This was our second cruise aboard the Explorer of the Seas sailing from Cape Liberty. Our first experience was in late Apr 09 when we did a 13 day cruise to the Caribbean. This meant that the shows that we saw from the ship's singers, dancers and skaters were the same as we had seen in the spring; however, we still enjoyed them.

Arrival at the port from a hotel in Newark was relatively straight forward, given that we had a GPS. The route would otherwise have not been very easy. Processing at the cruise port was very straightforward. I unloaded luggage and my wife, parked the car and soon afterward joined her and the bags for a relatively efficient and speedy check in. A brief wait in the terminal and we were aboard the ship. We arrived about noon but had to wait until about 1:30 before our cabin was available. In the meantime, we took in a good lunch in the Windjammer Cafe.

Our cabin, 6692, was a mini suite on deck 6 at the stern. It was the first time we had been in a balcony cabin, let alone a mini-suite. We loved the cabin which had much more storage room and space than we were accustomed to or needed. The stern cabin on deck 6 had a very generous balcony but unlike other decks and the sides of the ship, our balcony did not overlook the water because it was set back from the stern and actually had a significant deck outside our balcony. That deck was accessed during the morning and afternoon by the ship's crew as a work platform and staging area. Read more