Explorer of the Seas

[Loulou01]

I have just booked a 9 day South Pacific in Dec this year and have not sailed with Royal Caribbean. Am very excited but have read some reviews and 90% are bad!

Has anyone had a great cruise that could let me know the positives?

[joyfulone]

Hello Loulou

We have done 4 cruises, two with RCL - Radiance and Rhapsody OTS. Rhapsody was our very first cruise in 2011. It's because of this fabulous ship that we became so thrilled with cruising.

We have since cruised with RCL again on Radiance, also with Celebrity and NCL. In six weeks we go on our first Princess Cruise.

I have loved all our cruises and cannot find fault with RCL, cabins, food, service, entertainment have all been brilliant.

We do travel with a very open mind and a very positive attitude.

Just enjoy every moment and remember different strokes for different folks, not everyone will like/dislike what you like/dislike.

Enjoy your cruise with RCL you won't be sorry.

[Loulou01]

Thank you for reply. I think that is great advice to travel with open mind.

I think that some are negative at the most small things!

[jaykel]

We were on Explorer 24/12-6/1 and we loved her! Brilliant cruise director and staff, lots of fun! The best food is in the main dining room and it was the best we've had on any of our previous (4) cruises. Head to the Schooner Bar for the best Pina Coladas! The Star Lounge was a great pre show hangout with trivia to keep you entertained. Make sure you see the ice show! We did Voyager for Christmas / New Year in 2012 and we loved it but Explorer was better tuned into the 'Australian routine'. This cruise seemed to have more staff rostered on and therefore less queues than Voyager. I'm sure that you will have a ball! Highly recommend Amedee Island shore excursion if you are going to Noumea!

[avalon007]

Ignore the reviews, more people review with something to whine about than those that are happy! Plus Explorer had a noro virus outbreak last year so some of the reviews may be reflective of that. But that happens from time to time on all cruise ships - so not a reflection on the ship itself.

 

As you can see from my sig past cruises we have spent plenty of time on Royal ships including Voyager - sister ship to Explorer (both Voyager class ships) & going on her again in 2 months. Never had a bad cruise yet!

 

Like anything in life if you approach it with a positive attitude it is half the experience - do your research on the RCCL website & here before you go so you know what the ship has to offer.

 

I suggest booking My Time Dining so you have flexibility as to when you eat your evening meal if you intend to eat in the main dining room. Also trying some of the optional paid for restaurants is nice for a change as well.

 

If you like activities Explorer has lots to do (flow rider, rock climbing, mini golf)& the shows/DreamWorks parades are also fun.

 

Cabins are good, I like the Voyager class shower with the glass screen & not the shower curtain. We always book a balcony which we enjoy & gives you that little extra space & a place to sit outside that is private which is nice.

 

 

Have fun! :)

[Royalty X]

I just came off an 11 night NZ cruise on Explorer on Sunday. It was awesome! You'll have a great time!

[MicCanberra]

I honestly don't know how to have a bad cruise and I hope I don't ever find out. We are on Explorer in a few weeks and I am sure it will be excellent.:D

[mr walker]

10 cruises, 9 on Royal & never had a bad cruise. A lot of it is to do with the attitude of the passenger - my advise, ignore the 'I Cruise To Whinge' brigade.

 

My upcoming cruise on Explorer will be the 1st on that ship, but based on my experiences on Rhapsody, Radiance & Voyager, we will have a great time.

 

Happy cruising.

[Loulou01]

Wow. Great to hear your positive reviews. I was a bit more nervous as we are introducing family members to cruising. Wanted to know have made a good chioice.

[MicCanberra]

Wow. Great to hear your positive reviews. I was a bit more nervous as we are introducing family members to cruising. Wanted to know have made a good chioice.

 

They will have a wonderful time and as they have nothing to compare it to, so that makes it easier.:D

[Bitter Bulldog]

Did the 13 night X'mas cruise & it was totally awesome.

 

I wouldn't worry about reviews. Most are just from negative people but I also understand not all 3k people will have a great experience I guess.

 

I've cruise with Royal 4 times now & had a blast each time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

22-Jan-2015 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

10-Jan-2014 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

03-Feb-2012 Rhapsody Of The Seas 3 Night Sampler Cruise

[MicCanberra]

The reviews are done by maybe 2% of the cruising passengers, the chances of having people in that group who want to vent over something is quite high. Read between the lines and check them for trends. If they are all (more than 10) saying the same thing then perhaps there is a serious issue.

[Cruise ship fan]

Also note not to judge Royal Caribbean based on the Explorer or the Voyager. The ships do have a major issue with crowds. Which the other ships in the Royal fleet do not have. So just remember after the cruise and you are looking for another cruise, don't hold that against royal and assume all their ships are like that. It is only those two (It's an early Voyager class issue, that has just been made worse over the years).

 

We have been on her once when we couldn't go to any events and had to take all our food to the room as it was impossible to get a seat, the major issue was it being a 3 night cruise. Another time when it was still bad compared to other ships but not as bad as the other time. I am sure you will have a great time anyway, just make sure to not get worked up over the crowds.

[goodycruising]

Also note not to judge Royal Caribbean based on the Explorer or the Voyager. The ships do have a major issue with crowds. Which the other ships in the Royal fleet do not have. So just remember after the cruise and you are looking for another cruise, don't hold that against royal and assume all their ships are like that. It is only those two (It's an early Voyager class issue, that has just been made worse over the years).

 

We have been on her once when we couldn't go to any events and had to take all our food to the room as it was impossible to get a seat, the major issue was it being a 3 night cruise. Another time when it was still bad compared to other ships but not as bad as the other time. I am sure you will have a great time anyway, just make sure to not get worked up over the crowds.

 

We just went on Voyager once again (sister ship of Explorer) last November for a 13 night followed by a 10 night cruise. Never had an issue with finding a seat in the buffet, but have seen it fairly busy.

 

When it is dinner time, or shows first come out, certainly the lifts can be busy. Also don't judge any other cruises by a 3 nighter. We did a 5 nighter on Radiance and it was so different to the 7, 8 and 18 nighters we also went on with Radiance. Shorter cruises have people on that do want to try everything. That is why they are samplers.

 

We are also going on Explorer shortly, so if it was that bad, we must all be pretty silly going back again and again. ;)

[Royalty X]

Also note not to judge Royal Caribbean based on the Explorer or the Voyager. The ships do have a major issue with crowds. Which the other ships in the Royal fleet do not have. So just remember after the cruise and you are looking for another cruise, don't hold that against royal and assume all their ships are like that. It is only those two (It's an early Voyager class issue, that has just been made worse over the years).

 

We have been on her once when we couldn't go to any events and had to take all our food to the room as it was impossible to get a seat, the major issue was it being a 3 night cruise. Another time when it was still bad compared to other ships but not as bad as the other time. I am sure you will have a great time anyway, just make sure to not get worked up over the crowds.

We had none of those issues on Explorer for the last couple of weeks, and she was a full ship. Sometimes the lifts would take their time but that's nothing new. We just took the stairs instead.

 

I don't drink, but make sure you see Fe (pronounced "Fay") in the Crown & Kettle pub. She is fantastic! :)

[Bitter Bulldog]

I've had nothing but great times on this class of ship 4 times. But might be partly due to a good flow of the ship.

 

I have 2 young kids so we are generally up earlier for breakfast, & 6:30 my time dining. So earlier shows and empty bars.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

22-Jan-2015 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

10-Jan-2014 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

03-Feb-2012 Rhapsody Of The Seas 3 Night Sampler Cruise

[MicCanberra]

I've had nothing but great times on this class of ship 4 times. But might be partly due to a good flow of the ship.

 

I have 2 young kids so we are generally up earlier for breakfast, & 6:30 my time dining. So earlier shows and empty bars.

 

Good news, I will be enjoying the explorer soon as well. I know some areas will be busy and other swill not but that is part od samplers as you say.:D

[The_Big_M]

I haven't put a review up but a fair number of negative reviews were on the same 16th Dec Explorer cruise I was on.

 

This was their first visit to the islands (though the same captain and class of ship have been there many times before) and tendering was a debacle, which is what some of the commentary relates to. People were still only getting off after 1 p.m. for a shore visit that started at 8. It wasn't helped by the cruise director giving flat out false information, which turned me off him. Given 2 of the 3 ports were tender ports this was the biggest negative of the cruise to me.

 

As mentioned above there also were issues with the buffet with lines out the door to the elevators, amongst other things. If you've had good cruises before, these things came across as negatives as you know how it can and should work. Whereas if it's your first, you may not be as critical just thinking this is how it always is.

 

I'm sure they'll sort out the organisational issues that caused the first tendering issues in time, and if your cruise is to NZ where you have fewer or no tenders, it's going to be much less of a concern anyway. Similarly if you go to the MDR or other dining venues mostly, queues in the buffet wouldn't be a problem (and were only a problem as it peaked anyway). Hence why different people on the same ship can have varying perspectives.

Edited January 20, 2016 by The_Big_M

[Bitter Bulldog]

Good news, I will be enjoying the explorer soon as well. I know some areas will be busy and other swill not but that is part od samplers as you say.:D

 

 

A great place to take food, even if windjammer isn't full is the above level (under flow rider) nice quiet spot with tables & great views.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

22-Jan-2015 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

10-Jan-2014 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

03-Feb-2012 Rhapsody Of The Seas 3 Night Sampler Cruise

[Bitter Bulldog]

If we went to do breakfast in the main dining room, which we did about 4 times, we went when it opened - 8:30? & walked right in for some eggs Benedict :) same for lunch. & if you don't want to battle any crowds book some specialty dining. It's worth it IMO.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

22-Jan-2015 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

10-Jan-2014 Voyager Of The Seas3 Night Sampler Cruise

03-Feb-2012 Rhapsody Of The Seas 3 Night Sampler Cruise

[MicCanberra]

A great place to take food, even if windjammer isn't full is the above level (under flow rider) nice quiet spot with tables & great views.

 

Cheers, great tip.

 

If we went to do breakfast in the main dining room, which we did about 4 times, we went when it opened - 8:30? & walked right in for some eggs Benedict :) same for lunch. & if you don't want to battle any crowds book some specialty dining. It's worth it IMO.

 

 

 

Great tip again, well worth a stress free dinner.:D

[ozscot01]

We cruised on Voyager early December and had no real issues with crowds. I'm told there were 1000 kids on board but we didn't notice them! Always found a table in Windjammer, rarely waited more than 5 minutes for dinner in MDR, the girls used rock climbing , ice skating and Flowrider to their hearts content. These ships carry a lot of people but they are huge and built for it. If I have one suggestion it would be to avoid the Promenade during sales! Good grief don't these people have shops at home! Our tender operations were 10/10. Ashore by 9am on the 2 occasions we took tickets. Ashore by 8.10 on the day we were ready for early birds!

Ignore the whingers, you'll

Have a fabulous time.