Last minute cruise from the local port Seattle to Astoria to San Francisco to Victoria Island, got a good discount . This is our third cruise on three different cruise line. We’ve been on Holland and Princess on Alaska and Mexico destinations. PROs: By far the best thing about the cruise was the Great shows, incrideble they have an ice show. Lots of different activities. Rooms are clean and our States Room attendant was pleasant. Johnny Rockets makes great burgers, fries, onion rings and shakes. CONs: ice rink only available twice the whole trip. Food was extremely disappointing; lunch and dinner buffet was subpar, the complimentary cafe has school grade cafeteria cardboard pizza, the speciality steakhouse steaks were obviously frozen steaks. The complimentary dining is average, had a couple decent dishes. Johnny Rockets cost 10 bucks. Complimentary foods are very limited on this cruise. There’s an eight dollar room service fees. Read Less

This was our second cruise with Royal Caribbean. We chose Explorer of the Seas because of the pacific coast itenerary. It was just my husband and myself. Our previous cruise had been on the Oasis of the Seas so the Explorer was much smaller compared to the Oasis. We had priority boarding so check in was a breeze. We had an inside room. It was small but adequate. I was apprehensive about an interior room but it worked out well for two people and since this was a colder weather cruise I don’t think we would have made much use of a balcony. We ate breakfast and lunch in the Windjammer and every day and the food was very good and had a great selection. We ate in the main dining room for supper and enjoyed the food there too. We had the late seating. I think we would pick the choose the My Time dining next time. The Royal Promanade seemed much more crowded than on the Oasis. Even though Oasis has a much larger number of people on board there is more space to spread out. The pools and hot tubs looked nice but it was so chilly few people were using them. We used the fitness center twice and found it to be in good condition and had a great view. We really enjoyed trivia in Schooner Bar and the drinks there. First port was Astoria, OR. It is a quaint seaside town. We enjoyed the Maritime museum. I went out shopping and there are a lot of shops selling wares made by local aritisans. There Are also 3 or 4 craft breweries if that is your thing. We then spent two days in San Francisco which we enjoyed this stop the most. Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge was amazing! We booked one excursion through the ship for Muir Woods which is an amazing place. The only downside of this excursion is it stops in Sausalito for a little over an hour on the way back. We would have rather gone back to San Francisco not much in Sausalito to see other than shopping. We booked our own tour to Alcatraz which was very interesting. Our next port was Victoria, B C. This is a very pretty and clean city. We just walked around there and did not take any tours. I was glad we did not take the kids on this cruise because it is definitely more adult oriented and they would not have enjoyed the pool or flow rider do to the colder temps. I would recommend this cruise to adults who would like to see this part of the world. Read Less

This cruise was a close cruise for a Western Washington resident. Not too many cruises (3) but like the experience. The ship while a little old is in great shape and constantly being cleaned, etc. Wanted to try out interior cabin with a virtual balcony. The virtual balcony really expanded the utility of the interior room. Even though camera was on the opposite side of the ship, it was easy to adjust perspective. Great food in dining room, waiters Nitish and Jeffrey were exceptional. Windjammer was standard buffet food with wide variety, some good and some not so good. We tried to get in front of the line to get selection before other diners had a chance to potentiall leave germs, etc. Shows were standard fare, good dancers, singers, magician and comedian. Cruise director kept things moving, especially the tribute to British Rockers. Don't know how he maintains the high energy level. All of the crew members were pleasant and welcoming. Service was great. Getting on and off the ship was a breeze. Really enjoyed the soft serve ice cream machine by the pool. Was too windy and cool when in transit but no rain so success for the Pacific Northwest. Read Less

Our primary reason for taking this cruise was to see the ship. At 137,000 tons, this is the largest ship we have ever sailed on and it has some features we have never seen before. We have visited the ports many times so they were not a factor. We also feel that the entertainment on Royal Caribbean is usually superior to other cruise lines and hoped to see some good shows. If you ever consider taking a cruise out of Seattle and need to fly there, think again. The Seattle airport has to be one of the worst. We flew in the night before the cruise and had the hotel shuttle deliver us back to the airport the next morning to catch the Royal Caribbean bus to the ship. There was absolutely nobody in the airport to give us any directions to the cruise bus. We finally found a group of construction workers and they told us we had to go up several flights, cross a bridge to another part of the airport, walk through the parking garage, go back down to a lower floor and walk about half a mile to the place where the buses were parked. We started walking through the deserted airport and luckily came across a person with a red vest. She turned out to be a representative for Royal Caribbean and told us where to get the bus. The waiting area was outside in a very windy and cold area. We had to wait there for about an hour before the bus finally came to take us to the ship. The ride to the ship takes about 45 minutes and was comfortable. Upon arrival, we were escorted to the check in area and that process went very smoothly. We then boarded the ship and went to an upper deck to wait for the restaurant to open for lunch. Our cabin was ready at 1 o’clock and we then went down to inspect it and unpack our carry-on bags. CABIN We had cabin 8620 on deck 8. It was across the hall from the elevators and the computer room. It was located at the top of a hump in the side of the ship, so we had unobstructed views to the front or back of the ship. It was also a quick elevator ride to the Windjammer restaurant on deck 11 and the main dining room on deck 3. It was a bit of a walk to the other elevators that took us to the show room. I was surprised that a ship this large had only two elevator towers. We often had to wait quite a long time for an elevator. We were very pleased with the location of this cabin. The cabin was clean and comfortable with a king size bed, vanity with many drawers and lots of cabinet space above. The closet was adequate. The night stands were very small with only one drawer. Lamps were mounted on the wall behind the bed and had two lights; one for general lighting and one for reading. There was a small couch and table. The bath had a fully enclosed shower with sliding doors to enclose it. This feature is much better than a shower curtain. Our cabin steward did a very good job. FOOD The main restaurant had fair to good food. The waiters were all excellent. We had My Time diniing and that part of the main restaurant seemed totally disorganized the first night. It got better on later nights. The Windjammer restaurant on deck 11 was usually crowded and the food was usually somewhat tasteless compared to the main restaurant. They also had a problem keeping plates and utensils available. We have had unpleasant experiences at extra restaurants on various ships, so avoided them on this cruise. The prices also seemed quite high as compared to other cruise lines. Chops was $39.00. Giovanni’s was $30, Johnny Rockets was $9.95 and room service was $7.95. This was the first time we saw a charge for room service on any of our 50 cruises. We thought this charge was way out of line. ENTERTAINMENT We usually choose Royal Caribbean for the entertainment. On past cruses, it far exceeded what is offered by other cruise lines. That was NOT true on this cruise. The production shows were ho-hum. One of the two comedians was good. The second one was poor. A magician was excellent. One night there was only a movie in the main showroom. The ship has an ice rink and there was an excellent show there one afternoon. We did not attend any of the bar shows, but noticed large crowds there as we walked past. There seemed to be fewer activities offered than on other cruises. We went to see the Flowrider and Rock Climbing Wall a couple of times. The Flowrider had only three people trying it and we never saw anyone on the wall. The wind and cool temperatures may have affected the use of these facilities. We played miniature golf one night and only one other couple was using the course. SHOPS There is a promenade on deck 5 with a number of large shops. There is also a café that is open 24 hours with coffee and snacks. It is the only place to get coffee in the early morning. Read Less

Overall the pacific coastal cruise was lovely and at a good price. First things that could be improved. Avoid cabin 9221 as the ceiling was squeaky. Maintence twice tried to fix, but couldn't locate source of problem. We stuffed towels between the ceiling and the in room desk/vanity. Didn't fix the issue but helped a bit. When in rough seas you will hear loud intermittent squaks from the ceiling. The rougher the seas the worse it gets. I didn't try the hot tubs as the water was murky (not clear). A clean hot tub should have clear water when the jets are not on. The greeters at the windjammer (buffet) were animated and chanting phrases more in line with a disney cruise..like .how you would talk to your children. ("Wash-ie wash-ie") Nice amentities - the specialty restaurants offered great food amd service. We tried all 3. Izumi had exceptional views and cozy vibe. Chops offered best steaks hands down -- get the filet. Giovanni's offered a great sampling of many treats. The prominade (deck 5) had a lovely snack spot with free coffee, tea. And treats. It was nice to see the ship now offers gluten free and lactose free options...just ask for them. Read Less

My daughter, 2 grandsons (20 months and 5 years), and I took a 4 night Royal Caribbean cruise from Sept 17-21 with stops in Nanaimo and Victoria. We stayed in 2 inside cabins, which were next door to each other. I have seen hundreds of commercials where RCI promotes its cruise line as family friendly but RCI did not meet our expectations for the following reasons: a) We did not expect activities for the 20 month old, but there were few activities a 5 year old could do. We wanted to experience the cruise with the children and not offload them to Ocean Adventures, which is a drop off daycare-like activity. The RCL website says there is a "kids aqua park" on the Explorer of the Seas. There was absolutely no "aqua park"--only 5 foot deep pools, a depth that would make our 5 year old uncomfortable. There was nothing a 20 month old could enjoy such as a splash pad or even a hose with running water. The rock wall is limited to kids 6+, which we knew in advance. Why isn’t there a mini-rock wall for smaller kids too? The wave runner was not applicable. The kids have had a better time at a playground at our local park. The arcade was grossly overpriced and almost always empty. $10 bought us about 8 minutes of entertainment. You could buy 1 life on a Mario-type game for $1.50. (That was 2 seconds of my life I’ll never get back.) b) We did not get information about the Ocean Adventure schedules in our staterooms and only stumbled upon them at the front office while exploring the ship. c) The ice show was great and the 5 year old loved it and wanted to go to more shows. The earliest evening show was at 8:30 and he loved the “fast forward” song and dance show but was unable to stay awake until the end. On the second night, we made a big deal about a date with Mommy for the magic show and they arrived early for a front row seat. After my 5 year old made a sound, the magician/comedian made a joke along the lines, “Hey kid, I hear you. We’re in international waters so I could cut you into pieces and throw you overboard and nobody would know.” This threat was hurled at a small sensitive child in the front row who was eager for a magic show and made the mistake of making one short sound. I complained to the activities director who apologized and said he would "talk" to the performer, Leo Ward. Mr. Ward is a seasoned professional who should know better than to make such a treat against a small child even as a joke. The audience did not laugh and the attendees I spoke with thought the incident was horrible. Doesn't RCL contracts with performers provide specifications on content? Are there no consequences for such an outrageous act beyond a "chat" with the activities director? There were also many adult elements to the comedy including sexual innuendo, sexual orientation, and simulated drug use. Needless to say, this awful event ruined the rest of our cruise. d) There was no parade (as advertised) and we could not find the 3D movie theater the RCL sales rep told us about. Movies shown during the day in the large theater were rated pg13. While there was a kids channel on the cabin TV, movie rentals cost $12. Open ice skating was limited to a 2 1/2 hour window during the dinner hour on the last day that also conflicted with the evening show. These were 3 things we were looking forward to because they were something the 5 year old could enjoy. I understand we were on a 4 day cruise, but there should have been some disclosure that these activities would not be included or severely curtailed with our cruise so we could have considered that when making our purchase decision. e) I found a small white pill on the floor of my stateroom that was left by the prior occupant. We looked it up and believe it was a medication for high blood pressure and A-fib. If the 20 month old had accidentally ingested this medication and we could have had a medical emergency without knowing the cause. Apart from the family UN-friendly aspect of the cruise, we felt the dining service was much poorer than our prior cruising experiences where we were always used to “wow” service. We dined in the Sapphire room for 4 evenings and the majority of the time: 1) there was no assistance being seated beyond a point to the table, 2) we were not given a child’s menu on the first night and the kids did not like the food we had to order from the adult menu 3) we were not offered a beverage beyond water, 4) we had to ask for a high chair, and 5) beer was served in an unopened can delivered with an empty glass. Staff was responsive when we made a request, but we found it odd that we had to ask for basics such as a high chair, kids menus, beverages and even open beverages. We dined 3 times in the Windjammer at 3 different times of day and it was always crowded. There were no trays so it was very difficult to manage both kids and multiple plates. There were no clean tables available, so we had to sit at dirty tables and look for staff to clean the table and to provide a high chair. We were offered a beverage only once. One time my plate and beverage were removed from the table while I was picking up a dessert. Overall, it was a frustrating, crowded and noisy experience. What’s up with the shortage of spoons? Silverware wraps in the Windjammer and on the breakfast trays did not have spoons. My daughter’s breakfast tray never included a spoon. She called for 2 spoons and was brought 1. So she called again and asked for 8 spoons and kept a stash in a drawer because her trays never had spoons for yogurt and cereal for the entire cruise. I asked for butter one day and it was never delivered. I also want to mention that there was always at least 2 substitutions of items on my breakfast tray, even when I wrote, “no substitutions please.” I guess there were no blueberry muffins or granola in the pantry. We are experienced cruisers, but it has been several years since our last cruise. We were surprised and disappointed by the number and size of all the upcharges. Room service is free only for a continental (not a hot) breakfast. Otherwise room service costs $8 plus a gratuity. Movies on the TV were $12. Brunch was an upcharge. Lobster was a huge upcharge and there was no lobster or other special food on formal night. If there was a special food event, we missed it. A glass of wine was around $14-15 plus gratuity. A burger joint near the pool area was an upcharge. I would not have minded all the upcharges so much, but the prices felt excessive. We did enjoy the live shows with the exception of the magician/insult comic. The music and dancing were relatively modern and lively. I loved the 3 tenors from Vegas. The shows were at 8:30 and 10:15. The 8:30 show was always very crowded and you needed to be there early to get a good seat. The later show was barely half full with plenty of good seats. It was difficult to get an earlier dining time that did not conflict with going to the early show. We would have preferred an earlier show time option. On the last night, there were 6:30 and 8:30 shows. We had not noticed the schedule change and it would have been helpful if it had been announced by the activity director at the show on the previous night. There were also a number of other small live music venues throughout the ship. The cabins were comfortable and quiet. The pullman bed worked well for the 5 year old and a pack-n-play was provided for the 20 month old. Read Less

This cruise was offered by a travel agent (he had 1100 customers on board) for a great price! It was a quick getaway that we could drive to the port. I was amazed at how CHEAP RCCL has become. In the cabin no chocolates on pillows, no pen and tablet on the desk, small scratchy sandpaper towels, no lotion in the bathroom (just shampoo in a dispenser in the shower), on demand movies offered for free by Princess were $12 to view!!! In the dining room we were offered one roll from a tray and never we offered more. A strict accounting was done with the thin, rough pool towels that no one would ever want to steal. On Princess there are towel bins everywhere to help ourselves. When returning to the ship after a day on the beach there are big bins to deposit sandy, salty towels. Entertainment was quite good except we didn't care for the Production Show. Not nearly as good as it should be. Ice Skating show was excellent. Public areas looked fine but the cabins are showing their age. A little touch-up paint could help some. Crew were friendly and helpful. Promenade cafe was the only 24 hour food venue with poor offerings. Their sandwiches had one VERY thin piece of meat and were not worth taking. We were disappointed there was NO parade during our cruise! Nanaimo offered MANY volunteers greeting and offering maps, brochures, and a free shuttle. Victoria was a great walk along the waterfront. Will NOT return to RCCL!!! Read Less

The wife and I booked this cruise about a year out, long before our son moved up to Tacoma with his girlfriend for a great career last March. Once we told them about our cruise plans her parents and the kids joined us. Embarkation was very easy arriving around 10:30am we were on board by eleven. We toured the ship a bit then down to check on our "first night done right" booking. We had been told that a restaurant would be assigned to our group but it was not.....we booked Chops at 7:15pm. Finding some lunch in windjammer we went on exploring the Explorer. She is in pretty good shape considering her age....all pools and hot tubs worked and were heated well. Our cabins (we all got interiors) were also in good shape, however the beds are quite firm as everyone says.....they were replacing the bed foundations all week. I will say RCI could improve their bedding game here, while the linens are great the beds suck as compared to the new Princess dream beds. We loved the brewed coffee always available down in the cafe all day long and free, Princess makes you pay for it and wait in line. Dinner at Chops was very good, though having eaten there four years ago on the Oasis I can see where quality and/or quantity has gone down. Meals in the dining room were good, not great.....service was good and we tried to get the same table each night but that did not work out. The last night we were put at another area and table which was not very good, issues like being charged full bottle price for glasses of wine. The entertainment was good not great......but we managed to find things to do each night. The casino was not very generous and nobody we spoke with had won on machines. I for one enjoyed the smoking lounge that I hear they are removing soon. Overall it was a great cruise however we'll be using Princess going forward as we're close to elite status there. Debarkation was a breeze we were off the ship by 7:30am carry off. Read Less

Have traveled with Celebrity (Solstice) and Holland America..First Cruise for awhile and booked with a friend. She cancelled, thank goodness as the inside Cabin was soo small, The cost of this cruise was low priced though, and through Travel with Alan group. Spoke to some cruisers who paid $199.00 (for two) the same cabin and cruise through Royal Caribbean lines, and another woman who paid 600.00 through Costco. The embarkation was quite easy and friendly people. Then the fire drill outside. I seemed to mix up the directions, as to where the restaurants were. I thought I was in the middle of the ship, and depending where the elevators started, your restaurant could be at the other end of the ship (aft or forward) and then one had to walk outside by the pool to get there. Walk thru the inside to take another elevator! Advice. Dining: 1. If you like buffets, go to the windjammer. (I saw undercooked bacon, and not palatable food, bluntly dogfood) Did not eat in the dining room, as I read previous reviews, not great, other people said it was average and below. Promenade restaurant open all the time. Bread could be alittle fresher, other than that, handy, nice people and manager there! Luckily I chose the package of specialty restaurants. Purchased on ship from Smiling "Raul"! (same waiter in Chops! ) Very reasonably priced too. Save almost half with the packages. One is for 4 nights, another for 3 nights. First was the Italian Giovanni's Restaurant. Excellent food and service. Waiters name was EUTEMIO, even tho they were very busy, he was attentive and helpful! I like separate courses, as in Italy. Caprice Salad, pasta(crepe with warm Mozzarella, spinach with sauce of chunky tomato) then Lamb, nice presentation 3 perfectly cook lamb chops. Desert was to go! Mixture of 5, including panna Cotta! Great presentation on plates being served. No.2: Japanese IZUMI Asian Cuisine, Spider Roll, Seafood cooked on hotplate, Saki and a lovely plate of 3 fried icecream rounds, mango, lime. The server was the best part JOHN CABRERA , always smiling, happy and helpful in suggestions. Also, very nice presentation of plates served. No.3: Chops, best reputation of all I was told. Our server RAUL, was gracious, superior in service, helpfulness, friendly, always smiling. Goat Cheese Salad, Shrimp Cocktail (large, fresh tasting) (friend loved Mushroom soup the sides were fresh asparagus, mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms,) and the very tender petite filet mignon . Desert a warm chocolate cake, similar to Chocolate Fondant/lava cake, vanilla ice cream, lace chocolate wafer floating on top. Superb. All plates, a beautiful presentation. A very positive organized restaurant crew. Sometimes saw same waiters in different areas and in different restaurants. As you can see from above, Foodie here writing. Dining ratings refer to Special restaurants! The Mixture of Entertainment and shows were pleasant enough. One complaint, from a DJ (Dizzy's?) who was self absorbed, into the only rap music he was playing. It seemed we totally bothered him with request to change the venue. Very few people were dancing at all. People in Guest Services were helpful and especially our man "Pratik Tamhankar" from India. A happy smiling young man ever soo talkative and helpful He needs to watch the series of Mozart on Netflix, main actor, he sounds just like him! Other girls there said they didnt want to be his girlfriend. The woman that worked in guest services with Pratik were very kind and helpful. Very sympathetic to a small lost boy on board. Nanimo, spent day with friend who lives there. High Tea at the Empress was a delight! Well worth the experience. Raining in Victoria. This is the first time cruising with Royal Caribbean. And it was a N.W. Pacific Cruise with many Northwest People. A mixture of dressed and not appropriately dressed people. I met some very nice, fun people. Not sure I would like to take a cruise for longer length of days on here, and overall it was quite a bargain for what people paid. As one person reported, 3 or more nights hotel in Seattle would cost more than this cruise! A nice adventure to Canada. Travel with Alan company, delivered lovely bottle of Washington State , Domaine Ste MICHELLE, Brut, 2 fluted glasses, on ice and Fruit Plate, upon arrival. Departure, a delicious box of Truffles! Thank you Travel with Alan, Lynnwood, Washington! And thank you to the Crew of Explorer of the seas. (Cabin info: Inside Cabin was soo small, only one chair. A definite ONE person Cabin! (If with a spouse it may be ok) A lighted scene of water with curtain! A friend said she did not have the lighted scene on wall, ha ha. Maybe the location of my cabin? Or a single person cabin? The cabin was clean, attendant Rolando Azucena was kind, polite always asking if I needed anything, which I did not. Except I had to ask someone for Lotion. The cabin is very dated compared to other ships, experienced. I found this on someones review which I thought was a perfect description of the Bath and Shower. "Beam me up Scotty, Star Trek Transporter (round with sliding doors) water pressure fine, slow with hot water. Inside cabins receive nothing but Towels which seemed strange. At times it felt like I was in our past Motorhome bedroom and bath. This was the only cabin available on this cruise when I booked with Travel with Alan group.) Read Less

We took this cruise to celebrate Dad’s 90th Birthday. What a blast! Dad had always wanted to take a cruise, but seemed impossible. First Mom never wanted to go. Then he had dialysis. We investigated dialysis at sea, and found it too expensive, but realized we could take a 3 day cruise between treatments, so that’s what we did. It was still challenging to make it all work. In addition to dialysis, dad has mobility issues and recently started on an oxygen concentrator. He loves to travel, but it isn’t easy! We had 7 people in four cabins, but I’m going to concentrate on how we dealt with dad’s mobility issues, what worked, and what didn’t. I haven’t seen many reviews that cover this in any depth. My sister drove Dad from his home in Idaho the day before, just after his treatment. We all met up at my other sister’s house in Seattle and boarded the ship as a group the following day. Parking wasn’t easy or cheap at the port, but we found the lot and managed to get dad on the shuttle bus. As far as I can tell, the shuttle was not wheelchair accessible, so if you can’t do at least some walking/stairs, this may not be an option for you. I’d call the port and ask. Embarkation went smoothly. RCI has a special check in for mobility impaired. Everyone associated with the port or cruise line noticed our matching t-shirts and made a big fuss about his birthday. He was thrilled! Once on board, we grabbed lunch and then headed to the room. We got rooms 9337 (accessible interior cabin) and 3 “large” balcony cabins across the hall. The accessible cabin was twice the size of a standard cabin and very nicely laid out. It became a default meeting location. I’m glad we got it because his wheelchair (we alternated between his walker and wheelchair) wouldn’t fit through a standard door. IMPORTANT! Speaking of doors: the closer on the accessible cabin was very tight. Dad could not open the door without help, and there was no way to prop it open. Keep this in mind if you need to be able to get in and out of the room without help! The bathroom door would stay in the open or closed position and did not cause any problems. There were call buttons on either side of the bed and lights on the wall within easy reach of the bed. There was enough space that Dad was able to get from his wheelchair or walker to the bed and out without assistance. We noticed an important issue though. Since Dad uses a CPAP and an O2 concentrator, we needed plugs by the bed. The only plugs we could find were on the desk. We addressed this by requesting an extension cord. It was provided promptly by Jaypee, our room steward, who was great throughout the whole trip. However, the cord was barely long enough to reach the right side of the bed. We added a small power strip, which gave him enough plugs and some USB charging ports. It worked, but the cord was laid across the middle of the room, so a longer cord would have been much better! The ship was easy to navigate, even in a wheelchair. There were very few places that dad couldn’t go. At the MDR, our waiter must have been briefed about dad and his birthday because he knew about it before we even mentioned it. Food and service was very good and we ate there every night. We enjoyed the sea day by watching the shows and relaxing. I especially liked the ice spectacular. We saw three shows in the main theatre. The magician on the last night was the best of the three. Read Less