Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was my 3rd time sailing on Explorer of the Seas. The first time was in 2014 and I was wowed by the beauty of the ship. This 2018 sailing followed a cruise on Harmony and although I have learned that I prefer ships smaller than the Oasis class, after sailing Harmony, Explorer was not as flashy and the entertainment was just OK. I prefer over-the-top theatre productions rather than the music & dance reviews found on Explorer, however, the comedian was terrific and Graham Seymour, our cruise director, was awesome. Our cabin was kept clean but I have had better steward service. Our balcony had a great, unobstructed view. We had My Time Dining and had no problems getting seated on time. I did reserve each dining time prior to boarding. The food was OK. We did not eat at any of the specialty restaurants. Lobster was served one night in the Main Dining Room. Embarkation was quick and easy. We used the Seattle Valet at debarkation. We placed our luggage outside our cabin the last night of the cruise and didn't see it again until we arrived at our home airport. This is a free service that the Port of Seattle offers. I wish more ports would offer this service. All-in-all, we enjoyed our time on Explorer and have another Explorer cruise booked for 2020.

Overall, as I stated in the title, this vacation did what we asked of it. Relax. Having only cruised on Carnival Cruises in the past, we definitely noticed the difference in aura, or lack thereof. If we had family with us we would've been sorely disappointed, but because we really just wanted to get away and be lazy, this cruise accomplished that. The food was a disappointment though. Thank goodness we had a great table of people so dining was not terrible. I was sad to see that the crew did not seem to be very out-of-their-way friendly as I have experienced on other cruises. Even in passing, most times they did not smile. Hopefully they get a break to rejuvenate like we did. Anyway, we got away, we were able to be lazy, we got to spend time in our favorite city and the price wasn't too bad. We will try The Royal Caribbean again in hopes that this one was just a fluke.

I'm so impressed with RC. We took our physical challenger sister in a cruise to San Francisco. There was mix up with the cabin. To make long story short the issue was fixed and we had a great cruise. We will stay RC cruisers. If one goes with an open mind and not pick apart every little thing you will have a great time. Your on vacation just enjoy what comes your way. That's part of the adventure. Happy cruising!

Really enjoyed the ship and being with our friends. Love the ice show on this ship.

We had another great Royal Cruise. Graham is the most enthusiastic cruise director we have ever had. Only disappointment was there was not Quest. Still an excellent cruise. The crew and food was top notch. The ship does not show its age.

The ports are good on this cruse. I think San Francisco is over done. I think another port could be substituted or at least shortened. Victoria would be a better two day port.

We had a wonderful time....already booked for our next cruise..love it!

Last minute booking because we couldn't wait for our next booked cruise. Enjoyed every aspect of this cruise.

A wonderful first cruise. You don't have a lot of time at the Ports so make sure to have a plan so you can visit all areas you wish to explore. Staff are wonderful and if you have questions all you have to do is ask, every staff member was wonderful (however a few were very difficult to understand)

This is a great, short weekend getaway cruise. We noticed that the majority of the people left work early on Friday and went straight to the port, got on the ship, and come Monday morning they got off early and headed straight to work. Lots of people wearing their Seahawks attire all weekend. Proud group! The pool area was busy and the windjammer was packed at popular eating times but we always found a table quickly. The ship is perfect sized for a weekend cruise.

Short 3 night weekend cruise out of Seattle very fun and relaxing, but too short. We arrived at the port at 10:30 and basically walked right onboard, it was so fast and seamless! We had every breakfast and dinner at the main dining room. We always order multiple starters and entree, what we think we’ll love plus a few things that sound interesting. A few things were surprisingly delicious and a few were just Ok, but every night we found delicious food we loved. Entertainment was great. I did feel slightly like some the staff saw us as just passing through being a 3 night cruise. It didn’t have the same vibe as a 7 night, but overall it was still a great getaway.

Overall we had a great time, we picked a great room for the Alaskan itinerary. The staff was nice and helpful, the food was good except in the promenade cafe. WIFI was horrible and slow. Other than that, great time.

We had a very good cruise. The weather was great, we saw a lot of whale activity. Both Juneau and Skagway were fun. We got to Juneau late so did not get to do all we had planned, but still fun. Service and staff were great.

This was our 2nd time on Explorer of the Seas (previously was ~6 years ago to Bermuda and the Caribbean). The ship is still impressive even though it's not one of their new mega 'oasis'-class. Embarkation from Seattle was relatively painless, although there was confusion at the port about where to go first to get your luggage tagged before you were able to check-in. Juneau and Skagway are stunning. We got VERY lucky with amazing weather (blue skies and temps in the mid-60's) and were told that previous weeks weren't so lucky. Excursions in both ports were great and really showed off the natural beauty of the areas. We did whale watching and visited the Mendenhall lake/glacier in Juneau, then did a helicopter trip to the Chilkoot glacier and the White Pass / Yukon Route train in Skagway. The trip to Tracy Arm Fjord was a nice relaxing day - the captain got us very close to the glacier and the weather was again agreeable making for some great pictures. After the sea days we arrived in Victoria, BC which was just OK in comparison. There's plenty to walk around and see around the harbor and the little shops - it's called the 'City of Gardens' and you'll understand why as there are flowers everywhere - but following the two Alaskan ports that were just jaw-dropping gorgeous for natural scenery, it didn't compare. We were in suite 1584 and our room attendant was so nice as to be almost unbelievable, but he was genuinely a very nice man, always checking in on us. We found staff throughout the ship to be very helpful and truly enjoyed being onboard. We ironically hadn't cruised since our last trip on this ship, but we had such a good time we booked our next cruise for next summer while onboard.

Great trip everyone we met both on & off the cruise were fantastic !!! Ship was great, attendents were more than helpful couldn't have ask for a better trip !!!!

We had a great time. Beautiful ship. The itinerary had a lot of days at sea. It was exhausting at times.

Seattle to Juneau to skagway to Victoria to Seattle. The most beautiful cruise i have been on. Our friends set this up and we weren't very excited but it was very incredible.

Great ports of call. Lucky to have good weather and I would definitely go back one day.

The trip to Alaska and Victoria, BC was educational and interesting. I missed seeing the snow because the temperature was in the 50°- 60° range. The shore tours were wonderful, and although advised not to use local tour guides, I found them to be much more reasonable in price. Would like to go back, but during the winter.

Great weather and view plus a pod of humpbacks coming into Juneau and orcas in victoria.