"LIVE" from the Explorer 11/04/07

[stlrboo]

Radio..: Many thanks for the great week of 'entertainment'! :) I was a daily watcher, just didn't chime in..! We have a CC 'group' sailing on April 11, 2008 (9 nite), so everything we hear/see about the EOS will be beneficial to us!:p

 

Thanks again... :D

[Radio]

Radio..: Many thanks for the great week of 'entertainment'! :) I was a daily watcher, just didn't chime in..! We have a CC 'group' sailing on April 11, 2008 (9 nite), so everything we hear/see about the EOS will be beneficial to us!:p

 

Thanks again... :D

 

 

Thanks for the nice comments. . . I enjoyed doing the "Live" post , and I am very happy that people seemed to enjoy it !

 

My Trip photos, are almost ready. . . I will post the link when completed !

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Radio]

Explorer of the Seas Review (Nov.4 - Nov. 11)

>snip<

To sum up: We loved this cruise. Loved Explorer, loved our balcony. Loved Bermuda, never been there. Disappointed that we couldn’t spend more time on deck, but it was cold and windy on several days. That’s not RCI’s fault at all. But there is soooo much to do on board that we never felt that we had nothing to do. >snip<

 

Geat Review Oliver and Linda ! You should post your Review on the Cruise Critic Member Review Board Too !

 

It was very detailed !

 

Thanks

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[crisperjr]

Geat Review Oliver and Linda ! You should post your Review on the Cruise Critic Member Review Board Too !

 

It was very detailed !

 

Thanks

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

I did! Enjoyed meeting you at M&M! Look forward to your photo's.

 

Oliver

[Radio]

Wow. . These 2 pics dissapeared for some reason. . . Here we go again !

 

Radio

 

Final View of Explorer of the Seas at Cape Liberty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Long Cape Liberty. . . I will be Back !

 

 

.

[sunor]

Explorer of the Seas Review (Nov.4 - Nov. 11)

 

 

My wife & I booked this cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary together over a year before we sailed. This was our 5th cruise overall, 2nd with RCCL. Our cabin # 7588 was our first balcony cabin. We traveled with another couple who stayed on deck seven as well.

 

Embarkation:

Due to Hurricane Noel, Explorer was going to be significantly delayed in its arrival to Cape Liberty from its previous cruise. RCI employees spent most of Saturday (the day before our cruise) contacting all the Nov. 4th cruisers and advising them not to arrive at the port until after 4pm. They also advised that boarding would not take place until 7pm and sail away might not happen until midnight. That’s about 7 hours later than originally planned. Dinner for the evening would be “open seating” buffet in the main dining rooms or the Windjammer.

 

We arrived at the port from home in Virginia about 4pm on Sunday. The terminal area was already quite crowded. But we were quite surprised in seeing that RCCL had set up table after table full of free food and drinks. Sub sandwiches, pizza, hot dogs, along with soda, water, or juices were abundant throughout the terminal. TV’s were also tuned to the Colts-Patriots game. I must say, RCI did a fantastic job in “damage control”. That said, there were a number of passengers that were unable to gain access to the inside of the terminal due to the sheer numbers of passengers already inside. These folks were left outside in the “tent” area without access to the food or access to updated information. That may be one of the many reasons that RCI issued $31 per person OBC (on board credit) – that certainly was a generous gesture by RCI. They cannot control the weather, and slowing down the ship to avoid direct contact with Noel – keeping passengers safe, was the right decision in my mind.

 

We carried on 12 bottles of soda aboard in a large tote bag. Had no problem going through security. We were in our cabin by 9:30pm and since there was no sit down seating in the dining room due to the late departure, we went to the Windjammer for food. Met Randy, our room steward and asked him to provide us with a LARGE bucket of ice, so we could put several bottles of soda in it. Also asked him to empty out the mini fridge so we could put our own soda in there as well. In our cabin we found our Crown & Anchor coupon books, as well as info on our Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle get together.

 

The Muster Drill was held at 10:30pm then we went top side for sail away, which took place about 12:30am. Nice to see the NY skyline all lit up at night, but it was quite chilly. After passing under the Varrazano bridge, we went to bed.

 

Day 2 at Sea

Still chilly outside, not a good day for pool activities. There were a fair amount of folks out on deck walking around, but in jackets or coats. Spent the day exploring the ship. Also did the Ocean and Atmospheric tour. You just sign up in the library for this and then meet in the screening room at the appointed time. This was quite interesting. Also went to our Meet & Mingle party at 11am in The Chamber. I’d say there were 25 or so people there. Nice of RCCL to do this. I won the insulated carry bag with pens, key chains, and a Bingo the Dog with 5 bingo cards!!!! ;)

 

This was our first formal night, and saw most men dressed in suits & ties, very few Tuxes. Not a lot of fancy cocktail dresses did I see for the ladies. Just well dressed ladies. We ate at the 2nd (8:30pm ) seating. I had told RCI that I’d like to acknowledge our 30th anniversary this first formal night. They came out with a large slice of cake and a “Happy Anniversary” sign on it and all the waiters sang happy anniversary to us. That was nice. My wife & I didn’t want an elaborate celebration, but an acknowledgement was real nice for us. After dinner we attended the 10:45 show, “Wild, Cool & Swingin”. Nice variety show, good singers, good band.

 

Oh, noticed some commotion on our deck 7 during the afternoon. Several cabins up from us we saw the caution tape along one door. Going in and out were crew members with masks and gloves and lots of high tech cleaning gear. I got a look inside – sure wish I hadn’t, looked like a scene out of a horror movie. It sure looked like lots and lots of blood, but was told it wasn’t. An elderly woman became quite sick and was taken to the ships hospital. I saw her back in the room the next day, then never saw the couple after that.

 

 

Day 3 Bermuda

Arrived about 9am at Kings Wharf Bermuda. Really enjoyed watching the ship pass the island on my balcony. Weather today is Much warmer, supposed to be in the upper 70’s and sunny. After leaving the ship we approached the “Taxi Lady” about getting us a taxi to take us on a tour of the island. She hooked us, and a few other folks up with Mack Bulford, of Bulford’s Mini Bus Service who started us out on a 4 hr tour. Mack was great - a wealth of information, and fun to be with! We traveled to the usual tourist spots, Fort Scaur, the Lighthouse, and Horseshoe Beach. But also stopped by Mike Douglass’s house, as well as the estate of the Mott family (of the Applesauce fame). But an interesting side story was the trip to a private home under construction. Several of us had asked why are the roofs of most of the homes made of concrete? Mack explained that Bermuda gets its water supply from rain water, so roofs are made to channel and collect rain runoff into underground storage tanks, where it is used for bathing and flushing. Drinking water comes from some wells, but mostly from store bought bottled water. We kept asking about these roofs, are they prefab? How heavy? So Mack took us to one of his family members who is a builder at a house under construction. There we learned that the roof frame is built to handle the load of these pre-cut concrete “shingles”. There is a stone mason on site as well to do custom cut work, as well as “weave” the concrete together to form valleys when needed. Quite an interesting side stop, and we thanked Mack for stopping. We returned to Kings Wharf and ate at the Frog & Onion. I loved the Fish Chowder. And the local beer. A bit pricey though, but very good food non the less.

 

Back on board watched the sun set and had a few drinks until dinner. The 10:45 show featured Jay J. Downs, who had performed with “The Foundations” and was on The Benny Hill Show. Very good multi talented (comedian, singer, and musician) performer, who did an hour show. Recommend you see him if he is performing on future cruises.

 

Day 4 Bermuda

Had breakfast in the cabin. Other cruisers had said that “if you don’t see what you want on you room service menu, just write it down” --- we did that. And example was a plate of smoke salmon with cream cheese. Not on the menu, so we wrote it in, it came! Had planned to eat on the balcony, but with the sun on our side of the ship (port side) it was just too hot. So we ate inside.

 

Took the ferry into Hamilton. You can purchase round trip tokens for 1 or 2 days at a ticket window just outside the ship. The ferry’s run about every 15 min. Hamilton is very busy, but very clean. We shopped, and walked around the town taking tons of pictures. Another nice day, a little more cloudy, but still up in the 70’s.

 

Since we were to sail away at 3pm, we were back on board by 2pm and had a bite at the Windjammer. While we pulled away from Kings Wharf, there was a Celebrity Ship waiting for us to leave – The Constellation. About ½ hour after leaving Bermuda we saw what looked like a military helicopter circle the ship. It was not a medical helicopter (to big for that) We were still standing on the bow when it first flew by. There were some rumors that it had landed on the ship, but this craft was way to big to do that. After it circled us, we never saw it again.

 

Went to the Welcome Back party at 7:45pm. I like this perk. For all returning cruisers, RCI holds a welcome back party (for sailings of 7 days or longer) with free drinks and food. Captain Erik mentioned that there were almost 1000 returning cruisers aboard this time.

 

After dinner we watched the “Love and Marriage” show. Very very funny. Can’t tell you what the funniest line in the show was as this is a PG board, but it caught everyone off guard! And I imagine it will brand the newlywed couple’s husband who said it, for life.

 

Day 5 at Sea

Had breakfast in the cabin again, but now it’s to cold outside to eat. Ate lunch at Johnny Rockets. Used the coupons from our Crown & Anchor books to get in without paying the $3.95 cover. Very good food, the waiters were fun to watch doing their “dance” routines. Saw the Ice Show at 5pm. This is not to be missed as everyone says. The shows theme was “Spirit of the Seasons”, very well done!

 

Two shows tonight, 7pm “Fast Forward” and 10:15 “Dancing in the Street 70’s Style”. Also, in the Promenade was the “Village People” show.

 

Day 6 Boston

Here is where we had a bit of a snag. Returning from Bermuda you must pass through immigrations before entering the US. We were instructed to meet in the dinning room at different time slots depending on your deck, or shore excursion. I have a shore excursion, so I am to be on deck 5 at 7am. I arrived at 6:35am to find the line has stretched into the Promenade and growing deeper and deeper by the minute. Took me 1 hour to get thru immigrations. All to show someone my passport. (I don’t think he even looked at it)

 

I left the ship at 9am for a tour of Fenway Park. It’s cold (about 35 degrees, but sunny) A bit disappointed that we were not able to actually get onto the field but it was a very informative tour. Our tour guide took us on a city tour of Boston both going and coming from Fenway. Now THAT was informative. Well done! We planned to meet up with the ladies at Quincy Market – Fanneuil Hall as they went shopping. Our tour bus driver had no problem dropping us guys off at the market while the rest continued onto the ship.

 

After rendezvousing at Quincy Market, we ate lunch at Ye Old Oyster House. GREAT Clam Chowder, the best I’ve ever tasted! Our traveling partners brother came down from CT to meet with them, and he drove us around the city for a bit as well. After that, he drove us back to the ship at about 4:30pm. We sailed at 6pm. This was our 2nd formal night and I had asked our waiter the night before that all of us would like 2 lobster tails for dinner and he delivered them! No problems! By the way, the lobster is listed under “Fisherman’s Plate”

 

The 10:30 show was “Sean & Dave” – a comedy duo. Lots of juggling knives along with jokes, it was OK.

 

Day 7 at Sea

Very cold outside, some decks are closed. Lots of wind and lots of white caps. Explorer seems to handle the 4-11ft seas very easily. I noticed some motion, and that “shudder” that some of the other cruisers had mentioned, but nothing I imagine to compare what the cruisers went through during Noel. Played bingo with the free cards I won at the M&M – no luck. The evenings show was Robbie Printz comedian. Very funny guy, very good show. By the way, I hadn’t mentioned Allen Brooks the cruise director. He is as good as everyone has said so. Very funny, very quick witted. I could see why everyone raves about him.

 

Got our luggage packed and set out by 11pm, then went for a final stroll on deck. Still very very cold, but not quite as windy.

 

Sunday we arrived at Cape Liberty by 7am and were cleared by 8am. I was off the ship at 10:30 and on the road by 11am.

 

To sum up:

 

We loved this cruise. Loved Explorer, loved our balcony. Loved Bermuda, never been there. Disappointed that we couldn’t spend more time on deck, but it was cold and windy on several days. That’s not RCI’s fault at all. But there is soooo much to do on board that we never felt that we had nothing to do. The staff, Randy, our cabin steward, Ruben our bar waiter, and our table waiter (don’t remember his name) were fabulous. I can’t remember when I was treated so “royally” --- Oh, yes I can – last time I cruised ---- on the Majesty of the Seas!

 

Many thanks RCI, we will be back.

 

Oliver & Linda Peters

crisperjr@verizon.net

 

Hi Oliver and Linda,

 

Enjoyed your review, very detailed, especially enjoyed the roof story. We will be going to Bermuda next Sept. We are sailing on EOS in Dec, first time and looking forward to it.

 

Thanks for taking the time and as Radio mentioned you should post it on the Cruise Critic.

 

Suz

[sea-cruise]

Will be taking my grandson on the Explorer November 23rd for his very first cruise. My husband and I are excited to take him. We may end up with another cruise addict in the family !!!!!

Nancy

We've created cruise addicts by taking our grandchildren too.;)

[MrPete]

Explorer of the Seas Review (Nov.4 - Nov. 11)

 

Oliver & Linda Peters

 

Great review!

[Radio]

Hello everyone ! My Explorer Cruise Photos have been uploaded to my

 

Photo Page. . . Just click HERE. . . I still need to work on the Captions, but at least they have been posted.

 

It will take me awhile to complete the Video. . .

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

 

Explorer of the Seas in Boston / Nov 2007

 

 

 

.

[rachelandfamily]

I have just watched the slideshow of your photos, Brilliant!, glad you enjoyed your cruise. It's another 15 months until we sail on her, looks a lot like Voyager who we sailed on last month and really enjoyed. Looking forward to your next live report.

 

Rachelandfamily

[demodawn]

Heres my review

A bit long!

 

We, my DH and myself decided to add this cruise as an extra when we saw the one day sale with an OBC. We already have a cruise booked on this ship in Feb so we just couldnt wait until then. This will be our first cruise that we didnt have to fly to and first by ourselves.

 

Day before cruise we went to Philly to spend the day with our daughter and then to the Fairfield hotel for the night. We were using our Marriott points so it wasnt costing us anything and we would be close to the port to be on the ship as early as possible. On our way to the hotel we got a call from our other daughter who said they just got a call from RCCL that our ship was delayed and not to get to the port until 4p and we wouldnt be boarding until 7p. What a let down but I have been following the cruise from aquacruiser live so I wasnt too surprised. Got to hotel and asked for late check out but they stated didnt have on the weekend and the hotel was full and that we could stay until 12 noon. Went to our room which was very nice and a mini-suite! I got on the internet and checked out our roll call to see what everyone else was going to do.

 

Day 1

Got up and went to the free breakfast, I had the homemade waffles and DH had the breakfast sandwich both were very good! Back to the room to kill some time, checked out at 12 noon and went to Jersey Gardens Mall for some shopping, walked around and had lunch. Neither of us wanted to shop. We wanted to cruise so we decided since we both had books to just head to the port to sit and wait. We arrived just as the Explorer was backing in at 3P. The port had everything setup so that the arriving and leaving went to two differant areas. It was very smooth and we were parked and inside in just a few minutes. We had to fill out paperwork as they had no computers so we did that and were told they would call us about 4:30 to come and get out seapass. We went to priority boarding and was given bus number 2 and found seats. There was food and soft drinks at several tables and we were brought up to date on what was happening several times by the staff. We were called right at 4:30 to come and get our seapass and picture then back to our seats. At about 7P they started calling the first shuttle and at 7:30 we were on the ship FINALLY! We went to our room, dropped our carry ons, read the compass that there was open dining so went down to eat. Sat at a table with several nice people and finally enjoyed our first meal. Walked around the ship, have been on voyager class before so was pretty familiar with ship. Went to the welcome back show and it was ok, comedian Tony Dow. We still hadnt sailed!! Later I learned that people didnt get on board until after 10P. We had the muster at 10:30 and it was quick. Finally sailed at 12 midnight, we were outside very cold but wanted to see going under the bridge. It was one of the most cool things I have seen. We were standing on top of the sky bar and it sure looked like the ship was going to hit,the captain said we had 12 feet of clearance. NYC was also very beautiful at night. Right after we went past the bridge down to the Promade cafe for hot coccoa and coffee then bed.

 

Day 2

Got up at around 10A (after going to bed at 2:30A) went to the Windjammer for breakfast. Really enjoyed it as usual. We have always have good meals on board! We had our Meet and Mingle scheduled for 11a in the chamber which was a change from the email. It was short. They gave away gifts and left, got to meet many of our new friends from the boards but also noticed a lot werent there. Later we found out that many didnt recieve the notice and didnt know of the change. We had about 120 registered and only about 25 showed up. It was cool up on deck but with a sweatshirt I was fine. We spent the afternoon by the pool watching the belly flop and dodge ball games. The crew is funny to watch. Allan the CD was having lots of fun. We had early dinner and met our new tablemates. They were wonderful and we had a great time together. Didnt go to the production show tonight as we are cruising in Feb on the same ship and with be with our daughter and SIL so we decided to wait until then to see the shows as they will be the same. Watched Karoke, walked around the ship and watched late night comedian Tony Dow.

 

Day 3

We were in Bermuda when we got up and went to the windjammer for our usual breakfast. The ship was cleared by 10a, we had reserved a scooter, went to the shop got some instruction and we were off. It was pretty easy getting use to it. We went all over the Island, Horseshoe Bay, Gibbs Lighthouse, St George, Fort St Catherine, Tobacco Bay, Hamilton, The Flatts and back to the port. It took us about 6 hours which was perfect. The temp was in the 70's so it was a beautiful day! Dinner and show with JJ Dows, that was excellent! Tonight was the poolside buffet and then bed.

 

Day 4

Shopped at the Dockyard along with all 3000 other passengers! Back to the ship, lunch by the pool and sailaway! Went to the gym and it was so beautiful watching the islands go by. It sure made the exercise much easier! Dinner, Casino, show with Greg Bonham, very full of himself. Later was the Love and Marriage Game, funniest we have ever seen! We cant write here what one of the newlywed said but there were lots of laughing people!

 

Day 5

Ship day! It was too cold to be out on deck so all pool activities were moved inside. We just sat, read most of the day and relaxed. Again went to the exercise room which was very well outfitted and was never had to wait to get a machine. Production show tonight so went to the casino instead, won a little which makes is much more fun! Sat in the Champagne Bar and met 2 couples and enjoyed talking to them and found out one couple was a CCer and didnt get the change of time for the M&M. Zora was the bartender and was the best!!! Will find her on our next cruise! Also made our next cruise reservation without a date. Nice to know we can pick whatever cruise we want and have a OBC. Tonight was the Quest. Funny as usual, one team captain even dropped his boxers, not a pretty sight!

 

Day 6

Boston-our daughters best friend meet us at the port and we went to Fenway, Quincey Market, Faniel Hall and had lunch at Cheers! Our daughters friend had to leave after lunch but gave us directions to the Sam Adams Brewery. It a very nice tour and its FREE with Beer at the end! Also learned a lot about the making of beer. We got to sample 3 kinds of beer at the end. We used the subway with 3 changes which were very easy. Ended right back at the port. It was cold about 35 degrees so I was glad to get to the ship. Dinner, Champagne Bar, show which was Sean and Dean comedian and jugglers of sorts, it was ok. Tonight was the parade which is always fun. Also the midnight buffet which we didnt go to.

 

Day 7

Last Ship Day-we had booked the Galley Tour on the first day. Arrived at the Dining room at 11a where we were meet by the head chef, Richard Stelmach, who gave us a personal tour of the Galley, it was very interesting, he also answered any questions we had. Then upstairs to Portofinos where we were handed a Mojoito as we enter, had chef hats with our name on it (we couldnt find our name as they had our cabin number wrong so they made us new hats with the wrong different name but we didnt care ) first course was sushi, fancy breads, second course scallops and lobster with white wine, third course was filet with mashed potatoes, vegs (you could cut the steak with your fork!) red wine, desert was a cheese cake with different fruit toppings and champagne! Everything was wonderful! The head chef, head of hotel services, beverage manager and wine cellar master all ate with us and answers whatever questions we had. I sat next to Xavier, the hotel manager. He was amazed by my knowledge ( thanks to all my CC friends esp suzanne) told him where I got my information and he is going to check us out. We were there about 2 1/2 hours. The price was $55pp and you also got the cookbook which everyone signed for us. We felt it was well worth the money. Packed and spent the afternoon at the art auction watching what people were buying! Last dinner with our new friends, farewell show with Robbie Printz, last night at the champagne bar with Zora and bed. Will add here the new bedding is wonderful and so soft. I really liked the RCCL logo on it.

 

Day 8

We left our room at 8a went to the dining room for a last meal, our number was called about 15 mins after we finished eating,we were light blue second color called. walked right to our luggage, thru customs and in our car on the Jersey turnpike by 9:30a! By far the easier we have ever done!

 

Overall a great cruise, we found later an OBC of $31 pp on our seapass as a gift was the late departure.

[demodawn]

Loved the pics!

[Radio]

I am happy to say that I should be sailing Explorer of the Seas soon.

 

I should be going to Bermuda agian on Exporer in May 2010. . .

 

I can't wait ! ! :)

 

 

Radio

;);)