ABC's and 123's – Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao

Everybody has a cousin in Miami

29 October, 2022

After working as a paramedic full-time for a year we took our first real vacation as a couple in over three years. Given the vagaries of air travel in the post-COVID world we flew to Miami two days prior to our cruise departure. One day would have been adequate, but the difference between flying on Thursday instead of Friday for our Saturday embarkation exceeded the expenses of spending an extra day in Miami by a significant margin. Having never spent any time in Miami I was flying completely blind when I started making hotel plans. We've been huge fans of Cuban food since our time in California, and have been limited in our access to Cuban food for the better part of twenty years. We do have friends in Miami, of Cuban heritage, so I did have an excellent source of recommendations for Cuban restaurants to visit! Our original plans included Cuban dinners for two nights, but our flight from Charlotte to Miami was delayed, so the first night we had to make alternative plans.

We stayed at the Tru by Hilton in West Brickell. This new property is nestled in a mostly residential area that appears to be reasonably quiet by our impression. As is the case with the Tru product line, there are grab-and-go beverages and a limited selection of snacks, but not much else is available after breakfast service in the morning. Fortunately there is a pizza shop just a few blocks away that offers delivery, and it happens to be "The best pizza in Miami." After eating their pie, I don't consider that claim boastful in the least, and would have no problem saying their pizza is among the best I've ever eaten. Amazing crust covered with fresh and flavorful toppings is a recipe for success.

Ready for dinner!

Friday morning we woke up at our leisure and caught a ride over to the Brickell City Center to pick up a power adapter for my laptop. In highly abnormal fashion I managed to leave mine at home. While connecting to the outside world isn't the highest priority when I'm on a cruise, maintaining contact with family is a consideration - along with downloading books and the occasional new music. The shopping at City Center is definitely upscale, with ample security to match. I located a replacement power adapter and my wife ended up with a new iPad mini by the time we were ready to go back to the hotel.

Dinner that evening was at Versailles - and it met every expectation we had. They were busy, but not packed to the walls when we arrived. The staff was efficient, but a bit curt and seemed to have the expectation that we should know the menu without requiring any need for clarification. The servings were ample and we ordered with our memory and our heart instead of our stomachs, so regretfully we left a  good bit of amazing food on our plates. The roast pork was tender and crispy and the moros rice was the perfect ratio or rice and beans. The plantains were tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. My only regret is that I couldn't eat more.

Saturday morning we woke early, eagerly anticipating getting on the ship and starting the core of our vacation in earnest. Our Uber got us to the pier without any hassle, check-in was seamless, and we were aboard Explorer of the Seas, completed our check-in at our muster station, and enjoying lunch in the Windjammer Cafe in no time flat. We gained access to our cabin a few minutes early and dropped our bags before going to finalize our specialty dining reservations for the week.

Cruise mode engaged

With all the "business" matters squared away we found a comfortable spot and enjoyed our first drink of the cruise as we passed time waiting for our luggage to be delivered to our room. We confirmed (to our dismay) that Explorer doesn't have a Vintages wine bar, which is one of our favorite places on the Voyager class ships. 

By 4:00 our luggage was delivered and by 4:30 everything was unpacked and we were headed to the Viking Crown Lounge to watch the sail-away. This is when it starts to sincerely feel like vacation has started.

Instead of trying to give a blow-by-blow report of the week this post will be more general. In the time between booking our cruise and departure my wife was diagnosed with a failed ankle and was scheduled for replacement surgery. While our cruise didn't turn out to be the trip we originally envisioned, we made it what we wanted and had a wonderful time - largely in part to the excellent staff and crew of Explorer.

In summary, the grew was outstanding in every respect and at every interaction. Smiles and genuine warm greetings abounded, with none of the perfunctory "painted-on" expressions that understandably sneak in as the travel-weary members of the crew approach the end of their contracts.

Our cabin steward greeted us as soon as we arrived in our cabin. He did everything within is power to keep us comfortable the entire cruise, and always with a beaming smile. Ice packs were needed regularly, and our ice bucket stayed filled day and night.

Our service team in the dining room was exemplary. While the food continues to lag behind the level of quality just after the RCCL-Celebrity merger, it does represent a significant improvement from the few years prior to the pandemic - when it seemed to trend steadily towards "pedestrian" in every venue except the specialty restaurants. Our waiter and assistant waiter were consistent and never missed a beat. When things got hectic, thanks to a few "high maintenance" tables in our section, our headwaiter magically appeared and seamlessly filled in the gaps. 

Royal Promenade

Breakfast service in the dining room was some of the best we've ever had in the open seating era. Due to my wife's limited mobility we were seated in the same general area, near the entrance, every morning, which means we had the same servers several times. "Our" breakfast guys made the general chaos of breakfast disappear. With the large menu, varied schedules of guests, and a wide variety of demands and expectations, things can get a bit wild - but our teams just kept smiling and took everything in stride. This cruise also had the most consistent and best Eggs Benedict I've experienced on a cruise to-date. They were so good I couldn't bring myself to branch out and try anything else for breakfast. The final morning of our cruise we thought we were arriving early for breakfast, but thanks to the change from daylight saving time and the confusion caused by modern technology we arrived just after service ended. Apparently we weren't the only ones who suffered this affliction, and our (familiar) breakfast team made sure we were not turned away hungry. While their job is customer service, they went far above and beyond for us. Our experiences with specialty dining were, as always, special. From dinner at Chops to appetizers at Izumi the food and service were both exactly what we have come to expect. 

We had great service in the R Bar, the Pub, and the Schooner Bar throughout the cruise, from both bartenders and cocktail staff. The pianist in the Schooner Bar was simply amazing. Keep an eye out for Ventzi Nelson - he's not just a musician, he's an entertainer. If you make a request that's not in his catalog at the moment he'll learn it and play it for you on a subsequent night. He works the crowd as good as anyone and has a range that expands well beyond the usual sing-along piano bar fare. Finding a seat was always a challenge due to his popularity. If I were choosing between two similar cruises and Ventzi was on one, that's the one I would pick. He's that good.

Bonaire

As I've mentioned previously, our cruise wasn't what we intended, and the guest relations staff ironed out all of our rough spots without so much as a pause - they just "fixed it" and that was that. To summaryize everything to this point, we've been satisfied Royal Caribbean guests for many years, and this cruise affirmed the choice we made many years ago.

We had grand plans to take excursions in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, but everything required walking and climbing in and out of a bus, which had become a non-starter for us. Not to worry, we maximized our enjoyment even without doing anything grand in any of the ports. A perfunctory quick stroll around the pier served to mark our "visit" - which was suitable given the circumstances. Life happens and sometimes you have to adapt and make the best of your situation.

The only disappointment in the entire trip was the transfer from the pier to the Miami airport at the end. While the buses aren't owned by RCCL, they do reflect on RCCL. Most of the seats were permanently in a "semi-reclined" position, which was uncomfortable. They also failed to accommodate those with mobility issues with seating near the front of the coach, forcing several individuals to slowly shuffle to the rear of the bus to find a seat. Hopefully this issue has long been rectified.

Stormy sunset at sea