Vastly overpriced! Terrible value!

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Bermuda

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 52

Overall rating:

1 out of 5
Explorer of the Seas

Sail date: August 01, 2011

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 13 years ago

Review summary

Avoid this cruise like the plague- at least in the Summer. It was so ridiculously overbooked you could barely move. The crowds overwhelmed everything. Wait times were insane. We could never find a table for the buffet. My parents were older and really struggled at times. What annoys me is that this cruise was very EXPENSIVE. I have been on far cheaper cruises with a much smaller passenger to staff ratio so even in RCCL's class of cruise this was awful. Cruising should be RELAXING not this stressful. The staff tried their best, but they were obviously overwhelmed. Also, the lack of enforcement of dress code was disgusting. Even in the formal dining rooms, most passengers dressed like bums - caps, hoodies, tank tops, bathing suits, short shorts, sneakers. Made a mockery of the published dressed dress code and no one in the staff even cared. This ship left from North Jersey and this was a pretty hard scrabble crowd. They obviously had no interest in the traditional decorum of a cruise. If you desire at least a modificum of traditional cruising decorum avoid this cruise and probably RCCL in general. I didn't think this would be a "booze-cruise" given the cost but I must admit I was wrong. RCCL markets itself as famil-friendly but this cruise was definitely not - there were some real creepy people and tons of drunks - a little scary for kids IMO.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Food was excellent. Buffet was very well stocked and most definitely better than any I have been to on land. Dining room food was superb. Every night was delicious. Some of the best food I have every had served in a restaurant.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Entertainment was decent. First-night comedian was great. Gymnast show was fantastic. Ice show was so-so. I felt bad for the ice-skaters, they worked hard, but had a difficult time with the more complex routines, there were some falls. It must be so hard to ice skate on a rocking cruise ship, especially given the probably awful ice from the hot temperatures.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Staff was the best part of this cruise. They tried so hard to help and were so friendly - wonderful people. They come from all over the world and work almost non-stop for 6-7 months at a time. They are away from their families for most of the year and they are still so cheerful - amazing. They go out of their way to help, but were clearly overwhelmed by the crowds.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Ship was impressive. A little tacky but definitely an engineering marvel. Dining room was beautiful. Would have enjoyed it so much more if there were fewer passengers. It was hard to move anywhere.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Room was OK. Obviously heavily used and badly in need of a refresh. However, the stateroom attendants were great and did their best to keep it clean. TV was ancient. Sofa had a visible stain (horrified trying to imagine what caused it given the type of people on this cruise.)

Ports of call

King's Wharf, Bermuda

3 out of 5
Bermuda was beautiful - BUT you must drive at least a half hour to Hamilton of Horseshoe bay. The dockyard where you anchor is not that impressive

Pros: The food and hospitality of the staff.

Cons: Cruise was disgracefully overbooked!! There were massive lines for most everything - dining rooms, elevators, activites. Literally no quiet areas could be found.

Recommends Explorer of the Seas? No.

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