Not up to the old RC standards
Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Cruise Director
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 202
9 Night Southern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 13, 2019
Ship: Explorer of the Seas
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 1312
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
Overall it was an enjoyable cruise although not up to the standards of my many past RC cruises. This was my second cruise on the Explorer and I will not be repeating again as I do not like the balcony design. I am going to stick with the Indy/Freedom classs as they seem to have the advantages of the larger ships (better entertainment, more activities) without the huge number of people. And as a final thought, parents: PLEASE watch your children, interact with them or put them into the children's program. There were many children on this cruise and most were behaving appropriately (for their ages) and parents were engaged BUT we also saw many that were acting out and being ignored by their parents. The child at the MDR table next to us was off his chair, pulling on things, knocking things down and even running in circles around the table with a fork in his hand - all being ignored by his family despite our comments - until the MDR manager FINALLY said something about the running with the fork as he almost knocked over a waiter. They weren't seen again in the MDR. It wasn't the kid's fault!!!Embarkation
Arrived about noon and was on the ship with a drink in hand in 30 minutes. Porters greeted the taxis and the checkin process was easy and efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We mostly ate in the MDR this cruise. The quality of the food has gone down from prior cruises. While they have a handful of old favorites available as "classics" every night, we found that several items were repeated during the week, e.g., a fair and dry chicken cordenbleu, a very nice beef tenderloin that if you order anything more than medium rare came well done. Even early in the cruise they were missing key elements of some dishes - e.g., the cherries jubilee was missing the toasted almonds; a salad with goat cheese and pomegranate seeds were missing the pomegranate seeds, etc. It sounds minor but it was what made each dish tasty or added texture and for a foodie like me, it hurt the quality of the meals. The Windjammer food was typical WJ -- much of the same fare and lukewarm. Lobster night was the biggest highlight of the week.
Onboard Activities
On a 9 night cruise with only 4 days in port I expected so much more. If you weren't into spa treatments (or their hawking of them) or shopping lectures/sales, there really wasn't much to do beyond the sports deck. As always the 70s night was fun. The solarium was always crowded except on port days and was a nice respite from the many babies and small children in the main pool area hot tubs! (I counted four adult and 18 children, including some with snorkel gear, in the hot tub at one point)
Entertainment
We were disappointed that there was only one ice show on a 9n cruise as we find them very enjoyable and the skaters do wonders on a small rink on a moving ship. The Las Vegas Tenors were excellent, as was the comedian Basile especially in his second show where he went "off script" and interacted with a sign language interpreter for a good part of the show (VERY funny). The RC song and dance shows were nice but are getting stale. The first comedian (I don't even recall his name) with the unicycle has been doing the show for 25 years … and I suspect it was the same show as it was very stale and "Las Vegas schtick." Mark Preston, of the Letterman, was fair - good songs, nice voice but again, "Las Vegas schtick." The smaller ships need to spend a bit more on the entertainers to get more than tired Las Vegas shows.
Service and Staff
Our room steward Anto was excellent; among the best we've had in over 15 cruises. Our waiter and assistant waiter were also very good. Most of the staff we interacted with, from bar waiters to maintenance for some toilet and safe issues, were efficient, competent and friendly. There were occasions where, for instance in the Tavern Bar before dinner, they were noticeably understaffed but those on duty didn't seem flustered by it. Overall the individuals and their friendliness are a huge plus for RC.
Ship Quality
The ship is showing its age and need for dry dock, which is happening in a few months. Overall it is very clean with few signs of wear. The biggest issue for us is the lack of efficient smoke eaters in the casino. I am very sensitive to smoke and cannot even walk through the room when it is closed --- and found that the Tavern Bar and Schooner Bar, on either side of the casino on Deck 4, reek from smoke -- you can smell the smoke as soon as you get off the elevator by the Tavern Bar. I am not a fan of the "holes cut out of steel" balconies on this ship as you don't get much of the ocean breeze and it gets very hot during the day. I wish they would hold more events in Studio B or the pool rather than the promenade as there is very little sitting -- there were many with physical challenges on this cruise and they had a hard time finding places to sit.
Cabin / Stateroom
Jr Suite on Deck 10 was fabulous. Regular closet but tons of drawers and credenza - we actually had many that we didn't use! Very roomy and great location. I was concerned about being directly under the pool and Windjammer deck but we never had any issues or heard much noise or movement of furniture. I would highly recommend this cabin. Also our room steward, who also took care of some of the larger suites, was one of the best I've ever had.
Ship tip
If you like the ice show, watch the Cruise Compass as they assign seatings based on your lifeboat station number and know they will only hold the show on the first couple of days of the cruise. We had talked with many that thought they could catch it later in the cruise and it was not offered.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Go in the day before and take a bay cruise or enjoy the beach--- and if it's October to April, go to Joe's Stone Crab for dinner. (they don't take reservations so go for a 5 PM dinner) It's expensive but it is SO worth it - iconic with the best service!
Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)
Nice beach day. I think the rent the cabanas is absolutely outrageous. Most were back after a few hours as it was an extremely hot day without much shade.
Rent a golf cart (reserve months in advance) to toodle around the island on your own. GREAT snorkeling, scuba diving and sailing.
Beautiful beaches. We splurged for a day pass at the Renaisaance and went to their private beach island (Flamingo Island) to meet their family of wild and tame flamingoes. Got many great videos and pictures of the birds as they greeted guests and begged for food. They are like living cartoon characters and among my favorite birds so this was a highlight for us. Had a lovely lunch. Next time we will get beach massages!
Great shopping area and pretty beaches - venture out away from the main city area. The water taxi to the beach excursion is also nice - we saw marine biologists working with wild dolphins on the way back and they had them performing tricks for us.
Disembarkation
Getting off the ship was fine and timely --- once we got to luggage it was another story. We looked for our luggage for over an hour. A porter even went behind the scenes and couldn't find our bags (big and purple so easy to find). We checked all luggage carousels. Finally they suddenly appeared, at 75 minutes after our number was called, on the carousel where they were supposed to be. At least at that point much of the crowd had left through customs and that was less than a 10 minute process. Taxis were readily available.