Wash your frickin hands people! Before I talk about the cruise, there was an outbreak of Norovirus on this sailing which can be largely prevented if people washed their hands frequently, but clearly a lot of people don't believe in basic hygiene. Before the outbreak I heard one woman complaining about having to wash her hands when entering the Windjammer buffet because "she washed them before leaving the cabin" - do you think she may have touched a few surfaces between the cabin and the Windjammer? I saw another person go from the stall in the mens room right out the door to the pool deck. You think with all the constant reminders to wash your hands and what we learned from COVID people would be more aware of simple, effective hygiene, but I guess not. Royal Caribbean was very good about cleaning high touch surfaces before the outbreak (and even more so afterward) but if people are not going to take personal responsibility for their actions, there is not much they can do to reduce the risk entirely.

Anyway, this was a great cruise and went to a lot of ports that would be hard to get to other than on a cruise ship. I have been on the Explorer of the Seas twice before and like the ship. It is a good balance between a smaller sized ship but with some of the bells and whistles of larger ships (Flow Rider, water slides, etc.).

Was in a Junior Suite and our cabin steward was excellent - room was always tidy and well stocked with coffee maker pods for our morning caffeine fix. Room servicing was twice a day for the suites which I tend to like as it does make the return to the room after exploring or coming back from dinner a bit more special. Wished they would get rid of tubs and have shower stalls instead - find them very slippery and can be challenging at any age to get in and out of. Read more