Detailed Review of the Explorer of the Seas

Three of us went on the 9 day Explorer of the Seas cruise from Bayonne, New Jersey (or Port Liberty as RCCL refers to this commercial port) to the Caribbean and back on January 2, 2009. We are an older, semi-retired couple (I am 61 and my DH is closer to 70) and we took with us our almost 20 year old son, who loves to cruise on college vacations. We chose this cruise to avoid flying to Florida and to fit with DS's college break schedule. We expected a large contingent of college-age students on the ship and hoped that the Explorer would satisfy DS's need for an interesting cruise ship. This was my 23rd cruise and my sixth on Royal Caribbean. It was, however, my first in a long time on an RCCL ship and my first on one this big. My last cruise on RCCL had been on the Radiance of the Seas.

Embarkation: This was without a doubt the worst embarkation experience of any I have experienced. The line of traffic to get into the area where luggage is unloaded was very long when we arrived at about 11:15 a.m.(and based on conversations with others it was just as long earlier and later). When we finally arrived in a loading "dock," we pulled in and easily unloaded the car. DH and DH waited while I parked the car. This part was easy - the guys stop the line of traffic so you can back out and then you simply make a couple of left turns into the parking lot. You pay (now $173 since it just went up, self-park, and walk back to the shed. There the three of us walked down to the entrance to the registration area where we found another line for the security x - rays. Read more