Explorer of the Seas- is it as bad as reviews say?

[Airbear232]

On 10/2/2023 at 9:51 AM, dg33 said:

We have booked a Caribbean cruise in January 2025 on Explorer of the seas based on itinerary, but are having second thoughts based on reviews. Any insight would be appreciated.

DW and I have been on EOS five times.  It’s a beautiful ship.  I think Royal has been the most innovative when it comes to design.  The Voyager class was the first with the Royal Promenade and Studio B.  Compared to other cruise lines, not many ships measure up to Voyager Class.  However, Royal’s newer classes all offer more in terms of onboard experiences.  If you cruised on an Oasis or Quantum ship, you won’t have all of their amenities.  Enjoy your trip. 

[Escortmad79]

We quite liked Explorer when we were on her

[doghog]

We never let others positive or negative opinions or experiences influence us. 

[Nick67]

On 10/2/2023 at 8:51 AM, dg33 said:

We have booked a Caribbean cruise in January 2025 on Explorer of the seas based on itinerary, but are having second thoughts based on reviews. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[Morecruisesplz]

20 hours ago, doghog said:

We never let others positive or negative opinions or experiences influence us. 

You are wasting your time here on CC then. 

[doghog]

40 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

You are wasting your time here on CC then. 

Thanks for making my point and sharing your opinion. Another one that I will ignore. 🤣

Edited October 30, 2023 by doghog

[Morecruisesplz]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

Thanks for making my point and sharing your opinion. Another one that I will ignore. 🤣

Being thin skinned doesn't help either. Enjoy your cruise!

[Mike.S]

On 10/2/2023 at 2:51 PM, dg33 said:

We have booked a Caribbean cruise in January 2025 on Explorer of the seas based on itinerary, but are having second thoughts based on reviews. Any insight would be appreciated.

We've been on Explorer twice, most recently this September. We loved her and her crew, the only thing we felt could be improved was my time dining, wasn't as slick as it should of been.

We'd travel on her again in a heartbeat.

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, Mike.S said:

We've been on Explorer twice, most recently this September. We loved her and her crew, the only thing we felt could be improved was my time dining, wasn't as slick as it should of been.

We'd travel on her again in a heartbeat.

Who is the maitre allocating tables on EOS for my time dining? Do you think that it is something that she/he could improve or is a structural problem independently of the maitre?

[ajtaylor29]

On 10/28/2023 at 5:24 PM, blueslily said:

 

Thinking about booking a sailing later this month. A couple folks above mentioned a bad smell in some areas. Did you experience that?

I remember a couple of times getting a whiff of something....but definitely not enough to disturb my cruise! Honestly, we recently stayed in a penthouse suite (at an unnamed Caesars property) and had way more "whiffs" of a sewer smell there than we did on Explorer so there's that?!? I think occasionally on all ships - but especially the older ones - there will be a whiff here and there.....but i also get that walking down the street! Don't let it deter you! 🙂

[doghog]

4 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Being thin skinned doesn't help either. Enjoy your cruise!

No need to call yourself thin skinned. Your opinion of yourself. I wouldn't call you or disrespect you that way. I may not agree with your opinion but it doesn't mean I don't respect your opinion. 🍻

[Oakman58]

I'm glad so many people enjoy cruising on the Explorer of the Seas.  I have a cruise on her Dec 1st and this will be just my second cruise on RC.  My very first was in 2005 on Rhapsody of the Seas and I didn't I didn't care for cruising and how things were priced.  The envelopes on the bed the last night of the cruise came as a complete surprise.

In wasn't until we did a Panama Canal cruise in 2015 for our 40th wedding anniversary that I became hooked on cruising. Since then we've taken many cruises on NCL, Holland, Carnival, and Princess (one and done with Princess).

I'm looking forward to trying RC again and looking at recent videos it looks like the Explorer of the Seas is still a beautiful ship.

[Saoa0318]

On 10/2/2023 at 8:52 PM, dg33 said:

Thank you all for your replies. We are not traveling with kids so don’t need water slides😁 we are elite status on Celebrity so will be Diamond on RCL. This is our first cruise with Royal.

I was excited to try Royal and then watched some You Tube reviews that were very unfavorable about the food. Then saw some trip advisor reviews about the cleanliness. So I am very encouraged to hear from all of you. Thank you!!

We are diamond + on Royal and just took my husband on his first Celebrity sailing. Things he noticed...celebrity is cleaner and the plates in the buffett are actual china. I have never complained about cleanliness on royal but we dont frequent heavily used public areas like restrooms near the pool or casino. I didnt norice as many discarded drink classes on celebrity that you see everywhere on royal. 

[bouhunter]

On 10/2/2023 at 8:29 PM, fredmdcruisers said:

We sure enjoyed our B3B last year and are booked again for 3 cruises in January 24. 

See you there 🙂  We're booked on two 9 night explorer cruises this winter and have no concerns.  Don't pay attention to individual ship reviews.