Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Everything was good. Staff helpful, nice and fun to be around.  This itinerary was OUTSTANDING. Staying overnight in San Francisco was such a treat. You need to offer this cruise more often.

Your dinning room staff appeared to be under staffed. You are trying to cut cost too much. They did an outstanding job with the number of people they had.

I would suggest better maintenance on the men's steam room. It was broken too much during the cruise and I would suggest keeping the steam room open longer hours, tell 10:00 or 11:00 pm would be nice.

Thanks and I will see you soon!

Staff were very friendly and helpful. Our waiters at dinner were great and kept us entertained.  They put a big smile on our faces.

Departing the ship went quickly.  They have a great system to get you off and on the ship.

This was a very nice cruise.  The ship was beautiful and had an unbelievable crew.  Food was very good.  The weather was cool, so be sure to bring a heavy jacket if you go in September.  Overnight in San Francisco allows plenty of time to see the sights.  We rented a car and drove to Napa Valley, which is only about 40 miles north of the city.  

Great ice skating troup!  Long process of embarkation.  Great service, everyone friendly & helpful.  Loved the virtual balcony.  Very good entertainment.   Wish they showed more movies on tv.  Food was very good & beautifully presented.

Lets start with the good... I liked the bingo games. The prizes were larger than other ships and cruise lines I've been in. Our stateroom attendant and wait staff were all very nice. The kids club was great for my son. $1 mimosas daily in the casino. The ports were nice, the cruise through Tracey arm fjord was beautiful. The gym was big enough to accommodate. We had a lot of fun on the rock climbing wall and ice skating rink and we even played some basketball. Boyfriend made use of the cigar lounge. Relaxing and good variety of cigars. For dinner our party of 4 was seated with 2 other couples and after the first night we asked for a table for 4 and was no problem to get. I loved the tutti salad bar at lunch on sea days. The prices in the spa were cheaper than other lines but I can't comment on the quality. Now for the bad. I was disappointed in the food. To me the best part of a cruise is the food and in the dining room it tasted like the food was just heated and not really cooked. The desserts left something to be desired. Compared to other ships and lines, the food on this ship did not cut it. The shows weren't very exciting. They didn't appeal to anyone in the group. The shows we did see were mediocre at best. I also thought the room was small and organized awkwardly even for a cruise ship

   Special needs (wheelchair) not attended to for boarding/disembark.

  Very poor customer service....unless you were an elite traveler ( ie Pinnacle/

Diamond).

Waitstaff/servers were much better than the general crew members.

We did not see the Captain the entire cruise...and we did attend our dinner

seating all nights!

Our cabin was not correct and had to be modified into twin beds.

In general, the majority of staff were not knowledgeable and/or rude.

Guests at our table highly suggested booking the Princess Line next.

Very good, average cruise. Good weather. Excursions were very high priced so did not partake. Music was way too loud. Played screaming rock music in Windjammer. Guess they did not want us seniors to eat in peace.

Such a fantastic time for our first cruise. Staff service was excellent. Food was good especially Giovanni's Table and Izumi's. Enjoyed the helicopter ride to the Mendenhall Glacier and the whale watching.  Can't wait to cruise again. 

Dinner each night was a treat because of our wait staff. Our waiter cooked up several Indian Dishes (in addition to our menu selections) and served 2 different Indian dishes each night family style to our table. The other provided us with entertainment and magic tricks at the end of our meal each night. We will Miss them both. I have been on numerous cruises, (never with RC before); and this one was pure enjoyment. Dinner was never too slow; and the chef came out each and every night to ask about our meals.

had a great time, the members are on the cruise were very nice, great food, and wonderful views.

Definitely a great experience and would do it again.

satisfied with the crew.

During the cruise we saw gratuities added to our account.We went to desk to rectify and they did not agree. They called and we spoke to an agent you said we were entitled and that had already paid them to RC. The woman spoke to the desk agent  and the problem was rectified.Thank you !.

Besides the dreaded, but expected, lines boarding and disembarking, the overall cruise experience was mildly disappointing:

*  Positive - The stateroom was clean and our attendant (Fitzpatrick) was outstanding.  He should be commended.

*  Positive - Assigned dinner seating / didn't have to wait on table.

*  Disappointing - The hordes of people / long waits for elevators / limited seating in Windjammer for the large number of people / seating difficult to find for some shows and events; for most events one had to arrive very early and wait until a previous event ended.

*  Disappointing - Service in dining room was adequate but slow;  it seemed as though the waiters were understaffed and handling too many tables.  On their behalf, they were working very hard trying to please everyone. Breakfast orders of fried eggs in dining room were less than desirable / Food in CHOPS was good, but service very slow.  Our meal for our party of six took three hours from the time we sat down.

*  Disappointing - Food was adequate but certainly not exceptional.  It was difficult to get a decent amount of salt & pepper out of the shakers in dining room.  This was a daily nuisance.

*  Favorable - The stops at Juneau and Skagway were enjoyable / The casino was fun.

*  Unfavorable - Of our party of eight, four caught colds on our vacation.

The food in all areas was very good along with the people that provided the service. The cabin was kept neat and clean the entire voyage. Great spa and gym. Loved the steam room. The only areas that I felt were not to my likening was the pool area which was taken over by lots and lots of smokers and the casino which had the worst service of any of the multitudes of ships I have sailed on. I usually spend a lot of time in the casino during a cruise but this was so bad I stopped after a few days. Other than those two things everthing else was great.

This cruise met/exceeded all of my expectations!  Beautiful scenery/ports; great weather; great ship! We went with 2 other couples, and everyone had an amazing time. The weather was great - we were able to see whales, sea lions, seals and even a bald eagle!  Our room was great - plenty of room for an inside cabin (we had a promenade view).  Meals were great, entertainment was fun.  Always something to do!

to start with was not happy that I didn't have a asigned seat with the first and last flight ended up costing more money. When I called I don't feel like they help me very much when I called to get seat number they just gave me a phone number to call for me to do it myself, I have not ever done this so ended up costing me more money. this is the only thing that I am not happy about with your services. Alaska cruise was not for me I will never use Royal again for any cruises! 

We love watching the whales and other sea life.  The ship was dated. Some of the amenties from past cruises were not available this time.  No Anniversary special treatment  or treat given.  Menu in the dining room started out disappointing, did get better as week progressed. We enjoy the dining room usually not the buffet.

We enjoyed the entire experience. The service was excellent. Excursions were of a wide variety of interests, costs, physical excretion, interest and length. The productions both in the theater and ice  were excellent. The invited show were OK, in my opinion. Service on the ship, both in food services and stateroom were excellent.

What would I change? Going through security to board was a very, very, very long. I would change that. Not sure how but seems like we were standing in lines forever!!! It was the same experience leaving the cruise.

There was a lot of down time on this cruise.  We were looking for a stage performance after dinner which we have always gone to on other cruises, however this one did not have that.  There was not a movie theatre, most movies were shown at pool side  and it was to cold to sit out and enjoy it.  We were disappointed with the Explorer of the Seas. 

The cruise is amazing. The food, especially the dinner is very good. The services at dinner is excellent. Our waiter is very nice and considerate. The excursion to see wild whale is very impressive. We took a lots of pictures that will kept for the life.

Thanks; RoyalCarribean

Needs improvement :  getting on the ship took over 1.5 hours. Very long lines and too slow. Need more fitness clases.  Getting out of customs took too long. Need better indoor cinema options. This boat was suited for the Caribbean having the big screen in the cold elements. Previous cruise we took had indoor cinemas with movies offered twice daily.  Wished we had more time in ports and longer shore trips to see all sights. 

Favorite parts of cruise:  variety of food was good. Good mix of live entertainment.