Explorer of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,038 reviews

Great Ship - ok cruise

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Explorer of the Seas
User Avatar
Sultan84
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2007

We embarked on December 2nd, 2007 for a 12 day cruise. Bayonne seemed - according to other cruise critic reports - the port for fast and easy embarkation. Think again!! We spent 1 hour in a traffic jam from the entrance of the port to the ship. Port Authorities were nice enough to note the distance on the entry gate, so we knew we rolled at a speed of 1.8 miles per hour. Luckily we had agreed on a fix price for the transfer, a lot of people who had come by taxi were very upset because they paid for sitting in a taxi for one hour. Once we got out of the taxi, check in was super quick. I guess there was no way for a line to form at the check-in counters as the people before us had had the same problem. The staff at check in said it had to do with the snow that had fallen the night before. Since we saw the same chaos happening as we checked out 12 days later in sunshine, I am not sure what to make of this explanation.

Anyway, once onboard the ship we forgot the wait and enjoyed the ship. This was my first inside cabin, and I loved it. I don't think I want to go outside again. I had been very hesitant, but we had had such a great offer, my husband insisted on trying since we usually spend very little time in the cabin. The cabin was only marginally smaller than the regular outside cabins, same amount of storage space. We were in the forward part of deck 6 and the cabin incredibly quiet. We sometimes heard a bit of music from the Maharaja Lounge, but since they usually stopped playing before we went to bed that was not a problem. And there were just no ship's noises at all. Unfortunately the bridge video was not working until the very end of the cruise, so we couldn't even check if the ship was in fact moving, it was that quiet. The only time we realized we were on a moving ship was during a storm going south and another one coming back north. During the storm going south, we were not allowed to access the outer decks, this is when a balcony cabin would have been handy. All exits on the ship were closed so no access to fresh air for those of us who were seasick. But the following day, when we saw the damage the storm had done, we were quite happy that we had been locked in.

Unfortunately - and without explanation - the ocean lab was closed for the cruise. With weather like we had, it would have been fun to see the equipment in action.

Cabin Review

previous reviewnext review

Find an Explorer of the Seas Cruise from $262

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.