Decent and fun cruise

Item: Explorer of the Seas
Rating: 3
Author: ChrisA13

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

ChrisA13

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 5

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

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Sail date: July 28, 2006

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 18 years ago

Review summary

Overall my fiance and I had a great time despite being sidelined by tropical storm Christopher. We missed San Juan and Labadee but went to Nassau to bypass the storm. We're going to look into taking a future cruise with Carnival in hopes the food and entertainment are above average. This was my second cruise with RC and my fiance's first and while we had a fun time, we were both left somewhat disappointed. It should be noted no matter what the ships stores said, the liquor and tobacco prices were MUCH cheaper on the islands.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

My fiance and I were both very disappointed with the food. We both felt the food was laden with too much salt and oil to be fully enjoyable. No one goes on a cruise while on a diet, but the fact that there were no low-fat or no-fat salad dressings was a bit of a bummer. There also wasn't many choices in the way of vegetarian dishes either much to the dismay of my fiance. The soda in the main dining room was always flat which was a complete nuisance and it was hit-or-miss throughout the rest of the ship which almost made buying the soda package a waste of money. I was honestly surprised about the food this time around because the last time I sailed with RC five years ago the food was incredible, not so in this case.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Maybe it was just us, but we found there wasn't anything remotely interesting in terms of entertainment, save for the one comedy night, that didn't include spending money (bingo/ casino). It made for some very boring at-sea days/ nights.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Overall the staff was very friendly and seemed to cater to your every need. There were a few instances of the pool waiters not wanting to get you a soda or water if you had the soda package (most likely because of no gratuity) and some of the pool bartenders were snippy at times. The only other beef we had was with Guest Services and them giving us multiple and different answers as to how much liquor we were allowed to bring back home with us. Their answers were completely different than what the US Customs form stated as well as the cruise directors TV address the second to last day of the cruise. We had thought they would have been a little more knowledgeable in regards to that.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship was spacious despite being completely sold out. All amenities were kept in top shape throughout the cruise except for the disembarkment when the ship bathrooms were an absolute disgusting mess. The decor was very inviting (especially the art) yet the carpet and furniture needed updating as both were either worn or stained. Getting around the ship was a breeze.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

The stateroom was a tad bit too small but it was still comfortable nonetheless. Granted we only slept and got changed in the room but the carpet had stains and the TV was semi-broken and was a pain to operate. Closet space was more than adequate and the beds were comfortable. The dry cleaning/ laundry service was great.