Embarkation: This was our second cruise, the first one was with Norwegian in June of 2007 so I may throw some comparisons in along the way. It started on Dec. 11, 2009 at Cape Liberty Cruise terminal, NJ. This was also our 16 year wedding anniversary. The weather was extremely cold and windy but it was no big deal since we are used to it living 3 hours away in Pennsylvania. My group consisted of: me, my wife and our 12 year old son. We arrived at the terminal, a porter took our luggage, then I parked the car ($171 for 9 night cruise- be prepared for that if you're parking there for the week). We were then instructed by our luggage handler where to proceed from there. Next was the metal detectors then check-in (I highly suggest doing online check-in before hand and having all your stuff ready in one of your coat pockets, this saves a lot of awkward frustration digging through your stuff for a few simple things). After that there is a waiting area with refreshments until your number card is called to get on a shuttle bus over to the ship. Some of the terminal people hustle you a little bit to keep moving like you are livestock and I thought they were kind of rude but then maybe they're just ticked off about 3,000 people leaving them behind for the carribean. Once on board we swept right past the people herded like cattle at the elivator and we went right up the steps to explore the ship. It was only about 12:30 pm so we figured we would let the buffet rush die down a little while we worked up an appetite doing a walk-about. What a magnificent ship!! You can see in some places that the ship is 10 years old but the crew is always keeping after it repairing and painting. Not to worry though, the captain said this ship is dry docking in January 2010 for many repairs and some upgrades. In Comparison the Explorer (138,000 tons) is much more spacious than the Norwegian 'Dawn' which I think is about 90,000 tons.

The Ship: As mentioned above, she is 138,000 tons. I would suggest walking or running shoes to be worn through out trip if you really want to explore this awesome floating city. Lucky for us, my son has researched the layout of this ship for months and was quite useful getting us around. With over 3,000 guests on board, you can still find many places on the ship to be by yourself and try not to think about going back to the cold in a week. The Royal Prominade in the center of the ship is amazing and really cool but I'd avoid the area when RC tries to herd everyone down there to spend money. Do your shopping at an off time when everyone is at the pool. Check out some of the observation areas at the front of the ship and at the aft if you can. It's where I always had my wake up coffee which by the way you can get at any time free at the Cafe Prominade (deck 5). We had an inside category N cabin. We didn't seem to mind it to much with 3 people much since quarters are quite small in these cheaper cabins yuo'll have to schedule your showers accordingly. But still, it is what it is, a place to sleep, get showered and get dressed. Be sure to check in on your spending account on your TV in your cabin, that's really convenient.

The staff: Royal Carribean International is truely international. The staff is from all around the world and many speak very little english, just have patience but every once in a while you'll bump into someone who works there whom you can actually chat with. That being said, in general they really do try to make you very comfortable and happy. Our cabin maid slipped up on a few few minor things during the week like didn't replace soap when we ran out and never put ice in ice bucket accept for first day. But then maybe we're just getting what we paid for- cheap cabin, cheap service (nothing to moan about). Our waiting staff on the other hand was top notch. Head waiter (materde) what ever you want to call him was some really tall French sounding guy, not sure what he really ever actually did but he stopped at our table every night to check in on things. Our waiter was Edgar and missed very few things. The first night I think they noticed that I didn't like the one scoop of icecream idea so the next night they gave me two scoops and I didn't ask. Assistant waiter was Luiz and never were we without water or rolls when he was around. Read more