Convenient departure from NJ to warmer climate was just what we wanted

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 15
Helpful Votes: 431

Overall rating:

4 out of 5
Explorer of the Seas

10 Night Eastern Caribbean (Cape Liberty Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 27, 2012

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

As I did for a similar 2013 cruise, I dug through through pictures and my personal travel log, before deciding whether to write a review for this cruise.  My husband and I travel together. We drove from Boston down to NJ and parked our car at the pier. The convenience of walking across the road and directly onboard was great.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Always enjoy MDR on RCL ships. Food quality was very good. Hot items were hot, cold items cold. Buffet was predictable but good.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Fairly routine activities by the pool, bingo, art auctions, crafts, trivia, and the like. A few unsupervised options (e.g., LGBT, Friends of Bill) as well. Nothing stood out as terribly inventive in this area. It's nice to have options to join in or not depending on your mood.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Predictable, fairly standard revue shows, comedy, and magic act. It's a welcomed change up to sitting back home on the couch watching tv, right?

Children's Programs

3 out of 5
n/a

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Wait staff attentive and prompt. Cabin steward was friendly, used our names, always had ice in the bin. We are pretty simple folk and so our requests were not extravagant. We appreciated not having to repeat ourselves once.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
We like the set up of this ship. Crew works hard to keep her clean and neat.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Standard interior cabin. Nothing surprising with our accommodations.

Ports of call

Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey

3 out of 5
This is an industrial port area. If looking for something to do, cross the river and head into NYC. Otherwise, your choices are limited.

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

3 out of 5
Stayed on board the ship.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
We really enjoy Old Town. Walking around the fort is especially nice. Be mindful, if you are in port on Sunday or a holiday, services are very limited and lots of places are closed.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Traveler Photos

The view I had waking up from a nap A lovely beach retreat A lovely beach retreat and Dave's feet :/ A lovely beach retreat
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