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Item: Explorer of the Seas
Rating: 3
Author: rktmaw

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

rktmaw

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska Sawyer Glacier (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 05, 2016

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 6297

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The most enjoyable part of the cruise was Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska. It got very close to the glacier and stayed there for a long time to give everyone an opportunity to view the glacier. Other than the ship was the biggest one sailing for the Alaska destination, most facilities and services were substandard compared to other cruise liners.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Dining room service was super slow and lack of variety. The staffs didn't even try to know us by name. We had two celebrations on the trip but only one got recognized at the very end of the meal after everyone else had left. We tried to remind the staffs about our special occasions, appearancely they didn't care. Also for two night, they didn't have the entrees that were listed on the menu and we were at the early seating. We ended up opted for the buffet dinning for most of the nights.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

many activities were located on the clouded Promenade floor. Most deck areas were remain empty and not used.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

They only had two real shows out of the 7-nights. Others were just fillers with movies, video review of the trip and staff recognition programs. That shopping information talk show on the second day was the most useless and waste of time event. 95% of the audience left during the show. only those first few rows remained because the host tossed out some cheap rings and t-shirts at them.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

The guy at the service desk laughed at me when I asked about a mini bar charge. I thought the small bottle waters were complimentary like other cruise lines gives to its loyal customers because I couldn't see that small price list hidden in the corner and blocked by the large bottle water.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

The ping pong tables were poorly damages and in a lack of maintained area with no lightning. The library has tables but not enough chairs. Tables were arranged next to each other with not enough room to separate them for another group to use. Not enough tables and rooms for people to play cards.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

A waste of money to upgrade from interior to the Promenade stateroom for the reason of lack of privacy. You can see the outside from a Promenade room, but others also can see you from the outside. I kept my window curtains closed tightly most of the time except for a peek outside. The window was super dirty, it blocked most of the view, and it insulated the sound so you couldn't hear much of what went on outside. It was a total waste of money to upgrade to a Promenade stateroom.