Maybe I had unrealistic expectations of Royal Carribean based on an amazing cruise on Freedom of the Seas but I have to say that my trip on Explorer of the Seas wasn't nearly as good as my experience on Freedom of the Seas. Part of it was outside of the control of the ship. We hit really bad weather in Bermuda. It was rainy, windy and cold. But most of my issues were with the service on the ship. The staff at the desk wasn't overly helpful or friendly. There was no one to help with the internet which really was not easy to set up and didn't work correctly. The daily Cruise Compass didn't totally match the activities. For example, when we went to go dancing we found one night that there was a private party where there was supposed to be dancing. Another night two of the band didn't show up until 20 minutes after they were supposed to start for a 45 minute set. On the second day in Bermuda our tour was cancelled due to the weather but there was no message or announcement and we only found out when we got to the pier.
On the plus side, the entertainment was amazing. The singers and dancers were some of the best I've seen on a ship. The ice skaters were really good as well. There were a lot of activities. The art auctioneer was very interesting. The food was good. The cabin was nice. And the layout on the ship made it easy to get around.
