9 Night Explorer: Many random questions from first time RCCL cruiser

[Sweetspot]

We are sailing on the Explorer out of Bayonne in June on a 9 night cruise. We have done 4 DCL cruises and I really enjoy the comfort level of knowing what to expect and feel at a lose because there are so many RCCL ships and information is hard to gather. I was hoping someone could answer some questions.

 

Are there a drink stations where you can get water, ice tea, etc available 24 hours. Where are they?

 

Is nightly entertainment just one show after dinner (we have early seating) or is there a family show, then main show and then a late night adult show like Disney. Is there anything to do at night other than bands in bars or casino? Is there an age limit on night activities?

 

Do they offer family activities during the day or is spending the day around the pool the usual activity for the day?

 

We are in concierge. Is there a concierge meet when you board like DCL or do you just head to lunch, your room and never really see the concierge. Should I even expect anything special other than a larger room being in concierge?

 

Is there a favorite spot people request in the restaurant?

 

Are there any don't misses other than the shows? Are there any hidden places that only the pros know about (like secret deck 7 on DCL)?

 

My son is very high functioning autistic. Disney is exceptional at understanding his difficulties and I know I shouldn't expect the same but I was wondering if anyone has sailed with similar circumstances.

 

Should I expect no structure in programming for my 14 and 16 yr olds? I've read that the activities planned on their Navigators tend to never happen. Does that mean that the teens tend to roam or is there a way for them to make friends?

 

Has anyone sailed a 9 night? Do they repeat menus and activities or is everyday new? Does anyone know of links for Navigators or menus I could find for a 9 night Eastern?

 

Is there an immigration that you need to go through in St. Thomas. On DCL it's first thing in the morning. Getting into St. Thomas at 1:00 would make it easier at least if it's necessary.

 

Is the Promanade open 24 hours? Is there 24 hour free ice cream or is there a time limit on all of it.

 

I have a million more unfortunately. I know some people enjoy being surprised on the ship but our family situation makes it easier for me to be completely prepared. Thank you for taking the time to answering some of my questions.

[superjerryw]

We are sailing on the Explorer out of Bayonne in June on a 9 night cruise. We have done 4 DCL cruises and I really enjoy the comfort level of knowing what to expect and feel at a lose because there are so many RCCL ships and information is hard to gather. I was hoping someone could answer some questions.

 

Are there a drink stations where you can get water, ice tea, etc available 24 hours. Where are they? - Yes - in the Windjammer

 

Is nightly entertainment just one show after dinner (we have early seating) or is there a family show, then main show and then a late night adult show like Disney. Is there anything to do at night other than bands in bars or casino? Is there an age limit on night activities? There is one show each night in the theatre after dinner for early seating passengers. If there is a comedian on board there may be a late night adult show on one of the nights. There may also be a 50's sock hop one night, the not-so newlywed game and then there is always the night they have the Quest game.... Anyone under 18 will not be allowed in the adult shows or in the disco.

 

Do they offer family activities during the day or is spending the day around the pool the usual activity for the day? There are no specific activities geared to families as a whole, but there is a wide range of activities during the day, pool games, movies, lectures, etc.

 

We are in concierge. Is there a concierge meet when you board like DCL or do you just head to lunch, your room and never really see the concierge. Should I even expect anything special other than a larger room being in concierge? Youl should find a letter in your cabin from the Conceirge that includes a special key to the Concierge lounge.

 

Is there a favorite spot people request in the restaurant? Many people like to sit near the window.

 

Are there any don't misses other than the shows? Are there any hidden places that only the pros know about (like secret deck 7 on DCL)? The don't miss item is the ice show. Check the daily program to find out when the tickets will be distributed.

 

Should I expect no structure in programming for my 14 and 16 yr olds? I've read that the activities planned on their Navigators tend to never happen. Does that mean that the teens tend to roam or is there a way for them to make friends? There is a teen program. They should have no problems meetings other kids their age.

 

Has anyone sailed a 9 night? Do they repeat menus and activities or is everyday new? Does anyone know of links for Navigators or menus I could find for a 9 night Eastern? The menu is different each night, nothing is repeated.

 

Is the Promanade open 24 hours? Is there 24 hour free ice cream or is there a time limit on all of it. Promenade is open 24 hours but the stores will be closed late at night. The 24 hour ice cream stations have been removed since kids seemed to make a mess of them all the time.

....

[Sweetspot]

Thank you superjerryw for your answers to some of my questions! Does anyone know any answers to the others?

 

Also to add a few to clarify, if the drink station is in the Windjammer does that mean that they are open and serving food 24 hours also? If they did away with the ice cream station is the only place it is available Ben & Jerry's?

 

Again, sorry for so many questions. Thank you to anyone with answers.

[DPurcell58]

We were on the Voyager 9 night last Aug and will be on the Explorer this Aug. My son is almost 12, PDD/NOS, HFA. He's been on 3 cruises so far. Last year he was in the 9-11 yr old group on the Voyager. We always tell them about him, they are great about it and, so far, he's always fit in well. We even let him sign himself out last year for the 1st time and he would meet us either at the pool or the promenade at night. He likes structure, so this year i think we may keep him in 9-11 group as I've heard the 12-14 kind of just "hang out" . That wouldn't be for him. Any more questions, just let me know.

[lucygirl]

Hi, which cruise in June? We are on the 9 night Explorer on June 30th and I also have a child with similar concerns. How old is your son?:)

[pacthepuppies]

PDD/NOS? My son is Pediatric Bipolar/Add/ADHD... also likes structure but not too much crowds etc... is going on 1st cruise next month... any advice???

Lisa

[Sweetspot]

pacthepuppies: PDD/NOS is Pervasive Develpmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Many doctors give this diagnosis to younger children before a true diagnosis can be made. My son is 16 and at this point is very high functioning (we've been very lucky and years of work) and we have been on 4 prior DCL cruises where he's grown over the years. It was difficult the first couple with change, noise and crowds but as long as we prepared him he was fine. It's great to not have to prepare him so much anymore but I still like to prepare him with what I know he will care about which is why I ask so many questions. I am mostly worried because he's too old for the kids clubs and from what I read the teens aren't really structured. If they have no family activities scheduled during the day I'm not sure what we will do with all those sea days.

 

lucygirl: We are on the 6/16 cruise, it would have been great to find someone similar in age who is similar to him.

[superjerryw]

Thank you superjerryw for your answers to some of my questions! Does anyone know any answers to the others?

 

Also to add a few to clarify, if the drink station is in the Windjammer does that mean that they are open and serving food 24 hours also? If they did away with the ice cream station is the only place it is available Ben & Jerry's?

 

Again, sorry for so many questions. Thank you to anyone with answers.

 

There should be a beverage station in the Windjammer that is open 24/7. They will not be serving food around the clock. The casual dinner should last until 9:30 or 10:00PM. There is usually an early risers breakfast that opens at about 6:00AM with limited choices. Between dinner and breakfast there is no food service in the Windjammer. As for ice cream, you can purchase it at Ben & Jerrys at any time. You can also order the free ice cream for desert at either lunch or dinner in the dining room. There will also be a free soft serve ice cream machine available during much of the day in the Windjammer.

[DPurcell58]

Well there's always Bingo and they have pool activities most days that you can watch. This is what I worry about as my son gets older, whether he'll like the older age groups or not.

[csbenedict]

Is there an immigration that you need to go through in St. Thomas. On DCL it's first thing in the morning. Getting into St. Thomas at 1:00 would make it easier at least if it's necessary.

 

I don't believe we will have to go through immigration at St. Thomas since it is our first stop on the cruise.

Make sure you check out the Roll Call board for our cruise!

[superjerryw]

You would only go through Immigration inspection in St Thomas if it is the last stop on the cruise and no foreign ports remain to be visited.

[superjerryw]

You would only go through Immigration inspection in St Thomas if it was the last port to be visited on the cruise and no other foreign ports remained.

[hac82]

We are on the 7/14 Explorer cruise. Immigration will happen in San Juan not St. Thomas since we will be in St Maarten between the U.S. ports.

[Sweetspot]

Bingo and pool games... I was really hoping for more. They don't have anything else to do during the day?

 

How does Immigration on RCCL work? Does everyone have to go through it and is it a long process?

 

superjerryw: Windjammer doesn't serve lunch? Do you know if there are places to get burgers etc around lunch near the pool? Are fries available anywhere else but Johnny Rockets (room service possibly)?

[Merion_Mom]

We are sailing on the Explorer out of Bayonne in June on a 9 night cruise. We have done 4 DCL cruises and I really enjoy the comfort level of knowing what to expect and feel at a loss because there are so many RCCL ships and information is hard to gather. I was hoping someone could answer some questions.

 

Is nightly entertainment just one show after dinner (we have early seating) or is there a family show, then main show and then a late night adult show like Disney. Is there anything to do at night other than bands in bars or casino? Is there an age limit on night activities?

Generally, there is a show for main seating diners after their dinner, and a show for late seating diners before their dinner. Some nights, there is also a late night adult comedian. There is no enforced age limit. It is SUGGESTED that youngsters NOT attend the late night comedian, but they don't actually kick ANYONE out.

Some of the teen groups will have posted activities for the evening. They happen if people show up. The teen club is open in the evening. There are late night activities for adults such as The Quest, specialty music dance sessions (country line dancing, Rockin' Through the Ages, salsa, etc) There is a piano player in the Schooner Bar who does singalong stuff. There are musical groups playing in other open areas.

 

Do they offer family activities during the day or is spending the day around the pool the usual activity for the day?

There will be lots of stuff listed in your daily Cruise Compass, such as Music Trivia, Name That Tune, Napkin-folding classes, Towel-Animal making classes, wine tasting, casino lessons). The basketball court, rockclimbing wall, inline skating, mini-golf are open during the day. There are games at the pool as well as swimming and sunning.

 

We are in concierge. Is there a concierge meet when you board like DCL or do you just head to lunch, your room and never really see the concierge. Should I even expect anything special other than a larger room being in concierge?

You should go to the Concierge Lounge with the key that will be in your cabin and meet him/her on the first evening. There will be drinks and hors d'oeuvres there from about 5 to 8:30, and s/he will tell you about other services that can be provided.

 

Is there a favorite spot people request in the restaurant?

We don't. It is usually dark at dinner time, so there's not much to see out the window. :)

 

Should I expect no structure in programming for my 14 and 16 yr olds? I've read that the activities planned on their Navigators tend to never happen. Does that mean that the teens tend to roam or is there a way for them to make friends?

Alas, teen programs for this age group don't always happen. It can vary from sailing to sailing, and depends on the dynamics of the particular kids on board and the Adventure Ocean counselors.

 

Is the Promenade open 24 hours? Is there 24 hour free ice cream or is there a time limit on all of it.

The Promenade itself is just an open area of the ship. The Cafe Promenade is open (almost) 24 hours a day, with slices of pizza, cute little bistro sandwiches (e.g., ham and brie on a croissant), coffee, tea, soda. (they close for cleaning for a couple of hours pre-dawn) (gee, how would I know this? :D :D )

 

You can roam the ship checking to see if any of the ice cream machines up on the pool deck are open. There's one IN the Windjammer, but that would be available only during the WJ's hours. The station in the Promenade is gone, and B & J's (highly overrated, in my personal opinion) keeps regular, but not LATE LATE night hours.

[Sweetspot]

Thank you everyone for answering my questions. I appreciate being able to prepare my son. His favorite things on DCL were playing video games in the teen club, getting ice cream when he wanted during the day and the availabitity of hamburgers and fries during the day all day and then ordering a hamburger, fries and Mickey bar from room service at midnight. Looks like he'll find the ice cream not sure about the other things.

 

Does anyone know of a link that will take me to a Compass for a 9 night Eastern cruise?

[cruisetarp]

The Explorer will not begin sailing the 9 night Eastern cruise until May when it repositions from Florida to Cape Liberty. Hopefully after then someone will have the Compasses for you.

[dashton]

Sweetspot, check out out Explorer 6-16-06 link on the Meet & Mingle page. We would love to have you join our postings. Sign up for the Meet & Mingle party. We also plan a informal meeting at 4:00 on the day we sail at the pool bar. Check out our postings for other information. :cool:

[Jtd724]

On my cruises they always had 2 shows a night, one for the early, one for the late.

[cmich068]

I am a teenager who was on Explorer 2 weeks ago, it's not a 9 night but it's something.

 

Are there a drink stations where you can get water, ice tea, etc available 24 hours. Where are they?

 

No. IceW ater is available for free from any Bars or Cafe Promeande. Ice Water, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate 24/7 at Cafe Promenade.

 

Is nightly entertainment just one show after dinner (we have early seating) or is there a family show, then main show and then a late night adult show like Disney. Is there anything to do at night other than bands in bars or casino? Is there an age limit on night activities?

 

No specific Family Shows. There are Main Shows twice, once for early seating and once for late seating. There are late night adult shows on some nights. No Age Limits on anything other than The Chamber after 10:00. Teens and Kids CAN go to the Late Night Adult activities such as Late Night Comedy or The Quest.

 

Do they offer family activities during the day or is spending the day around the pool the usual activity for the day?

 

Check your Compass. Pool is the most popular, but the Sports Court, Rock Climbing, Mini Golf, and Ice Skating are always popular.

 

Are there any don't misses other than the shows? Are there any hidden places that only the pros know about (like secret deck 7 on DCL)?

 

Don't miss the Quest. Most Entertaining thing on cruises, period. The Helipad is not on the ship's maps, you go outside on Deck 4 forward, turn towards the front of the ship, walk up the stairs, and straight. You will be right at the front of the ship, on the helipad.

 

My son is very high functioning autistic. Disney is exceptional at understanding his difficulties and I know I shouldn't expect the same but I was wondering if anyone has sailed with similar circumstances.

 

Depends on the age. The teenage staff don't get involved much, but if he's in a younger age group, they will accomidate you.

 

Should I expect no structure in programming for my 14 and 16 yr olds? I've read that the activities planned on their Navigators tend to never happen. Does that mean that the teens tend to roam or is there a way for them to make friends?

 

We make friends in the facilities on the first night, but don't expect structure. The fact is, most of the stuff they schedule is downright pathetic, and we have ZERO interest in it. We roam in groups. The schedule is a suggestion only. We much prefer activities such as Quest or Comedy Shows.

 

Has anyone sailed a 9 night? Do they repeat menus and activities or is everyday new? Does anyone know of links for Navigators or menus I could find for a 9 night Eastern?

 

I havn't, but they won't repeat things. I'm sure of that.

 

Is the Promanade open 24 hours? Is there 24 hour free ice cream or is there a time limit on all of it.

 

There is no free Ice Cream on the Promenade anymore. The promenade deck is open 24/7, the stores arn't, but the Cafe is, food (pizza, sandwiches, cookies, dessets). The free Ice Cream machine is located Deck 11 Aft, they close the gating during the night, but we lifted it and enjoyed ice cream anyways.

 

Room Service is free, and food is available 24/7

 

[zantedeschia]

....

[zantedeschia]

 

Is there an immigration that you need to go through in St. Thomas.

I deleted my first message cause I realized you were on Explorer which I'm not familiar with, so I went and looked up the itinerary.

 

Anyhow. I'm confused why you think you'd go through immigration since St. Thomas is a part of the United States. Travelling from New Jersey directly to St. Thomas is no different than going from New Jersey to New York State. Or say Texas to New Mexico (I realize Texas is a 'whole 'nother country' but they still don't put up immigration stops at the borders). If you didn't go anywhere else and came straight back from St. Thomas, you wouldn't be going through immigration or customs cause you never left the United States! (you might have to pass an agricultural inspection tho, I don't know all the requirements)

 

Which brings me to my other point. I think you're confusing immigration with customs. I notice they lump the 2 departments together on cruises. I have been in situations re-entering the US where customs and immigration were separate stations. Being I'm a US citizen, all I had to do was flash my US passport and I was waved right through immigration. (tho I don't know how it is now, it seems immigration procedures change weekly.) If St. Thomas was the last stop on your itinerary, then yeah you'd go through customs cause St. Thomas would be your re-entry point into the US (assuming you previously made stops at ports in foreign countries).

 

Then there were the times I went to Hawaii and many people thought I was travelling internationally, but that's a horse of a completely different colour.

[wvjohn]

Cruised recently with with my 12 year old who has similar issues on the voyager. He really liked the teen club in the evenings - it ended up being mostly middle schoolers and the staff was very attentive at the teen club, they had contests, etc. Video arcade is $$ but they opened it up free one hour a day. Rock climbing ice skating was very popular. During the day they have movies if it is rainy. We found that quiet times sitting on the balcony reading etc., were very helpful helpful because the stimulation level can get pretty high. We went ashore most days so that took up the days. Lots of exercise, walking the track and swimming were also helpful. Of course there were a few rocky patches, but overall a very good experience and he really enjoyed it. He had his sister hang out with a lot of time so he always had companyif he wanted it. He really liked the structure of meet us at the windjammer for dinner at 6:30 - etc. We ate most of out meals there because we found it worked better with 3 kids than a long sit down and the food was fine.