Well, the third RCI cruise for the Gottfried's is over. The suitcases vomited all over the laundry room and I'm drying the last load as I write. So much for fun.

The things we had heard about this cruise, both bad and good, were true. Yes, Explorer is showing her age. So? Don't we all? She was very clean and, barring some rust and bare wood balcony rails, had no problems. I think if I carried 4200 people to sea every week I'd be in much rougher shape than Explorer was!

The passengers were mostly from the Northeast U.S. urban areas. Like most "city folks", a lot of them were oblivious to people outside their circle and many of them were loud. If I were escaping the concrete jungle, I would probably be the same way. I'm a country girl who seldom interacts with more than a dozen people at a time and listens to quiet most days. It was a little overwhelming and crowded to me. Read more