Great service, good ports, crowded ship.

Item: Explorer of the Seas
Rating: 3.8
Author: phantom3

Explorer of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

phantom3

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 19

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Greek Isles (Venice Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 28, 2023

Ship: Explorer of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1344

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall good but Explorer is too big for me, too many people 3300. I like the Rhapsody better.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Very crowded, waiting in line far more than my last cruise.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Gym and spa, plus hot tub. The crew kept closing one of the tubs in the Solarium but did not explain why.

Entertainment

Did not attend shows, they were aimed at an older crowd.

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Very good service, the staff had a huge crowd at every meal and had to deal with some problem guests but they really were professionals.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

This ship was Explorer of the Seas, the major flaw in it's design is no food or non alcoholic drinks in the Solarium like on other ships.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Excellent

Ship tip

Be prepared for long lines and bad internet connection above deck 5.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ravenna, Italy

5 out of 5

Spent three days touring on my own, beautiful city you can see in two days. No crowds, good food and low prices.

Thumbs Up 0

Cruise Bay Of Kotor (Kotor Fjord)

1 out of 5

Went on the Olive Oil Making Tour. This was not what was advertised, we spent more than 2 hours on the bus in the heat with no ac for a 10 min tour and a 45 min lunch. The good part was the bottles of free wine with the meal.

Thumbs Up 1

Kotor, Montenegro

1 out of 5

Corfu, Greece

3 out of 5

Did the Sights of Corfu, this was relaxing and fun but the tour guide spent too much time at the first two stops and we did not see the palace.

Thumbs Up 0

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

4 out of 5

Did the Gardens Walking tour, this was as expected.

Thumbs Up 0

Mykonos, Greece

4 out of 5

No excursion, I have been here twice, had lunch and went back.

Thumbs Up 0

Argostoli, Kefalonia, Greece

3 out of 5

Did the museum and Island tour including the underground lake. The museum was only about an earthquake, not the history of argostoli, the rest of the tour was fine.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Bus to the airport was late due to missing driver, I ended up loading bags on the bus for others because the cruise line employee wouldn't do it.

10 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 4 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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deconz 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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tnt55 1 year ago

You don't want to be going on the ovation then lol

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byhisgrace 1 year ago

Appreciate your feedback

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Itspeace4me 1 year ago

Thank you for the review.

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kef2016 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruise experience. Sorry that there were aspects that didn’t meet your expectations.

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Nice itinerary. Appreciate your detailed feedback. It’s good you know what kind of ship you prefer.

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javawoody 1 year ago

Appreciate your review

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience.

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Other reviews of this sailing

First time cruiser, reluctant to cruise again although never again with RC