Destinations were good, excursions were mostly bad, food was mediocre

Item: Explorer of the Seas
Rating: 2.9
Author: PapiDan

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

PapiDan

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 4

Overall rating:

2.9 out of 5

14 Night Scandinavia & Russia (Southampton Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 07, 2019

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8538

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Ship is dated. Had a mechanical problem that delayed our arrival. Food was not as good as past cruises, and certainly not the caliber of other recent cruises we have taken. Excursion choices were poor and quality was mostly poor.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Our traveling companion was wheelchair bound and the process was made very smooth.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Food quality and prep was less than mediocre. Beer list was short and lacking.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

None really.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

As expected.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

As expected.

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England

2 out of 5

Only embarked and disembarked. Did not tour.

Thumbs Up 0

Oslo, Norway

1 out of 5

Horrible guide on the bus tour. Ski jump was cool.

Thumbs Up 0

Copenhagen, Denmark

3 out of 5

Did the Harbor Tour. It was OK.

Thumbs Up 1

Tallinn, Estonia

4 out of 5

Very cool old town area. Very difficult to navigate with wheelchair/scooter chair.

Thumbs Up 1

St. Petersburg, Russian Federation

5 out of 5

We did the 1.5 day tour. Loved it. Church of Spilled Blood, Hermitage, Peterhof - all incredible.

Thumbs Up 5

Helsinki, Finland

3 out of 5

Poorvo and the horse farm were nice.

Thumbs Up 0

Stockholm, Sweden

3 out of 5

Did the panoramic tour. Not worth it. Got off in Old Town and walked back to the ship. Very expensive city.

Thumbs Up 0

Skagen, Denmark

3 out of 5

OK. No excursion. Walked through town.

Thumbs Up 0

Stavanger, Norway

5 out of 5

Loved the town. No excursion. Walked through town. The 12th century cathedral is a must-see.

Thumbs Up 3

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

1 Comment

Sarahs58 5 years ago

We struggled with a lot about this ship. Staff were wonderful. Baltic ports were great. Ship was dated, needs a big makeover, entertainment was poor on most evenings and we couldn't wait to get home to have dinners which actually had some taste. No idea how it is possible to make curry without using spice but they managed it on this ship. Cruise Director seemed very unsure and inexperienced.

Thumbs Up 0

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