Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was a first experience with Royal Caribbean, and it was excellent. .The Explorer of the Seas is a beautiful ship, the meals were very good, the service was a notch above the excellent service we have had on the best cruises we had, The entertainment was very good too. Nothing to complain about.Will cruise with this line again in the future and highly recommend it.

My husband and I stayed on the 2nd level and we had a hard time sleeping because of a banging with we think the motor , we also had a hard time with the water temperature it went very cold then very hot we did tell the room Stewart and it was fixed by out last day .

We started with high hopes. The first day entering the cabin, we found dirty socks on the floor, blankets etc stuffed under the bed, where they recommended that we put our suitcases, the refrigerator was dirty something had exploded in it, the toilet was backed up and we were told the whole floor was affected by this problem. The second day the shower head blew off, showering water everywhere. The buffet had the same food everyday, and a lot of the food (when we ate it) was ice cold when it was supposed to be hot. The quality was poor also.. hot dogs, meat pattys, cold spagetti. The desserts were awful, kind of stale and tasteless. Then they opened an ice cream type place outside, but the mixture that came out was so diluted it was like ice crystals that immediately ran from the ice cream cone so you had to throw it away. The dining room at night had good food. We have had better treatment and food at other cruise lines, this one, Royal Carribean was not that impressive.

Since I spent a great deal of money on this cruise for myself and my family, I was expecting the same quality of service that i had received in years past from Royal Carribean. My dining experience was horrible!!!! My 11-year future grandson was wearing Bermuda shorts and a very nice collared shirt and was not allowed into the dining room at dinner time because I was told they had a dress policy. Unfortunately, there was no written material stating such policy neither before we got on the ship nor during our 5-day cruise to Bermuda. So, my future daughter-in-law failed to pack pants for the boy. This would not have been so bad except that the 15 year old girl that was assigned to our table was allowed into the dining room with cut-off jeans that stopped just below her crotch. When I asked why she was permitted to wear such attire, I was told that girls were permitted to wear shorts....which leaves me wondering why an 11-year old boy's calfs are more offensive that an 15-year old girl's entire leg. Although I went to guest services, they were of no help and I was again told about the "dress code." Something is wrong here. I hate using the word "discrimination" but there is no other word that better describes this situation. My entire cruise was ruined as we were forced to eat dinner at the buffet every day and while i was looking for a relaxing vacation, instead I was made to lose my temper. I was one of your best supporters. That is no longer the case.

The ship needs a good make up Rooms looks like the 'golden girls' from the 80' The teen club was very bad organized and all the activities were closed or cancelled. Or reduced access. Not a fun place to your ideal vacation. Our family did not like it.

Royal didn't even consider canceling this cruise due to Hurricane Irene. Most people were sea sick, the outdoor activities on the boat weren't rescheduled with indoor activities. We found ourselves bored onboard, elevators were always an issue, and the quality of the ship was what I considered dirty. Never again....

Very nice, clean and help was very friendly and helpful.

This was my first time on a Royal Caribbean Cruise and it was awesome. The Explorer of the Seas is a beautiful ship. The staff was really friendly and helpful. The food was great, although I think the food in the Windjammer buffet was better than in the dining room. I enjoyed the fact that there was an adults only pool. The shows were great, very entertaining and plenty of seating for everyone. It was a truly relaxing, fun vacation. We sailed during Hurricane Irene and the Captain and his crew did a great job of getting us into each port of call and then home while keeping far from the hurricane. They kept us very informed about where the hurricane was and where we were positioned.

Service, activities and the food was pretty good. I love the connivance of leaving from Bayonne NJ, but the process of boarding and disembarking is a jock, it took our limo 2 hours just to pick us up, they are defiantly not equipped.Last year we were on the oases of the sea and it took only 10 minutes to check in and out

this was our first cruise on a Royal Carribean line, and we were impressed. we had an inside cabin, which was larger containing a sitting area, with a small sofa, t.v. and vanity. the bed was a king size with a small night table on either side. a curtain could close off the sleeping area from the sitting area, making for privacy. the service throughout the ship was excellent, with helpful and concerned staff.

Beautifully decorated, everyone was extremely friendly. Staff was very attentive and helped in any and every way possible.

We have been on 3 other Royal caribbean cruises which were all wonderful. This cruise was not up to the standards I expect from RC. Over crowded, waiting for elevators a long time, not enough chairs at pool, state room was clean, but public areas on ship were not always clean. My last cruise was on Celebrity which was excellent in every way. I am planning at least 3 more cruises in the next 18 months and will look beyond RC because of this last experience.

The ship is beautiful, so much to do. Although, the decor in our room needed to be updated, ugly colors. The shows and service were fantastic. Loved the ice show! Dining room food was fantastic. However, I didnt feel the same for the buffet food. A bit greasy. Overall, such a wonderful ship and a wonderful experience. I would highly recommend it.

Avoid this cruise like the plague- at least in the Summer. It was so ridiculously overbooked you could barely move. Sometimes moving up and down a few floors on elevators would take 15 minutes. The crowds overwhelmed everything. Wait times were insane. We could never find a table for the buffet. My parents were older and really struggled at times. What annoys me is that this cruise was very EXPENSIVE. I have been on far cheaper cruises with a much smaller passenger to staff ratio so even in RCCL's class of cruise this was awful. Cruising should be RELAXING not this stressful. The staff tried their best, but they were obviously overwhelmed. Also, the lack of enforcement of dress code was disgusting. Even in the formal dining rooms, most passengers dressed like bums - caps, hoodies, tank tops, bathing suits, short shorts, sneakers. Made a mockery of the published dressed dress code and no one in the staff even cared. This ship left from North Jersey and this was a pretty hard scrabble crowd. They obviously had no interest in the traditional decorum of a cruise. If you desire at least a modicum of traditional cruising decorum avoid this cruise and probably RCCL in general. I didn't think this would be a "booze-cruise" given the cost but I must admit I was wrong. RCCL markets itself as family-friendly but this cruise was definitely not - there were some real creepy people and tons of drunks - a little scary for kids IMO.

very nice ship, clean and overall good services, they charge for many more miniscule services than Celebrity Cruise lines which I enjoyed considerable more.

This is our 2nd cruise. I tought ship was a little older, but it still good and confort. Especially crews were quite friendly and we enjoyed all time.

The staff could not have been more pleasant and accomodating. Our room was miraculously cleaned everytime we stepped out for more than 5 minutes. Royal caribbean must give personality tests to future hires. The serive was A1!

I loved driving to Bayonne to board the ship to Bermuda. It cuts out airfare since I live in PA. I'd put your bathing suit in your purse, so you can go to the pool as soon as you board the ship, because your luggage could take several hours to get to your cabin. The Explore is a large ship, having a general meeting place on the deck by a pool is helpful.

We haven't been on a cruise in 3 years and we have noticed the cut-backs.

Great cruise, great itinerary, food and food service could have been better