Explorer of the Seas

Hi group,

We're cruising out of Bayonne, NJ Oct 6th and I've got just a couple of
questions...

I know the Explorer of the Seas has a Solarium, but someone posted that it
was open air. All of the others I've seen had retractrable roofs which may
have been mistaken for open air if someone just passed through a couple of
times. Does anyone else know for sure?

We're driving in a high top conversion van. Does anyone know the parking
situation at the Bayonne terminal?

Thanks,
Jerry

In article , J Maras
wrote:

I know the Explorer of the Seas has a Solarium, but someone posted that it
was open air. All of the others I've seen had retractrable roofs which may
have been mistaken for open air if someone just passed through a couple of
times. Does anyone else know for sure?

No mistake. The Solariums on Voyager Class ships like Explorer of the
Seas do not have retractable roofs. They are open air.

--
Charles

Hi .. Got off the explorer a week ago ..
#1 .. the Solarium is open air .. pool is very small but for seniors
its good. It can get crowded as can the solarium .. so get there early
and reserve a chair or lounge.
#2 .. Parking ... I think we paid $125 for a 9 day cruise. Easy,
outside and secure. I must admit my car was clean when I parked it
and filthy when I got back. The grime was almost impossible to get off
the car. It took some very hot water and soap to get it off. I though
it might have ruined the paint job. It didn't.
Have fun.
Bobt
Charles wrote:
In article , J Maras
wrote:

I know the Explorer of the Seas has a Solarium, but someone posted that it
was open air. All of the others I've seen had retractrable roofs which may
have been mistaken for open air if someone just passed through a couple of
times. Does anyone else know for sure?

No mistake. The Solariums on Voyager Class ships like Explorer of the
Seas do not have retractable roofs. They are open air.

--
Charles

We'll be taking this ship out of Bayonne for 12 nights in February '08.
With it being winter, I really wish RCI would use one of the ships
with a retractable roof so the pool can be enjoyed from the getgo.

Oh well, I'll be sure to bring my parka and boots!

Jo-Ann


Bobt wrote:
Hi .. Got off the explorer a week ago ..
#1 .. the Solarium is open air .. pool is very small but for seniors
its good. It can get crowded as can the solarium .. so get there early
and reserve a chair or lounge.
#2 .. Parking ... I think we paid $125 for a 9 day cruise. Easy,
outside and secure. I must admit my car was clean when I parked it
and filthy when I got back. The grime was almost impossible to get off
the car. It took some very hot water and soap to get it off. I though
it might have ruined the paint job. It didn't.
Have fun.
Bobt
Charles wrote:
In article , J Maras
wrote:

I know the Explorer of the Seas has a Solarium, but someone posted that it
was open air. All of the others I've seen had retractrable roofs which may
have been mistaken for open air if someone just passed through a couple of
times. Does anyone else know for sure?

No mistake. The Solariums on Voyager Class ships like Explorer of the
Seas do not have retractable roofs. They are open air.

--
Charles

But was it a ramp or an open air lot? I've got a high top van that doesn't
like low ceilings. Any insight is appreciated .

Jerry M


"Bobt" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi .. Got off the explorer a week ago ..
#1 .. the Solarium is open air .. pool is very small but for seniors
its good. It can get crowded as can the solarium .. so get there early
and reserve a chair or lounge.
#2 .. Parking ... I think we paid $125 for a 9 day cruise. Easy,
outside and secure. I must admit my car was clean when I parked it
and filthy when I got back. The grime was almost impossible to get off
the car. It took some very hot water and soap to get it off. I though
it might have ruined the paint job. It didn't.
Have fun.
Bobt
Charles wrote:
In article , J Maras
wrote:

I know the Explorer of the Seas has a Solarium, but someone posted that
it
was open air. All of the others I've seen had retractrable roofs which
may
have been mistaken for open air if someone just passed through a couple
of
times. Does anyone else know for sure?

No mistake. The Solariums on Voyager Class ships like Explorer of the
Seas do not have retractable roofs. They are open air.

--
Charles

J Maras wrote:
But was it a ramp or an open air lot? I've got a high top van that doesn't
like low ceilings. Any insight is appreciated .

All the parking is open air, mostly in a gravel lot.

The way it's set up is totally ridiculous, because the parking lot is
_before_ the place where you have to park and take out your luggage and
give it to the longshoremen. Then you, the driver, have to loop around
again to get back to the parking lot entrance, where you pay in advance
(cash/credit card).

The reason this is a problem, is that if you try to drive to the
terminal between 11 and 1, there's about an hour wait in the main
traffic line which is composed of cars letting off people _and_ trying
to get back to parking. Having to loop around partway can take
another ten minutes. So I'd recommend not trying to get there
early... you'll just wait in line. By 1 or 2pm, the line was mostly
empty.

Kev

Wow, thanks for the insight! We're staying at AC the night before so
knowing this, we won't be in too big of a hurry to get to Bayonne. I was
planning to be there around noon because we're used to boarding ships before
you're supposed to. I guess we'll hang around AC and gamble a bit more....
Now I just have to figure out if there's an open air lot at the Showboat...

Jerry


wrote in message
ups.com...

J Maras wrote:
But was it a ramp or an open air lot? I've got a high top van that
doesn't
like low ceilings. Any insight is appreciated .

All the parking is open air, mostly in a gravel lot.

The way it's set up is totally ridiculous, because the parking lot is
_before_ the place where you have to park and take out your luggage and
give it to the longshoremen. Then you, the driver, have to loop around
again to get back to the parking lot entrance, where you pay in advance
(cash/credit card).

The reason this is a problem, is that if you try to drive to the
terminal between 11 and 1, there's about an hour wait in the main
traffic line which is composed of cars letting off people _and_ trying
to get back to parking. Having to loop around partway can take
another ten minutes. So I'd recommend not trying to get there
early... you'll just wait in line. By 1 or 2pm, the line was mostly
empty.

Kev