Our recent trip on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas took place beginning July 31st started with cruise line pre-cruise arrangements to stay in the Hilton Hotel in New Jersey. The hotel was well located attached to the subway station that took us into New York in 20 minutes. THe room was very comfortable, good linens. Let me start by saying that we took this trip to eat great lobster and relax while seeing a part of the country we have never seen. We are not really interested in bellyflop competitions and cruise ship style entertainment, or excessive drinking and we don't travel with children. With that in mind, here was our experience. Our stateroom on the ship was very good. We had a small balcony but having a balcony made all the difference in our enjoyment level. It was wonderful to have the door open, cool fresh air, sounds of the ship slipping though the water. Having traveled without a balcony in the past, I can't say enough about how much of a difference it makes. The linens on this ship were amazingly luxurious. Our steward was Marcia and she was great. The room is made up twice a day with ice delivery included without asking. She was also helpful with any requests we had. We had room service once, for breakfast, and it was good and on time. The room service menu we had on this ship was limited, but more than we had on our princess cruise. The ship itself is very dramatic. Three story dining rooms, with elaborate decorations and a multi story promenade which was also luxurious in feel, like main street at Disneyland with cafes, shops, and venues. The casino is also extensive, ample slots, blackjack tables, and poker tournament with the final table playing for a free cruise! There were two decks dedicated to sports, gym, spa, children's pools and play areas. The children, older ones, were a bit out of control up there but I was glad the children were mostly in those areas, freeing up the rest of the boat for adult space. There were also adult only pools and hot tubs that were beautiful with a spanish decor. Service in the main dining room was excellent. Our waiters were Reserection and Cesar. The assigned seating for dinner makes it possible to tell a waiter something that you want or like and he or she remembers your preferences all week. Service in the buffet area was hit and miss, but generally better than on other cruises we have taken. I was surprised when on my second visit for dinner to the buffet, the waiter, named Prem, from the night before remembered my drink order. THis guy waits on thousands of people a day, and he remembered my order. Impressive! Service at the service desks was less wonderful generally. Sometimes the desk was closed when you would expect it to be open, and sometimes they were grumpy. There was generally complaining about that at our dinner table. Food was generally good, but not outrageous. The desserts at the buffet look good, but with little flavor. Choices were repetitive, but there was a lot to choose from, asian, sushi, carvary, pasta, fruit, salads, etc. We did not utilize the special restaurants, and can't comment on them except to say that Portofino's' was fully booked on the first day for the whole cruise. Book early if you have this in mind. The first port was New London, it is a little town that loves itself and is trying to be a genuine cruise ship stop. The ship is greeted with a troop of young fife and drummers that play until they drop. It is a sweet awakening as you pull into port (if you have a balcony that is). The mayor greeted each person who disembarked. There isn't much there but it is a cute little town. We had our best lobster roll at a pub just as you get off the shuttle bus. We took an excursion in Halifax to Peggy's Cove which included a lobster lunch. I would not recommend this choice as the lunch was sub standard and in a nondescript building next to a convenience store...not what we expected. Peggy's Cove is a good destination, a beautiful rocky shore line, but it is a longish bus ride to get there and is kind of exhausting. To do it again, I would rent a car and drive myself at my own pace and eat at Peggy's Cove in the very sweet little restaurant there. In Bar Harbor we went on a tour of Arcadia National Park with a lobster lunch. The park is cool and the lunch was excellent, at a posh hotel on the ocean. Other people we visited with went to the Tea house at Jordon's Pond, also in Arcadia National Park and loved it! To do again I would again, rent a car and go at my own pace through the park. At this point we started to tire of bus excursions, and lines. We started to feel like cattle being herded onto and off of busses. In St. John's we rode the horse drawn trolly an enjoyed it a lot. We had an excellent guide who told us all about the town and we went back to see the things we thought were interesting, the Victorian Mansion and the old church. In Boston we walked the freedom trail with a guide. It was very cool to see the sites on the trail, but we were tired at the end of it. Quincy Market is nice, full of food venders and crowds. I wished we had more time there as I wanted to go to Salem and see the Witch Museum that other's said was cool. I wish some of the bigger cities had multi day stops; five or six hours is not enough time to feel like you have really gotten the flavor of the place. Our best day was the last day at sea. We finally could just relax and enjoy the ship. My spouse won the poker tournament and that was a great highlight! I was able to buy some art at the auction, that was fun. And it was lobster night on the ship. THe lobster on the ship was not as good as the lobster we had at the ports, so definitely don't wait for that if you love lobster and are hoping for great lobster on your trip.