Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

First of all, we liked the fact that we did not have to fly to get on this cruise.  From.  The moment we arrived, we received excellent service from the staff.  Then ship was very clean, and the entertainment was great.  This ship has an ice show, which was performed beautifully, despite the mild movement of the ship.  We did my time dining, which we highly recommend.  The food was very good, and healthy choices were always availableThe wait staff was the best we have ever had..  There were many onboard activities, so boredom in inclement weather was never an issue.  Regarding the excursions, we liked the bus tour of the island, but we would have liked a stop at one of the beautiful beaches, which was not included.   Speaking of beaches, we caught a bus to Horseshoe Bay beach, the best beach we have ever been to.  The beach was clean and the water temperature was just right.  The Hamilton sightseeing and shopping excursion was a waste of money ( $62 per).  Had we known better, we would have caught the ferry to Hamilton for $8 round trip. We intend to do this cruise again.

My Husband and I recently returned from a 7 day cruise to Bermuda on the Explorer of the Seas.  This was our 18th cruise with RCCL.  As always we had a wonderful time.  The service on board was wonderful, as was the food in the main dining room.  Our waiters Ronel and Andel were superb.  After the first night they knew exactly what we liked and would have everything ready for us when we arrived for dinner.  We are Crown & Anchor Society memebers and were able to eat in a special section of the dinning room.  The service there was excellent and the food was delicious!  Most days we ate lunch at the windjammer cafe.  The food was good and there was a good selection.  We had lunch in the dinning room once. They have a great salad bar there.  It was delicious.  Make sure you try it.

Our cabin stewart, Alison did a great job of keeping our stateroom neat and tidy.  He was always there for whatever we needed.  He made sure our ice bucket was always filled and would leave out clean wine glasses everyday.

Although the weather was not the greatest we still had a wonderful time.  We have decided we would never leave that late out of Bayonne, NJ.  (Oct. 13th).

I feel like I missed a few days of the cruise because we were not able to get in the pools or hottubs.  It was too cold , rainy and windy.

The ship is in need of a refurbishing.  It is 13 years old and is beginning to show it's age.  I understand it is going to be taken out of service in December of 2014 for refurbishing.  The Quantum of the Seas will be taking it's place in Bayonne.

Bermuda is one of the nicest and cleanest ports you will ever go to.  The locals are very friendly and the seanery is beautiful. Lots of things to do there.  The beaches are the best.  Don't miss Horseshore Bay Beach.

I'm sure if you decide to take a cruise on the Explorer of the Seas, you won't be disappointed and will have a wonderful cruise.  We are looking forward to our next cruise with RCCL.  We are always loyal to royal!

The Explorer is a great ship.  We first sailed her 12 years ago and I can state that without qualification, she has aged gracefully and is in very good shape. 

On most cruises the elevators are a great bottleneck, on this cruise that was not the case; people actually were courteous and not pushy!!!  In fact, the passengers and crew on this cruise were some of the friendliest and most pleasant we have ever met.

Embarkation at Port Liberty was very smooth.

See the sail-away from The Viking Crown Lounge.  You get a tremendous view of the Harbor and going under the bridge is awesome.

Seas were very smooth throughout.

Bermuda is Absolutely Wonderful.

We had MTD and that worked out great for us.  Had room service for our "wake-up" coffee but our breakfast was in Windjammer.  (We love the variety and they do really great omelets.)  We ate in Portofino one night and the food and service were outstanding. 

Cruise Director Leigh is superb and the entertainment was good;  Quest, Love and Marriage etc. are always fun. The ice Show was excellant....we were not totally awed by the "Featured" guest entertainment but it was decent.

All in all, we were well pleased and would absolutely recommend this cruise.

The cruise ship was very well maintained and the ship's crew were very helpful and attentive to our needs.  The one disappointment was the food.   It seem like the quality of the food was not up to the standards of other cruise lines.  Overall the visit to Bermuda was a very nice experience.

While I found extended time at sea difficult to deal with while wanting big time hours at my Bermuda destination, it's easy to see why some people become true 'cruisers. There is more to do thatn one could imagine, though for me, 'reality based' entertainment is not my thing. The pubs, and football TV is goodly, and the pools and hot tubs are great. Even just tanning on the deck near the pool bars is great, too.

I just want to be at my destination faster than a true cruise is going to get you there. Now that gambling will be allowed at the ports in Bermuda, maybe the ships will speed up the the trips so folks who want to explore the island can do so, while the others can stay on board if that's their thing/

Our 8 day 7 night Bermuda vacation was just fabulous!  We had the most wonderful time exploring the breathtaking island!  You can see the hand of God the Creator in this beautiful island!  We loved the pink sand of Horseshoe Bay, the snorkeling of Tobacco Beach, the quietness of St. Catherine's Beach, and the views from Gibb's Hill Lighthouse!  Nothing on the island is dreary.  Everything is bright, beautiful, and fresh!  The homes are beautifully colored in pastels!

Explorer of the Seas is a majestic ship with every luxury you could imagine!  The food, service, and entertainment was incomparable!  We loved the rest you are forced to do on the ship!  A vacation which is truly a vacation!

We chose this cruise primarily because it only had one stop. I guess we thought it would be easier on us as far as getting around.  But, in fact, we departed the ship all three days we were docked.  If you have no difficulty walking and enjoy exploring on your own, buying the bus pass might be a good idea.  However, looking back, I wish we had at least booked the half-day tour covering the entire island. We ended up walking a long distance from the ship to catch a bus to Hamilton.  Looked around there for a short time and then took the ferry to St. George.  We visited a couple of the local sights and then caught the ferry all the way back to the ship.  The second day we again caught the bus and, on the advice of some other cruisers, got off at Elbow Beach.  Not a good idea.  There were no bathroom facilities, no water, etc.  Then you had to climb a very long hill to get back up to the street to catch the bus.  I don't mean to sound totally negative, but just want to make you aware that if you have difficulty walking that you need to consider how you are going to get around.  There were other cruise ships there also and that created large amounts of people trying to get around at the same time, which resulted in standing on the bus and hoping you were actually going to get on the bus or the ferry. The cruise was very smooth, no bad weather, mostly good food and very good entertainment, We had a room with a balcony and had plenty of room.  The closet was quite large and held everything. I think most of our problems were just poor choices on our part and us not realizing how much walking on and off the ship was going to be involved.  I would not hesitate to recommend the ship or the cruise.

My wife & I have gone on more than 18 cruises on various cruise lines.  While a few were VERY disappointing (not Royal Caribbean or Celebrity)  I have to say that we  were not thrilled with  the overall condition of  Explorer.  I think it's time for an overhaul.  The various members of the crew, from stateroom attendant , dining room staff, buffet staff and others were supberb but appeared to be short staffed & overworked.   However the food at the buffet was not as good as we've usually had on Royal Caribbean and the food selections at the dining room was not as extensive as it used to be.

This was a wonderful cruise. There is so much to see in the various ports. We loved learning of the history that developed the areas. The ship itself was beautiful and offered great entertainment, activities and food. We were struck with how nice the folks who cruise are. Many were very loyal cruisers of the Royal Caribbean Cruise line and had been on multiple cruises. We wouldn't mind taking the same cruise so we'd have more time in the same ports. The one port that was not very impressive was Corner Brook, Newfoundland, where we just did a city tour. The passengers who went further out to a fishing village had a better experience.

I reserved $59 (on sale) excursions at the PIE stop prior to the cruise and paid for 4 of them with my credit card and got a receipt online for that transaction. A day or so later, I got a message that I could not take that excursion with my companions, and when I got on another site about Charlottetown learned that there was such an excursion there but that Royal Caribbean had changed the port schedule and Explorer of the Seas would stop at PEI a day early and not be in port at the advertised times, preventing its passwngers from taking said excursion. I following up with Glenn Miller, he arranged for us to receive an additional stateroom credit of $75 each for the 4 of us. What was credited to us was only $75 per stateroom, not each passenger. We then had trouble but did book a lesser excursion on PEI and paid more $ for it.

If you like to keep busy, 5 cruise ports with this trip is for you. A lot of history and beautiful sites to experience. Great food and great entertainment.

No pen, paper, shampoo or lotion in room. No Asst. Cabin Steward. Must purchase the premium beverage package for everyone in cabin even though only one person drinks. Overall service from staff wAS excellant. The ports were great.

This my first time being on the cruise. I have to say I really enjoyed myself;my husband and my son also had a great time. The entire staff were very courteous and especially my stateroom person Alliston who met all my needs. I also would like to recognize (waiter) Sandro Angelo and (waitress)Maria Matthews. I would like to commend the cruise for the promotion of hand sanitization before meals (washy ,washy).The buffet at the Windjammer was excellent. I had a wonderful experience to visit from Labadee my hometown cap-Haitien I had not seen in 43 years.Everything,(such as the cruise activities, royal promenade) was great. I will be sailing on Royal Caribbean again.I would recommend this cruise to everyone young and old. Thanks to Hilarie Wenzel (my agent)

Cruise went very well. Very relaxing and comfy. The weather was good for cruising and the captain steered at a speed that you did not get sick at all. The employees were all very charming and accommodating. I was on the second deck and there was an odor there that smelled of aging, stagnant air and urine combined, which is so not usually on Royal Caribbean ships. The BUT?!?!? Issue was that I got jibed as a Platinum Member. I did not get amenities or stuff or recognized as a Platinum Member. When I asked Guest Services about it at the end of the cruise, their excuse was that I was not in their system and they could not do anything for me then. First I was told that I should contact the agency that I booked with to purchase the cruise about the issue, then I was told that I should contact Royal Caribbean directly about it. My question is, why was I not in the Ship’s Data System as a Platinum Member? Do I have to go down to Guest Services every time I cruise to announce that I am sailing with them and to give me my well-deserved amenities? It was disappointing in that respect, because I would like to move up the ranks to Premium Cruising. This incident is making me think of going to another cruise line. I am scheduled to go on another cruise (15 Nights) with Royal Caribbean in November into December. I think the least they can do going forward is to upgrade my room accommodation and perks.

Our third cruise on this ship. We loved the islands we visited and the crew were amazing. Portifino's was excellent as usual and the waiter and assistant waiter who served us were the best. There was so much to do the 9 days flew by. Would recommend this to everyone.

This was our 3rd time cruising on Royal Carribean and thus far the worst experience ever cruising. It is the last one for a long time. Not enough that we were hit by the prolonged rain this time of the year with 3 days out of 5 getting non stop rain, we also gotten the worse buffet and restaurant food. Buffet had ridiculously low variety of food choices presented, limited availability kind horrable presentation. We. Are not food obsessed at all,and keep a healthy balanced diet at home, this was utmost unpleasant experience, when you have foods that were almost like in the diner in a very poor neighborhood. Felt it was warm up from day before and not tasty at all. In the past cruises it was almost sense of celebration on every cruise with such variety of offers, this time it was closed to nothing. Service was good though. I would not recommend this specific ship at least

Explorer of the sea was a great ship with great entertainment great food great service. Excellent everything.everyone on board who worked on the ship went above and beyond what they need to do to make the customers happy. We did go on the same cruise with the same itinerary last summer and we were very happy for the itinerary for a second time but the entertainment was it exactly the same as the year before.

Overall, the cruise and itinerary was very nice. Dining is a wonderful experience. The crew minus one member was very attentive and friendly. We loved the shows in the evening. Need a bit more variety of activities during days at sea. The ship was very clean but in some areas it was a bit tired. But, it is headed to drydock in the future, so hopefully, they will change out the stained curtains and such. Wish they would bring more of their ships to the NY area.

Okay... This cruise was awesome and I was so satisfied with every aspect of it--- my stateroom, the staff, the food, to the entertainment. Stateroom - Great. Way better than I expected for a small cruise room. Had a balcony, a huge bed, huge vanity & huge couch. Cleaned.. and I don't just mean "made the bed," I mean really cleaned up after me (since it tends to look like a tornado came through while I am getting ready); organized my flip flops & heels against the wall, placed any bags nicely on the sofa, untangled my hair dryer cord and put it on the corner of my vanity. And to top it off- made me cute little animals from the new towels every day. Staff - Just fabulous. Every single person I encountered was so pleasant, esp. my stateroom man, Dwayne & my waiter, Nephtale, in the main dining room. But every one, even just staff members passing you in the hallway greet you with a nice smile and "hello" Food - Freaking awesome. I am very weary about buffet-style dining in general, so I had low expectations for the Windjammer Cafe (where I mostly grabbed breakfast & lunch).. but it turned out to be more than great. There were endless selections of different food to choose from and literally all amazing. Also, I have a gluten allergy and was very worried about that, but there was SO much to choose from, it was not difficult at all, I didn't even have to think about it. Entertainment - When they say there is something to do for everyone, they mean that literally. As far as nightlife, there are so many bars/lounges as well as a nightclub. Lots of contests, some poolside during the day, others throughout the evening. Other - Great drinks, great pool, great happy island music, & the staff is super accommodating (especially in the middle of the night in the 24 hour cafe when you are making drunken special food requests and they still serve you with a smile!!) The gym was great too! So peaceful working out looking out into the ocean. Also, being in my mid 20's, traveling with my family, I was surprised to meet so many others around my age in the same situation! Made some great friends.

Overall very good experience with Royal Caribbean and this ship. Would appeal more to the family vs. just a couple and would appeal more to someone that liked being on a ship vs. visiting ports. Going out of Newark was easy for us vs. flying somewhere. Very beautiful ship and the staff is outstanding.