Great 9 Night Explorer Cruise (10 Jan - 19 Jan)

[GMoney]

Finishing up a great 9 night cruise on Explorer. Was very concerned by some reviews going into the cruise, but things have gone well. Service good to excellent (especially in Schooner Bar and Giovannis Table). Ship is older and shows her age in spots, but no major issues or anything impacting my cruise. I’ve enjoyed sailing on the last Voyager class ship that still resembles her original design. The 9 night itinerary is the best - perfect pace of sea days and islands (ABC). 

Edited January 17, 2020 by GMoney

[Clarea]

Appreciate the report.

[normannna]

3 minutes ago, GMoney said:

Finishing up a great 9 night cruise on Explorer. Was very concerned by some reviews going into the cruise, but things have gone well. Service good to excellent (especially in Schooner Bar and Giovannis Table). Ship is older and shows her age in spots, but no major issues or anything impacting my cruise. I’ve enjoyed sailing on the last Voyager class ship that still resembles her original design. The 9 night itinerary is the best - perfect pace of sea days and islands (ABC). 

Good to know thanks.  I'm doing the 9 nighter in Feb.  Nice to get the ABCs for a change

[Crism]

It's such a great itinerary!  We did it on pre-refurb Navigator a few years ago.

[Heatherco]

Thanks so much for letting us know!  We are doing this cruise on the February 7 sailing and cannot wait!  We love the Explorer.

[vacationlover_mn]

I was really hoping to do this one next year, but bought a new cabin, so have to be thrifty for a while 😞. Hopefully we can do it in a couple of years!

[BuckeyeMark]

15 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

I was really hoping to do this one next year, but bought a new cabin, so have to be thrifty for a while 😞. Hopefully we can do it in a couple of years!

Royal sold you a cabin?!   Interior or exterior?  On what ship?  Do you get to cruise permanently in YOUR cabin?  Oh wait...

 

[Havin'fun]

Thanks for the update.  I will be doing the 9 night sailing this week.  Explorer has always been one of my favorite ships.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Thanks for the report!  We board EX today!! Woohoo!  Did you have a favorite bartender? 

[retired dude]

imagine a steeler fan wanting to know who the favorite bartender is.......ask antonio brown

[Eddie Wilson]

Thanks for that info GM.  We are also boarding soon.

How was the headline entertainment?  Was there a nice cover band?  Did you find any “can’t miss” excursions?

Most importantly (tongue in cheek), what are the questions to trivia sessions?

 NO, I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO KNOW!  Just for me, maybe not you, but B2B cruisers, or the guy last year who was on board the ship for months, getting 20 out of 20 on EVERY game, while the best of the rest may be at 15…That is a SHALLOW VICTORY.  

 

Glad and to see a nice report on Explorer.

 

Eddie

[Fa-Li]

Thank you so much for posting this!  On this cruise in a few weeks and much reassured by a good report!

[GMoney]

FYI. Ship docked around 640am. Self disembarkation started around 740am. I was at the gate for my flight at 810am.

 

no facial recognition and only 3 CBP agents

[GMoney]

The entertainment is really weak, but I don’t rely on RCI for amusement. 🤣

[GMoney]

I had great luck with the bartenders in the Schooner Bar. 

[retired dude]

eddie from cincy: if you go to the roll call for the jan 24th sailing of the explorer i listed the entertainment for  the ship that performed two weeks ago....Alot of folks liked them...there is also a cover band that usually starts around 8 p.m. and they are great...Good comic, another good magician, and a band from detroit  called horizon that does some good "motown"  No guarantee that they are still  onboard, but i am hoping ....headliners aren't what they used to be, but this ship is better than some of the others in the rccl fleet...there is also a caribbean theme band at the pool in the afternoon which some of the other small ships do not have...Only thing  i will miss is a three way and a couple of cheese coneys from the dixie in newport ky...Hope this helps......

[GMoney]

The Caribbean band Hott Spice is excellent 

[Eddie Wilson]

Thanks dude (retired)

[SteelCityCruiser10]

9 hours ago, retired dude said:

imagine a steeler fan wanting to know who the favorite bartender is.......ask antonio brown

?? Um Ok