Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This is my second time on a RC Cruise and I did enjoy it. The workers were excellent, very professional and very lively. Leigh and Frank the Tank- Cruise director and Cruise Activity manger were wonderful. Shows were wonderful since they were mostly funny. Ice Show was great I love the costumes. Ship Overall was very clean! Food was just okay- to me the food needed more flavor- I am thinking they are catering to a more adult audience so the food lacked in flavors -but hey I am from NY and I know quality food. I did enjoy the burgers and Johnny Rockets. I was a bit disappointed that the didn't provide you with a iron or a place where you can iron your clothes- they wanted to charge you to iron your clothes. On other ships I been to- they provide you with an iron or you have a laundry room which makes more sense to me. Besides that the Port of Calls were wonderful as well.

Comments regarding our vacation with Royal Caribbean "Explorer of the Seas" (5 day cruise to Bermuda, May 11-16, 2013) We have previously cruised with Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises and were very happy with our cruise experience on both of these. We decided to try another cruise line, for the experience and are very, very disappointed with our recent cruise vacation with Royal Caribbean. We may have been naive to think that all cruise lines had the same (or close to the same) standards, but it is now very evident that this is not the case. Here’s the list of mediocre standards encountered on our cruise: Smoking Being non-smokers, we had a particularly difficult time with this. While we understand that smokers are customers too, it seems to us that there are now a lot more non-smokers than smokers and that should be reflected in the amount of areas available to each group. Cigarette (and other smoking materials) smoke smells a long time, permeates into everything that is porous (fabric, wood, etc.) and that the ‘old smoke’ smell is absolutely disgusting when it is very humid. I guess you have to be a non-smoker to have this experience. It would be interesting to know how many of the Royal Caribbean execs are smokers... This ship is well suited for smokers and should be ‘marketed’ as such. In fact, we think this ship should be renamed “Ashtray of the Seas". Here are examples of our experience: • 2 outdoor pool bars (the only ones outside) with ashtrays on the bar counter. Of course this attracted all the smokers to ‘hang out’ at the bar, smoking their little hearts out while the non-smokers, held their breaths, waiting for their drinks to be prepared and move to other locations. • The casino area is completely open on the deck and, of course, smoking. I guess we should be thankful that we had one evening dedicated to non-smokers. It was not very interesting to us to spend time (and money) in the casino, even on the non-smoking evening with the stench of old cigarette smoke everywhere (upholstery, carpets, etc.). To make things worse, the casino, being located on a deck opened on either side to the adjacent bar areas, the smoke smell travelled to these other locations on a couple decks (4 and 5). • Half of the public outdoor deck areas permitted smoking. So wherever you were, whenever the wind blew our way, we got that wonderful smoke smell. My-time dining Your my-time dining system is not working properly and not efficient. We have no problem with waiting a reasonable time for a table. Here are examples or our experience: • One evening, we were told that since we did not have a reservation, we could not have a table for quite some time. This was at 7 PM and the hostess asked that we come back and check at 9PM. The hostess did not even take a look at her table chart or at what she could do. This is completely unacceptable. We’ve always used our-time dining with our other cruises without any problem. At most, we have waited 45 minutes, with very sympathetic personnel and follow-ups. We finally decided to go to the Windjammer for dinner and missed out on our lobster dinner. • The following morning, we decided to call for a reservation for that evening. We called the 3333 number that was suggested in the My-time dining section of the daily journal. This was at 7 AM. There was no answer but a voicemail message came on saying that they were not available and to leave a message. So we left the message giving our stateroom number, the number of people and the hour of our reservation. Believe it or not, when we showed up for your reservation, we got the ‘’No, you do not have a reservation dear’ from the hostess. We then explained that we left a message and we were told that that wasn’t possible. One employee then agreed that there was a voicemail where people left messages but that they never checked them.... The hostess then quickly assigned us a table in front of the waiter's service counter (where they bring back the dirty dishes). We guess we got what we deserved right for trying to fit into the ‘system’. • We believe that your My-time dining should be renamed "the hostess will decide when/where you'll dine" . Food quality Having been on the other two cruise lines, we could compare the quality of the food served and we felt it was not up to par with our other dining experiences. Many things seemed not ‘home made’ but ready-made. Among other things, we were quite disappointed with the Caesar salad -too simple, ordinary, French onion soup - just a consommé no onion pieces, a plate of battered fish and seafood –ordinary (the one at Costco is superior), the shrimp and scallops were way over cooked, key lime pie – filling very ‘ready-made’. The lamb and aged beef were good. We didn’t get to taste the lobster due to the above-mentioned situation. Premium beverage package Again having had other cruise line experiences, we were able to compare the packages. The Royal Caribbean premium beverage package is very much lacking versus its competition. First, this seems to have been something ‘new’ for the personnel onboard. Everyone seems to not quite know and had to ‘check’ what was included or not. If we take the example of Celebrity Cruises, for the same daily price, everything that was $12 or less per glass/bottle was included. That means water, sparkling water, juices, freshly squeezed juices, specialty coffees, soft drinks, all wines (within the $12), all beers, all spirits, etc. If we wanted a drink that was over $12, we were charged the difference. Example of our experience with you: • If we wanted something other than what was included, i.e. Guinness beer, we paid the full price. If we wanted another type of wine than the house wine, we had to pay the full price. In fairness, they should give you a credit and make you pay the difference. This is a very expensive package if you still have to pay for water, fresh juice, an espresso or a Guinness beer. Ship not suited for destinations from Bayonne, New Jersey We had very cold and windy weather with this cruise. Our previous cruise from Bayonne was with Celebrity Cruises. The ship was well suited for this destination, having a covered pool area. The Explorer of the Seas is not well suited for this type of sailing destination. We did not even check this aspect this time since we assumed that since we can have cold weather, that all the ships departing from New Jersey had this type of feature, a covered pool area. That way we still are able to enjoy these amenities. We were quite surprised to see that this was not the case. Comfort We had a hard time finding confortable chairs and well lighted areas inside the ship in order to relax a couple of hours without the need to change position every 5 minutes (one exception, the 3 blue chairs in the cloud nine saloon were pretty decent and we felt lucky every time we could use them). All in all we found that the ship was very ‘dark’ and not well lighted. We are very sorry to say that this sailing experience was very, very disappointing in comparison to the others we have had, and for this reason, we will not consider cruising with Royal Caribbean in the future or referring the cruise line.

Ship needs to go into dry dock. Balcony state room was shabby. Stabbers Went out & ship did a slow roll at times for short periods of time. Food was OK, service good. Shows good. Could not get specialty coffee in dinning room, as it took too long. We were told to go to Starbucks! No paper, pens, lotion, conditioner, shower gel, Q tips. I will go back to Celebrity for most of my cruising.

Cruise was nice, ship is getting old but still well kept. Weather was cool and water was too cold to swim, however when the sun was out it was nice low 70's

Had a wonderful time... crew was VERY accommodating. Leigh (cruise director) and Chris (asst.) were HILARIOUS! LOTS to do.... or do nothing if that's what you like. Night shows were very entertaining. It's amazing how clean the ship is with that many people on it. My only tiny complaint was that Diet Coke was sold out in the self-serve beverage dispensers at Windjammer and on Royal Promenade deck 5 for the last 2 or 3 days. But was 99.9% pleased with entire cruise. Will definitely be going again, hoping to bring some friends!

I was dissapointed with the service on the ship. Our cabin stewart was great. Bar service was terrible. No one would come around and take orders. At the champaign bar there were 2 waiters and when they weren't fixing drinks they just stood there. On the last night my husband and his friend ordered johnny walker blue on the rocks $21.00 a glass. The bottle was almost empty so the waiter said he would check for more and he would top off there glass when he found it. Never said we're out or anything else. This was my first cruise on royal carribean and it may be my last. I say go back to the old way of tipping. You got much better service then.

I had an amazing time. Bermuda was beauiful!! The staff was great, friendly and made the cruise fun, I will be sailing on Royal Caribbean again. The all inclusive package was the way to go. I avoided cruise in the past because I like to pay up front and not worry about a bill while vacationing. Thanks Royal Caribbean for a great time

The cruise was as expected. The ship was nice, clean, and the people were friendly. The weather cold and rainy (we went in April...not recommended). The food was really disappointing. We struggled to find something to eat at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The ship was amazing. Crew was Curtis and friendly. Weather was cool. If you are looking to take this cruise in April look at south Carolina weather because the weather is almost the same in temperature. Otherwise we had a great time.

We had an amazing time. The service was phenomenal from loading to dining to entertainment to staterooms to unloading. The crew has everything down to an exact science! You couldn’t help being in a good mood because the staff of the ship set a joyful mood. The entertainment was super. There was something for everyone. I did not realize we could watch the entertainment shows on the TV until it was too late to watch them. Next time we will be sure to tune-in. We might have had cloudy days, but with all the activities available we really did not notice it. We even set our minds to the fact that we were going to go to the Horseshoe Beach and lay on the beach in our bathing suits. We did-for about 30 minutes then we donned our jackets and wondered the beaches enjoying the sites. The 5 hour mini-bus tour of the islands was magnificent. The driver gave a super commentary explaining the life of the natives. Very informative! Do not go on the Pirate Glass Bottom ship expedition. A waste of your money and time. We wish there had been more choices of entrees in the main dining room. The white and red sauce for pastas had no flavor. It would be nice to have a guide explaining the elevator system and how to get from point A to point B. We had no idea that we could only enter our stateroom from the forward elevator and had to go to deck 5 every time from the aft and walk to the other elevator. Finally we figured it out on our own.

Perfect cruise to recharge one's batteries. Activities, service, and food were all first rate as you would expect from a RCCL vacation. There were numerous shows throughout the course of a day with first rate performances by talented entertainers. The service in the dinning room was excellent as the waiter and assistant-waiter were friendly and efficient. The food was good and available throughout the day as a light fare (pizza, sandwiches, coffee, tea, etc.) could always be enjoyed on the promenade level. The bartenders and waiters in the numerous "drinking establishments" were also extremely friendly.

The reason of top rating is because of the ship itself and its crew. No doubt that the crew showed their best in all aspect. Besides, excellent facilities of dining with wide choice of food. Also I liked the inside layout that very nicely organized. It should be mentioned here that the entertainment is really excellent and all performers showed their best of ability. For any next opportunity, I would certainly prefer Royal Caribbean Cruise but in another destination, probably Bahamas. I would, of course, recommend all my friends and relatives who would like to enjoy cruise vacation.

Overall the cruise was good not excellent. The Windjammer Food all taste alike and could use more flavoring. Dinners were excellent. Desserts were fair with not much flavor. Dinner service was excellent and was an overall lovely experience. Stateroom attendants were great and rooms were always clean. When the Casino was open, Level 5 was filled with smoke making it an unpleasant place to shop or gather with friends. Many activities were planned and most always entertaining.

I was hoping to have a great time on my vacation but, wasn't sure what to expect. Thankfully Royal Caribbean exceeded my expectations. From the time my family and I boarded to the time we departed a week later, we were treated like we were the most important people on the ship. The staff we had were phenomenal and the service we received the same. The activities on board provided fun for all three generations, individually and together. My son could do basketball, my grandson could do the arcade and I could play bingo. Later, we all could get together for the shows, movies, different games or theme parties. Again, THANK YOU.

Explorer of the Seas is a beautiful ship with all the amenities one could want. The food was wonderful. We had traditional 6PM seating and our servers, Nazareta and Dwayne were superb. Our stateroom was very nice and our cabin steward, Romdeo made sure our every need was met. There is plenty to do on the ship, excellent shows, shopping and plenty of bars. Having three days in Bermuda was nice as we got to see a lot more than if we were there for just one day. Great tours and wonderful people. Our only concern was the bed in our stateroom, It was very soft on the edges and we felt that we would roll off the side. Padding was added and that helped some, but it's time for a new mattress. All in all, a great cruise. Our first time on Royal Caribbean but we would certainly do it again. Looking at an Alaska adventure now.

Room was very comfortable Although ship was old but well maintained Food was the best part of our cruise F&B took special care of our 6 persons Employees were very courteous Cruise Director was very talented Our housekeeper gave us excellent service It was one of our best vacation

i choose this cruise so I wouldn't have to fly anywhere and because Bermuda was recommended. For on-board activities I was more of an observer than a participant (just my style). There were lots of opportunities for those that wanted to participate. The Cruise Director and Activities Director did a good job with the activities and the Love and Marriage game made me laugh so much my face hurt by the end. I was a bit disappointed with the food and service. My Time Dining service left something to be desired; a couple of meals were dry (salmon and pork); they need some simpler choices; and the after 9PM option is very limited (I'd prefer cheese and crackers, an apple or similar). I got around some if it by taking fruit and cheese from earlier buffets. As for Bermuda and shore excursions, I took 3 sponsored by the ship Catamaran snorkeling: It was my first time snorkeling, and other than a few minutes panicking (first time trying to breathe under water) it was pretty good. Crystal Caves, which I highly recommend, Aquarium and Zoo which are pretty generic--though there was the most vivid red bird I'd ever seen there. I'm not into generic/designer shopping so only spent a little time in Hamilton wandering around. Night glassbottom boat cruise was a bit chilly in early April but very much worth it. Guides were funny and informative and the view was nice--waters are pretty shallow.

This was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean. We enjoyed the cruise, however, after sailing 11 or 12 times with Princess, and a couple of times with Celebrity, I was very surprised at the lack of amenities in the stateroom. No drinking glasses or Ice Bucket in room (only glasses in bathroom); No writing paper or pen............ (How am I supposed to leave notes for the room steward???); No handcream; No bathrobes in room.... ( I was relying on them being there to wear back and forth to the pool, and to sit on the balcony!!!) I didn't think it would be appropriate to sit on the balcony, facing land, in my underwear!!!!; and NO CHOCOLATES ON THE PILLOW!!! Now, that is one tradition that I REALLY miss!!! When you boil it down, how much could it cost you when you consider the cost of the cruise??? Maybe 50 cents per state room for a 6 night cruise???? Come on now!!! If we, with our meager income can scrape together the cost of a cruise, I am sure you can scrape together 50 cents, ore even a dollar for chocolates. It really wouldn't even be too much for us to expect the additional amenities that I mentioned also. Other cruise lines do it............why not you??? Even if you added an additional $5 to the fare, we wouldn't mind, but doing it your way makes you look very SMALL in relation to your competitors!!!

I had an excellent vacation on the Explorer of the Seas cruise. I enjoyed the Cococay visit the most for the port we stopped at. But all my time on the ship was excellent. My cabin stuart was the best, she was very nice and helpful with anything we needed. All my dinning experience were great also.

We enjoyed the cruise, the ship, the food, the ports? Not so much. Nassau should be avoided. Our stateroom was roomy, the sliding door was a nice feature as it could stay open on its own. We loved the balcony. Service was good except on the Royal Promenade. Staffing levels were low in the eateries and bars and it was annoying to have to wait so long for a coffee or drink. The ship is older, however well kept. The service was great. Food was very good both in the Windjammer and the Dining room. Didn't feel Portofino was worth the extra cost however the murder mystery dinner was a lot of fun.