Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The Exlorerer of the Seas is a nice cruise ship, albeit the decor in their staterooms are a bit dated.

Service in the dining room for lunch and dinner were excellect, and so was the stateroom cleaning/daily room service. We tipped extra on top of our mandatory daily tipping to a few individuals who provided excellect customer service. Entertainment on-board was decent. Pool area was good. We spent most of our time in the Solarium, adults-only jacuzzi and pool. The food was decent and had enough variety that you aren't eating the same thing everyday. My only complaint were the desserts, they were a bit lackluster. I would recommend this cruise to others. 

Cruise met or exceeded expectations in terms of service, accommodations, entertainment, and activities. However, food in Windjammer cafe inexcusable in terms of quality and selection. Food in main dining room improved during cruise, nad overall the service from waiters and staff was excellent. Presentation and quality of food in main dining room average compared to other cruise lines we've sailed with. Perhaps it's a sign of the times. Most others we spoke to regarding the dining experience were on the same page in terms of feelings expressed above. The next cruise we sail will return us to the line we chose for our two previous cruises, prior to this trip.

This was my first cruise, I loved it and plan on taking many more. Everyone was very friendly. I recommend the dining room for dinner rather than the buffet, the dining room has much better food and you can order as much as you want. I got the drink package and it was well worth it I will purchase it again on future cruises. There were alot of activities on the boat, they had them parties such as a 70's party and a glow in the dark party but they were only about an hour long which I thought was weird they shouldve been a little longer. But all in all it was great.

Was not impressed with Explorer of the Seas.  Ship is looking aged in some areas.   Staterooms are not refurbished- Carpets, mirrors, balcony just have a tired look.   Definetly needs refurbishing.  The food was not very good.  Not what I expected.  The Windjammer for Lunch was like eating at an all inclusive resort in punta cana. 2 stars.  Lots of choices but little taste.  Pasta dishes were bland, chicken dried out, hamburgers sat like leather discs none made to order so you had to add cheese slices yourself that did not melt so if you like cheeseburgers forget it.  Would not sail this ship again due to the fact that even in the dining room food was just OK.  Exception was lobster night which was very good.  No eascargot in dining room offered or raw sushi choices in the Windjammer.  I can't eat smoked salmon for sushi.    Many other guests I spoke with agreed that the food was not up to par for RCCL.  :(    I have alot to compare this cruise with since I have sailed 10 x's before this one.   Servers &  attendants were great though and tried very hard to please.   We loved Bermuda.  Water is so blue it's unbelievable.    

If you are a alcoholic and over 80 this cruise is for you. The buffet dinner was great and the room service was great. However the staff that controlled intertainment sucked and not informative at all. Example : The chamber had scheduled a family fun hour 7:30 to 8:30 pm I took my grandchildren and nothing or no one was there. The whole cruise we were in the pool but at the last day and was cold we found by chance a swimming pool for kids with a slide . I cant understand that knowing we had children and never was informed about the kid pool. All this cruise did was to promote drinks to the drinkers. Coming back to port the local cab/taxi wanted 4.00 dollars ahead to go 10 blocks when the fare is only 6.25 any other day. Trying to keep money in the community is very hard with this expierence.

We had a wonderful experience on Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda the 3rd-8th of May. Every one of the staff that we met were friendly and very committed to do an excellant job. The balcony room was great and the wait staff at the Magellan didning room were fabulous. All the shows were superb and the food was great.  Keith Lewis

My husband and I went on this cruise for our 20th anniversary and had a blast!  The boat is big and beautiful and when you're in the main part of the ship, you don't even feel like you're on a boat - it looks like Main St.  The food was great and the entertainment was good too.  We would definitely do this cruise again.

My family and I had a very good time.Ship is beatiful.All staff is very friendly.They working very hard to make us happy.Entertainment is excellent.Food is delicious.

I enjoy over all experience all the islands we visited are worth visiting,  the most enjoyable was labade island in Haiti.  I will take this cruise again.  I will recommend if you offer a better rates for single people one person in cabin so it makes it more convenient its hard to find a partner to co-ordinate vacation time etc.

I was disapointed to see that Royal has slipped so badly.  First problem was a major hassel to change to any time dining, they insistently demanded reservations for the first several day, set a very bad tone to the whole trip.  Secondly the WIFI / computer thing is a joke, worse then the Spirit airline rip off, spent $225, never got wifi, had to use very slow cumbersome computers.  Computer / wifi is free on river cruise trips, glad spring is here I i will spend the summer that way.

   Last month I went with Norwiegion, much improved and a far better trip then thisone a full day in each port, much better wifi, food every bit as good and hassl free, bet they get my next big boat trip.  It is a real shame you have many very outstanding employees working very hard, Mgt needs to get it's head out of it's ass!

Barr Quist was a happy customer for years!

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This was a great cruise to relax on.  Enough sea days to really get to know the ship and relax.  Shows were fun.  Ice skating show was spectacular with 1st class costumes. Could have watched it over and over.  Rooms were nice, though balconies were smaller than expected.  The ones on Royal Caribbean are larger.  Would definitely recommend this cruise and would go again myself.

This was my 3rd cruise, but 1st with Royal Caribbean. The NJ dock area where we boarded our ship was a bit rough around the edges and could use some sprucing up.The boarding reminded me more of an immagration to America experience than a start of a luxury vacation.  I certainly didn't expect to drop an extra $95 on parking. Thankfully it didn't last very long. The Explorer of the Seas is a beautiful ship with all the amenities and then some. Unfortunately the weather/seas/winds were very rough causing quite a bit of difficulty for many passengers on board and closing a few amenities on the upper part of the ship. Even so, the RC ship's crew, staff, service, etc. were warm and courteous, bending over backwards to attempt to meet every need. The food on board was excelent and the portions just right. Despite the weather there was lots to do on board. We thoroughly enjoyed our time both on board the ship and off in Bermuda.  In general, my 2 daughters and I had a very nice time.The only thing I might reconsider in the future is going further south at this time of year to avoid the inclement weather.

The crew and staff where amazing, definitely would book again with royal Caribbean, it was just a shame that it was too cold to enjoy the pool and deck. More activities inside the ship would've been better as well but overall we where happy with our trip.

Cabin and veranda on deck 10 was very convenient to the buffet on deck 11 and sports on deck 12

Rough seas on the first day at sea but well taken care of by the staff. Only one rough day out of four days at sea on two Bermuda cruises.

 By all means have at least one dinner at Portofino,  very civilized with excellent food and service.

Nice get away but very routine, getting to and from cruise port is very expensive appx 30.00 pp each way from airport or hotels and it's only a few miles. Taxi's are abit less than shuttles if you aren't in a big group. Food was average, entertainment was average but waiters and room stewards were excellent. Shore excursions not necessary in any of these ports since the time there is so little and there's enough to do and see without them. Embarking and disembarking was organized but you will be waiting some. There were programs for the many kids onboard but it seems they always wanted to be where we chose to be LOL. Glad we went, would not do Explorer again only because we don't do ships we have done.

Our first cruise to Bermuda exceeded our expectations.  Wonderful staff, always concerned and caring, plus terrific meals served by attentive waiters, Carlos and Raul, who were more than happy to provide us with as many desserts as we wanted!  The folks at our table were most congenial and friendly sharing their experiences and kept us laughing at their stories. The Promenade Deck always had something happening that was unexpected.  The shows, including a movie now and then, kept us entertained.  We enjoyed good weather on our outbound voyage and lots of sunny skies in Bermuda.  Although we had some rough seas on our return, it made the trip more exciting!!  What more could you want?  Great food, entertainment, new friends and the sun, sky and sea!  How I miss the boat gently rocking me to sleep each night.  Guess I need another cruise!

The ship was nice, the crew friendly, the two days in Bermuda were enjoyable.  If you go, you gotta go to Horseshoe Beach... absolutely beautiful.   Everyone I talked to or met with in Bermuda were extremely friendly!  Rock climbing, roller skating, putt putt, and volleyball were all fun... and at no extra charge!

First time we've cruised in almost 30 years, quite a few changes, specialty restaurants, multiple dining rooms, a promenade to name a few. We never got around to the specialty restaurants the food was so good with a wide variety of offerings we didn't feel the need to venture out, maybe next time. 

It was like being in a small town everybody was friendly and polite there was always staff around if you had questions. Overall a thourghly enjoyable experience can't wait for our next trip.

Although we were most impressed with the cleanliness of the ship and the friendly staff, we were most disappointed in missing the CocoCay stop.  We understood the waters appeared to be too rough for the tenders (albeit the NCL ship near us had a tender go to their ship), we did not understand why we could not have stayed in that area to be able to remain in warm weather for the day.  Was disappointing.  We would not recommend a cruise with these limited stops, since losing out on 1 has such an impact coming from the North.

The staff wasn't as accomodating as they should've been. They didn't welcome us on board and the parking at Bayonne was delayed. It took an

hour to wait to park our car and we never found out why. The attendents at the parking lot was disorganized for whatever reason. It. took alot of

horns beeping and people complaining before we moved to park our cars. Nobody welcome us on the boat and we were turned away for dinner. The staff wasn't that friendly until we had to rate them and then they were nice the next to the last day of the trip. We love the boat and the food and entertainment were good.