Explorer of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Overall I would say the theme of our cruise was underwhelmed. I have been on over 20 cruises with my family and friends and this was the first time I would rate one was just meh, if this cruse had a color it would be beige. Nothing went terribly wrong, nothing was amazing. We sailed out of the port of Seattle, which was the best organized easiest port I have every had the pleasure of sailing out of. Like many of the sailing on this ship to Alaska we missed out on the Tracy Arm portion and did not get to enjoy any glaciers as advertised. This seems to be an ongoing issue with this ship/captain in the region and I feel like it needs to be addressed by the cruise line. If a large number of sailings are being impacted they need to adjust the itinerary rather than having so many sailings being impacted.
The Pros
The ship was very large yet never felt really crowded outside of a few isolated incidents in the public shopping area.
Cabin Review
Spacious Ocean View Balcony
The cabin size was very nice, the layout was perfect (the beds align nicely with the sliding doors providing a beautiful view while relaxing or lounging), although there is not coffee table in the room which made room service challenging.
The decor was very dated (I overhead a few passengers commenting that the cabins and hallways looks like they belonged on an episode of the Golden Girls and I have to agree).
The cabin itself was in rougher shape than we are used to. There was a metal bar in the closet that once upon a time had been covered in a braided material, most of the material was gone leaving a semi sharp piece of exposed rusted metal (this was true for all 3 cabins we had booked, 2 balcony and 1 inside). The shower had a good amount of mildew.
Port Reviews
Seattle
Seattle was a great city to go in and out of. The port was great and one of the easiest and fastest embarkations we have ever experienced.