The Fun Researcher

32 minutes ago, mek said:

This seems to be a hot topic lately!  I did on Allure in October and it was great fun and delicious.  Plus you get sake!

Yeah, it was one of those little known activities.  Glad more are finding out about it.  It's a fun way to have a new cruise experience.

Dan

37 minutes ago, Getting out there said:

Adventure was done. We went on her right after her makeover Feb. 2018. Heard she's going to Galvaston

It was renovated, but not Amped.  The Amped update is in 2021.  See attached link.  I wish it was Amped already.

https://www.*****.com/2018/04/30/royal-caribbean-releases-royal-amplified-fleet-upgrade-schedule

Dan

30 minutes ago, Christinampl said:

 

Lucky you, they would not allow us to take it out of Izumi on Brilliance in February. We were so bummed because we wasted about a roll each since it was SO MUCH food.  We decided we would do it again but only pay for one person to roll and both of us could share the eating part 😋

Good idea.  We had 7 in our group and shared the two plates my daughters made.  The 5 of us just showed up towards the end of the class and then sat down and ate in Izumi once the class was over.  They were nice enough to let us eat at a couple of their tables.

Dan

Just now, ShillyShally said:

Especially for bar service - yes a great bartender makes a difference but most of us tip those good ones additionally!  So when you're just paying a tip on top of straight higher-priced ingredients it feels more grabby - I order vodka and water with lime - so not complicated 🙂  20% to uncap a beer you've grabbed out of a chiller?  

Exactly.

Dan

We've done it twice, both times on the Navigator.   You get to eat what you make, and it's well worth it IMO.  Since taking the class the first time in 2016, we now make sushi pretty regularly at home as well.

Here's what the plate looked like last from a couple of weeks ago.  Both of our daughters did the class this time so we had two plates like this.  A good amount of food.  Spicy Tuna Roll, California Roll, Tempura Shrimp Roll, Shrimp Nigiri

Dan

18 was already generous IMO.  What is their justification for 20%?  Honestly curious.

Dan

4 hours ago, rikkimiller said:

I will probably follow your lead and not exercise lol. Vacation is vacation for a reason. Thanks for your help on all my questions, Dan!!!! Cannot wait to set sail! 

That was pretty much my feeling as well.  :)  When cruising I typically workout in the afternoons, but I was having way too much fun enjoying drinks and weather on the pool decks.  

3 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

There are no more sailings on the Navigator to the ABC's. 😥  

2 hours ago, BrandFam4 said:

Was so bummed about this. Would have booked another on her in a heartbeat if so. 

I believe the only ABC options this time next year are 8 nights on the Adventure from Ft. Lauderdale (not Amped yet), or 7 nights on the Freedom out of San Juan (planned to be amped by March/April next year).  If the Adventure would have lined up with our spring break next year I would have booked it already, but it's off by one week.  😞

I'm considering the Freedom but the cost of flights to San Juan for our family of 5 is pretty brutal.

Dan

2 hours ago, Jenjer said:

Could we bring our own fins? my kids are swimmers so they have fins for practice...I know not snorkel fins but close enough

Yes, you can bring your own fins and snorkels.

Dan

On 3/29/2019 at 2:33 PM, rikkimiller said:

Hi there! Love your review. I'm sailing on the Navigator in May. What were the breakfast options like? We loved the omelet station on the Jewel as well as the variety of food in the Windjammer. Also, what was your favorite bar that you went to? Any tips you have for adults on places to go would be well received 🙂 Thanks for your thoroughness! 

All of our drinks outside were ordered at the Lime and Coconut (on deck 12)  They did a good job and were friendly.  Inside, most were at Playmakers.  The did well also.  There is a room in the back of Playmakers that has TV screens all around you, and a large Jenga set on one of the tables.  That made for a very fun place to chill in the late hours.

To be honest, I'm not a big breakfast eater.  I typically just have coffee in the morning.  I did have corned beef and hash, eggs and bacon a few days but that's about it.  Breakfast had a HUGE selection though.  Pretty sure they have the omelet/egg station as well but someone else would need to confirm.

Happy sailing!

Dan

On 3/29/2019 at 2:37 PM, rikkimiller said:

Also, adding on to my previous questions. How was the fitness center? I heard it wasn't quite finished previously. Thank you!! 

Sorry, it's open but I didn't go inside.  I run about 3 miles every day at home but decided to take a break on the cruise and just chill.  I had my workout gear with me but didn't end up using it.   I was very relieved that I only gained a couple of pounds on the cruise.  😀

Dan

2 hours ago, JohnnyL. said:

Did you book the excursions through Royal Caribbean? 

The only one we booked through Royal was the zipline on Labadee.

The others we did ourselves.  We had plenty of time at each port so we weren't worried about not getting back to the ship in time for departure:

Bonare:  Hertz rental at the Divi Flamingo resort

Curacao:  Irie Tours (west side beach hopping)

Aruba:  Jolly Pirates

Dan

Just a few other random comments:

Drink cards were offered the last two days for $75 plus 18% gratuity, so $88.50 total for 10 drinks, and the card can be shared.

We didn't feel that the ship was overly crowded, even though it was sold out, and all the extra cabins were added.

They didn't have the huge sprawling sales in the promenade like before.  They kept the sale mainly in front of the general store.  This was nice.  I think it's because the pub and Playmakers both spill out into the walkway now, and adding a bunch of tables for sale items would have made the path REALLY tight and frustrating.

Dan

Yes, they made sure we weren't over the limit in Terminal G in Miami last week.  We didn't try to space out the check-in.  We had a 12 pack of soda and a 12 pack of water between 2 staterooms and it was all brought in at the same time.

I did see that you can order a 12 pack of Coke product onboard for your mini fridge, for $22 or $25 I believe.  That was on the Navigator last week.  Much cheaper than paying per can at a bar, and depending on how much soda you drink, it may be much cheaper than the soda package as well.

Dan

3 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Not having access to weight training equipment would be a non-starter for me. I go to the gym every day, and sometimes 2x day (30 mins cardio in the morning, weight training in the afternoon). For me it's an essential part of my daily routine. With so many ships afloat there would be no reason for me to pay money and not have the facilities that I want to have an enjoyable vacation. 

This was a special case of the ship just getting out of a MAJOR drydock renovation and the fitness center was closed for about a week after.  Other than situations like that, fitness centers are always open.  No need to look around for ships that do or do not have their gyms open.

Dan

1 hour ago, CruisingNole said:

We'll be on for the first time in December. Looking forward to it. It seems like a lot of families prefer this boat so as a couple with no children, we chose the weekend after Thanksgiving because the kids will be back in school. Hopefully that helps to control the crowd. Don't get me wrong, we don't hate kids, but everything must be done in moderation.  🙂

 Funny, our first cruise on the Indy with our kids was the week after Thanksgiving 🙂

 The ship was not overrun with kids though 

Dan

54 minutes ago, CazV said:

@The Fun ResearcherThanks for the great review! Quick question for you... roughly how long is the Ice Show? Trying to figure out which performance works best to fit with late dining.

Can't say for absolute certain, but I would say 45 minutes or so.  An hour tops I would guess.

Dan

2 minutes ago, Colorado Babe said:

We really enjoyed the Navigator of the Seas in December (before refurb)  when we cruised on her but did notice there were much less staff on board and a lot of trash on the pool deck.  How was it when you were on board?

Not OP, but I didn't notice any level of trash around the pool deck last week on our 9 nighter.  There were promotional photo shots still being done around the pool deck some of the days, so they may have been extra diligent, but it just seemed overall that the crew was doing really well.  The ship seemed well staffed as well.

Dan

Great to hear that you had such a great time OP.  The Indy holds a special place for us as well.  Up until our cruise last week on the Navigator, or favorite to date was on the Indy, plus it was the first cruise ship our kids ever experienced.

Again, glad you had such a great time.  I'm with you that the "Amped" upgrades are awesome!

Dan

40 minutes ago, BrandFam4 said:

 

I believe it was only open 12-6pm daily on the Navigator 3/15-3/24. 

Yeah, I went back and looked at the daily Cruise Compasses and it looks like the earliest it was open was 11am and the latest 6:30pm.  The sea days had slightly longer hours in general, which makes sense with the pool deck being busier.

Dan

OP, what time were you showing up for your MTD dinners?  That makes a huge difference.  Show up between 6:30 and 7:30 and the place is swamped, which is a result of how MTD is setup  Folks seated earlier aren't done with their meals yet and folks keep showing up trying to find tables.

We don't necessarily enjoy starting our meals early, but we show up towards the earlier side of the dining window.  Last week on the Navigator that was around 5:45pm, deck 3,  and there never was much of a line at all.  We stayed with our same table and waiters.

For those asking why some pick the same time every meal for MTD, I can tell you why we prefer it.  Flexibility.   First, we see where our table location is our first evening.  If we don't care for the table, or the waiters, we ask for an alternate for the next evening when we are leaving dinner.  Once we settle in on a table and servers, we tend to stay with that.  In order to hold that table, we show up earlier in the dining window so as not to have that table sit empty before we show up.  We also don't want to risk another group grabbing it because we didn't show up on time.  If we decide we don't want to eat that early, we will let the dining room staff know, so that they aren't holding our table, and then we can show up later whenever we want without reservations and still get to eat in the dining room rather than be forced to the buffet.

Editing to add that we have always been a table of between 6, 7, or 10 so we take up an entire table just with our group. 

Dan

1 hour ago, Coralc said:

What sort of camera and setup did you use for the turtle pics FR? They are awesome photos! 

Thank you!  Believe it or not, it's a very inexpensive GoPro type of camera.  A Lightdow LD6000.  WIth this camera you need to also purchase a micro SD card.  I bought the camera a few years ago.  I didn't want to invest the money into an expensive action camera because I wanted my kids to be able to use it and not worry about if they broke it or not.  It has a waterproof case, and one of the strap attachments allows me to strap it to my wrist.  That way I can turn it on, start the video recording, and swim freely and not have to hold onto the camera.  Here's how I wear it when I'm snorkeling.

Those photos of the turtles are taken from running video that I took.  (you can also take still photos with the camera, but that's much harder to do underwater)  It helped that we were a little further from shore, away from where a lot of other swimmers were kicking up the sand from the bottom.  Also, the sun was out and the turtles were closer to the water surface so there was more light from the sun, which always helps video and photos.  (more light = better video)  🙂

https://smile.amazon.com/Lightdow-LD6000-Sports-Action-Camera/dp/B00XC46RWG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Lightdow+LD6000&qid=1553735830&s=electronics&sr=1-1-catcorr

I 

Hope that helps,
Dan

As requested, Time for Cruise Compass photos!

-Dan

49 minutes ago, Ronaldo807 said:

We were on that Curacao tour (and cruise) with you. For anyone reading, the tour was $65 PP, but they only charged us $45 for our daughter. She is 7 so I'm not sure what the cutoff is. 

 

Was your daughter the one who lost and found her apple watch? That was quite impressive.

Ronaldo807,  It was fun sharing the day with you! No, that was not my daughter but that was the family sitting right behind us.  We were sitting at the very front of the bus. For those wondering, a girl lost her Apple Watch that she had gotten for Christmas when she did the cliff jump. She was able to swim the 30 m back out to where she landed in the water dive down and find her watch!. Everyone was very happy for her.   She was really out of sorts and obviously upset, rightly so. So happy for her.

Dan

I do NOT like the height of that glass.  Huge balcony?  Yes.  However, you can get better open air views from a ton of other locations on the ship.  I would not want to be looking through glass all the time.  Just my opinion though.

Dan

1 minute ago, ShillyShally said:

Thanks so much!  Guac available more than just the afternoon snack at windjammer is awesome as are some of the others - I get very creative when on board as we're vegan but we can make great concoctions just getting creative! 

You'll be like a kid in a candy store.  Some of that stuff would be great on top of some fries from Johnny Rockets which is now ala carte right next door!  Now, why didn't I think of that when I was on the cruise last week?  Was probably all the Long Islands. 😉

Dan