Explorer of the Seas cruisers

[manitoba girl]

Hi I need your opinions.If you have cruisesd on the Exploreer of the Seas I want to here your opinons of her,good bad or otherwise.

We are considering a cruise for this July with some RCCL newbies.We went on the VOS years ago and loved it but now we want to try the Explorer.Please let us know how you feel

Thanks in advance

[Leslie K]

We were on Explorer in Feb 04. It was my first cruise in many years and I had a great time. The shows were great, lots of activities, food great. The negative is that we went President's week and the ship was full. Our first day at sea it was impossible to find a chair or chaise to sit on.. took the crew a couple of days to pull some very dirty chairs out of storage but that did fix much of the problem. Now if people didn't drop their stuff on a chaise and not return for hours it would have been even better. Last year we were on Jewel of the Seas and I actually liked the slightly smaller size. The shows were better on Explorer however, including having the ice show. Shopping was also more interesting in the Explorer promenade. That said, we are going again in Feb on Explorer this time doing the Eastern route.

[megemsmom]

We sailed the Explorer this past July. I can not tell you how much we enjoyed her. She has had some work done since our cruise so she must be even better. The shows were wonderful, do not miss the ice show. The rock wall, ice skating, in line skating and mini golf were a blast. Sailed with two 14 year olds and they loved it. They did some activities with the teen club and we got to spend lots of family time as well.

 

We read lots about the food before we sailed. I was nervous since DH and kids are pretty picky. No problem, the waiters knew by the second night how pickky they are and went out of their way to make sure everyone had plenty to eat!!! The week went by in a blink of an eye and we all would go again in a minute. Have fun!!!

[chubbycheeks]

She's my favorite ship and you'll enjoy her. I wish I could go again....

[Merion_Mom]

Maybe it's because Explorer was my "first", but I love her more than the Voyager, so I think that you'll love her AT LEAST as much as you do the Voyager!

[shazzz]

I cruised the Voyager on July 15th..were u on that date??? and now we are booked on the Explorer for July 15th...when were u planning on cruising??????

[Ocean Boy]

Explorer is my favorite ship. I have nothing but good to say about her. Only issue is that I'm not aboard her now.

[Dreamfinders]

We sailed the Explorer July of 2004, our first RCCL cruise. We LOVED it. The crew was wonderful, the cruise director, Clo, was great. As others have said, don't miss the ice show, and Quest was a hoot too. We had a wonderful time and hope you do too!!

 

ENJOY!

[TTCruiser]

Here are reviews from our last two Explorer of the Seas sailings...enjoy the read!!

 

Explorer of the Seas 05/08/05

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=182959

 

Explorer of the Seas 05/09/04

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=45700

[luvjftffc]

We just got off on Oct. 16, and we loved the ship. The cruise director was Carly. must see the ice show. it was amazing. depending on your type of music there is a bar for every type. you will have a blast.

[phantom728]

We cruised on the Explorer in January this past year and loved it:) This was our first cruise and I'm sure we will always have a fondness for this ship and it's wonderful memories.

 

The ship was so beautiful and there were so many activities and things to see. As I've told others...if you say you are bored, then you're just not paying attention.

 

Enjoy:D

[lorilou]

here's the link to my review of our January 2005 review of the Explorer. It was wonderful and I'd go again this afternoon if I could :D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=127987

[Merion_Mom]

I cruised the Voyager on July 15th..were u on that date??? and now we are booked on the Explorer for July 15th...when were u planning on cruising??????

I'm not sure if that question was directed at me, but I'll answer it. :)

 

We sailed on the Explorer in August of 2002 and December of 2003 (New Year's cruise), and on the Voyager in August 2004. (5 day quickie to NE/Canada)

[Merion_Mom]

Talk about petty things! :D One difference that I noticed is that the Voyager has a HUGE counter-thingy jutting out into the Royal Promenade, instead of the movable tables and chairs that the Explorer has. This WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY annoyed me. :D

[quiltsnh]

We sailed her in APril 2005. Here is a link to the review I wrote:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=173243

 

You will just love it!

[warrior planner]

I am taking my parents on the Explorer in December. Is there a bar with oldies playing or country/western music?

Thanks

[DJan07]

I was just recently on the Explorer and just let me say that it is an AMAZING ship and I had the best vacation of my life on it. Although my family did the Eastern Caribbean I have done the Western Caribbean on the Jubilee in 2002. It doesn't even compare to my cruise on the Explorer of the Seas. If you have any questions about the cruise feel free to e-mail me at djan07@hotmail.com I am only 16, but I've done an immense amount of research. Happy Cruising!!

 

Derek

 

The Best 2 Vacations EVER!!!

Jubilee- July 22, 2002- 5 Day Western Caribbean From Tampa

Explorer of the Seas- July 24, 2005- 7 Day Eastern Caribbean From Miami

[onceayear]

I went Oct 09 to Oct 16. The ship was very beautiful. We had an aft cabin 7388 on the corner and the balcony was very large. Three of us girls shared the cabin and it had enough room in the closet for all our clothes even tho the room was a bit small.

 

The adult pool and hot tub area was stunning. The food and service were very good; although I liked the food on Carnival's Lido Deck better than Explorer of the Seas Windjammer and Island Grill.

 

It was a wonderful cruise and it would be very difficult for anyone not to have a good time.

[manitoba girl]

I cruised the Voyager on July 15th..were u on that date??? and now we are booked on the Explorer for July 15th...when were u planning on cruising??????

Nope,we have never been on the Voyager.We went on the Visions to Alaska about 5 years ago and then we went the the"C cruisline.(kind of a party name starts with C ends with l, I will not even say that word ever again)And now we are back to stay.

We are planning on going on the 28th out of NJ.Can't wait!!!!

[fishawn]

Hi there- I was looking for people that had been in aft cabins on Explorer of the seas... was the aft balcony cool? It looks in the pics like there is a big structure behind you... can you see okay? I don't go to this site often, can you email me? lisakinne@yahoo.com Thanks!

[Glad2bhome]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=5152755#post5152755:mad:

[medic123]

I was on the Explorer in September. We battled hurricane Rita and TS Phillipe. It was still the best cruise yet. I would not hesitate to go on this ship again. A couple in our M&M group had cruised on her in April and while on board they booked for the September cruise. The staff on this ship is wonderful.

[argent nc]

Just got back, my Explorer review is here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=256473

 

If you like the big ships, you'll probably be fine.

 

best,

Laura

[Aussie4]

We are a family 4 with kids age 7 and 4. This was our first cruise and was truly one of the most wonderful experiences we have had.

The best thing we did was book a balcony suite. Sitting there early morning or late evening was wonderful. The ship was huge and we didnt bring our map so finding things at first was tricky. We loved the shows, the Windjammer/Island Grill. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The pools were great but very busy - we went around 8.00am. to avoid the rush and it was heaven !!

and Pina Coladas at the Sky Bar every evening after dropping the kids back to Adventure Ocean was my favourite thing !!

[ginadis2002]

We just got off the ship and while we had a wonderful time, it wasn't one of our best cruises. We found the dining staff (headwaiter and maitre d') to be difficult in accomodating us in our changes. Difficult as in nasty and bullying not difficult because they couldn't accomodate us.

 

We loved the ship. We thought the food was okay. Some of the long time cruisers we were with enjoyed the cruise but missed things that had been eliminated such as the horse racing. They also didn't care for the cruise director and thought the shows were not as good as they have been in the past. That's their comments, not mine. I have nothing to go on, not having sailed with RCI before.