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

[maxs mom]

This cruise is coming to an end way too fast. I think that you had better book another one..... soon. I would do my part but I'm not the retired one.:eek::D

 

LOL!!! We are booked the first two weeks in December on the Indy! I have not put the suitcases away. I finished laundry and started packing again!! Yay!!!!!!

[Ocean Boy]

LOL!!! We are booked the first two weeks in December on the Indy! I have not put the suitcases away. I finished laundry and started packing again!! Yay!!!!!!

 

That made me laugh. If this is retirement then bring it on!:D

[maxs mom]

We had breakfast in the MDR early......it just wasn't the same as our special dining room! Still......it was good.

We had number 1 luggage tags and were supposed to be called off at 9:30. So after breakfast we gathered all our stuff and went down to the theater.....our assigned gathering place for debarkation.

We were very comfortable there and didn't have to wait too long after getting there. They called our number at 9:15. So we went down to Deck one and got on the shuttle over to the terminal.

We easily found our luggage and breezed through customs.....no problems. Then we had a short walk to the car. We parked in the handicapped area and our car was right there. Very easy. Now to just get all this luggage in the back!!

Ta da!!!!!! No problem, mon!

We got on the road and got to Janet and Gene's house around noon! We rested there for the rest of the day and headed out for North Carolina early on Monday.

[CRUISEMAMI]

LOL!!! We are booked the first two weeks in December on the Indy! I have not put the suitcases away. I finished laundry and started packing again!! Yay!!!!!!

 

Jane, your reviews are the best!!!

Leigh learned from Richard Spacey! They were together for years! Saw them on Freedom, back when and then Oasis few times! Richard is back on Freedom, and Leigh got his own ship!!! He's very good!!!

Can't wait.. Maybe we can do the Quest on Indy? It will be fun!!!

See you soon!!!!

Franca

 

 

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[maxs mom]

That made me laugh. If this is retirement then bring it on!:D

 

Now that made ME laugh!! So far, so good!! We are so fortunate to be able to do this!!

[maxs mom]

Jane, your reviews are the best!!!

Leigh learned from Richard Spacey! They were together for years! Saw them on Freedom, back when and then Oasis few times! Richard is back on Freedom, and Leigh got his own ship!!! He's very good!!!

Can't wait.. Maybe we can do the Quest on Indy? It will be fun!!!

See you soon!!!!

Franca

 

 

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Yes mam!!! Looking forward to a large time in December!!!!

[maxs mom]

So.....another cruise in the books and it was a great one!! We are so happy that Janet and Gene could join us on this one. Hope we can do one next year with even more family members!!

We were especially happy to see the Explorer doing so well. She is still a great ship with a great crew. We saw so many improvements and I know she will do well in her new home after the repo and the refurb!!! Hope we can cruise on her again.

Those of you who have never done Bermuda......be sure and put it on your list......you won't be sorry.

Our drive back to North Carolina was much better than the drive up! There was one happy little girl waiting for us when we got there, too.

We were able to pick up Miss Holly at the "spa" before we got home.

Well, here's a toast to all our cruise buddies. It was a pleasure cruising with you and it was a pleasure sharing our vacation with you on Cruise Critic.

Up next.....Independence of the Seas Dec. 1st and 7th! Cruising with some special cruise buddies both weeks!! Can't wait. The suitcases are already out!!

[Ocean Boy]

And my wish for you is that "Invitation to Dance" is no longer playing on this ship. :eek::eek::eek:

[maxs mom]

And my wish for you is that "Invitation to Dance" is no longer playing on this ship. :eek::eek::eek:

 

LOL!!!! I hear ya!!!! Fortunately we don't go to those shows any more, so we won't be affected!!!! But I know what you mean!!! LOL again!

[C Cruise Dude]

Jane, thank you for your review. Explorer was my first Royal Caribbean ship and I have fond memories of her.

 

My favorite place on the ship

 

The Ice Show was a unique experience on a cruise ship

 

The point at the bow of the ship behind you there was just fantastic. I spent an hour there just watching the ship plow through the water

 

I took a photo similar to this. Just great!

 

Great photo of the two of you

 

Jack

[maxs mom]

Jane, thank you for your review. Explorer was my first Royal Caribbean ship and I have fond memories of her.

 

My favorite place on the ship

 

The Ice Show was a unique experience on a cruise ship

 

The point at the bow of the ship behind you there was just fantastic. I spent an hour there just watching the ship plow through the water

 

I took a photo similar to this. Just great!

 

Great photo of the two of you

 

Jack

 

Thank you so much, Jack! You are so kind!

[Geema]

Great review as usual! Say hello to Raj for me and tell him Danny misses him. My daughter in law (the teacher) still mentions talking to you in the CL and on Labadee. Have a great time on the Indy!!!

[maxs mom]

Great review as usual! Say hello to Raj for me and tell him Danny misses him. My daughter in law (the teacher) still mentions talking to you in the CL and on Labadee. Have a great time on the Indy!!!

 

Hey!!! Thanks for stopping in and saying hello! I remember your family quite well!! You reminded me that I need to send Raj an e-mail soon!! He will just be coming back on board when we cruise (the week before, I think!) He's the best. Give my regards to your family!

[bigjeter312]

Jane - enjoyed your review. Looking forward to seeing you and John

in December on the Independence. Al

[smeck]

loved your review. We honeymooned at elbow beach and cruised back three other times love the island.

[ckrobyn]

And my wish for you is that "Invitation to Dance" is no longer playing on this ship. :eek::eek::eek:

 

Seriously???? I've seen that show at least 4 times. They really need to retire it already.

 

 

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[avazah]

Awesome review! It's making me quite excited for my cruise in January on Explorer!

[dsvd79]

Another wonderful review!

[IndyCapt]

Great review! We'll be on EX for the first time next year for the repo. Really enjoyed your pictures. What kind of camera do you use? Again, thanks for taking the time to share your experiences...

[maxs mom]

Al......thanks for stopping by. Looking forward to seeing you and Phyllis on Dec. 1st. Another great dinner in Chops...right?! I read where they are trying something new on the Indy TA. They are loading D and D+ cards with three free drinks in any bar for every day to try and alleviate the crowding in the CL. It's just a trial and I don't know if they will be doing that on our cruise. It will be interesting. Could be just a TA thing.

smeck......Elbow Beach is apparently quite the honeymoon spot! I've heard that from many people! I didn't walk over there, but it looked great. Not sure if they have a day pass or not.....I think I may have heard that they do, but it is very expensive.

Robyn......LOL!!!!

dsvd......thank you very much!!

avazah.....I hear January is a great time to cruise. Can't wait to try it out!! Enjoy the Explorer.

IndyCapt......That repo should be great! The camera that I used is a new one that we got this summer. It is a Sony NEX 5R.. Basically it's a point and shoot that acts like an SLR. I love it!! I got so tired of my point and shoots taking such lousy pictures 50% of the time. So I got this one to try. It's a little larger than a point and shoot, but I haven' t had any trouble carrying it around. It's not bulky at all.....AND it has interchangeable lenses. It does so much stuff that I can't even begin to understand, but it is easy to use.

[ckrobyn]

Yup! Crystal and Fantasy Caves. They are beautiful!! I think she has just had a too sheltered life.;):eek::D

 

Yes. My life has been sheltered by Ritz Carlton, Hilton and Omni to name a few. The last I checked, none of these fine brands are in the cave business. :)

 

 

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[maxs mom]

Yes. My life has been sheltered by Ritz Carlton, Hilton and Omni to name a few. The last I checked, none of these fine brands are in the cave business. :)

 

 

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Good one, Robyn!! ;):D

[sail2sea]

Before we knew it' date=' it was time to go and change for lunch. We were invited to have lunch with officers at noon. It was held in the same area where we eat breakfast on Deck 3. There were two tables of D+ and Pinnacle folks there.[/size']

This lunch was really, really nice and once again, we managed to overeat!! I had a shrimp risotto.....full of shrimp. That was a gracious plenty to eat right there, but then I had salmon for the main course. John had chateaubriand.

 

Chateaubriand! looking good!

Edited October 27, 2013 by sail2sea

[Ocean Boy]

Good one' date=' Robyn!! ;):D[/size']

 

Don't encourage her.

[Crusin Karen]

I just spent the morning reading your review. It was wonderful! As you can see from my sig, we sail almost exclusively with CCL. We live about 20 minutes from the port of Manhattan, so that is where we cruise from. We HAVE been on Voyager of the Seas twice and Bayonne is also very close to our home. Someone suggested I look into the Explorer repo cruise for November, 2014. Since I NEVER go to the RCI board, I decided to, well, EXPLORE :eek: and there you were! :p I am a bit nervous booking this as we are platinum on CCL and they all but kiss our feet when we board the ship and we would be the low pax on the totem pole on Explorer/RCI. But it was fun to see the ship and might help me make a decision about booking the cruise on her. Happy retirement and happy sailing to you and your DH. BTW, have been to Bermuda TONS of times on both land cruises (Elbow Beach Surf Club! ;)) and cruises, most notably in the olden days when the ships could dock in Hamilton and then sail to St. Georges. It's a beautiful little island and I agree that everyone should experience it at least once in their lifetime. :)