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Review with photographs - Explorer leave NJ for the last time
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<blockquote data-quote="Cruizer" data-source="post: 1661441" data-attributes="member: 18088"><p>Okay, last day. I sure am glad I put all the pictures in one post, because this has been nothing but frustrating. At least I didn't have to attempt to post all 250+ pictures again and again.</p><p></p><p><strong>November 15, 2014 – Travel day</strong></p><p></p><p>Well the Captain said that we would meet the pilot boat at 6:15 and sure enough I saw the pilot boat pull up next to the ship at 6:15. However, both of the damaged lifeboats were still on the ship as we docked. There were three other ships in Port Canaveral today; the Disney Fantasy, the Carnival Liberty and the Carnival Sunshine (formally the Carnival Destiny which was the first cruise ship in the water to exceed one hundred thousand gross registered tons, which is a volume measurement, not a weight rating). </p><p></p><p>I got dressed and went down to the helipad to watch us come in. Then over to the Windjammer to grab a quick breakfast and back to the cabin to eat it. Then it was time to go to the casino to debark. Someone asked if I had all my luggage – yes. Then she tried to direct me to one of the lounges. I said that is not my meeting place. She asked where I was supposed to meet. I said the casino. She asked how I knew that. However, before I could pull out my shore excursion letter directing me to the casino, someone else asked if I was on a tour – yes, and into the casino I went. </p><p></p><p>Soon after arriving at the Aquarium Bar, which is just outside the Casino and where my tour (there are two) was meeting, an announcement was made that the ship had not been cleared yet. This was quickly followed by a request for everyone in the tour to line up. Standing for a long time hurts my back and it was clear we would be standing for a long time. I have no idea why everyone was asked to stand (for about thirty minutes before we were cleared) but I stayed seated. </p><p></p><p>Once inside the terminal there are two lines, one for the elevator and one for the escalator. If you don’t have one hand free, you are directed to the elevator. The elevator is small and the line is long. I had a free hand (the other one cost a lot of money – HA HA) and went down the escalator. The customs officer wanted to know if had any alcohol (no), tobacco (no) food (I pointed to my stomach – the customs office said I could keep that food). Then he asked me if I was traveling alone (yes) and when I bought my ticket (September 29 of last year – the day I boarded the Allure of the Seas). At which point I was reluctantly allowed back into the United States (or at least Florida). This time again I was able to use my passport card (though I did have my passport handy just in case).</p><p></p><p>Once outside the terminal I was then directed to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) bus. I was amazed to see people there to board the ship. Who wants to wait in line for over three hours? Even I only try to arrive about thirty minutes early. The bus driver asked everyone except me which airline they were on. After he put my luggage under the bus, I asked him if he was sure he put it in the right place. He assumed wrong and had to take my luggage out and place it in the correct place. </p><p></p><p>I saw the workers working on the two damaged lifeboats and I saw the cranes arrive. However, we left on our tour before the damaged lifeboats were removed from the ship. As we left the port area we passed by the spare lifeboat that would be put on the Explorer for the next voyage.</p><p></p><p>We had a super tour guide who was very enthusiastic. Turns out that this is a fully guided tour. I didn’t realize that, as I was hoping to go on my own. However, this tour guide was so good that I really didn’t mind. Besides, I am booked on the Freedom next April, and all I have to do is either come a day early or book another late return flight and take the tour, go out on my own and just make sure I am back to the bus on time. This tour includes the upgraded tour of the launch pad, where the tour bus gets real close to the launch paid. One of the new facts I learned from our tour guide is that all of the astronauts have to be five foot eleven inches or shorter. There is not a lot of room inside those space capsules. </p><p></p><p>For souvenirs I bought and ID tag for myself, a shot glass for my friend and two ice cream sandwiches for my two nephews. I hope they don’t melt (they shouldn’t, they are both freeze dried).</p><p></p><p>After the tour we were taken to the airport. I had not eaten since 7:30am and it was now 3:30pm. All I wanted was a quick snack, since I only had three hours until I board. Since I am in first class, I’ll get a meal on the plane. It will be airline food, but at least it is food. So I grabbed a Big Mac meal. </p><p></p><p>Yesterday I almost bought a second bag since I was concerned that I might be overweight. I decided to chance it. Well, I was overweight at 52 pounds. However, Delta allows first class passengers seventy pounds. Saved! </p><p></p><p>No special security line for me, just an express line to get into the security line. So I have to remove my shoes, belt and laptop. Also, I had to take everything out of my pockets. Well, there is a reason I was wearing a belt. I have no idea how many people I mooned (at least I was not going commando). Also, I was concentrating so much on getting everything out of my pockets I forgot that I was wearing a backpack. However, I was reminded of that fact when I approached the scanner with, “SIR, YOU HAVE TO REMOVE YOUR BACKPACK!†Oops! Ever try removing a backpack while trying to hold up your pants? That is when the people behind me got mooned. Sometimes I wonder how people earn enough to afford to fly.</p><p></p><p>After clearing security (and turning down a few marriage proposals) I decided to update this. The Orlando Airport needs more electrical plugs. I found an open one behind an empty seat. I must have had to lean forward more than a dozen times because others were plugging in, or unplugging, from the outlets behind me. I have not flown out of Orlando in eight years. The airport has been upgraded since I was here. The upgrades are rather impressive in my opinion. </p><p></p><p>Unless something unusual happens during flight and/or ride home, I have come to the end of the review [which is now 27 single spaced type written pages long (almost two pages per day) and just under seventeen thousand words]. </p><p></p><p>So what were my impressions?</p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Captain (Captain Rick) was fantastic. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">This was my second fourteen night cruise (my first cruise was also fourteen nights). </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">I have no plans to return to New Jersey to cruise unless there are some improvements made to traffic flow (I have cruised out of Manhattan and Brooklyn and I would not mind returning to either of those two terminals.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Given the lousy year I have had (which is finally looking up) this cruise was just what I needed. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">It was nice that after the typical one week I was only half done. Nonetheless, even two weeks now seems too short.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The crew was great.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The cruise director was also very good. Very few cruise directors have impressed me. This one did. Nonetheless, I don’t depend on the cruise director to have a good time.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">There were not very many children on the cruise. I heard the number thirty mentioned. I have noticed the cruises with a small number of children seem to have less energy. I know I certainly did.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">I had a great time.</li> </ol><p>I arrived safely at LAX without incident. I then found the Prime Time Shuttle representative and waited, and waited and waited. Fifty minutes later I was finally in a van and headed home. For half the price I could have taken the FlyAway bus to Van Nuys and a taxi home in the same amount of time. When I told the Prime Time representative at the curb this, he just shrugged his shoulders. Next time I'll either take the FlyAway/taxi route home, give Super Shuttle another try (Super Shuttle was great the one time I used Super Shuttle) or for only about thirty dollars more, use a limo service that is prompt and actually cares.</p><p></p><p>For those that care, I have a total of 2951 photographs taking up 26.5GB of space. That is almost 9MB per photograph. And this ended up at 28 pages and 17,360 words.</p><p></p><p>Well, hopefully you found something interesting and/or entertaining in the review. The Explorer of the Seas will only be in Port Canaveral for about four months. So until April (my Freedom of the Seas cruise), good-by.</p><p></p><p>I am going to add a PS here. Before the Explorer cruise the GS cabin I wanted for an April 2016 cruise was advertised by Royal Caribbean, on Royal Caribbean's website, for $3,810 before taxes. After the Explorer cruise the same cabin was advertised by Royal Caribbean for $3,893.88 after taxes. The "best" price Royal Caribbean could give me when I purchased the cabin onboard the Explorer was $4,937.98. I e-mailed the information to my agent on Sunday evening. Before I returned home from work on Monday I had a new invoice showing the total to be $3,893.98. So the "best" price I could get while booking onboard the ship was more than $1,000 more than Royal Caribbean's advertised price. This is just one of the reasons I prefer using an agent over booking directly with Royal Caribbean. I should add that I lost the $200 onboard booking bonus in the process. It was a hard choice between getting $200 OBC or saving $1,000 (for a net savings of $800), so I flipped a coin and saving $1,000 won.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cruizer, post: 1661441, member: 18088"] Okay, last day. I sure am glad I put all the pictures in one post, because this has been nothing but frustrating. At least I didn't have to attempt to post all 250+ pictures again and again. [B]November 15, 2014 – Travel day[/B] Well the Captain said that we would meet the pilot boat at 6:15 and sure enough I saw the pilot boat pull up next to the ship at 6:15. However, both of the damaged lifeboats were still on the ship as we docked. There were three other ships in Port Canaveral today; the Disney Fantasy, the Carnival Liberty and the Carnival Sunshine (formally the Carnival Destiny which was the first cruise ship in the water to exceed one hundred thousand gross registered tons, which is a volume measurement, not a weight rating). I got dressed and went down to the helipad to watch us come in. Then over to the Windjammer to grab a quick breakfast and back to the cabin to eat it. Then it was time to go to the casino to debark. Someone asked if I had all my luggage – yes. Then she tried to direct me to one of the lounges. I said that is not my meeting place. She asked where I was supposed to meet. I said the casino. She asked how I knew that. However, before I could pull out my shore excursion letter directing me to the casino, someone else asked if I was on a tour – yes, and into the casino I went. Soon after arriving at the Aquarium Bar, which is just outside the Casino and where my tour (there are two) was meeting, an announcement was made that the ship had not been cleared yet. This was quickly followed by a request for everyone in the tour to line up. Standing for a long time hurts my back and it was clear we would be standing for a long time. I have no idea why everyone was asked to stand (for about thirty minutes before we were cleared) but I stayed seated. Once inside the terminal there are two lines, one for the elevator and one for the escalator. If you don’t have one hand free, you are directed to the elevator. The elevator is small and the line is long. I had a free hand (the other one cost a lot of money – HA HA) and went down the escalator. The customs officer wanted to know if had any alcohol (no), tobacco (no) food (I pointed to my stomach – the customs office said I could keep that food). Then he asked me if I was traveling alone (yes) and when I bought my ticket (September 29 of last year – the day I boarded the Allure of the Seas). At which point I was reluctantly allowed back into the United States (or at least Florida). This time again I was able to use my passport card (though I did have my passport handy just in case). Once outside the terminal I was then directed to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) bus. I was amazed to see people there to board the ship. Who wants to wait in line for over three hours? Even I only try to arrive about thirty minutes early. The bus driver asked everyone except me which airline they were on. After he put my luggage under the bus, I asked him if he was sure he put it in the right place. He assumed wrong and had to take my luggage out and place it in the correct place. I saw the workers working on the two damaged lifeboats and I saw the cranes arrive. However, we left on our tour before the damaged lifeboats were removed from the ship. As we left the port area we passed by the spare lifeboat that would be put on the Explorer for the next voyage. We had a super tour guide who was very enthusiastic. Turns out that this is a fully guided tour. I didn’t realize that, as I was hoping to go on my own. However, this tour guide was so good that I really didn’t mind. Besides, I am booked on the Freedom next April, and all I have to do is either come a day early or book another late return flight and take the tour, go out on my own and just make sure I am back to the bus on time. This tour includes the upgraded tour of the launch pad, where the tour bus gets real close to the launch paid. One of the new facts I learned from our tour guide is that all of the astronauts have to be five foot eleven inches or shorter. There is not a lot of room inside those space capsules. For souvenirs I bought and ID tag for myself, a shot glass for my friend and two ice cream sandwiches for my two nephews. I hope they don’t melt (they shouldn’t, they are both freeze dried). After the tour we were taken to the airport. I had not eaten since 7:30am and it was now 3:30pm. All I wanted was a quick snack, since I only had three hours until I board. Since I am in first class, I’ll get a meal on the plane. It will be airline food, but at least it is food. So I grabbed a Big Mac meal. Yesterday I almost bought a second bag since I was concerned that I might be overweight. I decided to chance it. Well, I was overweight at 52 pounds. However, Delta allows first class passengers seventy pounds. Saved! No special security line for me, just an express line to get into the security line. So I have to remove my shoes, belt and laptop. Also, I had to take everything out of my pockets. Well, there is a reason I was wearing a belt. I have no idea how many people I mooned (at least I was not going commando). Also, I was concentrating so much on getting everything out of my pockets I forgot that I was wearing a backpack. However, I was reminded of that fact when I approached the scanner with, “SIR, YOU HAVE TO REMOVE YOUR BACKPACK!†Oops! Ever try removing a backpack while trying to hold up your pants? That is when the people behind me got mooned. Sometimes I wonder how people earn enough to afford to fly. After clearing security (and turning down a few marriage proposals) I decided to update this. The Orlando Airport needs more electrical plugs. I found an open one behind an empty seat. I must have had to lean forward more than a dozen times because others were plugging in, or unplugging, from the outlets behind me. I have not flown out of Orlando in eight years. The airport has been upgraded since I was here. The upgrades are rather impressive in my opinion. Unless something unusual happens during flight and/or ride home, I have come to the end of the review [which is now 27 single spaced type written pages long (almost two pages per day) and just under seventeen thousand words]. So what were my impressions? [LIST=1] [*]The Captain (Captain Rick) was fantastic. [*]This was my second fourteen night cruise (my first cruise was also fourteen nights). [*]I have no plans to return to New Jersey to cruise unless there are some improvements made to traffic flow (I have cruised out of Manhattan and Brooklyn and I would not mind returning to either of those two terminals. [*]Given the lousy year I have had (which is finally looking up) this cruise was just what I needed. [*]It was nice that after the typical one week I was only half done. Nonetheless, even two weeks now seems too short. [*]The crew was great. [*]The cruise director was also very good. Very few cruise directors have impressed me. This one did. Nonetheless, I don’t depend on the cruise director to have a good time. [*]There were not very many children on the cruise. I heard the number thirty mentioned. I have noticed the cruises with a small number of children seem to have less energy. I know I certainly did. [*]I had a great time. [/LIST] I arrived safely at LAX without incident. I then found the Prime Time Shuttle representative and waited, and waited and waited. Fifty minutes later I was finally in a van and headed home. For half the price I could have taken the FlyAway bus to Van Nuys and a taxi home in the same amount of time. When I told the Prime Time representative at the curb this, he just shrugged his shoulders. Next time I'll either take the FlyAway/taxi route home, give Super Shuttle another try (Super Shuttle was great the one time I used Super Shuttle) or for only about thirty dollars more, use a limo service that is prompt and actually cares. For those that care, I have a total of 2951 photographs taking up 26.5GB of space. That is almost 9MB per photograph. And this ended up at 28 pages and 17,360 words. Well, hopefully you found something interesting and/or entertaining in the review. The Explorer of the Seas will only be in Port Canaveral for about four months. So until April (my Freedom of the Seas cruise), good-by. I am going to add a PS here. Before the Explorer cruise the GS cabin I wanted for an April 2016 cruise was advertised by Royal Caribbean, on Royal Caribbean's website, for $3,810 before taxes. After the Explorer cruise the same cabin was advertised by Royal Caribbean for $3,893.88 after taxes. The "best" price Royal Caribbean could give me when I purchased the cabin onboard the Explorer was $4,937.98. I e-mailed the information to my agent on Sunday evening. Before I returned home from work on Monday I had a new invoice showing the total to be $3,893.98. So the "best" price I could get while booking onboard the ship was more than $1,000 more than Royal Caribbean's advertised price. This is just one of the reasons I prefer using an agent over booking directly with Royal Caribbean. I should add that I lost the $200 onboard booking bonus in the process. It was a hard choice between getting $200 OBC or saving $1,000 (for a net savings of $800), so I flipped a coin and saving $1,000 won. [/QUOTE]
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Review with photographs - Explorer leave NJ for the last time
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