I took my first ever cruise on Explorer last December and was instantly hooked. My wife took her last cruise on another line back in the 1980's and really never wanted to cruise again, til I came back with great stories about what a wonderful time I had.

We got to Bayonne around 10, and check in was quick and painless. We actually had a pretty high boarding number but not too many people were there yet so we were on board before 11. We beat the crowd to Windjammer and had a light lunch, which was standard buffet food but tasty and hot.

With some time to kill before our cabin (7278) was ready, I gave my wife a brief tour of the ship, and showed her some of the things she would want to see. By then our cabin was ready. Everything was clean, except for some dried spray on the balcony and doors, and there was a crew powerwashing that right after we got in. So that took care of that. Clean glass and a sparkling freshly washed balcony. Read more