kwbound

What is the cabin # of this balcony? Sailing on the Nav in Oct.... would love THIS balcony!

 

 

 

THANKS!!

That was our balcony. It is cabin # 8390. It is a great balcony. The room is nice and quite. It is just a LONG walk from the elevators.

Last week on the Navigator there were staff wearing yellow shirts that said "Deck Patrol" on the back. Anytime they saw a towel on a chair with nothing else, they picked it up. There were actually more deck patrol than waiters. We never had trouble finding two loungers together. It was great.

I'm tough and realistic on my ratings so bare with me and my perception of things this past week if you disagree:

 

 

 

• 
   
  
• "5" is a pass, but just barely...
   
  
• 6 ok
   
  
• 7 is very good but not memorable
   
  
• 8 memorable, but not the best ever
   
  
• 9 totally excellent, have recommended or raved
   
  
• 10 the best EVER
   
  

 

 

 

Food:

 

Sabor 10+++ :D (totally memorable, I'll be talking about this for a while)

 

Giovanni's 9 (only a 9 because penne salmon didn't have as much bite to it as night #2, it was waaay better on 1st night, 9.5 on night #2)

 

MDR 7

 

WJ 6

 

DL 8 (great venue, best DL in the fleet with view and access to Sports Court viewing deck)

 

 

 

Entertainment:

 

Production Shows 7.5

 

Singers 8 (Rachel was outstanding)

 

Dancers 7

 

Headliner 6 (only one on this cruise: Elton John tribute, wasn't that good imo)

 

1st comedian John Corso 8.5 (this guy was really funny)

 

2nd comedian Jeff McTeague 6 (lots of same material as 2 yrs ago)

 

Caribbean pool band 9!!

 

Latino Band 9.5!!

 

Bubba Band 7

 

Ice Dance Show 10 (one of best crews technically, not a single slip-up and many spins/rotations/etc throughout the routines), great sets

 

Activity Director and staff 8 (trivia, dancing, events)

 

CD John Perry 7 (not as visible as many others, decent job but I'll forget who the CD was on this vacay in less than a year... I'll have to look up this review to remember)

 

 

 

Venues

 

Sports Deck 10 (no brainer now with Florider!)

 

Cosmopolitan Club 9 (great venue for nightclub instead of Dungeon, I like it better up there actually)

 

Boleros 9 (great bartenders! and always standing room out in the isles of people listening or watching the dancers)

 

Studio B 9

 

Promenade 10 (love Voyager Class "cozy" promenade compared to Freedom & Oasis for parades, etc)

 

Casino I didn't use this time (normally play poker)

 

R-Bar I didn't use this either

 

Star Lounge 7 (bland colour scheme, didn't like that room, I'll have to look at pictures on this review to remember)

 

Pool Deck 9 (Perfect sizing, always busy but also exciting that way, great bars)

 

Solarium 4 (sorry, that's a big fail imho)

 

deck 13 forward 1 (per my prev posts and pictures on this area, I hope RCL adds something here as it's very expensive real estate to have totally empty with 2800 people on board imo)

 

 

 

Excursions:

 

Costa Maya 10

 

Roatan 9 (only because of the "issues" with tour guide) else a 10

 

Cozumel 9

 

JSC in Houston 8 (great value include airport tx, need a full day there though)

 

 

 

People

 

Fellow Cruises 10+++++++ (never had an issue with anyone, 80%+ Texan population and y'all are great!!! ... did I say that right, eh? :p)

 

 

 

If you take away the deck 13, Solarium, Star Lounge & WJ (which I didn't go to these areas very much), all the ratings are very good to excellent:D

 

 

 

Overall thought? I'll give this cruise an 8 to 8.5. I brought back great memories of several things and days which absolutely stand out. I had zero expectations about this cruise as it was to be a quick shorter (6 day) getaway in order to get on the Navigator for the 1st time after the refurb, but turned out to be much better than average, with excellent staff, excellent ship and meeting incredibly awesome cruisers!!!!

 

 

 

I really hope you enjoyed my review.... I can't believe how many views this thread has had... unbelievable. I will do a full heavy photo review of my Dec Quantum cruise, and I'll surely take a ton of pictures for everyone. I'm hoping also to sneak away late Aug/early Dec and do a last minute maybe from the Going Going Gone sales... RCL has been offering 150% supplement for solos on Allure recently ;):D .... but I'm kinda also keeping tabs on Vision 10-day to Bermuda and of course Grandeur for 6 or 7 maybe (hello Delacruz??).

 

 

 

H A P P Y C R U I S I N ' E V E R Y O N E ! ! !

I agree with your overall rating of the cruise and especially your rating for fellow cruisers. We met so many nice people everywhere we went. I would not rate the MDR has high as you did. The food was just ok and the servers stretched too thin. It definitely wasn't worth the trouble we went to dressing up to eat there. And the one breakfast we had in the MDR was just bad - cold eggs Benedict. :( I also disagree with your rating of the Bubba Feathers Band. Those guys are really good. I also liked the CD more than you. I prefer my CDs to not be so in your face, and he fit the bill. The show he and the other guy did on TV every morning was pretty funny. This was our first RC cruise in 7 years, but it won't be that long before out next one.

Thank you so much for doing such a wonderful TR. I'm looking forward to reading more of your reviews in the future. And Happy Cruisin' to you too!

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that corner aft balcony looks amazing!! what room number is it?

 

 

 

cant wait for my 1st RC cruise in July!!!

It is room 8390. The balcony was really nice. Often times you could position the lounge chair to lay in the sun, or you could usually find some shade too. It was also a very quiet room. Really the only problem with it is that it is so far from the elevators.

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Great photos! Thank you thank you

 

 

 

Not bad form if I do say so myself, hehe.... they burned me on the scoring....plenty of people giving me 4's and 5's but the Activcity Guy had this thing rigged for the big 330lb guy to win :rolleyes::p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right back at'ya

 

 

 

 

 

 

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kw totally scored one of the best deals on this cruise, what, about 3 weeks out kw?? This corner aft balcony came avail at a super cheap price and she nabbed it. Good for you!! Say, I think you mentioned in an earlier post you might do a review... are you?

We watched the belly flop contest from the Cosmopolitan Lounge and had a great view. We agree that the big guys weren't the best - no form at all. Biggest splash per pound had to to to the first guy, who was the smallest participant.

We booked that cabin two weeks before the sail date. Probably the best deal we've gotten on a cabin. I loved that balcony but it was a LONG way from the elevators!

Yes - doing a review is on my to-do list (my long list) for this weekend! It has been hard going back to the salt mines this week after such a relaxing vacation last week!

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I did the Make a Wish walk too. DH was just taking lots of pics to practice with the new camera. I found these 2 I thought you might like.

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We were on this cruise and think it was one of out better cruises. Thanks for doing a review. Your pics are beautiful.

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I've been to both ports and agree Costa Maya is definitely better than Belize. We just did this itinerary last week and loved it.

That is funny about your driver trying to get you to leave early. A similar thing happened to us with our Island Marketing driver. She came and told us we were going to have to leave early because the ship was going to leave an hour earlier because it got in early. We were also at Bananarama. We called her on that and told her they announced the back on board time before we left. They wouldn't change after everyone was off the ship. She called someone and then told us we had to leave no later than 2pm. We had been there all day so we said ok. It turned out that the real reason we needed to leave early was because instead of going straight back to the ship, we had to go to Anthony Key on the other side if the island and pick up two other passengers who were having a spa day over there. We had enjoyed enough of the beach that day and we were enjoying the company of the other people in our group so we found the situation more amusing than annoying. Luckily they caught me on a good day. [emoji39]

Antibiotics are no longer avaialble OTC in Mexico. I was just there. You cannot buy them any longer with out an Rx. New law.

Diet pills (phentermine) are no longer available without an Rx either. Retin-a is still available but much more expensive than it use to be. I remember buying it for $8 a tube. Then it went to $13, then $18, then $37. When I inquired last week they were asking $51 per tube!

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We were on that sailing and totally agree with you. We were not aware anything had happened until the Capt made the announcement. But if I had been someone waiting on that 4pm show, I would have really wanted to know what happened.

We were on this sailing and also had a wonderful time. I think we met more friendly people on this trip than any other cruise we've done. We also enjoyed the meet and greet and cabin crawl. (Our cabin was that corner aft.). Those suites were beautiful and we may have to upgrade at least to a JS next time.

Hoopster thanks so much for posting this review. I'm going to try to do my own this weekend. I will include a link to yours so people can see you beautiful photos.

Thank you for all the replies!

We have an E1 balcony booked on the Navigator. It is cabin 8390, a corner aft. Can anyone tell me if this cabin will have a mini-fridge? Thanks!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one confused by the website. I went thru the exact scenario this past weekend, and even printed everything twice also!

Is the manatee encounter at 3:30 which last 45 minutes, doable if our ship sets sail at 6:00?

Yes. I would leave right after the encounter though.

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Just saw pictures of aft corner balcony on the revamped Navigator and it looks like it only has 2 chairs and a small table. Are there no longer loungers on these balconies?

We will be in one on May 4. If there is not a lounger, I'm going to ask for one. I will report back with the results.

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What ship are you on? Where do you dock? What times are you in port? I know that NCL docks directly in front of Maya Key and it's a 5 minute boat ride there. When we went we left the dock at around 9am and the last boat going back to the ship was at 3:30 (we were leaving port around 4 I think). So we were able to spend the entire day there (even though when we booked it said that you only get a few hours). There were boats leaving all day to take you back whenever you wanted. But I'm not sure if this was just because we were docked right there or what. It's just my opinion, but if it was me, I would still do it for the 4 hours or so. The snorkeling was just that amazing and we are just like you...we like to be the first one's off and last one's on when possible. :D

We are on Navigator of the Seas, docking at Coxen Hole, in port from 8-4:30. We have to be back on board at 4:00. The excursion description says that boats back leave every half hour so I'm sure 3:30 would be the last boat back for us too.

DH and I went back and looked at your review, and while Maya Key looks wonderful, we've decided to go back to Bananarama at West Bay. We had a great lunch there, coconut fried shrimp and whole fried fish. The music was wonderful, the snorkeling was great. And the beach it so big. It was one of our best cruise days. So we are going to try and repeat that. Our underwater camera died the day before we got to Roatan last year. But we've replaced it so hopefully I'll be able to post some good fish pics when we get back.

Thanks for all of the help you give on these boards. I always look forward to your reviews.

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I have snorkeled both, but I'm not sure that "my" comparision is a good one.

 

When we went to West Bay it had rained the day before and we heard that this had stirred up the water a bunch. We did find that once you got a little further out, it got a lot clearer. We snorkeled along the iguana wall and not in the area that they say is the "kidney" shape. There is a thread HERE that discusses where to go to make your way around the area.

 

Here's a "snorkeling map"

 

 

 

There seems to be a pattern as to which way you have to go to wind in and out of West Bay so that you can make it out to the drop off or to keep from getting caught in the wrong area where there's very shallow coral and can hurt yourself or the coral.

 

Now for Maya Key (and this is just my opinion). I thought it was awesome snorkeling there and VERY easy to do. You drop right in and you are there. They have a huge path (which is very easy to follow and it's flagged) to follow to take you right out to the drop off. It's amazing. I have never seen so much coral and marine life all in one spot. I enjoyed it more than West Bay, plus there were a lot of other things to do there on the island (and included food and a pool along with the animals). I know a lot of people say that West Bay is a gorgeous beach, but to us, the beach itself was just another beach and didn't really impress me. Plus you had the people trying to sell you things that don't leave you alone. None of that at Maya Key.

 

So yes, you can tell where I would pick, but that's just me. I have reviews of both places listed in my signature along with photos if you are interested. :)

Thanks for your reply. I remember reading your Maya Key review before. I will have to go back and look at it again. I started to go ahead and book the Maya Key excursion, but the only departure time still available in 10:30. We have to be back on board by 4pm. Do you think that would give us enough time at Maya Key? We are the type who like to be first ones off and last ones on, so a late start like that goes against our nature!

We could book the West Bay Beach Break through Island Marketing for half the cost of Maya Key. They would pick us up 30 min after the ship docks and take us to Bananarama at West Bay, where we have been before and did enjoy. We would get more beach time that way.

Decisions, decisions!!

Here are pictures of Corner After Balcony 8390 on Navigator of the Seas. We just returned from the first cruise after dry dock so all the upholstery, carpet & drapes are new. The only negative to me was the single door with a half window instead of a double sliding balcony door, but I got used to it. The outside views from the balcony made it worthwhile:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balcony:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so excited to find this post! We have this cabin booked on the May 4th sailing. I wonder if it would be possible to get a lounge chair put on the balcony.

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Thanks for the quick reply! Is there a certain time you normally go to dinner? We will probably want to go between 6:30 - 7:30.

How difficult is it to get a table for 2 when doing My Time Dining?

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We spent the day with Cresencio last year and would not hesitate recommending him. First we asked him to take us to McDonalds, because we we were so tire of NCL food. That was our first experience with a Mexican drive thru. We have been to Cozumel many times and have done a lot of things. We asked him to show us some of the actual city of San Miquel, where locals live and work. We saw residential areas, the hospital, government buildings, etc. He took us to a small ceynote in town where a local volunteer gave us a tour, explaining and pointing out local plant and wildlife. After that we went to the San Gervase ruins, which while not as beautiful or complete as Tulum, were still nice. It was pleasant walking thru the jungle between the ruin sites. After that we went to Coconuts on the east side where we invited him to join us for lunch. We enjoyed learning about his family and life in Cozumel. After that we continued on around the east side, stopping at a couple of places for photos and or shopping. He gave my son pointers on bartering with the vendors that really paid off. At the end of the tour we had him drop us off at the Mega Super Store for a little shopping. He will have a cooler of bottled water, so you will not worry about being thirsty. You will enjoy your day with him. You can find him on Facebook under Black Hat Cozumel.

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Has anyone snorkeled at both of these locations? Which one was best? Would love to see some comparative photos.

Thanks!

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It has a single door not a slider.

 

http://images.cruizr.com/U-Royal-Caribbean-Adventure-of-the-Seas-8390-4f3c7db43936a.jpg

 

Post # 9 has pictures of the cabin

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=36925448

Thanks so much for those links Jim! I'm really excited now!