The shows were awful, except the ice skating show and the last show on the cruise. The waiter/asst waiter were good, but it took forever to get water or coffee at the table in the dining room. Food at the Windjammer was great.

Item: Explorer of the Seas
Rating: 3.6
Author: pmaroney

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean

pmaroney

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 41

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

5 Night Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 24, 2019

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 2594

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

I will never sail on the Royal Caribbean cruise lines again. I will sail Carnival. Way better ships.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

buffets on the Windjammer were great. There needs to be more variety of desserts in the dining room. I had to drink the water that others weren't drinking at our table cause it took a while to get water/coffee.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Trivia, shows; shows were substandard. The cruise director needs to be fired on this ship. He did an awful job. Hardly even saw him on the ship. Maybe 3 times, that's it.

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Only shows on the ship that were above good was the ice skating show and the last show on the cruise.

Library & Card Room

1 out of 5

The library was awful. WAY TOO SMALL! Games are super outdated and needs more variety of books.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

The only thing they did for my granddaughter's age group (3 years old) all they did was color. AWFUL!

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

I had to wait sometimes 15 or 20 min to get our food. The drinks were hardly filled, has to ask at least 2 times.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Definitely need more shops on this ship. Carnival has way more.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Great room and awesome room steward!!! Did a fantastic job.

Ship tip

MUCH BETTER CRUISE DIRECTOR, PLEASE!!!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Great port.

Thumbs Up 0

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Nice shopping.

Thumbs Up 0

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

5 out of 5

Great port. Beautiful.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Way too many delays getting off the ship - some missed their flights.

Traveler Photos

5 Comments

Ellesbell 5 years ago

I guess it's all down to what type of person you are and what your standards and expectations are. Carnival is brash, loud, with awful food imo. I would choose rcl above them any day.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

cruisereckoning 5 years ago

Royal Caribbean is one of our favorites, everyone is looking for something different.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Deleted2 5 years ago

I fear the Carribbean & Bahamas are too overserviced with cruise tourism. Thats probably why some experiences are not such high standard. A 3-5 day trip also does not allow time for customers to relax, wind down and get to know crew, services, menus before they are packing to leave.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

ronnyclicks 5 years ago

I love Carnival but am not against trying royal one day. Have you done both to compare?

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

CruzeFan 5 years ago

Thanks. We love Royal Caribbean and had a great cruise last month.

Thumbs Up 4

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

Excellent trip, will do it again

Thanksgiving 2019

ok cruise