Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

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. 

Good part:

Excellent food, lots of fun, good facilities, good shore excursions.

CONCERNS:

1. On day of departure, room service was not available and there was no prior intimation for this. Kept waiting for hot water (for my medicine) and when called the room service then came to know about it.

2. Final day, bill was given for $680.88, but on the credit card the charges have been put $687.20 without giving any detail. Of course it is minor by not expected from a responsible company.

The excursion in Skagway to the dog sledding, gold mining and the train ride up the mountain was magnificent. 

The room was not what was expected.  The virtual window was a joke.  The room was very small.  Service was great.  The steward and the waiters were great.  The attendants at the Sapphire dining room on deck 5 were rude and not very accommodating.

The day at sea when there was a storm and the tracy arrm fjord glacier, these where the best of the cruise.  I can't think of anything else to add to this comment.

The food is excellent!  But we had two very disappointments:  1st. when we got on board, one of our luggage was not delivered.  We would like to tag the luggage ourselves, but your staff did not allow us to do it.  The consequence is that the tag was lost, so that your staff could not deliver it.  It took hours for us to looking for the luggage.  Because my 90 years-old mother put some of her medicine in this luggage, she needs it every 4 hours.  If we could not find the luggage in time, my mother might be in very danger.  Your staff need to pay much more attention to luggage!!!   Secondly we rented a wheel-chair ourselves from other company.  But when we wanted to leave the ship, the wheel chair was disappeared in front of our room.  One of your staff collected it BEFORE we left the ship, and at last you could not give it back to us.  It does not make any sense you collect wheel chairs before people leave the ship.  Even the wheel chair is yours, people still need them to leave the ship.  You really should collect them in the area where people wait for taxi.  I was pretty lucky because I purchased insurance for that wheel chair, otherwise I don't know how I can return the wheel chair, or how much it will cost me to pay the rental company???

Our favorite part was the dining experience.  The food was good and the staff was excellent. We felt like we spend enough time at the beautiful ports.  The staff on the ship were excellent.  The drink were great and the service was fantastic.  Loved all the varieties of shows that we watched.  Overall, an excellent experience. 

The cruise director was the best ever.  Food was Par and service was just o'kay.  First time ever we actually gave some constructive criticism to a few departments,  Pillows were awful but a great cabin Stewart. 

Great cruise the views were breath taking. Wish I would have done the land and sea combo. Packing was difficult. Need to bring shorts long pants and swim suits.

our excursions to the country was great.  however, the food was so-so. the service provided by the ship's crew was outstanding ! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

thanks,

paul