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

[maxs mom]

Thank you for posting the picture of the table group. A very good cruising friend is with you!

Tamer from Sweden, a really nice guy. We last saw him on Serenade from BCN to Dubai in January this year .

 

Oh .....I absolutely loved Tamer!!! What a sweetheart! Every time we saw him, he said, "Eat, eat! Drink, drink!! Hopefully we'll see him again on another cruise!

[maxs mom]

OK.....back to the resort. As with most beaches in Bermuda....especially on the South Road......there is quite a steep walk down to the beach. Once we got there we found two chairs in a great location and set up camp!! Oh.....by the way.......there is free wi-fi at the hotel. They said it only worked in the lobby, but we got it even better out on the beach!! How cool is that!

The beach is a little different here. The seating area is like up on a cliff and the beach is down below. It's a little rocky in this area, but you can walk over to Elbow Beach if you want to go swimming. But the views from up here were just stunning.

Here is the place we sat:

The view from my chair:

I walked over towards Elbow Beach to get this shot looking back over to where we were sitting.

[maxs mom]

I took a little walk and got some more shots around the beach.

[maxs mom]

More pics from this fabulous place:

[maxs mom]

This is a good view of Elbow Beach.....a short walk right next door.....and much more suitable for swimming. Easy to get to.

More shots of this awesome place:

A couple of bathing beauties from Cruise Critic!!

[maxs mom]

I loved exploring this place:

And so did our CC buddies!

This is Gail who let us know about this place. Thanks, Gail! We'll definitely be going back.

[Ocean Boy]

Robyn,

 

I noticed that they were in the stadium. Sorry if that makes you sad :(

 

It doesn't make her sad. Robyn just likes to roll her eyes.

[maxs mom]

When it was lunch time......everyone else went up to the restaurant to eat, but we had the beach boy bring our lunch down to the beach to us. It was just a little too hard to walk back up those stairs for us.

I had a really good salad and a fish sandwich with fries......delicious and fresh!!

For dessert I chose, of course, something chocolate! This was a great pyramid of some kind of cake on the bottom and a moose on top with nuts. yum!!

After lunch......we just continued to chillax some more and enjoy this beautiful place.

[cruizefam]

Dinner on this first night was in Portofino. We always take advantage of our two for one perk. All coupons are loaded on your sea pass card.....no muss' date=' no fuss......I like it!![/size']

We met Janet and Gene there at 8:00 and it was not crowded at all. We had a wonderful dinner there. We have not always cared for Portofino, but we have learned our way around it and really enjoy going there now. Most all Portofino's are being replaced with Giovanni's Table....which we really like!!!

Janet and Gene had the seafood skewer and they really liked that. Janet has to eat gluten free and they were very accommodating for her as they were all week!

. I have been eating & traveling glutenfree for over 8 years now and every time I'm only the Explorer they discourage me from MTD and also Portofinos. They have done fairly well in the MDR though. Would you elaborate a bit more on both Portofinos & MTD on the gluten free for me, thank-you! Also if your excursion thru the hotel that included lunch prepared gluten free? Again, thank you! Edited October 25, 2013 by cruizefam

[maxs mom]

Dave and Dharma, from our roll call, seemed to really enjoy this place as well. You may remember Dharma, who reported live from the Grandeur on the famous fire cruise.

I must say that this was one incredible beach day!! It made up for that rainy day yesterday. Hope to get back here again soon!!

Simply stunning!!!!

[maxs mom]

. I have been eating & traveling glutenfree for over 8 years now and every time I'm only the Explorer they discourage me from MTD and also Portofinos. They have done fairly well in the MDR though. Would you elaborate a bit more on both Portofinos & MTD on the gluten free for me, thank-you! Also if your excursion thru the hotel that included lunch prepared gluten free? Again, thank you!

 

Oh......they have really stepped it up in these two areas. They were awesome in both places. They were very attentive and aware and made sure that she was taken care of. I'm not sure about the resort, though, since Janet was not with us there. I think most places are coming around now and are trying harder to make these accommodations.

The key in the dining room is to make contact with the Head Waiter right away and he sees to it that you get everything you need! We didn't have any problems. Oh.....and in the Windjammer.....they had a special section in the dessert area with labeled gluten free desserts.

[ckrobyn]

It doesn't make her sad. Robyn just likes to roll her eyes.

 

 

You again!! LOL :rolleyes:

[ckrobyn]

Robyn,

 

I noticed that they were in the stadium. Sorry if that makes you sad :(

 

 

Not one bit :) It is actually the answer I wanted to hear!!!!! :D

[island lady]

More great photos! Doing a fantastic job Jane!

 

I have an interesting question:

 

We will be on board for the first time during the first week of

September next year, and then again during the first week of

December when she comes to Port Canaveral.

 

During that time inbetween, Explorer goes into dry dock.

 

Do you happen to know what changes will be made during that

time? It will be interesting to see the " just before" and " just after". :)

[maxs mom]

More great photos! Doing a fantastic job Jane!

 

I have an interesting question:

 

We will be on board for the first time during the first week of

September next year, and then again during the first week of

December when she comes to Port Canaveral.

 

During that time inbetween, Explorer goes into dry dock.

 

Do you happen to know what changes will be made during that

time? It will be interesting to see the " just before" and " just after". :)

 

I don't know for sure......I'm just speculating here. Since they are removing Portofino from all the other ships and replacing them with Giovanni's Table.....that will probably happen. Don't know if they can add a Chops or not, but that would be nice. I'm sure they will turn the 19th Hole area into the Diamond Lounge. Probably put a big screen TV in the Pool Area. The Explorer needs a lot of cosmetic work.....cleaning up rust and that sort of thing. It took a beating being in some severe winter conditions for so long. They still have some TV's in the cabins to be replaces with flat screens. I know they have been replacing a lot of equipment in the theater area. And they are adding 75 cabins to all the Voyager Class ships.....up on Deck 12 forward. Will be interesting .

[maxs mom]

Well.....this wonderful beach day had to come to an end! Our taxi drove up at 3:30 right on the dot and we were driven back to the ship. We showered and rested a bit before going to the CL. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset tonight.

The CL was pretty much deserted tonight. So much so that Glenn even had time to sit down and chat with us a bit!

Dinner was again at 8:15. We were seated in a different place tonight, but within throwing distance of our original spot and wait staff. Rodney saw us and came over and made sure everything was OK.....He even came back and served us our dinner when it was ready.

The menu was not the best tonight. I can't really brag on anything. I had the pork with crab stuffing and it was just OK.

I had the warm chocolate cake for dessert and it was pretty good, as usual.

[Shar27]

What a great review!! I will be on the Explorer in a few weeks for the fourth time and it looks great!

 

I have never been on a Bermuda cruise, but am really considering it. Your secret beach looks amazing.:p

[maxs mom]

After dinner.....we strolled the Promenade.......

We ended up at the Week-end Warrior where we found the North Carolina/Miami game on TV. (Go Heels!) Well, we stopped in to watch for a while.

We were so impressed with the new black uniforms and everything black at Chapel Hill. They really tried hard in this game, but it was not to be. We watched here through the half but watched the sad end to the game in our cabin.

This was our towel animal tonight:

[maxs mom]

What a great review!! I will be on the Explorer in a few weeks for the fourth time and it looks great!

 

I have never been on a Bermuda cruise, but am really considering it. Your secret beach looks amazing.:p

 

Oh.....everyone must go to Bermuda. It is wonderful!! So different from the Caribbean islands. Be sure and go on a 7 night cruise......not a 5 night. You don't have long enough to fully enjoy the island on a 5 night. Hope you enjoy your time on the Explorer!

[Rogueperson]

Here are a couple of pictures that I forgot from that evening. We were walking out of the dining room and I shot this of the dining room ....deck 3. Someone was using the Captain's table tonight. I think it was the Pinnacle folks on board and some other D+ folks.

 

 

And here is the towel animal du jour:

 

 

 

 

 

Ooooh, i've never seen this one before. I like it!

[Ocean Boy]

Oh.....everyone must go to Bermuda. It is wonderful!! So different from the Caribbean islands. Be sure and go on a 7 night cruise......not a 5 night. You don't have long enough to fully enjoy the island on a 5 night. Hope you enjoy your time on the Explorer!

 

I can't tell you how much I agree with what you just said.

[Ocean Boy]

Not one bit :) It is actually the answer I wanted to hear!!!!! :D

 

You forgot something.......:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

:D

[RevSmith]

Wow Jane I should have started reading when you told us about this site, it took me a long, long time to read your fascinating and wonderful review. You are truly enjoying your retirement. Way to go.

By the by, both John and you look GREAT!

Rev

[maxs mom]

Wow Jane I should have started reading when you told us about this site, it took me a long, long time to read your fascinating and wonderful review. You are truly enjoying your retirement. Way to go.

By the by, both John and you look GREAT!

Rev

 

Thanks, Rev!! I'm not finished yet!! Come back and read more later. Just taking a short break right now. Wine is involved!! I'll be back later!!

[gaylemh]

Great review. It was so nice meeting you on Explorer. I'm so glad you liked Coco Reef. It's my favorite spot in Bermuda. It would be nice if some of the other resorts opened their doors to cruisers. It's a very relaxing way to spend the day.