Explorer of the Seas Review
Wonderful Way to Escape the Christmas Madness
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our 11th cruise and our 9th with Royal Caribbean. Overall we loved the cruise - the ship, the food, the itinerary,etc. But we have noticed a penny pinching shift with RCL the last few cruises. Which seems to mean less staff and lots of extra charges. We are booked on another cruise with RCL but will be looking at another line in the future. We've been trying to work out what is different and believe that RCL are focused on first time cruisers in the Australian market, not so much on repeat cruisers.
We definitely enjoyed Explorer more than Voyager - who had a LOT more kids on board last Christmas. As for Christmas, don't cruise with Royal if you're expecting big things. It's not a big deal. As for NYE, we didn't even try to brave the crowds in the promenade (which would have been overflowing because it was windy and the deck parties were cancelled).
Both embarkation and disembarkation we found to be very easy and efficient. OUr cabin (aft junior suite was lovely (larger than a normal junior suite with a huge balcony). It was always clean.
Cabin Review
Junior Suite
We had an aft facing junior suite on deck 10, which was amazing. We have a roof over our balcony so it was very protected from the sun and from other cruisers (we overlooked ALL the balconies below us). Being an aft balcony the cabins are a lot longer than normal junior suites, though a little narrower - which means the walk in closet, isn't really walk in - which is a small price to pay for such a big room. Would be great if sharing with kids (ours had their own virtual balcony room).
Port Reviews
Sydney (Australia)
Love Sydney. Live only 90mins away so have visited many times. Sailaway from the harbour is the best we've ever done (esp. great when you have a rear facing balcony).
Auckland
We had a private driver/guide to take to us to see the sights, including a lunch stop in Devonport. First time visit for my parents but we have been before.
Isle of Pines (New Caledonia)
A gorgeous island. We went snorkelling here and, though enjoyable, we were dissapointed with the lack of fish. I did hear others raving about it though, so maybe we've just been spoilt, having snorkelled in some pretty awesome places.
Noumea
The tour company we had booked with failed to show (luckily we hadn't paid any money) so we organised another private tour. We visited the markets (not that exciting, though hubby did a French crepe), and the aquarium (well worth the visit), a french pattisere (we enjoyed our treats down by the water) and finally the zoo (which was good but we were really rushed for time). Overall a great trip.