Background Information: My mother and I took this vacation for celebration of graduating from middle school with high honor roll throughout the 3 years (of hell). I (15 years old) have previously sailed on HAL, Celebrity and Carnival coming to a total of 7 cruises. My mom has sailed on Costa, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian and HAL 12 times. This was our first RCCL cruise.

Embarkation: We live in upstate New York, so we were happy we didn't have to fly or travel too far to Bayonne, NJ. We took Yankee Trails World Travel to and from the dockyard. Only about 5 other people were on the bus on the way down, so it was very quiet and easy to take a nap. We arrived very early. It was quick and easy, less than 15 minutes. No line. Unfortunately we had to wait for about an hour before they allowed passengers to begin boarding.

Ship/Cabin Info: The ship is HUGE! 138,000 tons was by the the largest ship I have ever sailed on. It took a good 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other. I really liked the layout of the ship. Everything was relatively easy to get to, once you figured it out. Our cabin was in the very front of the ship, which was kind of a pain. We had an inside stateroom, which was plenty for two people. We were never in the cabin except for showers (sometimes we would shower in the gym/spa) and sleeping. Don't listen to people who say that the Explorer is worn out. It is a beautiful ship and is still in really good shape for its age. The crew is always cleaning and maintaining the ship. If you are having a good time, you aren't going to notice is the carpet has a small stain on it. It has no effect on your vacation either. The Royal Promenade was gorgeous and always nice to look at from any of the above decks. Read more