LIVE from Explorer 6/19-24

[PrincesScuba]

Drink of the day in the Viking Crown. Ahhhh....

 

 

BEST picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[irismike]

subtchr Enjoy your cruise. We are going on EOS in October New England/canada. Any tips, menus, etc would be appreciated. Have a great time.

[MedicKen]

Keep up the good work. Meg and Radio would be proud of you.

[demodawn]

We love the Explorer have been on 2xs and booked next nov. I love cruising with others. Next best to being there. Thanks for taking the time.

[2ndrcclcruise]

we will be going on this cruise also in October. I would love some information on where to stay for a day or 2 pre cruise, a place to park the car and ride a shuttle from hotel to pier.. Any suggestions. We are going on the 10/9 cruise. Love the update here... makes me excited to go...:D

[subtchr]

Wow, a sea day that was just what we needed. Practically perfect in every way.

 

Napping was involved.

 

As was meeting some incredibly nice and funny people:

 

Marcia and Louise from New Jersey in morning trivia. Did I mention we won PENS!?

 

A great family of “neighbors” at our MDR lunch table. (They are from Indiana, we are from Ohio). By the way, this was our first MDR lunch, and won’t be our last. Loved the salad bar.

 

A wonderful RCL employee, Silvia, who we chatted with at the Sports Bar during the Brazil - Cote d’Ivoire match this afternoon. She was not working, just standing and watching the game nervously. Yes, she is from Brazil. We talked soccer and cheered when they scored.

 

More new friends during afternoon trivia. A new CC friend and I joined up with a family from NJ and a young man from Nairn, Scotland. Nairn happens to be very close to the town of Elgin, where we lived when DH was on an exchange assignment with the RAF. Gotta love connections.

 

After reading a review about Explorer a month or so ago which described the crowd aboard as “mature” (well, that’s not the word he used, but it makes the point), I must come to the conclusion that it really depends on the time of year, length of cruise, destination, and maybe other factors. Because this cruise seems to be skewed very young. Not obnoxious kids running around or anything, no problems there. But lots of extended families - I think we have met three couples celebrating their 50th anniversaries with children and grandchildren. The ship seems full but never really crowded, since the flow is so well thought out.

 

We enjoyed formal night. Our experience even with the youngish crowd here was that although there were very few ball gowns or tuxedos, at least 80% of the MDR crowd was in suit and tie and at least nice cocktail dresses. It made for a great atmosphere, very “civilized.”

 

Our MDR servers, Noel and Ice, are outstanding. Understated, professional, and funny. Manuel is also doing a great job as room steward. Even though I slept like a rock, the bed was a little firm for my taste, so I asked him for an egg crate mattress pad, and he put it on the bed when he made it this morning. He always greets us by name with a smile.

 

As others have noted, one service that is inconsistent at best (and nonexistent at worst) is bar service in the MDR during dinner. Several of us at our table would order drinks if someone came around, but in two nights, no one has. Hmmm sounds like missed revenue opportunities to me...

 

We did have a rain storm and some blustery winds during the afternoon, but it passed relatively quickly. And it made for great napping weather. Here is hoping for great weather in Bermuda tomorrow!

 

Amazing sunset tonight. Of course I took about 100 photos. It will be tough to pick the best couple to post, but I’ll do my best.

 

Photo tour for today:

 

Windjammer breakfast (What, no golden raisins for my oatmeal?? I demand a refund!):

 

 

Pool deck at about 9:15. Front row “reserved” (cough, cough), but plenty still available.

 

 

Let the stress of the world float away:

 

 

Heading into the storm:

 

 

Bluster:

 

 

More in next post...

[subtchr]

Sunset:

 

 

 

 

 

Invitation to Dance production show. Quite good, actually:

 

 

Until tomorrow...we have a private taxi tour set up for our first visit to Bermuda. We can't wait to see this beautiful island!

[seadays4me]

Happy that our head waiter Noel, assistant waiter Ice (best. name. ever.), and head waiter Kumar, not to mention our room steward Manuel, seem like kind men who want to make our cruise experience wonderful.

 

The LOVELY view in port from our (first ever) balcony:

 

 

More to come...

 

Hi Sue,

 

Enjoying your review. We were on the 5/22 Bermuda cruise. When you mentioned Manual as your room steward it brought back good memories. We were in cabin 7318 and had Manual Sterling as our steward. Your picture looks like the same view we had so you might be in the same area as we were. If it is the same Manual, he was wonderful and attended to our every cabin need. He only called me Mr. Hansen so please tell him I said hello.

 

Ron

[seadays4me]

Heading into the storm:

 

 

Looking at this picture I see what cabin you have, so it is the same Manual. He is the best.

 

Ron

[crisndeefromde]

Terrific pictures!!!! We have had Manuel also and very excellent steward!!! We are very attached to Rica up on deck 10 tho...

 

Suzanne will be proud of the great pictures you take as well.

 

If you need something to do stop in Portofinos and give Jody and Zafer a hug for me!!!

 

I agree with you the gelatin in the desserts has to go.....first time last month that we ever had that. We had some friends with us onboard that had encountered that before...no problem for me...less dessert to eat.

 

Oh my gosh...isn't that salad bar awesome in the MDR for lunch?? Love it.

 

Can't wait to hear more and see more pictures.... Have so much fun.

 

Cris:)

[rosebud1g]

Sue,

Your pics are great, thanks for taking the time to post!

We just were on Explorer 2 wks ago for the 5 night sailing you are

on now. I hope you have warmer weather than what we had. It was

freezing on the pool deck, hardly anyone went in the main pool.

We found the hot tub in the fitness area and it was great.

The quest was a blast with Jimmy and his staff. I also found out the

room service menu is completly changed, when I called they said

the menu was on TV and the book in the cabin was outdated.

One good thing was the honey stung chicken is on the room

service menu! The ice show was awesome and the singers for the

production show have such great talent. We enjoyed that ship

very much, so have FUN!!!!

[John Henry on CC]

Terrific pictures!!!! We have had Manuel also and very excellent steward!!! We are very attached to Rica up on deck 10 tho...

 

Suzanne will be proud of the great pictures you take as well.

 

If you need something to do stop in Portofinos and give Jody and Zafer a hug for me!!!

 

I agree with you the gelatin in the desserts has to go.....first time last month that we ever had that. We had some friends with us onboard that had encountered that before...no problem for me...less dessert to eat.

 

Oh my gosh...isn't that salad bar awesome in the MDR for lunch?? Love it.

 

Can't wait to hear more and see more pictures.... Have so much fun.

 

Cris:)

 

Go up to the WJ during heavy seas, and watch the dessert display jiggle! :D

[sjuwill]

hi thanks for posting....if you can please stop in the casino and look for a dealer named evans...tell her bill said hello and waiting for her to write..we were onboard may27-june 5 and had a wonderful time...would be a great help if you could do that for me..thanks

[138east]

we will be going on this cruise also in October. I would love some information on where to stay for a day or 2 pre cruise, a place to park the car and ride a shuttle from hotel to pier.. Any suggestions. We are going on the 10/9 cruise. Love the update here... makes me excited to go...:D

 

Come to the East Coast Departures board for more information. Tell us your exact dates, what your sightseeing objectives are in NY, how many people, and your budget. There is only one hotel that we recommend that offers a cruise transfer, but that hotel is not always your best choice $$-wise or convenience-wise if you are going to be sightseeing in NY.

[irismike]

crisndeefromde We were on the EOS a few years ago and don't remember them having a salad bar in the MDR....is this something new? Do you remember what was on it? thanks. Iris

[marci22]

 

I agree with you the gelatin in the desserts has to go.....first time last month that we ever had that. We had some friends with us onboard that had encountered that before...no problem for me...less dessert to eat.

 

The desserts have been gelatinized for some time now. It's probably just cheaper (and easier) to use flavored gelatin base rather than the other ingredients. I agree, it saves me calories. When the gelatin hits the specialties that will be when we've reached bottom.

[H82seaUgo]

sue....

 

i like this type of review best, with pictures. looking forward to coming along with you.

[Hypo]

If memory serves, bar service waiters in the MDR were discontinued several years ago. Wine and bar service are now the responsibility of the assistant waiter. Has this changed recently? Anybody feel free to correct me.

 

Hypo

[linkerbink]

We were on the Explorer on the April 15th cruise. Our waiter was Umeshkumar Patel but he went by the name Kumar. Is that the same person? He was great...if he was promoted to head waiter I'm not surprised!

[cruisingbajan]

Great review!! Great Pics!! Keep them coming!!:D:)

[2ndrcclcruise]

Thank you east138 I will check out the east coast departure board...:D

 

 

I just tried to find east coast departures board but was not sucessful..... is it under Royal Caribbean board or meet and mingle roll calls??? sorry to be such a problem...just could not find it

[akcruz]

Thank you east138 I will check out the east coast departure board...:D

 

 

I just tried to find east coast departures board but was not sucessful..... is it under Royal Caribbean board or meet and mingle roll calls??? sorry to be such a problem...just could not find it

 

It's actually under North American Home Ports on the main page. Here is a link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=415

[demodawn]

Main dining room on sea days has a great salad bar. You go by and tell them what you want on the salad and boy do you have a choice of stuff. Even shrimp!

[subtchr]

Wow. We LOVE Bermuda. In spite of the crazy bus rides.

 


We docked right at 9, on schedule. The approach to the dock was fascinating to watch from our balcony. A well-oiled machine, to be sure. Methinks they have done this a time or two before.

 

Absolutely beautiful day. A few scattered clouds, low 80’s, water warm enough to be comfortable and cool enough to be refreshing.

 

The “bad” news was that the Blue Flag Taxi tour driver we had contacted via email (from reviews on TripAdvisor) to take us on a private tour of the island did not show up. The GOOD news is that not only did that save us a lot of money, it turned out that Plan B made for an amazing day.

 


We could have just taken another taxi, but we decided it was a sign, so we just got bus and ferry passes for the day for a fraction of what we would have paid for the tour. Even though it was a holiday here in Bermuda today, meaning many of the shops in Hamilton and St. George were closed, the ferries and buses seemed to be on almost a regular weekday schedule. That was most likely related to the 6000 or so tourists docked here at Kings Wharf (Explorer and NCL Spirit).

 


We took the ferry to St. George to start the day. It was cool to see the Explorer crew doing lifeboat drills as we pulled out. It was a lovely 30 minute or so ride, after which we meandered through the town to get to Tobacco Bay. We had a decidedly mediocre lunch at the snack bar there (although the cold beer was perfect, of course), but we enjoyed the snorkeling and relaxed, secluded feel of the little cove. There were quite a few people there, but it was not so crowded that it felt packed.

 

We walked back into St. George to catch the #1 bus to Hamilton. It was a very scenic ride, but the best part was chatting with a native Bermudian for most of the journey. He shared information about his family and the island, mentioning the increased violent crime, tied to drug use, as it is many places around the world. He was a lovely man, and we really enjoyed talking with him.

 

In Hamilton, most of the shops were closed, but it was cool to see the huge sailboats that had just arrived in the harbor on the Newport-Bermuda race. We walked along the harbor and then up to the bus depot to catch the #7 bus to the south beaches.

 

Bermuda south beaches = paradise. We swam at Warwick Long Bay for about an hour and could have stayed for days. But we wanted to get back to the ship to get ready for our 7:00 Portofino dinner, so we headed up the hill to catch the bus back to Dockyard.

 

Portofino was wonderful, and after dinner we walked out to Destination Dockyard. Quite the lively event, with live music, vendors, and many of the stores at Clocktower open for business.

 

Snorkel tour with Jessie James tomorrow!

 

On to the photo tour for the day...

 

First view of Bermuda:

 

 

Early morning from the balcony:

 

 

View from our balcony of the harbor pilot jumping aboard:

 

 

Pier from our balcony (starboard side against the dock this trip):

 

 

Lifeboat drill from the ferry to St. George:

 

 

Pulling into St. George:

 

 

More in next post...

[subtchr]

Unfinished church, St. George:

 

 

Tobacco Bay:

 

 

 

Pink Bus, Bermuda:

 

 

Hamilton:

 

 

Even more to come...hey, it’s a photogenic place!