Explorer of the Seas Review

Relaxing on the Explorer of the Seas

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Explorer of the Seas
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bschoon60
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Oct 2011
Cabin: Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

My husband and I sailed on the October 27 sailing of the Explorer of the Seas heading to the Eastern Caribbean. This was our second time on Explorer, our 5th on RCCL and our 7th cruise overall. Our main purpose of this cruise, besides seeing the various ports, was to rest and relax and we certainly accomplished that goal.

We took a charter bus arranged by our travel company to the port. Embarkation went smoothly and took less than 45 minutes. We went up to the Windjammer for lunch and were in our room around 1:00 PM with our luggage arriving shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, it was raining, so the sail away party was moved indoors. The party was not nearly as fun as if it had been up on deck. Throughout the day we met some of our cruise critic roll call friends who were easily identified by a t-shirt that someone in our group designed.

We chose My Time Dining as we like to be flexible to let our days play out as well as be around to see the sunset. Prior to sailing we received several emails from RCCL asking us to pre-book our dining reservations. However, we thought that pre-booking our dining times would defeat the purpose of My Time Dining. When we got to the ship, we discovered that we would be enjoying "their time" dining as we had to take whatever times were available. We also had to share a table a few times when we prefer to have a table for two. One evening we had to wait over 30 minutes for our table with a reservation. This was such a change from our last sailing on Explorer, when we sat in the same area, with the same waiter, at whatever time we chose, and sat at a table for two every night. I can't be positive, but it seemed like there was less staff in the dining room and things seemed a bit chaotic at times. We still had a good dining experience and everything we ordered was of good quality. We also tried quite a few of the sugar free desserts along with sharing a dessert most nights.

Cabin Review

Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin D2
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