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Always Packed for Adventure!

It's the destination and the journey.

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Europe 2015- Explorer of the Seas: Things to do on a Big Ship

Eat, drink, sleep, repeat... sums up cruising, right?

Although we were very preoccupied with those activities, there was actually plenty to on the Explorer of the Seas. Our thirteen night cruise, only included six days of port stops, so we had plenty of time to take advantage of all the ship had to offer.

First, here are a few shots taken around the boat. Admire that mega elevator.                                                                                               

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The Royal Promenade on deck five was the place to shop for everything from Royal Caribbean souvenirs to expensive jewelry and handbags. They had a great Kate Spade collection, which I would have swooped up, if the exchange rate hadn't been killing us. I love me some Kate Spade. The Royal Promenade had multiple themed bars, including the Crown and Kettle Pub, which was always packed. I was happy that the Royal Promenade had a Starbucks Coffee and a Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream store. Yummy creature comforts while on vacation, 

One of the most aggressively promoted activities were the art auctions. Art auction invitations were delivered to our suite daily.

We took a look at the art gallery offerings one afternoon, when Felix was being naughty and his punishment was doing "boring adult things" with us. This backfired. The art was terrible and as we tried to appreciate it, we all felt like we were being punished. We were almost curious enough to attend an art auction, just to see who buys the stuff. We didn't see a single piece that we would hang in our home. It looked like modern office decor.

 The ship has lots of "art" sprinkled throughout. There are cool things, like Annie Leibovitz prints and then there's this thing, that we kept calling the Tin-Foil Angel. It's huge, it's gaudy, and it's ugly.

And stuff like this...

It wasn't always "boring adult things" for the kids. Royal Caribbean boasts having one of the best kid's clubs on the seas, called Adventure Ocean. Adventure Ocean is for kids 3-17 and they split the kids into age groups for appropriate activities.

Felix was in the Aquanauts (ages 3-5) and Zoe was in the Explorers ( ages 6-8). The groups were in neighboring play areas and sometimes they combined age groups for activities. The actives were often themed, like Pirates or Superheroes and split into three hour sessions (morning, afternoon and evening). They played games (Zoe loved Gaga Ball), did crafts and watched movies. Face painting day was a big hit. 

 Adventure Ocean included a huge arcade. We are a competitive family with air hockey. 

Here's the thing about our experience with the Adventure Ocean. When the kids went, they loved it. They had a great time, they were happy and they came back exhausted. They made friends, which they kept running into all over the ship. They loved the Adventure Ocean staff ( special shout-out to Splish-Splash Ash), who are all child-care specialists. Seriously, Adventure Ocean is awesome. However, the kids don't get to see Dan much and quickly we realized that they would rather spend time with daddy, than go to Adventure Ocean. 

Without Adventure Ocean, we had to come up with an alternative way to expend their pent-up energy. We had them do laps on the upper deck running track. Not kidding. 

We played shuffle board.

We checked out the helicopter landing pad.

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Took a look at the wedding chapel. 

People watched at the rock climbing wall.

Watched people attempting to surf on the Flow Rider.

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Mini-golf!

There was even a basketball court.

However, one activity reigned supreme.

Swimming.

The Explorer of the Seas has ten saltwater pools and spas. The kids could have spent the entire vacation swimming, they loved it. Unfortunately, the weather at the very beginning and end of our cruise was very cold, but there were plenty of sunny days overall. 

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Here's a picture of me. I'm sunbathing, reading and thinking that pool/beach vacations are the best. 

On hot sea-days, the pools were usually jammed and it was often difficult to find lounge chairs. As suite guests, there were a small section of lounge chairs reserved for us, but they were first come/ first serve and often filled. If you are traveling without children, there is an adults only pool area that always seemed less crowded. It was quiet too. Quiet spaces on cruise ships are hard to find.

In the evenings, there was always a MainStage performance, which included revue shows, musicals, comedians and vocalists. Most of the shows seemed to be geared towards adults, so we skipped them. We did however, go see an afternoon performance of the Ice Show.

Did I mention that Explorer of the Seas has an ice skating rink? 

As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by our suite concierge, Denzil, who asked the kids if they wanted to participate in the show. They were hesitant, but in case they changed their minds, he seated us in the front row near an access area to the ice.

They hour long show was a tribute to the seasons and featured about fifteen ice skaters. It was impressive. Although the kids were too nervous to participate, they could have gone on a sled ride during the winter sequence. Dan and I wanted to go!

 One of my favorite parts was a summer scene with a skater who also did tricks with a hula hoop. There was a lot of talent on the ice and they really seemed to enjoy performing. There were a few harrowing moments when one of the performers fell, twice, but he got up and kept on skating. He was clearly in pain, but a professional all the way. The ice show is not to be missed. 

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If you want to learn to ice skate, the rink is open at various times throughout the cruise for lessons and open skate. Among the other activities that we didn't do...the casino, bingo, crafts, lectures, towel animal demonstrations, tours of the ship, gym, spa, wine tastings, et... truly, there was something for everyone.

The in-room map provided hours of entertainment. It's like the maps on your individual TV screens in planes, impossible to not stare at them for updates. 

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The most amusing source of entertainment was provided by Henry and a woman from Jamaica. 

Early in the cruise, Zoe and Felix, would say "hi" to Henry, when they passed him in the hall. One of the suite attendants caught on to this and she would come out of the room with a big, booming voice, "Who's disturbing Henry?". The giggles would ensue as she chased the kids down the hall for bothering Henry. It was hilarious. She was another Royal Caribbean employee who went out of their way to make our cruise memorable. 

I will end on this picture, sometimes Dan and I were able to sneak on the patio for a romantic moment!

Next up, my favorite part of the cruise; shore excursions. 

tags: Royal Caribbean International, Explorer of the Seas Review, Explorer of the Seas Pictures, Flow Rider Explorer of the Seas, What to do on a Cruise, Cruise Ship Activities, Explorer of the Seas Activities, Sea Day Activities, Elevator Explorer of the Seas, Royal Promenade Explorer of the Seas, Royal Promenade Shops, Kate Spade on Royal Caribbean, I Love Kate Spade, Starbucks on Royal Caribbean, Starbucks on Explorer of the Seas, Ben and Jerry's Explorer of the Seas, Crown and Kettle Pub Explorer of the Seas, Art Auction Royal Caribbean, Who Buys Art Work on Cruise Ships, Art on Explorer of the Seas, Tin Foil Angel Explorer of the Seas, Giant Angel Sculpture Explorer of the Seas, Annie Leibovitz Prints on Explorer of the Seas, Annie Leibovitz Royal Caribbean, Cruise Ship Art Auctions, Adventure Ocean, Adventure Ocean Royal Caribbean Review, Adventure Ocean Explorer of the Seas Review, Kids Club on Explorer of the Seas, Kids Club on Royal Caribbean, Aquanauts Explorer of the Seas, Adventure Ocean Activities, Did Your Kid Like Adventure Ocean, Gaga Ball Explorer of the Seas, Splish-Splash Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas Arcade, Adventure Ocean Arcade, Explorer of the Seas Running Track, Explorer of the Seas Shuffle Board, Explorer of the Seas Helicopter Pad, Explorer of the Seas Wedding Chapel, Explorer of the Seas Rock Climbing Wall, Explorer of the Seas Miniature Golf, Explorer of the Seas basketball court, Explorer of the Seas Pool, Explorer of the Seas Salt Water Pool, Quite Spaces on Cruise Ship, Explorer of the Seas Adult Only Pool, Explorer of the Seas Shows, Explorer of the Seas Ice Show, Ice Skating on Explorer of the Seas, Hula Hoop in Explorer of the Seas Ice Show, Denzil Explorer of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas in-room map, Towel Animal Demonstration, Henry Hoover, Henry Vacuum
categories: Visit
Saturday 08.29.15
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 

Europe 2015- Explorer of the Seas; Embarkation and Suite Review

After months of planning, embarkation day had finally arrived. It took two taxi runs to transport us and all of our (my) luggage from the Premier Inn to the Southampton Port. We arranged to arrive at eleven, which was the earliest time that we could begin to board the ship. We were not alone. The port was bustling and we watched as porters loaded our luggage. 

Here's a cute picture of Dan, Zoe and Felix, as we were waiting for Dan's parents to arrive in the second taxi run.

Let me take you back to our pre-trip planning for a moment. Royal Caribbean International (RCC) has a terrible website. It's slow and it's difficult to navigate. In every case, it was easier to call with a question, even thought it meant being on hold for thirty minutes. The phone operators were always very pleasant, however, theY often provided conflicting information. This was especially true when my father-in-law spoke with them regarding formal nights. Two phone calls and an email later...we still had no idea what to expect. 

This website snafu spilled over to embarkation day, when we had printed the wrong paperwork.  It ended up being quickly resolved, but not before a rather grumpy employee barked orders at us. To be fair, I think that she may have been a port employee, rather than someone with the cruise line. RCC had extremely friendly staff. 

We booked two Grand Suites and with this, came a ton of perks. The first perk was a separate queue for embarkation. We were given a blue sticker, which fast tracked us on to the ship. Paperwork issue aside, boarding was lightening fast.

At check-in, we were given our Seapass. The Seapass is key to everything on the ship. It's a room key, an identification card and it's a charge account. RCC operates on a cashless system, so all charges go through the Seapass. We elected to put a credit card on our account for the balance, but we also had a choice to pay cash. As a bonus, we had almost nine hundred dollars in shipboard credit via a promotion when we booked through Costco Travel. We elected to not give the kids charging abilities on the card and due to his age (5), Felix's card did not function as a room key. Our Seapass was gold to identify us as suite guests. 

The first stop after check-in, was the obligatory boarding day picture.

After the picture, we took the kids over to a booth where they met an employee from the kid's club named Splish-Splash. All of the kid's club employees have crazy nicknames. Splish-Splash, who ended up being one of Zoe's favorite Kid's Club attendants, gave each kid a red wrist band. They wore the wrist band of the duration of our cruise and it would be used to identify them, if there was an emergency or we got separated. Luckily, we never needed the wrist bands.

We didn't have access to our rooms before three, so we explored the ship and had lunch at The Windjammer. The Windjammer is the casual buffet option on the ship. It's popular, especially on that first day. This is where our best suite perk came into play. As a suite guest, we had the option to eat in Chops Grill.

Chops is a reservation based steak restaurant in the evenings, but for breakfast and lunch, it's open as an alternative dining space for suite guests. Seriously, this is the biggest reason for booking a suite. If we didn't have this perk, murder or suicide would have occurred on our vacation. At times, the crowds in The Windjammer were unbearable. It was such a treat to have a quiet dining room to enjoy our meals and we got to know the staff, who were wonderful. 

Rooms on cruise ships are notoriously small. Although I had been on three previous cruises ( Big Red Boat, Carnival and RCC), I had only experienced interior staterooms. I was really curious to see what we were getting for splurging on a suite.

Our room was amazing! It was spacious, not even feeling cramped when the couch was transformed into a bed for the kids. The balcony was huge and let a ton of light into the room. The best part, we had ample storage for all of the (my) luggage.

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The bathroom was surprisingly large, with double sinks and a soaking tub. 

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The balcony was massive and pretty much where I parked myself with a book for the entire two weeks. I absolutely loved the deck and I can't imagine doing a future cruise with an interior room. Nope, not happening. 

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On the last day of our trip, as I was packing, I thought that I had better take some detailed shots to show off the storage in the room. Please mind the mess.

First, the vanity. As my readers know, I love my make-up mirrors, so that was a huge feature for me. However, look at all of the drawers and cupboards. Plus, the giant mirror is also hiding a cupboard. I had no idea about the mirror until a week into our trip, when my mother-in-law clued me in. 

Storage in the bathroom was more than we needed. We couldn't possibly fill all of the drawers and vanity cupboards behind both mirrors. I have a lot of grooming products, but I couldn't meet RCC's expectations!

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We had two end tables on either side of the couch and they both doubled as storage space.

We had one big closet and a half closet. Plenty of space for all of our clothes. Another suite perk, fluffy robes.

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A note on laundry; we paid to have a majority of it done on the ship. Yes, it was expensive, but it also saved us a lot of stress. We didn't have mounds of dirty laundry everywhere and since we were also traveling after the cruise, we needed clean clothes for the our final week in Europe. Plus, it kept the peace to have the kid's favorite items cleaned for them. We never paid for the same-day laundry, but sending it out non-rush, usually guaranteed that it would be back the next day. I had one tank top ruined, but it was delicate and I probably should have known better than to have it cleaned with the regular laundry. 

One way to save is to take advantage of a laundry special. They ran it twice during our cruise and it was thirty dollars for all that you could stuff into a special plastic bag. Only certain items counted and it was a basic wash without pressing, so for stuff like tee-shirts, socks and undies. 

In addition to the closet space, there was ample drawer space.

The cupboard on the far left in the above picture, held a refrigerator. The fridge was a stocked mini-bar, but it also had room to add our own items, like macaroons from France!

There was a large counter and even more storage above the drawers. 

Our suite attendant, Pedro, was great. He brought us a fresh bucket of ice every afternoon and made the most incredible towel animals every evening. I'm going to dedicate an entire future post to his towel menagerie. 

A little more on the suite perks. We had a concierge lounge that was run by Denzil Fernandez. Denzil sent us an e-mail greetings prior to our trip and he outlined several of our perks. We were given a fruit plate on arrival and complimentary formal night attire pressing. One perk that the kids liked, was the ability to borrow movies and Play Station 3 games. Denzil had a large selection of DVD's and games in the concierge lounge. 

Although we didn't make use of it much, the concierge lounge was open for us to use and it had complimentary drinks and nibbles in the evenings. It just didn't feel like an appropriate or fun place to bring the kids, so we only visited to see Denzil. He helped arrange excursion tickets for us and he resolved a dining issue. 

We let the kids run wild when it was empty.

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We also had a special roped off area of lounge chairs by the pool, which were first come/first serve for suite guests. We only found them to be full one time. We didn't see any of the main stage shows, but if we had, there was also a section of seats reserved for suite guests. We did see the ice show and when we arrived, Denzil escorted us to seats in the front row and asked if the kids wanted to take part in the show. More on the ice show in an upcoming post. 

Towards the end of our trip, we started to feel like we were being followed. We had a lot of staff members in dining, especially management, going out of their way to make sure that we were happy. Then, one morning, I noticed a list at the front desk of Chops Steakhouse. It had all of the names of the suite guests and their room numbers. The Explorer of the Seas has over three thousand passengers and I would estimate that only maybe a hundred of them are suite guests. We were definitely getting a large dose of personal service. 

After cruising in a suite, I'm officially spoiled. While planning the cruise, I frequented cruisecritic.com as my primary resource for planning our vacation. It's a great site run by fellow travelers that offer personal vacation experiences and advice. One of the big debates that came up frequently on the RCC board, was whether or not the suites are worth the extra expense?

Yes, Yes and Yes!!!!

Some people argued that a Junior Suite is good enough, as it gives you a little extra space, but is more affordable than a Grand Suite or above. The Grand Suite is the lowest category of suites that still gives you the suite perks. You get none of the perks in a Junior Suite. Our Grand Suite was amazing, but it was really having those perks that impacted our vacation enjoyment. Seriously, having the quiet dining room to escape the madness at Windjammer was worth thousands!

 

 

tags: Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas Library, Royal Caribbean International, Royal Caribbean International Cruise Review, Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas Grand Suite Review, Royal Caribbean Grand or Junior Suite, Royal Caribbean Explore of the Seas Suite Perks, Royal Caribbean International Suite Perks Review, Explorer of the Seas Grand Suite Pictures, Explorer of the Seas Grand Suite 1552, Explorer of the Seas Grand Suite 1552 Review, Pictures of Royal Caribbean Grand Suite Storage, Grand Suite Explorer of the Seas for Families, Kids on Explorer of the Seas, Concierge Lounge Explorer of the Seas, Denzil Fernandez Explorer of the Seas, Photography on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, Mediterranean Cruise Explorer of the Seas, Premier Inn Southhampton Review, Embarkation Explorer of the Seas, Embarkation Suite Guests Royal Caribbean, Gold Seapass Royal Caribbean, Grand Suite Balcony Royal Caribbean, Explorer of the Seas Deck Ten, Windjammer Crowds Explorer of the Seas, Bathroom Grand Suite Explorer of the Seas, Closet Space Grand Suite Explorer of the Seas, Vanity Grand Suite Explorer of the Seas, Laundry Special Royal Caribbean, Laundry on Royal Caribbean, Laundry Prices on Royal Caribbean, Cruise Critic, My Cruise Vacation Review, Cruise Credit Through Costco, Costco Travel, Cruisecritic.com, Reserved Lounge Chairs Royal Caribbean, Chops Explorer of the Seas, Towel Animals Royal Caribbean, Pedro Explorer of the Seas Cabin Attendant, Ice Show Royal Caribbean, Reserved Seats in Shows Suite Guest, Splish-Splash Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, Nicknames in Royal Caribbeans Kid Club, Identification Bracelets for Kids on Royal Caribbean, Big Red Boat Cruise, Carnival Cruise Lines
categories: Visit
Tuesday 07.28.15
Posted by Karen Lea Germain
 

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