We have been on 23 cruises over the past 20 years. This was our fourth cruise with RCI. We arrived at the terminal at around 11:00 to find two long lines of cars waiting to drop off their luggage, which took about 45 minutes. After paying for parking ($19/night), we were directed to a tent and got a number to board the bus which would take us to the ship. We were on the ship by 12:15 and a quick and seamless check-in. The port is under construction building a new terminal and while not ideal right now, it will be a wonderful option in the future. It was a pleasure not having to fly as the port is only 1-1/2 hours from our home.
We immediately went to lunch in the Windjammer, which was jammed! It was difficult finding seats for the 8 of us, but we managed. At 1:30, an announcement was made that cabins were now ready, so we dropped off our carry-ons and then explored the Explorer! Although old and scheduled for a dry dock rehab next year, I found the ship to be in nice condition, certainly nothing to be concerned about.
The food in the Main Dining Room was wonderful. I can't understand some of the complaints I read previously. We had My Time Dining and I had made reservations on line beforehand for the 8 of us. We ended up at the same table each night and with the sames servers, Imdat and Michael, were attentive, funny and caring of our requests.
Our cabin was larger than expected, but the balcony was smaller than I was accustomed to. Our cabin steward, Daniel, kept the cabin spotless although we did not see much of him.