20220904 RCCL Explorer of the Seas ABC Cruise - Day 2 of 8 - Sea Day sucky internet

Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas ABC cruise - Day 2 of 8 - at sea

Sea Day

We're on our first of two sea days en route to Bonaire. I planned a detailed, informative blog post today, but didn't think it was going to happen.  Why, you ask?  Because RCCL's VOOM internet - the "fastest internet at sea" - sucks rocks.  It's awful.  It's unreliable.  It's slow - and that's when it works.  It doesn't work in guest rooms.  And, we paid for the premium higher-speed service.  We will be talking to Royal upon completing this cruise for the amount they ripped us off for this absolutely horrible internet experience.  It is starting to make Viking's pathetic internet in South America look like broadband gigabit.

The day started with a rainbow as we walked to breakfast.

Every day in the Windjammer buffet, musicians play: I wanna wash your hands... and other twists on popular music to encourage hand-washing when entering the buffet.  It's a little cheesy but still fun.

One thing that jumped out at us is that there seems to be a huge number of special-needs folks on this cruise.  At breakfast, we were seated next to a family with special-needs teens, so we asked about it.  It turns out that an organization called Buddy Cruise puts together a cruise every year for families with special-needs members. They offer special activities as well as seminars and education and a support system so families can learn from others in the same situation.  It sure seems like a pretty amazing organization that helps families who are dealing with challenges and helps both the special-needs individual as well as their caregivers.  Very cool.

As promised, here is a room tour.  We are in a balcony cabin on deck 12, near the spa.

Looking in from the door

On the left, we find ample storage - a door with shelves and a double-door hanging closet

The bathroom is small - really small - the shower is tight but way more usable than the shower on Princess

The couch is nice and they don't waste space on a useless coffee table - plus, the bed is all the way toward the sliding door, further opening up the room

The desk is small and like most older cruise ships, there are only two electrical plugs at the desk - nothing by the bed

The deck is reasonably sized

The bed is hard - like really hard - but our cabin steward put a softer topper on it today so we're expecting a better night's sleep tonight

This was waiting for us in the room tonight - I can't remember the last time we've gotten a towel animal

We spent time in the pool and hot tub this afternoon.  Then, we spent some time on the deck enjoying the sea views.  This guy, a brown booby, gave us some nice views as it was hunting - see more below.

This is what it was hunting for - flying fish.  We watched it dive and grab one out of the air for a nice sushi meal.

We sailed alongside our sister ship, Symphony of the Seas

After dinner, Arlona caught this shot of a US Coast Guard vessel out here just past Cuba - we were surprised to see it

Tonight was formal night, so we did it up as usual

We did get some official photos taken - I'll update this post with a copy if we decide to buy one

All in all, it was a good day.  One more sea day tomorrow and I hope that the internet actually works.