Avoid Explorer of the Seas

[Kruzkrazy]

   DW and I just completed an 8-night cruise on the Explorer of the Seas. If you're thinking of joining this ship, I have one word of advice: Don't.

   Put simply, this ship is functioning -- barely -- with a skeleton crew. We've spoken with people who've had cruises on other RCCL ships, and they had none of the complaints we have, so I'll give RCCL the benefit of the doubt and say the problems seem confined to the Explorer. That's my impression, anyway.

   So what were our problems? Primarily, the food. In the Windjammer -- that's the buffet area -- some offerings were barely edible. At breakfast time, for example, the scrambled eggs were dry as dust and tasteless. They were powdered eggs, I'm fairly certain. For lunch, the hamburgers were wildly overcooked and cold. Other offerings fell between "just OK" and "forget about it."

   OK, let's talk about the main dining room for breakfast. This is where the severe staffing shortages became all too obvious. We waited 15 to 20 minutes just to get a glass of water. Five to10 more minutes until the waiter brought menus, and the place was nearly empty. Half an hour later our food arrived, only it wasn't what I ordered -- waiter got some tables mixed up. So I sent it back and tried to drink the coffee, which was like roofing tar. Cold roofing tar. We left.

   Lunch in the dining room. I ordered a Caesar salad, but without anchovies, 'cause I'm allergic to them. But the waiter couldn't understand me because he had, let's say, a bit of a problem with English. I gave up on that and ordered a wedge salad and a cup of potato soup. Salad was fine. Soup was ice-cold (uh, it's supposed to be hot), and had no spoon. I pantomimed that I needed one, and five minutes or so later one appeared, but by this time I'd lost my appetite. Wife had ordered a pulled-pork sandwich and got something else that we couldn't identify. Out we went.

   So, dinner. First night, I ordered onion soup. Hey, no problem, yeah? But wait. No onions. Yep, onion soup without onions. Just broth, the big crouton and cheese on top. Somebody in that kitchen just doesn't know what they're doing.

   Look, none of these problems are the fault of the staffers whom you see. They're running their rear ends off trying to please the passengers, but there just aren't nearly enough of them. One passenger we commiserated with said this seemed like a training cruise, one where the management breaks in the newbies. The more I thought about that the more sense it made. Problem is, we didn't pay for a training cruise. We paid for a full-service cruise and didn't get one.

   We had bought a specialty-restaurant package, and the first one was Chops, the steakhouse. Reservation was for 8:30, didn't get done till 11. Chops had two waiters, needed at least five. The manager was clearing tables. Very slow, but, in fairness, the food here was far better. Delicious colossal shrimp cocktails, nice steaks done as ordered. Terrific desserts. I had what they called a warm chocolate cake, known elsewhere as a lava cake. Yummy. Better coffee, too.

  While I'm being fair, I'll talk about the entertainment. Some of it was far too loud as it was everywhere else on the ship (including the Dining Room) -- had to leave two shows because my ears just couldn't take it -- but others were wonderful. There was a great ice-skating show and one called Impact, which is hard to describe but was extremely entertaining. See it on YouTube.

   OK, back to nitpicking. I'm a big fan of steam rooms and saunas. Explorer has them and a spacious changing room, with lockers. But no keys for those lockers. Go figure. And, the steam room and sauna were down on the last day of the cruise. Annoying.

   This ship has long way to go to regain my confidence. If you are looking forward to enjoying cruising again, or for the first time, look elsewhere.

 

[Oceansaway17]

well me thinks a lot of crew went to the Wonder as Symphony had some crew shortages as well.

BTW the food was better on Symphony than Wonder in the WJ with better choices and not all the little cups of stuff.  One could dish out the amounts of fruit they wanted.

 

oh and on both Wonder and SOS, everywhere was LOUD.  It is a RCI thing I am convinced that they want happy crew since many of them hum and sing and sway to the music.  Me, not so much after a few days.

I am thinking of returning to Celebrity or HAL for quieter days

[bridedoll1026]

Same with Jewel & Enchantment. Very short staffed. On Enchantment I had a Truffled Grilled Cheese for lunch. It came with grilled bread & a few leaks, NO cheese!! Onion soup without onions, obviously reheated steak, served lukewarm with cottage fries instead of baked potato.  Asked for a baked potato & it was served cold that the butter didn't even start to melt on it!

[Ashland]

We did a B2B March 20th & 27th on Explorer (southern caribbean) and I agree very disappointing. Comparing it to our January cruise on Navigator and our cruise on Harmony a week ago. 

[Cruising89143]

I think that we’re starting to see the results of the ships who entered service earlier losing trained crew due to their contracts ending and being replaced with new inexperienced crew. I was told more than once last week that RCI is having difficulty finding new crew. Some is due to paperwork/health record issues and some simply choosing not to come back. 

 

We we’re on the Navigator last week and we saw a slight difference in service (restaurants) versus the first week of March. The ship is currently changing crew with many having their contracts extended due to RCI not being able to replace them. Our room steward (best in thirty-six years of cruising) is on his third extension as they have no one to replace him. A lot of crew will be leaving over the next three weeks. They all brought the ship back into service. We’re back on in three weeks and it will be interesting to see if there is a difference. 

[karena1]

2 hours ago, Kruzkrazy said:

   DW and I just completed an 8-night cruise on the Explorer of the Seas. If you're thinking of joining this ship, I have one word of advice: Don't.

   Put simply, this ship is functioning -- barely -- with a skeleton crew. We've spoken with people who've had cruises on other RCCL ships, and they had none of the complaints we have, so I'll give RCCL the benefit of the doubt and say the problems seem confined to the Explorer. That's my impression, anyway.

   So what were our problems? Primarily, the food. In the Windjammer -- that's the buffet area -- some offerings were barely edible. At breakfast time, for example, the scrambled eggs were dry as dust and tasteless. They were powdered eggs, I'm fairly certain. For lunch, the hamburgers were wildly overcooked and cold. Other offerings fell between "just OK" and "forget about it."

   OK, let's talk about the main dining room for breakfast. This is where the severe staffing shortages became all too obvious. We waited 15 to 20 minutes just to get a glass of water. Five to10 more minutes until the waiter brought menus, and the place was nearly empty. Half an hour later our food arrived, only it wasn't what I ordered -- waiter got some tables mixed up. So I sent it back and tried to drink the coffee, which was like roofing tar. Cold roofing tar. We left.

   Lunch in the dining room. I ordered a Caesar salad, but without anchovies, 'cause I'm allergic to them. But the waiter couldn't understand me because he had, let's say, a bit of a problem with English. I gave up on that and ordered a wedge salad and a cup of potato soup. Salad was fine. Soup was ice-cold (uh, it's supposed to be hot), and had no spoon. I pantomimed that I needed one, and five minutes or so later one appeared, but by this time I'd lost my appetite. Wife had ordered a pulled-pork sandwich and got something else that we couldn't identify. Out we went.

   So, dinner. First night, I ordered onion soup. Hey, no problem, yeah? But wait. No onions. Yep, onion soup without onions. Just broth, the big crouton and cheese on top. Somebody in that kitchen just doesn't know what they're doing.

   Look, none of these problems are the fault of the staffers whom you see. They're running their rear ends off trying to please the passengers, but there just aren't nearly enough of them. One passenger we commiserated with said this seemed like a training cruise, one where the management breaks in the newbies. The more I thought about that the more sense it made. Problem is, we didn't pay for a training cruise. We paid for a full-service cruise and didn't get one.

   We had bought a specialty-restaurant package, and the first one was Chops, the steakhouse. Reservation was for 8:30, didn't get done till 11. Chops had two waiters, needed at least five. The manager was clearing tables. Very slow, but, in fairness, the food here was far better. Delicious colossal shrimp cocktails, nice steaks done as ordered. Terrific desserts. I had what they called a warm chocolate cake, known elsewhere as a lava cake. Yummy. Better coffee, too.

  While I'm being fair, I'll talk about the entertainment. Some of it was far too loud as it was everywhere else on the ship (including the Dining Room) -- had to leave two shows because my ears just couldn't take it -- but others were wonderful. There was a great ice-skating show and one called Impact, which is hard to describe but was extremely entertaining. See it on YouTube.

   OK, back to nitpicking. I'm a big fan of steam rooms and saunas. Explorer has them and a spacious changing room, with lockers. But no keys for those lockers. Go figure. And, the steam room and sauna were down on the last day of the cruise. Annoying.

   This ship has long way to go to regain my confidence. If you are looking forward to enjoying cruising again, or for the first time, look elsewhere.

 

We just did a B2B first part of April and had an amazing time!  Staff was great. No complaints at all. Yes they were out of some stuff, but nothing to ruin my vacation.  We had a blast.

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by karena1

[pcur]

I have been on the Navi b2b in Feb; Vision b2b in Mar, Jewel b2b in April; and Navi b2b2b2b Apr/May, getting off in 2 days.  Yes, new crews on 2 of the ships. Food was great on all of them.  
 

I'm thinking the Explorer must have replaced a LOT of their kitchen staff at once.

[RFerrington]

EX has always been the step-child of the Voyager class. They left her far too long in PR when the rest of her sisters were getting upgraded.  Not surprised at all to see that she is getting the leftovers of staffing and provisions. 

[zeroed]

Is the ship due to be retired?
 

What port does RC send their ships to die? Carnival send theirs to Mobile, Alabama. 

[Biker19]

Just now, zeroed said:

Is the ship due to be retired?

All of the Vision class and maybe even some Radiance class ships would probably go before her.

[Ashland]

42 minutes ago, zeroed said:

Is the ship due to be retired?
 

What port does RC send their ships to die? Carnival send theirs to Mobile, Alabama. 

No, their not going to retire her. I believe she next goes to sail out of POM. Crew did say she was due for a drydock in early 2023.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

EX has always been the step-child of the Voyager class. They left her far too long in PR when the rest of her sisters were getting upgraded.  Not surprised at all to see that she is getting the leftovers of staffing and provisions. 

 

SJ often gets the worst crew. Laura was told the clientele don't complain much😉

 

And that's an absolutely true answer as told by a department head.

 

Oops, my bad. It was the concierge who told her that 

Edited May 12, 2022 by John&LaLa

[John&LaLa]

56 minutes ago, zeroed said:

Is the ship due to be retired?
 

What port does RC send their ships to die? Carnival send theirs to Mobile, Alabama. 

 

Barbados😉

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

4 hours ago, Kruzkrazy said:

Lunch in the dining room. I ordered a Caesar salad, but without anchovies, 'cause I'm allergic to them.

Just an FYI, if you’re allergic to anchovies, I would avoid Cesar salad altogether as most Cesar dressing recipes call anchovies, not all recipes but most. I’m not being critical of your choice just concerned for you. I too suffer from food allergies and it’s the hidden things in recipes that are scary. 

[woneill63]

In my opinion, it was a negative review, almost entirely concentrating on the food being served.  I am a big fan of the Voyager class and will be sailing for the first time on the Explorer in mid July.  I was on the Brilliance in late February and the food was all top knotch.  

If there are any issues with the Explorer, hopefully, it will all be worked out by the time I sail on her.  

[tottenhamfc]

This review in all honesty could be written about all ships currently. I too noticed the current decline in quality in all aspects if the cruises that I have been on. It is a personnel issue which has nothing to do with Explorer and all to do with acquiring and training new staff. There are logistical issues whereby they cant get staff back as they have new jobs because of two years off. The only common denominator is the determination to please the customer. The quality will come in time. The cruiselines would go bankrupt if they didnt return to service pronto. It will come good in time. Lets all be patient and be thankful that we are lucky enough to cruise.

[losfp]

Considering doing our very first RCI cruise in Oct 2023 on Explorer (followed a few days after with a TA on Odyssey). I'm sure they will work out the kinks by then. 🙂  I foresee a few rough months ahead until they get crews bedded in again after shutdowns.

[Plum Happy]

Aww, powdered eggs are made from real eggs.  It's a long process to get them to become powdered.  Food is everyone's issue, you'll never please everyone.  You should go to all the stations and pick the best looking one to get.  Or better yet, why didn't you go to the station and have them prepare you an omelet or a hard fried or easy over one?

 

Every cruise line is having trouble getting help, it's not just Royal.  Many cruise lines are trying (like Royal) to go to other places to hire and once that's done, they have get them trained for duty on ships.  It's going to take time because not everyone can speak English, since it's the most communicated language on cruise lines and you need to have some patience.  Try standing in line at Disney or Universal or pay through the nose to get on those rides first.  Pack your patience and now, you need to pack your understanding too.

 

I had no problems last month on Explorer (except loud talking Puerto Ricans in hot tub in the Solarium, but that's expected there)  jmo, you don't realize how blessed you are to be able to go on a cruise or even travel.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Plum Happy

[chengkp75]

6 minutes ago, Plum Happy said:

Aww, powdered eggs are made from real eggs.  It's a long process to get them to become powdered.

No ship or cruise line that I'm aware of uses powdered eggs.  It just isn't economical.  They use "pasteurised egg product", which is eggs that have been taken from the shells, mixed in huge vats with a chemical that stabilizes the eggs to prevent separation, and then pasteurized.  It comes to the ship in gallon containers.  They would not use powdered eggs, since they need to use the pasteurized egg product anyway for hollandaise, Caesar dressing, etc, where uncooked eggs are served. 

[Plum Happy]

4 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

No ship or cruise line that I'm aware of uses powdered eggs.  It just isn't economical.  They use "pasteurised egg product", which is eggs that have been taken from the shells, mixed in huge vats with a chemical that stabilizes the eggs to prevent separation, and then pasteurized.  It comes to the ship in gallon containers.  They would not use powdered eggs, since they need to use the pasteurized egg product anyway for hollandaise, Caesar dressing, etc, where uncooked eggs are served. 

Umm, I was just talking about powdered eggs are real eggs.  I have no cue what they use, it sometimes looks like a huge vat of butter if it's not chopped up or stirred up.

[Travel R]

21 minutes ago, Plum Happy said:

you don't realize how blessed you are to be able to go on a cruise or even travel.

 

Yup.

[island lady]

15 hours ago, Ashland said:

We did a B2B March 20th & 27th on Explorer (southern caribbean) and I agree very disappointing. Comparing it to our January cruise on Navigator and our cruise on Harmony a week ago. 

 

For us (on same B2B) it was more the shortages (of everything) and the very rude, obnoxious, "me first' pax that were on board.   Unreal lack of manners!!  Ugh....😡

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, Plum Happy said:

 I have no cue what they use, it sometimes looks like a huge vat of butter if it's not chopped up or stirred up.

With his vast maritime experience, which includes cruise ships, I would trust whatever @chengkp75says as being accurate.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

For us (on same B2B) it was more the shortages (of everything) and the very rude, obnoxious, "me first' pax that were on board.   Unreal lack of manners!!  Ugh....😡

Agree. Sure the Explorer is in much need for a lot of TLC. For us the food in the MDR for breakfast and dinner was good. At least our selections. We both are beef eaters and our selections were always good and cooked perfectly. Great attentive waitstaff (AM and PM), head waiter in the evening was entertaining and always around. We never ate in the WJ. "Fuhgeddaboutit"! We thought we would one sea day on the second leg. Walked in and walked right back out. A free for all. We thought the DLC and his staff were some of the best. Including the VCL. Our cabin balcony had a cosmetic issue that I immediately reported and it was taken care of the next day while we were in port.  Entertainment (theater and Studio B) was the same we've seen before on past Explorer cruises. Some shows we went to others we skipped. Missed not having QUEST. We prefer the guest entertainers over the ships production shows. Our cabin attendant took very good care of us. She worked her butt off on the second leg from what we saw when we walked by a few cabins that had the doors open. A lot of quad occupancy. I don't get how people can live like that even for a short time. Other than the casino host (😮) the crew we interacted with were friendly and polite.  We would sail on the Explorer again. Just not out of SJU. This thread is a good example of why I (we) wouldn't or would book a cruise line, ship, itinerary, etc. based on someone's positive or negative experiences or opinions. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by davekathy

[Cruising89143]

10 hours ago, tottenhamfc said:

This review in all honesty could be written about all ships currently. I too noticed the current decline in quality in all aspects if the cruises that I have been on. It is a personnel issue which has nothing to do with Explorer and all to do with acquiring and training new staff. There are logistical issues whereby they cant get staff back as they have new jobs because of two years off. The only common denominator is the determination to please the customer. The quality will come in time. The cruiselines would go bankrupt if they didnt return to service pronto. It will come good in time. Lets all be patient and be thankful that we are lucky enough to cruise.

Read the below linked article this morning. Could possibly see more cruise lines make this move.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/cunard-caps-occupancy-some-cruises-due-crew-shortages