Explorer Review: July 3 VERY LONG - FINAL

Part 3 - Nassau and Summary.

We arrived in Nassau at about noon on Friday. Thanks to RCCL’s connection (registry) in Nassau, we were able to get docked and stay overnight. There were seven cruise ships in port most of the time we were there, including two RCCL ships. As you can imagine, the port of Nassau was hopping. We headed out to explore that afternoon and ate at the Iguana (something), a restaurant on the second level of a courtyard. Since we identified the owners as being Greek, we all enjoyed a gyro platter preceded by some conk chowder. Both were great. We did some shopping and returned to the ship. Again, seven full ship passenger loads made getting around town a bit crowded. That, combined with the fact that we’ve done Nassau many times before, made us happy to be on board most of the time. That evening after dinner and our regular stops in the casino and the Crown & Kettle we hit the comedy act. My daughter volunteered me during one portion so I was able to have the opportunity to be abused on stage in front of 1,200 of my closest cruise friends. After that we did the Quest. We had not done it previously. Maybe our expectations were too high from what we’ve read on these boards, maybe we were tired, maybe Steve-O just doesn’t come close to doing the job that Clo does. Whatever the reason, Quest was just ok. It had a few moments but not the hilarity we expected.

I realize that I’ve focused mainly on the less-than-great portions of the cruise. So, briefly, here are some of the really outstanding parts:

Clo – did a really great job hosting, ad-libbing, explaining our itinerary changes, the hurricane. Overall, just a really fine cruise director.

Fernando and the Crown & Kettle – As mentioned earlier. These guys are fabulous, don’t miss them.

The Captain – Youngest in the RCCL fleet from Argentina. Did a marvelous job keeping us informed and safe. Can’t say enough about him and his crew.

Opening night comedy act (sorry, can’t remember the guy’s name right now) – The guy was fabulous and very funny. If you want to know his name I can get it for you.

Johnny Rockets – Again, I can’t believe I’m raving about JR’s but they were really good.

Charle, our waiter – Had activities each night for the kids, a great attitude and was always there to serve.

Kenan, our headwaiter – On our last cruise we never even met our headwaiter. This cruise he stopped by each and every evening to exchange pleasantries, see how our day had gone, etc. Very nice job and much appreciate.

Ceren, cocktail waitress in the Casino – Always there ready to get us a drink, or not. Very pleasant and very efficient…much appreciated.

Saturday, our last day of the cruise, we headed over to the Atlantis. Even though we’ve stayed there several times we haven’t been there in several years. Well, it hasn’t changed. The “digs” are still fun so we toured them. We used the beach for an hour or so but were ready to get back to the ship by mid-afternoon. A friend at the blackjack table that evening summarized Atlantis fairly well I thought. He said it was overcrowded, overpriced, over-everything…..basically, a zoo. I’m sure it had much to do with the fact that we were only day-guests and that so many ships were in port but we agreed, it was a zoo. We met a nice family in the cab on the way over. They hadn’t brought enough money to do some of the activities so I gave them $100. Turns out they had kids near my kids ages. Wish we’d have met them earlier in the week. When we got back, Nancy (I think was her name), called immediately and came by to pay me back. Helps reinforce my trust in folks.

Surprisingly enough, after dinner Saturday night, my gang voted down the final show. I was somewhat disappointed and even more so after I used this extra time to give back some of my winnings from previous evenings in the Casino. We reunited with the kids and were forced to get packed so we could put our bags outside the door.

I’ve left out plenty. If you have specific questions please let me know. We love cruising and love Royal Caribbean. To say that we didn’t enjoy this cruise as much as our last one would be accurate. We missed snorkeling in Cozumel and the stingray experience in Cayman. The food has taken a turn for the worse. That being said, we still think a cruise vacation with Royal Caribbean cannot be beaten.

Thank you for taking the time to write this wonderful review.

By any chance did you go to the Champagne Bar? If so, is Heydar still there?

We've been on 15 cruises and The Explorer is our favorite ship.

Thank you so much for your review. I am considering sailing the Explorer next April and enjoyed your very honest write-up! I sailed on Navigator this past April and Radiance the year before. I really can't say enough about RCI and would sail a lot more frequently if I could just win the lottery! Thanks again.

Mrssully:

Did not spend time in the Champagne bar. Sounds like next time we should stop in.

karcruiser:

Same here, a bunch of $ and some more time on my hands and I'd probably cruise once a quarter (maybe once a month). :)

nice reviews.. enjoyed reading all 3 sections of it. can't imagine what it would be like to be divereted because of the hurricane.. any pictures?

http://www.mycruisepictures.com