Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

If you are okay with just hanging out and not doing much go on this cruise. I was expecting something to do at all hours of the day but I was disappointed when there was much down time.

The cruise was great...weather could have been warmer otherwise all was good. Loved the inside cabin, that was a first for us. The food was excellent The service everywhere on the ship was excellent. The bar tenders and waiters all knew our names right away. That means alot. The room attendant was so good I wanted to take her home with me. She made our room up so quickly there was nothing out of place.

This is my second cruise with Royal Carribean and third over all. I really enjoyed the first cruise about 10 years ago, but noticed that they have cut a lot of corners on this cruise. I wouldn't recommend getting the soda package. You have to carry a sensored cup around and serve yourself except at the formal dining room. You have to wait a certain amount of minutes between fill ups. Just not worth it for the price. We really enjoyed the excursion by speedboat at Samana, Dominican Republic. It takes you to their national park and you ride through the mangroves and tour through the volcanic caves then on to a beach. I don't recommend going to the straw markets in Labadee. The villagers hound you and pick pocketed our friend. If you want to shop, go to the large store by the straw market. They do not bother you in there and they sell most of the same things. Over all we enjoyed our cruise but will probably be a long time before we cruise again. We will try going directly to a resort next time only because we just didn't feel it was worth the money we spent and it was quite expensive with a family of six.

It was our first on Royal Carribean but have done 13 previous cruises, I would rate it as Very Good and recommend the Exployer of the Seas to everyone. The only negative was the Private dining at Portofino! It was far below expectations, the food was better in the dining room and the service was the poorest of the trip. I ordered Ice Tea and they brought Hot water, tea bag and a glass of ice!!! The resturant was completely unorganized and noisy. Carnival's upscale resturants were 100 times better. Other than that experience, great cruise, very excellent staff and an enjoyable 9 day event. I will do it again!

The Cruise was wonderful. The food was excellent. The entertainment was outstanding. We opted for a cabana in Labadee. It was amazing and I would do it again. You get a private buffet lunch, floating mats, cooler filled with ice cold water and your own waiter to get you your bar drinks or anything else you may need. Royal Carribbean put a lot of money into Labadee. I would stay there 2 days!!!! They should take Samana off the Itinerary. Not good at all. We went there with Norwegian and went to Caya Levantado Beach and they charged 14.00 per person. Royal Carribbean charged 58.00 for the same excursion. We did not do it this time. Those folks that went into town said it was dirty and would not do it again. It was a wonderful cruise and would do it again.

I enjoyed sailing on the Explorer of the Seas. This was my first time sailing with Royal Caribbean. The reviews I heard from my friends were really true. The ship is clean, the employees were extremly pleasant and professional.

We left New Jersey on February 17th for a week on the Explorer of the Seas. To start with this is our 9th cruise. We had 2 inside cabins, one for my wife and I and the other for the kids. The cabins were normal cruise cabins, small but enough room. When leaving from NJ it is cold. The 1st day at sea was cold but we just did a lot of inside activities. One tip for any drinker's going. I did the unlimitted alcohol package. That was awesome. It was $55.00 a day and well worth it. I got the kids their unlimited soda and everyone was happy. I have to say the cruise director was the best we have ever had on a cruise. His name is Richard Spacey and his side kick Frankie was great. My kids just adored them. The food was some of the best I have ever had on a cruise. On the lobster tail night I got 2 of them and I couldnt even finish the second one. They were way bigger than I have ever had on a ship. The seas were really good with a few hours of rough waters but not bad at all. We got into Port Caniveral at 1pm which really isnt the best. 1/2 the day is gone so you really cant do the space center or much. We met my father that lives in FL and we went to lunch and walked around so we enjoyed it but the mid day arrival is not for us. On Wednesday we got to Nassau and again at 2pm. In the bahama's everthing closes around 5pm except for food. We had a good time and walked around but didnt really do much. On Thursday we Coco Cay their private island. We did a Jet Ski tour that was awesome. Got a lot of sun and chilled out a little. Ended with 2 days at sea with lots of drinks, activities and shows. Ice show was great. All the shows were actually really good. Being from the Northeast it was nice to go on a nice cruise without having to drive to FL or pay the crazy airline ticket prices during February break. This was a great cruise and the price was very reasonable. I would do it again. Our Next Cruise is in July on Carnival going to Aruba. We are looking forward to that one already. To top it off I want to tell you that our agent from cruises only is the best agent you could ever ask for. She finds great deals and does her job better than any other agent I have ever used. To book your next cruise ask for Janet Castro at Cruises only. She does an amazing Job. She has been very good to us for all our 9 cruises.

really cool ship. very large. staff beyond friendly, super nice. I disliked the 24 hour buffet station. food was bad in my opinion, however the restaurants and dinning room eating options were excellent. great entertainment ( ice shows and B'way revue). There should have been more island stops, or longer time limits. did not like that we only had a short few hours in Florida, Nassau and coco cay island. also the excursions overlapped, so when you finally got to a destination, you only could do ONE thing...be it a sea adventure, tour, or shopping. would have liked to spend less time at sea....out of seven days there were a total of 15-20 hours on the islands....the spa on the ship is a huge rip off! over all nice trip....but realized we just are not "cruise people"

Our luiggage under #6 was misplased to #40. We spent 40 !!!!!!! minutes looking for it. Suitcase was broken... Line to change table took 1 hour standing in between two open doors to deck. It was torture for people. We asked to move computer table inside the restaurant, but nobody listened. Next day wasted 1 hour in line to book tour, which was imediately canselled. Food worse than 2 months before. Entertainments are much better - thanks to new tour director Richard Spacey!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is very gifted and amazing! The best director for our 20 years of experience.

the cruise itself was fantastic but they now offer a $55pp a day drink package but what they don't tell you is that you have to pay for the whole week ($385) no matter when you decide to purchase it. We bought it on our second day but we were charged for all 7 days. Also, the a/c could be a little better in the staterooms. Besides those two problems, this was one of the best vacations we ever had and will def. do it again soon (and often).

Our first time on the Royal Caribbean. I wouldn't mind taking another trip on your ship. The service was great. I would recommend my friends to travel on your ship. The islands were great. The food was excellent. Overall the cruise was smooth sailing.

This was our first cruise so we had few expectations. The good was very good- spotlessly clean ship, excellent service (except for guest relations-!), good food, wonderful cruise director and captain. Labadee, Haiti was fantastic, a truly wonderful day with great water and beaches, terrific barbeque, very relaxing. Enjoyed San Juan and St. Thomas, although the weather was pretty bad and the only beach day we had on the 10 days was at Labadee. Activities around the pool were fun, and our fellow passengers were friendly. The bad was "feh" to awful. Our room was well worn- palm sized chips of paint on the floor of the balcony, chipped furniture, rusted outdoor furniture and trash can in the bathroom. That being said, it was all spotlessly clean. Our room steward, Herman Susherman, was terrific. The rest of the ship looked very good to great. It was comfortable (including the bed) and attractive. We always found a table to sit at in the Windjammer and were seated promptly in the dining room. We changed from late seating to My Time Dining, because it worked better with the show times for us. The only criticism I have of the dining was their use of imitation crab, in dishes that read "crab meat" like Veal Oscar, which was the only awful dish I had. The crab cakes were real crabmeat. The shows were great, whether it was the ice show or regular show in the evening. Our only major problem (beside very rough seas and lousy weather, which was not their fault) was we never got to the Dominican Republic! We were told to pick up tender tickets 15 min. before we were ready to depart, and could go back and forth to the ship throughout the day. After 2 hours of waiting, I wanted to know where the tender was. They said it would be leaving shortly. I asked how long I'd have to wait for a tender to get back to the ship, another 2+ hours? The response I got- a shoulder shrug. She had no idea. When I complained at the Guest Relations desk, all three people there just looked at us. Never asked our room number, never apologized, nothing. Like talking to a wall. Also, on the way onto the boat, my husband brought his Swiss Army knife, which was confiscated, but we were given a receipt to pick it up on our way home. It disappeared- they didn't know where the receipt we had came from, and Lost and Found keeps NOTHING, it's a joke. IF they ever find it, they'll return it- but we have to pay the postage. Really? How cheap of them. Left a bad taste in our mouths.

Nice cruise, enjoyed it a lot. Windjammer Cafe had good food but was very disappointed in the food in Main Dining area. Enjoyed several shows but not all, ice skating was great. Ports of Call were our highlight.

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME ,FOOD ENTERTAINMENT BELOW ROYALS NORMAL EXPERIENCE. ICE SHOW WAS VERY GOOD ,STAFF ATTITUDE THE WORST I HAVE EVER HAD ,AND WE HAVE TAKEN OVER 25 CRUISES.

Boarding from the airport was costly as they did not offer a shuttle when my plane arrived (12;30) Boarding began at 1;00. Food very good, room staff excellent as were the servers. Ice show was great, as was the marriage game show, oithers were average. Karioke in a smaller lounge was entertaining and great. They should take the top acts and let them put on a show in the big theater at the end of the cruise. The staff needs to have inservice on disembarking the ship as the printed info was either wrong or misleading. When I questioned some Items, I was told wrong information.

Everything was great, our connsier Dencil was great and very helpful The stage shows were also great and the ice show was excellent We will be crusin in November again on the Exployer of the Seas

Really had a great time.We went with our sons ages 19 and 22 and a special friend age 22. Everything was great the christmas spirt was all abord the ship. Leaving from NJ it was a little cold the first 2 days but there was pleanty to do on the ship. s a family we spent quality time together and this is what we needed and wanted. you cant be board if you are your not checking out all the things that there are to do. The shows, the atrium , staff members all kept you going. things to do while abord the ship and plenty to do on the islands,

very smooth check in / check out. The deserts is the same every neals lunch and dinner in the Windjammer cafe. I like the option of choosing not to do automatic tipping like carnival.

Stateroom not as clean as it should be. Food horrible. Not even hot. Lack of information about status of our cars in long term parking on pier during sandy.Smell of cigarette smoke in non smoking areas.

great cruise great price great trip