The Good & the Bad

Item: Explorer of the Seas
Rating: 4.1
Author: maineah52

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Transatlantic

maineah52

Contributor Level: Second Mate

13 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 106

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

14 Night Southern Caribbean Transatlantic (Southampton To Miami)

Sail date: November 05, 2019

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9293

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

If I had been only on this cruise, I would have been greatly disappointed with 9 days at sea and only one port (St. Maarten).

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We did a B2B so getting off 7 back on in Southampton was very easy.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The MDR was excellent...only item I didn't like was the Ahi Tuna...it was dry & tough. The MDR service was quite good, although minor things like serving lady first, getting several courses delivered at same time & getting tea/coffee before dessert were addressed & corrected.

Café Promenade

5 out of 5

Loved the chicken pie!

Windjammer Marketplace

5 out of 5

Not nearly as crowded as on other ships because most days there was also a buffet on Deck 3 of MDR.

Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Enjoyed every evening. Great variety of food choices & very accommodating.

Johnny Rockets

5 out of 5

Although we were the only patrons at dinner, the staff treated us royally & gave us a private line dance!!! Food was great!

Giovanni's Table

3 out of 5

Disappointing...not worth the extra money

Chops Grille

3 out of 5

Food was okay but no "wow" any more.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

CD was quite poor & many of activities (Quest) were quite sad.

Casino Royale

1 out of 5

Rude employee at cashier desk who gave misinformation to several guests & then proceeded to argue about it.

Solarium

4 out of 5

Wish there was a canopy that closed so we could enjoy on inclemete days.

RC Online

3 out of 5

paid for high speed streaming but not always able to stream

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Most shows were very good, although having an ex-pickpocket was a stretch.

Palace Theatre

3 out of 5

Many broken chairs

Children's Programs

No children attended

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Dining room staff were excellent; room steward was great; casino staff had no idea what they were doing; guest services added a $100 fee for towels on the morning of disembarkation (we are D+) so we had to go down to guest services before breakfast...after having corrected towel issue...we asked why our accounts were not linked which was supposedly corrected, however upon disembarkation, we were detained because the one account was still open.... had to return to desk to have them straighten this out...not a great ending to a 25 day cruise.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Ship will be going in for refurbishment which can be seen as sorely needing in many areas. (Specialty dining was almost shabby) Wish there was a covered Solarium for the very chilly days in UK & at sea.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Really enjoyed the virtual balcony. Gave the cabin a feeling of spaciousness.

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England

4 out of 5

Port is far from any activities

Thumbs Up 0

Castries, St. Lucia Did not visit port

Itinerary was changed

Thumbs Up 0

Bridgetown, Barbados Did not visit port

Itinerary was changed

Thumbs Up 0

Roseau, Dominica Did not visit port

Itinerary was changed

Thumbs Up 0

St. John's, Antigua Did not visit port

itinerary was changed

Thumbs Up 0

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Mass confusion at terminal with huge crowds & very slow customs. Americans had to wait in line with huge amounts of UK citizens who had to be finger printed & photographed.