Not impressed with Royal Caribbean, but the ports of call were great

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 13

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Explorer of the Seas

8 Night Norwegian Fjords (Southampton Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 26, 2015

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7228

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

This was my first time cruising with Royal Caribbean.  All my previous cruising experience was with Carnival.  I guess I expected more because RC cruises are more expensive and considered a notch above Carnival.  That was not my experience though.  Carnival is much better in the following areas:  Bathrobes in staterooms, better food variety, quality and availability of health conscious foods in all dining rooms, better entertainment overall.  The Explorer of the Seas is a beautiful ship, but was much too crowded, especially since we were confined inside most of the time due to bad weather.  We were always having to look for a place to sit in the Windjammer cafe, and all lounges.  I found myself hanging out in my cabin for a good part of the trip.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Kristiansand, Norway

1 out of 5
Didn't go there - it got cancelled after we booked the cruise. Instead we went to Rotterdam, which was okay.

Olden, Norway

5 out of 5
Loved the long journey into the fjord, with the beautiful quaint village at the end.

Flaam, Norway

5 out of 5
Loved the train ride - but the hike was cancelled due to snow

Alesund, Norway

3 out of 5
The weather was bad when we were there, and I didn't find a lot to do in Alesund

Stavanger, Norway

5 out of 5
Loved the history of the old town, shops and restaurants which served traditional Norwegian food.
Was this review helpful? 13

1 Comment

sparkeybob    4 years ago

To me u take a cruise on another line just to pick it apart .like food was bad . I don't buy that at all. I have gone on your line before . I think the food on RCL is much better. So I think it is about taste. If I were you , stick with your cruise line.

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