Just off Explorer - Oct 15-20 - Bermuda

Explorer of the Seas - Bermuda - October 15 - 20, 2006

We really enjoyed this trip and would rate it as a great vacation, but we had a few issues that Royal Caribbean needs to look at. I’ll discuss these in this review. We are a 42 year old married couple and traveled with our 15 year old son.

Embarkation:

Drove into Bayonne from eastern PA and arrived at the pier around 9:30. After dropping our bags off with a porter we continued around the loop and sat in traffic for an hour. We were parked by 10:30. We parked next to the terminal (first row) and felt that it wasn’t necessary to put the car cover on due to the distance we were from the adjacent shipyard. That’s a mistake I’ll discuss later.

Our check in was a breeze and we received tickets for the #1 shuttle to the ship. This shuttle was scheduled to depart at 11:30. After 2 or 3 wedding parties were sent to the ship, we boarded our shuttle about 11:35. I think we were the first up the gangway and we went to check if our stateroom was ready. The gates to our deck nine “hump” stateroom (#9322) were closed so we made our way to the Windjammer for lunch.

Windjammer:

We had breakfast and lunch here each day. Everything we had here was hot, fresh and very good, but we would like to see a few changes.

First, make iced tea and lemonade available 24 hours a day. When the Windjammer is closed, you can not get these drinks. Also, we could not believe that these were not readily available at breakfast. My wife and I do not drink coffee and we prefer our tea iced, not hot. We had to order iced tea each morning from the wait staff and it usually arrived near the end or after our breakfast was finished.

Second, we know that there is a Johnny Rocket’s onboard, but what would it take to get a freshly cooked burger, with melted cheese, or a hot dog without paying extra for it???

Dining Room – Second Seating – Magellan Dining Room – Table 322:

In an effort to save some space I’ll just tell you that every meal in the dining room was enjoyable and that the service was outstanding. Our waiter, Roshan, from India, and assistant waiter, Murat, from Turkey, were simply the best team we have ever sailed with! We never wanted for anything and they kept food coming every night, especially the lobster!

Stateroom #9322

Great location on the hump! This room has had the bedding replaced. The new bedding looks great and slept well also! We found the room to be what we expected. On 3 different days we had problems with the toilet not flushing. It seemed as if the toilet did not want to flush while the ship was moving. At times it would flush a few minutes after trying to flush it and other times it would flush hours later. We talked to our stateroom attendant about it and each time we were told that the system may be down. This sounds like a rehearsed answer because we asked our neighbors and they never had a problem flushing their toilet. The problem was at its worst on Wednesday night when water backed up into the toilet, from God knows where, and filled the bathroom floor and spilled under the bathroom door and onto the carpet in the room.

Our stateroom attendant, Clifton, kept everything neat and orderly and did a great job!

Weather:

We were prepared for all types of weather on this cruise. We didn’t know if we would be wearing jeans or swimsuits on the sea days and if it would be warm enough to really enjoy the beaches while in Bermuda.

The weather in Bermuda was excellent. It was sunny on Tuesday and cloudy in the morning but then bright sunshine in the afternoon on Wednesday. Both days were much warmer than we expected. Great beach weather each day!

Monday (sea day) was a little cool in the morning but warmed up in the afternoon and we were able to shed the sweatshirt and soak up a little sun. Thursday, another sea day, was another great day! It was sunny and warm and another great day around the pools.

Bermuda:

This was our first trip to Bermuda and found it to be a great place! We bought 2 day bus passes on board and used the ferries and buses to get around the islands. I was amazed at the harbors in both St George and Hamilton. How the smaller cruise ships get into those ports is beyond me!

Tuesday:

We took a ferry to Hamilton and then a bus to Crystal Cave. In our opinion, this is a must see. 15 bucks a person for a half hour tour, but the cave is unbelievable! We bypassed the Swizzle Inn and took a bus to St George. We walked to Fort St. Catherine and took the tour of the fort ($5/person), then headed to Tobacco Bay. There are changing rooms there, but they were not the cleanest we’ve seen. We spent an hour or so laying on the beach, swimming and just relaxing before heading back down to St George. Another bus back to Hamilton and then a ferry ride back to the ship.

Wednesday:

We took a bus straight to Horseshoe Bay. Found this beach to be beautiful. Although it was cloudy and cool when we arrived, the sun came out around 11am and we spent a great day in the ocean. Changing rooms here were quite large and clean. The walk down the hill from the bus stop to the beach is rather long and steep and we were not looking forward to the hike back up. There is a van there that charges a buck per person for a ride to the top. This may be the best money we spent the entire trip. Another bus ride back to the ship and a little shopping at the dockyard then back on the ship.

Entertainment:

We only made it to one show. The first night we were too tired and wanted to catch up on some sleep so we skipped the show. We went to Vibeology the second night and found it enjoyable. The shows for the second seating guests on days 3, 4 and 5 were before dinner and this just does not fit into our cruising schedule. I’m not sure about this, but I don’t remember this happening on our previous cruises.

We never made it to the Ice Show. Show times were at 3 and 5 pm on each sea day and we were either at the pool or taking a nap while the shows were going on.

Debarkation:

Of course it was raining! We were issued purple tags which are the fifth color called to leave the ship. We waited in Studio B and were called around 9:30 and were off the ship, on the shuttle, picked up luggage, cleared customs and were at our car in the parking lot by 10:30. All in all, this was a very smooth process

Parking:

When we got to the car we found that it was covered with overspray from the adjacent shipyard. I can’t believe I didn’t put the car cover on, but I thought that we were far enough away. I stopped and talked to the manager of the parking lot and he had me fill out a claim form and provided me with the contact person at the shipyard. I was told that they will contact me within 5 days and that they have taken care of these problems in the past. I’ll keep everyone informed of the status of the clean up.

Summary:

We had a wonderful vacation. Of course there were things we didn’t like, but nothing bad enough to spoil a great trip. If anyone has specific questions, please feel free to leave an email addy and I’ll try to answer them for you.

Explorer of the Seas - Bermuda - October 15 - 20, 2006

 

We really enjoyed this trip and would rate it as a great vacation, but we had a few issues that Royal Caribbean needs to look at. I’ll discuss these in this review. We are a 42 year old married couple and traveled with our 15 year old son.

 

Embarkation:

 

Drove into Bayonne from eastern PA and arrived at the pier around 9:30. After dropping our bags off with a porter we continued around the loop and sat in traffic for an hour. We were parked by 10:30. We parked next to the terminal (first row) and felt that it wasn’t necessary to put the car cover on due to the distance we were from the adjacent shipyard. That’s a mistake I’ll discuss later.

 

Our check in was a breeze and we received tickets for the #1 shuttle to the ship. This shuttle was scheduled to depart at 11:30. After 2 or 3 wedding parties were sent to the ship, we boarded our shuttle about 11:35. I think we were the first up the gangway and we went to check if our stateroom was ready. The gates to our deck nine “hump” stateroom (#9322) were closed so we made our way to the Windjammer for lunch.

 

Windjammer:

 

We had breakfast and lunch here each day. Everything we had here was hot, fresh and very good, but we would like to see a few changes.

 

First, make iced tea and lemonade available 24 hours a day. When the Windjammer is closed, you can not get these drinks. Also, we could not believe that these were not readily available at breakfast. My wife and I do not drink coffee and we prefer our tea iced, not hot. We had to order iced tea each morning from the wait staff and it usually arrived near the end or after our breakfast was finished.

 

Second, we know that there is a Johnny Rocket’s onboard, but what would it take to get a freshly cooked burger, with melted cheese, or a hot dog without paying extra for it???

 

Dining Room – Second Seating – Magellan Dining Room – Table 322:

 

In an effort to save some space I’ll just tell you that every meal in the dining room was enjoyable and that the service was outstanding. Our waiter, Roshan, from India, and assistant waiter, Murat, from Turkey, were simply the best team we have ever sailed with! We never wanted for anything and they kept food coming every night, especially the lobster!

 

 

Stateroom #9322

 

Great location on the hump! This room has had the bedding replaced. The new bedding looks great and slept well also! We found the room to be what we expected. On 3 different days we had problems with the toilet not flushing. It seemed as if the toilet did not want to flush while the ship was moving. At times it would flush a few minutes after trying to flush it and other times it would flush hours later. We talked to our stateroom attendant about it and each time we were told that the system may be down. This sounds like a rehearsed answer because we asked our neighbors and they never had a problem flushing their toilet. The problem was at its worst on Wednesday night when water backed up into the toilet, from God knows where, and filled the bathroom floor and spilled under the bathroom door and onto the carpet in the room.

 

Our stateroom attendant, Clifton, kept everything neat and orderly and did a great job!

 

Weather:

 

We were prepared for all types of weather on this cruise. We didn’t know if we would be wearing jeans or swimsuits on the sea days and if it would be warm enough to really enjoy the beaches while in Bermuda.

 

The weather in Bermuda was excellent. It was sunny on Tuesday and cloudy in the morning but then bright sunshine in the afternoon on Wednesday. Both days were much warmer than we expected. Great beach weather each day!

 

Monday (sea day) was a little cool in the morning but warmed up in the afternoon and we were able to shed the sweatshirt and soak up a little sun. Thursday, another sea day, was another great day! It was sunny and warm and another great day around the pools.

 

Bermuda:

 

This was our first trip to Bermuda and found it to be a great place! We bought 2 day bus passes on board and used the ferries and buses to get around the islands. I was amazed at the harbors in both St George and Hamilton. How the smaller cruise ships get into those ports is beyond me!

 

Tuesday:

 

We took a ferry to Hamilton and then a bus to Crystal Cave. In our opinion, this is a must see. 15 bucks a person for a half hour tour, but the cave is unbelievable! We bypassed the Swizzle Inn and took a bus to St George. We walked to Fort St. Catherine and took the tour of the fort ($5/person), then headed to Tobacco Bay. There are changing rooms there, but they were not the cleanest we’ve seen. We spent an hour or so laying on the beach, swimming and just relaxing before heading back down to St George. Another bus back to Hamilton and then a ferry ride back to the ship.

 

Wednesday:

 

We took a bus straight to Horseshoe Bay. Found this beach to be beautiful. Although it was cloudy and cool when we arrived, the sun came out around 11am and we spent a great day in the ocean. Changing rooms here were quite large and clean. The walk down the hill from the bus stop to the beach is rather long and steep and we were not looking forward to the hike back up. There is a van there that charges a buck per person for a ride to the top. This may be the best money we spent the entire trip. Another bus ride back to the ship and a little shopping at the dockyard then back on the ship.

 

 

Entertainment:

 

We only made it to one show. The first night we were too tired and wanted to catch up on some sleep so we skipped the show. We went to Vibeology the second night and found it enjoyable. The shows for the second seating guests on days 3, 4 and 5 were before dinner and this just does not fit into our cruising schedule. I’m not sure about this, but I don’t remember this happening on our previous cruises.

 

We never made it to the Ice Show. Show times were at 3 and 5 pm on each sea day and we were either at the pool or taking a nap while the shows were going on.

 

Debarkation:

 

Of course it was raining! We were issued purple tags which are the fifth color called to leave the ship. We waited in Studio B and were called around 9:30 and were off the ship, on the shuttle, picked up luggage, cleared customs and were at our car in the parking lot by 10:30. All in all, this was a very smooth process

 

Parking:

 

When we got to the car we found that it was covered with overspray from the adjacent shipyard. I can’t believe I didn’t put the car cover on, but I thought that we were far enough away. I stopped and talked to the manager of the parking lot and he had me fill out a claim form and provided me with the contact person at the shipyard. I was told that they will contact me within 5 days and that they have taken care of these problems in the past. I’ll keep everyone informed of the status of the clean up.

 

Summary:

 

We had a wonderful vacation. Of course there were things we didn’t like, but nothing bad enough to spoil a great trip. If anyone has specific questions, please feel free to leave an email addy and I’ll try to answer them for you.

Room service is available 24 hours a day. Couldn't you just order ice tea or lemonade anytime you wanted from room service? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the review so soon from your trip! Glad you had a good time.

Don't really want to bother room service with an iced tea order. Do they deliver to the pool deck, rock climbing wall, etc???

Was on this cruise and for a 5 night cruise, we found all of the production shows and entertainment very enjoyable and diversified. Had a fun time. Place was swinging a night.

Yes, the bars were great. We spent alot of time at the sports bar but really enjoyed the Chamber later in the evening.

To add to my earlier review:

Bar Service was fantastic. Spent time in just about every bar on board. what does that say about our trip!!!

Adventure Ocean: our son spent alot of time in the program and really enjoyed himself. Please feel free to ask questions.

Ship: I must say that this ship is huge! We've sailed on the Conquest class ships from Carnival and this ship just seemed so much larger than the Conquest. Was it us, or did the ship seem empty? Does anyone know if the ship was full? I do know that there were alot of empty seats and tables in the dining room. The ship itself seemed to be in pretty good shape. There was some wear and tear, but I think thats normal on a ship thats 5 years old. The only thing that I thought needed to be replaced were the deck chairs. These looked as if they were the original chairs and some were in pretty rough shape. We did see some new ones being deliverd while on board.

Room service is available 24 hours a day. Couldn't you just order ice tea or lemonade anytime you wanted from room service? :rolleyes:

Another tip for iced tea (and much better than the premade stuff) - just make a cup of hot tea - let it cool a little then pour it over a large glass of ice. DH does this all the time when iced tea is not readily available in winter here.

aghacruiser and gerif...thanks for the input on iced tea, but I think the easiest solution to this issue would be to have one drink station open 24/7. Any other cruiseline we've sailed with have done this. Even when the casual dining rooms are closed, they did not close the doors and lock the rooms down like they did on the Explorer.

We are a 42 year old married couple and traveled with our 15 year old son..

Our son really enjoyed the Adventure Ocean program. He spent a good deal of time at Optix with the other teens.

He told us that there were only 20 kids in his age group that were at Optix because everyone is back to school.

The rules we set for him were as follows:

1. We set a 1am curfew for him and he was back in the room each night at that time.

2. He was free to do what he wanted during the day as long as he kept us informed as to where he was.

3. Days in bermuda were family time and he was expected to stay with us on the island.

4. We ate dinner each night as a family.

etc. etc. etc.

He had a blast and is already bugging us to cruise again!

Parking:

 

When we got to the car we found that it was covered with overspray from the adjacent shipyard. I can’t believe I didn’t put the car cover on, but I thought that we were far enough away. I stopped and talked to the manager of the parking lot and he had me fill out a claim form and provided me with the contact person at the shipyard. I was told that they will contact me within 5 days and that they have taken care of these problems in the past. I’ll keep everyone informed of the status of the clean up.

 

.

We were on the same cruise and also have overspray on our car. Unfortunately due to the rain we did not notice it until Saturday. I left a message for Ken at Bayonne Drydock and I am hoping for a return call. Is that the contact person that you were given as well? Do you know what documents you will need to provide them with for the claim? I cannot locate the receipt for our parking :(!

I filled out a claim form with Central Parking System. This form states that I should receive a call from their claims office within 5 business days. I was also given Ken's phone number at the shipyard. I plan to wait till I hear from Central Parking and see what they say.

I called my insurance company this morning and got some good news from them. This is classified as a comprehensive claim and not a collision claim. This means that i can go thru my insurance to get this fixed and then they will attempt to get their money back.

Hopefully this gets taken care of before it gets to my insurance company.

A bit of good news...I was told that there will be covered parking on the other side of the terminal within the next year. This should eliminate this problem in the future, but shame on RCCL for allowing this problem to continue this long!

I agree with a 24 hour drink station...perhaps a few of them.

As far as Johnny Rocket's having a cover charge I am a bit torn on the issue. The $3.95 isn't that bad but I do think it should include shakes, etc.. and with the cover it definitely has reduced the amount of kids (nothing against them, I love'em and have 3 of my own) hanging around and occupying the tables.

We also had 9322 in Aug, great room! Very convenient. Also, got overspray on our car a year ago Aug. Keep after them! We got reimbursed through Bayonne Drydock. (Ken P.).

Not really sure about the iced tea issue, don't really have an answer for that one.

Yes, the bars were great. We spent alot of time at the sports bar but really enjoyed the Chamber later in the evening.

 

We must have seen each other than! My DH was in the sports bar every chance he had and we also spent quite a lot of time in the Chamber at night (Wednesday night in particular was a crazy night for us!). If you happen to be a Mets fan than you must have talked to my husband at Weekend Warrior!

Can you tell me if ESPN is available in the cabin or in the Sports Bar? Thanks.

ESPN is available in your cabin and at Weekend Warrior, but at times it is ESPN International.

Hi,

I was also on this cruise and I took a bridge tour. There was a board there that indicated there were 3,168 passengers for that sailing. DH and I also had a great time on our first voyager class ship.

Cruitenn

Hello Everyone, my daughter and I were also on this cruise and we did luck out with the weather. Unfortunately we also are the victims of the paint overspray. I called and left a live message for Ken and was told that he would return my call within a week and a half. I was also told that I did not need to contact my own insurance company but that I should get an estimate. Does anyone know how this is corrected? My car is a little over a year old and I really don't want the paint damaged. Thank you for any information you have.

Future Mother in Law is going this cruise next week - is it everywhere in the parking area that gets this spray or just certain areas? Thanks in Advance

Looks like alot of us were on this cruise.My wife and I were on also and had a great time. We were on the second sailing of Freedom and the Explorer was a smaller verson,but we loved it all the same.We met a few C&C members and they were outstanding people. We flew in, so we missed the oversprayed paint.

We were also on this cruise and had a great time! We parked our dark blue van but I didn't notice any paint. Is it really noticable or only if you are looking close? Guess I should go look when DH gets home. Checking in was quite painless. Got there about noon and we didn't have to wait in any lines. I thought disembarkation went smoothly. Others in line were angry, but what do you expect when 3K+ people are getting off at the same time. The luggage was arranged in several spots so it was very easy to find. Within each color are numbers (orange 1, orange 2, etc) so there aren't really that many bags in each section.

We don't usually watch ice skating, but the show was unbelievable. Anyone else go to Quest?? It was fun but it's not something that I would HAVE to see all the time. I loved sitting at the Cafe' Promenade each night with a cup of coffee and a cookie to end the day. The new bedding was soooooo nice! We tried the "to die for" dining room french toast and it was yummy. I love my salad at lunch and was excited to see the nice salad bar they had. I had to check out the ladies room on 11 near Portofino's as previous cruisers suggested. What a view! The whole outside wall is windows. DH said the men's room is the same.

I was very irritated to see a young couple with their approximately six month old baby boy in the hot tub. Only is it not good for an infant to be in there, but the consequences of "leakage". I did try to call guest relations only to be on hold so long I hung up.

This was our first Voyager class and I loved it, other than the cabin being much smaller than on the Radiance class. To each his own though. When Freedom came out I thought how crazy, but now I might have to try that class too....

Happy cruising to all.

the overspray should be realy noticeable when you run your windshield wipers. The spray on our cay is silver or gray, so it should be visible on your blue car. the best place to see it is on the windows or run your hand over the paint and you can feel that its rough.

we have washed our car twice. once thru an automatic car wash and once by hand and it has not come off.