Explorer break without the kids

Last week my wife and I went on a little 6-night cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas. It was a cruise from Southampton to Vigo, Gijon and Le Harve. I will tell you more about these ports in my next blog.

This was a relatively well-priced cruise and we were not expecting too much but were pleasantly surprised. We had only booked a guaranteed inside cabin and were allocated a cabin mid-forward on deck 6. The cabin was clean and comfortable with a good size bathroom. As always we were well looked after by our cabin steward.  The decor is a little outdated but then she is having a multi-million dollar refit next year.

In general, the ship is still in good condition but in need of some modernisation.  Among some of the new additions scheduled for her refit in 2020  will be The Perfect Storm racer waterslides, Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen,  a redesigned resort-style poolscape with signature poolside bar The Lime & Coconut; and transformed kids and teens spaces and Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade, Johnny Rockets Express poolside and even a new standalone Starbucks. Glow-in-the-dark laser tag will debut in Studio B, the venue that doubles as an ice-skating rink for guests and shows.

We ate mostly in the Windjammer and found the food to be of a good standard. On our second last night, we treated ourselves to our favourite speciality restaurant Izumi. Entertainment was good and there were plenty of recently released movies to watch. These are shown in the theatre but also poolside on the large screen.

Explorer is not designed for cooler climates and as this was October around the Bay of Biscay we only had one really good pool day. She definitely lacks an enclosed solarium or pool and a decent sized lounge facing the ocean. Good examples of what I mean can be found on Celebrity Silhouette, Britannia or most of the Holland America ships.

Beginning May 7, 2020, the Explorer – the first amplified ship to cruise from Rome (Civitavecchia) – sets sail on 7- and 9-night itineraries to the best of Italy and the Greek isles, from Santorini to Mykonos and Crete.