All Things Explorer of the Seas! -- Part 2

[karinad]

Not sure about the size but you have two other things to consider, privacy and sun. Deck 7 aft cabins are all covered, hence not much sun (obviously). Deck 8 balconies can be looked into from deck 9 balconies, they are stairstepped. I prefer deck 7.

 

Tim

Hmm...that's something to consider with the privacy issue for deck 8. I don't like to be looked down on. The last Princess ship we were on, we were looking down on people on their mini-suite deck. I always felt funny when they were out on their deck. I didn't want them to think I was looking at them all the time. It's very hard not to, since they'd always be in your eye view. Are the starboard and portside decks also like that in steps?

[karinad]

I'm not sure - you'll have to check the pictures. It's my impression that deck 7 has the largest aft balconies and they get smaller as you go up. It's all a tradeoff - I'd take an E1 aft over a D balcony elsewhere anytime, but that's my preference. To me the difference in cabin size is negligible, but the balcony size difference is huge. Yes, there's more walking, but there are many places you could be on the ship (i.e. all the way forward) that are even more walking to the places you normally want to get to.

 

Don't forget that when finaly payment approaches there's a chance that other cabins will open up. The 2 times I had 7388 and 7688, they opened up just before final payment.

Thanks! I think I'll take your advice about the E1 and D. Do you have an opinion about where your ultimate location would be on the ship? Maybe I'd have some luck with cabins that open up after final payment.

[Loralie]

On the Voyager,Ben & Jerry's was for a fee, but coffee was free. Is it still free? Thank you:)

 

I have not been on the Explorer yet but If I am correct in my reading, you can get free coffe at Cafe Promenade but if you want "Seattle's Best" coffee, it's gonna cost ya. I think Seattle's Best is their version of a Starbucks. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. :)

 

Loralie

[beachbuddy]

I have not been on the Explorer yet but If I am correct in my reading, you can get free coffe at Cafe Promenade but if you want "Seattle's Best" coffee, it's gonna cost ya. I think Seattle's Best is their version of a Starbucks. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. :)

 

Loralie

 

The Seattle Best reg and decaf coffees are free - there's large urns filled with coffee and you help yourself. There's a charge for any specialty ones like latte's, capaccino's, expresso, etc.

 

The free coffee at the promenade is the best coffee on the whole ship! I'm a coffee drinker and we always bring insulated cups with us. We fill our cups up on the way to the buffet for breakfast because the coffee is so much better than what they have there. I don't understand why the coffee isn't the same throughout the ship, but it's not.

[psupa]

The free coffee at the promenade is the best coffee on the whole ship! I'm a coffee drinker and we always bring insulated cups with us. We fill our cups up on the way to the buffet for breakfast because the coffee is so much better than what they have there. I don't understand why the coffee isn't the same throughout the ship, but it's not.

 

You got that right. I don't even bother getting coffee in the Windjammer and sometimes the coffee in the dining room can be good or bad. This last cruise on the first day the coffee was horrible. It was probably sitting from early morning (lol).

[karinad]

I'm seeing an E1 7690 which is available - this is an aft balcony. It's less expensive, slightly smaller cabin, but a huge balcony.

On the RCCL site it lists E1 7690 as an obstructed view. Any idea why? Thanks! I hate to keep bugging everyone!

[HB Cruiser]

Hmm...that's something to consider with the privacy issue for deck 8. I don't like to be looked down on. The last Princess ship we were on, we were looking down on people on their mini-suite deck. I always felt funny when they were out on their deck. I didn't want them to think I was looking at them all the time. It's very hard not to, since they'd always be in your eye view. Are the starboard and portside decks also like that in steps?

 

You cannot help but look down, it is human nature. We were on deck 8 on Adventure this past December and had several look down at us while we were looking up. lol

 

Both sides of the ship are the same.

 

My advise, take 7690 as 138east recommends.

 

Tim

[138east]

All the aft cabins are "obstructed view". There are some structure beams across the back. I liked them - they gave some visual interest to what would otherwise be a view of the wake and empty ocean. Take a look at the Bonnie Voyager pictures. http://travel.webshots.com/album/48328219CtbGLi

[QuickGold]

Just off the 9 night and will scan and save the daily compasses in a bit. We often had more than enough washcloths in the room. DJ Scratch Academy was promoted several times. Great crew, great cruise.

 

Would love to get a copy of the cruise compass too!

[karinad]

All the aft cabins are "obstructed view". There are some structure beams across the back. I liked them - they gave some visual interest to what would otherwise be a view of the wake and empty ocean. Take a look at the Bonnie Voyager pictures. http://travel.webshots.com/album/48328219CtbGLi

Thanks for the advice and link the webshots! I just changed my cabin to 7690, now I'll just hope for the pricedrop!

[Ocean Dancer]

The Seattle Best reg and decaf coffees are free - there's large urns filled with coffee and you help yourself. There's a charge for any specialty ones like latte's, capaccino's, expresso, etc.

 

The free coffee at the promenade is the best coffee on the whole ship! I'm a coffee drinker and we always bring insulated cups with us. We fill our cups up on the way to the buffet for breakfast because the coffee is so much better than what they have there. I don't understand why the coffee isn't the same throughout the ship, but it's not.

 

 

Thank you, that's what I wanted to hear. We had a balcony on the Voyager on the 6th level, and it was so easy to get good coffee/donuts in the morning. We really liked that about the ship.:) Thinking about the Explorer for winter.

[MapMaker53]

I just returned from the 9-night eastern Caribbean a week ago so here is my brief review. First the negatives...

 

This was our second time on the Explorer and it is a great ship. We love it. But it is getting old and I have heard rumors that it will be retired in 2 years. One thing we couldn't help but notice was the constant annoying vibration at the back of the ship. Luckily, we could barely feel it in our cabin (#9358), but you could really feel it while sitting in Johnny Rockets or in the Viking bar - as though one of the ship's propeller shafts were about to break. (I was actually hoping it would snap on the back to Bayonne to have more time on the ship. ;) ) Not sure why the vibration, but that couldn't have been normal. We didn't feel that on our first trip. Also, an internal waste pipe broke which required that people be moved to other cabins on deck 9 and below the pipe. Luckily, we were just out of range of the smell and repair work.

 

The water in the spa hot tub and one of the pool deck hot tubs was air temperature. And some parents brought toddlers into the Adults Only hot tub which was annoying. One of the two hot tubs in the Solarium was encased in tarps for repair work the entire cruise.

 

My group thought the quality of the theater shows on the Explorer have drastically declined. For one thing, all of the shows cater to the older crowd -- like REAL old. One headliner is an impressionist who, IMO, comes across as being a little full of himself. Does he do Obama? Maybe Clinton? Bush? Leno? ANYONE current? No, he does Ed Sullivan, Frank Sinatra, etc... COME ONNNN!!!! I've heard those impressions since I was a little kid. (I'm 58) And his impressions weren't even great, as I've heard better. But he thought he was great. The much older crowd seemed to like him, so maybe it was just my middle aged group. The dancing show is okay. The comedian had his moments - but they were only moments. His last routine in his main show is way too long and not very funny. Good time to leave and beat the exiting crowds. The headliner pianist was very good at playing old songs - but projects an image of being waaaaaaay too full of himself. We left early.

 

The food was really good - but the portions are very small. But you can ask for seconds. Actually, I sometimes ordered two Entrees just to try a second one I was interested in. No problem doing that.

 

Now for some positives...

 

The May/June sailing crowd is much older than the summer crowds due to that fact that the kids haven't gotten out of school yet. The plus in that is there is very little wait time on the sports deck for the rock wall, rollerblading, mini golf, basketball court, etc. Also, during summer cruises it seemed we had to be out on the pool deck at the crack of dawn to grab some good lounge chairs, but this time we probably had until 10am to still be able to find some good chair locations.

 

The Ice Show makes up for what all of the other theater shows lack. Do not miss it. Wish I could have seen it twice.

 

Our room attendant was wonderful, as was our waiter and assistant waiter. The head waiter is unneeded -- but that's another thread.

 

We did excursions at all of the ports:

 

BERMUDA:

We did the Snuba. A very interesting experience, but our guide was not the better of the two. If you do this excursion, try to chose the guide with the Australian accent for your group.

 

ST. MAARTEN

Kayaking and Snorkel. The kayaking is about a mile and only zig-zagging about a bay where you then beach only about 200 yards away from where you started out -- which I thought was good exercise, but not scenic and somewhat of a waste of time. The snorkeling was okay, but not a huge amount of fish to be seen.

 

ST. THOMAS

We did the Catamaran and Snorkeling excursion. That was a GREAT excursion if you like snorkeling. Our snorkeling guide was terrific, the fish amazing, and the catamaran was a fun ride with lots of rum punch for the return trip.

 

SAN JUAN

Because I'm having my knees replaced in September, we did the Segway tour of Old San Juan. What a fantastic tour and guide!! It was great fun zipping along on our Segways after an easy 5 minute instruction and practice. Definitely sign up for this excursion if available.

 

One tip if you are going snorkeling... Bring a zip-lock baggie containing slices of orange with you. The fish love it when you break off pieces in the water and (depending on the type of fish) will swarm around you. During our St. Thomas snorkel, there were times it seemed I had more fish around me than water. I would just advise you to let go of the orange piece and not hold onto it when feeding the fish because their little teeth can be sharp - which I experienced first-hand.

 

Hope this review was helpful. I'd be interested in reading other recent reviews to see if opinions match.

 

Sorry, didn't keep any copies of the Compass.

[efields2]

Hope this review was helpful. I'd be interested in reading other recent reviews to see if opinions match.

 

I agree about the movement of the ship. However, I definitely didn't hear anything about them retiring the Explorer. I know that there's a contract for her out of NJ until 2013, but I'm sure she'll either be signed on again, or moved to another port. They have MUCH older ships still sailing and besides the vibration, I didn't see anything else wrong.

 

I wrote up a lengthly review of the same cruise, if you want to take a look at it. You can find it here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1425551

[Mewissy]

That's strange about the vibration. We were on her at the end of April/beginning of May and didn't experience that at all.

[mamaza]

Has anyone ever stayed in JS 9572?

I'm still hoping to hear from someone who might have stayed in Hump JS 9624, 9324, or 1624 and can tell me about the odd shaped balcony.

 

9572 looks like a fair location; not too far forward or aft (although, at aft might be nice) It's a Junior Suite, so it's got some nice space and port side is always good - not that starboard is lesser. I think you've got a good cabin. But, I've never stayed in it.

 

My group thought the quality of the theater shows on the Explorer have drastically declined. For one thing, all of the shows cater to the older crowd -- like REAL old. One headliner is an impressionist who, IMO, comes across as being a little full of himself. Does he do Obama? Maybe Clinton? Bush? Leno? ANYONE current? No, he does Ed Sullivan, Frank Sinatra, etc... COME ONNNN!!!! I've heard those impressions since I was a little kid. (I'm 58) And his impressions weren't even great, as I've heard better. But he thought he was great. The much older crowd seemed to like him, so maybe it was just my middle aged group. The dancing show is okay. The comedian had his moments - but they were only moments. His last routine in his main show is way too long and not very funny. Good time to leave and beat the exiting crowds. The headliner pianist was very good at playing old songs - but projects an image of being waaaaaaay too full of himself. We left early.

 

It sounds like you just got unlucky with the talent booked. Sometimes we get great headliners and entertainers and sometimes .... well, they could do better.

[Krausssj]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking for recent copies of the Comapsses for the 9 night itinerary from Cape Liberty (2011 season). If anyone has them scanned please let me know. You can reach me here: krausssj at hotmail dot com.

 

Thanks in advance!

[podsnel]

I just returned from the 9-night eastern Caribbean a week ago so here is my brief review.SAN JUAN

Because I'm having my knees replaced in September, we did the Segway tour of Old San Juan. What a fantastic tour and guide!! It was great fun zipping along on our Segways after an easy 5 minute instruction and practice. Definitely sign up for this excursion if available.

 

One tip if you are going snorkeling... Bring a zip-lock baggie containing slices of orange with you. The fish love it when you break off pieces in the water and (depending on the type of fish) will swarm around you. During our St. Thomas snorkel, there were times it seemed I had more fish around me than water. I would just advise you to let go of the orange piece and not hold onto it when feeding the fish because their little teeth can be sharp - which I experienced first-hand.

 

Hope this review was helpful. I'd be interested in reading other recent reviews to see if opinions match.

 

Sorry, didn't keep any copies of the Compass.

 

Thank-you very much for the kudos on the Segway tour- I have this booked for the 4 of us, and was hoping it would be a positive experience!!

 

Also love the tip about the orange- I'll have to make my DH carry the bag! ;):D

 

We are booked in an AFT cabin on the 10th deck (1388, I think?) and I hope the vibration can't be felt way up there!!:eek:

 

Thanks-

Ellen:)

[efields2]

We are booked in an AFT cabin on the 10th deck (1388, I think?) and I hope the vibration can't be felt way up there!!:eek:

)

 

The vibration we felt wasn't enough to bother us. It was just a small constant shake. Our room was deck 6 AFT and we felt it there, as well as when we were in the dining room on Deck 4. I don't believe we felt it when we were in the Windjammer, or for that matter, anywhere else on the ship. It was definitely the most noticeable in the dining room though.

[hiphopchop]

Recently went on the Navigator and they had discontinued the usual morning aerobics classes. Last year about the Exp, I really enjoyed the classes. Does anyone know if they are still available? Or did royal eliminate all free classes?

[mamaza]

I'm still hoping to hear from someone who might have stayed in Hump JS 9624, 9324, or 1624 and can tell me about the odd shaped balcony.

 

 

I just notice the JS humps 9628, 9328,1328 & 1628 also have an odd shaped balcony. So, if you've stayed in one of these, I love to hear about advantages/disadvantages of the small on one side and big on the other space. Is it really tight on the one end and is it made up for by the larger other side. Someone must have booked these cabins in the past???? Or, maybe they "NEVER COME BACK." :eek:

[wovenwonder]

Great thread!:)

[TITISSA]

The Seattle Best reg and decaf coffees are free - there's large urns filled with coffee and you help yourself. There's a charge for any specialty ones like latte's, capaccino's, expresso, etc.

 

The free coffee at the promenade is the best coffee on the whole ship! I'm a coffee drinker and we always bring insulated cups with us. We fill our cups up on the way to the buffet for breakfast because the coffee is so much better than what they have there. I don't understand why the coffee isn't the same throughout the ship, but it's not.

 

Thank you for the tip. Would you say that the coffee at the promenade is better than the one at the Concierge Lounge? I love a good strong cup of coffee.

[madhatter262]

Hi folks! We have an Explorer cruise booked in September and we were hoping that someone could give us some info on the Sports Bar - Weekend Warrior. We have seen the pictures of the bar, but were wondering - are college games shown there? Are they "real-time" games? September is a huge sports month are we were curious. By chance, does anyone know if it is smoking or not? Thanks for your help.

[johneeo]

Hi folks! We have an Explorer cruise booked in September and we were hoping that someone could give us some info on the Sports Bar - Weekend Warrior. We have seen the pictures of the bar, but were wondering - are college games shown there? Are they "real-time" games? September is a huge sports month are we were curious. By chance, does anyone know if it is smoking or not? Thanks for your help.

 

There is a sports bar on the promenade. Although it is not serving 24 hours, it is open to view TV 24/7, and the only TV channel available was ESPN.

 

Also, from what I remember, the Royal Crown (the bar at the top that looks like a spaceship that landed on the ship) also had TVs available 24 hours (also just ESPN). You might be able to smoke there from what I remember.

[stones902]

Hi folks! We have an Explorer cruise booked in September and we were hoping that someone could give us some info on the Sports Bar - Weekend Warrior. We have seen the pictures of the bar, but were wondering - are college games shown there? Are they "real-time" games? September is a huge sports month are we were curious. By chance, does anyone know if it is smoking or not? Thanks for your help.

 

They show ESPN International and any other channel available on the ship. Not sure about specific college games - more soccer than anything else. They did show NBA playoff games.