - they're an outside company that operates the Spa on RC and Celebrity and they all work the same way. It's just their standard operating procedure. That's why we've (mostly my wife) decided to not give them any more money - we're done using the spa on RCCI or Celebrity.

[happy cruzer]

Oh, we've gone to the manager on several ships and they did not have any good explaination for their high-pressure tactics, much less an apology. It's the way the Spa company works - they're an outside company that operates the Spa on RC and Celebrity and they all work the same way. It's just their standard operating procedure. That's why we've (mostly my wife) decided to not give them any more money - we're done using the spa on RCCI or Celebrity.

Yes, beside the hard sell, some spas make a killing on the add on treatments. Happened to me the very first time I had a massage on Princess long ago. I figured it was a good lesson and I paid.

 

Now - no matter where I am spa, restaurant, any where, if the server says would you like xyz, I say is there an extra charge? I hate to be tacky but they are counting on you not wanting to ask. I rather be tacky up front than end up arguing later. It happens on bottled water, salads, and yea at the spa too. Beware the add on.

 

Thanks for the details in your review.