Not a Happy Cruiser this time around

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 55

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Verified Review
Explorer of the Seas

14 Night Italian Mediterranean Adventure (Southampton Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 12, 2015

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 6525

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

Hummm.....When I complained about my wife's mattress, it wasn't resolved within the 14 days. Wine list was poor and over priced in my opinion. Too much pushing goods in my opinion and not enough shows, comedy acts, magicians, etc for the 14 nights. Very long waiting times for food to arrive at dinner time. Some tables complained that their food had arrived just plainly warm. Better soundproofing for forward cabins over Palace theater...had to wait noisy bands to finish their shows to be able to sleep. Our Cabin was 6525 so you know what I am talking about. Other cruise lines offer complimentary transportation to and from with NO CHARGE to bus/train stations. Us elderly don't have the mobility like the young ones. Windjammer café closed too early at night....9PM. No midnight buffet anymore....why? Too much greed being placed on pictures....charge less, and more will buy...since it's all digital now.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5
Food took too long to be served, sometimes just warm. Wine list was poor with an expensive taste

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
Very few, and a lot of pushing goods and services regarding the spa.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
Too few shows, no comedians on this cruise.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

1 out of 5
Bathroom was not cleaned everyday...just towels were changed....neither carpet was vacuumed everyday as well. Room 6525 over palace theater...so the noise below was quite annoying.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5
Room 6525 over palace theater...so the noise below was quite annoying. Décor alright. Speaker for captain's announcement inoperative. 13th and 14th day, bathroom vanity lighting also inoperative. Beds uneven when put together for couples wanting to sleep together. Complained about it but no remedy was taken.

Ship tip

I rather not.....otherwise many will not want to sail on her....

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England

3 out of 5

Gibraltar (U.K.)

3 out of 5

Villefranche-Sur-Mer, France

5 out of 5

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5
Italians are a joy to be around with and always willing to help.

La Spezia, Italy

5 out of 5
Italians are a joy to be around with and always willing to help....too little time to do so much.

Marseille (Provence), France

1 out of 5
French people unwilling to help...quite arrogant....very sad.....

Malaga, Spain

5 out of 5

Lisbon, Portugal

5 out of 5
You have to try their Pastel of Belem.
Was this review helpful? 55

5 Comments

cshorlock    8 years ago

Was anything enjoyable to you?

cafejoe    9 years ago

stop at home

suep    9 years ago

Thanks pc4usa, but our cruise leaves from Sydney, Australia! I forgot the ship wasn't in Australia yet!

pc4usa    9 years ago

Hi Sue, We used National Express Bus line from London Gatwick airport to South Hampton and we paid just pennies shy from 25.00 US Dollars each way per person. From the bus station in south Hampton we took a taxi for 6.50 pounds for the two of us, but for them it wouldn't matter if the taxi had one passenger or 10, same price. As for the cruise tours....think very carefully and plan ahead. Rome coliseum is wonderful and requires around 4 hrs to visit inside. Basilica also requires around 2 hrs waiting time (under the sun) to just get in. At Pisa the walk is around 20-25 mins from the train station to the tower. Malaga was easy to get around on foot. Nice views from the fort. Marseille was not what we expected at all....hoped the French would already have forgotten about WW2 and moved on....people were reluctant to help and were not too friendly at all....opposite from Spain, Italy, and Lisbon. Monaco was alright as we took the train to it, and was ok....not great.....but ok....as the French weren't too friendly either....sad. Lisbon for us was a Blast.....we ate delicious pastries including Pastel of Belem, which are worldly famous....suggest getting a table inside for service, as the TO-GO lines may be very long. Try their cod fish bolinhos....ok...ok....try them all....their coxinhas are to die for as well....The ride on the 28 Eletrico (like SF cable cars) is a lot of fun and entertaining....well worth it. Hope this helps.........ahh.....almost forgot....do NOT choose the free ride ( complimentary by the city of Marseille) to the station. The wait can be excruciating and I didn't even mention the super long walk under the sun to where they pick you up....we ended up getting a taxi to downtown Marseille by splitting with some other passengers who also thought that we were all saving a buck...we paid the taxi driver 10 euros for the two of us. Yep....PLAN ahead.....a lot.... ;)

 

 

 

suep    9 years ago

I hope they fix this before our cruise, dec 24. Although we wanted to book the shuttle from the airport to the ship and were told it was $30 each way, as there are 10 of us it would cost $600, not worth it, that's nearly another cruise fare! We shall be getting the train, not happy RC.