Explorer of the Seas Alaska 2017 Reviews and Info

[JDR1986]

My wife is having some trouble deciding what to pack for our sailing on June 30 to Alaska. We have reservations in the specialty restaurants each night (Chops three times, Giovanni's three times, and Izumi once). Her concern seems to be what to wear to dinner that she can then wear outside on the deck in the late evening without having to go back to the room to change.

 

We are a younger couple (30 and 28) so she does not want to wear pantsuits. She would like to be able to wear jeans with a nice blouse but isn't sure that is acceptable for the "Smart Casual" recommendation listed on RCCL's website.

 

Does anyone have any insight on this? We are doing a "practice pack" this afternoon to make sure we have everything we need so any tips are appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Biker19]

We are a younger couple (30 and 28) so she does not want to wear pantsuits. She would like to be able to wear jeans with a nice blouse but isn't sure that is acceptable for the "Smart Casual" recommendation listed on RCCL's website.

You need not worry about anything being acceptable since there no enforcement of the existing guidelines (well , they might ask you to put on some clothes if you show up naked).

[Davidlmc]

We just got off Explorer on Friday from 7 nights in Alaska we had Junior suite 1350 starboard side, loved the room attendant was great. The weather was mostly overcast with some periods of rain, temps never got out of the low 50's most of the time. Very windy which made it seem much colder. Skagway was prob the best day with little to no rain but over cast and cool. Formal nights were 2 and 5, food was phenomenal!!!!! Ate every night but one in the MDR no specialty dining for us. Shows were very good and Graham the CD was prob the best I have had of all the ships we been on. As you can see Flowrider was a ghost town with temps in high 40's at that time with strong winds. Raining and cold in Victoria, there were snow fluries there too.

 

 

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Edited June 19, 2017 by Davidlmc
coments

[Biker19]

^ Victoria was great.

[Davidlmc]

My wife is having some trouble deciding what to pack for our sailing on June 30 to Alaska. We have reservations in the specialty restaurants each night (Chops three times, Giovanni's three times, and Izumi once). Her concern seems to be what to wear to dinner that she can then wear outside on the deck in the late evening without having to go back to the room to change.

 

 

Thanks!

I wore jeans most nights except formal night. t shirts and or a polo shirt and saw that was mostly what the attire was, also sweat shirts and light coats were common in dining room also. With it being windy and cold most of the time, I felt jeans was good so I wouldn't have to change after dinner.

[CptJackSparrow]

Here is day 2:

https://goo.gl/photos/6PVbV3TQNEEw9Q6A8

 

Day 5:

https://goo.gl/photos/YFjX8r26L8ZvZ1Ye6

 

Day 6:

https://goo.gl/photos/YpcnR4oYWSDLCNaWA

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Thank you for posting these!! :D

[frank808]

We just got off Explorer on Friday from 7 nights in Alaska we had Junior suite 1350 starboard side, loved the room attendant was great. The weather was mostly overcast with some periods of rain, temps never got out of the low 50's most of the time. Very windy which made it seem much colder. Skagway was prob the best day with little to no rain but over cast and cool. Formal nights were 2 and 5, food was phenomenal!!!!! Ate every night but one in the MDR no specialty dining for us. Shows were very good and Graham the CD was prob the best I have had of all the ships we been on. As you can see Flowrider was a ghost town with temps in high 40's at that time with strong winds. Raining and cold in Victoria, there were snow fluries there too.

 

 

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On explorer now and have to agree that graham is a wonderful cd. His comedy show last night was great. Also the activities director joe is wonderful also. Lots of things to do and was a wonderful cruise.

 

Weather has been great from juneau to skagway. I recommend dolphin excursions if you want to do whale watching. Captain of the boat took us to see a pod of orcas while all the other tour companies just brought their customers to where the humback whales were. We got to see both orcas, humbbacks and seals. It is beautiful country up here and we will be back for 2019. If we weren't committed with another family to caribbean next year june we would definitely return on the radiance.

 

If you have any questions about explorer post away and i will try to answer them or get the answe by tomorrow.

 

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[Ella2]

 

If you have any questions about explorer post away and i will try to answer them or get the answe by tomorrow.

 

Frank, have you cruised Tracy Arm Fjord yet? I'm curious to know where everyone is heading for the best views that day. I've only cruised Alaska on Radiance class or smaller ships so being on Explorer in Alaska will be a new experience. I'm a little concerned about the lack of outdoor space for great glacier viewing. If you have any insights I'd love to hear them. Thanks for sharing!

[frank808]

Frank, have you cruised Tracy Arm Fjord yet? I'm curious to know where everyone is heading for the best views that day. I've only cruised Alaska on Radiance class or smaller ships so being on Explorer in Alaska will be a new experience. I'm a little concerned about the lack of outdoor space for great glacier viewing. If you have any insights I'd love to hear them. Thanks for sharing!

 

I had a js on the starboard side and got great views from the bed. There is a lot of space to look as there is also the helicopter pad and deck 12 to view. My son said it was relatively empty at the helicopter pad. I looked up from my balcony and there was spaces on the railing. Also dont forget the viking crown lounge and solarium for viewing.

 

Also they had a chops breakfast for $30 included viewing area from your table for the tracy arm fjord. I believe there are lots of spaces. Also dont forget the area in the back by the flow rider would be good.

 

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[Davidlmc]

Frank, have you cruised Tracy Arm Fjord yet? I'm curious to know where everyone is heading for the best views that day. I've only cruised Alaska on Radiance class or smaller ships so being on Explorer in Alaska will be a new experience. I'm a little concerned about the lack of outdoor space for great glacier viewing. If you have any insights I'd love to hear them. Thanks for sharing!

 

When we were on 2 weeks ago it seems most people, including us, went out to the helipad. They had coffee and hot chocolate. A LOT of people were out there but you can get good views from a balcony also as the ship will do almost a 360 at the glacier.

[Biker19]

If you paid all that extra for a balcony use it at fjord.

 

Biker, who really lucked out on weather 4 weeks ago.

[gbswife]

Coming from FL- so we haven't been out of the 90s in weeks, what type of clothes do you think we should bring? Do I need to bring my kids' winter ski coats? We are going the end of Aug. I was hoping to get by with a rain jacket and maybe a fleece/sweatshirt underneath, but now I'm getting nervous that wont be enough.

[Biker19]

You'll be fine with the layers you mentioned - no need for the ski coats. Rain will be a bigger issue than temperature.

[blackrook]

How is internet on the explorer?

we bought the surf and steam for 2 devices.

Will my wife be able to log into work for about 10 minutes on one evening?

She has to sign up for a schedule.

Thanks

 

theblackrook

[frank808]

Internet was ok. It is not the OB3 like the newer oasis and anthem class ships. If you have to stream video or facetime you will not be happy with the buffering. For checking email and light internet duty it was ok. Did have a few days as you get farther north there was no internet signal. I think it has to do with the ships position to the internet satellites.

[Tombo4357]

We were on the June 1st sailing. As a previous poster stated, the food in the MDR was not good. I have cruised NCL, Carnival, and this was my first Royal. The MDR food was the worst I have had on any cruise. We were second seating. 4 of the 8 at our table ordered the fish the second night (sea bass I think), and it was inedible. We all sent it back and got beef. I had lukewarm main courses and more than once had cold appetizers. I had to send my French onion soup back because it was cold. Not lukewarm, cold. I sent back escargot one time too. I have never sent a meal or appetizer back on any cruise in my life before this one. At my table I was with 8 friends who had cruised other lines, and all agreed this was the worst food of any ship they had been on. One couple left after the second night and bought a specialty dining package because they said they were not eating that MDR food all week.The ship was clean. I had great service. The shows I saw were good. The ice skating show was good. We had the drink pkge and even the drinks were lacking. On the promenade not one bar could/would make a frozen drink. You had to go down to the casino. The pub in the middle made the worst margaritas I have ever tasted. A waitress came by and we said you can take these away. She asked why and we said they are terrible. She said the bartender doesn't know how to make them. She said she would make us some and they were great. How do you have a bartender who does not know how to make a margarita? Anyway I had another Royal cruise booked before I sailed on this one. I have not cancelled it, but if the food is anywhere near that bad on the Oasis I will never sail Royal again.

[Biker19]

Welcome to CC. Food is a subjective issue but your June 2 sailing was not the norm.

[frank808]

To the poster regarding mdr meals, it was fine last week in the mdr. Actually got the best creme brulee i have ever had on a rci ship in mdr. Was not slushy like and it was standard and not banana creme brulee. Don't know if this matters to anyone. It did to me as i have never had an acceptable creme brulee in mdr till last week. Had that dessert 5 days out of 7.

 

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[Marese]

To the poster regarding mdr meals, it was fine last week in the mdr. Actually got the best creme brulee i have ever had on a rci ship in mdr. Was not slushy like and it was standard and not banana creme brulee. Don't know if this matters to anyone. It did to me as i have never had an acceptable creme brulee in mdr till last week. Had that dessert 5 days out of 7.

 

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We were on the June 23rd sailing, the food in the MDR during the late dinner on embarkation day was not very good for us, but we found the rest of the week to be great. We just assumed it was an off day and all of the extra activity during the turn around didn't help.

[Kinny]

Pics from last year. I have a review on my sig. Looks like some of the pics are not loading. I wonder if that has anything to do with me moving pics around. LOL.

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHskAe6heY

[frank808]

We were on the June 23rd sailing, the food in the MDR during the late dinner on embarkation day was not very good for us, but we found the rest of the week to be great. We just assumed it was an off day and all of the extra activity during the turn around didn't help.

We were on the same cruise. Did you attend the meet n mingle? Met a bunch of nice peoplr and the beat part was some of us stayed to chat afterwards. Joe made it very enjoyable and almost everyone that attended won a prize!

 

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[redwings1958]

To the poster regarding mdr meals, it was fine last week in the mdr. Actually got the best creme brulee i have ever had on a rci ship in mdr. Was not slushy like and it was standard and not banana creme brulee. Don't know if this matters to anyone. It did to me as i have never had an acceptable creme brulee in mdr till last week. Had that dessert 5 days out of 7.

 

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Yeah I agree! The food in the MDR is never GR8; but pretty good; I love the Creme Brulee and the Grand Marnier Souffle

[MoyCoy]

We just got off Explorer on Friday from 7 nights in Alaska we had Junior suite 1350 starboard side, loved the room attendant was great. The weather was mostly overcast with some periods of rain, temps never got out of the low 50's most of the time. Very windy which made it seem much colder. Skagway was prob the best day with little to no rain but over cast and cool. Formal nights were 2 and 5, food was phenomenal!!!!! Ate every night but one in the MDR no specialty dining for us. Shows were very good and Graham the CD was prob the best I have had of all the ships we been on. As you can see Flowrider was a ghost town with temps in high 40's at that time with strong winds. Raining and cold in Victoria, there were snow fluries there too.

 

 

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So formal night was on the second and fifth night? What did they serve ?

[Marese]

We were on the same cruise. Did you attend the meet n mingle? Met a bunch of nice peoplr and the beat part was some of us stayed to chat afterwards. Joe made it very enjoyable and almost everyone that attended won a prize!

 

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Unfortunately I didn't, my partner and I were with their parents and they had a group of 12 friends along so we had a lot going on and when we didn't hid in our room. :)

 

Hopefully there is one on Empress in September I can get to.

[Biker19]

So formal night was on the second and fifth night? What did they serve ?

The usual formal night fare with lobster on the second one.