Explorer of the Seas Alaska Review August 20-27, 2018

We were on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas 7-night Inside passage Alaska sailing from August 20-27, 2018. This was a bucket list trip for us.

We booked a year in advance due to limited season/sailing. It was my wife and myself and 3 of my older boys. We flew into Seattle from Chicago the day before and stayed downtown at the Embassy Suites (typical hotel); it's centrally located and only a few miles from the Port of Seattle which is what we liked.

It was about 20 minute limo ride from our hotel to port (we left at 9:30am) as I like to arrive at the port early. Got through check-in quickly (need your passport) and waited about 20 minutes for clear and were on board by 10:40 or so..about 40 minutes from drop off to a drink in hand. We are Gold, but they just had one long line and folks just queued up and boarded.

We had an outside Balcony cabin Starboard side on deck 7 aft. Pretty std room. Older boat (Voyager class built in 2000) so limited plugs and no USB (bring a strip); plenty of storage under the bed; our boys were originally in an inside cabin, but 2 days before sailing Royal called and upgrade them to a port balcony room on deck 7 which was great. Hot water was plentiful. Our cabin steward was very attentive and we had 4-5 towel animals during the trip which is always fun to see.

We purchased a 3 dinner specialty package prior to the cruise at a great price. Chops steaks very good; Giovanni’s Italian just ok (appetizers much better than entrees); Izumi sushi (did lunch and dinner) pretty good. MDM very good for dinner. Excellent service. Lunch not good at all; breakfast just ok.

Windjammer buffet…it’s a buffet. Made to order omelets were very good; lunch was solid and we thought better than breakfast where a lot of items were cold that should have been warm.

Promenade…we had the unlimited drink package so specialty coffees included; snacks and sandwiches for a mid-day snack. There are 4 sea days on this itinerary, so the drink package for our family made a lot of sense. Keep in mind that Royal requires as of this sailing that all members in the room purchase the package if they are over 21.

Entertainment: Shows were very good; lots of talent; game shows/trivia fun; comedian was good; magician was very good; Rbar tastings -- Martinis, Classic Cocktails -- extra cost -- were a lot of fun and the Rbar was our go-to bar and Jose was awesome; if you go, tell him Jeff says hi; ship music was great as usual...piano / guitar in schooner bar and they had a 4-woman string quartet that played that was very good

Ship flow…busy as you’d expect on the Promenade and the buffet. Otherwise, ship did well. Less crowded and no kids in the Solarium pool; Jacuzzi’s were busy due to the nice weather. Smoke, unfortunately, in the casino and some crept into the Schooner bar

Destinations – weather was high 70s/low 80s so amazing and NOT the normal 50s and rainy weather

• Juneau – capital of Alaska. Booked an excursion to see Mendenhall glacier and then went whale watching. Amazing country and scenery; saw humpback whales, Pod of Orcas, Harbor Seals, bald eagles, salmon
  
• Skagway – very small city 875 full time..lots of jewelry stores; a must see is the National Park service Klondike gold rush museum…We did the White Pass and Yukon railway trip – amazing. Then did an afternoon zodiac wildlife raft adventure – which was a lot of fun
  
• Inside passage at the Glacier was so cool. The captain did 360 rotations of the boat for an hour -- saw a ton of icebergs -- and we were about a half a mile from the glacier. They may choose a different glacier than initially proposed due to ice...we ended up at Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier.
  
• Victoria BC – City tour, Butchart gardens and tea service; beautiful; lot of food. Not as good as the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, but still beautiful. Bus trip 45 min outside Victoria
  

Debark..did self-assist time from leaving our room to waiting for the limo was 10 minutes. Needed your passport to exit customs

Tips:

• Bring your passports for all travelers
  
• Make sure you put your phones in Airplane mode (boys got the internet package but it was slow); in Canada get a day pass so you don't get hit with International roaming charges
  
• Bring a good pair binoculars and camera for site seeing on your balcony or on decks 11/12
  
• Book excursions as early as you can…small towns and only so many slots
  
• Get drink package – 4 sea days
  
• Dress in layers; prepare for all kinds of weather
  
• Book a balcony for sure
  
• Hidden gem the jacuzzi, steam, sauna, showers in the spa – no cost
  

Go and see this beautiful land; it won’t disappoint.

I am missing something here.

Confused about your sail dates.

August 20th 2018 is in the future/

Were sailing August 24th 2018

Thanks

My bad. July. Let me see if I can edit

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We were on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas 7-night Inside passage Alaska sailing from JULY 20-27, 2018 (I misstated the date of our sailing in the header). This was a bucket list trip for us.

We booked a year in advance due to limited season/sailing. It was my wife and myself and 3 of my older boys. We flew into Seattle from Chicago the day before and stayed downtown at the Embassy Suites (typical hotel); it's centrally located and only a few miles from the Port of Seattle which is what we liked.

It was about 20 minute limo ride from our hotel to port (we left at 9:30am) as I like to arrive at the port early. Got through check-in quickly (need your passport) and waited about 20 minutes for clear and were on board by 10:40 or so..about 40 minutes from drop off to a drink in hand. We are Gold, but they just had one long line and folks just queued up and boarded.

We had an outside Balcony cabin Starboard side on deck 7 aft. Pretty std room. Older boat (Voyager class built in 2000) so limited plugs and no USB (bring a strip); plenty of storage under the bed; our boys were originally in an inside cabin, but 2 days before sailing Royal called and upgrade them to a port balcony room on deck 7 which was great. Hot water was plentiful. Our cabin steward was very attentive and we had 4-5 towel animals during the trip which is always fun to see.

We purchased a 3 dinner specialty package prior to the cruise at a great price. Chops steaks very good; Giovanni’s Italian just ok (appetizers much better than entrees); Izumi sushi (did lunch and dinner) pretty good. MDM very good for dinner. Excellent service. Lunch not good at all; breakfast just ok.

Windjammer buffet…it’s a buffet. Made to order omelets were very good; lunch was solid and we thought better than breakfast where a lot of items were cold that should have been warm.

Promenade…we had the unlimited drink package so specialty coffees included; snacks and sandwiches for a mid-day snack. There are 4 sea days on this itinerary, so the drink package for our family made a lot of sense. Keep in mind that Royal requires as of this sailing that all members in the room purchase the package if they are over 21.

Entertainment: Shows were very good; lots of talent; game shows/trivia fun; comedian was good; magician was very good; Rbar tastings -- Martinis, Classic Cocktails -- extra cost -- were a lot of fun and the Rbar was our go-to bar and Jose was awesome; if you go, tell him Jeff says hi; ship music was great as usual...piano / guitar in schooner bar and they had a 4-woman string quartet that played that was very good

Ship flow…busy as you’d expect on the Promenade and the buffet. Otherwise, ship did well. Less crowded and no kids in the Solarium pool; Jacuzzi’s were busy due to the nice weather. Smoke, unfortunately, in the casino and some crept into the Schooner bar

Destinations – weather was high 70s/low 80s so amazing and NOT the normal 50s and rainy weather

• Juneau – capital of Alaska. Booked an excursion to see Mendenhall glacier and then went whale watching. Amazing country and scenery; saw humpback whales, Pod of Orcas, Harbor Seals, bald eagles, salmon
  
• Skagway – very small city 875 full time..lots of jewelry stores; a must see is the National Park service Klondike gold rush museum…We did the White Pass and Yukon railway trip – amazing. Then did an afternoon zodiac wildlife raft adventure – which was a lot of fun
  
• Inside passage at the Glacier was so cool. The captain did 360 rotations of the boat for an hour -- saw a ton of icebergs -- and we were about a half a mile from the glacier. They may choose a different glacier than initially proposed due to ice...we ended up at Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier.
  
• Victoria BC – City tour, Butchart gardens and tea service; beautiful; lot of food. Not as good as the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, but still beautiful. Bus trip 45 min outside Victoria
  

Debark..did self-assist time from leaving our room to waiting for the limo was 10 minutes. Needed your passport to exit customs

Tips:

• Bring your passports for all travelers
  
• Make sure you put your phones in Airplane mode (boys got the internet package but it was slow); in Canada get a day pass so you don't get hit with International roaming charges
  
• Bring a good pair binoculars and camera for site seeing on your balcony or on decks 11/12
  
• Book excursions as early as you can…small towns and only so many slots
  
• Get drink package – 4 sea days
  
• Dress in layers; prepare for all kinds of weather
  
• Book a balcony for sure
  
• Hidden gem the jacuzzi, steam, sauna, showers in the spa – no cost
  

Go and see this beautiful land; it won’t disappoint.

Beautiful review.

Thanks for posting

18 days till we sail.

TY

Just as clarification. You don’t need a passport as long as you have a certified copy of your birth certificate and an ID like a drivers license.

Just as clarification. You don’t need a passport as long as you have a certified copy of your birth certificate and an ID like a drivers license.

They did need passports because of their excursion in Skagway. Birth certificate and picture ID would not have been enough to cross into Canada on the train.

They did need passports because of their excursion in Skagway. Birth certificate and picture ID would not have been enough to cross into Canada on the train.

Correct. We had to show our passports on the White Pass railroad because we entered Canada.

Very nice review, we were on the ship in June.

We did this same sailing last year on Explorer. Alaska is so amazing and we plan to return some day.

We will be back on Explorer next month on one of her Pacific Coastals. By any chance, do you remember who your Cruise Director was? Our Meet and Mingle group would love to know.

Thank you!

We did this same sailing last year on Explorer. Alaska is so amazing and we plan to return some day.

We will be back on Explorer next month on one of her Pacific Coastals. By any chance, do you remember who your Cruise Director was? Our Meet and Mingle group would love to know.

 

Thank you!

Enjoy your Pacific Coastal. We did that one last year and absolutely loved it.

I did this itinerary last year. It was great. Silvia (part of the cruise director's activity staff) was a blast to hangout with. My absolute favorite staff member!

Also, I thought I was going insane and actually checked my calendar to see how far in August we are in hahaha

Doing this exact itinerary next year on Ovation.

Definite bucket list cruise for us and we will be travelling from the UK and spending some pre cruise days in both Vancouver and Seattle also.

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I really enjoyed your review - we are considering this itinerary on Ovation for next year.

Who was the cruise director for your sailing so I can update the cruise director list?

Correct. We had to show our passports on the White Pass railroad because we entered Canada.

I’m on this cruise in a couple of weeks and we did confirm that a certified copy of a birth certificate is sufficient.

I’m on this cruise in a couple of weeks and we did confirm that a certified copy of a birth certificate is sufficient.

Certified copy of birth certificate and picture ID is sufficient for the cruise since it is a closed loop cruise. A passport is needed for any excursion that is going into Canada. White Pass railroad crosses into Canada and you will not be allowed to board the train without producing your passport.

Certified copy of birth certificate and picture ID is sufficient for the cruise since it is a closed loop cruise. A passport is needed for any excursion that is going into Canada. White Pass railroad crosses into Canada and you will not be allowed to board the train without producing your passport.

After reading your post, I spent more than an hour on the phone with an escalation manager at RCI. She did a lot of research, called several areas, and followed up with me a few times. Bottom line is that the train without other tours does not require a passport. The information is available on the “what to bring” section on the shore excursion summary page. It specifically says to bring certified identification. We checked other tours that did say that a passport was required. Stand alone train did not.

The original poster needed a passport because they went into the Yukon after the train.

After reading your post, I spent more than an hour on the phone with an escalation manager at RCI. She did a lot of research, called several areas, and followed up with me a few times. Bottom line is that the train without other tours does not require a passport. The information is available on the “what to bring” section on the shore excursion summary page. It specifically says to bring certified identification. We checked other tours that did say that a passport was required. Stand alone train did not.

The original poster needed a passport because they went into the Yukon after the train.

Our excursion on the White Pass railroad DID enter into the Yukon. If you did not have a passport you were not allowed to board. It was specifically stated in the tour description. I believe there is a different excursion on the White Pass that does not enter Canada, so no passport needed for that one. Perhaps that is the one you're describing.

Our excursion on the White Pass railroad DID enter into the Yukon. If you did not have a passport you were not allowed to board. It was specifically stated in the tour description. I believe there is a different excursion on the White Pass that does not enter Canada, so no passport needed for that one. Perhaps that is the one you're describing.

Our excursion also crossed the border and passports were checked before we left. Two people even were showing visas, forget where they were from.

I was on this sailing too! We really lucked out with the weather! Thanks for your review!

For those asking the cruise director was still Topi but he left after this sailing. I don't know who replaced him. Topi was great!

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I really enjoyed your review - we are considering this itinerary on Ovation for next year.

 

 

 

Who was the cruise director for your sailing so I can update the cruise director list?

Topi Ylönen

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