hi all

[curmar1]

well not quite....reserved though....my wife and i will be celebrating our 31st anniv. on our first cruise on royal carribean's, explorer of the seas.

is there any problems or disadvantages booking everything online vs. through a travel agent?

2) i notice you can book excursions through the cruise line but some say you can do better if you book them direct?

please let us know....btw we sail on september 8, 2000

thanks folks ...

hmmm it says inside cabin on my name here ?? anyway we did book a balcony.

btw...we are forward on the ship and deck 6....comments? pro/con ?

thanks again

[JoeyandDavid]

Curmar1,

Congratulations on booking your verandah cabin on Royal Caribbean’s, Explorer of the Seas, for September 8, (I am sure that the 2000 in your post was a typo)

In our humble opinion there is nothing wrong with booking everything on line thru the cruiseline in fact our very first cruise we did that too….

However now depending on port of call and what we wanted to do there would determine for us whether or not we went with the cruise line excursions or just simply went out on our own.

I think its important to do what make YOU feel comfortable… some of us want to be in charge of every aspect while others will leave all the decisions to others. It after all is what YOU feel most comfortable with.

Good luck and of course if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask away someone here will hav4 or be able to steer you in the direction of the correct answer.

Congratulations again on the reservations and Congratulations on you up coming 31st Anniversary!

[GottaCruz]

Hi curman, It's great to see you posting here. Please feel free to post your upcoming cruise to our CruiseCrazies calendar, as well as your anniversary.

As far as your inside cabin here at CruiseCrazies, you can get upgraded by posting a lot. We hope to see you here often. :cool:

[KeithnRita]

Congratulations on your upcoming 31st anniversary and your first cruise. You guys are in for a treat.

As far as booking excursions, we would recommend you book them direct thru the cruise line, at least on this first cruise. It will cost more, however RCI will be responsible for getting you back aboard ship, and the ship will not leave without you. If you book direct you will be on your own and if something unforeseen happens the ship will not wait for you.

[Joanandjoe]

Whether it makes sense to have ship's excursions, private excursions, or no excursions at all depends on where you're going, and on how adventurous you are. It also helps to have four or more people: in Europe, there were private excursions that would have made sense for four, but not for just the two of us. What ports will you be going to, Curmar1?

We've been on seven cruises, and have never failed to have at least one shore day on our own (usually more than one), walking around and taking public transit. We've had 5 of 7 with some formal shore excursions: 3 with just ship's excursions, 2 with both ship and private excursions. The four private excursions we've had (three of them in the Caribbean, the other in Quebec City) were all terrific, and better than anything offered by the ship.

[sailingrose]

Congrats on your first cruise. Explorer is a wonderful ship. What a great way to spend your anniversary.

First time round I'd go with the cruise line too, unless you just want to go to a beach and can just take a cab. Also if your not sure about prices of cabs just check with Guest relations and they can give you an idea of cost.

I'm also sure many here can help you with excursions as well as reputable companies to go with. We rarely use the cruise line anymore for tours.

[curmar1]

THANKS EACH and EVERYONE FOR YOUR QUICK AND KIND REPLIES!!!

I did go ahead and book through a local ta and we think given your responses we will go ahead and get our feet wet on this cruise by booking through the cruise line for excursions (*don't want to miss the ship and ruin our idea of what cruising is all about. once we have done this one ...then we can take a little more of a chance on our next cruise(s) by doing other sources.

we will be leaving from bayonne and then visiting; san juan; st thomas; st martin and labadee.

Needless to say we are excited and your encouraging replies added to that and brought some smiles...and a great sense that we can do this and have a great time.

probably would have been good to be in a group...but we don't mind meeting new people either...

btw looks like we will be on the 7th deck; forward...kind of near elevators.

hope to be ordering some decorations and gifts to surprise my lady.

any recommendations on any part of the experience you can impart will be greatly appreciated. and i will be looking forward to reporting back to you all on how it goes.

thanks again ...so very much !!!

[rogue]

Hi curmar1,

Welcome and congrats on your upcoming anniversary. We sailed on the Explorer of the Seas last year, and it's a great ship. Try to get on as early as possible, because the moment you get on board is when the cruise actually starts. As soon as you get on board, drop off your bags and tour the ship to get a flavor of what you're in store for. Go up to the Windjammer Cafe to get some lunch before the crowds, then find a drink and wait for the muster drill. As soon as thats over, join the sailaway party on the top decks, and watch the land disappear over the horizon. Always a magical time.

There are a few things that you shouldn't miss on the EOS. First of all, make sure that you get tickets for the ice show (they're free). It realyy is good, and very unique. Also, RCCL has an adult scavenger hunt called The Quest which you shouldn't miss.

This may be your first cruise, but I'm willing to bet that it will not be your last. Enjoy. :grin:

[jbond]

We haven't sailed Explorer, but we have sailed Adventure and Voyager. You are in for a real treat. As rogue said, get tickets for the ice show, it's very good and a unique experience.

On the big ships, we loved the Royal Promenade, it's truly amazing. We had breakfast every morning in the Promenade Cafe, just coffee and danish/croissant. It was so quiet and peaceful.

You're visiting some neat islands.

We love San Juan. Beautiful, historic and great food. The ships now dock at the new pier and it's a taxi drive to Old San Juan, but once there, you can walk around the Old Town with ease and visit El Morro. Old San Juan is one of my favourite "just walk around" cities.

If we are booking ship's tours, we always book on line. It's easy and you avoid the disappointment of the tour being fully booked when you get on the ship. If you change your mind, you can cancel them upto 24 hours before the trip date/time.

St Thomas is the most beautiful harbour in the Caribbean, in my opinion. Be on your balcony as you sail in, order room service breakfast and just enjoy the view. It's also a very pretty island and in town you can get tours around the island that are identical to the ship's island tour for a few dollars less. They'll take you out to Sapphire Beach, Magens Bay, Drakes Seat and Mountain Top where you can have a great banana daquiri.

I know I've written too much, but you are visiting great islands.

[Shari2]

Welcome to Cruise Crazies, curmar1!!

You've had some great advice. The only thing I'll add right now is to remember to not do too much. Take time to relax and enjoy the sea. Sometimes on the first cruises we tend to try to do everything and see everything, and we don't really take time to just relax and enjoy the ship and the sea. You'll love the balcony!