Our family just got back from a wonderful 9 day cruise on the Explorer that left on 4/11. I was traveling with my husband, 16 year old son and 14 year old daughter. This is our third cruise. We previously cruised on the Vision of the Seas with RCCL to the Mexican Riviera and the Carnival Conquest to the Western Caribbean. Hands down, this cruise was the best!! It was a lot of fun and it was a great value. The service everywhere was phenomenal, the absolute best we've ever experienced. We'd do this exact cruise again in a heartbeat.
The week we sailed was Spring Break for many school districts throughout New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. As a result, the cruise was almost full, over 3,600 on board with about 900 of them being kids. Because the ship was almost at full capacity, there were some crowds at times, but it was rarely a problem. We showed up 30 minutes before any activities, generally ate in the dining room for breakfast and when we did eat at the Windjammer, we arrived right when it opened for meals. Most of our fellow passengers had a great attitude, were courteous and friendly. With a few adjustments and some patience, the crowds didn't bother us at all. In fact, if you're travelling with teens, like we were, they loved it because there were lots of other kids to connect with. They both made so many friends and left with a lot of good memories.
Embarking