June May

I'm doing my first solo cruise next year. I'm looking forward to it, without the overgrown manchild who spoiled my first cruise a few years back.
I plan, after reading @twangster's posts and live blogs, to request solo MDR dining at a table for two.
I like people well enough, and may very well socialise all day long, and into the evening. Then again, maybe I won't. I'd rather plan to eat alone and do my socialising elsewhere.
That said, because @JLMoran wrote such an amazing review of his Chef's Table experience, I have booked that for my cruise next year. I'll socialise while dining that night.
I'm also very much looking forward to Wonderland on my solo cruise in 2020. I agree, someone to share that experience with would be rather nice - maybe I can share a table with some other people? Or the tables will be close enough together to share the experience even if not strictly speaking dining together.

After dinner I wandered around and took some pictures.  First I checked out the Schooner Bar and found a singer / piano player at work.  I still have a song in my head from this. 





From here I ventured into the main theater.



The welcome aboard was about to start so I sat down for a while.  The comedian was good but family friendly tonight.  He has an adult show later in the week.
He pointed out this is the smallest ship in the fleet.  You can tell it's the smallest he explained, when it will fit inside the Royal Promenade of a newer ship.
The Viking Crown Lounge is very different compared to the rest of the fleet.  Note the folks on treadmills one level up.  That's the gym.  I guess you can go for a run while watching the late night dancing.

"A Wrinkle in Time" was playing on the outdoor TV by the pool.




Some of the drink specials.



My glass block for reaching another milestone in the Crown and Anchor Society.  I plan these things and it seemed fitting getting one on this ship, one of the oldies but goodies.

I was getting ready for bed when I caught some flashes in the sky outside.  In the distance was another ship.  I am sure they were far from the storm but from this angle it made it look very dramatic with a ship on the horizon.

It was a glitch! Somehow the computer reverted to the non promotional price. Spoke to a wonderful woman in customer service named Stacey. She was able to get me an even lower fare! Wonderful customer service, and I can't wait until our January cruise! 
Thank you to all of you for your help! 
I will have to come back to this forum since you are all so nice! 

We're working on changing that!

Also LadyB you might want to look into the luggage tag holders they sell on Amazon.  We bought some years ago and they work really well.  The luggage tags you print off  will fold nicely into the the holders which come with a small cable that attaches to you luggage.  When ordering make sure you order the ones for Royal Caribbean   If you are flying in just wait till after the flight to attach the cruise tags 

Those tomatoes! I would have bought one of each, found a spot in the sun and happily lunched on them! Yum!
And that spice stand - a chance to puzzle out the ingredients using my very basic French, and yes, I'd want all of them too! 
Jealous. Very jealous!
So glad you're having such a great time!

I bought a Rolex a couple of years ago.  They are quite affordable but I hardly wear it and it's a bit bulky. 
It was $36 on the streets of San Juan.  
Still not sure what all the fuss is about.

Thanks everyone - I had hoped this was the case. I suspect the lady in question has a case of cruise snobbery going on.
Now I can go back to looking forward to my cruise! And using all the excellent tips from everyone here to help me plan!
 

Thanks everyone - I had hoped this was the case. I suspect the lady in question has a case of cruise snobbery going on.
Now I can go back to looking forward to my cruise! And using all the excellent tips from everyone here to help me plan!
 

This is such a pet peeve of mine.  No, Explorer is not brand new but she's no jalopy either.
I think Explorer was a fun ship to sail on and the Voyager Class, in general, is a fabulous choice. 
This is why I warn everyone never to take reviews of ships seriously.  We all cruise differently, and I firmly believe the cruise experience is what you make of it.  That and a positive attitude and open mind going in makes the largest difference.

We sailed on explorer in June as part of the group cruise. I thought the ship was in very good shape. I didn’t notice any excessive wear and tear in the public areas. We had a couple of minor issue in our room with our balcony railing and door being in bad shape. We mentioned it to our room steward (who was fantastic) and he had both fixed immediately. Couldn’t have had a better resolution. 

Compared to Harmony or Symphony, Explorer doesn't look brand new.  However I never thought to say she is old and tired.  
The only thing that caught my eye the whole week was the bar in the pub.  It's different compared to other Royal pub bars.  The pub bars that I have experienced before were along the back wall leaving the bulk of the pub space open.  On Explorer the bar is near the entrance, triangular shaped and occupies a lot of floor space in the pub.  As a bar this worked okay with good access to bartenders.  When the pub singer was there, I didn't feel there was a lot of room to sit and listen to the music.  That's not "old and tired", it is just different. 
Keep in mind I was on sister ship Adventure in May a month before Explorer.  Adventure was refreshed earlier this year.   I was pleasantly surprised to see newer carpet in our Explorer Interior cabin, just like Adventure.  The chair at the desk had been replaced just like Adventure.  I noted the same on our brief cabin crawl.  Their were large flat panel TVs in the remodeled "Tavern" bar. I was very pleased with Explorer over all. 
No water slides, but that isn't "old and tired" either.
It may not be new like Anthem which has decor like Harmony, but I was quite happy with the appearance of Explorer.  I suppose if someone has only sailed Voyager class and they are longing for something different, only then might you say that you are tired of her.  However that doesn't make the ship "old and tired".  

I have been on Explorer a few times, the last time was February this year an she was a great ship. You have nothing to worry about, she is clean and tidy with an amazing crew, you will have a great cruise.
Here is my review if you are interested.
We are on her again next in March next year.
 

You can do the Hobbiton tours best from Tauranga rather than Auckland - shorter drive. I know this because it is the entire reason I booked my New Zealand cruise in 2020 ?
 

I wanted to chime in on this....
I know this is disappointing, but I didn't want everyone thinking that this was just a Royal issue.
Sharla and I are this and working with Royal,  and Im sure Royal will try to work the best option for you and everyone else that got displaced from this cruise and the several other chartered cruises that were announced this week.  While right now it seems this is only a Royal issue, in my past 18 plus years in the industry I can tell you this has happened on most cruise lines - NCL, RCCL and even Disney - in fact I have had to move a group of 24 staterooms from a Disney cruise because of a charter. 
The cruise lines will put out the generic letter for what they are going to offer to each guest, but each guests situations are a little different and they do try to work with the displaced guests as best they can.  I do not want to give examples of what has been given from different cruise lines, as it is all dependent on what each situation is as to what they may authorize to do for each guest.  This is a chance for your travel planner to jump in to work for you.  Please know that MEI-Travel and the other Travel planners out there you guys are working with fight for you and your vacation plans to take some of this stress off of you especially when things go wrong.
Hang tight as we hope we can make this better.  We cant make it right, but we can try to help.

Shall be very interested in that for two reasons - one, I'm sailing on Explorer in the South Pacific in March next year, so am super keen to see what she looks like! And two, coming from a dry-as-a-bone desert country in Australia, Alaska with all that pristine water and ice fascinates me!

It'll probably end up on my cruise bucket list ... just as well I'm working to cruise! ?

Hi Larry, welcome along. You've chosen two cruises that I like to think of as Australia's equivalent of Caribbean and Alaskan cruises. South Pacific - beautiful beaches, palm trees, etc. and New Zealand - spectacularly breathtakingly, jaw-dropping scenery. And B2b!!  You'll have a fantastic time.
Further to June May's suggestion, I recommend the Bridge Climb.  Or simply wander around Circular Quay and visit the Opera House.  For a decent breakfast or dinner I'd recommend Pancakes on the Rocks.

Hi! Let me welcome you (in advance) to my beautiful Australia - hope you will enjoy your stay! ?
If you're staying in The Rocks, there's always a visit to the Sydney Opera House, or if you're truly feeling adventurous, the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb.  It's been a while since I've stayed in The Rocks, but there's probably still a walking tour to cover the history of the area, if that's your thing. Or perhaps jump on a ferry at Circular Quay and cross the Harbour to visit Taronga Zoo and see our adorable wildlife. 
Can't advise on South Pacific or NZ must-do ideas - my cruises to those locations aren't til 2019 and 2020!
 

That would be funny.  Sit on their towel.  Put on their flip flops.  Read their magazine.  Wait for them to return. 
That might be scope worthy. 

Post cruise - we rented a car which was very convenient at the pier. We rented with Alamo - slight glitch with how much they charged - make sure that they charge the rate you got when you put in for the car! They straightened it out when I called them when we returned the car. If you plan to rent a car, do it before the cruise - there were no cars available if you didn't reserve one. We drove from Vancouver to Seattle - about 4 hours with customs and a stop for lunch in Bellingham. We stayed on the north side of Seattle (Shoreline) because I got a room with points at Holiday Inn Express. We went to the Space Needle and Chihuly Gardens and then took the monorail over to check out the the Public Market at Pike's. I had the biggest halibut fish & chips at Lowell's! We had a 3rd night to figure out  where to go so we checked out Whidbey Island. We looked into Victoria but couldn't get reservations on the ferries so took a Ferry to Whidbey Island where we had a great breakfast in Langley before heading to the north end of the island - a beautiful drive! - where we stayed at the Wildwood Farm Bed & Breakfast. They have about 50 horses on the farm and offer horseback riding. I couldn't talk my wife into riding but I had a great time during my hour trail ride after a delicious breakfast. When I was finished we had time to get freshened up before getting in the car to head for the airport in Vancouver for our red-eye home. We stopped at the Granville Public Market in Vancouver for some shopping and lunch before heading to the airport. This was the best vacation we've ever had alone since it was the first vacation in 30 years without children!  We love our kids but it was nice to have just the two of us for an extended period. We enjoyed it so much that we were going to book another Alaska cruise next summer and take a couple of the kids (17 & 20) but they have zero interest. Instead we booked a couple staterooms on the Brilliance at Christmas going to Cozumel and Grand Cayman (12/29-1/3).
Thanks again to all those that provide such great information here so that it took away all the anxiety of a first cruise and helped us make the best of our time while on vacation. 
Happy Cruising! Ken 

It's finally here!!!! Seven night cruise to Bahamas, St. Thomas and St Kitts. Harmony! Besides visiting a friend in Texas a bunch of times I haven't been away or on a cruise since Adventure in February of 2016. I've waited 11 months since booking. I'm super excited about everything.   The When: Saturday, July 7th-14th.   The Who: myself, my best friend and her husband, his friend and wife and a family of maybe 30. All ages covered here.   The Why: Besides why not, it's a friend's birthday, that's where the insane amount of people come from.   The How: I'm flying down Friday (July 6th) afternoon and have a hotel room near the cruise part....doing this alone. My bff and her husband are not the nervous type and will fly down day of. I'm spending 7 days with people, thrilled to have a day to myself. Some of the others are staying in the same hotel and are probably meeting for dinner, I may (definitely) skip out.   The Plans: Bahamas. No plans. It's the only place I haven't been. I'll wander off the ship if anyone else does.  Not thrilled with the times - I think 8-2. Meh.   St. Thomas - RC excursion - St. John Beach and Snorkel.  I think there will be five of us here. St. Thomas is one of my all-time favorite islands.   St. Kitts. - one of my least favorite but this is probably because last time I did the volcano hike which was a huge mistake. I see now that RC now clearly states how strenuous this hike truly is. I don't know many people who can jog/run UP a mountain, but okay. No plans here, will taxi to a beach.   The Room: Studio Interior with virtual balcony. I don't share well unless it's love. I would have loved a balcony but this was not cheap.  I booked in August and the price has never once gone down, only up.   Misc: Drink Package, yes. I'm not a fan of RC's coffee. I drink a ton of water and seltzer. I like my cocktails and love wine. I figure with so many of us it there will be lot of drinks all around. We've got some heavy weights on this trip - I am not one of them. We have Grease booked and one comedy show. I'm more of a planner and would have rather booked everything and then play by ear but I tried hard not be annoying with my group.   Dinner plans: MTD but my reservations seemed to have disappeared. Sigh. 5 of us should be linked. The rest are family and we expect them to eat dinner together. I'll go and check when I arrive. I'd have liked to try some of the specialty restaurants but the group of 5 isn't interested. We'll see if I wind up trying out with others, by myself or not at all.   VOOM Surf and Stream - yep. How else can I update this blog? For real, though, I need to be connected for my own self. Don't need to check work email but like to be available if anyone needs anything. My boss and I happen to both be away at the same time.   Thoughts: Since there are so many of us I have a few concerns on how we're all getting along. Some of the other group is annoyed the 5 made other dinner plans. I'm not sure how so many of us can do everything together. I'm easy going for the most part but really enjoy alone time. Gimme a book and a chair and I'm good for hours. I have no tolerance for BS and will go off on my own if needed or wanted.   Thoughts Part II: We've gotten off to a rough start. One of us was rushed to the hospital this weekend and since has been cleared to go but we're all a little worried for him. Another one of us is a klutz and spilled fresh hot effing coffee on herself and gave herself  what looks like first and second degree burns. Thanks to Google images it seems like that's the worst of it. Also, don't look up images for third degree burns unless you want to be sad or sick to your stomach or both. Dummy. Also, OUCH.   Let me know if you want a picture of something or info. Dunno if I know how to post pics so we'll see since I'll be on my cell phone.   Instagram: Isalay76 - mostly dog pics but the plan is to actually post cruise pictures.   This is Luna. She senses something is up and has been staring at me all week. This is pretty much the only thing I will miss.

Hi all.  Thank you again for your recommendations.  We booked our shore excursions last night!  GC- catamaran to stingray city and reef snorkeling.  We'll have enough time to grab lunch on our own too! Costa Maya- tour of ruins and swimming at 7 colors lagoon. Cozumel- Chichen Itza. I want to be in the water a lot and Richard is a history buff so we thought this was the perfect mix.
Our Cruiser Planner is counting down the days... and so am I!

Just checked my old notes -- Original price for 2-device VOOM was $30.83, so the actual savings is more like 2 margaritas! ??

It’s July 4th and I know there is a RC sale but I’m on a land vacation in the Smokey mountains and spent the day rafting and zip lining. I check my email to find an email from my MEI TA. This new sale can save  $400 but I’ll have give up my current OBC of $175 but a net savings of $225. I am too busy to check on this myself and so love that my TA does this for me. 
Love MEI! Thanks Nancy for working this holiday to help your clients save money!