Live from Explorer's final round-trip out of New Jersey

[seadays4me]

There was a special lunch for D+, PC & suites in a place hidden behind the Dragon's Breath Café. Cold lobster and ceviche in melon halves, skewers of shrimp or beef, giant sea scallops wrapped in bacon, grilled chicken breasts, and dishes of fruit. Drinks, of course: champagne, bloody mary, labadoozie.

 

Was on the Explorer for the previous 9 day cruise and they may have had this for Gold Card passengers, but D+ was not invited. Interesting how things change from cruise to cruise.

 

Ron

[Clarea]

Was on the Explorer for the previous 9 day cruise and they may have had this for Gold Card passengers, but D+ was not invited. Interesting how things change from cruise to cruise.

Probably depends on the total number of D+. Sounds similar to how Monarch did invitations to the now discontinued Coco Cay cocktail party.

[mattwright]

Yes, Explorer assigned ice show performances based on muster station.

 

Interesting. I've never been on a ship that did it this way. It can be frustrating how different shipboard operations and "standard" procedures can vary from ship to ship. You never quite know what you're going to get.

 

With this method, what if you want to see the show with others who aren't in the same muster group as you? Is there a method to exchange tickets for a preferred showtime?

[Clarea]

Interesting. I've never been on a ship that did it this way. It can be frustrating how different shipboard operations and "standard" procedures can vary from ship to ship. You never quite know what you're going to get.

 

With this method, what if you want to see the show with others who aren't in the same muster group as you? Is there a method to exchange tickets for a preferred showtime?

There is a standby line that anyone can use to enter the venue about 10 minutes before the show starts.

[molly361]

I am going on Allure right after this (ok, call me crazy. I know, I know. But RC dropped the prices to fire-sale levels), and it's a western, so I'll let you know what happens on Labadee on November 18th. :)

 

You just want to take advantage of all the sales you can get this year since RCL announced no more last minute fire sales in 2015;)

 

And we all believe that!!:rolleyes:

[mattwright]

There is a standby line that anyone can use to enter the venue about 10 minutes before the show starts.

 

Thanks. We're traveling with others who are scattered around the ship, so it would be unfortunate if we couldn't just easily go to the same show together.

[F27TW]

Merion Mom .. loving your live report ... such a great read .. and pics too!

 

 

Would be nice if they could put them up for sale or donate to a charity, instead of trashing them. Don't know how they would go about doing that, but, I am sure they are still useful for someone. I wouldn't mind having one. A nice souvenir of one of my favorite ships. :p

 

 

Gwen :)

 

Agreed! They could start their own EBAY store for this stuff .. I know i'd be there doing some serious shopping !!

[imjoyful2]

Interesting. I've never been on a ship that did it this way. It can be frustrating how different shipboard operations and "standard" procedures can vary from ship to ship. You never quite know what you're going to get.

 

With this method, what if you want to see the show with others who aren't in the same muster group as you? Is there a method to exchange tickets for a preferred showtime?

 

Explorer didn't use to do it like this. You used to go wait in a line for tickets.

[Ocean Boy]

awe when you did the remember when....our first cruise April 23, 2006 7 nights out of Miami...western caribbean.....we did Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Grand Cayman......I loved every minute on board and on that ship. We were with a large group from Smithtown NY fire department.....I am so blessed to have family that guided me thru the experience and made me feel safe and kept me busy....now 30 some cruises later.....and many many nites on the Explorer... I find myself looking at the site and thinking about booking more on her....

 

Enjoy every minute and thank you so much for taking time to share this special trip with all of us.

 

Explorer was our first RCI cruise. Western Caribbean from Miami including Labadee, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We were docked bow to bow with Navigator in Miami. We left first for the Western and then Navigator left after us for the Eastern Caribbean. Passengers from the two ships had quite a bit to yell back and forth to each other as we slid by Navigator.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Ocean Boy

[mattwright]

Explorer was our first RCI cruise. Western Caribbean from Miami including Labadee, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We were docked bow to bow with Navigator in Miami. We left first for the Western and then Navigator left after us for the Eastern Caribbean. Passengers from the two ships had quite a bit to yell back and forth to each other as we slid by Navigator.

 

I had the same experience onboard Voyager out of Miami in April 2007. It was so fun seeing the reverse mirror image of Navigator as she sailed by.

 

 

Sailaways like that from Miami were the absolute best.

[Susie51]

Enjoy your cruise.

[Merion_Mom]

Must..............vent.......................aaaarrrrrrggggggg............

 

I went to the ice show this afternoon and it was MARVELOUS. I think that my pictures are pretty good, and I will post a full report later when I have time for the sloooooow uploads.

 

After the ice show I played Afternoon Trivia, then decided to make a small donation in the casino.

 

I decided to try a "new" machine today, and inserted my SeaPass. It told me that I had ZERO points. I tried another machine. And another.

 

So I went to the cashier's window, where I spoke with my buddy Roberto. He said that they were having a small problem, but that the system would retain my previous point total and add today's, even with the difficulties.

 

Ok, I say to myself. I guess that I am supposed to use my "regular" machine.

 

I sat down at my corner machine, in the tiny non-smoking section, and inserted my leftover voucher from yesterday. It rejected it. Three times. So I gave up and put in cash. And my SeaPass, getting the ZERO point reading.

 

I play and play and am losing, and hit "cash out". The machine starts dinging and flashing and says "call attendant".

 

I look around, and see OTHER people at machines that are dinging and flashing and they are looking disgusted. A flock of blue-shirts goes over to them and helps them. I catch the eye of one, and he comes to me next.

 

He says, "I am so sorry ma'am. The whole system is "down"."

 

He takes out his magic key and starts to open my machine, then abruptly turns and leaves.

 

After about five minutes, there is FINALLY a general announcement on the PA system that there is a problem.

 

THIRTY FIVE MINUTES LATER, he and two supervisors, including my buddy Roberto carrying a cash drawer, come over to help me.

 

I said, "I understand (now) that there is a general problem, and you have a lot of people to help, but WHY WHY WHY did he START to help me, then leave, and leave me sitting here for THIRTY FIVE MINUTES????"

 

Roberto and Matt apologized abjectly, frequently and appropriately. Blue-shirt did not, until I basically asked five times, and Matt told him to apologize to me!

 

(I was hand-paid the amount and I left, after Matt apologized again and told me that when things calmed down, I should come back and he would buy me a drink. I declined his offer, but told him that I didn't blame him)

 

UGH.

 

Fortunately, I am going to my Happy Place now. It's five o'clock, and time for the Top Tier Event in Maharajas Lounge.

Edited October 30, 2014 by Merion_Mom

[michtrif]

Well hello there Carol. Thanks for providing me with something to do besides pack. 😀 Have fun and I cannot wait to meet you on November 1st. If you could find out the unlimited internet package prices I (we) would appreciate it. No pressure though. I see Donna (mrsz) beat me to it. Slow typing me.

Denise

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

My husband said next cruise he is going to forego the drink package and splurge on the unlimited internet. I can't remember exactly, but I remember seeing $160-ish somewhere- that was for unlimited wifi for a 5 night cruise. I remember seeing higher prices too... but I didn't pay attention to details.

 

we purchased 60 minutes for 29.95 and let me tell you, those minutes were eaten up rather quickly with the slow/iffy connection.

[jean87510]

Carol, did you make it to portofinos and how was the food? Was reading some complaints from passengers from prior cruise Bermuda/Canada and they said food was not good and wait time was 1 1/2 hours. Thanks for all of your feedback. Getting excited for Saturday!

 

Well I guess I will find out Saturday.

[windjamming]

That type of response would drive me bonkers, too, Carol. We get they're busy. We DON'T get walking away for 35 minutes. Lack of common sense. And not apologizing until basically forced to? Not cool.

 

I think your casino karma is due for a positive swing! In the Explorer non-smoking section I seem to recall the Nautilus (sp?) machine paying nicely.

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[HappyCampers3]

Explorer didn't use to do it like this. You used to go wait in a line for tickets.

 

You're right, they didn't. Cruised with family a few years ago and they were in the cabin beside us, but we were at two different muster stations. The current system could really cause a lot of unnecessary stress for both passengers and crew at Guest Relations :(

[imjoyful2]

You're right, they didn't. Cruised with family a few years ago and they were in the cabin beside us, but we were at two different muster stations. The current system could really cause a lot of unnecessary stress for both passengers and crew at Guest Relations :(

 

I agree. I don't see the issue with how it used to be. I am less than impressed with how things are changing with RCI (not just this but other changes since we started sailing with them 6 years ago). Will definitely make me reconsider booking them in the future.

[SherriZ366]

Hasn't anyone been wondering why the food tour just stopped in the middle like that?

 

Yes, the computer crashed, just as I was posting the next set of pictures and text, and I did NOT want to spend an hour rebooting and reestablishing all of the necessary websites.

 

So, back to San Juan..................

 

Where were we? Oh, yeah, Café del Punto.

 

After we left Café del Punto, we walked aaaaaaaaalllllllllll the way across the street to the very famous Café Barrachina. The story is that the Piña Colada was invented here.

 

Since I do not like coconut, I asked for and received a rum & diet Coke. It was mostly rum. ;)

 

I did not feel the need to take a picture. :D

 

 

 

 

Then we took a walk towards El Convento. This former convent is now a luxury hotel, originally developed by the Woolworth family.

 

For those of you who have been to San Juan before on a cruise, this is just past the Coach store. ;)

 

This plaza fronts the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista.

 

Our next stop: Rosa De Triana, where we were going to sample the "signature" dish of Puerto Rico, mofongo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had dinner once in El Convento -- it was dinner and a show.

[why2klisa]

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us. My DH and I are boarding in a month for our tenth anniversary and we are very excited. Have you noticed, by any chance, if there are Goldfish slot machines in the casino? I love them fish. :D

[Merion_Mom]

My husband said next cruise he is going to forego the drink package and splurge on the unlimited internet. I can't remember exactly, but I remember seeing $160-ish somewhere- that was for unlimited wifi for a 5 night cruise. I remember seeing higher prices too... but I didn't pay attention to details.

 

we purchased 60 minutes for 29.95 and let me tell you, those minutes were eaten up rather quickly with the slow/iffy connection.

 

What we know now:

 

7 & 9 night cruises are BOTH charging $190 for unlimited internet usage for one device. With your $30 discount coupon, there is your $160.

 

What we do NOT know:

 

How much the Explorer will charge for the 14 night repositioning cruise which will commence on Saturday. I asked at Guest Services, but they are (surprise, surprise!) clueless.

 

They are "waiting to hear from Miami".

 

:rolleyes:

Edited October 31, 2014 by Merion_Mom

[Merion_Mom]

You're right, they didn't. Cruised with family a few years ago and they were in the cabin beside us, but we were at two different muster stations. The current system could really cause a lot of unnecessary stress for both passengers and crew at Guest Relations :(

 

I agree. I don't see the issue with how it used to be. I am less than impressed with how things are changing with RCI (not just this but other changes since we started sailing with them 6 years ago). Will definitely make me reconsider booking them in the future.

 

Using muster stations works VERY well. If you want to go to a different show, just wait in the standby line. EVERYONE gets in. No problems.

 

Royal Caribbean may be having assorted problems in various areas, but this isn't one of them.

 

:)

[3CatsInMA]

Using muster stations works VERY well. If you want to go to a different show, just wait in the standby line. EVERYONE gets in. No problems.

 

Royal Caribbean may be having assorted problems in various areas, but this isn't one of them.

 

:)

 

Don't say that too loudly--why tempt fate? ;):D

[Arzeena]

You're right, they didn't. Cruised with family a few years ago and they were in the cabin beside us, but we were at two different muster stations. The current system could really cause a lot of unnecessary stress for both passengers and crew at Guest Relations :(

 

You can go with your party from another muster station...it is never a problem. Just go together and tell them at the door.

Infact the new system is very easy and hassle free. One less place to stand in line. Don't go to guest relations for this, just tell the person at the door of Studio B.

[imjoyful2]

You can go with your party from another muster station...it is never a problem. Just go together and tell them at the door.

Infact the new system is very easy and hassle free. One less place to stand in line. Don't go to guest relations for this, just tell the person at the door of Studio B.

 

Good to know this!! It does make sense not to have to deal w/tickets as long as there is a way to pair up w/others from a different muster station.

 

Speaking of Studio B, on our 3 previous cruises, one of my children was always asked to be in the ice show. Guess we'll see what happens this time! ;)

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Finally made it to CC To read your Live Explorer report! Now to backtrack! TTYS! ;):)