Thread: Explorer Nov 5 2011

Just booked last minute getaway on Explorer OTS for Nov 5 Bermuda 5 nights from Bayonne. First time on this ship , first time to Bermuda.

Tony, I'm not on your sailing, but did the same itinerary on Explorer back in Sept. 2008. I did a trip report when I returned, part of page 1 of the thread ended up in the new review section, but here's a link to page 2 and on.... http://www.cruiselinefans.com/cruise...bermuda-2.html If you have any questions, let me know

Originally Posted by ziggysun

Tony, I'm not on your sailing, but did the same itinerary on Explorer back in Sept. 2008. I did a trip report when I returned, part of page 1 of the thread ended up in the new review section, but here's a link to page 2 and on.... http://www.cruiselinefans.com/cruise...bermuda-2.html If you have any questions, let me know

Thanks Judy, I will have a good read.

I too sailed this ship twice and Bermuda once a few years ago...great trip, you will enjoy.

I am even sending my mom and sister off on this ship Nov 20th, 11 day trip.

This will be the largest ship we have cruised so far. I didn't tell my wife it was bigger yet. She was aghast by the size of the Oasis so this will be a step towards working her up to it.

Going to try for Freedom next?

The Explorer while bigger does not seem too big while on board, at least to us. The ice skating rink, while some see it as silly, there is a must see show! You need to get tickets, but tickets are free - they are for crowd control.

All of the other venues do not seem overly large, but there is more of them because of the size. The promenade is nicely laid out with lots of space also. I doubt you will be disappointed!

I just realized my Avatar was taken during our Bermuda sailing inside the Explorer of the Seas.

Originally Posted by sk8erguy1978

Going to try for Freedom next?

The Explorer while bigger does not seem too big while on board, at least to us. The ice skating rink, while some see it as silly, there is a must see show! You need to get tickets, but tickets are free - they are for crowd control.

All of the other venues do not seem overly large, but there is more of them because of the size. The promenade is nicely laid out with lots of space also. I doubt you will be disappointed!

I just realized my Avatar was taken during our Bermuda sailing inside the Explorer of the Seas.

Thanks for the tip about the ice show. never had to book a show in advance. Was you cruise pretty full for a November sailing ?

Originally Posted by tonylinsdell

Thanks Judy, I will have a good read.

Just finished the review. It was great. Very detailed and full of pictures of the ship which I like to see. I didn't miss the absence of food pictures. I can't imagine taking pictures of food at a table. Can one go straight to get the ice show tickets as soon as boarding and maybe avoid a big queue ? like your hubby I hate line-ups.

For the kayaking is it a requirement to be able to swim ? My wife can't swim. Is it very hard work paddling for 2.5 hrs ? If you can't keep up do they leave you behind .

The review (page 2) started after your first day. What did you do that day ?

Quite a bit of info got lost when the Trip Report got transferred over to Review, sorry about that Tony!

The tickets for the Ice Show aren't available right away. They announce the day and time in the daily paper (I'm drawing a blank on what Royal calls it since my last cruise was on Princess ) The exception to this is if you booked a Grand Suite or above and have access to the Concierge Lounge (we found this out on our Adventure OTS cruise) they have tickets for all the ice shows in the Lounge and you just go in and take the tickets for the show date and time you want.

Swimming was not a requirement for kayaking, they do give you life jackets. They won't leave you behind, there is normally at least 2 guides, 1 in the front of the group and 1 in the back of the group. The trick to kayaking is not necessarily paddling fast, it's paddling smoothly and in unison with each other. Whoever is in the back seat has to try to match their rhythm to the person in the front seat. I usually sing or hum something to a beat (very low so that only DH can hear me ) for us to find a rhythm. There are stopping off points during the kayaking where your arms get a rest while they tell you about the area, so you're not really paddling for the full 2.5 hours. Your arms may feel a bit tired later that night, unless you do any type of arm exercises or weight lifting, then it's a piece of cake to kayak

The first day we did on our own. We planned to try to avoid the crowds if we could and wanted to see Horseshoe Bay Beach, Fort Hamilton and the Maritime Museum....we didn't care which order since we knew we'd have plenty of time to get back to the ship since it didn't leave until the following day

When we got off the ship we went to buy our transportation passes, there was a big line at the one immediately next to the ship so we walked out to the right and found another building (that looked like an office trailer) and bought them there. After we returned someone said you could buy the transportation passes on the ship, but I didn't see anything about it or even think to ask. Most of the bus stops for various routes had long lines, so we hopped onto a ferry to Hamilton. From the ferry dock we walked down the main street in Hamilton and then up to Fort Hamilton (it's definitely walkable, but it is hilly). There was probably a bus route that would get close to the Fort, but we wanted to walk there and get a feel for the city. After we left the Fort we caught the bus to Horseshoe Bay Beach for an hour or so. This is also a hilly walk, all down hill to the beach. I had read about people having shuttles to take you back up the hill to the bus stop for $1, so we grabbed one of them and then took the bus back to Dockyard and walked over to the Maritime Museum.

Here's a link to a thread that may be of interest to you, I had posted some links to Bermuda's transportation website.
http://www.cruiselinefans.com/bermud...logistics.html (Kings Wharf Logistics)

And some pictures:
1. Cannon at Fort Hamilton
2. View of Hamilton Harbor from Fort Hamilton
3. Horseshoe Bay Beach

Sorry for the confusion, we went in September and it was not overly crowded that I recall. It is called the Daily Compass and yes like Judy said they will announce it and you can grab them in the Promenade deck 5. You will see that the rink is a bit smaller, so they need crowd control. Stinks - scheduling the shows.

Judy a little secret you can do (did it for my oasis review) got to the actual thread (your page 2) and hit "printer preview" then you will be able to copy and past your numerous posts into the review. It will give the entire thread...

I think when they converted the reviews into the new review section it only grabbed the first post.