Past Cruise Review:

Royal Caribbean Cruises "Explorer of the Seas" - 2001 Caribbean

Lisa and I had not really thought of going on another cruise after returning from our trip on "Voyager"in 2000. We really enjoyed that cruise and we were planning to take a break from cruises for a year to save some money. After we got engaged, we began to plan the wedding and we didn't want anything too big or expensive since we would have to pay for it ourselves. The more we thought about it, the more we were leaning toward having the wedding on a cruise. We finally decided on having the ceremony on "Explorer of the Seas". The plan was to have a small ceremony while the ship was still in Miami. We had the choice of having the ceremony in Miami or at St. Thomas which is a U.S. territory (ceremonies at sea are for renewal of vows as they are not considered legal marriages). Our decision to have the wedding in Miami before the ship left was based on prior experience with missed ports of call. We didn't want to pick St. Thomas and not get there because of weather or other unexpected problems. We also wanted some guests to be able to attend the ceremony if they were not also coming on the cruise.

Unlike previous years, we decided to drive to Miami this time. It was fun. I enjoyed the drive down to Miami which we spread out over three days with stops in North Carolina and Jacksonville, FL. We arrived in Miami the day before the cruise and went to our hotel which was in the Miami Beach area. After checking in I took a drive to make sure I knew how to get to the pier. It was only about a 15 minute drive from the hotel. The rest of our party was also to have arrived by that night. Only one person attending the ceremony was not able to also join us on the cruise. Everything went relatively smoothly except for some minor problems like my best man's luggage being lost on his flight into Ft. Lauderdale. Luckily the bag was found later that night. Good thing we had everyone get there the night before.

We were all able to board the ship early because we had the first ceremony scheduled for the day. Lisa, Zachary and I were all on board by about 10:00 A.M. (generally, boarding is not until around 12:00 P.M.) and our cabin was ready so we could change for the wedding. We were very pleased with both the ceremony and reception. Everything was well organized and very nicely done. The wedding , of course, was in the chapel. Flowers were provided as well as a photographer as part of the wedding package we ordered. The reception was in one of the lounges (Maharajas' Lounge) and was also very well done. The reception was a full two hours with an open bar and food. We opted for a DJ for the second hour of the reception which turned out to be a very good idea. The only minor issue we had was the fact that they gave us such a large room for the reception. There were only about 11 of us in the whole party and the room was big enough for a couple hundred people. A more intimate room would have been better. That didn't detract from the party at all and everyone had a great time at the reception. The reception was done by 2:30 and we headed back to the room to change and take our usual video tour of the ship.

The ship was just a fantastic as "Voyager". Our cabin, a mini suite, was also very nicely appointed. It had a large walk-in closet and a bathroom with a tub. The cabin also featured a very large balcony, a queen size bed and a couch that pulled out to a large bed for Zachary. My family's cabin was a deluxe family cabin which was situated at the very front of the ship. Although it did not have a balcony it did have large windows that faced forward with a great view out of the front of the ship. My best man and another friend of mine had an inside cabin which was rather small but nice. The limited space was put to good use and it seemed very comfortable. Those who have been on "Voyager" will not have a problem getting around on "Explorer" as the layout is mostly identical with some minor changes.

The itinerary was different than last year on "Voyager". Royal Caribbean had added a fourth stop on this seven day trip which we feel is too many. You simply do not have enough time at each port to really enjoy it. You always feel like you are rushed. I would rather have an extra day to explore and enjoy the ship. The first stop was in Nassau, Bahamas. I had been there on my first cruise 16 years ago and it was still not very interesting. Since we stopped there on the first day out which was a Sunday, most of the shopping was closed. Aside from shore excursions there is not much else to do there. I would recommend that Royal Caribbean skip that stop and make it a sea day. The second stop was St. Thomas which we have been to before. It is a very nice island with lots of shopping. I went on a mountain bike tour which was good but not recommended for those who are out of shape. The ship also stopped in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was our first visit to Puerto Rico and we really enjoyed it. We would have liked to have had more time at this stop as there was lots to see. We have discussed a return trip to check it out further. Finally the ship also stopped in Labadee which is Royal Caribbean's private part of the island of Hispanola. Beach activities, rafts, jet skis and other water sports are available. Lunch is served on the island by ships crew. This is always a nice stop.

Our family and friends all had a great time on this cruise. There were some first time cruisers as well a some veterans among the party that joined us on the cruise. This was however, the first time any of them had been on a Royal Caribbean ship and they loved it. Their reactions were much the same as ours when we returned from our trip on "Voyager". I think we have just added some additional names to the list of people who consider Royal Caribbean the best cruise line they have ever been on. Most of my family had been on several cruises before this and they cannot stop raving about this one. They loved the ship and the entertainment most of all. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the food did not seem to be as good as it was last year on "Voyager", especially the breakfast and lunch buffets. This did not have an effect on our enjoyment of the cruise. In fact, my family was so pleased with the cruise that they requested a brochure for "Adventure of the Seas", the next ship in the "Voyager" class and planned a cruise for the following summer.