My family of 4 sailed the Explorer May 30, 2004 on the Eastern itinerary and we had a blast. We left Miami airport at 1pm and were in our cabin by 2pm. There were lots of people there at embarkation, but it surprisingly went quite fast.

We had 2 cabins on 2 different decks, 1 was an outside oceanview with balcony (very small), the 2nd cabin was an outside oceanview--no balcony, but was quite large as it was handicap accessible. It was great size! Luckily, the cabins were both on starboard side aft, therefore we were only 5 decks apart. I don't believe I will ever pay for a balcony cabin again. Although it was nice to go out on it and see the ports as you arrive or depart, I didn't spend that much time in my cabin to make it worth the price. Some may differ on that point.

It has been 18 years since I've cruised, so a lot has changed. First of all, this ship is huge!! My kids were in awe as was I. It is beautifully decorated, was kept clean and has way too much to do. We couldn't get it all done in just 1 week (that is not a complaint!). One of our cabin stewards was a little better than the other, but both were very friendly and helpful. We loved the towel animals! Our dining room waiter and assistant were average. Nothing over the top. I was disappointed that I missed the only night that they actually performed. 18 yrs ago, they performed nightly! The food was very good and I was always stuffed as I left the table. My daughter is a very picky eater and seemed to have trouble finding things she would eat in the formal dining room. However, I must say she would go to Johnny Rocket's or the Windjammer if she were still hungry, so she did not starve! I enjoyed the breakfasts in Windjammer and got a little tired of the lunches--not a lot of changes to the buffet at lunch. The food overall was good, not fantastic. Read more