Ken at the beach

The slashing had already started. Look at the music hall. There used to be Tribute bands in there on every cruise. Since last year nothing but the hose band playing other than Icon. My own personal feeling is that there were disagreements in the direction the company is heading.

Some pictures of the Emporium Marketplace. Even here ygey have subdivided the searing into may different areas to it does not feel as busy. The tables are always set with napkins, cutlery, salt and pepper grinders and water glasses. Have a seat and a host will be by in minutes to take your drink order and it's there waiting by the time you get back with your food.

Internet went out on the plane. Getting close to Detroit. Anyway, here is yhe complimentary wine list. There is a very extensive list that can be purchased by the bottle from $20 to $4000

We discovered the complimentary self serve laundromat on the last day. There are two on board. Deck 9 and 10. Would have been great for drying the bathing suits. We slso did some shopping yhe last day. We had $200 euros of obc. Everything on board is in euros. I let Sarah spend most of it in tje spa buying a bunch of things that I have no idea what they do but it made her happy. There was $24 left and this was $36 so in the end my on board bill was $12.

Our initial plan when we knew we were returning late was going to be room service which is available 24 hours and no charge. Notice the filet on the menu. There is also a separate breakfast menu that is left on your bed every evening.

It's been a couple days since my last post but unfortunately we are now flying home so I have a bit of time to continue. Friday was San Francisco. 9am to 11pm. That is one thing Explora tries to do...longer port stops. I woke up early to catch our arrival into San Francisco but unfortunately the fog did not co operate. Beautiful views later though. We had Go Cars booked for the day and a behind the scenes tour of Alcatraz in the evening so it was a very long day. While the Go Cars were fun and a great way to see the city we ran into issues with the GPS not working do at one point waited around for a repair truck to come out, they got it going and then 5 minutes later it was out again. We were navigating with Google maps and the paper map they gave us. In the end they did offer us a 100% refund We turned our car in and walked to the terminal for the short boat ride to Alcatraz. Only a couple of pictures but the behind the scenes tour was interesting and definitely worth doing. Rule number 5. May need to post this in my son's room since he just moved back home. Tired from a long day we headed back to the ship at 8:30. The Emporium Marketplace was open until 9. I will refrain from referring to it as the buffet since there are not many buffets on ships where you walk in at 8:30 at night and have a plate of crab claws followed by fresh cooked shrimp and lobster. There were veggies, potatoes and other assorted dishes but I passed on all of those extras, I figure I can get those on my next venture into the WJ.

It's actually more casual than I thought.

If you were each booked solo in a cabin then the fact that you were assigned separate dining rooms would not matter since there is no such thing as a table for one. Just show up at either restaurant for one of your tables.

Yes, provide yhe other booking numbers to your agent and they can take care of that for you.

TA's use a separate booking engine and can see exactly what they are booking. You are using Royals website that leaves much to be desired so you really wont get much help as Royal never does tell you the exact category you are booking for guaranteeson their consumer site.

Lunch today was at Sakura. No reservations needed for lunch. One thing I have noticed is that there is a lot of teamwork. If any waiter is walking buy and sees an empty plate they will remove it or if your drink is empty they will offer you another one. I feel like I am saying "Joe" is getting it a fair bit. Teriyaki strip loin for lunch with some sushi rolls to start.2 bites gone before I took the photo.

Tasted as good as they looked as well.

It's already dead. Not on Icon or Utopia.

A small amount of retail on board including some very high end watch shops which include the only Rolex store at sea. The Rolex store is limited to two sales per day and one watch per suite. Because they have secured inventory guests can bypass the traditional wait times of up to a year that are encountered st land based stores. They have had guests book a cruise just to purchase a watch. The other retail is all composed eco friendly and sustainable products, think clothing made from fishing nets and recycled water bottles.

There is a small casino on board. 3 table games, roulette, baccarat and blackjack and 18 slot machines.

Some pictures of the elevators, stairwells and hallways. Speaking of elevators, in the first 2 and a bit days we have only shared an elevator 3 times. Your current floor in the lobby is lit. Artwork in the hallways. Also, a lot more carpeted areas vs tiled...softer of the feet. There are mirrors everywhere and they are immaculately clean, so much so I keep thinking someone is beside me when its actually me. The ship model

Still very comparable when you start adding in all the extras that you need to pay for on Royal.

The first of our 2 port stops was Astoria. Nothing really planner other than to head to town and go to Bowpicker fish and chips. Very limited menu. Tuna as opposed to the traditional cod or halibut. Delicious. There was a free shuttle from where the ship docked into town which was a 10 minute drive or a 45 minute walk. It was another 10 minute walk to Bowpickers. After lunch we decided to tour the Columbia River Maritime museum which included a tour of the Lightship Columbia which is in effect a portable lighthouse. Mooring lines from a different perspective On the way back we met the singer from the show on board and ended up walking the 45 minutes back to the ship talking to her. We also had a helicopter evac in the early am that woke me up.

This 6 day sailing is simple not long enough to fully appreciate the food options and the wide variety of menu options.

There are no drink packages, no packages of any kind, it's all included. Except to unlock my room or exit the ship I have never pulled out my seapass card.

There is a spa on board. They do offer a number of "treatments" at an additional cost however the hydrotherapy pool, wet and dry sauna, heated beds and salt cave are all included. A few pictures. One thing I wound interesting is that unlike most lines Explora does not contract out their spa services or retail so there are no sales pitches. No pictures of the saunas or heated chairs as they were in use at the time. There were also scented showers available.

A few pictures of the cigar lounge and whiskey bar. While I have not been there at night I did step into the cigar bar and there was not a trace of smoke. Definitely a very good ventilation system on board.

Makes it real hard to go to the restaurants. There was also a whole roasted pig at the carving station

Sorry, not a wine drinker. There was a list of a dozen or two included wines, I just did not look closely at it. I will post a list later of some of the premium drinks at the whiskey bar and the upcharge.

A JS without any add ons on the Wonder is the same price as the Suite on Explora. Yes Explora is all inclusive other than some high end wines and drinks. Regarding the wifi, each guest can connect 3 devices simultaneously.