Explorer of the Seas Review

Wonderful Cruise out of Bayonne

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Explorer of the Seas
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meanyj
First Time Cruiser • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Apr 2009
Traveled with children

The cruise was more than we could have asked for. We were all excited and a little apprehensive to take this cruise... the first I have been on in over 20 years and the first for my husband and son. We were booked into a Grand Suite #1570, which was absolutely lovely. The cruise staff was wonderful. Our room steward, Mr. Brown, was fantastic, he was there with everything we asked for and most things that we didn't even know we wanted!! Every night a different animal appeared in our room, along with chocolate on our pillows. Every afternoon there was some type of "goodie" waiting in our suite prior to dinner.. a cheese and fruit platter, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, one night a bottle of champagne, a plate of canapes... always something. He was amazingly thoughtful and truly wonderful.

We ate in the 5th floor dining room, Columbus if i'm not mistaken. Our waiter Sevi and our assistant waiter was Max. They were both wonderful. Every evening Sevi would make his recommendations and almost every time he was right on! I had asked him early in the cruise if there would be any "Indian" night because I am a big fan of Indian Samosa. He told me that there would be and late afternoon of Samosa night, Sevi called our suite to make sure we were there and sent up a piping hot plate full of samosa. He also worked breakfast and lunch room service on alternating days and always told us when and where he would be serving in case we wanted anything. He always made sure that if we ordered room service (once for breakfast and several times for lunch), that we got everything we asked for and always a little extra.

One thing I must stress is about the Mystery Dinner Theater in Portofino Restaurant.... DON'T WASTE THE ADDITIONAL $50!!!! While the food was okay... it was definitely not what was expected from a high-end Italian restaurant. We were served New England Clam Chower (how Italian is that??) and the filet mignon which had a teriyaki sauce on it (Italian??) was cooked exactly as requested, had absolutely no taste whatsoever. We could have been chewing medium rare cardboard! We did make a complaint however we were never called or acknowledgement of the complaint was never made. The Mystery part was typically what you would expect on a cruise ship... rather overdone and predictable.

Cabin Review

Cabin Ste

Grand Suite #1570 was absolutely wonderful. The size of the bathroom was fantastic for a cruise ship... you could even have 2 people in there at the same time with room to spare! The space for clothing was wonderful - there were 3 of us and we all overpacked, but there was plenty of room. The balcony was fantastic. Watching as we pulled into a port in the morning and gonig out in the evening to watch the sunset was amazing.

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