Explorer 4-10-04 First time cruisers opinion

[lovetovak]

Just back and had the time of our lives. Please keep in mind that we had no expectations and were traveling with open minds.

 

EMBARKTION: I thought the process to be a little slow. We arrived at the pier at 12:30 pm and finally stepped on the ship at 2:30. At the entrance to the pier, we were handed a paper that needed to be filled out in order to enter the Bahamas. It is necessary even if you have a passport. We were told to fill it out prior to going through security. We believed the paper was needed by security. it was not and could have easily been filled out once were were in the check in lines. The check in is set up with different lines for Decks 2 and 3, 4 and 5, 6 and 7, etc. We happened to be on Deck 6 and WOW was the line long!!!! It took 1.5 hours to get through while there was no wait for any of the other lines.

 

There were 1200 kids on board and the staff was challanged to keep things under control and did an excellent job. They enforced the 11:00 pm curfew for kids under 17 the best they could. There were kids out past then, but they were not causing trouble. I did not see or hear any unruly kids although some that had a litte too much to drink. (we were all there once, weren't we?)

 

Rooms are beautiful and large enough for 2 people but could be cramped with more. We were on deck 6 with a view of the royal promenade. There was no problem with noise. We were above the liquor store. We even found the beds to be comfortable.

 

Dinning Room: (I will get to the food later)I have to say after reading the fashion board, I was quite stressed about wearing the correct clothing in the dinning room. I now know better. Let me just say for formal nights, wear what you would wear to a wedding (Suit for men, nice dress for women). Do not stress about formal gowns!! Every other night is considered casual and most women wore capris, sundresses, fancy dresses, some skorts. I saw most men in polo shirts, caribbean shirts, some shorts, and even a pair of jeans or two. Ties are not necessary for casual nights. I was not offended in any way by what others wore.

 

The pools were quite crowded and finding a chair was a challenge though not impossible. The decks were also quite windy. If you want to be near the pool and "the action" you may have to get up early and have your morning coffee at the pool. It was hard to tell what chairs are being held by chair hoggers because there were so many people that they could have been in a hot tub or swimming. Our plan was to go to the pool in the afternoon and anyone that has been in the sun all morning and is looking like crisp bacon will have left and we got their chairs-it worked.

 

FOOD:

We ate in the Windjammer each morning and found the food to be great though a little cold. Again, many people were saving tables but we did not find it necessary. There was always someone leaving when we were ready to sit down. One morning there was a couple that sat at a table for 6 and we just asked if we could join them.

 

Midnight buffets were OK. There was a poolside party with a midnight buffet set up. By the time my DH decided to get something to eat, it was being dismantled. So don't wait too long as they don't keep the food out forever.

 

Cafe Promenade finger sandwiches were great. Pizza was great. It was just enough before retiring for the night.

 

Coffee was not as bad as I read about. It certainly does not deserve the bad rap it gets on these boards.

 

Food in the dinning room was awesome. I enjoyed every meal I had. We had Rib-eye, Prime Rib, NY Strip, Lobster and Shrimp, Risoto, delious soups, Shrimp ravioli(Awesome), talapia, Mahi Mahi. It was all fabulous!! There was no ranch steak! The flourless chocolate cake was my favorite dessert. DD loved the creme brule". We did not leave the table hungry.

 

Ports of call:

Our first stop was Bahamas and we toured Atlantis. It was OK but rushed. We did not have access to the pools. Cost of the tour was $25.00. We probably should have stayed on the ship and enjoyed the quiet time.

 

Next port was Jamaica. We loved it!! I would vacation there in a heartbeat. We booked Dunns River Falls with Peat Taylor and what an awesome guy he is. We were first to Dunn's river falls and had no problem mon climbing. A guide will take you up the falls and you can take as much time as you need. However, you do need to have enough leg strength to take some pretty steps up. We did have a few that opted out after a few climbs. When were were through with the climb we meet Peat back at the bus and he took us through some country roads to Fern Gully. It is beautiful. We stopped at a couple of roadside vendors who had wood carvings and some bright cloth. From there it was time for lunch and Peat recommended a couple of different places. We opted to go to Margarittaville. That was fun. Peat would have picked us up and taken us anywhere we wanted to go but we decided to go back to the ship. Peat was available to us for the day and at $30 (I think)or $40 a person it was a great deal. The dinner theme that evening was Caribbean and many people came back to the ship and to dinner in their new caribbean wear from Jamaica!

 

We spent a lot of time on the ship because Grand Cayman was cancelled due to high winds. The winds also caused some excursions to be cancelled in Cozumel. I would strongly suggest checking with any outside companies what their cancellation policy is in the event you don't make it to a port.

 

Leaving the ship was much easier though it took 45 minutes for our luggage to appear. We had plenty of time to make our 11:15 am flight from Miami.

 

Again this was our first cruise and it was an awesome experience. We are hooked on crusing and will definately go again. Any problems we had were quickly corrected.

 

Feel free to ask me questions.

 

4-10-04 Explorer of the Seas

[jnnifer01]

Thanks for the great review. My DH and I will be doing the Eastern itinerary next year on EOS. I was wondering, do they have a Ben & Jerry's on the Explorer?

Also, is there a charge for roller blading, mini golf, and rock climbing?

Thanks!

 

 

Explorer of the Seas

(Royal Suite) 4/17/05, 7 Day Eastern Caribbean (2nd Anniversary)

 

Carnival Pride

(Category 11) 4/25/04, 7 day Mexican Riviera (1 year Anniversary!)

 

Carnival Conquest

(Category 12)4/27/03,7 Day Western Caribbean(Honeymoon & 1st cruise)

 

Notail

 

Jennifer & Shaun on the Conquest

[lovetovak]

Yes, there is ben and jerry's stand for a charge.

 

No fee for rockclimbing, mini golf, or inline skating. Also no fee for ice skating or basketball.

 

4-10-04 Explorer of the Seas

[first_timer]

Thank you so much for your review! WE leave on Explorer this Saturday, and I cannot wait! By any chance, do you still have your Compasses? I would like to know who the Captain, Cruise Director and Social Hostess are currently.

 

Still no charge for Johnny Rockets, right?

 

Thanks so much!

 

Explorer 04/2004

Mercury 04/2003

Rhapsody 09/2002

Century 02/2002

[dougp26364]

Thanks for taking time to write out the review. It's of interest to me since I have a cruise booked on the Explorer later this year.

 

I think as far as the food goes, there are a lot of very experienced cruisers here that have known better times. As it is, we go out to high end restaurants every now and again so I have something to compare service and quality to, if not past cruises. We've always found the food and service to be good if not spectacular. It's certainly worth the price paid for the cruise.

 

Glad to hear you made you flight easy. Our flight was originally after noon but has been moved up to just before noon. I'm still going to sweat it a little but I feel better about it now.

 

Future cruises

Monarch OTS - Mexico Baja 1/05

Explorer OTS - Eastern Caribbean 11/04

 

Past cruises

Vision OTS - Alaska 7/03

Legend OTS - Alaska 7/02

[lovetovak]

The captain is Captain Gronhaug. James Andrews is cruise director. The social hostess was Julie ????. she was leaving the ship when we docked in Miami for a vacation.

 

4-10-04 Explorer of the Seas

[jnnifer01]

Thanks for the info, lovetovak. I have to wait a whole year to see it

But, I can't wait!

 

 

Explorer of the Seas

(Royal Suite) 4/17/05, 7 Day Eastern Caribbean (2nd Anniversary)

 

Carnival Pride

(Category 11) 4/25/04, 7 day Mexican Riviera (1 year Anniversary!)

 

Carnival Conquest

(Category 12)4/27/03,7 Day Western Caribbean(Honeymoon & 1st cruise)

 

Notail

 

Jennifer & Shaun on the Conquest

[PhoenixCruiser]

Great review! Thanks

 

Navigator of the Seas 6/26/04

 

 

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[jhodg56010]

Margaret, I loved your review. Am not at all surprised that you plan another cruise, as that is what most people do after their first experience on a cruise. It was a pleasure meeting you on the Explorer. In the photo displays I saw a lovely picture of you and your husband so I hope you purchased it. Not everyone gets flattering pictures on the ship, but I thought yours was especially nice.

 

Wasn't the ice show great! Everyone loved it.

 

Those scheduled to sail the Explorer in the next few months have something really good to look forward to.

 

jim

[BLUEICE]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review of the EOS.

 

Can you tell me if anybody was lucky enough to do a pier upgrade or was the sign out that said no cabins available?

 

I am going on the Explorer Sept 19/04 and can hardly wait.

 

Beside the ice show, is there anything not to be missed?

 

Did anybody have any luck at the casino or bingo?

 

Thanks for answering my questions.

 

Wendy

 

Grand Princess - Sept 2002

Voyager - Sept 2003

Explorer

until EOS with friends from the VOS

- Sept 2004

[mcaron]

Margaret, Nice review. I sahre your sentiments on the cruise as we were there with you. This being our 15th cruise, I must say it was one of the best. Beyond our Table assignment in the dining room where my family of 4, me my wife and two daughters, ages 7&9 were seated at a table for Nine with another family that had a six month old and the inlaws , None who spoke english very well. We enjoy the dinibg experience and look forward to meeting others through the dining experience, We would have been better off requesting a table for 4. Being Platinum members We had expected more from RCCL in terms of dining table assignment. The icing on the cake was that the Head waiter and dining room manager did not want to hear our concerns and pushed it all off on the people in the Miami office. I have learned from this one to always check my table on day one. In any event the ship was wonderful and the staff was excellent. The ice show was beyond expectations.

 

For those booking with Peat Taylor. Peat did a nice job, However, if you book with him get off the ship early. We arrived at the recommended time of 1/2 hour after docking and were lleft waiting for 35 minutes for a bus to take us, then we sat on the bus waiting for people who were late. In effect by the time we got to the falls it was packed with people waiting to climb.

 

All and All a great ship and a wonderful crew. The Childrens programs were well run and the kids had a great time. Would recommend this ship to all.

[raytownlady]

Hi,

Thanks for your detailed review of your cruise on the EOS. We are sailing 10/10/04 and are anxiously counting the days. I have a question for you, you said in your review that you arrived at the port at 12:30 but it 1 1/2 hours to board the ship. What time did they start embarkation? My DH and I are arriving in Miami a day early and we would love to be able to board before the rush.

 

Thanks ,

 

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Until we're on the Explorer of the Seas !

 

[BLUEICE]

You are very welcome for the information. I can only assume that it made sense to you.

 

Please let me know if you decide to take advantage of a shipboard credit or if you called RCCL and asked about it.

 

Grand Princess - Sept 2002

Voyager - Sept 2003

Explorer

until EOS with friends from the VOS

- Sept 2004