12 night Explorer Southern Caribbean from NJ

[LuvMyVette]

Hi:

This itinerary is new to Explorer this year since it's now sailing out of Bayonne year round. The first 12 night will be on Sunday. DH/I will be on the 12/2 cruise and looking forward to four new ports for us.

For those sailing on 12/2, please join our thread! We're a little crazy at times but it's a great group of people. Hope to see you there!!

Sea ya!

[hazz24]

Trish is right please join our roll call for 12/2. I am having so much fun talking to this group and can't wait to meet them all on the cruise. I love RCi and hope you will too.

[Judi Kozar]

There's a bunch of us in here going on the first 12-nighter Sunday. I plan on getting online every couple days during the cruise... so I think we'll get a Explorer Live thread going to answer any questions.

 

In addition, you can check out our roll-call thread... I'm sure there will be a bunch of chatter in there about what is going on... particularly after we return.

 

My countdown clock is getting VERY LOW.... I LIKE THAT!!!! :D :D

 

 

What will your thread be called, we would like to stop in periodically and read your posts. We are leaving 2/24/08 and are really wondering about the weather and the ride down past the Carolinas!! Have a good one....Bon Voyage!!!

[Judi Kozar]

This is correct!:) I just made my reservations last week for Portifino for my 12 night on 12/2. I was onboard for a B to B last week so took care of Dec. reservations then but there will be only 2 formal nights according to the maitre'd. The RCCL website says 3 formals on 12 nights for European cruises only. I will post live on the Explorer Live thread Now and Then and looking forward to the new itinerary :)

 

 

Suzanne....will be watching your live posts as I did while you sailed thru Noel. Are you posting under the same thread or are you doing a different on....please let me know so I can watch you. Your posts are wonderful!!

[annebluec]

Hi Hollyanna

 

just managed to find this thread - if you don't keep a watch on them they seem to dissapear!

 

Most of my cruising on P&O was done on the old Arcadia. What a wonderful time I've had. The last cruise was Acapulco to Southampton - 28 glorious days in a suite but now a distant memory as it was in 2003. Now that I own and run a hotel I can't cruise in the summer so leaving from Southampton is not an option anymore. I did a 4 nighter with my husband so that he could see if he liked cruising but I found that to be more of a 'booze cruise' which was full of young travel agents on a promotional cruise out for a good time. I've done a 14 nighter on Oriana but preferred Arcadia - I loved sitting in the atrium people watching which I found you couldn't do on Oriana.

 

I'm really looking forward to the 2nd December although we leave Heathrow on the 28th November. My friend is going to be speachless when she sees the size of this ship - worth the holiday just for that!

 

Thanks for the tip about the credit card conversion rate - I will definately update my sea pass account!.

 

As the season is just about finished here I can now start sorting out some clothes ready for packing - it will be good to wear something other than chefs trousers!! Having gleened so much information from these boards I will not be doing any dry cleaning or ironing before I go as the prices on board as so cheap compared with here. We pay at least £6 here to have a pair of trousers cleaned and the end result isn't that good.

 

Only 15 days to go. We booked in May 06 and can't believe that the time has gone so quickly!!

 

Reagrds all.

 

Anne

[Shazni]

Hi annebluec, we will be on this cruise with you too! We're not too far away from you here in Northern Ireland and are really looking forward to escaping this 'wonderful' weather we've been having this year!! We've cruised twice with RCI, both times on Voyager class ships - you will absolutely love it! The service is second-to-none and there is never a dull moment! Hope to see you onboard!! Not long now!!

[hollyanna]

Hi Annbluec! I really hope you have a wonderful time. I am sure you and your friend will have a ball. Please post with your thoughts on your return. Have you got tours planned for any of the ports? We have for all apart from San Juan and St Kitts as yet.. think will do own thing. Real headache deciding what to do! Good idea regards the dry cleaning. It is VERY reasonable, I looked prices up prices on my last cruise.

 

I am travelling with DH and 2xDS aged 10 and 13. They love America and cruising;) ... just like mother!!:D ... we are doing one night stay at the Hyatt on the Hudson pre-cruise and 2 nights post cruise at the Waldorf(dont expect the room to be up to much as got great deal for 2 nights!) as long as its clean... I have always wanted to stay there and am happy with the price so if it is below my expectations at least I have been....seen a few bad reviews lately but some peaople are born to moan aren't they! Cannot wait to see all the sights. WE were there in 1998 without the boys so they will love it!

 

Happy packing. Dont forget to let us know all about it. I will be watching the boards!

 

Hollyanna:)

[2hoops]

Hi, DH and I are going on the 12 day Explorer on 12-2-07. I am now really confused about the number of formal nights. I saw in the book that it said there are 2 formal nights on 10,11and 12 night cruises. We have been on a 10 night and a 11 night and there were 2 formal nights. We asked our TA how many formal nights there were on this cruise because I had read on the boards that there was 3. She called someone at RC and they told her there is definetly 3 formal nights on this cruise. I hate to pack extra formal clothes if I don't have to since we are flying and you are restricted to 2 suitcases each and not over 50 lbs. I can fill that for a 7 day cruise. :o I know, I always overpack!! I guess I will just have to keep checking the boards and plan on packing for 3 formal nights just to be safe. Have a fun cruise and a safe trip, all.

[Byram Anne]

How do you book Portofino for dinner before the cruise?:confused: Thanks for anticipated reply!

[01821]

Has anyone sailed this itinerary before? I've been searching and can't find any posts or reviews. It looks like it's going out next week, though. Is this a new itinerary? If so, would love to hear from people who are going out next week. We're planning it for 4/09 - a lifetime away - but would love to read anything we can.

 

Thanks!

 

We'll be sailing on Jan. 13, 08. It's coming up fast, and we're very excited.

[aqhacruiser]

Suzanne....will be watching your live posts as I did while you sailed thru Noel. Are you posting under the same thread or are you doing a different on....please let me know so I can watch you. Your posts are wonderful!!

 

Thanks:) I'll probably do another thread just for the 12 night:)

There are 2 formal nights and I checked that onboard a few weeks ago when I made my reservations for portifino in advance as I was onboard at the time and they told me only 2 formals. It also says 2 formal nights for 10-12 night cruises in my docs

[Merion_Mom]

How do you book Portofino for dinner before the cruise?:confused: Thanks for anticipated reply!

 

Anne, the only way to book Portofino before you embark is if you have Concierge privileges.

 

If you are in a Grand Suite, Royal Suite, Owner's Suite or Royal Family Suite, or if you are Diamond or Diamond Plus in RC's Crown & Anchor Society, you can contact the concierge (or s/he may contact you) before your cruise, and the concierge can make those reservations for you.

 

Otherwise, you have to wait until you are on board.

[hollyanna]

Is it today the first 12 nighters return? If so how did it go!Hollyanna

[beachlovergirl]

Just got back from the Nov 11th 12 night cruise and there were definitely 3 formal nights, 2 smart casual and the rest were casual.

 

Portofino's was excellent......the shrimp risotto appetizer was really good.

 

Sailing from Cape Liberty wasn't as rough as I thought it would be and were actually able to sit out in the sun on the pool deck the first day sailing and by the second day were in bathing suits by the pool. Same way coming back....yesterday we sat by the pool until about 1:30 pm. The pools were finally drained and netted yesterday afternoon because the water was splashing out.

 

It was a great cruise and were surprised how fast it went by even though it was 12 nights!

 

Dee

[psupa]

We just returned from this cruise. What a great cruise and the seas were calm for this time of year. For this cruise we decided to just relax, so can't answer any questions about any of the tours. The only thing I was disappointed in was getting to St. Marteen at 3:00 in the afternoon. This is a great shopping port and most of the shops closed at 5, so there was not too much time to shop. We had a promenade cabin on deck 7 (over the shops) and didn't hear much noise except on the few nights when they have the music and the parades. It was actually very quiet and I would get this cabin again. We enjoyed the Cafe Promenade and those wonderful cookies. The sugar free chocolate chip cookies were excellent. DH said he can't do any more 7 day cruises, only 9 nights or longer (yeah).

[DPurcell58]

Sounds like a great trip. Did you go to Casa de Campo? You were lucky to be able to sit outside yesterday, it was 66 here and today it was 44.

[scher]

I hope someone will write a nice review for the rest of us going on the 12 nighters so we know what to look foward to.

[psupa]

Sounds like a great trip. Did you go to Casa de Campo? You were lucky to be able to sit outside yesterday, it was 66 here and today it was 44.

 

Casa De Campo was not on the itinerary. We went to St. Marteen; Antigua; Roseau, Dominica; Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. It was a very nice itinerary.

[CVU]

We'll be sailing on Jan. 13, 08. It's coming up fast, and we're very excited.

 

We are on this cruise too, looking forward to some warm weather!!!

[Hobie1976]

While in St Maarten did they offer snorkeling? I see it listed in the excursion book, but seeing how late we arrive, it doesn't sound like we would have enough time. Please tell us about any excursions you took.

 

Sounds like it was a great cruise. Only 8 days til we go.

[scher]

Casa De Campo was not on the itinerary. We went to St. Marteen; Antigua; Roseau, Dominica; Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. It was a very nice itinerary.

Can you please write some sort of review. Am interested in know about your experiences especially with Antigua, Dominica, Barbados and St Kitts....We will be sailing Christmas and have a lot of people who want to know.

 

Thanks

[chessbriar]

OK, I'm back. I'll try to answer any questions, but my info will be spotty. We had my 21 month old daughter so we missed a number of the activities and didn't bring home the Compasses.

 

It was a great cruise and had a blast. The biggest warning I'll give is, don't plan on an excursion for St Maarten. On smooth seas and sailing as pretty much 20-22 knots the whole way down, we arrived at 3:00. We weren't cleared until close to 4. When we came home sun was setting at about 5:10. There's just not enough daylight to do much.

 

As you are planning you private trips. The port times are the times the ship arrives at the port. For the most part, it took 30-45 for the ship to clear.

 

We had rainy days in Barbados and St Thomas, so a lot of shore activities were affected.

 

I'll be happy to answer questions, I'm just not big on doing reviews. Sorry

[scher]

OK, I'm back. I'll try to answer any questions, but my info will be spotty. We had my 21 month old daughter so we missed a number of the activities and didn't bring home the Compasses.

 

It was a great cruise and had a blast. The biggest warning I'll give is, don't plan on an excursion for St Maarten. On smooth seas and sailing as pretty much 20-22 knots the whole way down, we arrived at 3:00. We weren't cleared until close to 4. When we came home sun was setting at about 5:10. There's just not enough daylight to do much.

 

As you are planning you private trips. The port times are the times the ship arrives at the port. For the most part, it took 30-45 for the ship to clear.

 

We had rainy days in Barbados and St Thomas, so a lot of shore activities were affected.

 

I'll be happy to answer questions, I'm just not big on doing reviews. Sorry

Thanks for answering questions.......I am not sure the rest of the 12 nights go to St Maarteen I know the Christmas cruise does not. Am very curious to know about any issues with Mosquitoes? What did you do on the other Islands? Were there 3 formal nights or 2? Were the carpets and sofas and chairs in the cabins newer and not so stained? How was the food and the upkeep of the ship? Sorry to ask so much just so excited about our up coming cruise.

[booze brothers]

Thanks for answering questions.......I am not sure the rest of the 12 nights go to St Maarteen I know the Christmas cruise does not. Am very curious to know about any issues with Mosquitoes? What did you do on the other Islands? Were there 3 formal nights or 2? Were the carpets and sofas and chairs in the cabins newer and not so stained? How was the food and the upkeep of the ship? Sorry to ask so much just so excited about our up coming cruise.

We had 3 formal nights. We had a GS and the cabin was perfect, no wear and tear on anything inside. Of course, the railing outside needed a good scrubbing but it wasn't a big deal. We only went to the windjammer and the food was great. They always had a good selection and food was always hot. Love the salad bar. The staff in the windjammer were very nice. The only thing that confused me, they didn't have a tip box the last day so we had to divy up tips to certain wait staff.

I can't tell you anything about tours because we didn't do any, sorry. You will LOVE this ship!!!

[scher]

We had 3 formal nights. We had a GS and the cabin was perfect, no wear and tear on anything inside. Of course, the railing outside needed a good scrubbing but it wasn't a big deal. We only went to the windjammer and the food was great. They always had a good selection and food was always hot. Love the salad bar. The staff in the windjammer were very nice. The only thing that confused me, they didn't have a tip box the last day so we had to divy up tips to certain wait staff.

 

I can't tell you anything about tours because we didn't do any, sorry. You will LOVE this ship!!!

Thanks, we are in a GS also what was your suite #? maybe we will be in the same one.