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Don't believe the negative reviews about Explorer... We absolutely loved the ship and the staff. The suite we had was cabin 1654 on deck 10. It was spotless, roomy and beautiful views from the glass wall leading out to the spacious balcony. You could lay in bed and look out at the turquoise ocean and never get bored with the view. The roomed was cleaned twice a day and we enjoyed a full bathroom with a tub and a walk in closet. We had a full couch and arm chairs with plenty of space around. Our children were across the hall in an inside cabin and also had plenty of room and storage and the sitting area was confortable.
The ship was impressive with so much to do.. The promenade deck on 5 was a beautiful downtown area with shops, starbucks, cafes, bars and activities. with a cobblestone effect tile, lamp-posts and beautiful decor. It was hard to believe you were inside a ship. Johnny Rockets was a popular spot for our kids. The pools and solarium were great places to be with a crowd or to go off and sit quietly away from a crowd. So many choices. We loved the ice show spectacular and the large choice of sport activities from a full sized basketball court, roller blade track, mini golf,ice skating. rock climbing, water slide and so much more. You could find anything you wanted to do to keep yourself busy or go find a quiet nook whick there were many on this ship.
We were thrilled with the dining options We loved the windjammer on deck 11 that had thousands of options. From sushi to oriental food, to italian to cuts of prime rib and turkey to barbecue, you had a choice at every meal. We enjoyed the food. The dinners in the main dining room were a great time to catch up as a family with a 5 course meal. We loved our waiters who treated us like royalty.. My husband loved lobster nite and told them to keep it coming and they did. We were accommodated in anything we wanted. They were fun and we looked forward to our evenings. It was not just the food but the atmosphere. We chose my time dining which gave us the option of whenever we wanted to eat, it was available.. That worked well for us.
The island stops were phenomenal. We rented a jeep on St Maarten and traveled around the whole island in about 1 1/2 hours. We saw all the sights and ended at Great Bay to swim, rent jet skis and shop. The hertz rental car is right on the pier near the ship. Couldn't have been easier to pick up and drop off the jeep. We went to St Thomas. Hopped on a scenic cruise to St John and snorkeled at one of the worlds most beautiful beaches at Trunk Bay. It was more beautiful than we imagined. Puerto Rico was only a half day so we took a tour from a taxi service waiting outside the ship and it was only $10 and saw most of old san juan and the beaches further out. My husband and son stayed at the fort that was a beautiful historic site and my daughter and I shopped near by. We were all happy with our choices.
Labadee Haiti was quite a surprise. It had so much to choose from and everything was in walking distance or taking a tram that was readily available.
We went to Columbus Cove to swim. We rented beach floats and enjoyed the water. There was local merchants nearby and we bought some souvenirs and they bargain with you. The water and views were breathtaking. Our two kids rode the zip-line. That is worth the effort because it is the worlds longest zip-line over water. They said it was one of the most exciting things to do. Too many more things to mention. but each stop was nicer than we could imagine.
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