any news on explorer?

[madmedic]

Hello everyone, thanks for the photos so far , great to see them. I am now a little bit concerned about the cost of the wine as we have a limit of $8 per glass on the drinks package we have and we noticed that the price at tavern is $9 per glass:cool:. one more thing , we are trying to track the ship but she seems to have stopped ????

[Clarea]

.... one more thing , we are trying to track the ship but she seems to have stopped ????

I don't believe the ship is stopped, just out of range of the tracking stations.

Edited April 25, 2015 by clarea

[NikC]

We're here :)

 

 

 

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[NikC]

Drink packages allow up to 9$ per glass for select and 14$ for premium.

 

Also, to correct my earlier post, cocktails are indeed limited to their value, as well as glasses of wine, but none of them are over 14$ anyway.

 

 

We had the Select package with the all inclusive deal for this cruise, but I have paid the 15$ per day difference to upgrade mine to premium, as I only need to have more than one cocktail a day to be 'in profit'. I'd never have paid $57 per day for it though, would have just drunk less!

 

 

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[madmedic]

Thanks Nic for taking time out to answer so promptly, good to know you're not stopped! Great to see that with our select package we can have the odd glass or two (or three?!).

[TheGinBoy]

Hey NikC,

 

Thanks for coming back so promptly - glad to see the Premium Package covers cocktails up to $14 - I was getting a bit peeved at the thought that it might not!

 

I can breathe easy again now!

[the griswolds]

I'm sure i read somewhere that the premium package also included house spirits. Is this not the case anymore?

[TheGinBoy]

Depends what you mean?

 

When we had the premium package last year there wasn't anything at the bar that we wanted that cost us money.

 

Even changing to premium spirits, like Grey Goose, in my vodka and tonic didn't cost extra.

[NikC]

Brilliant photo's Nic! Thanks. Cannot wait to see more and hear all about how it was. My girls are praying for Dreamworks but I don't think this happened. Did they remove the small waterslide at the Aft? Have a great holiday.

 

 

I don't think there is any Dreamworks on here I'm afraid :(

 

See above for the kids slide area which has now been removed and pools filled in. Now an oddly underused area of the ship it seems.

 

 

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[Topo Gigio]

Have the bathrooms also been updated?

 

Anyone?

[NikC]

Anyone?

 

 

The only updates to the bathroom is a brand new shower tap, hose and head. The shower cubicle and rest of the bathroom are unchanged.

 

 

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[saxopete]

Reading on twitter the ship is dirty and breakfast etc understocked. Seems like they might not be ready for passengers?

 

Follow #exploreroftheseas on twitter to see pics etc.

[NikC]

I can't say I've seen any issues with dirt at all, but there were loads of issues last night with dining, and windjammer has been massively overcrowded for breakfast and for several hours around lunch time with no tables available and certain food items not being replenished quickly enough.

 

There seems to have been quite a few maintenance issues stateroom doors / keys not working and freestyle machines weren't being restocked.

 

I have to say most of the bar and waiting staff seem fairly unhappy and not particularly friendly so far too, for people who have just had 45 days break from customers. Maybe that's why, back to work blues!

 

Hopefully things will be better tonight, I'm sure they'll get on top of the issues.

 

 

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Edited April 25, 2015 by NikC

[CVU]

The staff had to work though during Dry Dock. Now they are to be ON for passengers......I guess they are not ready.

 

We did not have a happy crew on our Oasis TA Oct. after her Dry Dock. Won't do one after DD again!!!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

During drydock the staff that remain onboard typically work longer than normal hours and may have lots of heavy lifting to do moving furnishings, trash removal, etc. it's a hectic and exhausting time for all concerned.

[NikC]

Dinner service for us was excellent this evening, last nights issues clearly resolved and additional staff seemed to have been allocated where needed. Couldn't fault tonight really.

 

 

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[possumum]

Is there a nursery for under 3's?? It sounds as though the refit has been identical to Voyager's back in November, in which case there isn't. The kids pool area was removed as the pumps/equipment for the flowrider and the flowrider itself extend between decks 12&13, meaning it had to be sacrificed. On Voyager they put some outdoor tables and chairs there, but it is far from the "kids outdoor area" they have specified on the plans. I never once saw anyone utilising it. In my opinion, they should have extended the adventure ocean area into there, perhaps creating room for a nursery.

 

There were many many "teething problems" in the couple of cruises immediately after Voyager's refit and some people actually choose not to cruise during this period as seems to be quite the norm. Staff morale was also an issue, presumably because many crew were nearing the end of their roster. Especially for those staff that normally deal with guests, the refit is not an enjoyable time for them - they still live on the ship as it is reconstructed around them, and are made to do all sorts of mundane jobs during the time in dry dock. In Voyager's case, things improved greatly after the first month. If you run a search you will see the many threads running at the time.

Edited April 25, 2015 by possumum

[NikC]

I've not seen anything to suggest a nursery exists, but hadn't replied as if not really explored the whole ship

 

 

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[possumum]

Thanks :)

[JM-1972]

Thanks for all the updates on the changes. We are all keen to get as much information as possible!😃

 

What are they charging for internet packages? I could not see Portofinos on the deck plans but it is offering it on my planner as a speciality restaurant, where is it located?

[halesabob]

Thanks for all the updates on the changes. We are all keen to get as much information as possible!😃

 

What are they charging for internet packages? I could not see Portofinos on the deck plans but it is offering it on my planner as a speciality restaurant, where is it located?

 

Portofino is not on the ship. It has been confirmed by one of the bloggers that it is definitely not on the ship even though they could also book it online. Very odd. Seems to be getting mixed reviews so far which is making me nervous. Cannot wait to read a full review instead of drip feeds for an overall opinion.

[icsys]

Drink packages allow up to 9$ per glass for select and 14$ for premium.

 

Also, to correct my earlier post, cocktails are indeed limited to their value, as well as glasses of wine, but none of them are over 14$ anyway.

 

We had the Select package with the all inclusive deal for this cruise, but I have paid the 15$ per day difference to upgrade mine to premium, as I only need to have more than one cocktail a day to be 'in profit'. I'd never have paid $57 per day for it though, would have just drunk less!

 

Are you sure its just $15 per day difference?

I know that's what you physically paid but nothing is truly free!

 

RCI UK had transparent pricing during January and February, the cruise only fare was shown along side the AI fare so the markup was clearly visible.

 

We get on Explorer next week as you get off. The difference between the cruise only fare and our AI deal means we effectively paid $18 per day for the select package.

Still a good 57% saving over the full package price.

 

 

I hope all the issues you are experiencing get ironed out very soon.

[the griswolds]

Drink packages allow up to 9$ per glass for select and 14$ for premium.

 

Also, to correct my earlier post, cocktails are indeed limited to their value, as well as glasses of wine, but none of them are over 14$ anyway.

 

 

We had the Select package with the all inclusive deal for this cruise, but I have paid the 15$ per day difference to upgrade mine to premium, as I only need to have more than one cocktail a day to be 'in profit'. I'd never have paid $57 per day for it though, would have just drunk less!

 

 

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If you check the royal website regarding the drink packages it states that the premium package also includes house spirits with mixer. On the drinks list above it does not show that anymore. We are on the select package but i am also going to upgrade the wifes package to premium as she drinks spirits and cocktails.

[NikC]

If you check the royal website regarding the drink packages it states that the premium package also includes house spirits with mixer. On the drinks list above it does not show that anymore. We are on the select package but i am also going to upgrade the wifes package to premium as she drinks spirits and cocktails.

 

 

Yeah I've noticed that the spirits with mixer isn't always listed, but it is included. I believe this is just down to interpretation of the word cocktail, as some people would call this a cocktail, but in the UK we consider a cocktail to be something a bit more fancy than a simple spirit with mixer.

 

All spirits with a mixer (other than perhaps some super premium well aged ones) are covered by the premium package. We've had Jack D / JB / absolut so far no problem

[the griswolds]

Thanks NikC, my wife will be pleased, she just needs to drink maybe 1 cocktail per day and we have our money back. She will of course drink half a dozen lol. I'm sure it works out around £10 per day extra. No brainer really, plus she can get some bottled water for me.