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

[maxs mom]

Chateaubriand! looking good!

 

I had a bite! It WAS good!! Neither one of us should be eating beef and we don't normally, but on cruises......we cheat a little bit.

[maxs mom]

Don't encourage her.

 

I love it!! :D

Oh....Robyn, by the way......where is DeDe now?

[maxs mom]

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. :)

 

Hey Karen! Thanks for reading!

I know what you mean. We now stay almost exclusively with RCI for the same reason. When they throw rose petals at your feet when you get on..........!!! We will cruise on Celebrity if we see a good price. We cruised Carnival once and it was just not a good fit for us. If you can cruise some time when there won't be any kids on board......I say give the Explorer a try. I think you would like it. They do some really nice Caribbean cruises from Bayonne.

 

Yes ......love Bermuda. And the old days in the smaller ships that could dock in Hamilton and St. George. That was great.

Again.....thanks for reading!

[Harley-Davidson_Family]

How did you like being on the end? Did you feel closed in with the steel walls on both sides or loved the super privacy.

[ckrobyn]

I love it!! :D

Oh....Robyn' date=' by the way......where is DeDe now?[/size']

 

Right now our dear DeDe is on vacation in Turkey visiting her family. I believe she will return to the Brilliance as GRM after her vacation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ckrobyn]

Don't encourage her.

 

Hahaha! You are all the encouragement I need!!!! If I could find the "roll eyes" emoticon on tapatalk, I would insert it here ________

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[maxs mom]

How did you like being on the end? Did you feel closed in with the steel walls on both sides or loved the super privacy.

 

We have always tried to book midship because of John's walking issues, but on the last few cruises.....we've booked the "deals" and they have been way aft. And you know what.......we haven't minded that at all. Now the balcony in this particular cabin was a little claustrophobic compared to the non steel structured ones. But I didn't mind it too much. I'd rather have the other, but we managed. Good question!

[maxs mom]

Right now our dear DeDe is on vacation in Turkey visiting her family. I believe she will return to the Brilliance as GRM after her vacation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Awwww.......I would love to see DeDe again. The Brilliance, too, for that matter!

[LABCHICK]

Thanks Jane for a wonderful review. We will be doing the repo on the Explorer next Nov. Really looking forward to that cruise.

 

5 weeks from today we will be seeing you when we board the Indy.

[Ocean Boy]

Hahaha! You are all the encouragement I need!!!! If I could find the "roll eyes" emoticon on tapatalk, I would insert it here ________

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

At least you had a reason for leaving it out.....:rolleyes:

[maxs mom]

Thanks Jane for a wonderful review. We will be doing the repo on the Explorer next Nov. Really looking forward to that cruise.

 

5 weeks from today we will be seeing you when we board the Indy.

 

Looking forward to seeing you, too, Judi! I know the repo of the Explorer will be special! Ooooo....5 weeks.....that's no time at all. Better get my Christmas cards done!! I want to get them mailed before we leave!

[The Big Booper]

For the only time in 75,000 years, Chanukah will be on the same day as Thanksgiving so we have to get that set of cards out fast.

 

I have no clue how a floating holiday like that is determined.

 

We always try to book mid ship as well. The broken ankle in 2011, though healed, still occasionally bothers me.

[maxs mom]

For the only time in 75,000 years, Chanukah will be on the same day as Thanksgiving so we have to get that set of cards out fast.

 

I have no clue how a floating holiday like that is determined.

 

We always try to book mid ship as well. The broken ankle in 2011, though healed, still occasionally bothers me.

 

Dave....I thought we would never be able to handle an aft.....but it hasn't been too bad. We are fine just about anywhere on the ship.....forward, midship, or aft.

[Harley-Davidson_Family]

We have always tried to book midship because of John's walking issues' date=' but on the last few cruises.....we've booked the "deals" and they have been way aft. And you know what.......we haven't minded that at all. Now the balcony in this particular cabin was a little claustrophobic compared to the non steel structured ones. But I didn't mind it too much. I'd rather have the other, but we managed. Good question![/size']

 

Thanks! We actually have one booked for deck 7 other side. We chose that cabin because we like the aft and we don't love the partitions that you can hear and see what going on next door. Besides it looks like it is off by itself. :)

[maxs mom]

Thanks! We actually have one booked for deck 7 other side. We chose that cabin because we like the aft and we don't love the partitions that you can hear and see what going on next door. Besides it looks like it is off by itself. :)

 

It does seem to be off by itself. It is definitely private! The only drawback is that it is tiny.

When we were leaving that last day....our neighbors in cabin 7688.....a corner aft D3....let us look at their cabin and balcony. I quickly took a picture of that fabulous balcony. This cabin is hard to get!!

[maxs mom]

Just found out something interesting. Some friends were on the sailing before ours and they said that the Concierge Lounge was jammed all week. Guess that's why they made the decision to invite the Suite Guests up to Cloud 9 on our week. That sure worked to clear out the crowds on our week. Thought that was interesting.

[sailorgrammy]

Ahhh Jane, thanks for another fabulous review! Sooooo looking forward to Indy in December. The "Elegant Eight" will have a great reunion!

[CruisingCaraCat]

Hello, we are doing the QOS inaugural and I think with the new terminal being completed by then the embarkation process should be much easier and less painful. Enjoy your weekend.

 

 

I'm sure you are right Donna. Whether we make it or not depends on if my wife is business travelling that week. I sure hope we can, it seems RCI is trying a lot of new things on QOS...

By the way I love your swinging kitty!!

[Havin'fun]

Jane,

Just finished reading your review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and your pictures are wonderful! We were on this cruise also and I always like seeing the cruise thru the eyes of someone else. It was our first cruise to Bermuda but certainly will not be our last. Enjoy your next cruise and I look forward to another great review.

Diane

[Realtor at Sea]

Speaking of the CL, on our Sept 19-29th Quebec City to Bayonne cruise the CL and two extra rooms by Dizzy's were so crowded they also opened the Maharajas Lounge for D and D+ members. There were no hors d'oeuvres in Maharajas Lounge, however. Since we where on deck 9, after the first night, we would simply go to the CL at 4:15 to find a seat. The first seating on that cruise was at 5:30 which was a bit early!

Edited October 28, 2013 by Realtor at Sea
Punctuation

[maxs mom]

Karen.........The Elegant Eight!! I love that! Can't wait to see you guys.

Diane.....Thanks!....I love to know what others do and think of the same cruise as well! Glad you liked Bermuda!

Realtor.....yes.....on many ships now they are changing the dining times to 5:30 and 8:00. Not sure I like that....but we do MTD so that solves that problem! Guess we will see a lot more shuffling around of cocktail venues.

[CRUISEMAMI]

Ahhh Jane, thanks for another fabulous review! Sooooo looking forward to Indy in December. The "Elegant Eight" will have a great reunion!

 

WOW.... That's the best!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[Familygoboston]

Thanks for your review Jane! So nice to seeing you enjoying your retirement!

The views of NY are wonderful- I'd love to make that sail out one day, but until Im retired, not enough vacation time to spend them on the part of Atlantic I see all the time;) But one day!

 

Happy Birthday and happy retirement! I'm enjoying your review!

[Familygoboston]

It does seem to be off by itself. It is definitely private! The only drawback is that it is tiny.

When we were leaving that last day....our neighbors in cabin 7688.....a corner aft D3....let us look at their cabin and balcony. I quickly took a picture of that fabulous balcony. This cabin is hard to get!!

 

Jane- if you get a minute you should share that photo on the " show us your aft" thread(one of the best named threads;)) Someone was just asking about this class of ship. We had this same cabin booked on Adventure, but ended up choosing the corner aft on Jewel (in 3 weeks :D) instead because the dates worked better for us. I think there is a big difference between this class and the radiance class aft cabins - I think I'd like all the shade on this one! It was nice they let you take a photo, I'm sure they enjoyed all that space!

Edited October 28, 2013 by Familygoboston

[maxs mom]

Jane- if you get a minute you should share that photo on the " show us your aft" thread(one of the best named threads;)) Someone was just asking about this class of ship. We had this same cabin booked on Adventure, but ended up choosing the corner aft on Jewel (in 3 weeks :D) instead because the dates worked better for us. I think there is a big difference between this class and the radiance class aft cabins - I think I'd like all the shade on this one! It was nice they let you take a photo, I'm sure they enjoyed all that space!

 

 

Yes.....what's so nice about it is that it is a D3. Good price for that balcony!! But this cabin sells first!