Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Can't say exactly what we liked best! Every day was great....service and food choices were wonderful. Also outstanding entertainment every night. We  expected this to be an "older crowd", but instead there were many young families on board. No problems though!!

The excursions were very good. The photo team and entertainment were not good. The food at the regular restaurant and buffet were   not very taste but the special restaurant were very good. Service and organization of get in and get out of ship was outstanding. The shop store was very bad

Beings that I had two balcony rooms for my family, the ship not fulfilling its destinations routes was disappointing and the cruise company did not reimburse for not meeting all the destinations.

Additionally, since I was traveling with family, the urinals in the men's bathrooms were extremely too highly mounted to allow any normal size youth probably under the age of 16 to be able to use.

This was a wonderful cruise!  We splurged and got a room with a balcony.  For the Alaska cruise, this is a perfect choice.  To sit on the balcony watching the beautiful scenery go by is a once in a lifetime event.  Definitely my favorite thing of the cruise.  

The food on the cruise was a disappointment.  If was good food, but not "out of this world".  The cookies were very hard, and could be used a hockey puck.  There was always something to eat somewhere on the ship. 

The biggest disappointment on the cruise was entertainment provided on the cruise.  Retrospectively, there were only a couple things to do or experience on the ship.  Being one of their first cruises, my kids enjoyed the cruise.  I would most definitely take this cruise again, but maybe try a different company. 

My daughter (18 years old), husband, and I took this cruise in late July/early August. We LOVED this cruise! It is very beautiful and a MUST do! My daughter was skeptical about this cruise, being 18 she thought it would be boring. Not a single time did she complain on this trip, but when we returned home, she raved about wanting to go again!

I enjoyed our cruise in Alaska.  I went on a RC cruise last summer also on a different ship and it was like I was on the same boat.  Piano player last year was not the best and this one was drunk nightly.  He took frequent breaks and would stop and talk to us and it was awful the alcohol smell.  He never played songs requested and didnt have good communication with crowd.  I also do not like it that by 12 everything is over unless you are 18-25.  have to go to the 630 show before dinner instead of after dinner and sometimes when on excursion we cant get back in time to see it.  we had fun but after second RC cruise not impressed

I enjoyed our cruise in Alaska.  I went on a RC cruise last summer also on a different ship and it was like I was on the same boat.  Piano player last year was not the best and this one was drunk nightly.  He took frequent breaks and would stop and talk to us and it was awful the alcohol smell.  He never played songs requested and didnt have good communication with crowd.  I also do not like it that by 12 everything is over unless you are 18-25.  have to go to the 630 show before dinner instead of after dinner and sometimes when on excursion we cant get back in time to see it.  we had fun but after second RC cruise not impressed

This is only my second time on a cruise, and this experience was way better than the first time on a different company. The food selection in the Windjammer Cafe had a wide variety and was pretty tasty. The dining room food was well done too in terms of selection and taste. 

Service on the cruise was amazing. All the crew members had a smile on their face. 

I recommend doing at least 1 shore excursion when you arrive to Juneau and Skagway. The town isn't that big and if you aren't a huge shopper, you should really spend the money to explore Alaska that way. Alaska is very beautiful and the sights we saw when just sailing was beautiful. While dining in the Windjammer, other cruise goers said they saw thousands of dolphins jumping out of the water swimming with the ship. We were so bummed we missed it!!!!!

The onboard entertainment was also very fun. Graham Seymour, the cruise director, was hilarious! The shows, music, and entertainers were awesome!

Ship was clean, activities were boring, food was average and shows for the most part were amature.  The best show on the cruise was the ice skating show. Luckily we went with good freinds so that made it fun.

Staff in the dining hall were great people, so also the customer service and cruise director.

did not like the layout design of the 3rd floor. to go from one of the ship to the other, you had to go up to the floor you wanted and then walk to the other end.  for example if you went for lunch to the 14th floor and took the nearest elevator to go down to 3rd floor, ooops..   go up to 4th walk all the way down and then go down again

comedy show and magic show not impressive at all.  Expected more than 1 adult comedy.  the dancer were great.

Was surprised there were no all night coffee, deli or pizza place.

Favorite part of cruise was being with all our family & sharing our experiences!  

We were disappointed that balconies did not open to adjoining staterooms as was told to us when booking cruise.  The beds on the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the seas were very uncomfortable!

The ship, itinerary, shows, food, and room with the balcony were all excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The staff was very hands on and accommodating. I enjoyed my room with the balcony watching the whales

There was too much time on the boat.  I liked meeting people and getting off the boat.

The boat was clean, the crew was very friendly and attentive.  It was just too confining for my husband and myself.  

I was disappointed with this cruise for the following reasons:

1.  As an elderly woman of color (African American) I was discriminated against by white people who did not want me and my sister friend Trudy Martin, sitting at their table. They made racist, derogatory remarks and even let their teenage son rudely turn his back to Ms. Martin, 71 years old, because she sat next to him.

2.  The above people at the table I was assigned to on 7/8/16 complained about Ms. Martin and myself, and requested that we be moved to another table.

3.  Your people never questions us about what happened, instead, you left a note in our rooms that we were being moved yet again to another table.

4.  You should have never assigned Ms Martin and Ms. Fenning to eat at 8:00 p.m. as we were both elderly women who had to eat earlier and take medication at 6:00 p.m. 

5.  You should have told me and Ms. Martin that if we drink the bottled water in the room we would be charged for it. The listing was placed in the back of the large bottles so I didn't see it before I drank the small bottle of water.

6.  Free water should be offered to all passengers in their room on a daily basis without costing them money or at least have a water placed where we could fill up our bottled water without charge. Free amenities needs to be offered for passengers who save up for expensive cruises.

7.  When served, noted that white people were asked first and then Ms. Martin and myself in the dining room. 

8.  Subtle forms of discrimination, racism, sexism, ageism and any other "ism" was experienced in the cruise. It has become so ingrained that people and staff don't even know they are doing it.

9.  Not a big fan of Explorer of the Sea and I'm pretty sure I won't recommend it to others.

We had a great time while on board as well as in port.  The excursions we booked were expensive but worth the money.  We went whale watching in Juneau as well as to the Mendenhall Glacier and then in Skagway we did the helicopter and dog sled combination. 

I think we also had great luck with the weather.  Only 2 days that were kind of rainy.

from our helicopter/dog sled excursion

Explorer of the Seas was a very clean ship. The crew was very accommodating and pleasant.  The food was outstanding.  The activities and entertainment on board ship was abundant. The Ports of Call were fun.

We loved our Alaskan cruise. The highlights were the seaplane ride in Juneau, our waiter Mark in the main dining room on the ship, and the evening entertainment. 

Beautiful scenery. Epic adventures. Seattle only misted one of three days! Pike's Place was more than I expected. Everyone loved their jobs there. So much to see and do in all ports.

Looked forward to our dinner every night in the formal dining room. We like Indian food. Only had to tell them once. They provided us with variety of Indian food every night. Our last night's dinner was fantastic. Alaska trip over all was fantastic, once in a life time experience. The ship was beautiful. We had a toddler with us. She enjoyed the play room.

Room service excellent. But they did not let us know that there is no room service on the last day, which was disappointing. Waited in our room for tea. Found out later that there was no service. We will recommend Explorer of the Sea to our friends and family.

Dining room staff during breakfast and lunch were not friendly and rude on several occasions.  The rest of the trip was awesome. Room steward was wonderful. Entertainment was terrific.