Explorer of the Seas - 3 Day Cruise Review

[blue_hole_punch]

Explorer of the Seas - 3 Day Cruise Review

 

Just got back from my first RCI cruise, 2nd cruise ever. We did the sample cruise out of Sydney, as my husband has never been cruising before and we wanted to see what he thought before doing a longer itinerary.

 

Unfortunately he didn't enjoy it - the movement of the sea was a bit too much for him. He was very glad to get off the ship and back on to land.

 

I had a blast though. My first cruise was with P&O Australia and now having been on RCI I won't do anything less. The ship was better appointed, staff friendlier and everything was just amazing.

 

Our cabin - we were in cabin 1838 on deck 12, so the newer cabins. I liked this cabin - it was easy to get to, and we liked the fact that there were no rooms above us, no rooms below us and only one room next to us. I also liked the glass balcony - the deck 12 balcony's are the only glass ones on Explorer from what I could see. The room was twice the size of the one I was in on P&O and easily liveable for a longer cruise.

 

The facilities - it was amazing how on a ship of 3,000 people you never seemed to see more than 100 at once. The ship is spacious enough that you don't feel crammed in. The main disappointment I have from the facilities is the Freestyle coke machines. The two in the promenade never worked fully - one was always broken, the other only had plain Coke and Fanta available. There was never any ice. And I really didn't want to have to go up to the Windjammer every time I wanted a refill. Great idea, poor execution.

 

The day spa was excellent, best massage I've had in a long time. Enjoyed the hot tub in the solarium area.

 

The entertainment - the ice show was spectacular. Didn't make it to any of the other shows. I did feel like the entertainment was being put on at bare minimum levels. There were no parades in the promenade, nothing special other than a late night party for St Patrick's day and some shamrock decorations.

 

We did the all access tour and it was great - a lot of walking but really interesting to see so many areas. It went to the galley, I95, engine control room, laundry, incinerator and bridge.

 

The food - loved the food. Only bad food was the room service - wish there were more options for that. I was a bit frustrated when we first got on and every 2 minutes someone was approaching to sell the dining packages for the other restaurants. We'd already booked into Giovanni's through cruise planner and weren't interested in Chops or Izumi. We were just trying to have a nice drink outside the Crown and Kettle and we kept having to fend them off.

 

Overall I was super happy with RCI. Wanted to book another cruise, but unfortunately with husband not enjoying himself I couldn't do it on board as I need someone to go with, I'm not paying so much extra to go on my own. Looks like next up will be a Princess cruise with my parents, but after that I may be able to sway them into an RCI cruise to the South Pacific.