New Year's on the Explorer + An Added 5 Nights ~ 12/27 and 1/4 ~ My Diary

Hello Cruise Critic Family!!

Max's Mom and Dad (Jane and John) back from two weeks on the Explorer for New Year's Eve and the first week of January. For those of you that do not know us....we are retired 60 somethings.....Diamond Plus cruisers......been cruising with RCI for almost 30 years.

We were fresh off the Jewel in December.....home for about 10 days. Then off on a drive to Port Canaveral on Christmas Day. Whew! Normally we would not book cruises so close together but we had friends who live in Mexico City that booked the New Year's cruise and insisted that we go, too. So we bit the bullet and paid (to us) an exorbitant price for a Promenade cabin on this ship. Ugh.....been a while since we have been in such a small cabin.

I finished my Jewel review on Christmas Eve and we headed out for Florida on Christmas Day. We take two days to drive to Florida and we arrived in Cocoa Beach on the 26th.

Our friend, Steve, was already there at the Marriott.....he flew in from Mexico City a couple of days before. He recently broke his collarbone and had some serious surgery about 10 days before. Steve is from England and was planning to go there before the cruise, but because of the surgery.....he changed his plans and flew to Florida instead. His wife, Veronica, flew in on the 26th and we all met up there then.

We ate dinner at Grills that night. The new Terminal 1 is right next door, so we got a good look at it that night.....beautiful......totally empty...no cars or anything.

Boy.....that would change in about 12 hours!

Dinner at Grills was very good!

The Explorer docked at Terminal 1 at around 7 AM on the 27th.

They had to shuttle passengers over to Terminal 10....those that parked over there.

Since this was the first time that Terminal One was used......I knew that it would probably be a circus. I know better than to do this..but we booked the hotel shuttle to get us to the port. We booked the 11:30 shuttle from the Marriott. We usually prefer to take taxis to the port, but this "seemed" convenient. Normally....I think of a hotel shuttle as being a small bus or van. No.....these were huge busses that showed up.

Well....there were 5 ships in port this day and there was mass confusion everywhere. The bus driver and shuttle people were totally frayed!! Our bus had to go to .....not one.....but two Carnival ships before we got to the Explorer. Ugh!! Here we are trying to get our luggage on the bus.

Finally we were on the way to the port. Should have been a 5 minute drive! The traffic was unbelievable!!

To make a long story short......We sat on that bus for well over two and a half hours!!! The line to get into Terminal One was stretched out as far as you could see. I've never seen anything like this except for one time in Bayonne in a snow storm. We were all quite crazy by the time we got off that bus! We had a bottle of wine with us......opened it and passed it around. All I could say was "Serenity now!" If we couldn't get off the bus or do anything about it.......might as well start drinking.....right!?

Finally.....we could pull in and unload the bus. They would only do one at a time. No one seemed to know quite what to do. They lined the luggage up by deck.

More luggage shots:

We usually take a case of water with us with luggage tags, but the porter wouldn't touch it. Never had that happen before. So we dragged that with us into the terminal.

It was mid-afternoon by this time. I'm used to being on the ship by 11:30! Even with all that traffic mess.....once we got into the Terminal.....things went very quickly and smoothly....except for one problem. We had our water with us....it went through security.....they shook it up.....then took it over to a table. They asked to see my paperwork......I thought they were nicely going to send it up to our cabin like usual......but no.....they were taking it away. There was all kinds of water stacked up there in a bin. What!!??? Apparently water is evil now. John explained to them about the health need that he has because of his kidneys, but they just said "Sorry!" Then Officer Beverage Man comes over......we explain to him again about John's kidneys and the need for the water.....and he said "Prove it!" like we were making this up. More discussion occurred, but that's all I'm going to say about it. There was no getting that water on board. We've taken 11 other cruises THIS YEAR and had no problems taking water on board. I think that since this was a holiday sailing, they were just taking everything away since there were so many minors on board. People that came on the January 4th cruise had no problems. But they were not nice about it and made us feel like criminals.

So......forget about it.....on to the ship. The check in process was very quick. Hard to believe with that terrible back up in traffic. This was as smooth as I've ever seen. Had our Welcome Aboard picture made....and we were finally on board. I was starving......after all it was mid-afternoon!

We went to our cabins first and dropped off our carry on. We had Promenade Cabin 7583 and Steve and Veronica had a Grand Suite on Deck 10.....1252. Walking into our PR cabin was a shock......we haven't shared this small of a space in quite some time.......but we knew that going in, so there was no complaining (too much).

I DID like this little window seat.

Steve was complaining about his Grand Suite until he saw our cabin......then he shut up.

Here are a couple of pictures of their Suite:

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review as we too were on the NYE sailing. Have to agree with you about the traffic getting into the terminal. We shuttled over from the Hyatt at the Orlando Airport and while we didn't sit on our shuttle for nearly as long as you - we probably sat for a good hour. Worst I have ever seen anywhere. Check in however was a snap. (Sorry we missed the meet and mingle)

Here are some more pictures of their Grand Suite:

We finally made it to the Windjammer and had a good lunch. I must say that this Windjammer was excellent. Great food......lots of choices. I enjoyed eating here for lunch when we were on board. I just typically make a good salad and add whatever the carving of the day is for protein. This is a typical lunch plate for me:

After lunch.....we unpacked our carry ons and soon MY big suitcase came. This was when I found out that there were no drawers (to speak of) in this cabin!!! Oh my.....well I stuffed everything on to the shelves in the closet!

John's suitcase didn't come and didn't come and didn't come! Uh oh!!

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review as we too were on the NYE sailing. Have to agree with you about the traffic getting into the terminal. We shuttled over from the Hyatt at the Orlando Airport and while we didn't sit on our shuttle for nearly as long as you - we probably sat for a good hour. Worst I have ever seen anywhere. Check in however was a snap. (Sorry we missed the meet and mingle)

We didn't make the Meet and Mingle either. Couldn't be helped. Will explain later. I hate to miss those, though.

Hi Jane,

Good to read another review from you. We are off on the Jewel on Jan. 31 for two weeks. I know this is an Explorer review. That's a ship we are missing. We have sailed her often. Glad you had a good time once onboard. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Jane, so happy to see your review today. We're getting several inches of heavy snow, so a cruise is just what I need.

We've been in a GS on Explorer twice. Loved it!

Again, thanks for sharing your trips with us.

Love your reviews and the Explorer upon which we have taken multiple cruises over the years. Took a Quantum cruise over New Years and wished we were back on the Explorer. Boarding with the Wifi always going down at the new terminal was a nightmare and Dynamic Dining was a disaster! Hope they have gotten their act together because we are again cruising on Quantum on February. 2nd. Can't wait to read the rest of your review! Thank you!

Jan an excellent start to another review! I am sorry you had and issue! I might suggest when you and senior level cruisers suggest when you get your comment card to start Id that gives you more cleared issues and medical issues known, so bringing water isn't an issue. Sorta like what is going on the airport screening. Just a thought! It seems the upper level doesn't really cover stuff like this to make a better boarding experience. Royal wants to claim progressive they should start such a program.

Muster was at 5 and it wasn't too bad, but we had an outside station.

Sail away was nice although without a balcony cabin....it was a little hard for us to see!! I borrowed these pictures from Veronica!

Meanwhile.....back in our cabin......no suitcase. Our wonderful cabin steward, Patrick, searched for it to no avail. Guess I would have to go on a search down in the naughty room soon!

After I showered and dressed, I went down to Deck 1 to see if I could find it.....but it wasn't there. Lots of suitcases that they were holding for some reason or another....and they were pulling water out of one after the other!! It was like water was more important to find than alcohol! There were many others down there looking for their luggage as well. This was around 7 o'clock.

John was so stressed out from all the events of the day.....it was time for some alcohol.....so screw it all.....let's go to the Concierge Lounge and relax!! So when we get to the CL.....our cards don't work! Of course they don't!! We did get in, however, and Denzil, the wonderful Concierge, immediately made more cards for us. (the first of many!) Many others were having trouble as well and this was a problem the whole two weeks we were on board.

Anyway.....Denzil remembered us from a former cruise and he was very helpful all the time. Great guy!

We met Mason, the bartender, who was fabulous all week. The CL was never busy.....so we had a lot of time to chat with him.

Really enjoying your review!!😃

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Soon Steve and Veronica joined us and we had the first of many toasts to a fun cruise!

Salud!!

I was recognized by another Cruise Critic buddy and it was nice to meet her. I think she and her husband were on the previous couple of cruises. But I loved that she said hello and introduced herself!!

Things started to lighten up a bit after a couple of drinks. We had reservations in Portofino tonight.....but before dinner......John went back to the cabin to see if his suitcase was there......and it was!!! Thanks goodness!

Just a note about the Concierge Lounge. On this ship.....the suite guests are encouraged to go to Cloud Nine for cocktail hour. The lounge was never crowded at all this cruise. We usually sat in the same area every night. It was nice.

So....on to dinner at Portofino.

There was a pretty good crowd here on the first night. We had a nice table a and a good waiter. We had our usuals here beginning with Caesar salads.

My husbands card worked in the CL when it felt like it - mine always worked and since we always went together we just used mine.

Wasn't Mason a GEM! Loved him.

I love starting off the cruise in a specialty restaurant!

Veronica and I got the filet this evening. John got the T-bone. And Steve got the seafood skewer.

The food was excellent and we had wonderful service. I got the Tira Misu for dessert and we all had coffee.

Thank you all for stopping by and saying hello! It really keeps me going and I really appreciate it!

After dinner that first night we took a stroll on the Promenade and enjoyed the Christmas Tree.

I met Steve and Veronica later in the Cigar Lounge, then Veronica and I went to the casino where I promptly showed her how to lose money!

I went back to the cabin and we called it a night. What a start to a cruise. Could have been so much worse, though. In the words of Scarlett O'Hara......tomorrow is another day!

We were in Portofino's as well the first night at 8 - can't beat the BOGO! Our waiter was Errol - he was great! Tried to see if you caught us in one of your photos but no.

Sunday ~ December 28, 2014 ~ At Sea

Always love a day at sea! My daily routine is to get up early...head to the CL for some coffee (decaf) and some quiet time. I'm usually here by myself. I spend about 30 minutes here writing in my journal while John is showering and getting dressed.

We always....without fail....go to breakfast in the D/D+ special area of the Main Dining Room. On this ship.....it is located on Deck 3, starboard side. It is not marked.....you just have to know where it is. There were very few people here today and it was the same most all week. When we walked in this morning I noticed that they had these cheap chairs around the tables. That was odd.

Ning was one of the assistants here. She was very attentive and always made sure we had what we needed.

She was holding the menu up because every day when we go in for breakfast.....we do not need menus. We know exactly what we are going to order. That is something that they just can't get their heads around.....that we don't need menus. They think that is soooo funny!!

So after breakfast......are you ready for this!......I actually went to the gym!! Yes....I DO know where it is and what to do there!

I met John in Dizzy's later and we did some reading until it got too loud in there.

WJ for lunch around 1:30....not too crowded. Excellent again. After lunch I went down to the Promenade for some tea, more journal writing and people watching. Then back to the cabin for more reading.

Tonight was formal night. John and Steve brought their tuxes for this trip so we got all dressed up this evening.

Dinner was in the Main Dining Room tonight.....Deck 5......My Time Dining. We got a table right away. Eric was our waiter and Dwayne was our assistant waiter. They were wonderful and we asked to sit with them all week. No problem. We all enjoyed our dinner. John enjoys the cold soups, so he always gets those. He is also a picky eater and almost always requests and gets some iceberg lettuce with a chicken breast cut up on top. I enjoyed the salmon vignole salad as my entrée. Good stuff. Food porn for the evening:

Steve is such a disciplined eater. He almost always ate a fish entrée and never ordered dessert. Tonight he ordered a cheese/fruit plate for dessert.

Nice time at dinner tonight.

There was never a shortage of wine!

After dinner, we had a Christmas Tree picture made and strolled around a bit.

Always love a Max's Mom review! And these days there is no shortage of them! :)

Can't believe they confiscated your case of water...didn't they know they had VIPs on their hands? Hope the rest of your cruise was enjoyable, that was a rough start!

Great review, we are sailing on the explorer this year from the uk for 2 weeks. We have never been on a cruise so we do not know what to expect. I'm getting all my information from reviews like this and I thank you for that.

sean.

Next up .....a losing visit to the Casino.....for me. John won $11!

Last stop was the Cigar Lounge. Steve smokes cigars. It's very nice in there. But I have a hard time breathing, so we didn't stay long. We were there for just a short period of time and our clothes really smelled afterwards. We had to air those out a good bit.

Beautiful poinsettias were still everywhere.

We said good night and left Steve and Veronica in the Cigar Lounge. We went back to our little cabin and found this guy.

Always love a Max's Mom review! And these days there is no shortage of them! :)

 

Can't believe they confiscated your case of water...didn't they know they had VIPs on their hands? Hope the rest of your cruise was enjoyable, that was a rough start!

Ha Ha Ha!! Yes.....I should have identified myself as Max's Mom!! Don't you know who I am!!! Ha Ha!! I'm sure they would have handed over the water right then!

Great review, we are sailing on the explorer this year from the uk for 2 weeks. We have never been on a cruise so we do not know what to expect. I'm getting all my information from reviews like this and I thank you for that.

sean.

Sean.....you are in for a treat!! So glad that you are getting all kinds of info before you go. I know you'll have a wonderful time.