Great ports, fantastic scenery, great concierge and cabin service, awful food!

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

dfontenot101

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 41

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 20, 2016

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1578

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

We loved Alaska and the excursions offered. Denzil, the concierge, and Ravi, our cabin stewart, were great.

However, we were so excited to take this cruise bc we just knew that it would be the freshest seafood available. As an example, I ordered the lobster the last night. Not only was it mealy in taste, but there was no meat in the shell. I was later refunded the cost by the chef and they admitted that it was left over from Australia, which was more than two weeks from the date.

The food service staff was awful across the board. It didn't matter if we were eating in the main dining room, ordered room service, were eating in the windjammer or in Chops for breakfast, the staff was ineffective and unprepared. The food was awful!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Fantastic cabin and service.

Ship tip

Don't miss Grizzly Zip Line in Skagway.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska

5 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

3 out of 5

17 Comments

donaschnider 8 years ago

It is on you card you get during boarding and in the compass it says the numbers and times with which day

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donaschnider 8 years ago

Haha yes we had our granddaughter and she went swimming. The solarium was very nice. Most people are sitting or standing outside to see the glacier. Yes jacket

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cheryldrew 8 years ago

With the ship being so crowded, was there space to sit and view from the deck? We do not have a balcony and I've heard the Solarium can get cold and wet. We're there any kids crazy enough to swim? I have a 10 and 15 year old.

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donaschnider 8 years ago

Have fun. We sure did. We booked for next year and the week we wanted is almost full. We did get 2 rooms. Not where I wanted tho.

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cheryldrew 8 years ago

Where would we look to see what day we are scheduled for the ice show?

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rodillow 8 years ago

Oh.... Good to know

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donaschnider 8 years ago

Tip......check for which date you are assigned for the ice show. We didn't pay any attention to it we went the wrong afternoon so we had to be in stand by if they had room for us. They did and the show is amazing

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rodillow 8 years ago

Thanks so much.... I know I had seen a comment somewhere but couldn't find it. Lol

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donaschnider 8 years ago

They have a show at 6:30 and 8:30

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rodillow 8 years ago

Can someone tell me show times. We are gonna try to set dining reservations. Thanks

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cheryldrew 8 years ago

Thank you for the positive comment. We leave in a week on this ship and after all the negative food and line comments, I'm expecting over priced Sizzlers.

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dionnerae 8 years ago

You got really lucky that you enjoyed the food. I have been on 16 cruises and one pass cruise on the ship. And I must say that this was the worst Food I've ever had on a cruise period always cold in the Windjammer the bacon was all stuck together and overcooked like beef jerky, scrambled eggs are runny not fully cooked. As far as the hamburgers go I thought they were terrible. We went to Johnny Rockets and that was the best meal we had on the ship.

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donaschnider 8 years ago

The weather was ok! Very windy on a few days and cloudy, we did get some sun our granddaughter went swimming, but she is a kid and the cold didn't bother her, she thought it was heated.

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rodillow 8 years ago

Awesome... Thanks donawatsonschnider!!! We just found out our cruise is completely sold out so we know the lines might be a bit much but we are anticipating it. Glad you had a good time. How was the weather?

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donaschnider 8 years ago

My opinion, we just got back and we loved this cruise, it was the best I've been on. Yes the lobster was small, just order two. Our waiter tried so hard to make sure our girls at the table got what they wanted. If they didn't like what they ordered they would ordersomething else and it was delivered very prompt. Look the food was good enough where I gained 2 pounds and I kept very active. The main dining room for breakfast was great. They have a small buffet and you can order as well. I ordered an egg over medium and I got two with hash browns and bacon. It was great. We ate at the windjammer often, they make the best hamburger! Everyone I spoke to also said the same thing. They had a variety of different food. The desserts were tasty. Yes it could get crowded there. The ship was empty when in port. So don't feel uneasy that you need to worry, the staff ALL bent over backwards for us. And honestly we had a few complaints but all resolved in short time. Enjoy your cruise!

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jacsdan 8 years ago

Hope all is worked out before we board in August. Will eat in Chops for breakfast, like the quieter setting. Have sailed with RCCL enough that I will address service issues.

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rodillow 8 years ago

I certainly hope RC is reading some of these as you are not the first to mention the food and the staff. We are hoping that it will all be worked out by our cruise in a couple of weeks. Only sorry that you've had to experience it with several others. Yikes two week old lobster. I'm not a seafood gal so hopefully I'll escape all of that. This is our first RC cruise. We've always done Carnival and had great service and decent food. Glad you enjoyed everything else.

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