EOS The Good & Bad 2/13 - 2/22 Cruise with the Bad Propeller!

[psupa]

As I mentioned before, food is subjective and generally in previous cruises I found that the lunches were better than dinners. Not on this cruise and I noticed it the first day. Breakfast is breakfast and you can't go wrong with the selection of foods. Lunch on the other hand I found it to be bland, unappetizing and not a great variety of dishes. Some of the dishes I had to read the tags above them because I could not recognize what they were. The food lacked presentation and some dishes looked plain nasty particularly a cubed pork stew with a congealed sauce that resembled cement. There was pasta everyday with the same sauces and I pretty much ate pasta everyday. The beverages consisted of iced water, tea, and lemonade already served in glasses and ready for you to take. The problem was that sometimes the ice had melted after sitting around so long. I did not find an ice dispenser anywhere on the ship. Coffee was consistently good in the Windjammer. Of all the ships that I've been on this is the only ship where the Windjammer closes at 9:00 p.m. sharply and if you want a glass of water or a cup of coffee you need to go to the Promenade Deck to get one. They do not reopen until 7:00 a.m. for breakfast. On sea days, the Windjammer as on any other ship resembles Grand Central Station at rush hour. Picture everyone holding two plates at once and bumping into each other in a desperate attempt to find a table.

 

To be continued.

 

DH and I like to eat in the dining room on seas days for lunch. I wish the DR was open on ports days too, but it's not. They have a wonderful salad bar set up right inside as you enter. Fabulous with some very nice trimmings and the menu has some very nice selections for lunch.

[davekathy]

My husband and I were also on this cruise. It was our third time on the Explorer. I work in a school, so I knew this was a vacation week and I have to say that we had no issues with the kids and teens on this ship. I did see a few rude adults though. I think you can expect that any time of year and on any ship.

 

We always arrive at around 10:30 am and as usual, we quickly parked, checked in and waited for the bus. We got on the ship quickly and we asked the steward on our deck if we could drop off our carry on luggage in our room before we went to lunch. He was very nice to let us do that. Then we ate lunch and the rooms were ready. We also found our luggage in the hallway after lunch, so we were settled very quickly.

 

I thought the Sailaway was great for February. We sailed on that infamous Dec. 07 trip that had snow all over the deck, and we were out for the sailaway then too. I love to begin cruises outside, even in winter. You just need to dress for it.

 

We are early risers, so we didn't have any complaints about crowds in the Windjammer. We usually ate at around 7:30-8:00 am. It was always easy to find seats. We also had no issues with seating around the pool because we are outside by 9:00 am.

 

The weather was really great for February. Our second sea day was beautiful outside. I also never felt that this trip had rough seas. But everyone is different in how they tolerate motion.

 

The tendering process didn't bother us. In Labadee, we were on the beach very quickly after the boat was anchored. And I also did the Cayo Levantado excursion and didn't think it was that bad. But some people are just not very patient, so naturally, they get annoyed. I also thought that this excursion was a great beach day, and my lounge chair was not covered with mildew. I guess I was lucky....

On the tender back to the ship, we slowed down and stopped to watch dolphins in the water. That was definitely fun. And no one asked us for tips, as I have read on other reviews.

 

We went to Magen's Bay on our own in St.T. We hadn't been there in several years. The clouds cleared out and it was a beautiful day.

We didn't do much in San Juan since we were only there a few hours.

 

I thought the cruise was awesome. I do enjoy the Explorer. Even when the ship is full, I don't feel like its as crowded as some ships - for instance the NCL Gem felt packed to me when we were on it last spring.

 

We had the 6:00 pm dinner seating and were at a large table. We totally enjoyed ourselves and have wonderful service from Oliver and June. They were fabulous. I have to say, we have also enjoyed great service from everyone on the Explorer.

 

Also, my husband struck up a conversation with an upper level crew member when we were up on deck 6 one morning looking at the ship models there. He was a former Navy officer and he and my husband, a former Marine pilot, spent some time chatting about aircraft carriers they had both sailed on. Anyway, my husband asked about the prop on the Ex. He explained very professionally what the repairs to the propeller were able to accomplish in terms of ship speed. Small adjustments will probably be made to itineraries, just like they were made on ours, since the ship is sailing a few knots slower. Nothing more can be done until the ship goes into drydock.

 

We also had a very quick disembark this time on the Ex. We had orange tags, and we were called much earlier than we expected. We found our bags quickly, had no trouble finding a porter and walked right through customs. Our car was a quick walk. We were were back home in NW Connecticut by 12:30 pm. It was the quickest trip back by far. And we don't get any special considerations, since this was only our third RCI sailing and we are Gold members.

 

We prefer to drive to the ship instead of hassling with flying. So, I certainly hope to sail again on the Explorer. We have always felt comfortable on this ship and have received wonderful service from all the ship personnel.

 

 

Great review. We will be sailing on the EOS 15 March 2009. Can't wait. We are going to our Pre-cruise party this afternoon.

[megbensky]

Well, one more review.

 

We drove down from Massachusetts, uneventful. We arrived at the pier around 11:30 and were on deck by 12:30. It moved along reasonably well.

 

Our room-6th floor balcony- we were upgraded the night before!!!!! from an oceanview, was fine as far as size goes, HOWEVER!! when I went to brush my teeth, the covered cup, was filthy inside, with toothpaste and the last persons dental flosser!!! Gross with a capital G. We informed our room attendant who was very apologetic. While I appreciated that, it didn't give me a lot of reassurance about how clean the room truly was. Whatever, we weren't going to let that spoil our first day.

 

We went to lunch, which was typical cruise food. We were both able to find something we liked. Sailing under the bridge was very cool, no pun intended.

 

We were assigned to a table for 6, and had wanted a table for two if possible. We waited almost 45 minutes to talk to the maitr'd, who wasn't able to do anything. On the second night I saw the podium on the 5th floor for the My Time Dining, and thought I would ask what it was all about. Wow, was I glad I did that! Table for two every night, 7:30-7:45 reservation, it saved the day! We too had Rama and Ming as our waiter and assistant waiter, what a fantastic duo. If you are going soon, especially parties of 2, go to My Time Dining and sign up if don't like eating with a large group. They don't tell you about this when you are looking for a table for two at the regular dining room times, I have no idea why, it was strange. We were lucky.

 

Second day, too cold outside, did a lot of sightseeing around the ship.

 

Labadee was okay. We have been to RC's other private islands, and this one was okay. My husband did the zip line, which he liked, but it was over pretty quickly. Haitian vendors were very pushy, be forewarned.

 

Second stop, Dominican Republic. We signed up for the horseback riding excursion, (which I almost cancelled but didn't). Boy, were we glad. We loved the experience, awesome sights, just amazing. Be ready to hike! Great workout, which didn't hurt either one of us. Bought some real cocoa and coffee fresh from the plants. I definitely would recommend this excursion, well worth the money.

 

St. Thomas/St. John We took the ferry immediately over to St. John, which we love!! Spent a week there last year, and couldn't wait to get back there.

We hopped off the ferry, rented a Jeep and went straight to Maho Bay. Stayed there half a day, then toured the island.

 

 

PR-very quick!! Almost missed the ship, we had set our watch back the night before like the paper in our cabin said, not realizing they meant the next night! Duh!!

 

The kids were kids, a little obnoxious when trying to get an elevator, because they played in them, but I blame the "rents". Kids will do whatever they are allowed to get away with. I also found some of the adults unbelievably rude. They just cut in front of you in lines, in front of you on the elevators, it really is amazing how ignorant some people are, and they appear to be very unaware of their behavior.

 

Overall, we did like not having to fly to our cruise ship. But, overall, we weren't pleased with RC. Rama and Ming saved the day!! Rama if read these reviews, have a wonderful trip home, and enjoy your family.

[megbensky]

I think my husband and I were right next to you guys. We were table 601 by the window. It was fun reading your posts. How much do you miss Rama and Ming! I back to waiting on myself. It's sad! Anyway, if you'd like to reply that would be great. I am not that familiar with how this posting thing works, so if I am doing something wrong, let me know.

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned before, food is subjective and generally in previous cruises I found that the lunches were better than dinners. Not on this cruise and I noticed it the first day. Breakfast is breakfast and you can't go wrong with the selection of foods. Lunch on the other hand I found it to be bland, unappetizing and not a great variety of dishes. Some of the dishes I had to read the tags above them because I could not recognize what they were. The food lacked presentation and some dishes looked plain nasty particularly a cubed pork stew with a congealed sauce that resembled cement. There was pasta everyday with the same sauces and I pretty much ate pasta everyday. The beverages consisted of iced water, tea, and lemonade already served in glasses and ready for you to take. The problem was that sometimes the ice had melted after sitting around so long. I did not find an ice dispenser anywhere on the ship. Coffee was consistently good in the Windjammer. Of all the ships that I've been on this is the only ship where the Windjammer closes at 9:00 p.m. sharply and if you want a glass of water or a cup of coffee you need to go to the Promenade Deck to get one. They do not reopen until 7:00 a.m. for breakfast. On sea days, the Windjammer as on any other ship resembles Grand Central Station at rush hour. Picture everyone holding two plates at once and bumping into each other in a desperate attempt to find a table.

 

We signed up for My Time Dining and loved it. We ended up eating at 8:00 p.m. every night at the same table (#600, table for 2). Our waiter Rama from India and assistant waiter Jing were fabulous. The best that we've ever had. The appetizers, entrees and desserts were very good; the food was warm, great presentation and good portions.

 

To be continued.

[RaMar]

Hi megbensky! Nice to read your review as well. We miss Rama and Ming(couldn't get her name right even on the cruise)terribly. Wish they were here. Tried doing MTD at home and it was a disaster. It's back to the grind until we sail again and back to work. Were lucky to have off yesterday because we had a snowstorm!

[Jimbo]

Well, one more review.

 

We drove down from Massachusetts, uneventful. We arrived at the pier around 11:30 and were on deck by 12:30. It moved along reasonably well.

 

Our room-6th floor balcony- we were upgraded the night before!!!!! from an oceanview, was fine as far as size goes, HOWEVER!! when I went to brush my teeth, the covered cup, was filthy inside, with toothpaste and the last persons dental flosser!!! Gross with a capital G. We informed our room attendant who was very apologetic. While I appreciated that, it didn't give me a lot of reassurance about how clean the room truly was. Whatever, we weren't going to let that spoil our first day.

 

We went to lunch, which was typical cruise food. We were both able to find something we liked. Sailing under the bridge was very cool, no pun intended.

 

We were assigned to a table for 6, and had wanted a table for two if possible. We waited almost 45 minutes to talk to the maitr'd, who wasn't able to do anything. On the second night I saw the podium on the 5th floor for the My Time Dining, and thought I would ask what it was all about. Wow, was I glad I did that! Table for two every night, 7:30-7:45 reservation, it saved the day! We too had Rama and Ming as our waiter and assistant waiter, what a fantastic duo. If you are going soon, especially parties of 2, go to My Time Dining and sign up if don't like eating with a large group. They don't tell you about this when you are looking for a table for two at the regular dining room times, I have no idea why, it was strange. We were lucky.

 

Second day, too cold outside, did a lot of sightseeing around the ship.

 

Labadee was okay. We have been to RC's other private islands, and this one was okay. My husband did the zip line, which he liked, but it was over pretty quickly. Haitian vendors were very pushy, be forewarned.

 

Second stop, Dominican Republic. We signed up for the horseback riding excursion, (which I almost cancelled but didn't). Boy, were we glad. We loved the experience, awesome sights, just amazing. Be ready to hike! Great workout, which didn't hurt either one of us. Bought some real cocoa and coffee fresh from the plants. I definitely would recommend this excursion, well worth the money.

 

St. Thomas/St. John We took the ferry immediately over to St. John, which we love!! Spent a week there last year, and couldn't wait to get back there.

We hopped off the ferry, rented a Jeep and went straight to Maho Bay. Stayed there half a day, then toured the island.

 

 

PR-very quick!! Almost missed the ship, we had set our watch back the night before like the paper in our cabin said, not realizing they meant the next night! Duh!!

 

The kids were kids, a little obnoxious when trying to get an elevator, because they played in them, but I blame the "rents". Kids will do whatever they are allowed to get away with. I also found some of the adults unbelievably rude. They just cut in front of you in lines, in front of you on the elevators, it really is amazing how ignorant some people are, and they appear to be very unaware of their behavior.

 

Overall, we did like not having to fly to our cruise ship. But, overall, we weren't pleased with RC. Rama and Ming saved the day!! Rama if read these reviews, have a wonderful trip home, and enjoy your family.

 

Tell me about the upgrade you got please, did you book somekind of Guarantee? Or did you just call the night before and request a free upgrade, have you cruised alot with Royal Caribbean, is that why they upgraded you?

 

Jimbo:)

[megbensky]

Do you want to know the worst part about remembering her name?? Through some kind of Freudian slip, we, both, started calling her Fuiji! How bad is that, but she was so sweet, she never said anything. If I am not mistaken, the Explorer should be returning tomorrow to NJ and Rama will begin his trip home, I am so happy for him. Anyway, how about Mommy Dearest across the dining room, that was ridiculous! I convince my husband that it wasn't his place to say anything. Crazy! Anyway, yeah, yesterday was nice, but we'll be in school until June 24 or 25. I don't want anymore days. It's tough getting back in the swing of the grind!

[megbensky]

I had called RC quite a few times (6-7) asking for an upgrade but was always told no. I have cruised with RC twice before this last one, so this was our third with RC but our 7th cruise total. We jump around.

 

I think it was random. We got an email the night before from RC. I wasn't paying too much attention to it, too busy last minute packing, but my husband printed it out. In the smallest font size possible, on the document we noticed that our cabin number had changed and it said w/ balc. We didn't believe it til we got to the terminal and checked in!! It was right, we had a balcony for the trip.

 

I was told calling doesn't do a a bit of good that only the revenue department decides on upgrades. So I guess it's anybodies guess. I don't really know.

 

I hope you get upgraded.

 

We just booked our next cruise on Carnival, oceanview, bottom floor. Will we be upgraded? I don't know, but also if we don't I'll be fine with the room I have. It's a jammed packed cruise, so we won't be in our room much anyway.

 

Good luck!

[RaMar]

Hi megbensky: I was thinking today that the EOS is coming back to N.J. tomorrow. I am glad that Rama will get to go home and I really have missed the MTD. Ming is really sweet and we had many laughs with her during the cruise. I thought that it was just me not understanding their names clearly. I could never pronounce our cabin attendant's name, I think that I was calling him "emu", until Mark told me that it wasn't even close. Could not believe Mommie Dearest that evening. Felt terrible for the kids, although they weren't paying too much attention to her nonsense. She was so out of line. Too many drinks, pills or both! Anyway, we are going to do a Princess cruise in April from L.A., and we are really looking forward to it. We also like to hop around ships and cruise basically if we like the itinerary. Hope that we don't get anymore snow days here, what a mess yesterday!

[bedfordmom]

Personally getting off the ship on Sunday in Bayonne was a nightmare. Instead of having two seperate parts for pickup and dropoffs they are in the same spot. so you have some mix of 3500 people getting off a ship with 3500 trying to get on, fighting for 100 or so drop off/pick up parking spots. I would say it was a zoo, but that would give Zoo's a bad name.

 

 

Hi we were also on the cruise, and agree with most of the posts about food. Our embarking was very easy arriving around 10:30ish from Massachusetts. Actually arrived in Bayonne around 9:30 and hung at at a nearbye Dunkin Donuts. AT 10:30 people were still disembarking, we unloaded everything within seconds and then my husband parked. We overshot the boarding area (which is the first ten bays or so, so I had to drag the luggage a couple of hundred feet no problem

 

Disembarking was also very easy. We signed up for the self-disembarkation as we needed to be home in Mass by 2:30pm (a 4 hour drive). Originally the ship was supposed to be in at 8am but got a call the night before saying it was 10 am and everything was pushed back. (propeller problems?). So we planned to do a leisurely breakfast when at 8am I noticed that the ship was pulling into port, I quickly gathered my family and by 8:30 they were letting self-embarkers off the ship. You just have to be able to carry your own luggage even down several flights of stairs. That was no problem for my family as we are very active; ; however I forgot about carrying the liquor that we purchased. Luckily I had carried several cases of soda onboard so I had extra room in the backpack and just barely fit the liquor in that and had that on my back. We each had one large roll on and one carry on.

 

My husband quickly in the car and by 8:45 we were on the highway home.

 

This is my first RCCI cruise having done three previous NCL cruises. In general, I liked this cruise and RCCI better, but when I have a bit more time I would like to talk more about the comparisons between the two lines as there were some things I liked about each line.

[Jimbo]

 

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

Thanks !

 

Jimbo:)

[geegee1]

...This is my first RCCI cruise having done three previous NCL cruises. In general, I liked this cruise and RCCI better, but when I have a bit more time I would like to talk more about the comparisons between the two lines as there were some things I liked about each line.

 

I was on the cruise with you as well and have been meaning to do a side by side of the EOS and the GEM. they are two totally different kind of experiences from the same area.

[bedfordmom]

I was on the cruise with you as well and have been meaning to do a side by side of the EOS and the GEM. they are two totally different kind of experiences from the same area.

 

 

Here is a brief reviewand comparison between Dawn and Explorer cruises:

 

Embarkation--I liked Bayonne better as I didn't have to deal with the NYC city traffic; however we arrived early and didn't have to get stuck in the long line into the terminal.

 

Food: Mixed. I enjoyed the assigned seating after having freestyle for my past two cruises on NCL (my first NCL cruise in 1990 was more traditional) We enjoyed our two waiters Eduardo and Abby. They knew our routine and could anticipate our requests. For example, my daughters soda was always brought to her automatically, my husband's glass with ice for our brought own caffeine free sodas was always brought without asking for it. The dining room food was a little better on the Explorer.

 

I liked the buffets better on the Dawn for some reason. My husband really missed the outdoor cookouts, none to be found on the Explorer even on Labadee; where most of the food was precooked. Sit down breakfasts were better for me on the Dawn as they seemed cooked to order. The one sit down breakfast I had on the explorer seemed to be the exact same food from the buffet and it was cold. I liked the lunches better on the explorer as I enjoyed the salad bar.

 

Activities: Much better on the Explorer from ice skating, etc. There was nothing to do on the Dawn except for the pay alcohol clinics like Martini Tasting.

 

Entertainment Hands down better on the Explorer, both the ice shows and larger productions. Only one comedian, an old man from Mike Douglas days was a real dud.

 

Cabins: Again hands down for the Explorer. I think that the tip system really motivates them to work hard. On the Dawn, they did the minimal work as they knew that they would get automatic tips. The cabins seemed bigger on RCCI.

 

Room Service/Snacks: Better presentation, taste and quickness of delivery on the Explorer. I did miss the diner style of Blue Lagoon; however the waiters were miserable there. We never had time to go to JR.

Royal Promenade was OK, sandwiches were a little soggy but it was fine for a snack.

 

Disembarkation: Less people seem to do it on Explorer on our trip so it was much easier than on the Dawn.

 

So in general RCCI wins for me, except for the lack of cookouts.

[RaMar]

Hi bedfordmom: Nice comparison. We were also on the Dawn and Gem. I found the food to be slightly better on NCL in comparison to this past cruise on EOS. However, the food was very good on the AOS and the Enchantment. It definitely varies from ship to ship even within the same cruise line.

[headusher]

Howdy everyone,

 

A group of us from No Va will take our first cruise on the Explorer at the end of April. Since this will be our first Explorer cruise out of Bayonne is there any advice that you can tell us. We'll be driving from No Va and staying at hotel near the airport. We plan to tour NY Saturday. First question - does anyone have a recommendation for a tour for NY? We've looked at every tour available but are torn between which one to take. We heard there may be a private van tour our group can hire but we haven't been able to find it.

 

How's the parking at the dock? I see a lot of reports about the Bayonne port being somewhat unorganized. Any suggestions? - best time to get there, etc. What about dinning times? - we usually take the late seating but have noticed on the last few cruises that we missed a few shows because they were just about over by the time we finished dinner.

 

Best time to eat breakfast/lunch. How crowded does the buffet line get with so many people on the ship? Shows? We heard that we have to reserve seats for the ice skating show - true? We will be on a 13-day cruise. How many formal nights, semi-formal nights?

 

And since the damaged prop has been temporairly fixed how stable is the ship? Any other info/advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

headusher

[Canoeguy]

Hello Headusher,

I will try to answer some of your questions, having sailed on Ex in 2007 and scheduled to do it again in November. As you know, RCI has been mostly silent on the damaged prop and it's effect on our cruises. I suspect it depends on the weather and number of days of your cruise. Mostly, you will see shortened port times on the 1st and last port. The ship is travelling at reduced speed and has limited ability to go around or outrun storm systems, so you may have some rocky rides. This is mostly speculation based on posts from the past few weeks.

Now about Bayonne. It is no worse nor better than other ports. The weather should be better in April, and parking is okay. You have a nice view of the NYC skyline. I can offer no tips for a NYC tour, as I usually just get out and walk. Get a map and pick your destinations.

On ship, DW and I usually get up to the Windjammer when the doors open in the morning. Lunch is always crowded, but with just the 2 of us, we usually just share a table with someone. Shows are also crowded, so you need to arrive 20 minutes early for a good seat. Ice shows require tickets. Our 12 day cruise has 2 formal nights. I hope you enjoy your trip and please report back your experience, especially about changed itineraries.