Just back from Explorer 12 day!

[Sue L]

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!

 

 

ALL balconies are smoking. The public decks are split up port and starboard.

[maddea20]

Man do I hate all that smoke :mad:. There should be no smoking inside of anything. I'm glad Maryland has laws in place when it comes to smoking in restaurants and bars. All that smoking is just yucky. Such a bad habit. Unfortunately I endured 2nd hand smoke from my mother for 18 yrs until I went to college. Thank god she quit 12 yrs ago.

[above sea level cruiser]

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

 

 

We didn't go to the Viking Crown Lounge - I don't really know where it is. Is it the one on the 13th floor that is all glass overlooking the whole ship? If it is it would be a good place for one to go have a smoke as it is very high up on the ship.

 

I do agree that the indoor smoking was perhaps bad at times but I will say this: as far as I could tell, the passengers that smoked, we did so in the appropriate areas. The ones that complained, complained everywhere.

 

We were on a cruise last year, standing on an open deck right beside an ashtray and were asked by a fellow passenger/chair hog "do you have to smoke here?" Needless to say, she had just come from the buffet so there was no chance of me picking her up and throwing her overboard.:D

[Sue L]

We didn't go to the Viking Crown Lounge - I don't really know where it is. Is it the one on the 13th floor that is all glass overlooking the whole ship? If it is it would be a good place for one to go have a smoke as it is very high up on the ship.

 

I do agree that the indoor smoking was perhaps bad at times but I will say this: as far as I could tell, the passengers that smoked, we did so in the appropriate areas. The ones that complained, complained everywhere.

 

We were on a cruise last year, standing on an open deck right beside an ashtray and were asked by a fellow passenger/chair hog "do you have to smoke here?" Needless to say, she had just come from the buffet so there was no chance of me picking her up and throwing her overboard.:D

 

Viking crown is the on way up that overlooks the pool area. I had a lady last year come in the cigar bar and waving her hand and coughing, she was in a cigar bar, duh!!!

[cruiseaholics]

I've never posted on CC threads that discuss smoking as they always seem to degenerate into name calling and ill will among CC members... however, I was on this cruise as well and would like to let those interested know that all staterooms and all indoor public areas on Explorer were non-smoking with the exception of:

• The port side of the Aquarium Bar
  
• The casino (except for the 3 formal nights when it was non-smoking from 7pm until close)
  
• The Viking Crown Lounge/Dizzy's (at and around the bar only)
  
• The Chamber (from 10pm on)
  
• The Cigar Bar

The Schooner Bar was a smoking bar for 2 days/nights and then converted to non-smoking for the rest of the cruise when the non-smokers complained. (The 2nd night was when the adjacent casino was designated non-smoking and the smokers came out regularly for smoke breaks.)

 

The Pub & Weekend Warrior bars were also smoking areas but I assume will no longer be so, effective yesterday as the HD announced he had received approval from management to make the Explorer's Promenade non-smoking from now on.

 

Outside, guests were allowed to smoke on their stateroom balconies, the starboard side of the ship and at the pool bars (but not the Solarium).

[above sea level cruiser]

I've never posted on CC threads that discuss smoking as they always seem to degenerate into name calling and ill will among CC members... however, I was on this cruise as well and would like to let those interested know that all staterooms and all indoor public areas on Explorer were non-smoking with the exception of:

• The port side of the Aquarium Bar
  
• The casino (except for the 3 formal nights when it was non-smoking from 7pm until close)
  
• The Viking Crown Lounge/Dizzy's (at and around the bar only)
  
• The Chamber (from 10pm on)
  
• The Cigar Bar

The Schooner Bar was a smoking bar for 2 days/nights and then converted to non-smoking for the rest of the cruise when the non-smokers complained. (The 2nd night was when the adjacent casino was designated non-smoking and the smokers came out regularly for smoke breaks.)

 

The Pub & Weekend Warrior bars were also smoking areas but I assume will no longer be so, effective yesterday as the HD announced he had received approval from management to make the Explorer's Promenade non-smoking from now on.

 

Outside, guests were allowed to smoke on their stateroom balconies, the starboard side of the ship and at the pool bars (but not the Solarium).

 

You look familiar, did you have a lot of beads that you won around your neck on superbowl Sunday?

[cruiseaholics]

You look familiar, did you have a lot of beads that you won around your neck on superbowl Sunday?

Busted... lol. Actually, many of us wore beads on Superbowl Sunday... it was a way for those on our CC Roll Call to find each other onboard that day. And that evening after the game, we had a pub crawl/poker run with around 70 participants. :D

[CL-JW]

Glad to hear you had fun. We're doing this cruise (12 day) in April 2009 and are really looking forward to it!

[Leafpeeper]

We were also on this cruise. We loved this cruise but would prefer a 10 night cruise. Our favorite port is St. Kitts. The Marriott Hotel Casino there is the most lovely resort I've ever seen--including Hawaii. There is a public beach a block away but we walked onto Marriott's Beach without a problem and then enjoyed winning in their casino. People are friendly and cabs are cheap $5 each way per person. Caribe Beer $2 and Rum cocktails $3 at pier bar in St. Kitts.

 

Embarkation and Debarkation is a nightmare at Cape Liberty because they use buses to transport from building to ship. We had to drive home to Massachusetts so we would have preferred carrying off our luggage but taking buses meant we couldn't do that. Boston definetely has the fastest embarkation and debarkation of any port for us thus far--although Miami does an excellent job too. We will be cruising from Manhattan next winter because of the bus hassle in Bayonne.

 

We had an aft cabin on Deck 9 and didn't sleep all night during the rough seas on the way back because our cabin was vibrating so much--not to mention the noise of the metal rattling outdoors. Deck 7 was definetely a better choice. We were on the aft side getting hit with 70-90mph winds.

 

We would recommend midship cabins on Voyager class ships because the aft elevators are really midship. DH has a sore foot from walking so much on this ship.

 

We loved room service menu on tv on Explorer. We enjoyed dinner on our balcony in St. Marten. We also enjoyed walking from the ship to the waterfront on St. Marten. We wished we had our bathing suits on because it was only a 15 minute walk to the waterfront beach. We stumbled into a casino at the water taxi pier while looking for a restroom.

 

Lobster dinner was the last formal night. We switched from a table for 12 to a table for 2 because I had a cold. It only took one day for them to find us our table for 2 and we loved the fast service each night. We will definetely request that for future cruises.

 

I do wish that Explorer would enclose the solarium because I enjoy that most of all on Radiance class ships not only for warmth on cool days but also for the airconditioning on hot days. We only used the solarium one day. The pool was not warm but the hot tub was fine.

 

We enjoyed hearing all the Europeans and Canadiens singing kareoke. What a fun group of people. I was surprised that we didn't meet any New Yorkers on this cruise. I think the Canadiens may have outnumbered the Jersey people on this cruise. I think every Canadien bus was at Cape Liberty.

 

Great winter cruise. We never encountered any cold weather the entire cruise! Great sailaway. Best of all--we never tendered at any port.

[Leafpeeper]

Busted... lol. Actually, many of us wore beads on Superbowl Sunday... it was a way for those on our CC Roll Call to find each other onboard that day. And that evening after the game, we had a pub crawl/poker run with around 70 participants. :D

 

I'm so sorry I missed meeting all of you. I never left my cabin for the first two days because I was ill. I started to feel better a few hours after the Meet & Mingle. I kept seeing Cruise Critic Signs on the ship and felt bad--almost as bad as hearing my Patriots lost the Superbowl. Glad I slept thru the game.

[above sea level cruiser]

Busted... lol. Actually, many of us wore beads on Superbowl Sunday... it was a way for those on our CC Roll Call to find each other onboard that day. And that evening after the game, we had a pub crawl/poker run with around 70 participants. :D

 

Weren't you the one that "showed" us HOW you got your beads?:D

[Sue L]

Weren't you the one that "showed" us HOW you got your beads?:D

 

 

OH Patty, it sounds like there is a story here....do tell!!!:p:D

[cruiseaholics]

Weren't you the one that "showed" us HOW you got your beads?:D

 

OH Patty, it sounds like there is a story here....do tell!!!:p:D

ROFL! I will admit to flashing most nights (if you met me, you'll know what I mean by that ;) ) but never, ever did I do the New Orleans salute, as my friends and I call it :p ... at least as far as I recall, lol.

[above sea level cruiser]

OH Patty, it sounds like there is a story here....do tell!!!:p:D

 

I can't be certain that this is the person we met as her avatar only shows her face. The girl we met showed us her beads and her.....hold on......coming dear, I think dinner is ready:D

[njcruisebunny]

We had an aft cabin on Deck 9 and didn't sleep all night during the rough seas on the way back because our cabin was vibrating so much--not to mention the noise of the metal rattling outdoors. Deck 7 was definetely a better choice. We were on the aft side getting hit with 70-90mph winds. /QUOTE]

 

What cabin # were you in? This is my first time in an aft cabin. I don't want to feel toooo much movement.

[judyf]

I love reading the reviews. Keep them coming.

[pach]

does the Explorer have make up mirrors?

[above sea level cruiser]

does the Explorer have make up mirrors?

 

We were in an aft JS deck 7 - cabin 7694 and it had a large mirror about 3' high X 4' wide with a fluorescent strip light vertically mounted on either side of the mirror. I would think all the cabins mirrors are pretty much the same size.

[RadioPeri]

does the Explorer have make up mirrors?

If you mean magnifying mirrors or dedicated lighted mirrors, the answer is no...at least in the regular staterooms. I find using the mirrors around the desk work best for me. I don't like the fluorescent lighting in the bathroom, and I can get closer to the desk mirror, especially the smaller side ones, which you can angle this way and that.

 

~ Peri

[pearlie]

I too, was on this cruise, it was great for the most part..

The promenade was definitely smokey as was the casino and the schooner bar, the 1st couple of nites, I have asthma, and i really tried to avoid the promenade and the casino, and the bars... Glad that they will make it more non smoking .. ( sorry smokers but i like to breathe)

The weather on the last day was very rocky, i was midship, just off the bump. We would walk " uphill then downhill " in our room... while packing... Plenty of folks at breakfast tho!

 

The staff on the Explorer were great... Gordon Whatman was one of the best cd's we ever had... and his team was great...

We will be back on her in Oct...

[jewelinthesand]

what is the invitation to dance? i'm going on the explorer out of NJ on 3/18 and just trying to get as much "ahead" info as I can. also, are there certain theme nights? i thought i had heard about a red, white, blue night where everyone wore those colors to dinner and another night at dinner was 70's them and clothing. who packs this stuff without knowing ahead of time????? it would be nice if they posted this info before we all packed. :-)

 

also, final clarification needed - is it 2 or 3 formal nights on the 12 night? i've heard both answers.

 

thanks.

 

Polly

[Sue L]

does the Explorer have make up mirrors?

 

 

Here is the vanity area, note the mirrored cabinet on either side have all little shelves to hold your makeup, brushes, etc

 

 

[jewelinthesand]

how strict are they with bringing some of your own wine/champagne on the ship. i know they say they are strict but do the people really look in the suitcases? we looked at the wine lists and don't see any of our favorites and just wanted a few of our favorites with us.

 

thanks.

[psupa]

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

 

We loved the 12-night so much, we booked again for 11/30/08. DH says he won't cruise if it's less than 9-nights and 12-nights is better. I won't argue with that. I agree, the no flying is the best part. Just think the money you would spend for airline tickets you can put towards a longer cruise.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

Did they upgrade the beds? Did you have to take a bus to get your luggage or could you walk to it and then have somone pick you up after they went to the parking lot to get the car?