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About Your Ship: Explorer of the Seas

8 Night Canada & New England





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Departs Cape Liberty (Bayonne) aboard Royal Caribbean – Explorer of the Seas

Sailing Date(s): August 31, 2013


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	Average Explorer of the Seas Rating



	SORT BY: Most Recent \| Positive \| Negative \| Helpful < Previous 10 \| 11 - 20 of 49 \| Next 10 >
	Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 4 - 6 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Balcony Great Ship by George L. from Boston, MA Sailing date: Aug 2009 Pros: Lots to do and see-great design of ship Cons: Lack of Enforcement of Adult only areas, i.e. lounges, pools, hot tubs-lots of kids Great Cruise, Great Ship. The only down-fall was there were many kids on the ship and they did not enforce the adults only policies for the lounges, pools, and hot tubs. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities Children's Programs Read this user's port of call reviews: San Juan, Puerto Rico; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; King's Wharf, Bermuda Collapse List of Ports Ports of Call: San Juan, Puerto Rico Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. Philipsburg, St. Maarten King's Wharf, Bermuda 3 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Family w/young children The big surprise. by Elisa from Jacksonville, Florida Sailing date: Dec 2006 Pros: The activities and amenities that are available. Our cruise was supposed to stop in Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel and the Grand Caymans. We only made it to two of these ports. Someone became ill and so they turned the ship back to Miami. People were very irrate, including me. There was a shortage of information forcoming. I had to wait in long lines to try to figure out what to do about excursions. It seems to me that medical emergencies probably happen frequently. Why couldn't the patient be airlifted or taken by the Coast Guard. We were not offered any compensation by the cruise line. They added an extra half day in Cozumel and a stop in Jamica. The ship was very nice and kid friendly, but this was not the cruise we paid for. Ship Details: Entertainment & Activities Activities: Waits were too long for activities ie climbing wall, ice skating rink open on a very limited basis. 6 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Oceanview Recommend the Cruise to Anyone by Cheryl G from Fairmont, WV Sailing date: Mar 2013 Pros: The entertainment (shows) were outstanding Cons: to many smoking areas WOW!! Lots of glitz and glamor. The ICE SHOW was unbelievable. Good variety of activities, ie. games shows, karaoke, etc. Oh my gosh, the food! Something for everyone's taste. So good we have already booked another cruise. The ship's personel were outstanding, compared to other cruiselines we been on. Ship Details: Ship Quality I would have given an excellent rating, if not for all of the smoking areas Dining/Food Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Inside Relaxing and Exciting by Eric S. from Long Island, NY Sailing date: Jul 2012 Pros: There was always something to do Cons: Gratuities were not included as they are on other cruise lines, and the suggested amounts seemed exorbitant Beautiful facilities and immaculately clean. Slow elevators at times, but this is not unusual for cruises. Housekeeping staff was prompt and courteous. Could have used a few more deck chairs for peak times, but it tended to work out with some effort. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Buffet was better than the formal dining experience. Some limitation of choices in the dining room. Stateroom Quality Clean and comfortable. Ship Staff Quality Very helpful and amenable to requests (except for one Excursions clerk who was a bit obnoxious). Entertainment & Activities Fantastic quality of shows and activities. The entertainment staff had a wonderful chemistry and clearly loved their jobs. This showed and affected the guests' enjoyment. 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Family w/young children Stateroom Type: Oceanview Worth the Money by Matt P from South Jersey Sailing date: Jun 2012 Pros: Service, Food, Atmosphere, Great Ice Show, Kids Program Cons: Limited options at dock in Bermuda The food was fantastic, the crew were friendly. The mixed drinks were done right every time. The number of activities was impressive. The show on the Ice rink was very good. I had a four year old who paticipated in the Ocean Adventure most nights, he loved it. We got the family cabin in the front of the ship, it moved more than we wanted but the room size and the view from the two large windows more than made up for it. The only real downside was the company of the other guests some of them were rude, but that is to be expected when a cruise leaves from NY/NJ. Ship Details: Ship Quality This is one of biggest ships on the water, lots of options. It was well kept, and clean. Dining/Food Nothing really was outstanding but on the every thing was very good. I tried just about everything and was never disappointed. Stateroom Quality The family cabins on the front of the ship are so big they are actually comfortable for a family of four to be in. The claim they sleep six, but I would hold at four. The view from the two forward facing widows was great. Ship Staff Quality All were very helpful with the 1 year old. They got a high chair right away everytime. Entertainment & Activities The ice show was very good for cruise ship. Children's Programs My 4 year old actually could not wait for lunch and dinner to be over so he could go back to Adventure Ocean. 5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 30 - 49 Cruise Experience: 4 - 6 cruises Traveler Type: Family w/older children Stateroom Type: Inside Amazing cruise, best staff ever! by Nicole M. from Union, NJ Sailing date: Apr 2012 Pros: The shows were outstanding. The crew went above and beyond. Cons: There should be more activities throughout the day. I thought there was too much down time. This was our first time cruising with Royal Caribbean. I expected to be blown away and I was by some things. The ship itself was really big so there were times that I didn't even notice how many people were on board. The shows were all ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!! The cruise director Richard Spacey had everyone in stitches all the time. The itinerary was really great. Although I didn't do an excursion in Bermuda, the island was so beautiful that I still enjoyed it. The crew had to be the nicest and funniest people I've ever come across. I hope to cruise on Royal Caribbean again in the future, but I think I am so biased now because of the specific crew onboard Explorer of the Seas that anyone else would be a disappointment : ) Ship Details: Ship Quality My favorite spot on the ship (after the gym) was the "outdoor" cafe in the Royal Promenade. Sitting there with a cup of tea and dessert was a great way to spend some time. Dining/Food The food choices in Windjammer were fantastic and incredibly diverse. My kids loved the make your own pizza station. The dining room service was wonderful. The staff was so helpful. Stateroom Quality Our stateroom attendant Lance Saul was fantastic. We had an interior room, which was small for the four of us, but he did such a good job cleaning and fixing our room that we had no problem being there. He was so courteous and friendly. Ship Staff Quality Can I give this one 12 smiley faces?? The staff was awesome!!!!! Everyone had a smile on their face and treated every single guest like royalty, I actually started to believe that I was a V.I.P. : ) One thing I loved was seeing the staff outside of their area of the ship and being greeted warmly. My kids spent a lot of time on the sports deck. One evening I saw Neil (a crew member from the sports deck) in a different location on the ship and he greeted me by name. That made me feel really valued. Entertainment & Activities So my only less than excellent rating is for this section. Although the productions and shows deserve 7 smiley faces, there wasn't enough to do onboard in between shows and before and after. I think there should be more activities to keep everyone entertained, whether it's trivia, games for the guests to play together, dancing, etc. Children's Programs My kids loved it. What more can I say : ) 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Cruise Experience: 2 - 3 cruises Traveler Type: Family w/older children Stateroom Type: Balcony A fantastic vacation for entire family by Arlene A from Mamaroneck, NY Sailing date: Dec 2011 Pros: sit-down breakfast and dinner Cons: adventure ocean staff and pool It was a great big impressive ship. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities Children's Programs The teen optix room was excellent. My 3 tweens really enjoyed. However the Adventure Ocean was not very fun for my 5-year-old son. The staff was not entertaining and enthusiastic; they were more like teenage babysitters. 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 18 - 29 Cruise Experience: First cruise Traveler Type: Group Stateroom Type: Balcony A great cruise by Ray R. from New York, NY Sailing date: Jun 2011 Pros: Lots of activities, a funny engaging host The ship was huge, with lots to do. I spent a lot of time at the gym, which has a cardio area, a weights area, a sauna, and a steam room, and many classes. I also played a lot of ping pong, and spent time in one of the many hot tubs. We were worried that it would be crowded, since there were more then 3000 passengers. But it wasn't. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Stateroom Quality Ship Staff Quality Entertainment & Activities Read this user's port of call reviews: King's Wharf, Bermuda Collapse List of Ports Ports of Call: King's Wharf, Bermuda 2 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 7+ cruises Traveler Type: Couple Stateroom Type: Inside A super cruise by susan h. from New Jersey Shore Sailing date: Mar 2010 Pros: The people, the service, and the itinerary Cons: LInes for Ice Show The ship was beauifully appointed and impeccably clean. Some rooms were to small for the amount of passengers. Movie theatre held 59 and the ship has 3100 guests. Same for the ice shows you had to wait in line to enter and there were about 400 seats so you had to stand in line for advance tickets and they did this only during our dinner hour! There was nowhere for church services and no priest on board. Ship Details: Ship Quality Dining/Food Food was good but the variety in the dining room was lacking on some nights. Buffet food was not always as hot as it could be. Stateroom Quality Smallest inside cabin I have ever had on a cruise ship and I've been on 15. Ship Staff Quality Service was fantastic, people very friendly and were very willing to please. Entertainment & Activities Need more activities! I could have slept till noon and not missed much of anything. 2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you find this review helpful? Overall Rating: About the Reviewer: Age: 50 - 65 Cruise Experience: 4 - 6 cruises Traveler Type: Couple Overall, a good experience. by Frank from NJ Sailing date: Dec 2006 Pros: Spa fitness center. Some problems with follow-through when there were problems. I should have "squeaked" a bit more. Ship Details: Entertainment & Activities Activities: Excellent. Entertainment: Excellent. 7 out of 10 people found this review helpful. 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