Port of Seattle Problems

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

gmb1

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 87

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 26, 2017

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6616

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

This cruise got off on a bad note due to serious problems at the port getting to the luggage drop off area. We took Uber from our hotel to the port. All private vehicles, uber, hotel shuttles, etc, were diverted to a staging lot where we sat for an hour before finally moving to the luggage area. This doubled our Uber fare. People were getting very impatient and angry. This also caused back-ups at the check in counters. The port employees seemed very unorganized and uninformed. Also the problem was likely impacted by the simultaneous loading of the Explorer and a large Celebrity ship docked adjacent. Taxis did not have to go thru the staging lot so I recommend taking taxi to port.

The cruise itself was fine. Weather was great, ports stops were good. Our favorites were Skagway and the White Pass Railway, and the morning in the Tracy Arm Fjord and Sawyer Glacier. We were somewhat disappointed in the food at the main dining room. I believe the food quality has declined on RCL over the past few years in the main dining room. Windjammer was ok, we don't expect as much there. We did have an excellent meal and service at the Italian specialty restaurant, but $35 surcharge. Johnny Rocket's is always good with a nominal surcharge. The Kids Club and Teen Club were great for our grandchildren.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Food quality in the main dining was disappointing and has deteriorated over the past several years on RCL.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Entertainment was ok, but not up to past standards.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Kid's Club and Teen Club were outstanding! Our grandchildren (6,8,12) hated to miss any of the scheduled time periods. Late pickup is available for a reasonable fee per child.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

As expected from previous cruises

Ship tip

Be sure and take the White Pass Railway out of Skagway. Awesome scenery! Also spent time walking the main street of Skagway.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

5 out of 5

Go a day or two early, or stay a day or two after the cruise to explore Seattle, especially the Pike Street Market area and the space needle.

Thumbs Up 3

Juneau, Alaska

3 out of 5

We did the Mendenhall Lake canoe excursion. The Glacier and waterfall were very scenic but be prepared to work at paddling the big canoes out and back!

Thumbs Up 4

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Our favorite port! White Pass Railway trip was great and the downtown area is quaint and easy to walk. Good shopping and food.

Thumbs Up 7

Victoria, British Columbia

3 out of 5

Nothing against Victoria, had been there, done that on a previous cruise. My wife, daughter and granddaughter took an excursion to the gardens and castle which they enjoyed. The rest of us just walked to the harbor, took a water taxi to downtown, and walked around downtown.

Thumbs Up 1

4 Comments

loeweb 7 years ago

thanks arrrmatey

Thumbs Up 0

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ArrrMatey 7 years ago

Just got off the Explorer last week. Flowrider was open all week at the prescribed times although being from Florida, no way I was going out there in the cold to do it. As far the dock, that was a mess. I blame the port authority as they were doing a very poor job of directing traffic. We took a Lyft from downtown and ended up just getting out while sitting in the mess of traffic and self-hauling our luggage up to the loading area. It didn't matter whether people were in taxis, Ubers, etc, it was all a mess. Once we dropped our luggage off and went into the terminal, the whole process was very smooth and painless.

Thumbs Up 2

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DropAnchor 7 years ago

question, what time did you get to the dock in Seattle when it was such chaos? we leave in 3 weeks. Hoping to avoid the mess you experienced. thanks for your great review

Thumbs Up 0

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loeweb 7 years ago

good review... question flowrider open all the times per the compass? Thank you Mark

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

Beautiful ship with a great itinerary

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