cmason

My understanding has always been that this was advised if the mother and children had different last names. Don't think I have heard of this needed in any other situation, but I do not have any direct experience,

I don't know why, but I really look forward to the corn beef hash in the WJ.

It is nowhere near the best hash I have had, but I think it the opportunity to have it every day, and that alone is the best thing. Combine with a fresh cooked egg, and that is a great start of the day.

The Ping pong tables are in the Sports Deck area, next to the Rock Climbing Wall. They are usually tucked by the glass windows either on the Rock Wall level or just below (basketball court level), as it's impossible to play ping pong with any wind.

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It does not take long to get a passport renewed, something like 6 weeks at most via US mail. Having a valid passport is much easier, as it is the only document you need, and of course it allows you to go anywhere, not just a Caribbean cruise.

Send it in early summer, you will get it back in plenty of time. If you renew it in, say June, you have 234 months rather than 240 months of use of that passport, so I would not really consider that a 'waste'.

Most carriers, including airlines and cruises, want to see at least 6 months left on a passport. If you have less, they will often reject them. I suspect this is because this is a common rule for countries issuing visas etc. go ahead and renew, they are good for 10 years, it does not take long, and you have lots of time.

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Reading the Cruise Compass, I didn't realize that RCCL now openly admits that Labadee is in Haiti, rather than the "Hispaniola" generic name they previously used to hide the fact that it was in Haiti.

My last Caribbean cruise I went on it was still "Hispaniola" (sort of like saying the State of North Carolina is in 'North America')

Weather looks beautiful, enjoy your day on one of my favorite places: Labadee, HAITI! :)

For Cayman Islands, I recommend Eden Rock for some snorkeling. It is within short walking distance of where the tender drops you off, and the Eden Rock Diving Center is a great bunch of folks where you can rent snorkeling gear, or bring your own. We bring our own. Just behind the dive shop are several concrete steps leading into the water where there is really great snorkeling, with coral and fish aplenty. The dive shop even has a fresh water shower to rinse your gear off, all at no charge. I went and bought a bunch of t shirts just to say thanks.

Here is where the snorkeling spot and dive shop are:

Google Maps

If you look 'up' you will see a marker for "Cayman Island National Museum". the piers opposite this is where the ship tenders dock.

Since it is so close you will likely have time to grab lunch in town and even take a cab to the beaches nearby.

Here is the latest listing of RCCL "Connected at Sea" Wifi/Internet fees: (link takes you to scan of the flyer from Navigator of the Seas)

Enjoy

The ships do support cell phones, but they charge a huge fee to use it, plus roaming fees from your carrier.

If you are taking your phone just for worries about your bank calling you, be sure to call the bank/credit card before you leave, and tell them where you will be traveling, so that when that charge comes thru, they are not surprised.

Otherwise, on my last cruise (in Europe), I kept my phone off until we were in or near port, then turned it on to check for any calls or messages. I never connected to the ship system due to the fees. I have a Verizon phone that also supports GSM in Europe.

Roma Shuttle picked us up at 900am, and we made our 1230pm flight with plenty of time to spare, including passports, checking luggage and even some last minute shopping to get rid of Euros in our pockets.

Eastern Mediterranean Cruise - Navigator of the Seas, June 2012

Review Summary:

We loved the ports, enjoyed the familiar ship, but our fellow passengers could be a challenge. It was a vacation of a lifetime.

Review:

Its been a year now since our cruise, so I thought I would look back on it and provide a review. We are a family of 4, my wife and I, and our two daughters, aged 13 and 16. We were interested in exposing our kids to other cultures as they grow up, so that these experiences can inform their growth and tolerance of others. My wife and I have done travel for pleasure, and I have done extensive travel all over the world for work. This was my fifth cruise, as my wife and I have gone alone on two other cruises on Royal Caribbean, and two additional RCCL cruises with the kids, prior to this one. Overall, we loved the ports, enjoyed the familiar ship, and were not impressed with many of our fellow passengers. The food was good as usual. Our entire vacation was fantastic, and definitely a trip to remember forever.

We took advantage of my large collection of airline miles, and booked seats on American Airlines for Rome. We wanted to tour Rome for several days before the cruise, and take in the sights. In Rome, and many other European cities, it is very rare to find hotel rooms with 2 queen beds, as is typical in the US. And visiting Rome in the high season, summer, is a guaranteed way to pay an arm and three legs for a hotel room, never mind 2. So, I investigated apartments on Homeaway.com and Airbnb.com. I emailed and telephoned several owners regarding their properties, and chose one I found on Homeaway.com. We booked a 1 bedroom/pull out couch apartment near the main Rome train station, in one of the better neighborhoods for 95 euro a night. We used public transport to see as many sites in the city as we could including the Vatican, Colosseum, Forum, and toured through many beautiful streets, enjoying food and especially for my kids: gelato. I won't write a Rome review here, but it is not to be missed.

Photos from the cruise can be found here http://digitalmason.smugmug.com/Travel/Cruises/Navigator-of-the-Seas-Eastern-) and several are linked in the review below.

Overall impressions and thoughts on the cruise:

This is our second time on Navigator, third time on a Voyager class ship. She still looks like new, and the cabins have been updated since we were last aboard. For this cruise, there were 3300 guests on board, so the ship was nearly full. They consisted of about 1/3 Italian, 1/3 USA and 1/3 other European/Asian. The ship 'felt' like a busy town in Italy, and the 'pace' of life on the cruise felt very different to this American. It was not as relaxed as Caribbean cruises, and I feel that the European meal culture was partly to blame: the Late dinner seating was packed, with over 300 on the waiting list. Most Europeans eat dinner much later than American's so they all wanted the late dinner seating. We switched to early seating and got our choice of tables. This also meant that the Windjammer was crowded at dinner time, but almost unusable at lunch. My impression was that larger Italian families were gathering around several tables in the Windjammer, and enjoying a long, leisurely lunch. The trouble is, the Windjammer is not designed for low table turnover, and guests would spend 20 minutes circling looking for a table. Lines for food were long as well. It was manageable, but just different to what I had witnessed on four other RCCL cruises. This was our first cruise where it felt full. On sea days, the pool was packed, with folks lounging for hours. There was not much 'towel-holding' of chairs, and RCCL crew patrolled, but mostly there just were not many chairs available.

The Windjammer was very crowded at lunch, and the crowd was unusually pushy and rude. Usually, I am embarrassed for Americans acting stereotypically pushy and acting as if they own the ship, but they have nothing on this mostly European crowd. Often, people would walk thru Windjammer like there is no one there, breaking lines, grabbing tongs in front of you. If you are not watching, someone will bump into you. Now, I understand and embrace the culture that values family time, where everyone joined for lunch and enjoyed one another's company for hours, But when other families are hovering, waiting for a free table, I would hope that flexibility was available, to move to another, less crowded location to enjoy each others company. I really get it that this is part of the culture, but I only wish that being considerate was part of it as well.

I am not one to look for things to complain about, and I am definitely not a demanding traveler. I am very patient. But, had this been my first cruise, I would never cruise again. We met a couple on the train back to the ship in Athens. This was their first cruise, and they were divided: he was enjoying it, she hated it. She specifically didn't like crowds of pushy people. This being our third cruise on a Voyager-class ship, one thing that we, and others note, is that these ships never seem crowded. They did on this cruise.

We had a glass balcony, cabin 8656, which was fabulous, as there was always land nearby and the sea was amazingly calm. The room was typical RCCL, but sadly, still had the old style tube TV, which these days is really bulky. When we sailed on Freedom of the Seas, we liked the new furniture that utilized a flat screen TV to open up the room more. We enjoyed our balcony.Well worth it for this cruise. The ship broadcast World Cup soccer (football) during the cruise, using all the bars and even the main theater for a few of the games.

Turkey, Crete and Athens ports are incredible, and worth the entire cruise. Sicily is not very interesting. It is so close to Rome that the ship must go very slow, which is a nice break for getting your sea legs. But the port is missable in my opinion. They only stop to take on local travelers, as this is an embarkation/debarkation point as well.

Ephesus was a memory of a lifetime, don't miss it. We hired Ephesus Shuttle, and we were delighted with it. Ephesus is nearly an hour drive away, so having a tour guide really is important. Tour the Terrace homes, and pay the extra fee, you won't regret it. Mary's house is miserable, as it is underwhelming and over crowded. Expect to wait in line 30 mins to get a 2 min glimpse of what is really just a shrine. We appreciated the experience and the gifts we bought, but otherwise, I would not recommend it.

Athens is also fantastic. It is fairly easy to get to the Acropolis by walking to the train station. If your itinerary supports it, shop in the morning and tour Acropolis after lunch, as there are no crowds then. Morning is completely jammed, and will take 3 hours total to buy tickets and see the sights.

Crete is a lovely stop, beautiful seaside shopping district, but otherwise not much to see. Sicily (Messina) is a good time to stay onboard and enjoy the pool.

Reviews for each day:

Day 1

On the day of our cruise, we took the train from Rome's main station Termini to Civitavecchia. Booking from a kiosk at the station, we boarded and took the approximately one hour trip to the port. The train was crowded with locals heading out to the beach, so it was very crowded until just before our destination. We unloaded at Civitecchia, and pulled our rolling bags down the street to the port entrance. Confusingly, there were no signs, so simply walk north (turn right on exit of the train station) along the sidewalks. It was a leisurely walk along the smooth sidewalks, and we were joined by about 8 others that were heading our way. It took about 10-15 mins walk. Its not obvious where the buses to the cruise terminal were. They are located in front of the "fort", on the left hand side of the street. There is a loading area just for these buses. After a quick ride, we were at the ship. We checked in thru a simple terminal, carried our own luggage on, and were on board in time for lunch. Our room was ready after 1pm. We met our Cruise Critic group by the pool later that afternoon.

As usual for Royal Caribbean, We did have a lifeboat drill prior to departure, though unlike others, we were not asked to return to cabins to get life preservers (actually makes sense). Really, nothing different than on any other RCCL cruise, where safety is always taken seriously. I think amny passengers welcomed it, especially as the sunken Costa ship was only a few miles up the coast. You always see crew members doing drills on port days, and if you look closely, fire drills happen in the public spaces during the day.

The only snafu for the day was our dining room assignment. My wife hates dining with strangers, so we always do a four topper. Since every prior cruise has resulted in us getting our request, I didn't think to check, but this time we were surprised when shown to our table for ten. We requested our own table immediately, but it wasn't possible: the high percentage of European passengers wanted late seating, as is typical in Europe, so they were having trouble seating everyone. We agreed to early dining to get our desired table, and then headed to the Windjammer for our first dinner. The Windjammer was ok, the selection was a bit different than usual, and we had a hard time finding items we wanted; we are not picky and love trying new things, but the selection was not really to our taste, nor did it match what was being served in the dining room.

Day 2

Day 2 finds us in Messina, Sicily. Port is directly in town. We head for the Windjammer, finding it impossibly crowded. After two trips around the Windjammer we finally find a spot. Cooked to order eggs and corned beef hash are tasty. I love their corned beef hash, possibly because its so bad for me, I never have it any other time!

After the kids rock climb, (by themselves) and a round of ping pong, we go into town to watch the clock tower at noon. It is quite a site and an unusual clock tower, which animates at noon, only slightly dampened by all the hawkers trying and sometimes succeeding in selling junk. We walked up a few shopping streets, went to COIN (a department store) which was expensive it turns out, and then returned to the ship for late lunch. Messina is a port you can easily skip and enjoy the ship, thought its simple to get on and of, as the dock is literally in the center of town. We chose not to try to get to Taormina or Mt Etna, which we heard from others was just average.

Tonite is formal nite, though I only wear slacks and a long sleeve shirt. I have a long standing policy of no ties on vacation. As usual, there was a big range of dress in the dining room, so feel free to wear what you like. Since we were traveling in Europe for two weeks, we had to be very choosy about the clothes we brought, and formal dress missed the cut. As for food, I ordered the 'International Cheese tray' for the table to share, but disappointingly, it had no blue cheese and a stack of Saltines as the only cracker. Not very 'international'.

We went to the show featuring the singers. Not bad.

Day 3

Day 3 is a sea day, as we sail from Messina to Turkey. We sleep late, then to Windjammer for lunch. Again, it's insanely crowded. After a frustrating wait for a table, we settle and get coffee, feeling human again. We head out to the pool deck, and it looks like a human stew, the most crowded I have seen a Voyager class ship. Literally all chairs are taken. Eventually, my better half finds seating on the top deck. The pool staff even run out of towels. Not clean towels, but towels period. They have to go into stores and break out new, replacement towels, still smelling of the plastic bags. The pool staff seem shocked. We stay out most of the afternoon, for fear of losing the chairs. I grab sandwiches at cafe promenade and we eat them by the pool. Eventually we go in to find a pretty bad case of sunburn...oops.

Since we were not especially hungry when our early dinner time rolled around, we opted for a later dinner in the Windjammer, then games on the deck before retiring to the cabin, as we have an early wakeup, with a time change.

Day 4

Day 4 finds us in Turkey and the chance to see Ephesus. I had previously booked Ephesus Shuttle over email. They had suggested 730am, which was brutal, since the time moved ahead one hour the night before. (so it feels like 630am) But we roused the kids, grabbed a pastry n the cafe, and met our guide, Nora, just outside the terminal. She was waiting with a sign, and to our relief, she spoke perfect English. She escorted us through the port area and to our waiting van. Our driver, who spoke no English, was in an enormous passenger van. Rather than a minivan as I pictured it, this was a very well appointed commercial van, something like, but far nicer, as what shuttles you to a local hotel from the airport. The four of us were rattling around in this massive space, but it was extremely comfortable, air conditioned and quiet. We left the town of Kusadasi behind, as went travelled along the coast, and up into the hills. The ride was longer than I thought, a good 25-30 mins. Along the way, Nora talked about the scenery, and eventually the kids started asking questions.

Not long after, the van pulled off the highway and onto a small, narrow road, made even more narrow by the roadside stalls and tourist traps. We had arrived at the entrance to Ephesus Our tour fee included the entrance fee, so we were escorted ahead of the line and breezed thru the entrance. The first introduction to Ephesus is somewhat disappointing...basically a large pile of rocks and a few broken remnants of marble columns. We were shown a few items and then turned the corner to the most amazing ruins I have ever seen. Far more preserved than the Roman Forum, the main street of Ephesus was incredible. Even more so as we were the only ones in sight, and it afforded amazing pictures. All I can say is go early!

The kids delighted at the communal roman toilets, still preserved. We could see the Library in the distance, but turned to enter the Terrace Houses on the left. The houses are a recently excavated, and in fact, undergoing excavation as you walk thru them. Under a protective roof, teams are digging, and reassembling what is the worlds largest jigsaw puzzle, putting together the amazingly preserved frescoes and mosaics that make up the homes. The tour is fantastic. We exited thru a crowd of cats, found all over the site, to the delight of my youngest daughter, who took photos of every cat she saw.

After Ephesus, our driver took us to see Mary's House. Our guide showed us to the line to get into the house, then she retired to a nearby diner to wait. It was a very long 30-45 min wait, with thousands of our best friends. In the end, I found it disappointing. The house itself is nothing more than a shrine, though the idea of it is really interesting. We bought a few mementos to give as Christmas gifts and then were on our way back to the port.

Our guide and driver dropped us off, and we happily tipped them handsomely. We spent some time walking around the bazaar in Kusadasi, where our guide had assured us was quite safe. The vendors were typically aggressive, and our daughters eventually built up the courage to haggle for a few trinkets. We walked back to the ship, washed up for dinner, (where my 'international' cheese tray was waiting on our table, complete with Saltines) and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Day 5

Its Day 5, and its Athens today, the port I have been most looking forward to. We did not rush off, as we were tired from Ephesus We grabbed a quick breakfast in the Cafe Promenade, then headed out. We took the port bus to the main terminal and then began the walk to the train station. It was a bit long but easy. Walk with the port to your left, and when you reach the pedestrian bridge, cross over and enter the train station. €1.40 ticket gets you anywhere, but cash is needed. Credit Cards are accepted at ticket booth. At Piraeus, all trains go the same way, so board on either track. We went to Omnia, and changed to the red line for Akropolis. We reached the Acropolis, only to find every tour bus had reached it at the same time, giving us a 25 min wait for tickets, and a crowded climb up Acropolis in the heat was no fun. At the top it was so crowded that we could see little, we pushed to the west side and it opened up for photos. We listened to Rick Steve's guide book on our phones, but it was hard to hear and move about with all the people. After a while it thinned a bit, and we inspected rest of the Acropolis.

We walked down to Plaka, and walked among the shops. We stopped at restaurant recommended in the Rick Steve's Guide near Monastriki Square. Very good food: kebab on pita, Greek salad, and big beer to share. Note the pita and kebabs were not on menu, basically it's one kebab and a pita for €2.50. We noticed the locals ordering this, and asked the waiter. He seemed reluctant to tell us, then we pointed to the other table we told him that's what we wanted, he suggested four pita wraps and a salad for the four of us. I tipped him well.

Our waiter recommended a nearby bakery where we bought four pistachio baklavas. We ate them immediately. Back to the train station, this time it was the line direct to Piraeus. A number of other folks from the ship were in the same car, after admitting they had paid €20 for a cab in the morning, admitting it was too much. We trudged back along the port, with my daughter photographing every Greek sign she could, finding them fascinating.

We ate in the dining room, then off to the ice show, which was entertaining. We were beat.

Day 6

On Day 6, we got to sleep a bit later, so went to Windjammer for breakfast. Scrambled eggs were, due to my indecision, cold and rubbery, but corned beef hash was nice. ( I keep telling myself to get eggs LAST, but it never works.) Eggs to order are the way to go for sure. We got sunscreened up, then took the bus to Chana. Basically, you get off ship and there is a little booth five steps away that sells tickets for the bus. It's €1.50 each way, so buy two for a return trip. It's a long ride to the other side of the small bit of the island, you definitely can't walk. The bus drops you out in the center of town. Walk left off the bus. There are nice shops and restaurants, and a bit of the old port to explore. Otherwise, not much to do, a nice walk around. Prices for similar items seemed more expensive than in Athens.

The ship left at 3pm, and it was fun watching Crete go by from the bow. Of course deck chairs filled fast again, but the weather was perfect. Enjoyed the balcony with a bucket of beer as the last of our Greek isles receded in the distance. Formal night again and we had the "international " cheese tray was waiting for us at the table. At least tonight blue cheese was included. I ordered the steak, as nothing appealed, but it was not that good. The prime rib was the better choice. Saw the show, retired to room. Time changes back tonight.

Day 7

Day 7 is the last full day of the cruise, and a sea day. We slept in, still exhausted from the tours. Windjammer for breakfast, where I had fried eggs to order, corned beef hash and toast. Took a full circling of the Windjammer to secure a seat. After breakfast, we really didn't have it in us to fight for a seat up by the pool. Pool water was cold, as if they had just brought it from the bottom of the ocean. Instead kids wanted to play miniature golf and ping-pong, so we joined them for a while. After that, we decided it was easier and better to sit on our balcony. When we passed the straits of Messina, I went on deck 4 and bow for photos. Sadly we packed up, and since we all had roller bags, we elected not to leave our luggage out on the last night.

Day 8

Easily the worst day of a cruise is the debarkation day. We had arranged a van via Roma Shuttle Service to take us back to the airport, sharing it with a fellow Cruise Critic member's family. We had a fairly early pickup, but enough time to grab a big breakfast in the Windjammer. We ignored the group announcements and walked off with our luggage right before we were to meet our van. It was an easy trip to the airport, and our vacation was officially over.

Unfortunately, neither port offer on-site car rental agencies.

For Ft. Lauderdale, there is a shuttle service to the FLL airport, where you can choose from any number of car rental agencies, and which somewhat inconvenient, likely offers the most options and cheapest prices. I suspect Hertz Local will pick you up at the port (you take the driver back to the local rental office), however, this usually only weekday service.

Last time I went to Port Everglades (Ft Lauderdale port), I rented a car from Miami Airport, and dropped it off at the Ft Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort Hertz drop off location, and took the hotel shuttle to the port.

Miami is similar: there is no on-site rental car facilities. However there are four car rental agencies that operate shuttle service from the port to their off-port location sites:

• Dollar Rent-A-Car
  
• Hertz Rent-A-Car
  
• Vanguard Car Rental USA (National and Alamo)
  
• Amigo’s Car Rental
  

There is also shuttle service to Miami airport, where again, more car rental options are available. Dropping the car off at the airport, and taking a shuttle or taxi to the port in Miami would be fairly easy, and save you from the somewhat complicated drive onto the port.

Enjoy your trip!

America's Cup Sailboat in St Maarten:

Thanks gumballz and jatdowning, glad you liked them....

just for you jatdowning..."the sign"... :D

Here is one of my favorites, this my wife relaxing on the beach at Labadee:

And then there is this one, memorable because it captures that rare moment when there is no 'chair-hogging' at all :D