Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was our second time on the Explorer of the Seas and once again she did not disappoint! We just got off of the 5 night to Bermuda that left 9/20/08. My first rave has to go to the incredible staff on this ship. These people go out of their way to anything and everything for you. They are friendly and polite and somehow still manage a smile after a 12 hour shift. I truly can't say enough about them. The ship itself is really beautiful. Although she is in need of a little TLC (chipping and rusting a bit, etc), she is kept very clean and unless you are really looking she looks pristine. It is also big enough that you never run out of a new place to explore or go and have a drink and there were plenty of places to get away from the crowd. The food on the ship was good, not great but good. The Windjammer was a bit crowded and the food their was very average. The dining room, however, had much better food and excellent service. The casino and bars were very fun and very active but I really hate all of the smoking. There is one teenie, tiny non-smoking area in the casino and there were 3 people smoking. I wish the staff would have enforced this. It is also horrible to be walking to lunch and have to walk by a line of people smoking. By the time you get to where you are going you smell like smoke. As a non-smoker this is an awful smell. I think there should definitely be a smoking area but definitely not the whole side of the ship and the casino is too small a space. We visited Bermuda on this trip and is was our third time there. We went to Snorkel Park which is within walking distance to the ship. There are jet ski rentals, snorkling and a small bar and grille. We paid $24 for two frozen drinks at the bar so needless to say, we won't be buying drinks there anymore. There was also a great glass blowing shop where I bought the most beautiful earrings. They also sell the famous rum cakes there so bonus! There were lots of scooter rentals and segway tours but we decided to walk about a mile from the ship to a secluded beach where we found sea glass by the pound, it was phenomenal. We had read about this beach and thanks to a few friendly locals we were able to find it. We even gave our favorite bartender Sujith a few pieces to bring home. Finally....the other passengers. First let me say that we met some of the nicest people ever on this cruise. It was fun to get to know people from all walks of life. I met a wacky millionaire from DC and a rapper from NYC, it was so much fun. I couldn't hep to notice, however, the lack of common courtesy that some people had when dealing with the staff. It was appalling and I was embarrassed. Even worse was that the adults also let their children treat the staff just as poorly. I found myself apologizing for their behavior! It was just really sad to see these great people being treated so poorly by some. All in all it was just a great cruise. We have one booked in December of next year but we can't wait that long to go back. 5 nights was way too short!!! The Explorer is simply magnificent and I can't wait to get back.

The Explorer of the Seas was a beautiful ship. We did not have a good experience, however, as we compared it to cruising on Celebrity where they do make you feel like a "celebrity". We got an Owner's Suite and were told that we could get dining room menu food in our room and we asked several times only to be told to look on the tv to order and the tv had no ordering. One night we spent 30 minutes on hold with room service only for them to tell us it would be another hour wait. No one on the ship could help us get food delivered to suite.

I have been on Explorer four times out of six cruises with Royal. This cruise was a good as any of the other three. The ship was in excellent shape - no rough edges were visible. The food was delicious, the shows were excellent and the crew was wonderful. I got sick on Sunday while in line in the Windjammer. The crew immediately took care of me, helping me, reassuring me and getting help. They helped an obviously difficult moment wonderfully and discreetly.

great cruise,very relaxing, wounderful ship, amazing food, shows,service is excellent but you better have some close friends or good company with you,otherwise you can fiind a lot of people in different age category with different interests/ most people in our cruise were more then 70- 80y/old.

Ship was beautiful, but crowded. Many of the tours were booked before the first day. I have never encountered this problem before. Canada is beautiful and very clean.

The service was great - waiter- Chris- always smiling and tried to give us as much information and descriptions as possible. Room steward was very friendly and extremely efficient. First time we had a balcony - I'm hooked. Wasn't large but loved it (2 chairs and small table.) Our biggest disappointment was the main selections in the dining room. We bellieve that the food was "spiced" - NOT - for the average age of the cruisers - seemed to be 80+. Food definately did not compare to other cruise lines we have been on. Food on WindJammer food was not bad but not very hot.

The ship and it's crew lacked genuine care for your time on board. This was my fourth cruise and found it to be the least enjoyed. The staff actually had attitudes! When I went to the desk for quick check out forms for departing the ship on the last day, I not only waited in line for 25 minutes, but when I got up to the desk I found staff indifferent and lacking simple personality. The last thing I want from a $7,000 cruise is staff looking down on me. We had a stateroom that had a pull out bed for our two kids, it was supposed to have had two twin beds. I thought I was getting a grand suite, got a stateroom. The shows no one on board liked. All agreed the entertainment was not good at all.

I had little to no expectations of what to do on the ship, because I was a first time cruiser. After only minutes, I was bombarded with dozens of events and activities. Live dancing performances, ice skating, rock climbing, humorous pool side activities such as belly flop contests, comedians, a night club, lively piano bars with talented musicians, and the best karaoke experience ever - the entire room was singing along! The dinner selection was spectacular! I've never been big on seafood, but the menu is designed so that I didn't have to pay for anything! I tried salmon, escargot, scallops, lobster, and other meats such as duck and lamb! Every dish was perfect and beautifully presented! By the end of our week, we were taking full advantage of the options by ordering three appetizers, three entres, and two deserts each. This alone makes the price of the cruise worth while. Boarding was also a breeze once we docked on the island. A quick swipe of your room card, and you're the boat. Briefly wait to go through the metal detector, and your on the boat! Lastly, the selection of artwork was beautiful. I regret not going to the auction to buy some of the limited pieces. Luckily, they were on display through the cruise to help inspire my imagination. If you are having any hesitations, I strongly assure you that they are unwarranted. The staff was sweet and hilarious, the events were well scheduled and worth attendance, and they even have a child care center, allowing the adults to play in the casinos or party at the bars.

Simply fabulous! Especially exciting was having a wonderful acupuncturist on board, who was tremendously helpful.

The Ship is awesome hence our 3rd trip on the Explorer of the Seas. It is starting to show wear and tear but still a beautiful ship.

our bathroom flooded and the response was so slow that our adjoining room also flooded,we had to stay in wet rooms for 3 days.they did not compensate us for this

We just got back from cruising on Explorer of the Seas, from NJ to Bermuda and back. Big ship, great food, entertainment, lots to do. All the staff was super friendly, very helpful.

very clean and well maintained easy to get around and well marked for first time cruisers

The ship was absolutely gorgeous. Immaculately clean and the service was fantastic. The employees on the ship went above and beyond to cater to us. This was our second time with Royal Carribean, and nothing beats the service and ship.

Ship is beautiful, shows great and the staff accommodating. I am a loyal Royal Caribbean cruiser, however I have to say I was not impressed this time around. I cruised on Explorer 2 years ago and it was wonderful, however I think they missed the boat (no pun intended) this time.

Everything was beautiful and clean, all workers were very nice.

Very nice....very happy with almost everything. The bed linens were just dreamy, as were the towels-both pool side and bath. It was decorated lovely and everything was modern.

Beautiful ship with lots to do or not.

Bj's was wonderful . . I only wish Royal Carribean was as truthful. We traveled with four families. Our 16-18 year olds did not have enough to do. The teens club was for 12 year olds. The pool water was a texture the kids were not use too. No room to play soccer except on the basketball court. The climbing wall is not open enough, so you only could do it about once a trip. My husband the outdoor type, also did not have enough to do. The mini golf was not good. The ping pong tables did not have any balls and if they did they were unplayable. The staff at Royal Carribean before and during the trip lied alot.

The ship itself was beautiful with much potential, but I have been on cruises before and never have I felt such a large boat rock back & forth so nuch it almost took me off my feet on more than one occasion. I was ill for 3 days. The only food that was worth eating was the dinners in the dining room. The buffets tasted like they were a week old. The deck patrol didn't patrol anything since rude teenagers were allowed to jump & dive into the pool right next to myself and the man next to me with his little daughter trying to swim. They wanted to give us attitude because we asked them to take a look at the big sign that said "no jumping or diving" anytime. More than one of the bartenders were rude and lacked the friendly customer service I have come to expect from a cruise line. Everything was so hard to find and it wasn't very accesible. All in all I was very disappointed and will go back to the cruise line I know and love