This is a fantastic positive ship. Great experience and fantastic ports. So good we are booked to go on this ship again in October!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Southampton embarkation was seamless. Arrived at scheduled time and walked straight on the ship. Staff and security were friendly and efficient! A great start to a relaxing holiday 😃
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Only really used the MDR. and the buffet was only used for the occasional lunch on port days.
Food was excellent in the MDR. The staff and service was great. We also did breakfast in the MDR which was very calm and relaxed. Although the breakfast menu doesn’t change, there was plenty of variety and the waiters were happy to cater for special requests and preferences.
The evening meals were consistently good. Milford deserves a special mention. If you are looked after by him you are in very good hands... but that’s not to say you won’t get excellent service from other staff too!
The buffet- when we used it - was good. Well presented and good selection of well prepared food. Plenty of waiters cleaning and turning tables around, and offering drinks (bar/free). It was very good - but I prefer to eat in the MDR.
Our favourite place to sit and people watch was the coffee shop on the promenade. The staff make fab coffee and there are edible treats there too... the staff are super friendly!
This is a little gem.... but don’t tell too many people!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Very busy cruise- so did not have time to do activities! There is no N/A option available hence Rated 5 as unfair to negatively mark. There was plenty available at the time. It was all well advertised and seemed simple to access if needed.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Excellent entertainment! Varied and contemporary! Jugglers, comedians, singers, illusionists .... and more! Probably the best line up we have seen on a cruise! Bearing in mind it was 14 days! The house entertainment were great too. They were professional and polished in their performance. A special mention for Vanessa who was an outstanding singer!
Don’t forget the ice show... just brilliant!!
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Everyone appeared happy and engaged in the service delivery. All staff were happy to chat regardless of position- we even saw a number of uniformed officers around the ship maintaining high visibility.
Couldn’t fault any member of staff.
This probably was the single most important influence in our enjoyment of this holiday 😃 Charmaine in the shops was great! Great service, great engagement (Baie Dankie 😉)!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Ship size is great. Easily navigated. We traveled with elderly parents with poor mobility and this ship offered everything we needed and wanted- and all easily accessed. There are a lot of comments about the age of the ship. To be honest, it’s like anything, if you look hard enough you will find something to complain about. There was always people cleaning and polishing and if something was identified as needing repair- this appeared to be quickly resolved.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Virtual balcony is a great option! This just gave us the link to the outside world without paying a premium. The room was fairly standard- but the shower was good!
Ship tip
Definitely walk around the ship early on in the trip. There are so many places you go and experience different environments. There is something for everyone!The Viking bar on level 14 is a great place for watching the sun set 😃
Definitely do the riverboat cruise- and get off at the street food market (looks like number of warehouses) it’s like finding a lost world! Just fabulous and really good fun if you like something a bit different!
Excellent overnight stay in St Petersburg. We did an organised excursion through Royal Caribbean. This was excellent. Uneventful transition through passport control. It is really worth going to see the diversity in the city!
Second time here. Really like this port but this time the weather was awful which limited the opportunity to just walk and enjoy this beautiful port on foot.
If the sun shines its a five star 😉
We used the assisted disembarkation for the family member who needed it.It was seamless, efficient, professional.... with a healthy dose of British banter!
Sadly we were unimpressed with this ship. The staff were wonderful as always. Thought the theatre entertainment was very poor, only enjoyed three or four nights. A lot of the dining room food was tasteless. For the first time we were disappointed with a RC ship and definitely won't be returning to the Explorer.
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