Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

My biggest problem was being located at the back (ALT) of the ship.  We heard every noise possible, my next cruise will be to ask to be located in mid ship.  The food was fanastic in the Windjammer.

80% of the cruise was fine.  I hate having to ask EVERY time you are hungry or thirsty if its included!!!  Then the waiters/waitresses give you something without telling you its extra.  VERY BAD!!

This was our first cruise and we had a blast.  The staff was absolutely accommodating and kind.  We were already discussing on our way home where we are going to take our next cruise to!

Very old ship and rusty balcony terrible food in main dining room and buffet nice pool area theatre fair amenities ok. Bermuda wonderful the third star is only for the trip. Last trip I took was with Norwegian cruise line, ship was newer,balcony large, food ok, theatre was excellent .I expected royal Caribbean to be much better 

This was a gorgeous party boat. The help were all funny and friendly and could not do enough! The Executive Chef Gary invited us to tour the galley and he is a riot but runs a real tight ship and the food on the boat is delicious-especially Portofino which was worth the extra $50. So many fun and great activities all day-especially dancing at the pool deck. Shore excursions in Bermuda were awesome-Kayacking for 3 hours and seeing turtles all around and snorkeling. We had the bestest time and met great people. Hope to go again next year with the whole family on a reunion cruise to Bermuda-my parents vacationed there for 30 years and Mom has not been back since Dad passed away 5 years ago. If we all go we will be about 20 people out to have a great time and Royal Caribbean is the way to go!!!

The dock in new jersey was not very nice. Cruise line staff was very friendly and ship was great. Life boat drill was not a pleasant time. Bermuda was very pretty. Dinning room wait staff was great. disembarking was quite a chore.

The Bayonne terminal,is under construction so please don't expect clear comfortable convenient on or off the ship.   The ship was amazing, except for our stateroom.   The room itself was beautiful however, each night just before bed there was a banging sound.   It was even continuing during the afternoon when we wanted to take a nap.   Our stateroom attendant was amazing and made each day enjoyable.    We loved the food and choices offered.   Our wait staff were great.    One photographer seemed rude, like she was doing us a favor, but the majority of the staff were very friendly and kind.   We enjoyed the entertainment however one night the sound cut off in the middle of the show.   They had to rewind and start at the end of the last song.   It was a little embarrassing.   

We we would cruise again, but have a better appreciation for the staff and explorer Bermuda even more.

This was a new experience for me to actually drive to the boat. It was very easy and a nice option. On the boat, I found the main dining staff and the room steward very pleasant, very professional and committed to exceptional service. The food was delicious and included many choices. I also did eat at the buffet/quick dining cafe. There were healthy choices and a variety of offerings to satisfy everyone. The boat was beautiful and easy to navigate with many activity choices especially for the children. This boat is very child friendly. If you are travelling with your children, this boat is a good option for you.There were many shore excursion options and the prices were reasonable.  I also liked the Internet $$ as well as someone who did need to check in at work.  For future boat planning, I would recommend an IT technician in the Internet cafe for questions/support or phones at the desks to contact personnel and a no smoking section in the casino.

The ship was a bit older looking, but very clean (we know that a renovation is scheduled within the next 6 months).  The staff were extremely friendly and always helpful.  The food was exceptional, but we were disappointed that the buffet was often closed and that the only option was on the Promenade.  The Promenade was very crowded, with a limited array of choice.  Nevertheless, all of the food was delicious and the service in all dining areas was terrific.  Our cabin steward was very nice and willing to accommodate.  What was disappointing was the pool situation.  The pool that was intended for use by children and adults was very deep for young children who were too old for the kiddie pool area, but not old enough to jump into deep water.  The adults only pool was a foot shallower than the pool intended for use by young kids.  The pool water was also very cold and uncomfortable to swim in.  The shows were fantastic, but there wasn't always enough entertainment in the evening.  On previous cruises, there were shows in the main theater and then there were comics in the comedy areas nearly every night after the main production.  There also appeared to be many areas not being utilized for dancing or other forms of entertainment.

We had bad weather which cut our stay in Bermuda short.  We arrived late due to propulsion issues.  Then left @ 7AM the next morning to avoid a hurricane.  I know we have no control over the weather but the small refund they gave us was an insult.

cruise was so relaxing and enjoyable. explored almost the entire ship I think. service is great, staff is friendly and helpful. the daily activities should be spaced apart more instead of overlapping . can't make it from one level to the next at times the elevators do get busy !

I go on a cruise every year going on different boats   I enjoyed my vacation.  Great atmosphere. 'Wishy-Washy' Lady is cool and funny. All the staff is very nice, helpful, and says hello especially my stateroom person Michael, dining person Cecil.  Stir fry chef Fitz. Great service. The rooms are larger than other boats I've been on and for three in an inside cabin- we were very comfortable, always clean and neat. The entertainment was great the ice shows the dance shows. Cruise director Leigh was excellent and funny. The camp for the kids was excellent. My nephew had a wonderful first cruise experience and the camp added to that. All the girls who worked there from 9am-10pm were absolutely excellent. Thank you. The only thing that was not to my liking was the food in the main dinning room. Service was great, food was not and we stopped going to the dinning room because of the food. It was not spectacular. Same boring steak/ chicken; the new dish for the night just was not appetizing to choose. We choose to go the buffet the rest of the cruise and the best night for food was Caribbean night at the buffet. The island choices were good wish they had more accommodations to the beach. Days at sea were comfortable especially- you can always find a chair to sit in the sun and the track was about the length of the boat.

We went on this cruise with our two daughters, 10 and 13, and another family.  First of all, I'll say the staff everywhere on the ship is top notch.  We especially loved our dining room waitstaff, Norberto and Richard.  Food was very good, especially when you consider the amount of people being fed.  Good variety and even my picky eater was happy.  Rooms were good.  We loved being port side and had great views coming into each port.  Bermuda was beautiful.  Took taxi is Horseshie Bay.  Highly recommend.  In st, Martin, we did a catamaran snorkel and that was fun.  In Puerto Rico, we went on the canopy zip line .  That was fun, a bit scary too.  Finally, Haiti is simply gorgeous.  

Only small all complaint about the cruise was that by halfway thrugh , preteen kids (not ours) banded into hordes and since many were without chaperone, they could be disruptive like at the pool, or in hallways, etc.  

The service on the cruise ship was excellent.  The cruise director was fun and the entertainment for the most part was good.  The dining room food was satisfactory.  Our server and assistant server were excellent and tried to accommodate and vary the food at our table because of food allergies of two of us at  table #631 anytime seating.  Our table servers were Barrato and Simms.  .  The pastry chef could add some variety to the menu the same Danish and muffins were served every day with no variation, also dessert on the buffet was pretty redundant with very little change.  After 9 days you get tired of seeing the same food offered. 

The condition of the ship itself is pretty tired.  Stains on couches and the balcony was in need of a good paint job.  The carpeting was old and stain .  The ship definitely need refurbishing. 

We  encountered a few day of our toilet not working and had to call maintenance many times. They would repair it and after a few flushes was broke again and again and again. Then we came back from going ashore in Labradee and there was no water for two hours or more.  An ice bucket was not standard in the cabins nor where bathrobes.  Both had to be requested.

The buffet closed early even on shore days.  Tried to get a cup of coffee in the buffet and told it was closed. Went to the café  for coffee and asked for lactose free milk and they would not accommodate me.  They offered to sell me lactose free milk from the same café.  I was irate and wrote a complaint.  The next time I tried to get Lactose free milk at the café there was no problem. Someone got the message.

All in all I would give the cruise 3 stars.  I had expected the stateroom to be in better condition with fewer maintenance problems and a cabin that was better then a low cost motel room. 

Fun ship with great entertainment and food but the staterooms are in dire need of refurbishing. Carpets and drapes were very warn out and furniture and bathroom fixtures had stains that could not be removed. The rooms were clean but not in good repair. I had to call maintanence three times to fix things. The refrigerator did not even chill a bottle of water. My complaint to the desk staff received no response. The ports of call were fun with lots to do and the weather was fantastic. The ship needs to go to dry dock soon. Once refurbished it will be a great cruise ship. 

From our stateroom attendant to our waiters, the food, all of the activities on the ship, we were always busy doing something and enjoying ourselves.  We had excellent service and an overall great time.  I have been on multiple Royal Caribbean cruises and would absolutely sail again!  Thank you!

Leigh made the cruise for our family. He is the best in terms of taking any situation and making it funny. I can't think of anything that was a negative, everything was great!!!!

The staff was great.  The cruise director was a little bit crude and the entertainment could have been better.  There wasn't much of a choice in things to do when at sea.

The food was great.  The ports were amazing.

Excursion issues were never addressed even though we had submitted our concerns in writing TWICE. We submitted a RC survey requesting that they contact us directly and that has not happened either. Staff does not know what excursions they actually have as the excursion desk told us they did not have the excursion that we requested--after seeing it in THEIR brochure.  We were able to book it from our room The excursion was supposed to be 6.5 hours yet it was only 5.  It was supposed to include shopping in St Maarten--shops close in St. Maarten at 5:00 and the tour waited until 4:55 to tell us the shops were closing and we would not be going to them.  Yet we had just spent 2 hours on a beach instead of shopping first.  Windjammer food was dry and cooked to far in advance most of the time.  Carpets in staterooms were stained with what might have been coffee. When arriving in ports passengers are told to wait for an announcement before trying to leave ship--no announcements were made.  Dining room food was very good but the wait staff kept referencing tips and how we should pay it forward as money was sent back home.  Service should speak for itself without trolling or reminders--each passenger already pays $12 a day in gratuities and extra should be for exemplary service and not because the table's head waiter reminds us of how important tips are to him OR that we should give the main dining a '10' when we receive the RC survey via email.  The service and food was good but I was annoyed at these tacky reminders.  I will tip extra if I choose to do so and will fill out a survey based upon the experience I had on the trip. I actually did leave a very nice extra tip envelope for the main dining room staff --I had turned this in prior to the last dinner and the waiter amped up the trolling that night.  I actually would have left less of a tip if I had known he was going to amp up his efforts. 

The ship was a little dated, but the food made up of the decor.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line staff are not adequately trained to handle

disable passengers. The cruise line has little or no tours for disable passengers.

They can not give information for those disable passengers who want to navigate

on shore alone. Although, their private island of Lababee is accessible, their idea

of giving a disable passenger an good time is transporting them to a beach chair

and not offering them access to the sand wheel chair throughout their stay on the

island. There is not much thought about this concept in regards to their ability to use

the facilities ; bathroom or otherwise.