Explorer of the Seas Review March 5-12 Part 2

Continuation of the entertainment:

We tried to make it to as many shows as possible. Missed the first couple ones but from what our friends and family told us they were fantastic. The first night, there was the bon voyage parade. Make sure to get to the promenade early to get a seat. We have always sat in front of the Irish pub (the Crown & Kettle). Mosaic was another great band. It is a group of guys who sing with no insruments. They do the sounds of instruments with vocals and microphones. Very impressive. The ice skating is something not to miss. This was the first cruise for one of our couples and they could not believe the moves these skaters did while our ship was rocking.

As usual the Quest was the best!! I was able to be one of our team captains along with another guy in our group. Our son and daughter were team captains next to us and we had so much fun. My partner is a vice cop in AZ and looks like he might get a bit of ribbing of the pictures that were taken of him! Won't say anymore for those who never have been to the Quest, but for those who have, he looked "devine"!:D

Pool games were always going on. Seemed like someone from our group was always involved in something. Our best friend's son won the hairy leg contest and also took part in the belly flop contest. One thing that they did not have this time and I was surprised was the horse racing contest. We had talked about buying a horse to race a the end of the week. Guess it saved us some $$$!

We didn't go to the Love and Marriage show, but surely wished we did! The honeymoon couple was the talk of the ship. Come to find out they were also from Toledo Ohio and when asked where was the most oddest place they had "done it", all he showed Clo was a table number from the dining room!!! Talk about a riot!! We made sure our table still had it's number on it!

FOOD:

First of all, I'm not a gourmet eater, give me a nice salad, baked potato and steak and I'm happy! I was always able to find something good for dinner each night. Our son was always trying something new. Nilesh always made sure DH had his key lime pie each night except for friday. He didn't mind at all! Another thing they didn't seem to do each night was sing. No big lose here! One comment we did have to make to our head waiter was about getting a second order of the main dish. Our "kids" (ages 21-31) were sitting at a seperate table from us and also had a different waiter. The first night after our son and his buddy finished the main dish, they asked for a 2nd (sorry can't remember exactly what they wanted) and thier waiter told them he couldn't get it for them,that they had to order 2 dishes when he put the order in at the beginning! How would they know they would want 2 at that time? I spoke to Patel, our head waiter and asked if we were to finish our first dish, could we order another one and he said sure. I explained to him what had happened to our son and he said that he would talk to thier waiter. Sure enought the next time they wanted something they got it. We were talking at our table and said we were sure if one of us adults had asked for a 2nd helping we would have been served it with no problems. Believe me, my son would not waste food and if he asked for a 2nd or 3rd he would eat it!!

We did have dinner in Portifino's one night. Like I said above, I'm not into all the gourmet foods. It was very good and we both agreed the best filet we had ever had. But for us to pay $20 each, I know we wouldn't do it, it is just not our style. Other couples from our group went and enjoyed it quite a bit.

The Windjammer is your typical buffet food. Always a big choice of items. I noticed that they now will put the food on your plate. Not sure if this had something to do with the virus, but seemed like they were always putting way too much on my plate! We did breakfast and lunch here everyday so we didn't get a chance to try the main dining room other then for dinner.

MEET & MINGLE

I was surprised at the low turn out of the meet & mingle. For those who were there, it was great meeting each of you. We had a good roll call going on the the other boards! They did a drawing of the famous RCCL computer mouse and Allen from SF, CA won it. I was lucky enough to win the Portofino's dinner for 2. Clo came down and spoke for a few mins and told us about the future ships being build. The M&M didn't last long maybe half hour and we were back to the pool.

WEATHER

Not much you can do about this! The first sea day was VERY windy and cloudy. When the sun was under those clouds, it got chilly! Us diehards were still out there! Tues in San Juan, it started to rain in the afternoon. We had stayed on the ship so didn't dampen our time. The rest of the week, it was beautiful. The only thing was the wind and the seas were very rocky. That ship was rocking all the time. Also in St Thomas, our kids were going to do a dive at Hull Bay and they had to go over to Coki Beach because there was no way possible they were going to get out to the reefs at Hull Bay. We spent the day there and the waves were bad.

More to come!:D

The Bon voyage Parade...... What Time Do They Do That On Sunday. We Have Early Seating. Dont Want To Miss It.

tribefan,

I was on the Explorer in July of last year and LOVED "Hello Clo" :p . I am only 16 and was unaware of these boards until after the cruise so I knew nothing about the M&M. I was wondering what all she had to say during the M&M and what you thought about her? What all did she say about the future ships? Glad you had a good time!

Derek

Hello everyone. Just got back home after an extended vacation week post cruise. We drove to Kennedy Space Center once we got off the ship. Then on to Disneyworld for a few days, and to Savannah GA to visit some relatives. Tribefan - the mouse is still in the luggage somewhere!