Explorer questions!

Firstly, apologies if I ask questions that are answered repeatedly. I have done a fair bit of googling and searching here on CC but it can be hard to get definite answers, especially as Explorer has been refurb'd recently, so some info is out of date!

1. Can anyone confirm that Adventure Beach (kids pool area) is no longer? Side note: if this is true, why on earth did they do that??

2. This is our first time in an inside room. Will a portacot fit?

3. We are on deck 6 above Star Lounge/Maharaja's. Should I be worried about noise? We have two small kids so this is a bit of a concern for me as they go to bed fairly early and are not deep sleepers :eek:

4. I read in a few places that Explorer has a Royal Tots nursery since refurb. Can anyone confirm this?

Bonus question: WHY is it so hard to get good information from the RC website itself??:confused::rolleyes::eek:

Not sure about any of the above, but missing out on kummelweck sandwiches would be devastating!

1. Adventure beach got modified to add the Flowrider so there is less there than there was. It is

2. What will fit depends on the size of the room and how many people. There should just be enough space but that is why they created Family rooms.

3. I would personally avoid rooms above or below facilities like that but that is what the individual room reviews for the Voyager class ships on this site are for.

... Bonus question: WHY is it so hard to get good information from the RC website itself??:confused::rolleyes::eek:

I don't know why, but it's no accident that they seem to purposely go out of their way to make the website difficult to use. They just made a major change to the booking portion and it seems much less functional than before.

You may have also read that tiny tots that aren't potty trained aren't allowed in the other pools, so if you have room can I suggest you bring a blow up pool. On a previous post I read the pool staff are very helpful and fill it for you.

1. Adventure beach got modified to add the Flowrider so there is less there than there was. It is

 

2. What will fit depends on the size of the room and how many people. There should just be enough space but that is why they created Family rooms.

 

3. I would personally avoid rooms above or below facilities like that but that is what the individual room reviews for the Voyager class ships on this site are for.

Thanks!

It's just my husband and I, and our one-year-old. I don't know what the Family rooms are, but in all likelihood our daughter will want to sleep in our bed anyway, so there's no point us having a bigger room ;)

I read a bunch of reviews for Explorer but that's a good idea - I'll check out some other Voyager class reviews.

You may have also read that tiny tots that aren't potty trained aren't allowed in the other pools, so if you have room can I suggest you bring a blow up pool. On a previous post I read the pool staff are very helpful and fill it for you.

Yep, I knew about that rule from an earlier cruise. Thanks for the tip!

For question #3, we have been on deck 6 forward above the lounge on two cruises on Explorer, and never heard a thing. Generally, it is not a noisy venue

For question #3, we have been on deck 6 forward above the lounge on two cruises on Explorer, and never heard a thing. Generally, it is not a noisy venue

Thank you so much! We ended up changing to Promenade rooms anyway - very exciting :D

Thank you so much! We ended up changing to Promenade rooms anyway - very exciting :D

Well done you! RC reservations can be a really unhelpful

 

4. I read in a few places that Explorer has a Royal Tots nursery since refurb. Can anyone confirm this?

 

We just got off Explorer the other week, and in the long queue to get off at Bilbao (another long story involving ballast and tilting the ship by 2 degrees!!) I noticed that one of the conference rooms on Deck 2 had a sign on the door saying it was the nursery and advising of the opening times.

We don't have children so I didn't take any more notice of it, other than to notice it was there and seemed a little unusual a location, but there are definitely some facilities available.

2. This is our first time in an inside room. Will a portacot fit?

If this is like what we call a pack-and-play in the states you might have room if you put the small table in the closet. Another option might be if your room steward could move the beds all the way against a wall, you might be able to squeeze it in between the beds and the wall. Of course, someone will have to exit the bed from the end.

It's been a long time since we've used them (don't remember exact dimensions) but based on what I remember, these are two options I can think of.

We just got off Explorer the other week, and in the long queue to get off at Bilbao (another long story involving ballast and tilting the ship by 2 degrees!!) I noticed that one of the conference rooms on Deck 2 had a sign on the door saying it was the nursery and advising of the opening times.

 

We don't have children so I didn't take any more notice of it, other than to notice it was there and seemed a little unusual a location, but there are definitely some facilities available.

Thank you! That sounds promising.

Ummm that Bilbao story sounds... interesting! :confused::eek:

2. This is our first time in an inside room. Will a portacot fit?

 

 

If this is like what we call a pack-and-play in the states you might have room if you put the small table in the closet. Another option might be if your room steward could move the beds all the way against a wall, you might be able to squeeze it in between the beds and the wall. Of course, someone will have to exit the bed from the end.

 

It's been a long time since we've used them (don't remember exact dimensions) but based on what I remember, these are two options I can think of.

Yes, portacot = Pack and play. Thanks for the tips - sounds doable!

We didn't have a coffee table in our stateroom (yay!). I can only assume they were removed during the refit. It did mean the sofa collected the rubbish that the table used to but at least there was no table getting in the way.

Re Bilbao - we went to the Captain's Q&A and it's safe to say that if it were down to Captain Rick, Royal won't be docking there again! They had to use local gangways but the tide meant that they had to tip the ship over for them to reach.

This was in a port where at this point in the tide there was only 1m of clearance under the ship, and each 1 degree of tilt reduced that by a further 30cm! I had wondered why one of the local "guardia civil" boats had a diver on the back...!

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Re Bilbao - we went to the Captain's Q&A and it's safe to say that if it were down to Captain Rick, Royal won't be docking there again! They had to use local gangways but the tide meant that they had to tip the ship over for them to reach.

 

This was in a port where at this point in the tide there was only 1m of clearance under the ship, and each 1 degree of tilt reduced that by a further 30cm! I had wondered why one of the local "guardia civil" boats had a diver on the back...!

 

 

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Wow. It does make you realise how capable (and resposible!) the captains are. I'm glad I'm just a passenger :p

Hi there,

My family and I are also cruising March 2016 on the Explorer. Exciting!

We have booked a cot into our room? We requested in while booking through our travel agent. I'm guessing if they have them onboard they would fit. :)

Our stateroom is on deck 3, an ocean view room. So if you dont want to lug one around with you maybe contact them to find out if they will provide you one.

As far as getting information from them, try emailing the contact us address on the website. There is a section for "pre-cruise questions" and I have had responses from them after a few days....

I also was interested to find out if the Adventure beach was still there. Seems stupid to think that they would take it away and it looked fabulous. I saw a video on youtube some people had posted of their holiday on Explorer and I could see it, then I read somewhere that it had been removed. That really disappointed me, it said something about it being replaced by a teenager chill out zone. If what the above poster said is true, that they have only got rid of some of it to fit in the flowrider, I will be happy. Because I could see slides and a bit of play stuff on that youtube video people posted and the flowrider was also there. So good news for us with little ones.

Anyways hope that makes sense and helps a bit

Hi there,

 

My family and I are also cruising March 2016 on the Explorer. Exciting!

We have booked a cot into our room? We requested in while booking through our travel agent. I'm guessing if they have them onboard they would fit. :)

Our stateroom is on deck 3, an ocean view room. So if you dont want to lug one around with you maybe contact them to find out if they will provide you one.

Oh, I know they have portacots available - we used them on a previous cruise on the Radiance :) I just wasn't sure about squeezing it into an inside room - they're pretty tiny! haha.

 

I also was interested to find out if the Adventure beach was still there. Seems stupid to think that they would take it away and it looked fabulous. I saw a video on youtube some people had posted of their holiday on Explorer and I could see it, then I read somewhere that it had been removed. That really disappointed me, it said something about it being replaced by a teenager chill out zone. If what the above poster said is true, that they have only got rid of some of it to fit in the flowrider, I will be happy. Because I could see slides and a bit of play stuff on that youtube video people posted and the flowrider was also there. So good news for us with little ones.

it's a bit confusing, isn't it? That's a very good point - the Flowrider is definitely new since the refurb (I'm pretty sure anyway!) so anything that you could see next to it is surely still there!

I want to take the Alaska trip in summer 2016. I am wondering if anyone has any update photo for family ocean view rooms (ex: 8500 0r 8200). I found some online but the room is in very old traditional style. I would like to see how it looks like after the refurbishment. Thanks!

it's a bit confusing, isn't it? That's a very good point - the Flowrider is definitely new since the refurb (I'm pretty sure anyway!) so anything that you could see next to it is surely still there!

Can I point you to my thread which contains a lot of information and photos of Explorer of the Seas. The kiddies pool on deck 12 aft has been removed and replaced with a seating area with chairs and tables.

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2251071