Cruise recommendations **UPDATE PAGE 2**

[shortbun]

Hi! I've been on several cruises as I was a travel agent for
29 years. DH and I sailed on Explorer OTS for it's inaugural
sailing and loved it. I recommend you get a cabin with a
balcony-they are wonderful! Everytime I convinced someone
to do this, they came back and said they'd never go without
one again. I'm not sure but I think we were in category BD.
I don't have brochures anymore but this was a cabin in the
aft of the ship with a really deep balcony. It extended the size
of our cabin and gave us basically two rooms. Way worth it!
A great place for pre dinner beverages, early morning reading,
night time watching the ocean go by AND an afternoon siesta!
Definitely don't get an inside room that has a window overlooking
the atrium-the folks across the way can see right in your room
anytime you have the window open and noise and lights at night
are a problem. these cabins are often discounted and that's why.
Plan to eat in the upgraded dining room at least once and
definitely explore the spa first thing so you know what's happening there. I wasn't impressed with the massage I got
and they pushed product after but the indoor hot tub and
equipment available were state of the art and beautiful.
Have a great time-I'm jealous!!!!

 

[kdibattista]

Thanks shortbun -

We are actually planning on booking (at a minimum) a deluxe oceanview w/balcony. We are hoping that we will be able to book the grand view stateroom that comes complete with concierge. This will not only be an anniversary celebration but probably the last vacation we will be taking before we start a family so we figure we might as well "do it up" . Do you have any experience with the concierge service on this ship? I guess I just don't know if it's worth the extra $$$. I am headed to the travel agent this morning so hopefully she can give me more info. I'm not even sure I can book this early. We are looking at next May.

Thanks again!!!

 

[wld]

We will be going on our first cruise in June to Alaska. Looked at Disney but decided we wanted something more......I don't know what. Anyway with lots of searching cruisecritic is great, lots of reviews and stuff we thought Radiance of the Seas by RCL sounded romantic for a 25th wedding anniversary. Still talked to a cruise expert and she recommended Radiance of the Seas without me saying a word. We are going for the verandah on advice from a friend. Radiance sails the Caribbean also. Take a look at this boat, the public areas sound awesome. There are some great reviews on cruisecritic. Can't tell you first hand until June though.

 

[RUDisney]

They had a show on the travel channel the other night about Radiance of the Seas. Why not check out www.travel.discovery.com to see if it will be on again? The ship looked absolutely beautiful! The whole show was about the Alaskan voyage on this vessel.

 

[tkyes]

Kim -

We just sailed on Explorer of the Seas in December. We sailed the Western Caribbean route though.

The ship is beautiful - everything was wonderful. We had a balcony room and I agree that I wouldn't do less than that, a balcony is wonderful.

Any questions about the ship, let me know.

Check out www.cruisecritics.com to learn more about the ship and the excursions, it's a great source of info.


Have fun!!

Tamie

 

[wovenwonder]

We will be on the Navigator next April. It is the newer sister ship to the Explorer that also sails out of Miami. We are doing the Eastern Itinerary departing April 24th, 2004. We booked one of the 'secret' rooms on the ship. The AFT corner balconies are said to be one of the best rooms on the ship. We have a category D1 AFT on Deck#10 (1388 or 1688). The room is Large compared to others in the same category and the balcony is larger than some suite balconies. The picture I seen shows it with two chairs, a table, and two loung chairs.

I am really looking forward to it! Check out buycruises.com for a price when you begin your shopping.

 

[Lezah]

We just got back a week ago from Royal Caribbean, Navigator of the Seas (same class of ship as Explorer) and it was awesome. As kteacher said, www.cruisecritic.com is one of the best sources for information on cruising. Great reviews, boards etc. The food was wonderful, service great, shows fantastic, make sure you see the ice show. Hope this helps!