We decided to combine a trip to Manhattan with a short cruise to Bermuda on Explorer out of Bayonne. It only took 35 mins to get from the city to the port, but then an hour in a traffic line to drop off our bags. I am so glad that RCCL is going to build a new terminal when Quantum is based there. RCCL does its best to make the pre boarding as smooth as possible, but the "warehouse" and busing and entry on deck 1 does not provide that WOW factor.
Anyway, once on board at 1:10 our room was ready D1 and it was lovely. I actually like the balconies on these ships as they are more private. We opted for my time dining and I pre-reserved on the website for 7:45 as we wanted to eat with my daughter and boyfriend who were in a different cabin. We were seated promptly every night, but service on two nights was truly VERY slow, very waiter dependent obviously. Food was good, particularly deserts, every night except night 1. We were unlucky with the weather as we were in a tropical depression the whole way and while on Bermuda. We still had a great time. We found plenty to do, the staff were wonderful, and the shows we attended were very good. Our return sea day was beautiful and the ship transformed with the sun. The passengers were great on this cruise. Extremely friendly. I love RCCL for the mix of ages and will definitely cruise again with them.