Explorer of the Seas Review

Explorer of the Seas - Canada/New England

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Explorer of the Seas
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pvmkmyer
First Time Cruiser • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Aug 2007

Background: We are a married couple in our 50's. We traveled with our two adult daughters, who are 23 and 21. We have been on at least 12 cruises. This was not our first RCI cruise, but it has been at least 10 years since we sailed with this company. We planned this family vacation and chose this itinerary because no one in my family has been to this area (except me).

Embarkation: We arrived at Newark airport the day before and transferred to our hotel, the Grand Hyatt Jersey City. I got this hotel for $60 per room on Priceline and highly recommend it. The view alone is worth much more than I paid, with a spectacular view over lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The next day we left our hotel at around 11:30 and we were at the port in about 15 minutes. Embarkation was easy. The porter filled out the baggage tags for us, we completed the paperwork and pictures in about 10-15 minutes, and were directed to the waiting area to board our bus to the ship. My wife uses an electric scooter so we didn't have to wait for our numbers to be called, and we had very little wait. We were on board in less than 45 minutes from our arrival at the port, and went to the Windjammer Cafe for lunch -- along with seemingly everyone else.

Cabin: We had a balcony handicapped cabin on deck 7 and our girls had an inside directly across the hall(room 7301) which overlooked the central Promenade. This is a great inside room because it has a small sitting area in a bay window which overlooks the central atrium of the ship, so you don't get claustrophobic like your typical inside room. Our cabin was very large, about 50% larger than the standard balcony because it was handicapped equipped. I was disappointed with the balcony. As soon as we arrived I opened the door to the balcony and went out. There were paint chips on the floor and furniture which I had to dust off in order to sit down. The plexiglass which is between the railing and the floor was so filthy you could barely see through it, and it was never cleaned during the length of the cruise. The bathroom had some tiles that needed some work. Aside from that it was a good cabin, and actually had enough electric plugs. The bed is high enough so you can store the suitcases underneath--a nice touch. Unlike Princess, there is no fresh fruit delivered to your room each day. I suppose it could be if we had asked.

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