The big cruise ships come to Australia each September / October, and most leave from Sydney. The rest of the year Australia has P&O and Carnival leaving from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, with the odd Ocean Liner visiting on their world trips. My sister had booked the Country Music Cruise months before we did, but I'm not sure who booked the Explorer of the Seas cruise first, but it is always good to cruise with my sister. Anyway, 11 days after disembarking Radiance, we were getting on another ship. This will be our second time on Explorer and this cruise is 11 nights. Explorer was the first Royal Caribbean ship we went on, and we were not overly impressed - especially after only being on Celebrity Solstice. This time it didn't seem so bad - not sure why.
We always have the same routine once we aboard a ship. Check-in on RC ships is always easy, especially with their rewards programme - as frequent cruisers we can go on the shorter queues so get on the ship quicker. On RC we first go up to the Waterfront (buffet) Restaurant for lunch and our first drink - I always get a mojito, not sure why! After lunch we head to the cabin and meet our cabin attendant, then explore the ship - including the many bars. The R Bar on deck 5 was our favourite after dinner, being just outside the Sapphire Dining Room.
I also like to take a photo of the daily newsletter - Cruise Compass - so I have a reference for photos taken after., and a note on the weather and place. We had booked an interior cabin, which is ok for two, but on this occasion there were three of us, so it was a little cramped.
Many passengers spend sea days around the pool, so it is difficult to get a seat, even in the adults only pool area. However, that leaves many seats available in the Star Lounge on Deck 5. This is the venue for many of the trivia's and game shows, so it was lovely to sit there in the cool sipping chocolate martinis. Jon's highlight was meeting the Captain - again - and getting his loyalty platinum pin.
He also liked the napkin folding, and our table server, Poetrie, showed Jon how to make a beautiful swan, which Jonnie then made for our cabin attendant.
The nightly shows were great and varied, from comedians to singers and tribute artists to string performances to movies. Production Shows were "Invitation to Dance" and "Wild, Cool & Swingin' " and "Fast Forward".
The Palace Theatre was a great and the seats were comfortable. We also saw some good movies there, which I don't recall seeing any movies last time we cruised on Explorer. Movies were also shown in the pool area.
Day 4 was our first port on this cruise - Isle of Pines.
Perfect for snorkeling. I enjoyed the calm of an empty ship 😇
As well as the usual theme nights - 2 formals (day 2 & 10); 70's (day 3); island/tropical (day 4 & 9); this cruise also had Halloween (day 5); and Melbourne Cup (day 11). All were fun, and we were prepared for all except the 70's party.
With having a drinks package, I got Peter to try some cocktails, which I am pleased to say he enjoyed. Daiquiris were his favourite. Here he is in the Star Lounge with a strawberry daiquiri.
We enjoy the ship rather than the ports she visits. Peter and Jonnie got off at each port, I only got off at Mare. Perhaps if the weather had been better I may have got off the ship, as I do like Mystery Island.
The entertainment staff were good, especially Marvin who kept us laughing. The Explorer has the best Cruise Director in Graeme Seymore. He was so funny. He not only did a funny morning show on the TV each morning - which we watched, but also did his own production of a British Rock Concert.
No comments:
Post a Comment