[Travelandtourism] Yesterday I did a ship tour of Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas with the NFB of New Jersey

Sun May 20 13:18:22 UTC 2012

Good morning all:
Yesterday, May 19th, since I am doing the fundraiser cruise for the NFB of New Jersey, if you haven't booked your deposit yet for this, the last day for deposits is June 1st of $100.00 per person, and then payment plans can  be arranged if needed.

Anyway, yesterday, I did a ship tour of the ship, with President Joe Ruffalo and his wife, and 8 other members of the New Jersey affiliate.
What is a ship tour, that is something, a travel agent like myself, can bring a group of people onto a ship, if that particular cruise lines allows it, they all don't allow you to bring guests. But Royal Caribbean is one of those cruise lines that allow it.
A ship tour is: exactly that a tour of the ships, we didn't sail anywhere, the ship had just come in port that morning from Bermuda, which in this case it is Port Bayonne, NJ, or it is being called now, Port Liberty after 9/11.
Ships come into port, to disembark clients, and clean to get ready for the next sailing, while people are signing in to come on to the ship.
We had to do the same thing. myself and President Ruffalo had put out an announcement a few months ago to this division to see if anyone wanted to see the ship before even cruising, and find out a cruise ship is like, and ask questions as well. We had with us, my inside sales manager or in the travel industry it is called a BDM, or business development manager, Mr. Robert Tolster with us.
We experienced first going through security, this is where they will ask you for your ID, the one that you have given to your travel agent when you booked your cruise, your passport.  Then we walked through the security area, where we put our purses and bags, but not canes or guide dog harnesses, they will not ask you to give them the cane or anything like that, they will even help you through the scanner if you need the help, again, no taking of shoes, etc.
Then we walked to similar to a check in desk at a hotel, we were not on the ship yet, this is still the port, we gave them our names and show them our IDs, and at this time if you are using a guide dog, the ship will ask for the dogs paperwork, in this case will be the Health Certificate from your vet, the health certificate has to be from a USDA VET, most of them are, but always ask. She even if you are doing a ship tour you need the paperwork, in this case I had the health certificate which is good for one year, so if you travel a lot you only need this once.  Also, if you are cruising that day, again in this case we weren't, you need to check with your travel agent, to see what paperwork if any for the country of origin you are traveling, you might need a permit, which can be arranged for free, or the dog will not be allowed into that country. I will go into that at a different time.
We then went to a waiting area for the rest of our group, and also for Robert.
After everyone was together, and it was our time to go onto the ship, we walked outside the terminal to a shuttle, depending on which port you are at, you might just walk onto the ship, like in Port of New York, but in our case yesterday, there was a shuttle, and yes wheelchair accessible, that took less then 2 minutes to get to the ship, and then we just walked onto the ship.
We were greeted by the crew as we came on the ship. From there, Robert was our tour guide, we started with the staterooms.
We got to see A Suite, and a Jr. Suite, got to touch it all, it was nice, had a full bar, and big living room, and had a second bedroom.
Jr. Suite the same, but only held 2 people.
Then we went to  a wheelchair accessible room, these if you are cruising are roomier but, are for wheelchairs, special roll in showers, etc.
If you don't use a wheelchair, your staterooms can accommodate for other disabilities.
We also so an interior, ocean view, and regular balcony staterooms.
After that we saw went to the wifi cafe or internet cafe.
We went to the pool area, on Royal Caribbean there are 3 separate pool areas, the main pool areas for all, 2 pools, 2 hot tubs, and also this is where the bandstand is outside.  There is also the adult only Solarium area. Where you must be 16 and up to go to, it is a quiet area, with 2 hot tubs, a nice pool, a bar, just quiet.  There is also a pool area for the little ones, like 0-6 years old. have there own pool and slide, etc.
Everything was well explained, by Robert and also by our sighted people with us.
>From there we went up stairs to the Crown, which Royal Caribbean trade mark on there ships, it has Dizzy lounge in there, name for Jazz Great Dizzy Gillespie, we didn't stay long, because there was a wedding party happening there, yes the cruises do weddings, while in port for your friend and family if you are thinking of getting married, it is cheaper than doing it at one of the catering halls, and all your guests do not have to cruise, the wedding go on from about 12:30-3PM while in port, they even have a minister or you can arrange your own officiant to do your wedding for you. The cruise lines have there own wedding departments, but go through your travel agent to arrange it for you.  Also, when doing your wedding, and you are the bride and groom, you sail free with 6 staterooms booked, something to think about.
We also saw on this deck, the basketball court, tennis court, miniature golf course, putting green, and there is a place you can practice your golf swing. This is great if you are a golfer, and you are cruising to a place were you can play golf, in our instance, cruising to Bermuda, has some of the best golfing in the world.
After that we saw the arcade area, with all the arcade games you can think of, plus air hockey as well, and then we walked back on the deck what a lovely day it was.  If you have some sight, from the ship you can see the Manhattan Skyline, and parallel to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, if you read my postings about our recent trip to Orlando and the Bahamas from NY.  Royal Caribbean doesn't do the passing in front of the statue of liberty and plays "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood or has the water boats in front spraying etc. This is only out the NY Port Side.
But you do get to sail under the Verranzano-Narrows Bridge from both ports.
>From there, we went to the spa and gym area, and then walked by the Restaurant Johnnie Rockets, which they have on all Royal Caribbean Cruises. It has a $4.95 cover charge to get in, Robert, explained why there was a cover charge for this. Because when it first came to Royal Caribbean the Johnnie Rockets, all the teenagers where in there all day long, and the adults couldn't get into it, so to have it available to all, they put in the cover charge, that way the kids are not in there all day, and after you are in there, the food is free. 

We also went by the Windjammer - This is the Buffet Restaurant on the ship, where they have almost anything you can think of to eat almost 24/7.
We also went to Portofino - the Cover Charge Restaurant, it is Italian, and it $20 per person which include appetizers, main course, and desert.  We went there, and might do a group Dining event one night, it was something to think about.
After that we went to the main dining room for lunch. We really enjoyed ourselves and go to talk about the day, and just to take a break. There are usually 2 appetizers to choose from, 3 entrees and 1 desert, we had the option of a smoked fish tourine with crostini or a wonderful salad, not just lettuce and tomatoes. I had the Smoke fish, nelson had the salad we shared.
The three entrees were Linguine with Mushroom Sauce or Salmon, or NY Strip Steak. and then for desert we all had chocolate cherry cake with whipped cream. This is a free dining option, and you can have as much as you like. If you want 2 deserts or another entree after  the first one you can.  That is what the gym is for, and believe me you need good shoes on ship, we had a great time, Nelson took a video which I will post a link to when it is available I will post a link.
After lunch it was getting late, and we had some other things to see, since we had to be off the ship by 3.
We walked the Promenade, which is where they have all the duty free shopping, like clothes if you need it, and you can by cigar and cigarettes to bring home, or wine and Liquor
Oh yes, no  smoking in the staterooms, if you have a balcony, you can smoke out there, if you are caught, having smoke in your room, the cruise ship has the right to charge you a $250 cleaning fee.  So if you smoke, you can smoke in the casino, the cigar bar, but that is it. We didn't smell anything.
Also in the Promenade area, they have a 24 hour Coffee Bar, which is free, accept if you want cappuccino, or expresso.
We then saw the Ice Skating Rink, yes you can ice skate on the ship, and then we saw the Casino.
While at the Casino, there were announcing all guests to please disembark, and that all guests sailing must report to there Muster Drill Station which is Mandatory. We walked out with Robert, who by the way doesn't sail on the ship, unless he has a group of travel agents, he had to head back to Queens, where he lives.  I get to see Robert all the time at one of my Travel Agent Association meetings.
So I hope you enjoyed the detailed ship tour.
We all had a great time, we laughed so hard it hurt.
But, the people who was with us said, that it is not hard to maneuver the ship, and if you get lost, the ship isn't that big you just turn around and walk the other way, you wont get bored there is plenty to do during the day and at night. We did she the venues where all the entertainment is, etc.
Cheryl Echevarria, PresidentTravel and Tourism DivisionNational Federation of the Blind

Here below is a little word from President, Joe Ruffalo:
 Cheryl, thanks to you, Nelson and Robert for a wonderful tour of our cruise ship for the NFBNJ fund raiser to Bermuda. you made the tour very informative, educational and all wanted to sale today instead of next year.With much to participate in or just relaxing, will make the cruise a wonderful experience.Once again, thanks for your professional and friendly presentation. Remember: When we all do, it becomes doable.The more we try, the more we succeed.Everything is impossible until you do it.Keep believing.  Keep dreaming.  Keep learningLet's work together.  Let's make a difference!Joseph J. Ruffalo President, National Federation of the Blind of New JerseyPhone:              973-743-0075      Please visit our State and National Web Siteshttp://www.nfbnj.orghttp://www.thruoureyes.orghttp://www.blindchildren.orghttp://www.nfb.orgEmail: nfbnj at yahoo.com
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