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LIVE from Explorer 6/19-24

subtchr

By subtchr,
in Royal Caribbean International

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tommccabe

tommccabe

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Hi Sue -- great photos and posts. I was on the same sailing -- I looked for myself in your photos but haven't seen me yet. You look to be about five feet from me when you took the pictures of the solarium, if they were taken during the belly flop competition. I was napping along that railing on deck 12 that afternoon!

 

You mention the strong smell of glue/paint. Are you talking about deck 7 on Tuesday (I think)? My wife and I were in room 7297 and noticed the same thing. The day before, I overheard a woman complaining about a smell in the rug in their balcony room in that area. In the next few trips between the room and elsewhere, I saw them bring in a large steam cleaner and work on the room, followed by some other cleaning device, and finally on one trip I saw rolls of cut carpet and they looked to be laying NEW carpet in the room! I don't know what the smell was and hope that it was resolved, but it appeared to be good service to get it resolved. The glue/paint smell also seemed to be coming from this area after the new carpet was laid.

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subtchr

subtchr

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Well, we are home, feeling the first symptoms of PCD (post cruise depression).

 

You know, when you want someone to come in and turn down your bed? Or use a table squeegee to clean up the crumbs? And when you're hungry you want to call room service, or hop down to the Promenade Cafe? And you are wondering what the show is for tonight?

 

Sigh....

 

Everything went very smoothly at the port. Disembarkation was later than I expected, at least compared to our first two cruises. We had Gray 4 tags, which meant we were to report to Studio B between 10:30 and 10:45. The thing that really surprised us was that there was never a time given that we had to be out of our cabins.

 

We went to the Windjammer for breakfast at about 7. It was busy, but not packed. That was true all week. We NEVER had a problem finding a seat there, even the first day. And the ship was essentially full.

 

We headed out on deck for the passage under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, then went back to the cabin to watch the rest of our approach to the port from the balcony. We just relaxed in the cabin and watched the "ballet" that is transition day on the dock. Food and other supplies unloaded from trucks and loaded onto the ship, luggage taken off, passengers loading the shuttles for the terminal, crew coming and going...it was fun to watch.

 

About 10:00 we headed down to Studio B, where they had pastries, coffee, and water available. Our color was called about 10:30, so we joined our group walking down to Deck 1, loading onto a shuttle bus, passing into the luggage area (very organized, large signs showing where the different colors were stacked), out through the customs line (just a cursory glance at our passports and we were waved through), and just like that we were back in the big tent. I honestly don't think we ever stopped walking throughout the whole process, other than the short bus ride. Very efficient.

 

I called the car service we had reserved, and he pulled up a few minutes later when I told him what number spot we were near. We were in the car on the way to the airport a few minutes before 11.

 

Other than about a half hour delay in Newark because of a line of thunderstorms in the area, everything went as advertised, and we were home by 7, ready to tackle the lawn and the laundry.

 

Glad everyone liked the report, I guess I will post a separate review/recap when I get a chance to pull it all together. I love to relive a cruise that way!

 

Some pics from today:

 

NYPD chopper "buzzing" the ship near the bridge:

 

DSC_0019-1.jpg

 

DSC_0025.jpg

 

Under the bridge we go:

 

DSC_0031.jpg

 

DSC_0032.jpg

 

DSC_0035-1.jpg

 

Staten Island Ferry:

 

DSC_0048-1.jpg

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Larry5440

Larry5440

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Thanks for the great pics and review. We are sailing in October. Can you give us the name of the car service you used? It sounds like you were very pleased with them. We are getting so excited about our upcoming cruise and your pics make it more real for us.

 

Liz

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subtchr

subtchr

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sue, could you tell how the ship was for kids? We are taking our kids next july on the explorer and are wondering how much there is to do for them and how the atmosphere is for them...

 

The families we talked to seemed quite pleased with the kids' activities, and everyone seemed to be having fun. I think it helps to cruise at a time when most kids are out of school, since more families will be aboard.

 

Hi Sue -- great photos and posts. I was on the same sailing -- I looked for myself in your photos but haven't seen me yet. You look to be about five feet from me when you took the pictures of the solarium, if they were taken during the belly flop competition. I was napping along that railing on deck 12 that afternoon!

 

You mention the strong smell of glue/paint. Are you talking about deck 7 on Tuesday (I think)? My wife and I were in room 7297 and noticed the same thing. The day before, I overheard a woman complaining about a smell in the rug in their balcony room in that area. In the next few trips between the room and elsewhere, I saw them bring in a large steam cleaner and work on the room, followed by some other cleaning device, and finally on one trip I saw rolls of cut carpet and they looked to be laying NEW carpet in the room! I don't know what the smell was and hope that it was resolved, but it appeared to be good service to get it resolved. The glue/paint smell also seemed to be coming from this area after the new carpet was laid.

 

Yep, that is exactly what I am talking about. We were in 7320, on the hump just in from the library, and I saw the same thing you are talking about in the hall. I did hear the woman ask the workers who were manning the steam cleaner if the plumber was coming back, so I imagine it was all related to plumbing issues.

 

i am not sure exactly what our tablemates were referring to when they said they heard folks complaining about paint or glue odors bothering them. There was probably refurbishment/maintenance going on elsewhere that we just did not see.

 

Thanks for the great pics and review. We are sailing in October. Can you give us the name of the car service you used? It sounds like you were very pleased with them. We are getting so excited about our upcoming cruise and your pics make it more real for us.

 

Liz

 

We used Black Executive Cars and were very pleased. As I said, the first driver was not the most personable, but we were not looking for a tour guide, just efficient and comfortable transportation, and we received that. They answered the phone immediately, and on the return trip he was at the spot within a few minutes of our call.

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subtchr

subtchr

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Thanks for all the great information.

Can you tell me how much the car service cost from the dock to the airport?????

Thanks

 

$45 plus tip. I think that is pretty much the standard for either a taxi or private car service. We just decided to line it up ahead of time instead of waiting in line for a taxi.

 

It was also $45 for the trip from the Newark Penn Station Hilton to the port.

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Larry5440

Larry5440

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We used Black Executive Cars and were very pleased. As I said, the first driver was not the most personable, but we were not looking for a tour guide, just efficient and comfortable transportation, and we received that. They answered the phone immediately, and on the return trip he was at the spot within a few minutes of our call.

__________________

 

 

 

Thank so much for the info. After reading the name of the company I think they are the folks we used too and we were pleased with them as well. We had just lost their business card.

 

Your photos and comments are great for others to see. Glad that you had a great trip!

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BecciBoo Great Review Rare

BecciBoo

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Great pics and review sub. Thanks for sharing. We'll just have to put Bermuda on our bucket list. As I was telling you elsewhere, my parents didn't think too much of the island. But they were there in the 70's on a business trip and it was too cold when they were there to go beaching. But I am impressed with the beauty of the beaches and the water. Will definitely have to go soon. Thanks again, BecciBoo

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subtchr

subtchr

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Great review and your pictures were amazing!! What kind of camera do you have?

 

Thanks! I got a Nikon D-5000 for Christmas, and I love it! Still really figuring it out, but it's hard to take a bad picture in Bermuda. ;)

 

For the snorkeling pics we used a small Nikon Coolpix that came as part of the DSLR purchase, in an Aquapac waterproof bag. It takes some getting used to, but I thought it was much better than the disposable waterproof cameras we usually use.

 

I love reliving our cruises through pics!

 

Sue

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larry the lobster

larry the lobster

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Thanks! I got a Nikon D-5000 for Christmas, and I love it! Still really figuring it out, but it's hard to take a bad picture in Bermuda. ;)

 

For the snorkeling pics we used a small Nikon Coolpix that came as part of the DSLR purchase, in an Aquapac waterproof bag. It takes some getting used to, but I thought it was much better than the disposable waterproof cameras we usually use.

 

I love reliving our cruises through pics!

 

Sue

I got a Nikon D-5000 also for Christmas but my pictures don't look as good as yours! Can you please tell me what setting you use on your camera? Are you using manual or automatic? Thanks!!

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