Background Married couple, early 50's, 22 cruises, 18 with RCCL. I am a long time lurker on these boards, and felt the need to share my recent experience on the December 14, 2007 sailing on the Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne. WARNING: This review is mixed - my opinions based on my experience.

Pre-Cruise Flew into Newark the day before our cruise. We booked directly with Country Inn and Suites in Elizabeth, since it offered a free airport shuttle, free continental breakfast and was within walking distance of a mall and restaurants. The hotel was not fancy, but clean with a courteous staff. The hotel also offers "cruise and park" specials. The desk clerk hired a car for us the next morning for a flat rate of $42.00 and it arrived promptly at 10:30am.

Embarkation We got to the port at 10:50am and it was empty! The porters quickly took our luggage and we were on our way. Unfortunately the ship had not yet begun the debarkation from the previous sailing. It was either a storm in Puerto Rico, life preservers overboard, a rescue at sea or a passenger health emergency. We never heard an "official" answer. We took a seat in the priority embarkation lounge. The refreshments available were ice water, juice and cookies. The terminal quickly filled, so the refreshments and seating were soon gone. Apparently the traffic to get to the terminal was chaotic. Some of our tablemates were in such a long line to get to the terminal; they bailed out on their drivers and walked over a mile with luggage! Although people were getting grumpy and aggressive, the staff maintained a cheerful attitude. A little more information and little more food would have gone a long way. We re-started the check-in process around 2:40 and were on the first bus to the ship. All in all, it was amazing they moved that many people in such a short time. Read more