Explorer OTS Live review and Q&A

Naomi - following...hope the rest of the cruise goes great...

DH is feeling better:)

(for all of you following - we are the ones who had to cancel - I was the slot pull organizer - my husband became ill few days before we were to fly to Seattle to begin the cruise. And yes we had trip insurance. Never cruise without...)

HI cheryl,

Im glad that Paul is on the mend, and thank god for insurance.

Sylva

We are going to be on the explorer in November and was wondering what the prices of the specialty coffee was.

Ok final got a change to check this out,

It is a Starbucks on board and are as follows

flat white/Cappuccino/cafe late

tall (12oz) $4.50

Grande (16oz) $4.75

venti (20oz) $5.50

This is all in US dollars then i think you also add %18 gratuities :eek:

not being a coffee drink is looking good at these prices :D

Thank you for this, I'm loving it!

 

We are on Explorer in Feb and I can't wait! It will be my first time cruising with RCI.

 

A quick question about Izumi. Did you notice if they do any Teriyaki Chicken dishes?

Nothing i can remember, i did have a wonderful chicken entree, it was coated chicken pieces with a sweet chilli dipping sauce, a great sharing plate.

all i can say is go you will not be disappointed, the other three in my party are there as i type this doing the sushi class and then eating what they make for lunch (cost as $30 each) as i don't eat rice i didn't join them

but i do plan a lunch there soon to have some more of those dumplings :D

Being such a long cruise with so many Sea Days it all starts to feel like much of the same from day to day, i don't think this is a bad thing but if you don't enjoy spending sea days on board this is not the cruise for you.

There are seminars during the day on different things and the trivia is plentiful but if you are looking for a variation there is not much of one.

For me my day has got into a rhythm, again not a bad thing, i think on the whole you would be hard to please if you cant find something to do (or nothing) and there are a lot of private groups being organised for things like cards, crafts, games, interest groups and even gaming.

I have had the change to try all those things i never do on shorter cruises.

Ok final got a change to check this out,

 

It is a Starbucks on board and are as follows

 

flat white/Cappuccino/cafe late

 

tall (12oz) $4.50

Grande (16oz) $4.75

venti (20oz) $5.50

 

This is all in US dollars then i think you also add %18 gratuities :eek:

 

not being a coffee drink is looking good at these prices :D

Thank you for checking this out for us. The prices are not too bad.

Being such a long cruise with so many Sea Days it all starts to feel like much of the same from day to day, i don't think this is a bad thing but if you don't enjoy spending sea days on board this is not the cruise for you.

 

There are seminars during the day on different things and the trivia is plentiful but if you are looking for a variation there is not much of one.

 

For me my day has got into a rhythm, again not a bad thing, i think on the whole you would be hard to please if you cant find something to do (or nothing) and there are a lot of private groups being organised for things like cards, crafts, games, interest groups and even gaming.

 

I have had the change to try all those things i never do on shorter cruises.

Hi Naomi,

I am really enjoying your blog, thanks so much for going to the trouble to fill us in on the nitty gritty!

We are also boarding in the 2nd and I am wondering if you have any idea of the Internet price (just the basic) I see they are offering a pre purchase price of $11.+ per day, a saving of 30%. Usually there are offers on board.

Please only reply if and when you have time.

Continue to enjoy your wonderful cruise. Love the long transpacific cruises. So many wonderful sea days!!

Cheers Kris :D

Just found your review, thanks for all the work you are putting. We are just off Voyager and will be on explorer 14/2 with friends.

You mentioned the washer bag, does it wring the clothes out more then hand washing?

You seem to mention a few items at izumi that was not seafood, was there a bit of non seafood items? Our friends loved this on their last cruise.

Thanks again.

I'm having a issue uploading photos at the moment but will as soon as i can.

 

The internet is about what i thought it would be.

 

We have the Surf and Stream package for one device. There are four of us and we just make sure to log off once we are done so someone else can use it.

 

The speed for general internet surfing is fine, we have been about to work things like Facebook, cruise critic and download the newspaper fine.

 

yesterday we spoke to our daughter for her birthday and the first 10 minute was fine then dropped out not sure if it as our fault or hers but we didn't try to call back as we had really finished our convo anyway.

 

Surfing of youtube was possible but at the low quality of 144, still watchable with no buffering.

 

email has also been fine as has internet banking.

 

i have not been able yet to upload photos to CC.

 

I have been able to upload photos and video on Facebook.

 

I hope this is a good guide for those wanting to know what you can do with the internet speeds without getting all high tech (i never understand that anyway)

Thanks for the info on the internet. We're on this same cruise in Oct '17 and I was wondering about what internet package to buy. I just want it for email with the kids and sending some pictures to them. Any suggestions?

Teanne

Thanks for the review.

We will be doing the reverse of this cruise in April next year. I really enjoy the flow rider. You mentioned earlier that there were long lines.

I was expecting the flow rider to be less busy due to less kids being on the longer cruise.

Have you noticed approx. how many people are lined up? Has it been busy whenever you walk past?

Just found your review, thanks for all the work you are putting. We are just off Voyager and will be on explorer 14/2 with friends.

 

You mentioned the washer bag, does it wring the clothes out more then hand washing?

 

You seem to mention a few items at izumi that was not seafood, was there a bit of non seafood items? Our friends loved this on their last cruise.

 

Thanks again.

The Scrubber Bag does not wring your clothes out at all, just washes. I use the towels to wring my clothes out this seems to work well.

Im not a big fan of Prawns and don't eat Sushi but i found lots on the Izumi Menu, in fact i had me a little Dumpling lunch for one there the other day, Delish!!:D

Hi Naomi,

I am really enjoying your blog, thanks so much for going to the trouble to fill us in on the nitty gritty!

We are also boarding in the 2nd and I am wondering if you have any idea of the Internet price (just the basic) I see they are offering a pre purchase price of $11.+ per day, a saving of 30%. Usually there are offers on board.

Please only reply if and when you have time.

Continue to enjoy your wonderful cruise. Love the long transpacific cruises. So many wonderful sea days!!

Cheers Kris :D

We got ours before the cruise (AU$400 for 24days for one device surf and stream) so i have not looked at prices since we have been on board.

I do know that you must buy for a 24 hour period, you can no longer buy for say 60 minutes and use until they run out.

We got ours at the %30 off and i have been very impressed with the speed and contraction, only drops out a few times and the only thing i have not been able to do is upload photos here. I even stream things on youtube in my room to watch.

i will see what i can find out about on board prices and get back to you

Thanks for the info on the internet. We're on this same cruise in Oct '17 and I was wondering about what internet package to buy. I just want it for email with the kids and sending some pictures to them. Any suggestions?

Teanne

The internet is very good, i have the surf and stream package for the whole cruise pre purchased at %30 off, for what you want maybe just the surf and if you find it not good enough then upgrade.

Thanks for the review.

 

We will be doing the reverse of this cruise in April next year. I really enjoy the flow rider. You mentioned earlier that there were long lines.

 

I was expecting the flow rider to be less busy due to less kids being on the longer cruise.

 

Have you noticed approx. how many people are lined up? Has it been busy whenever you walk past?

There is always about 10-15 people waiting to have a turn on the flow rider and i noticed there is only about 3 hours a day that is not knee boards vs about 5 hours for stand up (many of which are paid lessons)

Im not sure on the wait times maybe 15-20 between turns, not sure if this is good or not compared to cruise with lots more kids or teenagers.

The entertainment has improved no end,

there has been a Impressionist from the US who was very fun and i laughed most of the way through the show.

Next was a Australian singer named Hayden Smith and his wife Alexia, they had good voices and where very talented.

tonight was a Aussie girl name Monique Montez again a very good voice and entertaining.

Lets hope the rest of the cruise continues like this.

The internet is very good, i have the surf and stream package for the whole cruise pre purchased at %30 off, for what you want maybe just the surf and if you find it not good enough then upgrade.

Thanks for the info. I will go ahead and signed up for the surf package only at the 30% off price.

Teanne

Hi there,

Have to say how much I have been enjoying reading and following your trip. I very much hope to do this itinerary in 2018.

If I may ask a question which to some of you may sound daft but,…anyway here goes.

What happened on the day you pass the international date line. I guess you wake up on the 22nd Oct and then go to bed only next day it is,.. still 22nd Oct? Is that right ?

Was there any significant event on the ship to mark this position?

Looking forward to reading about your trip to Vanuatu.

Thanks again and regards

Ron.

Hi there,

 

Have to say how much I have been enjoying reading and following your trip. I very much hope to do this itinerary in 2018.

 

If I may ask a question which to some of you may sound daft but,…anyway here goes.

 

What happened on the day you pass the international date line. I guess you wake up on the 22nd Oct and then go to bed only next day it is,.. still 22nd Oct? Is that right ?

Was there any significant event on the ship to mark this position?

 

Looking forward to reading about your trip to Vanuatu.

 

Thanks again and regards

Ron.

Not daft at all, good question!

Hi there,

 

Have to say how much I have been enjoying reading and following your trip. I very much hope to do this itinerary in 2018.

 

If I may ask a question which to some of you may sound daft but,…anyway here goes.

 

What happened on the day you pass the international date line. I guess you wake up on the 22nd Oct and then go to bed only next day it is,.. still 22nd Oct? Is that right ?

Was there any significant event on the ship to mark this position?

 

Looking forward to reading about your trip to Vanuatu.

 

Thanks again and regards

Ron.

We are booked on the same cruise in reverse, from Sydney to Seattle in 2018.

The itinerary seems to say that when we cross the International Date Line going east that we get to enjoy the same day all over again. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

I suppose you could lose a day going west?

every two days until Fiji you will been given a "extra" hour a night, so your clock goes back giving you an extra hour of sleep (or drinking :D)

We crossed the International date line on Friday the 21st at about 10pm and when we went to bed that night we slept right through Saturday and woke to Sunday the 24th. :eek:

In effect they "give" you about 12 hours over the first half of the cruise and "skip" a day when you cross the IDL. This means that you should be inline with time in most ports (we did have a one hour difference in Suva but the local tours where aware of this)

I would think it would be the opposite in the other direction and a hour is "stolen" from you every two nights and then you are "given" a extra day, maybe a repeat i.e. the 24th twice.

This was a very large days for us.

Before this cruise i had been in touch with Moana Tours in Suva (they are on Facebook and i cant recommend them enough).

Ayisha from Moana and i organised a tour for our cruise critic members and the Facebook group to visit a local school to donate school things we had all brought on board to donate.

The tour was Aussie $35 (25US) and includes a local village, a scenic waterfall, some sight seeing and a drop of option at a local shopping centre with a shuttle back to the ship (although it only took about 5 minutes to walk back) with the high light being the trip to the school. there was 50 odd of us booked onto this and it was the best tour ever.

The school had not had a large group like us visit it before and they performed school songs, traditional dances and a Kava ceremony, we also got to dance with he kids and enjoy some coconuts and snacks with them. I cant say enough what an amazing experience this was.

If you want to do something for a worth school this is the to do, we donated about $1500 worth of school supplies and sports equipment, they where so excited and it will go a long way in a school with very little.

There is no need to pre book tours if you don't want to although i was glad i had as it is very chaotic with so many tour operators viaing for your business.

As you get of the ship you are already in downtown Suva with about a 5 minute walk to the shopping area and fruit markets. The curry is worth a try we had lunch on the 4th floor of their main shopping centre.

Something to remember is that Fiji is not a large place and the shopping is limited with prices much the same as Australia or even more expensive. leave you duty free shopping to Vila.

Suva itself is a small port town that like other developing countries is chaotic and overcrowded with no a lot to see beyond a small museum and gardens.

I recommend taking one of the tours and getting out of town.

The 2nd day we opted to do a "beach" tour, this takes you about a hour down the coast to a "resort" to have a swim and a relax.

If you are after a good tour operator that has air condition buses (not all are) and even WIFI on board look up Moana Tours on Facebook or on the internet, they are very good.

The Port of vila is like suva but if possible even poorer.

This is not a port i would want to walk around - get out of town.

I had not booked before the cruise anything for Vila but Moana Tours had put me in tour with a guy named Alex Enkey (he is also on Facebook) i booked with him thought Facebook for the four of us at $40 each or a full day tour that included the Blue Legon, Turtle visit and a local cultural village and a stop of duty free alcohol. It also includes fresh fruit at different stops and a really nice BBQ lunch.

We had a great day. and Alex was lovely very keen to please and ensured we where well looked after the whole day.

If you don't pre book when you get off the ship you will walk through a "market" selling local tourist things then once you are past this there is a 100 odd tour operators and "taxi" operators wanting to sell you their tour. Bargain with them but make sure that the "entrance" fees are not extra.

This is a small Island that is set up just for the cruise ships to visit and has every cliché about the sound pacific rolled into one small stretch of sand ;)

One side has a sandy swim beach and the other a coral area you can snorkel in. I did both. The Snorkelling is average with very little coral and some colourful fish. I would think you need to take up one of the local operators to go out to a different area to get some good snorkelling.

The island has all the usual stalls selling the usual things, so if you missed that sarong in Vila nows you chance. The locals are also selling crayfish (warm water lobster) at between $40 aussies and $60 aussie, they are a good size. we decided no to but one as i was worried that they had been caught and cooked the day before with no sign of ice or regeneration. i do not want food poisoning. :eek:

i did have a full body massage for $25 Aussie dollars which is much better that the $149 US being charged on the ship. the massage was nice but not great.

A side note is that the ship did have drinks available on the issued that you could use your sea pass for and if you had a drink package they where covered by that, so winning there.

Hi there,

 

Was there any significant event on the ship to mark this position?

 

 

Thanks again and regards

Ron.

There was nothing it mark the crossing of the international date line other than a skipped day.

There was for crossing the equator though. King neptune "visits" the ship and a whole kissing the fish thing is done pool side. You also get a certificate in your room saying you had crossed the equator.

As i have mentioned we are doing my time dinning and as such we have different table mates most night and boy people are becoming bitchie the longer we are on this cruise :eek:

The four people we had at our table last night must have been on a different cruise to us, they have not been happy with anything at the main dinning room, and they let us know :eek:

Pete and i had done a Alaska Cruise recently where i found the service to be average and let me tell you on day 20 of this cruise the guys in the dinning room and behind the bars are still kicking that other cruises butt. We have had very few issues and those that we have had have been fixed right away.

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The Cruise Director - Graham Seymour

Graham is mostly missing in action, he is a bit like the phantom on this cruise, you see him every morning on the tv telling you yet again that he doesn't drink, or introducing his "good friends" at the shows and a guest appearance every now and again to sing or host a show but thats it.

Now i know that he has to be on the ship somewhere but it must be a secret part that no guest knows about :D. I have meet the captain at least four times this cruise but have not heard of one person that has actually had a conversation with Graham. I have had some great cruise directors in the past but this doesn't seem to be one of them.

We have been trying to get his or his staffs cooperation with our cruise critic Melbourne cup lunch and after party but so far no good, his standard line is we are doing something by the pool you will need to go there, (this is not even delivered in person but via one of the other staff member, apparently over 250 of his guest wanting do organise something does warrant a phone call in person.) Not sure how that will go with our heel, hats and dresses by the pool. so let see if he redeems himself and helps organise a venue for us to enjoy the race out of the weather.

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By day 19 i need a night off and was in bed by 10pm:eek: lol I'm not as young as i think i am.

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Pete is enjoying his drink package and we have well and truly come out "ahead". The bar staff even give him water for me with no question and don't really care if i drink the odd cocktail he has ordered.

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