This was our 5th cruise and 2nd on Royal Caribbean. I am in my mid 40s and we planned this cruise to celebrate my partner's 40th birthday along with 6 members of family and friends. 4 first time cruisers. DAY 1 MAY 9 - EMBARKATION: We all live in NJ, so the 2 hour ride to Cape Liberty was great compared to flying to Fla. I had read nightmares about this port, but it was THE BEST PORT EXPERIENCE EVER!! We arrived at Cape Liberty at around 12:30, pulled right in, had our luggage taken, parked the cars (PARKING $16 PER DAY PAID IN ADVANCE, CASH) and were literally WHISKED onto the ship in no time! We headed directly to Portofino Restaurant to make dining reservations for the Mystery Dinner Night (more about that later). Then on to the Windjammer Cafe/Island Grill for a beautiful lunch. STATEROOM: We were in an aft balcony on deck 8. The cabin was beautifully decorated with birthday decorations I had ordered on RC's website. It was spacious and comfortable. The sheets and duvet were of beautiful white cotton and bed was comfy. I asked our cabin steward (Aloma) for feather pillows which were immediately delivered to us. The balcony was the largest we ever had, overlooking the back of the ship. We had a table, 2 chairs and 2 lounge chairs. We felt vibration in the room, but got used to it after the first night. I would definitely book an aft balcony again.

At 3:00 there was a raffle in the Royal Promenade. The Promenade was designed after an actual street in Milan and is just incredible! SAILAWAY: After the Muster Drill we prepared for Sailaway. As the weather was rainy and cold, we found a covered spot on Deck 13 to celebrate the sailaway. Sailing under the Verazanno Bridge is not to be missed! At 7:00 the Ice Show tickets were available in the Promenade. We got there before 7:00 and there was already a line. We were able to get tickets for the time and day we wanted. Don't miss this opportunity to grab yours, as space is limited! MAIN DINING ROOM: We had 8:30 seating in the Dagama Dining Room with servers, Sherman and Michelle. The food in the dining room was delicious and the service great. We only had lunch one time in the dining room, which was also very good. They offered our 13 year old nephew a children's menu at dinner which he only ordered from on the first night. We mostly ate breakfast/lunch in the Windjammer which was always good with many selections. SAILAWAY PARADE: After dinner it was back to the Royal Promenade for an incredible parade. DAY 2 - AT SEA: Breakfast in the Windjammer was great. They had much to select from. After breakfast we played Bingo. The Activities Staff were great. Very upbeat and headed by Manager, Phil (Whoop, Whoop!). After losing at Bingo, I headed up to the Solarium to relax in the jacuzzi before lunch. JOHNNY ROCKETS: We had lunch at 2:00 in Johnny Rockets. There was no wait to get in. Cover charge was $4.95 and milkshakes and drinks cost extra. Burgers and onion rings were great, as well as the entertainment provided by the servers, and of course the Oreo Cookie Sundae (yummo)! We had lunch there twice during our cruise. CAPTAIN'S RECEPTION: Everyone looked beautiful in their formal attire tonight. We all met early at the Crown and Kettle Pub for the Captain's Reception. This was a great location for the event. They served complimentary champagne, mimosas and hors d'oeurves and they Captain welcomed us to the Explorer. PRODUCTION SHOW: After dinner and formal portraits, we saw the show, Fast Forward in the Palace Theater. As Simon Cowell would say, "it was like something you'd see on a cruise ship". It was enjoyable, but next time I'd skip it. DAY 3 - AT SEA: Finally, beautiful tropical weather. We were in the beautiful turquoise Caribbean Sea! Ate, ate and ate! Hung out by the pool and hottub most of the day. Took in a movie (Premonition) in the Screening Room and shopped in the Royal Promenade. Before dinner we enjoyed a PAST GUEST PARTY in the Mahoraja Lounge. They served complimentary cocktails and chocolate covered strawberries and we were welcomed back by the Captain and his Officers. They delivered RC hats to our stateroom as Past Guest gifts also. DAY 4 - ST. THOMAS: Woke up early and hit the GYM to use the treadmills. Had to work off some of the delicious food! Since we weren't arriving in St. Thomas until 1:00, we invited our whole crew up to our cabin for an arrival party. We ordered cheese and fruit trays and chocolate chip cookies from Room Service (right from our TV). The food arrived promptly. We had a nice party on our balcony as we sailed in to the beautiful port. Once in port we took an Open Air Taxi to Magen's Bay (cost $16 pp roundtrip + tip and $4 entry to beach pp). Magen's Bay is known as one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. We dipped in the sea and drank Pina Coladas on the beach. Great time!! We had earlier purchased tickets on the ship for the Skywriter in St. Thomas, which was supposed to stay open until 8pm, but closed at 5pm. Explorations Desk promptly refunded our money and apologized. CARIBBEAN DECK PARTY: After dinner we headed to the Pool Deck for a great Caribbean Party with music, dancing and of course food! There was an elaborate buffet set up near the pools. Great time..late night! DAY 5 - SAN JUAN: Beautiful Port with very interesting history and architecture. Half of our group went shopping and the other half site seeing. We were able to get Starbuck's which was great, as I was going through major Starbuck's withdrawal! We had a great time in San Juan. MYSTERY DINNER THEATER: We skipped the dining room tonight to take part in a special dinner they offer only once during the cruise. Mystery Dinner Theater is 49.50 pp and was a blast! It started out with a cocktail party in Dizzy's Jazz Lounge with champagne and hors d'oeuvres. We were introduced to the cast and of course one was murdered. We were then taken to PORTOFINO Restaurant to continue the evening with dinner. It was a fixed menu of wine, antipasto, soup, filet mignon or tiger shrimp and dessert. The show continues in between courses and you cast your vote at the end to guess "who dunnit"! (I'm not telling, so you'll have to check out this fun event)! The acting was very entertaining and the service superb. DAY 6 - LABADEE: Tender boats took us to this beautiful island. It was hot, hot, hot with beautiful beaches, bars, markets and a children's waterpark. The served complimentary lunch in this port, but I was too busy swimming and sunning to get to that. Our nephew (and some of the adults in our group) enjoyed the waterpark. 70s DISCO PARTY: After dinner there was a very entertaining party in the Promenade complete with The Hustle and Village People impersonators. It was much fun! THE CHAMBER DANCE CLUB: After the show we headed to 80s night in the club. We relived our youth and danced the night away to Madonna, Cindy Lauper, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and more. The DJ takes requests and it was just a real fun night and a great workout! DAY 7 - AT SEA: Hung out by the pool, bought some pictures in the Photo Gallery, ate and ate! ICE SHOW: Spectacular!! Do not miss! 2nd Formal Night with another great meal, only tonight we surprised our 40 year old with Birthday Cake which I had ordered days before at the Purser's Desk. The servers sang Happy Birthday and we all had a nice evening. DAY 8 - AT SEA: Our last day. Just relaxed, tied up loose ends and ate!! Dinner was nice, as the servers all performed after our farewell dinner. FAREWELL PARADE: Another great parade in the Promenade after dinner. We really enjoyed it. BACK TO NJ - DEBARKATION: This was a slow process. We pulled into port at 8am and didn't actually leave the ship until around 10:00. There were alot of passengers taking advantage of express walk off with their luggage. They were called first. Then they called luggage tags by color. We were with Platinum Members and had one of the first colors called. I assume some passengers probably didn't get off the ship until much later. Again, in Cape Liberty, luggage was organized and easy to find, we sailed through customs and were back to our cars in no time flat! Very impressive port!! HIGHLIGHTS:

SHIP - Explorer of the Seas is a beautiful ship. Massive compared to many others. You would never know you were on an 8 year old ship, as it has been kept up beautifully. Read more