Explorer is showing its age

[HB Cruiser]

Thanks for the head's up. It's not what we wanted to hear. We are veterans cruisers and have only been on one ship that was in bad shape with worn furniture, rust, dirty carpeting, etc. That was the Galaxy out of Galveston. It must be my German heritage as I expect things to be in tip-top shape and spotlessly clean. All ships take a beating so that's no excuse. When we were on the Mariner out of Port Canaveral, she was exquisite.

 

I guess that you get disappointed a lot on a cruise then. I have NEVER seen a ship that I would say was in "tip-top shape." Yes the staff is continuously painting, coating, replacing carpet, and other things but if you look you can always find something that needs attention.

 

Am I being over critical, no. These ships are sooooooooooooooo big the staff can never catch up. It is a constant battle. Heck I own a small 16 lane bowling center and cannot keep up with everything, I am sure customers can find things here that need attention.

 

One thing you will find though, both my bowling center and the ships, is they are always CLEAN!!!

 

Tim

[madforcruising]

Just back from Oasis and guess what there was rust to be seen on the ship.

I´d say there´s not a single ship afloat that does not have rust.

[MrPete]

The only wear and tear I noticed on my last sailing almost 2 years ago was deck 11. The rest of the ship looked great, including our cabin on deck 10. But they were constantly painting the balconies on our deck the whole trip, which fouled the air in the corridors.

 

I was hoping there's would be a fix up on deck 11 during its drydock, but it could be done during wetdock as well.

[cruisinfanatic]

I was on board in April '09 and Jan 2010(First cruise after dry dock). No noticeable differences.

New pool deck, new seating in the theater, much new carpet in stairwells and hallways to name a few

[houlacruiser]

New pool deck, new seating in the theater, much new carpet in stairwells and hallways to name a few

 

Thank you! It seems that everyone just skipped over my post about the things that WERE upgraded lol. Maybe I should list them...

The new flooring/decking on deck 11 around the main pool areas.

New furniture in the solarium.

New seating in the theater.

New sound system in the theater.

Many areas of new carpet.

New furniture in the aquarium bar and some other lounge areas.

Many cabins have new flat screen tv's. (I prefer the older ones, and YES I've had both)

If we want to "call a spade a spade" you have to acknowledge both sides of the coin. Yes there are areas of wear and tear on a ship that holds over 3,000 guests 365 days a year, but overall I think that the Explorer is a beautiful ship. The staff is constantly cleaning and shining the interior, and there wasn't one port that we were in that the jumpsuit crews weren't painting and priming. Everyone in our group commented on how clean the ship was. I'd rather have slightly worn in areas but clean!

[HB Cruiser]

Thank you! It seems that everyone just skipped over my post about the things that WERE upgraded lol. Maybe I should list them...

The new flooring/decking on deck 11 around the main pool areas.

New furniture in the solarium.

New seating in the theater.

New sound system in the theater.

Many areas of new carpet.

New furniture in the aquarium bar and some other lounge areas.

Many cabins have new flat screen tv's. (I prefer the older ones, and YES I've had both)

If we want to "call a spade a spade" you have to acknowledge both sides of the coin. Yes there are areas of wear and tear on a ship that holds over 3,000 guests 365 days a year, but overall I think that the Explorer is a beautiful ship. The staff is constantly cleaning and shining the interior, and there wasn't one port that we were in that the jumpsuit crews weren't painting and priming. Everyone in our group commented on how clean the ship was. I'd rather have slightly worn in areas but clean!

 

DING DING DING. We have a winner!

 

Tim

[jd1966]

Just back from Oasis and guess what there was rust to be seen on the ship.

I´d say there´s not a single ship afloat that does not have rust.

Sort of like pimples and grey hair.....:eek:

[Tyler80]

So if all the staterooms need to be overhauled and the tv's are bad, what the heck went on when Explorer was in drydock??

[InsideCruiser]

So if all the staterooms need to be overhauled and the tv's are bad, what the heck went on when Explorer was in drydock??

 

I realize post 31 was a full 2 posts before yours but still ... :)

[Tyler80]

I realize post 31 was a full 2 posts before yours but still ... :)

 

Ok got it. I find it odd that some staterooms got flat screen upgrades and others didn't? Oh well, it will all be upgraded someday I suppose.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Thank you! It seems that everyone just skipped over my post about the things that WERE upgraded lol. Maybe I should list them...

 

The new flooring/decking on deck 11 around the main pool areas.

 

New furniture in the solarium.

 

New seating in the theater.

 

New sound system in the theater.

 

Many areas of new carpet.

 

New furniture in the aquarium bar and some other lounge areas.

 

Many cabins have new flat screen tv's. (I prefer the older ones, and YES I've had both)

 

If we want to "call a spade a spade" you have to acknowledge both sides of the coin. Yes there are areas of wear and tear on a ship that holds over 3,000 guests 365 days a year, but overall I think that the Explorer is a beautiful ship. The staff is constantly cleaning and shining the interior, and there wasn't one port that we were in that the jumpsuit crews weren't painting and priming. Everyone in our group commented on how clean the ship was. I'd rather have slightly worn in areas but clean!

 

Thanks for the update! We;re going to miss you next week! I have a question, my DD was on Explorer 5/22 and she said the pool towels are now very small. She is a small girl and she said she needed 3 towels to cover the lounge chair so she could lay down.

 

Can others tell me their opinion of the towels. I know you now get them by the pool with your seapass and I know the rules that go along. I am thinking about just taking my own pool towels with us!!

[CruisinPandora]

Taking this all in consideration but I still think any day on a cruise ship is better than a day at work.

 

That being said the Explorer looked pretty good to me from the Caribbean Princess while in Bermuda last year. Everyone seemed to be having a blast!

 

We're looking forward to the cruise!

[IWORK2CRUISE]

Thanks for the update! We;re going to miss you next week! I have a question, my DD was on Explorer 5/22 and she said the pool towels are now very small. She is a small girl and she said she needed 3 towels to cover the lounge chair so she could lay down.

 

Can others tell me their opinion of the towels. I know you now get them by the pool with your seapass and I know the rules that go along. I am thinking about just taking my own pool towels with us!!

The "new" Royal Caribbean towels are in fact smaller than the old, ugly beige towels. Smaller, yes but more attractive as well.

Two deffinately cover your lounge chair. I am capable of picking one of those up to use after swimming in the pool.

I thought that each passenger could sign out 2 towels with their sea pass card.

[dmndlil]

The "new" Royal Caribbean towels are in fact smaller than the old, ugly beige towels. Smaller, yes but more attractive as well.

Two deffinately cover your lounge chair. I am capable of picking one of those up to use after swimming in the pool.

I thought that each passenger could sign out 2 towels with their sea pass card.

 

You can sign out as many pool towels as you like...... i saw people checking out 5 at a time

[Host Kewlguy]

You can sign out as many pool towels as you like...... i saw people checking out 5 at a time

 

But misplace/lose any and it'll cost you $20.00 per towel.

[houlacruiser]

Thanks for the update! We;re going to miss you next week! I have a question, my DD was on Explorer 5/22 and she said the pool towels are now very small. She is a small girl and she said she needed 3 towels to cover the lounge chair so she could lay down.

 

Can others tell me their opinion of the towels. I know you now get them by the pool with your seapass and I know the rules that go along. I am thinking about just taking my own pool towels with us!!

 

Thanks for missing me! :) Believe me, I'll miss being there!!!

Yes new towels are smaller but not tiny. You could bring your own or the old beige ones are in the ladies locker-room in the gym. ;)

[cruiser-007]

We sailed on EOS back in dec. '09. Didn't have a balcony cabin, but read lots of other reviews on EOS that mentioned worn rails and pealing paint out there. Our inside cabin had a slightly stained couch and a leaky shower door causing excessive use of towels to sop up the floor. Our attendant probably thought we were pigs! I guess their upgrade focus during dry dock wasn't on the cabins as I'm still seeing reviews about worn cabins. All and all we still plan on going back on her in 2011 possibly for 12 day at end of year. I admit I like the ship slightly better than Norwegian Dawn only because of the spaciousness.;)

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Thanks for the information on the newer towels. We will definitely be bringing our own.

[PH8]

we were on deck 8 balcony cabin and the whistling and creeking in the cabin were unbelievable...he took a napkins from the room service tray and stuffed in the ceiling to stop the noise there and did something to the sliding door to stop the whistling...

On the MN 2 weeks ago,we had the RS......one of the sliders had that whistling noise too............maintenance came and fixed it WITH MASKING TAPE:eek::eek::eek: stayed that way the whole trip.....