My first big cruise review from the Explorer of the Seas!

[Stratus22]

WOW!! Great Review! Great pics and Thanks again. My family and I are really enjoying your pictures and reviews!!

[narrow56]

We started out our day in the Main Dining Room. I didn't know it before hand, but it ended up being the chocolate breakfast morning I've heard so much about. Don't get too excited people, it was not nearly what I expected. I ordered chocolate waffles and my husband ordered chocolate pancakes. I expected them to be actually chocolate. The waffles were plain with chocolate syrup. The pancakes were chocolate chip pancakes. Still great, but not what I'd really expect at a chocolate breakfast. There was also a chocolate milkshake on the menu. Oh, and they definitely do not skimp on the bacon if you order it! :p

 

One thing I wanted to note is that our head waiter, Amit, visited with us every day. That is a first for me on a cruise. Sometimes I never even knew who our head waiter was. Not this time. Amit talked to us either at dinner, breakfast, lunch, and sometimes a combination. He was so friendly and really seemed to care about our experience. Also, he was VERY handsome. ;)

 

Coming up next...Coco Cay

[narrow56]

The biggest downer of the cruise was the tender process for Coco Cay. It definitely didn't ruin the cruise, but it was annoying. We were told to get a ticket for the tender boat near the champagne bar on Deck 5. We went, got our ticket, then went back to our room to wait for our number to be called.

 

Not long after we got our ticket, they announced that we no longer needed a ticket, and it would be open tender. I figured that meant the busiest time was over. Boy, was I ever wrong! The line was backed up from Deck to all the way up to Deck 4 (and maybe higher but I couldn't see that far). People were not happy, and there was just a lot of negative energy. It made zero sense for them to do this. The worst part was the line moved very slowly. I just don't understand why they stopped using the tickets.

 

Anyway...we got on the boat and it was probably a 5 minute ride to the island.

 

I wish we had explored the island more, maybe next time. We just wanted to relax on the beach. We headed to Coconut Willies Beach. After a couple of minutes of looking, we found 2 chairs. A tip-be sure to wear a lot of sunscreen!! We did, and still got a little burnt.

 

You can use your Sea Pass card on the island, which is cool. You will need cash if you want to buy things in the small straw market. I recommend trying a Coco Loco!

 

I just like this picture!

 

It started to get overcast so we decided to head back to the ship. We didn't want to get stuck in a long line like we once did in Grand Cayman.

[narrow56]

The best time to get pictures of a ship is if you're tendered (probably the only good part about tendering).

 

 

 

[narrow56]

Yummy lasagna:

 

If it weren't for the flourless chocolate cake in the middle, this would've been an awful dessert:

 

Our show for the night was a comedian. It was Rondell Sheridan. You might recognize him if you've ever seen That's So Raven. It was a great show! I wish there had been more comedy during the week. He was hilarious, but I think they should've given the show a rating in the Cruise Compass. I noticed some parents leaving with their children.

 

We went to Johnny Rocket's and got some delicious chocolate milkshakes with our B1G1 coupons. They are so good, try them!

 

The 70s party was this night on the Promenade, but we went to bed.

[narrow56]

We started out our day with breakfast in bed from our Classic Romance package. We had to give the card to our head waiter the night before with our choices.

 

I had the french toast and my husband had scrambled eggs with caviar. It also came with a fruit plate, cheese plate, juice, coffee, and mimosas!

 

At this point the rest of our romance package (canapes, petit fours, and cupcakes) still hadn't arrived. I made note of this and decided if they didn't come this night I'd go to guest services again.

 

After breakfast we went to the Captain's Corner. Besides the couple of people complaining about things, it was very informative. Captain Olav Nyseter said that the Explorer will be going into dry dock January 2015.

 

After the Captain's Corner we did some visiting around the ship.

 

 

It was a little rainy but the wind wasn't very bad. It was fun sitting up on the helipad for a little while.

[narrow56]

After wandering around the ship, we went to lunch. For whatever reason, we hadn't tried the Tutti Salad Bar until this day. Next time we cruise on Royal Caribbean I'm definitely getting it more. They have so many options and they mix it all up in a bowl for you. I also got the eggplant empanada this day which was great and the rum cake which was not so great.

 

We had our ice show at 2PM. You are assigned to a show based on your muster station, so there's no need to wait in an annoying line for tickets. The show was really good! I'm still amazed that there's an ice rink on a ship. I recommend going.

 

There was a beer tasting schedule for 2:30, so we left the ice show early. It was located in the Schooner bar and cost $14.99 per person. We got to try 5 beers, and whichever was our favorite we got a full bottle of. Each beer we tried we got about 1/3 of a glass full. It was pretty fun. I'm glad we went!

 

We headed back to our room to rest and get ready for our second formal night!

[jstraw20]

 

 

It looks like Capt. Olav is checking his watch. "How long is it going to take for this J'vel to finish asking his question?" :D

[narrow56]

It looks like Capt. Olav is checking his watch. "How long is it going to take for this J'vel to finish asking his question?" :D

 

haha it kind of does because the picture is so blurry. I think he was actually pointing at someone.

[narrow56]

I had been looking forward to dinner at Portofino for so long. I think that $20 per person is an excellent price. We live in a small town and couldn't have that nice of a dinner even here for that cheap. We got dressed up and went to have some formal pictures taken since I didn't like any of them from the first formal night. Then we headed to Portofino.

 

The service was EXCELLENT. I wish I remembered the names of the waiters. They were funny and attentive. They even got us to branch out and try a new wine which we loved.

 

Here are some food shots:

The minestrone wasn't very flavorful:

 

My husband got the seafood skewer (loved the presentation):

 

Beef tenderloin

 

More pictures coming up...

[narrow56]

Portofino Dessert Menu:

 

The tiramisu came with a shot of Bailey's/Kahlua:

 

My husband liked this dessert, and I thought it was cute:

 

And look what I saw in the library. 50 Shades of Grey in Swedish! hahaha

[narrow56]

After dinner we headed back to Guest Services to ask about our Classic Romance package for the second time. The woman who helped us was very kind and helpful. She called around and assured us the rest would be delivered to us. Sure enough, the canapes and petit fours (actually just chocolate covered strawberries) were waiting for us in our room. But still no cupcakes (we got these on our honeymoon and they were SO good).

 

I waited almost an hour then called Guest Services again. They woman I had talked to before told me the reason I didn't get the cupcakes was because they were on the Grand Romance package, not the Classic Romance. Um...I wrote down the list from the Classic Romance. I didn't even look at the Grand package online. I said oh well and figured I must have somehow made a mistake.

 

The next day the cupcakes show up in our room! They were delicious. And I'd like to note that I double checked when I got home and cupcakes are definitely on the Classic Romance package! :p

 

To end Day 6 we went to the production show, Fast Forward. The singers and dancers were great once again. Before the show, Richard Spacey did his infamous Evolution of Dance. You can find it on youtube!

 

Up next is Day 7.

[narrow56]

Sadly, our last day had arrived. We had to make the most of it though!

 

There was a backstage tour scheduled at 11:15AM in the Palace Theater. If you have time, be sure to go. It was fun and informative. You learn how the shows work and get to see the dressing room behind the stage.

 

The best part of our last lunch was the caramelized banana milles-feuilles!

 

There was also a waiter in the dining room walking around with a guitar singing songs. It was cute!

 

After lunch we went to a martini tasting at the Aquarium Bar. It was $14.95 and we tried 5 martinis (Cruise Compass only said 4!). I actually won a whole one (Cosmopolitan) for knowing how many ships are in the fleet!

 

We also tried an appletini, tropical martini, chocolate martini, and lemon drop martini. The price included a souvenir martini glass!

 

It was also cool that we ended up sitting right next to a couple who went to the same college as us a few decades before us. :p

Edited April 11, 2013 by narrow56

[narrow56]

I wanted to point out for my fellow Catholics out there that they held a Mass daily in the Maharjas Lounge. I'm not sure if this is a regular thing, but it was nice to go to.

 

For our last dinner I had:

Pineapple Lychee Soup (yum!)

 

Turkey Dinner (the turkey was kind of rubbery)

 

And perfect creme brulee:

 

We were sure to leave extra tips to our waiters and stateroom attendant using the envelopes left in our room. Their service was top notch the entire time! I cannot say enough good things about them.

 

The Farewell Show was good. I got a little teary eyed when we sang Auld Lang Syne to commemorate Richard's last sailing on the Explorer.

I loved the socks:

 

We had signed up for Express Departure at Guest Services previously on the cruise. It was definitely worth it! We waited in the Maharajas Lounge to be called then got on the shuttle, went through customs, and headed to our car. Including waiting in the lounge it was probably an hour total. You have to be able to carry all of your luggage though.

 

I was sad to end our cruise, but it was an overall excellent vacation!! Please feel free to ask any questions you might have. I do have all of the cruise compasses.

[Coolcruise02]

Great review and pictures!

[FunkyMumNJ]

Great review! I was sad to miss a few of the things you mentioned, especially the backstage tour.

 

This is a great shot!

 

[Loralie]

Great review, thanks for sharing. I was on the Explorer last year. We had a wonderful time and I hope to one day go again. Reading your review brought back great memories.

 

Loralie

[celestial123]

@Narrow56 - good to know about the daily mass. I will have to look into that one as I am going on EOs in November

[narrow56]

@Narrow56 - good to know about the daily mass. I will have to look into that one as I am going on EOs in November

 

Apparently there's a group in Texas that pays for priests to go on cruises.

[suezducruz]

We missed the show, but it was a headliner. It was the vocal band Home Free.

 

They were really good!!

[narrow56]

They were really good!!

 

That's what I heard. I do enjoy Royal's entertainment!

[cruiseclues]

Really enjoyed your photo review...those food photos were great...it appears that the Explorer of the Seas has improved it's food (we went 2/26/2012)...but we expected that it might improve after going on the Enchantment of the Seas 10/26/2012 (the food was fantastic...RCCL had gone to a new menu). :):):):)

[narrow56]

Really enjoyed your photo review...those food photos were great...it appears that the Explorer of the Seas has improved it's food (we went 2/26/2012)...but we expected that it might improve after going on the Enchantment of the Seas 10/26/2012 (the food was fantastic...RCCL had gone to a new menu). :):):):)

Thanks! I really enjoyed the food!

[jandj1224]

Enjoyed the review! Thanks!

[narrow56]

Enjoyed the review! Thanks!

 

You're welcome. I really enjoyed writing the review. I've been waiting to have some time to print it all out!