Explorer New Years Cruise Review -- Awesome!!!

[mc117]

So here goes. Since the Explorer is soon going overseas we needed to go on for one last hurrah. I will try to be brief and post some pics along the way so bear with me. We were a group of 8, 7 experienced crown and anchor peeps and 1 brand newbie who was hooked as soon as he walked up the gangway.

 

Day 1/Embarkation

So first time using the brand spanking new Terminal 1. Much better than I thought since everything was new to everyone there. Terminal is really nice looking and the check in was smooth as silk. We were on the ship 15 minutes after luggage drop off. Only bad note was the drop off itself. The porters unfortunately didn't know where to put all the bags at first and they started encroaching into the driving lane.

Anyway, easy muster drill, somewhat short sailaway party but plenty of drinks to go around. First of many tasty dinners in the MDR with Renato from the Philippines as our waiter and Richard Browne from St Vincent his assistant. Both terrific.

 

Having trouble uploading photos....

 

Day 2 - At Sea

Perfect weather day with a little bit of roll to keep you on your toes. We are not much of activity or show goers, more of the relax in the sun and find your way to the Pool/Sky Bar. Although this day brought the heavily attended Belly Flop contest that was presided over in good fashion by Leigh and Erky. First formal night and another dinner that was typical but great. One oops, the dry cleaners seemed to send back someone elses suit pants that didn't quite fit so well. Was taken care of by the hotel staff that apologized profusely.

 

More to come with Labadee and San Juan next... Any questions feel free to ask

[mc117]

Day 3 - Labadee

More perfect weather for a December day. Got to Nellies Beach pretty early so it was relatively empty and wasn't too crowded all day. The normally crystal clear water was a bit murky today for some reason. Definitely didn't detract from a good day of beaching though. BBQ wasn't as good as usual but still hit the spot along with an ice cold Labadoozie. Garlic soup highlighted an Italian feast this evening.

 

Day 4 -- San Juan

We were on schedule for a 2pm arrival into Old San Juan today. Doesn't make for a good beach day but a pool morning works out lovely. We stopped by Barruchina for the world famous first Pina Colada, not so yummy but still famous. Raices for a great lunch with fried pork chops and plantains and some other authentic grub. One last stop at Old Harbor Brewery to taste some island brewed beer and back to the ship for another plentiful dinner and Dancing Under the Stars party.

 

Day 5 -- St Croix

What are we gonna do today?? Oh yeah beach and bars. Go figure. Adventurous cab/van ride over to Fredricksted's Cane Bay. Not much of a sandy beach but quite lovely otherwise. Great picture opportunities and good snorkeling once you get passed all the seaweed and shells. After a morning of swimming and yet another cab ride over to CHristiansted for a walk on the boardwalk and yes some ice cold libations. Headed over to Angry Nates for a fantastic mahi mahi sandwich and some fish tacos. They also had some great homemade hot and I mean hot sauce that was mighty delicious. The cab situation is really poor here. You pre pay and they give you tickets for the round trip ride. Unfortunately they try to pack the vans to the brim, I don't blame them, but it does get kind of testy when many people are waiting for the ride back to the ship. All in all. a great place. This evening we had what I think was the best dinner I have ever had on board a ship. A special New Years Eve menu that consisted of rack of lamb, beef tenderloin and a lobster plate. All with tremendous flavor. Huge party in the Promenade with the band, champagne flowing and a balloon/confetti drop at midnight. Really nice touch for the night.

 

Day 6 -- St. Maarten

We arrived to a packed house there with 4 other ships in port. 2 celebrity, the brand new Regal Princess and 1 holland america. The only place I saw that was crowded was the pier. Orient Beach was beautiful and had great waves but really wasn't very crowded. Didn't go to Maho beach this time but some people met went and said it was pretty empty too. Early evening for us tonight since last night was party central.

 

Day 7 -- At Sea (frown, on the way home)

First of the most packed deck chair days I can remember. Real relaxing day by the pool (bar) and solarium hot tubs. The hot sun was great but the shade of the pool bar was better. 2nd formal night but a little disappointed since they did not offer the ever popular Fisherman's plate, otherwise know as LOBSTER... Although our great waiters found some Escargot hanging out in the galley and brought us a couple orders. How did they know we like them so much???

 

Day 8-- At Sea (almost back)

Really, really crowded on deck. People were even laying on the deck minus the chairs that were all full. Wow. Last day of the amazing trip, packed up the dirty clothes said our goodbyes to our new and old friends. Some escargot turned up again at dinner.

 

Debarkation

This was the worst part. This was the second time Terminal 1 was used for debarkation, Jan 2 enchantment the other. What a total disaster. I'm sure it will get better but this time was not good. The luggage was arranged in number order with the highest number by the customs lines. huh? Well if you want to call them lines, mostly everyone pushing forward to try to get to the customs agents. If you got a porters help you got a free pass to the express line so I would highly recommend that until it gets better.

 

Overall a great New Years trip, Leigh and Erky never disappoint, good bands with great music playing, Captain Rick is always happy and a pleasure to talk to, and I now have to find a way to shed 10 extra pounds.

 

Any questions, feel free to ask away

Edited January 7, 2015 by mc117

[Susie51]

Thank you for your well organized review. Your easy-to-read style of writing is extremely appreciated. I just finished a "blah" trip report which was hard for me to follow. However, a lot of people are enjoying that thread.

 

Cruise Critic is a wonderful message board which allows us to express ourselves in our own style. I'm glad there are long and short reviews.

 

Thank you for sharing.

[Raschueler]

Thanks for sharing! I leave for Port Canaveral tomorrow and will be boarding Friday. I will definitely get a porter on the way out. Thanks for the great tip! (:

[ClemsonMBA]

We were on the same cruise but were a bit disappointed. The weather was great, and the crew went out of their way to be friendly but there are opportunities for improvement. We bought the ultimate beverage package but found the bars understaffed and although gratuities were included in the package, servers obviously expected additional tips. I always tip well and want to make sure that those who provide service are compensated. I asked two servers about the package gratuity and learned that it is shared somehow. It was obvious that their feeling was that they fared better without the packages. I really just wanted to vacation and didn't like being presented with a ticket to sign after each drink. I feel that if I prepay a gratuity that should cover it. We thought the food in the MDR was of lower quality than we had enjoyed on previous cruises and ate in the Windjammer two nights after reviewing the menu. We expected New Years Eve would be one of the formal nights and still can't figure out why it wasn't. The debarkation was a zoo. It took us over an hour from gangplank to shuttle bus. I shared my feelings and observations with RCCL in the survey. Just sharing my experience.

 

 

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[mspink98]

We sail at the end of February, so glad to hear everything is still good onboard.

 

What time did you arrive at the terminal for embarkation? We'll be driving from home that morning, and trying to plan best time for a smooth walk onboard. We'll be coming on a shuttle from our offsite parking, and will be with my elderly parents who sometimes have issues standing for long periods of time.

 

Hopefully they'll have the disembarkation messes worked out by then, but will definitely keep it in mind to get a porter if not.

Edited January 7, 2015 by mspink98

[big_schots]

I will be on the Explorer in 5 weeks. Do you happen to know what times the main theater shows started ? Were they the 6:45 P.M (late diners) and 8:45 P.M (early diners) start times ? Just trying to get a feel for setting up reservation times for "My Time" dining. Did you see any shows and have any thoughts about them ?

 

Thanks,

Eric

Edited January 7, 2015 by big_schots

[mc117]

originally posted by mspink98

What time did you arrive at the terminal for embarkation? We'll be driving from home that morning, and trying to plan best time for a smooth walk onboard. We'll be coming on a shuttle from our offsite parking, and will be with my elderly parents who sometimes have issues standing for long periods of time.

I got to the terminal around 11:15am. We just beat a whole line of cars that started to line up after us. So I would try to get there a little earlier than that.

[mc117]

I will be on the Explorer in 5 weeks. Do you happen to know what times the main theater shows started ? Were they the 6:45 P.M (late diners) and 8:45 P.M (early diners) start times ? Just trying to get a feel for setting up reservation times for "My Time" dining. Did you see any shows and have any thoughts about them ?

 

Thanks,

Eric

Sorry, we didn't see any shows but I heard the ice show was great. I will check my compasses when I get home and let you know about the times.

[WildBlueYonder64]

We were also on the New Year's cruise, and generally had a great time. We were disappointed there was no celebration on the pool deck. Maybe that will change once they install the big screen to broadcast the countdown from Times Square. It was crazy crowded on the Promenade.

 

The lobster on the New Year's Eve menu was tasty, but tiny! Literally 1/2 of a small lobster tail each. Needless to say, we ordered a second plate!

 

Show times were usually 7 & 9 pm. We had My Time Dining, and had no trouble making the second show. Live music started around 9:45 nightly in various venues.

 

Boy, you weren't kidding when you said disembarkation was a nightmare! They have got to improve the flow of traffic to the CBP desks. You weren't sure if you were in a proper line or not, and there was no one to ask. We stood in what we thought was a line for about 10 minutes, and gave up and went to the porter line. Well worth the tip, once we moved, we were out the door in 15 minutes, as opposed to at least an hour or more by my reckoning if we would have stayed where we were.

[Fonzi82]

Hi MC117,

 

Would the attached picture be the same Renato that was your waiter? If so, i'll be asking to sit in his section when we are on Explorer in February. He is the best waiter we have ever had!

[mc117]

Hi MC117,

 

Would the attached picture be the same Renato that was your waiter? If so, i'll be asking to sit in his section when we are on Explorer in February. He is the best waiter we have ever had!

 

 

That's him!!. He is awesome, I think I have the same picture. We were sitting on deck 4, table 461 if that helps you when you go. Tell him Mike, Terri, Nicole, JJ, Scott and Matt say hello. How did you get the pic uploaded, I tried so many times with an upload error message.

[Fonzi82]

Great, i'll e mail the dining room to see if they can help. I'll also let him know you all said hi!

 

I just clicked the paperclip icon and selected the picture from my desktop, didn't encounter any issues. The size requirements are important. If the picture is too large of a file it will not upload.