This is a huge, beautiful ship that takes you to several beautiful islands. The port calls are short on any cruise, so you will only get a glimpse of what they offer. However, they offer a great value with meals and entertainment included.
Ship Experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
We took this same trip last year, and feel the food quality had obviously declined. Some nights were good, 1night quite poor, but they did serve lobsters, if that's a tie-breaker for you. The worst part is the price they charge for a cocktail--more for one drink than you can get an entire liter on shore, and you cannot BYOB. Serious drinkers can run bar tabs in the 100's of dollars, which of course is what RCCL hopes you will do.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The Explorer had many great stage productions, but this year they had the lamest juggler I ever saw on any stage anywhere. The casino seemed to have very tight slots, and odds on the table games are reduced from those in Vegas and other mainland casinos.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our cabin steward was great, as were almost all of the ship's staff. Be aware that RCCL "recommends" that you give almost $140 in "gratituities" to your various servers, in addition to 15% on all beverages.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Ship is beautifully designed and decorated, but is already showing signs of unattended wear. Spills on the floor are often just marked w/ a small warning sign instead of promptly being cleaned up and made safe--I nearly fell and wrenched my back on a spill in the dining room, and fell again on slippery steps on deck.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We tried an interior cabin this time after having trouble w/ 2nd-hand smoke in a balcony cabin. They price is lower, and we don't spend that much time there anyway. The cabins are very efficiently designed, and our bed was one of the best we've ever had on any vacation.
This was a really short port call, so we didn't do much. The diving is supposed to be good, tho' we didn't go. The Atlantis resort will only let you in the casino and a part of their large aquarium unless you are a guest, or pay a huge day rate.
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