Explorer of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Ice skating show always a favorite.  The duplicate bridge games on sea days---great director and group.  Great Aussie crowd---fun people----much more fun people than on cruises out of America.

Stateroom 3017 (interior room) is located below a cleaning station, which meant we were subjected to very loud noise at any time of the day or night.  DO NOT BOOK THIS STATEROOM (or a stateroom around this area on Deck 3) IF VERY LOUD NOISE WILL BOTHER YOU AT NIGHT, even ear plugs cannot totally block out the noise. 

RCCL know this is a noisy area, did not advise us when we booked, which we believe is very poor customer service.  Had we been made aware, we could have made a better informed booking decision.

We reported our issue on Day 3, but were only taken seriously on Day 12 after having put our concerns in writing on the mid-cruise survey.  Guest services told us they would speak to staff regarding the noise problem, and also offered to move us.  We declined to be moved at that time, as the stateroom is in a favourable location, and we mistakenly believed the noise would cease during the night (when we decided to move, no staterooms were available due to others having moved), but the noise continued throughout the entire duration of the 24 day cruise and it severely affected our cruise experience. 

Our experience with guest services in dealing with this issue was very very poor (hence our cruise rating), near the end of the cruise the staff member we were dealing with just ignored us.  It is a real shame, as other than the noise, the stateroom was very nice.  It seemed to be a little more spacious than other interior staterooms on upper levels where others in our group were (both the sleeping area & bathroom), and the furnishings were newer.  Our experience with the stateroom noise and guest services was extremely disappointing, this was the first time we had experienced this type of problem on a cruise and was also the first time we had cruised with RCCL.

Things we liked: All ports visited; the majority of friendly crew; dining choices; most of the shows; entertainment crew enthusiasm; outside recreational activities; non-smoking in the entire ship interior for cruise duration.

Things we disliked: Conflicting information from RCCL call centre and reservations prior to cruise; Lack of notification from RCCL re: stateroom position & cost of stateroom; guest services; charged different prices at different bars sometimes; no self-service guest laundry facilities; inability to self-print cruise account record; lack of time on Kona and Honolulu, would have liked the same duration as on Maui.

Based on our experience, not sure if we would cruise with RCCL again. 

Had a great time staff is great Not a lot for me and the wife to do at night not a great deal to pick from pick who cares I suppose your on holiday so there Food was excellent I recommend you do the food extra packages so you can try the other restaurants cheaply don't think you should get drinks packages unless you drink a real lot of alcohol we got it and broke even I think I must admit but that when in port it's really not what you should do and hang around where ship docks it's way to touristy get a car or bus and get away and see the real things otherwise you may as well stay on ship also remember doing this long cruise that there is A LOT OF ELDERLY People on board so the night club and bars ect close real early I'm 52 and didn't mind it but if your 20-35 it's not as good as the 3-14 day cruises Trust me you are better off doing one of them I must also admit that I'm quite liking these cruise holidays the more I go on them especially if the ship is really large like this one it's not really rocking around and making you feel a little sea sick if there is really something the wife and I want changed it's the Bacon they use American style bacon not English and more than 5 movies to be shown on a 25 day cruise ( they just keep rotating same movies) Would I go again Yes but a 14 day is probably long enough Cheers

we had our 3 grandchildren with us, our favourite time was dinner at night in the Sapphire Rome, our waitress Sixue and waiter Ayay made us feel special, the children looked forward to dinner every night and did not wont to eat anywhere else, they get 10 out of 10 from us.

The downside of the dining room was the air conditioning we froze and all had colds and sore throats the day we left.

on the last 2 days when the weather was colder, I had to wonder what you do to keep occupied , would not contemplate a winter cruise, mustn't forget Kim the cabin attendant he was great always friendly 

Awesome cruise ship. Lots to do, great entertainment and shows. Food was fantastic. Room was great and we got it at a great price too. Staff friendly

the ship it's self was lovely , but too many unruly teenagers. The superior staff where rude .I will never travel with cruise line again. I was a victim of a incident and i was treated like was at fault,absolutely disgusted

we have sailed on this ship twice in 2 consecutive years. We enjoyef both cruises. Food was good and our Head table waiter went out of his way to get a special dessert for us. The cabins were kept very well and a pleasure to come back to. The one down side was on the first cruise was the birthday package I paid for for my wife before the cruise. Firstly they decorated the cabin on the wrong day then it took 3 phone calls and Iiver an hour for the birthday cake to arrive. The entertainment was not to our liking but we could appreciate the skill and effort that was put in, the ice skating wss amaxing though. The disappointing thing was that with cruises a year apart we expected different shows but they were the same. The trivia games were fun but the "prizes" are a big let down just go for the fun at least on Carnical you get a medal lol 😁 Loved Chops Grille but less impressed with the italian restsurant. Make sure you take advantage of the free room service especially if you have a balcony. All the staff were very friendly especially the bar staff and main dining room waiters. Windjammer was good if some people would realise that THEY are not the only people there so the rest of us can move around to our food would be great lol😁 The onboard activities are overall fun and entertaining.

THE STAFF ON BOARD WHERE SO FRIENDLY AND PROFESSIONAL. PARTICULAR MENTION TO ROCKY WHO WAS OUR DRINK WAITER ON DECK 11 IE POOLDECK. HE ALWAYS HAD A SMILE AND NEVER FAILED TO REMEMBER OUR DRINK ORDERS WITHOUT HAVING TO BE ASKED. THE ORGANISATION WITH BOARDING, TENDERING AND DEPARTURE IN SYDNEY WAS SENSATIONAL. WE WILL DEFINITELY BE CRUISING WITH ROYAL CARIBBEAN IN THE FUTURE

I've always said I'd never go on a cruise until my family twisted my arm to go. All I can say is wow, what an experience. This was the best holiday ever, and I can't wait to go again! 

There were a lot of complaints but my wife and I loved it and thought the service was great. The only complaint we have was the $1000US hidden costs when we got the bill but it was our first cruise so know next time to keep better track of costs. Certainly won't be our last.

we had a brilliant 10 day trip on the explorer of the seas. The boat was gorgeous - plenty to see and do. The shows were fantastic and the kids were entertained at all times. Our wonderful wait staff in the gorgeous Sapphire dining room were the highlight of our trip. Valentino, Omkar, Sashi and Ajay became lifelong friends and were fabulous with our needs and our children. The flowrider was a favourite. Food was good and overall a wonderful experience 

Great cruise! Cool ship. Really enjoyed the Flow rider, The Flow show, The Quest and ice skating. I would definitely recommend cruising on the Explorer and I'm so glad I have finally sailed with Royal Caribbean 👌

Last day today on Explorer of the Seas of a 10 day cruise. Many differences were noted between a Voyager of the Seas cruise last year and this one on the Explorer. The most obvious was the lower numbers of staff in key areas like the bars and pool deck. It was difficult to get service at crowded bars and there was no service that I saw on the pool deck. One staff member when asked why this was the case said that it was because the Explorer had com from cruising in Asia and the Asians don't drink much so staffing was kept low. On Voyager in the Sapphire Restaurant all of the senior staff and Matre' D would introduce themselves to all of the tables - not so on the Explorer. Some venues were inappropriate for the activity. such as Karaoke for families being in the The Tavern and not The Star Lounge. Mind you, these are comparisons after having sailed on the Voyager and would probably have no impact for someone who had not. The cruise on a whole was still perfect!

We especially enjoyed the snorkeling experiences on the islands. Our. cabin and evening dining room staff were very good. One of our party had special food needs so we found it difficult to have to have lunch and breakfast in a different part of the dining room and with different staff each day. Some facets of the that particular ship's facilities could have been initially explained better e.g how the t.v. worked, pool towel borrowing system.

Sailed to South Pacific with my wife. had a great time.The staff were awesome especially our cabin steward Skarlet and our coffee guy Arnold. went ice skating and went on flowrider. the food in the main dining room was a bit hit and miss but just went to the buffet for dinner. always found something to eat 😁. would go again thank you royal Caribbean.

My favoriteship so far😊😊Can't wait for the next adventure on Explorer of the Seas .Royal Caribbean has got me addicted to cruises and spoiled us rotten!!!

Can't recommend this ship enough! Fabulous entertainment and staff were more than amazing . Will never ever go with any other cruise lines since travelling with RCI

First cruise ever!! Loved it totally, food, service, entertainment, everything 🤗 Ice skating show was top notch, so were the other theatee events. Tad crowded but all good.

Favourite part of cruise was the variety of things to do & see. The staff were helpful & friendly. The islands were magical, getting to & from was easy. The food was delicious, tried all 3 resturants. Definitely recommend this cruise.

Just off the ship this morning after doing an 8 day cruise to the Islands in the Pacific. Had a fabulous time and highly rate the ship, crew and amenities. ..special mention to our room attendant Joseph and our waiters in the MDR,Ijede and Carlito. Loved the pools, flowrider, putt putt,ice skating show,the band Pulse (awesome reggae),the casino, the 70s show and British show , the cocktails and the food. Basically couldn't fault much at all...only a couple of minor issues but they were sorted immediately . Recommend to anyone!