Explorer of the Seas review 29th June 15, 13 nights Western Med cruise.

[cymru cruiser]

Hi CC

Some great photos.

Are there kettles in the staterooms?

If so, do you have to bring your own coffee or is it provided?

Many Thanks

Chris

 

Sorry Chris I've only just spotted your post.

Nescafe Coffee is provided in your cabin along with uht milk and a kettle which holds enough water for 2 mugs. If you need more mugs just ask your cabin steward.

We left a note the first night asking for decaff coffee and after than we had decaff sachets topped up daily.

 

To avoid the uht milk you can bring a carton of proper milk back from the windjammer at breakfast and pop it in your fridge.

 

For tea drinkers you can get tea bags in cafe promenade and take back to your cabin and hot chocolate sachets.

[cymru cruiser]

:eek: Googled it... Oh. My. Goodness!

 

(Though the thought of apartments each having their own kitchenette on a cruise ship throws me when we're not allowed to take an iron!)

 

its mad isn't it. I was shocked to see her in the flesh, nothing like I imagined having read about her previously.

[sky0000547]

The Cruise director was in our opinion quite poor as I’ve already mentioned. I saw him once walking around the ship. Yes he was in the theatre at night and headed the Royal Promenade parties but he just wasn’t visible generally. I appreciate that we had Joff Heaton on Indy last year and he is such a huge personality, but I’m sorry Rob there was just something missing.

 

 

Rob was the activities manager on Indy back in 2012, think it was the same time as Joff Eaton was the cruise director. I didn't have Joff on my cruise as he was on vacation at the time.

[cymru cruiser]

Rob was the activities manager on Indy back in 2012, think it was the same time as Joff Eaton was the cruise director. I didn't have Joff on my cruise as he was on vacation at the time.

 

What did you think of him? I don't mean personally, I'm sure he's a really nice guy, I mean professionally. I put his name into the search engine on CC and one comment came up saying he was "non discript" interesting.

[sky0000547]

What did you think of him? I don't mean personally, I'm sure he's a really nice guy, I mean professionally. I put his name into the search engine on CC and one comment came up saying he was "non discript" interesting.

 

 

As he was the activities manager at the time, he was more like a sidekick to the cruise director. Generally only saw him on the TV doing the morning show with the cruise director, he was funny more of doing silly things funny like Mr Bean.

[madmedic]

With Royal Caribbean, on the Aus site, it is an option to pay gratuities when booking, and it is required if doing "my time dining". Otherwise they will add gratuities to your daily charges on board, and they can be requested to be taken off, but I understand that is a black mark against the staff. Never spoken to anyone that has taken them off personally.

 

So our experience is just add the price of gratuities on when booking Royal and they are done. If we get good service we will tip extra, and most cruises we do (eg: diamond lounge). When we compare prices for similar cruises with the other brands they seem to come out about the same if you take the gratuities required or not into account. Some people feel that it is an extra cost that makes Royal too expensive, but you need to compare the totals for the other lines, and I haven't yet been convinced to go with one of the others due to it being a better price. :)

 

 

LOVING THE REVIEW! Thanks for taking the time with the great pictures :)

 

I agree totally we always tip extra in cash for particularly good service. We always pay grats up front and wouldn't dream of getting them removed. Do you know whether dollars or pounds are preferred, cannot remember what we did last time?

[jennywren46]

We prepaid our grats but gave extra in dollars ,I'm never sure which is preferred .

[cymru cruiser]

i think they prefer dollars. If they can't get off the ship in Southampton, pounds aren't much good to them.

[2time_cruiser]

When do you tip? We have prepayed gratitues. But for extra good service we will give more. E.g. our steward last cruise where so good. But in last day rush we never saw him again and we never got to tip him the extra we wanted.

 

Sendt fra min GT-I9295 med Tapatalk

[saxopete]

Cymru - Which Harmony sailing are you on?

Edited July 20, 2015 by saxopete

[cymru cruiser]

Cymru - Which Harmony sailing are you on?

 

Hiya Pete,

We are booked on 16th October sailing as we had already booked Epic for 23rd October sailing.

Have you guy's booked?

 

Have you had your reception yet? You guys looked fab on your wedding day!!

[moshek]

Hiya

You are very welcome. Its well worth doing and was easy. Monaco is stunning but very hilly. It wasn't as hard to navigate as I'd expected. Looking down on the marina you have the palace up above one side and the casino up above the other. Pick yourself up a map in the train station or down load toms and you'll be fine. Leave yourself time to see Villefranche on the return. Also if you can, go upstairs on the train as you'll get better views of the coast as you zip along.

 

My friend who's on the same sailing as you, its her first cruise. I've been trying to get her to join in on your roll call but she hasn't liked to, but she is signed up to the meet and mingle!

 

Have a great time.

 

Thank you, what a pity your friend hasn't joined our roll call we are a very friendly bunch on there.

 

Michelle x

[saxopete]

Hey!

 

We are on 29th May take out for 7 nights Southampton to Barcelona then flying ourselves to Palma for a week then back to Barcelona for a 7 night.

[cymru cruiser]

Hey!

 

We are on 29th May take out for 7 nights Southampton to Barcelona then flying ourselves to Palma for a week then back to Barcelona for a 7 night.

 

amazing. I can't wait to read the review when you get back - just for m :)

 

Back to Barcelona for another 7 night cruise or for 7 nights in Barcelona?

 

I would have booked that as we would have only had to get the train one way. Hubby won't fly so we are doing Eurostar from Ashford to Paris and TGV from Paris to Barcelona return; quite a adventure!

 

But by the time Harmony was announced we had already booked Epic. So a B2B seemed too good an opportunity to miss!

[saxopete]

Another 7 night cruise from the on the 12th June lol!

 

I know Ashford well its just up the road from me. How reasonable is the train?

[cymru cruiser]

Thank you, what a pity your friend hasn't joined our roll call we are a very friendly bunch on there.

 

Michelle x

 

ive just sent her a text telling her to get herself on the roll call. Thing is she's not shy at all!! She's just new to CC lol. You'll spot them a mile off at the meet and mingle, chatty friendly Welsh lady with blonde hair. Shes travelling with her daughter who is 16 whilst on board and her 11 year old son. Also her sister and her partner are travelling and her mum and dad. So 7 of them - 5 of them first time cruising.

I'll keep bending her ear over the next day or two. She came round yesterday to look at our hundreds of photos and so we could show her the cruise compass' etc. Her son is beyond excited. His eyes lit up when we showed him photos and videos of the flow rider.

[cymru cruiser]

Another 7 night cruise from the on the 12th June lol!

 

I know Ashford well its just up the road from me. How reasonable is the train?

 

nice! Which ship?

 

The train is quite reasonable. Check out the website of themaninseat61 dot com. Amazing advise for rail travel from the U.K to Europe and beyond. You can link from there to the likes of renfe, sncf, loco2, eurostar etc.

 

You can get on a train in Barcelona at 0930 be in Paris mid afternoon, and be back in Ashford by 7pm ish.

 

Worth a look x

[saxopete]

I will take a look. We are on Harmony for both sailings :-)

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[cymru cruiser]

I will take a look. We are on Harmony for both sailings :-)

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

thats just greedy lol

[moshek]

ive just sent her a text telling her to get herself on the roll call. Thing is she's not shy at all!! She's just new to CC lol. You'll spot them a mile off at the meet and mingle, chatty friendly Welsh lady with blonde hair. Shes travelling with her daughter who is 16 whilst on board and her 11 year old son. Also her sister and her partner are travelling and her mum and dad. So 7 of them - 5 of them first time cruising.

I'll keep bending her ear over the next day or two. She came round yesterday to look at our hundreds of photos and so we could show her the cruise compass' etc. Her son is beyond excited. His eyes lit up when we showed him photos and videos of the flow rider.

 

I'll look out for her - I'll be the chatty friendly Scottish one but to confuse people slightly our 3 teens have English accents because we moved south 16 years ago!

My two boys (15 and 17) also love the flowrider

 

Michelle x

[cymru cruiser]

I'll look out for her - I'll be the chatty friendly Scottish one but to confuse people slightly our 3 teens have English accents because we moved south 16 years ago!

My two boys (15 and 17) also love the flowrider

 

Michelle x

 

Have a fabulous time.

[Welsh in The US]

I'm flying back on the 22nd with my wife and sailing on The Explorer to the Canaries with my folks on the 23rd.

Looking forward to it!!

[cloud_nine]

Loved reading your review, cymru cruiser - I loved how detailed it was - I would have completely forgotten half of what happened if it were me :. My mum and I will be sailing on the Explorer on the 23rd August. We've cruised on the Liberty and the Navigator before but this will be our first time on the Explorer so it was very interesting to read your thoughts on it - especially from another Welsh cruiser (we're from Swansea).

[cymru cruiser]

Loved reading your review, cymru cruiser - I loved how detailed it was - I would have completely forgotten half of what happened if it were me :. My mum and I will be sailing on the Explorer on the 23rd August. We've cruised on the Liberty and the Navigator before but this will be our first time on the Explorer so it was very interesting to read your thoughts on it - especially from another Welsh cruiser (we're from Swansea).

 

Diolch!x

 

I kept a diary of notes on board and then typed them up once home. Enjoy your cruise.

[cymru cruiser]

I'm flying back on the 22nd with my wife and sailing on The Explorer to the Canaries with my folks on the 23rd.

Looking forward to it!!

 

Thank you so much for using your first cc post to comment on my review. If your user name does in fact refer to our fine country I say diolch yn fawr!!