Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We loved our Alaskan cruise so much that we cannot wait to go back with the next time adding post cruise trips to the interior. The scenery was beautiful and all along the way we spotted tons of whales.

We were on the Explorer June 30. Absolutely loved this cruise. The ship is clean, staff is not only friendly but went above and beyond if we asked for something they did not have, they found it for us. Food amazing and the ports and excursions were by far our favorite cruise. This was our 6th cruise in 15 months and it will be hard to beat. Breathtaking views of glaciers, mountains and the whales. We will be going back to Alaska in 2019 and on Royal Caribbean. Next cruise is Southern Caribbean on the Adventure Sept. 23. Alaska stole my heart but I will be going back!

Cruise was nice didn't realize so many sea days. Next time i will fly to Anchorage for more ports. Staff is wonderful Viptee, Jobill, Akshay in Windjammer

Overall impressive trip. Seamless well oiled team. Great communication, you can't get lost. Entertainment was super. Stateroom attendant Randy is amazing (5*); medical help available... we have no complains

Nice if relaxing cruising is not for everyone if I cruise again I'm going to choice a river cruise with much less people but food and staff great didn't like days at sea boring lack of entertainment for me

You should see Alaska where cars can't get to and only seen by boat. Very pretty. Be aware the temperature is much lower than most people are use to. Rain gear is also really handy.

Easily the best and friendliest crew I've ever met. Everything was made very easy, from booking excursions to getting on and off the ship. The ship and all of its facilities were clean, modern, and well-run. Wouldn't change a thing about this trip.

My first impression walking on the ship was "eh" (not bad, but not excellent). I read tons of reviews about how clean and perfect this ship is, so I expected such when I boarded. I didn't find that it was the cleanest ship I've been on when I arrived, but it certainly wasn't bad. It wasn't "love at first sight" either. As we traveled, I grew to absolutely love this ship. It's big and I was worried about how difficult it would be to navigate the floors (with our room being at the aft) and how crowded it was going to be. I quickly learned the set-up of the ship and loved how the ship itself and the schedule really controlled the crowds quite well. With all of the people on board, I never felt cramped (except on the elevators and in the Windjammer). It really helped distribute people nicely. I would definitely go on this ship again. I do recommend eating in the dining rooms to avoid crowds as it was very difficult finding tables in the Windjammer. The food was good and the cookies are always my favorite. The activities staff seemed a little unorganized, but we still had fun. Oh! I did want to mention - I read a lot of reviews that shared how there was tons of advertising for the specialty dining rooms (that they were bothered at their table while dining with an invite to purchase these dining options). On the first day, we were visited at our table once. We told them we were not interested and was not bothered the rest of the cruise. They did stand outside of the Windjammer and the main dining rooms, but did not pressure us. The ship was a bit rocky two nights (3-4 foot swells the second night and 10 foot swells the 5th night (the nights that we were going back and forth to Alaska from Seattle/Victoria). While at Tracy Arms Fjords, the captain did an AMAZING job at Sawyer Glacier. (Went there instead since the Tracy Arms Glacier was too icy to get to). We sailed all the way to it and he had the ship literally spin 365* (in place) three or four times. The scenery was stunning and it was great having this wonderful ship and talented crew get is there safely. Cheers to another awesome Royal Caribbean cruise. Up next... Hawaii!

Nothing really negative to report about this cruise or the cruise line Royal Caribbean. The main reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars was merely the quality of the food. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but nothing extraordinary. Loved having 3 complementary spots to eat at and 4 more eateries to choose from if willing to pay. Entertainment was plentiful, if you get bored you must be a boring person. The ice show was superb! Game shows were fun as well. Staff was beyond friendly and extremely helpful. I would definitely recommend Royal Caribbean and their ship Explorer of the Seas😊

Highly recommend this cruise.  We ended up with 5 in our group so we reserved a suite.  We had room 1804, which had wall to wall windows at the top in the front of the ship.  We were able to sit in our chairs and look out the window at all the amazing views and never had to stand out on deck and freeze.  

We had never been to Alaska and I can't say enough about how beautiful it was and how friendly the 'locals' are.  Didn't meet a lot of actual Alaskan locals as many people travel from all over the country to come help out for the tourist season but everyone was friendly and accommodating.

This is our second time on Royal Caribbean.  If you don't have small children, this is the cruise for you.  We traveled with a 17 and 21 year old and they seemed to really enjoy it.  Not a lot of "night life" for the younger adults, but they hung out with us and really had fun. The ship is beautiful, clean and well cared for. Every crew member we encountered was nice and very helpful.  The shows were great and there was enough entertainment to keep us all going even on the At Sea days.  

Don't expect that you will be doing a lot of the outside recreational activities.  The Pacific is much rougher water than when you are traveling in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was also too cold to get in the pool although a couple of brave kids did it.  The rock wall was closed for the majority of the trip because of rain and high winds.  

We really liked the excursions because they were different than the ones you take on the Caribbean routes and we always felt very safe in all of the ports.  We traveled in June and always needed a coat.  We wore layers for the excursions but it wasn't extreme.  The temperature was around 50C with a windchill of probably 40C.  Not my favorite temperature but my husband loved it. 

Mostly, I recommend this for the amazing views.  If you've never been North or to this part of the country, you are missing out.    

The cruise was ship was awesome, food was great, service in dining rooms were great also. The only complaint is that you had to wait to long to get a drink or get waiter to come around for drink orders. We had coke cards also & it was hard to get juice at times.  Overall it was great

Had excellent time on our Alaska Victoria BC cruise. Had 1 rough day at sea on way up and not so much fun everyone had a hard time walking but rest of the week was great. Dining room staff and food was excellent as usual, we have to be gluten free and they were excellent with our food and ordering the night before for next day. We would have lunch in Windjammer which needs improvement in the gluten free options and glad to see they made a separate area for the food. Shows were good and plenty to do on tours, and did the all access tour on a sea day. Highly recommend so people can see how hard the crew actually works and how the ship runs. Was very impressed! Our cabin was spotless all the time and had great service! Thank you Shermon! Can't wait for next one in October to western Caribbean

food was great...hospitality was excellent...couldn't ask for any nicer people to host me, especially my room attendant, Benny, and the dining and bar waiters. everything on the ship was great, but can't say that for beginning and ending boarding. security was a joke before entering the ship...lots of ugly scenes from personnel in the parking lot...wasn't much better on inside,seemed very disorganized..was a very long stressful situation...getting off the ship wasn't as bad, but could be better...i thought luggage pickup could've been better organized. also paid extra for ground transfer, but the luggage handler put our luggage on the ground leaving us to depend on others to get us to the airport.  SO,MY FIRST CRUISE EXPERIENCE...EVERYTHING ON THE "EXPLORER OF THE SEAS" WAS A 10, BUT INITIAL BOARDING AND FINAL EXIT WAS  A  I AT BEST. 

Favorite part spending time with family. Very stable boat, lots and lots of things to do. Great space in junior mini suite, deck, couch and 2 chairs, big walk in closet with lots of shelves and hangers! Also lots of counter space and drawers

I was on a different ship last year, Liberty of the Seas, and it was great.  Explorer, not so much.  Except for our waiter in the main dining room, service was just ok.  Disembarking was a nightmare, baggage claim a cluster.  Itinerary was pretty good.  Grizzly falls zip lining was the best.

Enjoyable. Your staff was very courteous and pleasant.  Meals were wonderful!  Entertaining.  The only issue I had was I put a rain poncho in the security scanning machine and passed through but it was not in the other side. I was told to check with customer service but not there. I had no recourse. It seems when I put in your supervised scanning machine then you were responsible for it. But you did not accept responsibility.  

We just came back from the 7 night Royal Caribbean Alaska Cruise.   Although it rained a couple days, the sights in Alaska are breathtaking.  Also Victoria Canada is beautiful. The cruise had great food, friendly staff and plenty of things to keep our family of 5 busy  The only thing I did not like is it seems that they were constantly asking if we would like to make reservations at the restaurants that cost extra, we would have made reservations if we were interested.

Our family loved the cruise to Alaska ! It was amazing.. from the room to the staff to the scenery .. it was the BEST vacation ever! The food in the windjammer, main dining room and in the specialty dining room was awesome! My kids.. 14 & 18 had a blast! The teen club was great! Whatever you do... don't miss the ice skating show!! HOLY MOLY IT WAS AWESOME!

I just love the size and setup of this ship. I took it on a short British Colombia five day and it was so fun. Absolutely the perfect short cruise and the amenities on board are great. I have always wanted to try a promenade room and I did on this ship. Love love love the promenade room. It’s fun to people watch and there’s always something to see. Love the window seat! I’d do this cruise and ship again in a heartbeat.

Long-time cruiser here.  Thoroughly enjoyed our 4 nites, 5 days from before stepping on the ship--so much excitement to go cruising again thru the last morning--did not want to get off.....wanted to continue on to Alaska where The Explorer of the Seas was cruising on to for another 7 wonderful days.  Not a tour person so we walked off the ship and into Nanaimo and Victoria; had a wonderful time just wandering the day away.   Look forward to setting sail again with Royal Carribbean....and yes a fan of buffets--enjoyed the excellent source of gluten free food choices and I'm not even in need of gluten free foods.