Just back from Explorer 12 day!

[above sea level cruiser]

We had a great time. Any questions? Wanna know the new rules?:eek:

[Sue L]

We had a great time. Any questions? Wanna know the new rules?:eek:

 

 

What new rules??

[judyf]

Tell us more, PLEASE.

 

What did you do it the ports? Did you like it, would you do it different?

 

How was the weather leaving and coming back?

 

Was the ship late? How was getting on and off?

 

Any tips?

[above sea level cruiser]

What new rules??

 

 

This could get ugly....hold on!:rolleyes:

 

As everyone is probably aware, there is no smoking in the staterooms anymore. This is causing problems as now people without balconies are congregating in the 2 bars on the promenade. Schooner bar was smoke free after the first day and the casino went smoke free on a couple of occasions as well.

 

The problem is this - now the promenade is quite smoke filled and during the Q&A session with the officers (which was 50% questions and 50% complaints) when the smoke filled promenade complaint came up, we were advised that starting on yesterdays 9 day sailing - there would be no smoking in the bars on the promenade. UH OH.........

 

This could be a problem. In fact, I think they (Explorer Officers) are trying very hard and struggling with this issue. For those booked in an inside thinking they could just go to a bar and light up.....not so. Not knowing this before hand, could also be a problem for some.

 

Believe it or not (and this coming from a smoker), - they are right that the promenade is/was pretty bad from the smoke and something needed to be done. I think its going to get interesting though as they struggle with what to do.

 

Oh, and by the way, probably old news, but no midnight food pictures followed by the ritual gorging of oneself allowed either.:eek:

[scopewest]

Thanks for the update!

[Sue L]

This could get ugly....hold on!:rolleyes:

 

As everyone is probably aware, there is no smoking in the staterooms anymore. This is causing problems as now people without balconies are congregating in the 2 bars on the promenade. Schooner bar was smoke free after the first day and the casino went smoke free on a couple of occasions as well.

 

The problem is this - now the promenade is quite smoke filled and during the Q&A session with the officers (which was 50% questions and 50% complaints) when the smoke filled promenade complaint came up, we were advised that starting on yesterdays 9 day sailing - there would be no smoking in the bars on the promenade. UH OH.........

 

This could be a problem. In fact, I think they (Explorer Officers) are trying very hard and struggling with this issue. For those booked in an inside thinking they could just go to a bar and light up.....not so. Not knowing this before hand, could also be a problem for some.

 

Believe it or not (and this coming from a smoker), - they are right that the promenade is/was pretty bad from the smoke and something needed to be done. I think its going to get interesting though as they struggle with what to do.

 

Oh, and by the way, probably old news, but no midnight food pictures followed by the ritual gorging of oneself allowed either.:eek:

 

Thanks for the update. I guess they have some issues to work out. I would suspect though that more people were inside because of the colder climate on the first and last couple of days. Do you think that made a difference??

[Cruising89143]

New smoking rules sound very good to me.

[pach]

New smoking rules sound very good to me.

 

 

AGREED! Why can't the smokers have a designated area OUTSIDE???

[above sea level cruiser]

Tell us more, PLEASE.

 

What did you do it the ports? Did you like it, would you do it different?

 

How was the weather leaving and coming back?

 

Was the ship late? How was getting on and off?

 

Any tips?

 

This was a very low-key cruise for us, (DW and I), so we didn't do much more than relax. We did a few tours in the various ports and pretty much just meandered around the shops. (sound boring? - it wasn't, it was a well needed rest) We will save our thrill seeking for when we take the kids.

 

Weather leaving was perfect and it warmed up by the middle of the second day. Coming back we past through a front around northern Florida and the TV said "violent storm conditions with 22' seas". We were in an aft cabin on the 7th deck and in the cabin, side to side roll felt like nothing more than a shimmy and never really noticed the ship pitching unless you looked at the horizon.

 

Ship arrived back in NJ by about 6:00am. We pretty much left all ports on time and always arrived on time.

 

Any tips? No we didn't get any, but we did tip the recommended amount.:D

 

Sorry, that was my attempt at humour..... I know what you meant.:) The only tip I can offer is this - "Try and savor every moment of your cruise and appreciate it. It's a lot like life - it goes by way too fast and before you know it, you are kicking yourself for not appreciating and enjoying it to the fullest.

[above sea level cruiser]

Thanks for the update. I guess they have some issues to work out. I would suspect though that more people were inside because of the colder climate on the first and last couple of days. Do you think that made a difference??

 

 

Weather probably played a factor but the officers did say that the problem seem to start Jan 1/08 with the no smoking in the cabin rule.

 

Now I think that are scrambling trying to find a solution. I wish them luck, it may not be easy.

[CruiseKeeper]

AGREED! Why can't the smokers have a designated area OUTSIDE???

 

They do. The whole one side.

[KillaFee]

Thanks for the update on the new rules - I love em!! There's nothing worse than smelling like ciggarettes when you're not even smoking. Go RCCL!

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. We keep thinking about doing the 12 day out of NJ cuz I love the Explorer and not flying is a big ol' plus!!

Laura

[prncssjyf]

Good for RCCL!!! When NYC and Philadelphia made their restaurants and bars smoke-free it was predicted by pro-smokers that their revenue would go down and no one would go out to eat or drink anymore. In fact, the contrary happened... revenue increased and more people are enjoying a clean-air, smoke-free atmosphere.

 

I am a non-smoker and get terrible migraines from smoke, even old stale smoke in hotel rooms or rental cars. My daughter has asthma which is triggered by second hand smoke.

 

My family and I are appreciative to RCCL for implementing their smoking policy. I don't choose to smoke cigarettes and therefore I don't want to breathe in someone else's smoke either!

 

Jen

[beachlovergirl2]

I'm thrilled that RCI implemented new smoking rules. Hopefully they will enforce them too.

 

Dee

[wrp96]

AGREED! Why can't the smokers have a designated area OUTSIDE???

 

They do, but what happens when all the outside decks are closed? I had one cruise where all the outside decks were closed due to rough seas. Can you imagine telling a smoker, sorry you're going to have to wait a few days until the seas get better before you can smoke.

 

I'm not a smoker (and am very happy about the no smoking in staterooms rule) but RCCL is going to have to find a way to accommodate all the smokers at least at one bar inside the ship.

[Pepper1029]

I'm part of a family reunion booked on the same itinerary that you just did, if you have scans of your daily compass I would be so grateful to receive them (sdkkc5@yahoo.com) - of course, I know how time consuming that would be for a 12 night and would certainly understand it if you pass.

 

One question though, there are a number of cousins from 17 - 21 who love the spa - did you notice them offering discounts as the days passed. I thought perhaps on such a long cruise that they would start discounting after the first week - most of us can just afford 1 or 2 visits per cruise and they may have trouble booking the spa for a 12 night without discounting - or is that just wishful thinking on my part :rolleyes:

 

thanks for your time and I'm so glad you enjoyed your vacation!

Pepper

[above sea level cruiser]

They do, but what happens when all the outside decks are closed? I had one cruise where all the outside decks were closed due to rough seas. Can you imagine telling a smoker, sorry you're going to have to wait a few days until the seas get better before you can smoke.

 

I'm not a smoker (and am very happy about the no smoking in staterooms rule) but RCCL is going to have to find a way to accommodate all the smokers at least at one bar inside the ship.

 

 

I don't think the new rule about limiting smoking areas is a fleet-wide change, I think it applies to just the voyager class that have the promenade area with the bars on either side. I would guess that smoking would still be allowed in a couple of other bars.

[above sea level cruiser]

I'm part of a family reunion booked on the same itinerary that you just did, if you have scans of your daily compass I would be so grateful to receive them (sdkkc5@yahoo.com) - of course, I know how time consuming that would be for a 12 night and would certainly understand it if you pass.

 

One question though, there are a number of cousins from 17 - 21 who love the spa - did you notice them offering discounts as the days passed. I thought perhaps on such a long cruise that they would start discounting after the first week - most of us can just afford 1 or 2 visits per cruise and they may have trouble booking the spa for a 12 night without discounting - or is that just wishful thinking on my part :rolleyes:

 

thanks for your time and I'm so glad you enjoyed your vacation!

Pepper

 

We didn't use the spa so I can't answer whether or not they offered discounts. We did keep the compasses and although I won't promise to scan them and post (I can hardly type:o ) I will look to see if they had any coupons in them offering discounts.

[above sea level cruiser]

I'm part of a family reunion booked on the same itinerary that you just did, if you have scans of your daily compass I would be so grateful to receive them (sdkkc5@yahoo.com) - of course, I know how time consuming that would be for a 12 night and would certainly understand it if you pass.

 

One question though, there are a number of cousins from 17 - 21 who love the spa - did you notice them offering discounts as the days passed. I thought perhaps on such a long cruise that they would start discounting after the first week - most of us can just afford 1 or 2 visits per cruise and they may have trouble booking the spa for a 12 night without discounting - or is that just wishful thinking on my part :rolleyes:

 

thanks for your time and I'm so glad you enjoyed your vacation!

Pepper

 

 

I quickly checked the daily Cruise Compasses and it looks like the special deals started on day 5 with instructions to call or visit them to find out what they were. On day 7 through 12 there are various price drops and coupons for the spa. Hope this helps.:)

[njcruisebunny]

Thanks for the news about the no smoking rules. We love them!

 

Your other news was--Midnight Buffet is gone? Just want to make sure I read it right.

 

Did you attend the Invitation to Dance? Were there many that entered?

[above sea level cruiser]

Thanks for the news about the no smoking rules. We love them!

 

Your other news was--Midnight Buffet is gone? Just want to make sure I read it right.

 

Did you attend the Invitation to Dance? Were there many that entered?

 

 

The Midnight Buffet is definitely gone on the Explorer as they said they were wasting tons of food. I don't know about the rest of the fleet, but I would think the same.

 

We did not go to the invitation to dance so have no idea how many were there. Sorry.

[cds2423]

Thanks for the news about the no smoking rules. We love them!

 

Your other news was--Midnight Buffet is gone? Just want to make sure I read it right.

 

Did you attend the Invitation to Dance? Were there many that entered?

 

 

I was on the same cruise as well, I'm not a smoker but am very tolerant and believe that smokers have rights too, though i must say that the smoking area along the promenade was pretty smelly at all times. We watched the Super Bowl from the weekend warrrior smoking bar, it was a bi overwhelming so i was the food runner for those in our group that wanted to smoke and eat.

 

There is no longer any Gala Buffet, but there were 2 buffets on the pool deck, sorry don't remember which nights, they were pretty well attended.

 

I went to the finale of invitation to dance, both couples did a pretty good job considering the amount of time they had for practice.

 

There were all the usual on board activities to do, personally i love the Explorer but probably won't sail on her again during the cold winter months, I got a little stir crazy waiting for the first port at 3:00 on Weds & i know i wasn't alone, being from the cold north it was too long to wait but regardless we had a great time. :) :)

 

 

Have a great cruise!

[RadioPeri]

(snip) we were advised that starting on yesterdays 9 day sailing - there would be no smoking in the bars on the promenade.

This is very welcome news. The question was also addressed when we were on the Explorer (1/25/08), and the Hotel Director informed us that additional changes were in the works. The bar areas on the Promenade were very uncomfortable places for non-smokers, and yes, even walking past was yucky.

 

As well, having the pub and sports bar as smoking areas made them off limits, for all intents and purposes, to anyone who didn't smoke. It was just way too uncomfortable to be there, and impossible to enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine.

 

For those who think this measure is harsh, there ARE other indoor areas in which to smoke, including one side of the Aquarium Bar. Smoking is also permitted outside on HALF of the ship. Even with the cooler temperatures as you leave NJ, if you want a cigarette that badly, that's where you go. The same is true for office buildings and most other public places today.

 

~ Peri

[zanydoc]

Does anyone know which half of the ship is smoking? Starboard or port? I don't like to smell smoke on my balcony, and I'm concerned we are booked on the wrong side of the ship--Yikes!

[Merion_Mom]

I don't think the new rule about limiting smoking areas is a fleet-wide change, I think it applies to just the voyager class that have the promenade area with the bars on either side. I would guess that smoking would still be allowed in a couple of other bars.

 

Call me crazy (some do), but what about the Viking Crown Lounge? Perfect place for smokers to smoke indoors. Make that one smoking.