Exploring the High Seas without the Magic- 9 Nights on RCI 8/4/11 Complete! 4/24!

[podsnel]

In the cabin, we were greeted nearly immediately by our WONDERFUL cabin steward, Rica from the Phillipines. Wow, was she a treasure! She asked what we would need for the week, and I asked for ice (which we received 2x a day), an egg crate for the boys' pull-out (which she didn't know if she'd be able to get because they are limited, but she promised to pad their bed to make it extra comfy- and they never complained the whole trip, so it MUST have been good!) and someone to fix our safe because it was open and locked (which she took care of by the next time we were back in the cabin that day). She totally took care of ALL of us all week, and she was such a happy- dare I say it, MAGICAL kind of a girl, so of COURSE I loved her like crazy! We grabbed our passports/cash/credit cards and went up one deck to the Windjammer for lunch.

We went through the line and found a table by a window with no problem, but here was our mistake- we should have walked further INTO the area, because at the back of the restaurant were many, many more options to choose from. Of what we had, nothing really stood out, other than the honey stung chicken- not that it was the best chicken ever, but just that it tasted pretty good. Here are our plates-

And Timmy? Well...he had WHITE for lunch-

Really? Even saltines? OMG, Tim!

Soft drinks & Iced tea were complimentary, so we had some of that before we left to explore the Explorer-

This is the 9/11 monument at the port, donated by Russia-

On Deck 11, there is a Bridge Overlook-

A view across to NYC-

The boys who wouldn't shut up with, "Can we go to the club yet??"

To which the unpopular answer was, No- the clubs are not up and running yet, and we are exploring the ship TOGETHER as a FAMILY.

The adult pool that we were anxious to get to-

And the other pools-

The "How much longer do we have to suffer through family time" boys-

The kids clubs, up next-

 

[podsnel]

This was in the area dedicated to the kids 11 and under-

And this was in Optix, which is where kids 12 to 17 went-

Back outside to the sports deck-

We would have played mini-golf, but they were, unfortunately, out of balls and almost out of clubs. And there was no one available to ask for help- my guess is, all hands on deck were hauling luggage at that point unless they were cooking or mixing drinks- KWIM? So we continued our tour, going up a deck to see a couple of bars-

And look down below at the pools that were still so empty-

We said goodbye to Dizzy-

And told the boys- FINE!! Go off on your own!! See you at Muster!! UGH!!

Isn't family time just GREAT???

Pods & I decided we would go back and put on our swimsuits. When we arrived at the cabin, lo and behold, our 50 tons of luggage (including our case of water) had arrived!! YIPPEE!!

A little unpacking and a muster drill (without life jackets) later-

And it was time for the first-

aaahhhhh.....

Happy, happy us!

Up next- sailaway under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge!

 

[podsnel]

Holy crap!!! We just had an earthquake while I was writing that!! SO WEIRD!!! I've never felt that before!!! All my chandeliers were swayying or else I would have thought I was NUTS!

 

[karajeboo]

Holy crap!!! We just had an earthquake while I was writing that!! SO WEIRD!!! I've never felt that before!!! All my chandeliers were swayying or else I would have thought I was NUTS!

Chandeliers swaying have nothing to do with you being nuts.... And I called Jeff as soon as I felt it here in SC, and he laughed at me. So I turned on the news and then I laughed at HIM!!!

Oh, and love the original name of the pool bar......

 

[podsnel]

Chandeliers swaying have nothing to do with you being nuts.... And I called Jeff as soon as I felt it here in SC, and he laughed at me. So I turned on the news and then I laughed at HIM!!!

The kids in the basemant all thought I was NUTS! I had the last laugh on that one, tho!

Oh, and love the original name of the pool bar......

Yea- there were no Imagineers available when they were naming that bar, I guess!

 

[Mysteria]

Hey, I recognize those city/bridge views! Great report so far. Can't wait to read more.

Felt it here too. Thought I was imagining things.

 

[leight]

Loving the TR so far! I have been on Navigator twice- once in its inaugural year and another 3 yrs ago for a 5night with the kids. Love the ship (its in the Explorer class.) I really enjoyed it even more than the Disney cruise we took last year- we loved the options for adults after the late dinner on RCI whereas on Disney everything seemed to end at 11pm. I may use your trip report to convince our friends to join us on the Freedom class next year! Can't wait to read more.

 

[nenner1]

I'm heeeeeeerrrrreee!



I saved all of this TR goodness to read at work tonight! There's no better 2 AM pick me up!!

They might as well just rename the CB the Cruising Broads board, when I get here in a few weeks it will be all us, all the time!

Will be back with constructive comments tonight (or more accurately for everyone else, tomorrow!)

Hopefully you have no more Movin' and Shakin' up there!!!

Ciao!

 

[S. C.]

Can't wait to read more I love your TR's.

 

[WannaBeADisMom]

Holy crap!!! We just had an earthquake while I was writing that!! SO WEIRD!!! I've never felt that before!!! All my chandeliers were swayying or else I would have thought I was NUTS!

Holy Crap! is right! Scared this midwesterner to death!!! I really thought our house was collapsing! Anyway, not even an earthquake could keep me away from this TR....man that ship is HUUUUGE!!!!

 

[Cheryl726]

Great start to your TR and great pics! Looks like it was a great cruise!

 

[stevenpensacola]

Glad you had a great time. Thanks for sharing your photos.

I have to say that the decor looks rather drab, and even industrial compared to the Disney Dream. Just compare the hallway shown with one from DCL...where even the hallways on the lowest decks are appointed just as nice as the ones on deck ten.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[podsnel]

Hey, I recognize those city/bridge views! Great report so far. Can't wait to read more.

Felt it here too. Thought I was imagining things.

Hi Myst! Happy Belated Birthday!! I'm so happy you found me!

Loving the TR so far! I have been on Navigator twice- once in its inaugural year and another 3 yrs ago for a 5night with the kids. Love the ship (its in the Explorer class.) I really enjoyed it even more than the Disney cruise we took last year- we loved the options for adults after the late dinner on RCI whereas on Disney everything seemed to end at 11pm. I may use your trip report to convince our friends to join us on the Freedom class next year! Can't wait to read more.

I agree- there was definitely much more for adults, a lot more space for different kinds of entertainment. We had fun dancing in the Crypt several nights, and we NEVER danced on the Magic-

I'm heeeeeeerrrrreee!



I saved all of this TR goodness to read at work tonight! There's no better 2 AM pick me up!!

They might as well just rename the CB the Cruising Broads board, when I get here in a few weeks it will be all us, all the time!

Will be back with constructive comments tonight (or more accurately for everyone else, tomorrow!)

Hopefully you have no more Movin' and Shakin' up there!!!

Ciao!

Hi Jen! Are you packing yet? It will be fun to read all these RC TRs at once- can't wait!

Can't wait to read more I love your TR's.

Well, hello there, stranger! Thanks for the compliment- I hope I can continue to entertain you!

Holy Crap! is right! Scared this midwesterner to death!!! I really thought our house was collapsing! Anyway, not even an earthquake could keep me away from this TR....man that ship is HUUUUGE!!!!

Awww....and yea, the ship was much larger than the Magic- but I think it's smaller than the Dream that we'll be on for your FIRST cruise in May.

 

[podsnel]

Great start to your TR and great pics! Looks like it was a great cruise!

Thank-you! It was a great cruise- I highly recommend it!

Glad you had a great time. Thanks for sharing your photos.

I have to say that the decor looks rather drab, and even industrial compared to the Disney Dream. Just compare the hallway shown with one from DCL...where even the hallways on the lowest decks are appointed just as nice as the ones on deck ten.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Yes, I would have to agree- it certainly was not as beautiful as a Disney ship. But there were more areas that were prettier than what I've shown so far- the Promenade, for example, I thought was really cool. But I can't WAIT to see how gorgeous the Dream is in May!

 

[JKSWonder]

Holy Crap! is right! Scared this midwesterner to death!!! I really thought our house was collapsing! Anyway, not even an earthquake could keep me away from this TR....man that ship is HUUUUGE!!!!

I was at work (7th floor of a highrise building in NYC) and my office swayed. It felt just like when a cruise ship hits a rough patch and you get that rolling feeling. Actually, kind of worse because it made me feel sort of nauseous and I never get sea sick!

Your cabin looks wonderful Ellen. Since we are on Long Island, it would not take anything at all for us to drive to Bayonne, which is why I'm considering RCI for sometime in our future.

 

[dvc4life]

Love the photos of the port and seeing NYC in the back ground. How cool would that be. I've only been to NYC once but I can't wait to go back. So, I just love those photo's!

And, are the pools bigger? From the photos they sure look like they are. I think that is about one of my only complaints about DCL's ships, the pools are too small for the amound of people who want to use them. And I mean all of them. Or am I the only one who feels that way?

 

[nenner1]

Love the photos of the port and seeing NYC in the back ground. How cool would that be. I've only been to NYC once but I can't wait to go back. So, I just love those photo's!

And, are the pools bigger? From the photos they sure look like they are. I think that is about one of my only complaints about DCL's ships, the pools are too small for the amound of people who want to use them. And I mean all of them. Or am I the only one who feels that way?

You are NOT the only one who feels that way. I've griped for years about the pools being so small on the classic ships and now on the Dream they are practically bathtubs. . We have sailed on Independence of the Seas (same size as Freedom and the pools are like each one twice the size of the goofy pool and there were four (actually 5 if you count the donut pool ) of them. The main pools on Explorer look just like the Freedom class,

 

[podsnel]

I was at work (7th floor of a highrise building in NYC) and my office swayed. It felt just like when a cruise ship hits a rough patch and you get that rolling feeling. Actually, kind of worse because it made me feel sort of nauseous and I never get sea sick!

That's funny- my initial response to the whole thing was, wow, it's so windy it's blowing the house...

umm...that can't be right...

then I guessed the seas were a little rough today...

umm...wrong again, El- seems my mental- rolodex was having a tough time getting to-

DUH! It's an earthquake!!

Your cabin looks wonderful Ellen. Since we are on Long Island, it would not take anything at all for us to drive to Bayonne, which is why I'm considering RCI for sometime in our future.

Oh, it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo easy!! Best thing ever- you would REALLY love the ease of driving to the port. I am sure we will be doing it again, it was immediate vacation- even faster in some ways than going to the beach, KWIM?

Love the photos of the port and seeing NYC in the back ground. How cool would that be. I've only been to NYC once but I can't wait to go back. So, I just love those photo's!

And, are the pools bigger? From the photos they sure look like they are. I think that is about one of my only complaints about DCL's ships, the pools are too small for the amound of people who want to use them. And I mean all of them. Or am I the only one who feels that way?

Yea- the pools were much bigger. And there were two of them, side by side, in addition to the adult one in the front and the kiddie/waterplay/slide area in the aft. And there were a LOT of hot tubs.

That is one of my only DCL complaints, too- what were they thinking building LESS pool on these new ships?? Sooo colossally stupid!

You are NOT the only one who feels that way. I've griped for years about the pools being so small on the classic ships and now on the Dream they are practically bathtubs. . We have sailed on Independence of the Seas (same size as Freedom and the pools are like each one twice the size of the goofy pool and there were four (actually 5 if you count the donut pool ) of them. The main pools on Explorer look just like the Freedom class,

Wow- four? How many px are on the Freedom class ships? The rumor is that one of them will be in port here in 2013 and Explorer will be dry docked and moved.

 

[podsnel]

We were all up on deck 12 for the big sailaway and, of course, more happy, quality family time.

Click to play-


WOW, it was REALLY windy up there!

Click to play-


We were approaching the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and it really felt like we would NEVER make it underneath, but of course, we did, to loud cheers from all the pax onboard- on this cruise, clearing the bridge means our vacation had officially begun!!

Click to play-


The boys were so sad to have to leave us, but went to look for something to do in Optix anyway. Pods & I had a date with those butt magnets they have in the comfy lounge chairs at the adult pool, known as the Solarium pool...

We had no problem getting a chair- but that was the only time. Lounge chairs are a little hard to come by at the Solarium, especially on sea days. Anyway, we had late dinner seating and were getting a bit hungry, so we packed it in and went down to Deck 5 to grab something at the Promenade Cafe, which has 24 hrs a day snacking. On the way we passed the ice cream, which Pods says was frozen yogurt, but came in a couple of different flavors...

The Royal Promenade is very elaborate, and it feels like you are walking down a street with shops and bars everywhere-

Actually, we were partially motivated to come here because they had free booze samples for about an hour on the first night of the cruise. I asked for a Sheridans, which the RC guy misunderstood as Amarula, so lucky me, I got TWO!

Hmmm...maybe Pods will take me for a ride later in the Batcycle...

I had read that the Cafe had sandwiches, cookies, pastries and pizza all the time in addition to iced tea, water, coffee & tea. There was also Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Premium Coffee available for an additional charge.

Pods had some pizza, which he said was not so great-

I knew not to get that, and went for a couple of yummy little sammies instead-

I have to say, RC excels at anything on bread- and just bread in general. There was always such a variety at every meal! We all really enjoyed this throughout the cruise.

Afterwards, I really wanted to get everything unpacked and situated in the cabin (I always feel like I truly can't relax on vacation until this chore is behind me) so we both retreated upstairs to deck 10. On the way, we noticed it had become night on the RP-

I thought it was very cool that they would change the lighting in there to make it feel like day or night- it's also a nice feature for the "inside cabins" that have a window looking over the whole thing. We took the stairs, so I snapped a shot of RC Online on Deck 8 when we went by (you can see the library below)

Up next- Oh no...why are the kids hanging out in the cabin and our first dinner on Explorer!

 

[podsnel]

Back in Cabin 1688, we were surprised to find two VERY grumpy, VERY bored boys who were wining and complaining about EVERYTHING. There was nothing to do, there was no one to do it with, the kids club stinks, there's nothing on the boring tv, there's nothing to do on this ship, there's no good food and on and on and on....

Oh. Crap.


I have booked us into 9 days of THIS???


Uh-oh.....looks like 9 days might be 9 days too much for our family- YIKES!


But....they really had not given anything a chance yet. The kid stuff was really not beginning until that night, and we sat down and explained that there would be alot more going on tonight- and that they would get to me a TON of kids then (it's a BIG ship, it's August, I'm thinking there will be a few kids on board, KWIM?). In the meantime, Pods took them to get ice cream, which did help some (they WERE hungry- and they could not find the food!) Actually, I think they also went into the Windjammer and Timmy got a burger as well. In their defense, the ship doesn't make it easy to find the snacks unless you know the ropes. Where Disney has all those wonderful fast options at Goofy's, Pluto's, Pinocchio's, etc, all right by the pool, the Explorer has nothing like that. Maybe that's part of why the pools are bigger? Anyway, if you want something foodwise your options are the buffet on Deck 11, which closes sometimes between service, but not for very long, the dining room for sit-down meals on Decks 3, 4 & 5, and the Promenade Cafe on Deck 5. Oh! And Johnny Rockets on Deck 12 has burgers & dogs for a $4.95 fee...and finally, there is an upscale restaurant called Portofino's (like Palo) for $20pp. And of course, room service. Anyway....the boys seemed to be doing better after their snack, but we let them hang in the room afterwards just to chill before dinner. I unpacked in the FABULOUS cabin, and Pods did this-

LOVE that Aft balcony!!! At 8:30 it was time for dinner, we were in the DaGama Dining Room on Deck 4. Deck 3 was Magellan, and Deck 5 was Columbus- and also had My Time Dining, which means you have different servers and different tablemates every night, but can also eat at whatever time you like rather than the assigned main dining at 6:15 or late at 8:30. I am an eternal optomist and was personally hoping to have wonderful servers like we did on our first Magic cruise, so we went with a regular seating time (I also didn't want to have to think about what time dinner should be every night with My Time, which you must do for the whole cruise if you want that. I like having as little responsibility as possible on cruise vacations, KWIM?).

Well...we could tell within MINUTES that we had really and truly lucked out with our servers.

Oh- I adored them, especially our main server, Fan. Really REALLY loved them! How wonderful is that?

We were seated at a table for 8, and as we watched people walk up to us...and then walk by us....we started to hope we'd actually be alone. I had thought it would be nice to meet some new people....but then, I realized that chances are, this would be the only time we'd see each other on the cruise some days, and I hated to give that alone time up.

Fortunately, we didn't have to. The other 4 at our table? They never showed up. EVER. Not even once! Well, what can I tell ya...other than it REALLY worked for us!!

My first course was the Vidalia Onion tart I had read was so good online- and it did not disappoint! Vidalia Onion Tart Sweet onions and Gruyère cheese baked in pastry, with red pepper coulis

Pods had Smoked Fish Tapenade Smoked fish, onions, capers and fresh herbs, served with crostini
which was also tasty-

Tyler ate Grilled Mediterranean Vegetable Quesadilla Folded in a flour tortilla with Manchego cheese and tomato cilantro salsa

He LOVED it, but wished there was more- but decided against ordering another one (although I am sure he could have had 10 of them and Fan would have obliged). Pods and I both had Pan-seared golden sea bass – Served atop green lentils, green beans, snow peas and verjus beurre blanc

The sauce, veggies and lentils were DELISH, but I did not think much of the fish, and Pods was not crazy about any of it. We also ordered the Indian specialty that night, which Pods & I split, Aloo Gobi Methi– Fenugreek-flavored potato and cauliflower curry served with fragrant basmati rice, pappadams, and tangy riata

I thought it was fantastic- and I LOVED the pappadums bread- it reminded me of Sanaa!


Timmy had Pan-Fried Pork Medallions - Meaty medallions served with buttery mashed potatoes, broccoli and a savory forest mushroom ragout, and he requested no mushrooms-Fan obliged-

Things were starting to look up!

Fan asked if she could take a photo for us-

And then it was time for dessert! Next post!