We just returned from a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. As experienced cruisers who have cruised with this line before, everything (except the weather) met and exceeded our expectations.

As Crown & Anchor members, boarding was a fast, easy and painless process. If you have cruised with RCCL before, and have not yet become a Crown & Anchor member, I encourage you to do so. Upon entering the cruise terminal, we were immediately ushered into a private area where they checked our boarding passes scanned our credit card, and issued our Seapasses. This is the card which you use to get into your cabin, re-boarding the ship after going ashore, and charging all purchases while on board. The only time cash changes hands is in the casino, and if you choose to tip in cash rather than by voucher. We were then allowed to board the ship, and were in our cabin at 12:00 PM

It was then on to lunch in the Windjammer where we enjoyed the standard Royal Caribbean buffet. The selection was as varied as we remembered, (salad bar, hot entrees, soups, sushi, sandwiches, hand carved meats, deserts, soft serve ice cream & soft drinks)....and as good as always. After overstuffing ourselves, it was time to check out our dinner seating arrangements. We were assigned to a table for eight in the Magellan Dining room on Deck 3. We were satisfied with the seating assignment, so we decided to do a bit of touring of the ship. Read more