On a chilly, damp November 1st morning we left Baltimore on a 3 hour bus ride to Port Liberty, NJ for a 2 week repositioning cruise to the Caribbean on RCCL’s Explorer of the Seas. After arriving at the port, we sat on the bus for another hour as it worked its way through the backup until we could unload our luggage. The terminal was as cold and damp inside as it was outside; a cheerless place much like the staff directing us and checking us in. They recited their canned speeches without the slightest hint of friendliness or even a slight smile. Being accustomed to the friendliness and efficiency of the Baltimore cruise terminal, this was a shock. After boarding, we quickly found our room and had a brief lunch before the safety drill which was held outside on the deck in the cold with the wind blowing the rain on us. It took a while, but our bags eventually found their way to our room, one before dinner and one after. This was confusing because we had placed both of our bags, side by side, onto the same luggage pallet and expected that they would be delivered to our room together.

The first morning out, we were awakened by a cheerful announcement by the Captain informing us that a 30 to 40 foot rogue wave had hit the ship at 5 AM severely damaging one of the lifeboats, soaking the aft part of the ship from deck 4 downward and temporarily knocking the aft elevators out of service. The crew did a superb job dealing with the situation and the Captain kept us informed over the next few days. The Captain stated that he had never experienced a rogue wave in his 40 years at sea. (Wikipedia lists about 35 rogue waves that have hit ships in the century and a half since 1861, so it was a very rare occurrence.)

We settled into a routine of eating, having fun, eating, having more fun and eating, and then eating some more as the ship worked its way to the Caribbean. Our cabin attendant for stateroom 8483 was friendly, hard working and always available. The wait staff for table 629 in the Columbus dining room were probably the best we have had in more than a dozen cruises. The food was good and the desserts were excellent. Activities in general seemed limited and repeated often. (For example, some of the trivia contests during the second week actually repeated the previous week’s questions or songs exactly.) The cruise director was OK and his assistant (“Erky from Turkey”) was great. Entertainment the first week was very good. The second week did not seem as good – the singers and dancers turned in some nice shows, but the “special guest stars” were poor – a “mechanical” Elton John impersonator, a lackluster Led Zeppelin tribute band, and the worst “mentalist” that I have ever seen. Many passengers were seen abandoning the theater after the first few minutes of these shows. Read more