Explorere Promenade Rooms

[absolutonrox]

Looking to book a cruise for my wife and I (our first one!) and I'm looking at Explorer out of NJ. Has anyone stayed in one of the "Promenade" staterooms before? If so, what did you think, worth the extra few $$ from a regular inside? Any feedback would be great, thanks!

[bancytu]

We have always stayed in these rooms on Voyager Class and Freedom Class ships. We love them! This Thursday we actually have 2 connecting ones with our kids! We have been very happy to have them. We have also found great deals on these rooms as time gets closer to the cruise. Some people complain that you can hear noise from the Promenade but we don't care because we are up watching the parades then. I'm a very light sleeper and have never had a problem sleeping in these rooms. We like having the window because we don't feel so closed in. I think they are worth the extra money but to be honest they have sometimes been cheaper or just the same in price as an inside. The Explorer is a great ship. Next week will be our 2nd time on her. No matter what room you book you will love the ship. Good Luck!

[retiredgram]

Not on the Explorer, but on the Freedom. Loved the room. We hardly heard any noise from the parades. Loved sitting at the window and people watching.;)

If you book one, just remember to close the drapes when getting undressed.:eek:

[absolutonrox]

How late do these activities (whatever they may be) on the promenade run? My wife and I tend to be night owls (mostly because I work a lot of 2nd shift) so I really don't see that being too much of an issue. Are the windows able to be opened so that you can more clearly hear what's going on down there if you chose (like say you ordered room service breakfast and wanted to take a peek while you were eating). Right now I'm looking at the 8 night Bahamas on 3/21/14. RC has the Promenade rooms for $479 PP on their website. Also, this is a little off my original post topic, but is Explorer a better ship than Grandeur, like more things to do, more dining/entertainment options, etc. Baltimore and NJ are both driving distance for me, so I'm curious.

[avazah]

Not on Explorer, but we stayed in a promenade room on Indy. I really enjoyed it! It wasn't much more ($50/pp or so), but it was nice always having a spot to watch the parades and a place to people watch and read while the husband was still asleep :)

 

That said, it's not necessary. Depending on where on the ship layout, you may get a weird location like we did -- it was next to a galley where the stateroom attendants would collect and stack all the dirty dishes to be cleaned, which got noisy. Also, if you go to bed early, the parades are quite loud. Not really disturbing loud, but if you like quiet when you sleep, it may not be preferable. The latest parade I remember on Indy ended at about 11:30pm.

 

For me, it comes down to price. On the Explorer cruise I am currently booked on, it's $100 more per person for a promenade room. I like to not stay in my room much to begin with, so it's definitely not worth the added expense. Even with a normal inside room, you can always find a spot to view the parade if you pay attention to the cruise compass and know when they are happening, you can people watch anywhere on the ship, and hopefully the inside room will be less noisy (but no guarantee, of course!).

[bancytu]

How late do these activities (whatever they may be) on the promenade run? My wife and I tend to be night owls (mostly because I work a lot of 2nd shift) so I really don't see that being too much of an issue. Are the windows able to be opened so that you can more clearly hear what's going on down there if you chose (like say you ordered room service breakfast and wanted to take a peek while you were eating). Right now I'm looking at the 8 night Bahamas on 3/21/14. RC has the Promenade rooms for $479 PP on their website. Also, this is a little off my original post topic, but is Explorer a better ship than Grandeur, like more things to do, more dining/entertainment options, etc. Baltimore and NJ are both driving distance for me, so I'm curious.

 

I'd say the late night activities are over by 12am at the latest and I mean the latest. If your by the pub you may hear entertainment from there but its not bad. No you can't open the windows. It would be cool if you could but you can't. I always try to get a room in the middle of the prom. so we are right in the action. I love people watching.

I've been on both the Grandeur and Explorer. We like the Explorer better because we feel there is more to do onboard. The Grandeur is newly refurbished. We have not been on it since it was "fixed up". We've only been on 5 cruises but 4 have been on Voyager/Freedom class ships. The 5th was the Grandeur. We leave Thursday for our 6th on the Explorer and for us even though Explorer is a longer drive, we live 15 minutes from the Baltimore port, we felt like there was way more to do onboard. I say book it. Thats a great price and enjoy your cruise!

[trish2375]

How big are the window seats. We have the family promenade booked on Freedom and my 8 year old wants to sleep on the window seat.

[avazah]

I don't think it would be terribly comfy for an 8 year old to sleep on the window seat, unless they are very little and like to curl up :) Also, if the curtain is open, anyone else with a promenade room and potentially those on the promenade itself will be able to see them sleeping! So keep the curtain closed!

 

It was big enough for me (5'1 and petite) to sit with my knees up and read or sit cross-legged, or for myself and my husband (6' and obviously bigger than me) to sit side by side and watch parades. Just big enough for me to sit on one side and stretch my legs out. My husband wouldn't have been able to do that. It's definitely a seat, not a sofa or bed.

[KeywestK]

We did a PR room on both Explorer and Liberty, and enjoyed them very much. Having the window seat and bay window overlooking the Promenade were wonderful. Didn't feel like an inside cabin at all! I would book a PR cabin again over a regular inside cabin--definitely worth the extra $$:)

[jchiefs13]

I had really looked forward to the Promenade rooms when I first learned of them. I was even a bit disappointed when I booked one and got a FREE UPGRADE to a balcony and didn't get to check it out. I tried on another sailing and ... well, it's nicer than an interior room, but I was a bit disappointed.

 

Why was I disappointed? It's small and petty, and I know this...

I couldn't hear what was going on on the promenade when I WANTED to. So, yea, it's quiet and you won't be disturbed by the activites there, but I wanted a way to tune in to the activities there instead of watching them w/o appropriate levels of the sound. Instead, during parades we went out w/ the crowds and had people crawling up our backs to see. Meh.

 

Would I NOT book one? Heck no, the price is right. I've even seen the price for a promenade drop lower than a regular interior, so be sure to keep your eyes open for price drops.

 

Judy

[marci22]

We didn't like the promenade room setup. To us, it felt smaller than an inside due to that window seat.

 

If you do get one, I would recommend deck 8 because they have the windows that slant. On deck 6 everyone can see you.

 

When booking, google your cabin number for peoples' comments about that room. I found several room locations this way. We picked one overlooking the Promenade Cafe. It was a good location/view as far as PR rooms go.

[bythehex]

I liked the Promenade room we had on Deck 8 of the Explorer. Just try to get one that is NOT an adjoining room because you can definitely hear your neighbors through that adjoining door.

 

The room itself is kind of small but it's great to watch the parades and "people watch". The sofas are NOT soft and comfy like your sofas at home so be aware. I wouldn't want to sleep on it or have my child sleep on it either, it's not really made for that purpose.

 

For a first cruise, this would be an adequate cabin to book.