New Year's on the Explorer + An Added 5 Nights ~ 12/27 and 1/4 ~ My Diary

[LetsGetWet!]

This was our first.....and probably last...time getting a Promenade cabin. I know people like them' date=' but this cabin is just not for us. Besides being too small......it was quite loud most of the time. I've read many accounts from people who say they are not noisy at all.......they must have been deaf! [/size']

I think how loud your promenade cabin is depends on several things.

 

• Where along the promenade the cabin is. The bars which are popular later into the evening and often have music will be the loudest area, and similarly the areas that are mostly shops which will be closed by relatively early in the evening will be significantly quieter.
  
• How high you are - of the 3 floors of promenade cabins I'm going to guess that deck 8 cabins will be quieter than deck 6.
  
• What your own schedule tends to be - if you tend to head to your cabin and bed by 10 or so, you're going to think the cabin is much louder than if you're the kind who stays up to enjoy the bars, dance venues or hot tubs until well after midnight before retiring to your cabin.
  

Of course, I'm sure ANY promenade cabin will be at its loudest on New Year's Eve! :)

[SherriZ366]

We strolled through the casino after dinner.....and you won't believe this! I put $30 in a Wheel of Fortune machine and hit a spin very quickly and won $150! It's a miracle. I guess the casino gods felt guilty about ALL of 2014 and decided to give some back before the end of the year. I didn't complain!

 

We went back to Steve and Veronica's Suite and sat around there for awhile. Steve got a nice bottle of champagne for the evening so we got that and ended up in Dizzy's for New Year's. There is a lot going on down on the Promenade.....balloon drop and everything' date=' but we've been there and done that. It is absolutely crushing and claustrophobic and John can't stand for that long a period of time......so Dizzy's was the place for us.

 

 

 

 

There was a band playing and dancing going on. It was nice.

 

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Interesting that they let you bring the Champagne up to Dizzy's. We got busted when we had a wine tasting for our rollcall there.

[LovesCruising]

Wish I knew about Sand Castle on the Beach - looks like a nice place

[jb0913]

Love the review so far. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Looking forward to more.

 

 

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[maxs mom]

Interesting that they let you bring the Champagne up to Dizzy's. We got busted when we had a wine tasting for our rollcall there.

 

Oh yes......everybody had champagne. Of course it was bought through RC.

 

What do you mean......a wine tasting for the roll call?

[maxs mom]

I think how loud your promenade cabin is depends on several things.

 

• Where along the promenade the cabin is. The bars which are popular later into the evening and often have music will be the loudest area, and similarly the areas that are mostly shops which will be closed by relatively early in the evening will be significantly quieter.
  
• How high you are - of the 3 floors of promenade cabins I'm going to guess that deck 8 cabins will be quieter than deck 6.
  
• What your own schedule tends to be - if you tend to head to your cabin and bed by 10 or so, you're going to think the cabin is much louder than if you're the kind who stays up to enjoy the bars, dance venues or hot tubs until well after midnight before retiring to your cabin.
  

Of course, I'm sure ANY promenade cabin will be at its loudest on New Year's Eve! :)

 

You are exactly right. It depends on all of those things. Unfortunately we were above the English pub and we are usually in bed by 11:00-11:30, so there you go. We totally expected more noise on New Year's Eve and were prepared for that.

[maxs mom]

Thursday ~ January 1, 2015 ~ St. Maarten

 

Got up fairly early this morning, even though we were up late the night before. We were the first in the breakfast room. We were to dock at 9, so we watched this as we were eating. Looked like 5 ships in port. No worries.....they can handle it.

 

We met S & V in the CL at 9:15 and we were off the ship by 9:30.

 

 

There were no carts there to shuttle anyone, so we hoofed it up to the taxi stand. On the way......we found the carts......not being used!!

 

 

It was very easy to get a taxi today and we lucked out with the nicest lady driver! We were going out to our favorite spot on Orient.....Palm Beach. Another family was let out at Bikini Beach, and then we went on out to Palm Beach. Se had no problems taking us there AND she said she would send someone back for us in the afternoon. That was refreshing! Since this was a holiday.....there was NO traffic Amazing.....even with 5 ships in port.

 

So we were the first to arrive at Palm Beach. We have been coming here for a few years now and just love it. We were just here a couple of weeks before and they were furiously rebuilding after a devastating hurricane that tore this place up pretty badly.

 

It was amazing what they had done in two weeks. The place looked great! They had a lot of business today and they handled it well. Chairs and umbrellas are free as long as you eat in their restaurant. The beach boy got us all set up and made the lunch reservations for us.

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

It was a beautiful day here but quite windy. The surf was rough, as it has been since September....stirring up a lot of sea grass. We did not get in the water today.

 

 

The surf was fun to watch, though.

 

 

 

Some people were enjoying it!

 

 

I went up to the bar to see if the Wi-Fi was working today. Didn't have much luck, though...as is the case for most of these places. But the Beach Boy came by to say hello!! We see him just about every time we are here!

 

 

[maxs mom]

They rebuilt the beach bar and expanded it a good bit......nice job. They used to have a lot of cabanas here, but they were all destroyed. Still, the new look was awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisegirl1]

Hi Jane, I am enjoying reading the review of your New Year's Eve cruise and look forward to the review of the January 4 cruise.

 

It was nice to meet you and John. I hope that our cruising paths will cross again.

 

Marci

[maxs mom]

Lunch was very good. John got his usual hamburger, Steve and I got a Thai grouper salad, and Veronica got the Caesar salad with chicken that I usually get. I just wanted to try something different today. They have an awesome menu here. Some of the more exotic items are kind of pricey, but they have other things that are not so pricey. Just a great lunch on the beach!

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch they bring out the rum liqueur.........very good!!

 

 

[maxs mom]

Hi Jane, I am enjoying reading the review of your New Year's Eve cruise and look forward to the review of the January 4 cruise.

 

It was nice to meet you and John. I hope that our cruising paths will cross again.

 

Marci

 

Hi Marci......great meeting you guys, too. I hope to see you again before too long! We are actually having trouble finding cruises to book. Everything is so pricey! I wish they would stop this BOGOHO stuff. It messes everything up. Will be on to the Jan. 4th cruise momentarily.

[maxs mom]

After lunch.....Veronica and I got dessert at the bar.......a bushwhacker! They make great ones here!

 

 

 

Then on to a very relaxing afternoon on the beach.

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

A couple of parting shots from Palm Beach:

 

 

 

We packed up around 2:30 and went out front to see if there was a taxi waiting for us. Sure enough.....a nice man was waiting there looking for us! Yay! We got back to the ship in a timely manner.....again.....no traffic.

 

 

 

 

[SherriZ366]

Oh yes......everybody had champagne. Of course it was bought through RC.

 

What do you mean......a wine tasting for the roll call?

Now I see the difference -- it was ship purchased champagne.

 

Members of our rollcall for our 12-4-2014 EX cruise organized various events, one of which was a wine tasting. Participants brought wine that they had brought aboard, under the two 750 liter bottles per cabin rule. The event was held at Dizzy's. Everyone got to taste each other's wines until the Bar Manager kicked us out. She told us that the wines we brought aboard were only allowed in the staterooms or dining room.

[Realtor at Sea]

Jane,

Would you be kind enough to share your baby powder/sandy feet trick?

I would like to try it on my next cruise.

Thanks so much!

Sandy (who does not like sandy feet!)

[cruisegirl1]

Sandy,

 

Not sure of Jane's trick but we bring a small container of baby powder on every cruise. (The size you get at the drugstore for one dollar). Simply sprinkle the baby powder on your feet and rub a little bit with your hands. The baby powder will absorb all the moisture in the sand, and your feet will be sand free in no time.

 

I've seen a pricier sets with a fancy sewn bag and bag of powder but honestly the one dollar bottle of baby powder works perfectly.

 

I'll be interested to hear Jane's trick!

 

Marci

[maxs mom]

We had a good rest time this afternoon......always important!! We usually stop by the frozen yogurt machine when we get back to the ship, but not today. I drank my dessert on the beach today!

 

It was casual night again, so I made it a white night. They don't have that on this ship. We relaxed in the CL first this evening.

 

 

 

Then on to dinner back in My Time. John actually ordered off the menu tonight ad go the Cordon Bleu. I had the braised beef.....part of which was tough and the other part melted in my mouth. I had Jaffe Cake for dessert.

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite pictures.

 

 

And as always......Salud!!

 

[maxs mom]

Jane,

Would you be kind enough to share your baby powder/sandy feet trick?

I would like to try it on my next cruise.

Thanks so much!

Sandy (who does not like sandy feet!)

 

LOL!! Yes....Baby Powder!! We always take a small container with us to the beach. John has very sensitive feet, so it's very important that he get all the sand off his feet before putting his shoes back on.

 

Just like Marci said....it works like a charm!

[cruisegirl1]

A few important items for the beach....baby powder and chair clips. Jane, I see from your photos that you also use the chair clips. GREAT on a windy day.

 

Marci

[maxs mom]

After dinner we went down to Deck 3 to have a Lifestyle picture made. These are always fun to do and mostly came out well.

 

 

 

Here is a picture that I forgot to post earlier.....getting off the ship on Labadee:

 

 

Tonight was 70's night. I didn't go but got a few pictures out of our Cabin window.

 

 

[maxs mom]

Veronica DID go to 70's night and here are a couple of her pictures:

 

 

 

Time for bed!!

 

 

Oh and here's another picture that I forgot. I'm sure many of you have had this happen before.....Steve never ordered dessert so he got this when desserts came to the table tonight.

 

[LetsGetWet!]

You are exactly right. It depends on all of those things. Unfortunately we were above the English pub and we are usually in bed by 11:00-11:30' date=' so there you go. We totally expected more noise on New Year's Eve and were prepared for that.[/size']

Yep, being right above the pub & retiring relatively early makes for a loud cabin, I'm sure!

 

Really enjoying your writeup & pictures. [emoji1]

Edited January 24, 2015 by LetsGetWet!

[SherriZ366]

We had a good rest time this afternoon......always important!! We usually stop by the frozen yogurt machine when we get back to the ship' date=' but not today. I drank my dessert on the beach today!

 

It was casual night again, so I made it a white night. They don't have that on this ship. We relaxed in the CL first this evening.

 

 

 

Then on to dinner back in My Time. John actually ordered off the menu tonight ad go the Cordon Bleu. I had the braised beef.....part of which was tough and the other part melted in my mouth. I had Jaffe Cake for dessert.

 

 

 

This is one of my favorite pictures.

 

 

And as always......Salud!!

 

Enjoying your review as always. What is the pretty stain glass fixture behind you when made your "Salud" toast? Don't remember seeing that when we sailed on EX.

Edited January 24, 2015 by SherriZ366

[Realtor at Sea]

LOL!! Yes....Baby Powder!! We always take a small container with us to the beach. John has very sensitive feet' date=' so it's very important that he get all the sand off his feet before putting his shoes back on.

 

Just like Marci said....it works like a charm![/size']

 

Thanks, Marci and Jane. I will think of you when I use the powder to keep my feet sand-free! :-)