Explorer of the Seas

Our booking request for Table for 4 was not met, our request for single beds had not been attended to and we had to arrange same on board. When the staff were told that these items had been requested via our Cruise Agent they denied receiving same. Meals at the dining restaurant were more often cold when they should have been hot, the waiting time to receive the first course was invariably 20 to 30 minutes and the all courses were not served at the same time (on one occasion two of our party had to wait so long for their starter that all others at the table had finished).

The waiter tried to address the problem and toward the end of the cruise it was almost achieved (the Kitchen must have been responsible for a large part of our displeasure.) Also, it was irritating to have the waiter often reach across the front of one guest to serve another. No attention to guidance of what to wear, on formal nights some guests were allowed to dine with casual wear and in other dining areas some male guests wore sleeveless shirts (vests) whilst others wore various type of hats (from baseball caps to hunters caps).

The Cabin cleaning was far from perfect (the floor was not swept regularly and mirrors were left unclean for days). It was necessary to have the plumber attend to a blocked sink, then to dirty water from the hot tap followed by a leaky cistern which soaked the bathroom floor. Shore excursions were not all met as there was insufficient support for one of same so it was cancelled. In fine we were very disappointed with the standard which did not match that we had on previous Royal Caribbean cruises! It was not possible to use the balcony or have the door open as there was a constant bad smell. The ship is in need of TLC particularly plumbing.