Got back last week from yet another fantastic cruise on the Explorer, a five nighter to Bermuda. The only real downside was getting to the port. The Bayonne bridge is closed on weekends for construction so I decided to cut through Manhattan. Huge mistake. I figured that Saturday morning traffic wouldn't be bad but I forgot one thing-NYC has parades nearly every weekend and it's a nightmare trying to find your way around them. I would recommend taking the GWB and bypassing Manhattan.
Once we finally got there, we did have to wait through a long line of cars to drop off our luggage with the porters, took about 30 minutes. After we parked however, and things were in the hands of Royal, things rolled right along. From the time we parked to the time we boarded was under 15 minutes. And one minor advantage to the long delay getting to the ship was that we had immediate access to our stateroom.
I booked an aft corner stateroom-9390, and had ordered decoration since we were celebrating my wife's birthday and out anniversary. The decorations were nicely done. The cabin itself is a good one. It's a little wider than the other balconies I've been in, and the balcony itself is also a bit bigger. It's got a bit of a funny layout because the railing is canted inward, which takes away a bit of standing room but is fine to stretch your legs under in the lounger.
It's a little wider than the other balconies I've been in, and the balcony itself is also a bit bigger. It's got a bit of a funny layout because the railing is canted inward, which takes away a bit of standing room but is fine to stretch your legs under in the lounger. I'm actually booked in the mirror cabin (9690) on the port side in December