Review of EXPLORER: 9 Night Bermuda/Caribbean April 18-27, 2013

[EMED2010]

DAY 3 - SATURDAY, APRIL 20 – BERMUDA continued

After the causeway, we headed back in the direction of the Dockyard stopping along the way to take pictures. We talked with several locals and I have to say that the people of Bermuda and some of the friendliest that I have ever met in my travels.

 

 

We turned the scooter in and walked towards the ship. We decided to have a refreshing beverage.

Papa beer and mama beer. Guess which one is mine!

 

[EMED2010]

DAY 3 - SATURDAY, APRIL 20 – BERMUDA continued

 

Since it was going to take Doug a little longer to finish his, I left him there and went to the Rum Cake factory to pick up some gifts. On the way back, I stopped a Snorkel Beach to check it out. I thought it was really pretty. We are already talking about a 7 night Bermuda cruise since we loved Bermuda so I would probably do a day or half day at Snorkel Beach.

When I got back we headed to the ship.

 

 

 

Sailaway from Bermuda was a lot of fun. The upper deck was packed, drinks were flowing and the scenery going past the reefs was awesome.

 

 

[EMED2010]

DAY 3 - SATURDAY, APRIL 20 – BERMUDA continued

 

 

 

 

After sailaway, we went to the Crown and Kettle for a while and then got ready for dinner. Tonight’s menu was PIMIENTO. I had antipasti for my app and Doug had the shrimp cocktail. I got the Shrimp Insalata Mista and Doug got Garlic Tiger Shrimp and Eggplant Parmigiana. Everything was very good. For dessert I got the Tiramisu and Doug got the Royal Cheese Plate. Then Gabrial brought out the sampler!! Ugh, I could barely move. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of the food tonight.

Tomorrow is a Sea Day and my 50th birthday!

[Newsbuff16]

Beautiful photos......love Bermuda!

[EMED2010]

Beautiful photos......love Bermuda!

 

Thank you! Bermuda was amazing.

[Poorplaya]

Great review so far and amazing pictures, cannot wait to read the rest of this one.

[Merion_Mom]

For dessert I had the “Sky High” Lemon Meringue Pie – it was good, but more like a tart.

SKY HIGH LEMON MERINGUE PIE

 

Yeah, that's what I said the first time I saw hit.

 

Sky High? Where, in Lilliput? If that's Sky High, I'm Yao Ming.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Merion_Mom

[cj_one2000]

Yeah, that's what I said the first time I saw hit.

 

Sky High? Where, in Lilliput? If that's Sky High, I'm Yao Ming.

 

They really should have just called it Lemon Meringue Tart. Sky High makes me think of a really tall slice of pie.

[nyonefivetwo]

Bermuda looks beautiful! I want to go to there!

[EMED2010]

DAY 4 - SUNDAY, APRIL 21 – SEADAY – MY BIRTHDAY

Today is my 50th birthday! We slept in and planned on hitting some of the bars and just taking it easy today. We went up to Windjammer for breakfast and then brought back some coffee and sat on the balcony. After we showered, we went down to see if we could find our pictures. We grabbed what we could find and had them held under our room number. We planned on making our decision on what to keep once all the pictures were taken. We decided to check out the casino. We played the slots for a bit and lost it all. After the casino we thought it would be a good idea to book our next cruise certificate. It was still early in the trip and I figured it would get more crowded later on. We did not have to wait too belong before we got someone to help us. We booked our next cruise and also opened up an RC Visa. Might as well get more points for our next cruise.

 

By this time it was lunch time and we wanted to try the MDR for lunch. We were seated right away with 2 couples. Since we eat by ourselves at dinner time, this was a nice change and we got to chat with some very interesting people. We both ordered the fish that was on the menu and went to the salad bar to grab a few things. I know we had dessert and wine but I have no pictures so I don’t remember what is was.

After lunch we headed to the champagne art auction. We had no idea what to expect. We signed in, got some champagne and looked at the art. There was quite a few things that I liked so we grabbed a seat to see how this all worked. It was actually very interesting. We learned about two artists and then they just kept pouring more champagne. There was a very nice couple sitting near us who were also from Pennsylvania. They were with a huge group who were following a band from the Scranton area called The Poets. Cindy, who was the travel agent in charge of the group, invited us to their private band function that evening. About halfway through, Doug wanted to go down to the sports bar to see if there was anything on TV about the NFL draft. I stayed and ended up winning a print and a bottle of champagne with the raffle tickets they gave us when we signed in! Happy Birthday to me!

Here’s where things get a little fuzzy. It must have been all the champagne! I know we went to the room at some point and were hanging out on the balcony because I have a picture.

Somehow we ended up going to the Palace Theatre for what I think was the Welcome Back reception. I know we were supposed to get an invitation but with the room switch, we never got it. I don’t know how we knew when and where to go because it is not listed in the Compass. We got free drinks, watched the entertainment, the Captain spoke. It was nice. I know that probably most of you might be bored with it but we enjoyed it since it was our first one.

After that we went to our dinner at Portofino’s. Doug had stopped by the first day we were on the cruise to request a window table for us. We had eaten in Portofino’s on Brilliance. We had also eaten in Chops there and between the two, I preferred my meal from Portofino’s better. I got the seafood combo and Doug got the steak. Everything was delicious! The couple from England that were seated at the other table for two next to us were very nice to talk to. I had ordered the dessert sampler and then they brought me out a special dessert with a candle.

 

After dinner we headed over to Maharaja’s for The Poets. The band was very good, they played mostly 50’s and 60’s music. There was a nice size crowd there and we really had a nice time. Thanks to Cindy for inviting us and making my day even more special.

Tomorrow is St. Martin!

 

[oceanbabe]

This will be my 3rd time going on the Explorer to Bermuda from Bayonne. Instead of my hubby, will be going with my gf i know since 7th grade! My hubby isnt thrilled, but i need to have some time to do what i need. He will go visit our grandson in Chicago while i am away. This is our "girls getaway" which we have wanted to do for over 20 years! Anyone else doing same? talk soon,

[EMED2010]

DAY 5 - MONDAY, APRIL 22 – ST. MARTIN

Since we didn’t get to St. Martin until noon, we had a leisurely morning. Went to Windjammer for breakfast and I’m not sure what else we did. I know around 11:00-11:30, we thought we’d grab a little sandwich from Café Promenade so we wouldn’t have to worry about food at the beach. When we got there they still had the breakfast stuff. The lunch sandwiches weren’t coming out until noon. People that were in there were not happy. I believe I heard them say that Windjammer was closed at 11:00 and wasn’t opening for lunch until noon. Everyone wanted to get lunch before they got off. I think RC needs to rethink the hours of their quick service based on port times. I grabbed their granola bar and a banana to tide me over. Their granola bar was unbelievably good! After I got done eating , they brought out sandwiches early! Doug had some so we were good to go. We headed down to Deck 4 because we wanted to go to the helipad for docking. We hung out a little while on Deck 4. It has a really nice area to sit. I had researched it and planned to use it as my balcony when we were in the cabin on Deck 2. Since we now had a balcony, we hadn’t been there yet.

 

 

We left Deck 4 and headed to the helipad. When we got to the dock, the Norwegian Gem had beaten us there.

 

 

[EMED2010]

DAY 5 - MONDAY, APRIL 22 – ST. MARTIN continued

Disclaimer: the beach pictures are all taken with my little Sony point and shoot because I didn’t want to take the Nikon to the beach.

We docked and soon it was time to get off. I’ve seen pictures before on this board, but somehow there is nothing quite like walking between two huge cruise ships.

 

Our plan for today was to just get a taxi to Orient Beach. We followed the signs to the taxi area and there was a group of 8 heading to Orient so the taxi driver put us in his van and we were off. We told him we wanted to be dropped at Pedro’s.

When we arrived at Pedro’s I had planned on heading further to the left because of all I read on the boards about getting 2 chairs , an umbrella and two drinks for $15. When the guy at Pedros’s said he had two seats in the front row for $15 (chairs were 3 rows deep), I said OK. Bad move. Pedro’s did NOT include the two free drinks. Live and learn. It was still a good spot.

After we got settled, it was about 1:00PM. I went up to Pedro’s to get drinks. I wanted to try Guavaberry which I had heard so much about. They had Guavaberry Colada’s so I ordered two. Now I hadn’t brought a lot of cash. I wasn’t planning on spending much. I was expecting the free drink and then I was going to get a bucket of beer. I went to pay with my credit card but they would only let you charge if it was $20 or more. We weren’t hungry but I didn’t want to use up too much cash because we needed taxi money. I asked for another colada so it would total $21 and I could charge it.

While we were sitting there we saw a man walking up the beach in the water holding what looked to be a coconut. He was feeding fish which were swarming all around him. After a while I went in the water which was pretty warm. I had my swim goggles on and I was looking for fish or shells. I had seen a little boy and a man with a snorkel both pull up large conch shells. I did not see one. When I surfaced again, the man that was feeding the fish was there. He told me they were angelfish and took out some food and told me to go under to watch. I could not believe how many fish there were. He handed me some of the food and let me feed them. I went under and held the food in my hands. The fish swarmed all around my head. What an amazing experience!

 

I wanted a snack and also wanted to get a bucket of beer. I decided to walk down to Orange Fever since I wasn’t too happy with Pedros. They had jalapeno poppers on the menu which sounded good but the guy that waited on me, who was not very friendly, said they didn’t have any. I got a bucket of beer (Red Stripes) and they were extremely reasonable (can’t remember the exact price) and two bags of Fritos.

 

Now for those who are interested, we did see some VERY interesting sights while sitting where we were. There were a few men on the Club Orient side who liked to stand on the jetty separating the nude from not nude beach. They liked to face our direction. Unfortunately, they also thought it was okay to relieve themselves against the rocks. On the non-nude side, we saw topless couples (men and women) with matching thong bottoms. We also took a walk to the other side. SO many people from our side walked over there and back. The perfect description of what we saw came from an overheard conversation back on the ship. It was something to the effect of a melting candle. I am easily amused so what I saw didn’t bother me although I know some people may not like it. That’s why I chose to tell what we saw. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back because the beach itself was very nice.

Around 5:00 the beach starting clearing out. We decided to try to find a taxi. A taxi driver was there and gave us the choice of waiting for more people to fill it at a lower rate or he would just take us for a little bit higher rate. We told him we would go now. He told us that he would give us a little extra tour. Cool! He drove us all over and even took us down the street where he lived and his sister lived. He knew everyone and was waving out the window like a celebrity. Then he took us to an area where there was a beach that was a bit rough. There was a platform you could climb to get a better view. I was really surprised to see so many cactus on this island.

Edited May 4, 2013 by EMED2010

[EMED2010]

DAY 5 - MONDAY, APRIL 22 – ST. MARTIN continued

After our little tour, he took us to the area where the taxis drop you off. Since we didn’t leave until 9:00PM, I was planning on doing a little shopping in the area in front of the ship. It was about 5:40PM now and shops were already closing. I saw a really cute dress hanging up but the shop didn’t take credit cards and I didn’t have enough cash. I decided to run up to the room to get some cash and they told me they would hold the dress and wait. Doug walked to the ship with me but waited outside while I got the cash. We headed back.

 

I was able to get the dress but the rest of the stores I wanted to go into were now closed. I really wanted to try the chocolate shop! There was a little bar at the end and near it was a shop that sold the Guavaberry liquor. Doug went to the bar and got us two seats and I bought a bottle of the liquor to take home. We had a drink at the bar along with most of the people heading back to the ship. The Harley people were all there with their bikes.

 

We stayed for a little while then headed back to the ship because we were pretty hungry. The Fritos on the beach weren’t really filling. We had our standing 7:30 reservation but I was tired from swimming, didn’t feel like getting dressed so we just went to Windjammer for dinner. This would be our only night there. We found a quiet section overlooking St. Martin and sat there for dinner. It was nice. After dinner, we didn’t really feel like doing anything so we went back to the room. I decided I wanted a night picture of the ship. It was probably around 8:00 or 8:30AM and they let me back out when I said I was just going to take a picture.

I went back to the room and it wasn’t long before we said goodbye to St. Martin.

I really enjoyed St. Martin but I didn’t like our times for this port. I would have liked to get there in the morning so I would have all day. We wanted to do Maho and Orient and you couldn’t do both with the times we had. And staying until 9:00PM was useless since the shops at the pier all closed at 6:00PM. I really didn’t want to have to go into the actual town and worry about getting back to the ship.

Tomorrow is St. Thomas!

[Rwwebber4]

I love your review and pictures!! I can't wait for more!!

[larry the lobster]

More please....awesome review!!

[EMED2010]

I love your review and pictures!! I can't wait for more!!

 

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it!

[EMED2010]

More please....awesome review!!

 

Thank you!

 

Love your screen name - too cute!

[Ned11]

I've given up on my review. No one was taking any notice and I'm not sure I do them right so I'm reading yours instead. Very good by the way. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[EMED2010]

I've given up on my review. No one was taking any notice and I'm not sure I do them right so I'm reading yours instead. Very good by the way. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You were doing yours right and I was enjoying it. It was interesting to see the cruise from another perspective and you did and saw things that we didn't.

And thanks!

[dorothyh]

We are doing a 9 night Explorer cruise out of Bayonne next April for MY 50th birthday! I'm enjoying your review and am looking forward to the rest of it!

[EMED2010]

We are doing a 9 night Explorer cruise out of Bayonne next April for MY 50th birthday! I'm enjoying your review and am looking forward to the rest of it!

 

Well I hope you have as good of a time on yours as I did on mine.

[sharod]

Enjoying your review!

 

I plan on doing a mini-review with pics, hopefully by next weekend. Then people can see what us crazy biker's are like:eek::p (not really)

 

My hubby ordered the lemon meringue pie. We had to laugh when they set it down in front of him. He was imagining something a little different!

[EMED2010]

Enjoying your review!

 

I plan on doing a mini-review with pics, hopefully by next weekend. Then people can see what us crazy biker's are like:eek::p (not really)

 

My hubby ordered the lemon meringue pie. We had to laugh when they set it down in front of him. He was imagining something a little different!

 

I can't wait to read your review. All the bikers in your group that we met around the pool area were so nice and a lot of fun.

 

Yeah, we had a good laugh over that lemon meringue:p

[SuitCaseBears]

Awesome review and pictures. Thank you so very much!!!:)

 

I will be live-blogging (hopefully) almost the exact same cruise (but we do Labadee instead of St. Thomas) leaving on May 16...OMG that's just over a week away.

 

We're going for my birthday (a lot more years than you), and our 15th anniversary (we were late bloomers... OK, I had a practice marriage first).

 

I'm so excited and these fantastic pictures and the wonderful review are just making it all the harder to wait.