Cruising Season in Australia

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.

We all did get off in Mare, and paid $18 each for a return bus to the beach on the other side of the island. The beach was beautiful, but very crowded at one end. Next time we will do the island tour.

Jonnie must have remembered the British Rock show from last cruise of Explorer as he bought his English flag with him.

We had a great time, and can't wait to do it again - but maybe not in an interior room.

Cruising is more about the ship, than the ports visited..

We love cruising and for us it is more about the ship, than the ports visited. So in saying that the cabin is important, regardless of how much time one spends in the cabin. This cruise we spent a little more time in the cabin, especially when we wanted a little peace and quiet - not a lot of spaces on the ship provide that, not even the library.

The Explorer of the Seas is a Voyager Class ship - I have no idea what that means :) - and can accommodate just over 3100 passengers and with 1018 crew. It has 15 decks and 15 pools/spas/whirlpools.

We chose a balcony cabin on deck 6, as this was the deck my sister and her friends were on. The cabin was similar layout to other cruise ships we have been on. The bed was so comfortable.

Can't say the same for Jonnie's bed. The lounge was made into a double bed for Jonnie, and it was so hard. We were surprised that the bed was not converted back into a lounge during the day, as on the Solstice, but we made do.

Each morning we would turn on the TV to check the location maps, and then the news channel. There were a number of channels, mostly repeating the same shows over and over. None as bad as the one channel that repeated the same one episode of Person of Interest over and over and over ... Guest Relations said they would look into it ...  We didn't watch a lot of TV, but it was good in the mornings, when we were getting changed for dinner, and in the evening when in bed.

We did like the towel art.

 

 

We like to order room service on port days, mainly because the main food dining area is usually packed with people in a hurry to disembark. We have found it more relaxing, and that is what cruising should be, to have breakfast on the balcony - overlooking the port we are visiting. We are never in a hurry to disembark. We only had room service once, for breakfast on our first port day in Vila. It was such a disappointment. It was difficult to get a breakfast room service menu - Guest Relations were arranging it - guess they still are!! We got a menu from my sister's room so put the order in. It arrived on time and had the most wonderful fruit platter. Sadly no milk arrived for our cereal or tea. Room Service hung up on us twice after waiting 20 and 10 minutes respectively. Guest Relations were quite abrupt saying they will organise it. Never did. I spoke with a young girl outside the door who was collecting the dishes left outside from other room service deliveries. She didn't understand much English, but understood that we needed milk and another tea cup and more teas, as now 70 minutes had gone by and our tea was cold. She arrived back 10 minutes later with all we needed. We never ordered room service again. The room service menu was very limited.

Food was wonderful in the Sapphire Dining Room each evening, and the staff were the best we have come across. The staff on the ship were all wonderful - except Guest Relations.

However, we were disappointed with the food on the Explorer overall. The first breakfast in the Windjammer Marketplace was Eggs Benedict, mostly under cooked, even the egg and the Hollandaise Sauce was unrecognizable. I did try it again a few days later, and it was much the same. 

 The scrambled eggs were very tasty, so breakfast each day was scrambled eggs, potato gems (which they called hash browns), one pancake and breakfast syrup. Seating was limited and finding somewhere to eat was difficult unless one went to breakfast about 10am. We only found a window seat twice the whole cruise.

Lunch was hit and miss. The Cafe on deck five had pastries, sweets and sandwiches each day, so if the Windjammer didn't have anything agreeable I could get a sandwich from the cafe, or just fruit and cheese from the Windjammer. We rarely found a seat in the Windjammer at lunch, so often ate either on the pool deck, if we had found a seat or table (which once found we didn't leave) or in our cabin.

 The Windjammer Marketplace closed completely twice a day, so the cafe was the only place to get a snack. Speaking of the cafe...I love my tea, but the cafe was limited in the choice of teas, so I ordered an English Breakfast tea with 'little milk' I couldn't drink it - it had so MUCH milk. I made a regular tea 'with little milk'. Big difference.  

The activities on board were also limited - unless one wanted the flow rider, rock climbing, or ice skating - to bingo, trivia and napkin folding, which we did the one time it was offered. We also did the origami box making. 

Cruising is what one makes of it. We enjoyed holidaying with my sister and her friends, and we did have a good time. Would we do it again? Yes we would, on a different cruise line. On Royal Caribbean maybe. On Explorer of the Seas, maybe not. We will see what comes up.

First Impressions - Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas

 Way back in April, we had been looking at New Zealand cruises for the end of the year. I asked my sister if she was interested and she had just booked a Pacific Cruise with Royal Caribbean, so we decided it would be fun to cruise with my sister and brother in law - and it was.

We caught the ferry to Circular Quay and rounding the Opera House from Garden Island we saw the first sight of the ship.

Boarding was quick and easy. Once on board, and with first drink in hand we had our first of many encounters with Guest Relations - not impressed! But I'm not going to whinge to you about the poor guest relations and other issues we had - I've done that to Royal Caribbean!

The first cocktail I had was a mojito , and it was really sweet and looked weird – everything was blended, not enjoyable at all. I did have another one later in the cruise, and it was the same, even though I asked not to have a frozen one.

We had a walk around the ship and had drinks at a few different bars. That was interesting. The only thing that spoilt it was the number of unsupervised children running around.

Some of the other drinks/cocktails I had during the cruise were interesting. 

I enjoyed the scotch at the English pub - The Crown and Kettle.

...and the Brandy Alexander's from the Cocktail 'R' Bar most evenings as a night cap.

About half way through the cruise I discovered the Three Citrus Spritz - orange liqueur, red grapefruit, lemon, Cointreau and finished with prosecco - again from the R Bar - it became my pre-dinner drink.

My cocktail during the day was a Californian Cooler or a Toblerone (yummy Baileys)

The ship is quite spectacular and geared towards families and young people. There is a rock climbing wall, basket ball / activity court, video arcade, ....

 ... flow rider - which was fun to watch, ...

 ... mini golf, which were going to play, however, each time we went to play there were people waiting.

 Like all cruise ships there are a variety of pools and spas. There are displays and art work that were interesting. This motor bike was in the main thorough fare. 

This was in one of the bars...

 The main thorough fare.

 The R Bar.

A few evenings there were festivities or events in the main thorough fare.

On Sea days there were movies around the pool. We would have liked to see the new Star Trek movie again, but it's only screening was while we were scheduled to have dinner, and being the first night we thought we should have dinner with our new dinner companions. Sadly, RC mucked up the dining arrangements, so instead of being with my sister and her friends, we were with random couples who had also been placed incorrectly. So we could have skipped dinner in the dining room and watched the movie.

I was impressed with the art work around the ship.

This was in the main thorough fare.

My sister took so many photos on stairs around the ship, and I must say that was a good idea. I will remember that for our next cruise.

One of the specialist restaurants and the Schooner Bar.

The entrance to the Palace Theatre.

... and looking up.

The Star Lounge, where I went to Trivia games.

The last night there was a Christmas Parade.

It's the little things.... booking this cruise on the website was OK. However, the website tended to go around in circles, as did the Celebrity website – the 'sister' company. First impressions are important, and our first impressions of Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas were not that good. Staff were great, but little things like Guest Relations, first not listening to the problem, and second not fixing the problem first time, or in many cases second time! Food first day on board in the Windjammer Cafe was not that good, we thought maybe it was because it was the first day and they were feeding so many people, but the food didn't change much until half through the cruise, for a day or two, then it went back to mediocre. The fridge in our cabin barely worked. Guest Relations said that was normal!! Sorry Royal Caribbean, not good enough.

This was our first time on Royal Caribbean, and we will give it another go, maybe not on Explorer. Compared to other cruises, Celebrity is still our favourite.

Next time I'll show you the room and talk about the food.