Overall: This was a hit-and-miss vacation. Explorer has some fantastic offerings and some serious problems. Our group consisted of myself & my husband, our two boys ages 6 & 9, my parents, and my husband's parents. All of use have cruised - me, DH, & DS's to Alaska last year, my parents on Holland America to Alaska & the Caribbean, and my in-laws cruise frequently these days everywhere on RCCL, Princess, & Carnival. We chose this ship & itinerary because we thought it would maximize our goals: relaxation & time to socialize, opportunity to see Mayan ruins & encounter animals and because of our (me, DH, DS's) experience on the Serenade last year (which was terrific).

It is important to note that, due to a medical emergency on our first night, the itinerary changed. I don't know why we did not simply stay at sea an extra day; we were already missing the first port, but the remaining ports were shuffled to different days. The original order, from Tuesday through Friday, was to be: Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel, & Georgetown. The new schedule was to be: Cozumel (stay until 2pm the next day), Georgetown, Costa Maya. Costa Maya was replaced later with Montego Bay.

The ship: It's a BEAUTIFUL ship and all the areas we used were in great shape. I didn't notice any of the rust or wear and tear that some have reported. I was very surprised at how much larger the ship is than the Radiance class. I think our sailing was pretty full, but the only time I felt crowded at all was during tenders. After what I'd read on Cruise Critic I expected long lines at Johnny Rockets, but we ate there 3 times (lunches on both sea days and one port day) and never had to wait. There were always plenty of tables in the Windjammer at breakfast and every other public area. We didn't spend much time at the pools, but from our view (the window in Dizzy's) there were plenty of chairs. Even the elevators were less of a problem than we expected. Read more