Max's Mom on the Explorer ~ 10/13/13 ~ My Picture Diary

[CRUISEMAMI]

Franca.....I have already started packing for our December cruises!! Can't wait to see you and Bill again!

 

Same here, Jane!!!

 

 

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[KeywestK]

Congrats on your retirement! Loving your review and pics!

[evelyn51]

Lovely to see another photo review from you, Jane! Congrats on the retirement!

 

 

 

Same from another Jane in Canada. We are Retired now for 9 yrs. Luv it almost as much as Royal cruises! ;)

[maxs mom]

Monday ~ October 14, 2013 ~ At Sea

I was up around 7 this morning and off on my usual routine of coffee in the Concierge Lounge and journal writing. Nobody there but me! And that's how it was the whole week. Very unusual. But first.....here is a picture of our long walk down the hallway from our aft cabin!

This is the very empty CL.....and that's how it was all week!

I don't know if anyone ever ate the breakfast that was in there:

I stayed there for a little while and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. When I got back to the cabin, John was ready for breakfast and Janet and Gene came by, so we went to breakfast down on Deck 3 in the special area set aside for D/D+/P. Our last cruise was on the Freedom and for the first time.....we did not have this perk. And we missed it.....badly!!!! The Explorer knows how to do this and we were quite impressed with the service here. WOW....is all I can say. This is one of our favorite D+ perks and they really do it well on this ship! One of the waiters there recognized us from a Serenade cruise a few years ago. He was one of our waiters. Amazing. The waiters couldn't do enough for us. It was wonderful all week.

This was our first morning at breakfast. We were happy campers!

We went straight from breakfast to the Meet and Mingle. It was held very early.....at 9:15....in Majarajah's Lounge. There was a very good turn out. Dee.....one of our roll call members ....made the nicest nametags for everybody.

[maxs mom]

Two members from the CD's staff ran the event. One of the was Erkey from Turkey. He was hilarious all week as the CD's sidekick.

They raffled off several prizes....mostly internet credit, hats, and in room movies.

After this, we went back to our cabin, but it hadn't been cleaned yet, so we went to the library to do some reading.

I left here after a while and went to the casino for the slot pull that one of our roll call members organized. I stayed there for an hour and came back around noon. John was still in the library.....our cabin had still not been cleaned. Turns out that since our cabin steward was new to the ship.....he had to go to meetings all morning long and could not get into the cabins. We politely let his supervisor know that maybe they could schedule these meetings at some time other than prime cleaning time. It was certainly not the cabin steward's fault. He had these meetings two other mornings, but our cabin was always cleaned in a timely manner.

So back to the slot pull! Gerry......one of our roll call members.....did a great job organizing this. She went to the casino manager and got some great prizes to give out. We used a Wheel of Fortune machine and each put in $15. There were 55 participants. I think we hit the spin around 5 times.....3 for $100, once for $50, and once for $30. I was lucky enough to hit it for $100. That was fun.

This is Gerry, who worked so hard on this:

When all was said and done.....we had $727 on the machine. We split that and each got $13 back. It was a lot of fun!

[denamo]

Jane,

I so enjoy your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You look so relaxed (dare I say younger) in the pictures.:) Retirement certainly agrees with you!

 

We've cruised with Erkey from Turkey, and he is definitely entertaining!

 

Looking forward to your delightful pictures and review.

[maxs mom]

We hit the Windjammer for lunch and it was very good once again. Not near as crowded as the WJ on the Freedom Class ships. Today they had an area where you could get ice cream sundae's and banana splits.....pretty cool!

After lunch we had some quiet time in our cabin.....which was finally cleaned! The weather was not very nice today. We were rolling a little bit and the wind was fierce. Not many people were out on deck. It was really hard to walk out there.

Janet, Gene, and I went down to the Café Promenade around 4 for some tea and coffee and people watching. A Raggae band was playing.....it was nice.

Tonight was formal night. We went to the CL first. Very quiet in here once again.....not crowded at all. Remember the Suite Guests were elsewhere. Glenn and Julian took very good care of us. We visited with Pat, a "resident" of the Explorer. He cruises for three weeks, then goes home for one week, then back on. He had 37 more cruises booked on the Explorer at that pace. The sisters that we met the night before joined us and we had a nice time.

Glenn made me a flower out of a napkin tonight. That was cool!

[maxs mom]

Jane,

I so enjoy your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You look so relaxed (dare I say younger) in the pictures.:) Retirement certainly agrees with you!

 

We've cruised with Erkey from Turkey, and he is definitely entertaining!

 

Looking forward to your delightful pictures and review.

 

You are too kind!! Janet and I both have retired after teaching for 40 years!! We were also celebrating our birthdays which are coming up next week. Mine on the 30th and Janet's on Nov. 2.

[Sinppu]

Hi Jane, happy retirement!! :cool::);)

 

Good to see you on the Explorer, she was our first ship!

We were such newbies then that we sat in the Windjammer eating during sail-away :rolleyes:

Wouldn't make that mistake now :D

 

Janet and Gene look like very nice cruising buddies.

 

Keep up the good work!

[maxs mom]

We met Janet and Gene at 8:15 at the MTD dining room on Deck 5. Vino....our Headwaiter, seated us at a nice round corner table. We explained to him about Janet's gluten intolerance and that John likes sugar free chocolate ice cream every night. He said that would be no problem. Our fabulous waiter was Rodney and his assistant was Kenger and we were able to be with them every night (well almost). This is Kenger......she was delightful:

I had a fabulous salad this evening....along with the filet of beef.....and cheesecake for dessert. It was quite good!

This was a really nice evening in the MDR.

We strolled around on the Promenade after dinner before turning in.

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane, happy retirement!! :cool::);)

 

Good to see you on the Explorer, she was our first ship!

We were such newbies then that we sat in the Windjammer eating during sail-away :rolleyes:

Wouldn't make that mistake now :D

 

Janet and Gene look like very nice cruising buddies.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Hi Sinny! Nice to hear from you! Looks like you have a couple of nice cruises lined up. Will look forward to your reports next year!!

[Lloyd555]

Great review and pictures. I haven't sailed from Cape Liberty yet, but looking forward to doing so on the Quantum of the Seas. I liked the photos of you inside the terminal at Cape Liberty. Haven't seen many photos like that and I've heard a few stories about it. Can't wait to see what Royal Caribbean's new cruise terminal will look like when it is done in fall 2014.

 

Any signs of construction yet?

Edited October 24, 2013 by Lloyd555

[maxs mom]

Tuesday ~ October 15, 2013 ~ At Sea

Another wonderful sea day.....I just love them. I was up early again and hit the CL for coffee. Again......it was deserted.

We had another fabulous breakfast with great service and then checked out the pictures on Deck 3. After that we went up to Deck 6 and John found a nice place to sit "in the bow" and made a new friend.

He enjoyed sitting here and chatting while Janet and I went to the Schooner Bar and played a round of trivia. We only got 9 out of 20 right, but at least we got some. A lot of the questions.....we just had to guess.

We met John back at his "perch" on deck 6. This I where the Loyalty Ambassador's area is. We chatted with Wendy, the LA, for a while because she was not busy.

John really enjoyed sitting in this spot. It is really a nice area to sit and read or just do some people watching. Check it out!

We had lunch again in the WJ......again ...... a nice experience.

[maxs mom]

Great review and pictures. I haven't sailed from Cape Liberty yet, but looking forward to doing so on the Quantum of the Seas. I liked the photos of you inside the terminal at Cape Liberty. Haven't seen many photos like that and I've heard a few stories about it. Can't wait to see what Royal Caribbean's new cruise terminal will look like when it is done in fall 2014.

 

Any signs of construction yet?

 

I didn't see any signs of any construction, but that doesn't mean anything! I have seen the renderings of the new terminal and it looks very nice!! Should be a really great port when that is done!!

[maxs mom]

After lunch we went to the Ice Show. You go according to your muster station. Pretty clever. No waiting in line for tickets. It seems to be very efficient.

The Ice Show was the same show that we saw on the Explorer several years ago. They don't change. This one is called "The Spirit of the Seasons" or something like that. But it was very good and entertaining. A few of the things were different ....like the guest skater. It is VERY cold in there, so be sure to take a sweater or a jacket or a blanket!! Actually ......it was quite cold all over the ship. I always pack a bunch of sweaters even in the summertime in the Caribbean!

Here are some pictures I took at the show. Very nice!

The guest entertainer:

[maxs mom]

Here are some more pics from the Ice Show. Very impressive.

After the show, the Cruise Director, Leigh Xuereb, stumbled out onto the ice to make some announcements. He was very funny and a great CD. He and Erkey were just hilarious.

[maggieq]

Jane, loving your review, of course. It is a small world though as we met Pat on our Explorer cruise (concierge lounge). Such a nice gentleman.

[disneybabe]

Loving this review! We will be on the Explorer for the 3rd time next month, we will also be traveling with a Jane. We enjoy cruising with no flying, Cape Liberty may not be pretty but it is close and convenient. I read how you liked the Crown and Anchor coupons are pre-loaded on your Sea-pass card. This will be my first cruise with that in effect. I only use a couple but I am interested in the B1G1 free glass of wine coupon. Will this just come off automatically at some point or do I need to order 2 glasses at a time? I like my wine but not usually 2 fists at a time. I know you were able to take advantage of the diamond lounge so you may or may not be able to answer this. Thanks to you or anyone who can answer.

Edited October 24, 2013 by disneybabe

[The Big Booper]

We've seen the Season's ice show 3 times now and still like it. It was first staged on this ship in 2008. During the holiday portion do they still pick a little kid from the crowd and put him in a sled?

[ckrobyn]

Loving your review!!!! I am on the Explorer in a few weeks for the first time and I can't wait!!

We will definitely be in the CL, even though we are suite guests and as it seems may have an option of another location!

 

 

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[debk68]

THANKS for you review. After reading so many negative ones on the main page, I am glad you had such great time!

[smeck]

Great start I wouldn't expect anything different from the mother of Max. :)

[maxs mom]

Loving this review! We will be on the Explorer for the 3rd time next month, we will also be traveling with a Jane. We enjoy cruising with no flying, Cape Liberty may not be pretty but it is close and convenient. I read how you liked the Crown and Anchor coupons are pre-loaded on your Sea-pass card. This will be my first cruise with that in effect. I only use a couple but I am interested in the B1G1 free glass of wine coupon. Will this just come off automatically at some point or do I need to order 2 glasses at a time? I like my wine but not usually 2 fists at a time. I know you were able to take advantage of the diamond lounge so you may or may not be able to answer this. Thanks to you or anyone who can answer.

 

Yes.....you just tell them what you want and they take care of it. Any time I've ordered the two glasses for one....I had to get both. You'll just have to ask and see what they say. I haven't ordered those since they put them on the sea pass.

[maxs mom]

Dave.....yes, they did get a kid from the audience to ride in the sled.

Robyn.....so glad to see that you are going on the Explorer. I think that you will enjoy it. Not sure if the extra venue for Suite Guests was for our sailing only or not. I guess it depends on how many D+ are on board. Be sure and let us know!

Deb.....we did have a good time. I just don't get negative reviews. Sometimes I read a negative review from the same cruise I was on and can't believe it was the same cruise!

Smeck....LOL!! Thank you! Our Max was a 100 pound Doberman lapdog.

[smeck]

Dave.....yes' date=' they did get a kid from the audience to ride in the sled. [/size']

Robyn.....so glad to see that you are going on the Explorer. I think that you will enjoy it. Not sure if the extra venue for Suite Guests was for our sailing only or not. I guess it depends on how many D+ are on board. Be sure and let us know!

Deb.....we did have a good time. I just don't get negative reviews. Sometimes I read a negative review from the same cruise I was on and can't believe it was the same cruise!

Smeck....LOL!! Thank you! Our Max was a 100 pound Doberman lapdog.

 

Oops:eek:

Edited October 25, 2013 by smeck