Explorer of the Seas remains one of the most popular of the older ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Even though her Amped upgrade has been postponed, she still offers some fantastic features to make your cruise feel special.
However, if you’ve never set sail on Explorer of the Seas before, or indeed any of the Voyager-class ships, you’ll want some help choosing the best stateroom. So let’s take a look at your options, as well as some Explorer of the Seas rooms to avoid…
How To Choose The Best Cabin
I’ve created a free checklist of what to look out for when choosing a cruise cabin. If you’d like a copy, just leave your email address and it will be with you right away.
Explorer of the Seas Room Categories
Explorer of the Seas is a Voyager-class cruise ship with 15 different cabin types to choose from.
The cabins can be broken down into four main categories: Inside, Outside, Balcony and Suite.
Now, lets take a look at the types of cabins that you’ll find within each of those categories on Explorer of the Seas…
Explorer of the Seas Inside Cabins:
- Interior Stateroom – Sleeps up to 2 or 4
- Promenade View Interior Stateroom – Sleeps up to 2
- Interior with Virtual Balcony – Sleeps up to 2
Explorer of the Seas Outside Cabins:
- Ocean View Stateroom – Sleeps up to 2 or 4
- Spacious Ocean View Stateroom – Sleeps up to 2 or 4
- Spacious Panoramic Ocean View Stateroom – Sleeps up to 4
- Ultra Spacious Ocean View Stateroom – Sleeps up to 6
Explorer of the Seas Balcony Cabins:
- Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony – Sleeps up to 2 or 4
- Spacious Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony – Sleeps up to 2 or 4
An Explorer of the Seas balcony room comes with a small balcony with a couple of chairs, so you can sit and take in the view.
Explorer of the Seas Suites:
- Ocean View Panoramic Suite (no balcony) – Sleeps up to 6
- Junior Suite – Sleeps up to 4
- Grand Suite (1 bedroom) – Sleeps up to 4
- Grand Suite (2 bedrooms) – Sleeps up to 8
- Owner’s Suite – Sleeps up to 4
- Royal Suite – Sleeps up to 4
Royal Caribbean’s suites come with not only more space, but also a huge list of extra benefits. You can see those here: Royal Caribbean Suite Perks.
For a lot of people, an inside stateroom will be plenty – especially if your priority is just enjoying the destinations you’re sailing to, and you don’t feel like you need much room.
However, if you have the budget for it, there are some staterooms and suites which are much, much bigger.
Explorer of the Seas Room Sizes
The cabin sizes on Explorer of the Seas vary a lot. The largest suites are almost twelve times the size of the smallest staterooms!
There’s also some variation with cabins of the same type. Certain Interior and Ocean View cabins are 60% bigger than others.
However, before you get excited about the possibility of booking a huge cabin, many of these are wheelchair-accessible cabins and so they’re only available for the people who need them.
If you do want a large cabin, there are some very big outside staterooms and suites to choose from. The Ultra Spacious Ocean View Stateroom, for example, is absolutely huge with over 300 square feet of space, yet it doesn’t cost that much in comparison to the other stateroom types.
Here are the sizes of Explorer of the Seas rooms, from smallest to largest:
- Interior Stateroom – 160 to 256 sq ft
- Interior with Virtual Balcony – 160 to 256 sq ft
- Ocean View Stateroom – 161 to 276 sq ft
- Promenade View Interior Stateroom – 167 sq feet
- Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony – 198 sq ft
- Spacious Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony – 203 sq ft
- Spacious Ocean View Stateroom – 211 sq ft
- Junior Suite – 277 sq ft
- Spacious Panoramic Ocean View Stateroom – 283 sq ft
- Ultra Spacious Ocean View Stateroom – 328 sq ft
- Grand Suite (1 Bedroom) – 381 sq ft
- Ocean View Panoramic Suite (No Balcony) – 406 sq ft
- Owner’s Suite 506 sq ft
- Grand Suite (2 Bedroom) – 547 sq ft
- Royal Suite – 1260 sq ft
Explorer of the Seas Deck Plan
When choosing the best stateroom for your cruise, the deck plan can give you lots of useful information such as:
- Where your cabin is located
- The size of your cabin and balcony in square feet
- What types of extra beds are provided e.g. sofa beds or Pullman beds
Click here to see Explorer of the Seas Deck Plans
Should You Pick Your Room Or Not?
When you book a Royal Caribbean cruise online, you’ll often see two prices, which look like this…
Royal Caribbean usually gives guests the choice to select their room for an extra fee. If you opt not to choose your own room, you’ll be assigned what’s known as a ‘Guarantee Cabin’.
What’s a guarantee cabin?
A guarantee cabin guarantees that you’ll receive a cabin in that category (e.g. interior stateroom) or higher (if you’re lucky enough to be upgraded).
The benefits of choosing your cabin number:
- Choose your preferred location on the ship
- Book two cabins next to each other
- Avoid undesirable cabins
Booking Multiple Cabins
If you want interconnecting cabins which have a door between them, you will have to pay to pick your own room.
If you just want cabins next door to each other, you can opt to let Royal Caribbean choose your room and request that your cabins are nearby. However, there’s no guarantee that they will be.
Tip: For a family of four, it’s sometimes cheaper to get two interconnecting cabins than to get one cabin that sleeps four.
If you have adjacent balcony cabins, you can ask your stateroom attendant to open the balcony dividers to create one large balcony. You do not need interconnecting rooms to do this. If you’re friendly with your neighbours, the partition can be opened, as long as everybody agrees.
Explorer of the Seas Cabins to Avoid
One of the main reasons why people choose their own cabin number on a cruise is to avoid ending up in one of the worst rooms on the ship.
If you choose a cabin that’s in a noisy location, a long walk from anything or has an obstructed view from the balcony, it can put a real downer on your trip.
Here are the cabins to avoid on Explorer of the Seas…
1. Noisy Cabins on Explorer of the Seas
2330 to 2358, 2630 to 2658: Cabins at the aft end of Deck 2 are the closest to the ship’s engines and so you may experience some engine noise and propeller vibrations in these cabins. They are also beneath the main dining room.
2240: This cabin is right next to the Palace Theatre so you may expect some noise during performances and rehearsals.
Tip: If you only want one cabin, avoid the cabins with interconnecting doors. Cabin doors are never as soundproof as walls, so you may be able to hear your neighbours.
3540 and 3240: These cabins are located right next to public bathrooms.
3600 to 3616: These cabins are beneath The Tavern bar and so there may be noise until the small hours.
6575, 6577, 6579, 6581, 6583, 6587, 6589, 6591, 6593, 6595 and 6597: These Promenade View Interior Staterooms are located directly above the R Bar. Aside from the fact that people on the promenade on Deck 6 and your neighbours can see right in, these cabins have also been reported as being noisy until after midnight as people gather, chat and sing outside the bar.
1248 to 1305 and 1548 to 1605: These staterooms and suites are located directly beneath the pool areas. This could mean that you can hear some noise from deck chairs being dragged across the floor in the morning. Early risers should have no problems here, though.
2. Cabins That Are a Long Walk From Anything
9465, 9467, 9469, 9471, 9473, 9475, 9477, 9479: These cabins are a really long way from the elevators. All cabins right at the back of the ship are far from the elevators, but this problem is made so much worse on Deck 9, because you have to walk right to the end of the ship and then go back on yourself to reach your cabin!
On the deck plan below, you would have to follow the red line to take you from the nearest elevator to your cabin. This distance is about 500 feet, which is a really long way if you struggle with walking or are carrying a child.
3. Cabins With Obstructed Views
Aft cabin and suites: Aft balconies are the ones right at the back of the ship that look out to where the ship has been. On most cruise ships, aft balconies offer the best views of all. This is not so on Explorer of the Seas!
Due to the design of the ship, the aft cabin balconies aren’t at the rear edge of the ship. There’s an extra area between the balcony and the end of the ship. This means that steel structures partially obstruct your view looking out and completely obstruct your view when you look down.
Whilst the view from the aft balconies seems to be less than ideal, these cabins actually get great reviews online. One advantage of the aft cabins on Explorer of the Seas is that the balconies are much larger than standard balconies on the port and starboard sides.
If you do want to go for an aft balcony, I’d recommend choosing a corner one for the biggest balcony space and the least obstructed view.
This video shows the view from an aft balcony cabin…
For more staterooms to avoid that aren’t specific to Explorer of the Seas, don’t miss this guide: 13 Royal Caribbean Cabins To Avoid.
Best Deck on Explorer of the Seas
Many people ask which is the best deck on Explorer of the Seas. In fact, there isn’t one deck that’s the best, but there are three decks that are particularly good if you want a quiet room that’s not too far from the action.
Decks 7, 8 and 9
If you’re looking for a nice quiet room on Explorer of the Seas, you can’t go wrong with Deck 7, Deck 8 or Deck 9. All cabins on these decks only have other cabins above and below them. This creates a buffer from the noise of the public areas.
It also means that you can avoid taking the elevator as from this midship location you can walk up to the open decks or down to the restaurants and bars.
Best Rooms on Explorer of the Seas
The best cabins on Explorer of the Seas are very much down to personal preference. For some people, the cheapest inside cabins are the best. Others prefer a spacious room with panoramic windows. Whereas for some cruisers, a balcony is an absolute must.
Here are some Explorer of the Seas rooms which you should look out for as they offer something special…
BEST INSIDE: Interior with Virtual Balcony
One of the main drawbacks of booking an Interior Stateroom is the fact that you can feel like you’re missing out on the experience of watching where you’re sailing. But the Interior with Virtual Balcony staterooms go some way to addressing that.
Sure you’re not getting natural sunlight, but you are still getting an amazing view – and it helps you to at least tell how early it is in the day and gives you an idea as to what to wear.
You get a similar view as you would from a Balcony Stateroom, just without the feeling of fresh air. Take a look at this video to see what this stateroom type looks like…
The only drawback is if you wanted to cruise with the kids – the Virtual Balcony staterooms can only sleep two guests. If you’re travelling with more than two guests, a Promenade View Interior stateroom will be a better choice.
BEST OUTSIDE: Spacious Panoramic Ocean View Stateroom
The windows in outside cabins vary in size. On some ships, you’ll have just a small porthole above the bed. On Explorer of the Seas, however, the windows in many of the cabins are very large indeed.
I particularly love the window in this Spacious Panoramic Ocean View Stateroom. There are various different Spacious Panoramic Ocean View Staterooms on Explorer of the Seas – they come in different shapes and sizes, so be sure to study the deck plan carefully if you want to find one of the largest ones.
BEST BALCONY: Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
There are two types of balcony staterooms on Explorer of the Seas – standard and spacious. Whilst you may expect the spacious one to be better, and in some ways it is, I just don’t think that the extra space is worth the extra price.
In fact, with the spacious balcony cabin, you get only five square feet more space in your room and four square feet more space on your balcony. That’s not even enough room for an extra chair, so you probably won’t even notice that your room is any bigger.
Be sure to look at the price difference before you make the decision to upgrade to a spacious balcony.
BEST SUITE: Royal Suite
The Royal Suite is the top suite on most Royal Caribbean ships. On Explorer of the Seas, the Royal Suite sleeps up to four people and, at 1260 square feet, it is more than twice the size of any other suite on the ship.
Of course, a photo would never do this suite justice, but take a look at the video below to see what you can expect from the Royal Suite with its private hot tub on the balcony and baby grand piano.
NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!
Don’t miss the latest Royal Caribbean offers…
Explorer of the Seas Versus Other Voyager-Class Ships
Explorer of the Seas is part of the Voyager Class, but her direct twin is the Voyager of the Seas. Explorer was the second ship in the class, with Adventure of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas following.
Explorer and Voyager were almost identical twins, but then Voyager has been through Royal Caribbean’s Amplification program and has new suites and staterooms which Explorer does not.
Find More Information About Explorer of the Seas Rooms
If you have any specific questions about a room on Explorer of the Seas, or just want to chat to fellow cruisers on the ship, there are a lot of Facebook groups you can join. I’d recommend these three:
It’s also worth looking for Facebook groups for your specific cruise – I found quite a few groups dedicated to different sailing dates. This is a good way to say hi to people you’ll be cruising with before you set sail!
Have you cruised on Explorer of the Seas? I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments below.
NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!
Don’t miss the latest Royal Caribbean offers…
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- Royal Caribbean Ships by Age
- Royal Caribbean Drink Package Guide
- 3 Ways to Get Free Wifi on your Royal Caribbean Cruise
Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
