Navigator of the Seas Feb 5th review

This was my first Royal Caribbean cruise as I have sailed Carnival 5 times prior and wanted to try something new. Also my wife and I were celebrating a child-free 15th anniversary cruise.

First off, I will post as things come to mind but want to state that we really had a great time overall and will book on RC sometime in the future.

So let's get started: I liked how RC handled online checkin and printing of luggage tags, pretty self sufficient. The last time I sailed was in 2007 where Carnival would mail them to us but that was a long time ago and tech changes all the time.

Galveston port was the same as I remembered except we sailed out of terminal 2 this time.

Checking in was a breeze, we got there at 11:30 and were onboard, drink in hand by Noon.

We decided to walk the ship, something we like to do to get our bearings so we don't have any last minute scheduled items we would like to do but only panic when we can't find it :P

The ship is beautiful, a very different style than what we also equally enjoyed on prior cruises. The ship is enormous and navigating it, while i still always confused fore and aft, you can go the length of the ship from most floors and the new LCD navigation finders are awesome and came in handy! You can search anything and it will tell you how to get there.

This was our first RC cruise as i said so i can't really give comparisons as to other RC experiences or what has changed, but from a newbie's point of view, we were pleased with what was introduced to us as new and improved.

Starting with the Virtual Balcony. I read some other reviews but from the internet searching i had done for expectations i got what i expected it to be and a little more as I am a programmer by trade and enjoy new tech. It is a floor to ceiling LCD screen with remote to lower volume or turn it off and on. I have a youtube video if you wish to see a video of it in day and night mode and also when it does not work.

You can skip this part if you are not interested in the tech or issues with it.

First as I said it did work but for only a 1 1/2 days then it was nothing but Redhat Linux (operating system) network pushed home screens of the desktop to then dropping the signal all together to the LCD to then awaking to the same Linux desktop.

I was intrigued by it and love tech so I actually got to work with 3 IT guys from RC helping them debug its behavior. They were pleased with the details i gave and showed me how it worked.

First you have several cameras on deck and that is important because the video server sends the correct live image to your stateroom orientation or if it did not do this, you could experience sea sickness. Then it detects night and day mode which will change the CGI balcony rail and floor image to the appropriate light and shadow effect.

The video server to shorten does the appropriate conversion from outside cameras to the network which then pushes over Linux to your node LCD screen which is a little box inside the the bottom of the LCS behind a panel.

I like how RC pushes the edge with stuff like this no matter how corny it may be to some. To me when it worked, it was very useful, if i woke up at night it helped me gauge the time as when i had window or balcony rooms before. For example going to the bathroom at 6:30 yielded beautiful early morning scenes that then i knew the day was about to start vs having nothing but a clock. It was just really nice.

more to come

having the virtual balcony NOT work may be problematic. I've booked one on Quantum's inaugural and I'll be highly upset if it doesn't work. I had to pay a premium for this type of cabin. I could have booked a cheaper cabin but wanted to see what it was all about. I may squawk at Guest Services to comp me if the darn thing doesn't work for most of my cruise. They sold me a virtual balcony, not working means I have a regular interior cabin and am not getting what I paid for.

having the virtual balcony NOT work may be problematic. I've booked one on Quantum's inaugural and I'll be highly upset if it doesn't work. I had to pay a premium for this type of cabin. I could have booked a cheaper cabin but wanted to see what it was all about. I may squawk at Guest Services to comp me if the darn thing doesn't work for most of my cruise. They sold me a virtual balcony, not working means I have a regular interior cabin and am not getting what I paid for.

We did get comped for our next cruise, Guest services did this voluntarily too which I thought was a nice gesture.

Part 2.

The Royal Promenade, let me start with that. It feels very much like one of my local malls, restaurants, stores and etc... I think pictures make it look bigger than in real life, but it was very cool. The last day Circus Parade was something i enjoyed, they put a lot of work into it.

Cafe Promenade, this is like a little La Madeleine to me, the cakes/pastries and complimentary coffee/tea were nice with the addition of StarBucks but I am not a Starbucks fan, now if they had Duncan Donut's coffee... different story. Nice ambiance there and the outside tables are a nice touch when it's not too crowded.

Some negatives, don't sell alcohol there or simply just have a line just for alcohol/soda/water, the lines get too long for Coffee that takes longer in my opinion to make because everyone wants some sort of "frapa or late something or other" vs a simple gin & tonic but no matter, one line for it all. There is another bar at the other end and a pub in the middle but i found not all bars are equal, some have specific brands of alcohol while others did not. I will get more into bars later though.

We hung out at the pub twice with the old whisky barrels and stools, nice touch. I had a couple of good single malt scotch there.

Vintages, we went once as it had quite a few private parties there during the cruise. It is a nice wine bar, good ambiance.

My wife enjoyed the shops, but wow does it get crowded and hard to navigate through the promenade when the sales are going on. With booths in the middle and sides and all the customers...the promenade reminded me of my own malls during black friday.

Next up Bars and the new Beverage Packages

Part 3.

Bars and Beverage Packages....

I went with Premium, i like to drink and definitely got my money's worth. However, not all bars are created equally and neither is the opinion of each bartender's perspective on how the beverage purchases work or what is/is not covered.

Ok, no souvenir cup in cabin day 1, on day 2 i found out i could ask for one and did get one. But what was frustrating is not everyone is on the same page. The Cafe wanted to charge me for a bottle of water while others did not. Later found out it was part of the package. One Bar wanted to charge me for the coke portion of my Rum and coke.... huh? They said soda was not part of Premium that is was only alcohol..... later found out that yes soda was included. Each time they said, just go to customer service and they will refund you... huh?

Anyway it is so nice to just order and get drinks without signing for a charge.... very nice feeling.

Not all bars are equal, the Schooner Bar, Cosmopolitan are good to go with the Brands i wanted like Mount Gay Rum. But the friendliest where the R Bar, Schooner and the Bar in the theater, those bar tenders rocked even if they did not have what i wanted. Finding Diet tonic water was a chore but like i said the theater bartender knew where some was and brought a few bottles to his location knowing i liked it for each night we went. Kudos Kudos.

Next "special drinks" oh so dang frustrating!!!!!! Let me explain, Sabor a specialty restaurant and Izumi first Izumi ROCKS!!!!!! holy cow was it good, the best restaurant on the ship. Anyway more on that later, Sabor we did not try but our friends did and they have a spicy margarita OHHHHHH SOOOO GOOOOD! Izumi has a Sakitini which is vodka/sake special mix with cocktail onions.... OHHHH SOOOO GOOOD :P I drank so many of those that I cant count em. lol Ok here is the frustrating part.... my friends introduced me to the Sabor drink at the schooner bar as they assist the restaurant in making them. Sabor said we could order them outside the restaurant but when you ask the schooner bar they were hesitant... then they would make them but said it was not covered by our packages even though they were in the actual restaurant. They stated they had to charge us because it is a "special drink" however when rung up it was $9... huh my package covers up to $10 value and my friends $12.. customer service fixed it and we did our best to get the message through.

Sakitini was harder, the Cosmo bar tender gave me a super hard time, it was not about charging this time but simply being able to order one from the Cosmo bar. I mean ..... eh... Izumi said it was ok and he had to go each and every time to ask them.... really? Anyway, i waited patiently each and every time because that drink is well worth it.

We loved the Salsa bar for its dancing music, the drinks and bartenders were good too. The wife and I love to dance so we frequented that place a lot.

Schooner is so much fun with trivia and live music, always a fun time to be had there.

My man in the R Bar, he was a joy to talk to, he got a promotion with RC so he was happy and knew how to serve a scotch.

But Ronnie said it was working pretty well and that they were turning these on and off, in other words they were controlling the times of no video feed and no sound. And that after tweaking they would turn it on full. He mentioned just some problems with the remote and that after tweaking this he'd be leaving Navigator.

I will ask him about this when I email him. I'm supposed to talk to him about my beta test for it.

But Ronnie said it was working pretty well and that they were turning these on and off, in other words they were controlling the times of no video feed and no sound. And that after tweaking they would turn it on full. He mentioned just some problems with the remote and that after tweaking this he'd be leaving Navigator.

 

I will ask him about this when I email him. I'm supposed to talk to him about my beta test for it.

Yea there were quite a few with issues according to the tech i spoke to and RCI apologized as they comped us, the tech i spoke to said cameras were not correct per the vendor but that turning them off was to correct a bug because remotes were not working for those that could not turn them off like mine but i would have left it on, i had blinds and like the scenes. Most of the time we had a Linux home screen and that the IR unit was not correct according to the tech.

Our remote never worked. But when both the video and sound were on, it was heaven!

Our remote never worked. But when both the video and sound were on, it was heaven!

I know, it is a awesome feature.

Yea there were quite a few with issues according to the tech i spoke to and RCI apologized as they comped us, the tech i spoke to said cameras were not correct per the vendor but that turning them off was to correct a bug because remotes were not working for those that could not turn them off like mine but i would have left it on, i had blinds and like the scenes. Most of the time we had a Linux home screen and that the IR unit was not correct according to the tech.

I asked you about this on your other thread and this answers my question.

Thanks

Be sure to read the other parts, some have their own threads as I thought for specific questions that have been asked it would be easier to find when not buried in a Feb 5th review.

So to rehash and where to find the whole review.

Part 1 is the virtual balcony and it also has its own thread here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1988148

Part 2 is on about the Royal Promenade

Part 3 is about the Bars and drink package experience

Part 4 is about the Photo Nightmare i had and has its own thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1988728

Part 5 is about Izumi and the Saketini, mmmm good.. has its own thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1988159

Part 6, coming up will be on the FANTASTIC Ice Dance show! ... on this thread too :P

Was the staff a regular mix of nationalities? We were on Mariner before it went to the Orient and had a few issues with communication between us and the mostly oriental staff.

Was the staff a regular mix of nationalities? We were on Mariner before it went to the Orient and had a few issues with communication between us and the mostly oriental staff.

There was a mix from many countries, Russia, Costa Rica, Brazil, India, Philippines, Hungry from the staff i met. No communication issues.

When i get to the windjammer part, i had an issue not with communication but with too much and not so good Indian Food. More on that in my windjammer part.

Part 6, The Ice Dancing Show.

WOW! This was the best show on the sea across both cruise lines that i have ever seen. Such talent and how incredible in such a small space. The detail to costumes and themes were just fantastic. They had an acrobat ring segment which was stunning! I don't know how some have pictures as flash photos were prohibited, but i guess I will try next time.

Some tips: order your drinks early, get to the show early so that you can find good seating... HOWEVER, while they do issue tickets complimentary, both shows were never filled up. So at least on my cruise it would have been ok to go to the show without a ticket. So sad the seats were not filled, maybe half for such a fantastic show! The same went for the last performance in the main theater, about half full. Maybe everyone was at the slots :P

I will admit that i like a nice sit down lunch and dinner but all too often i wont make the seating for lunch. So as with my past cruises, to the buffet we go ;)

Where do i start....? Well, it was never really crowded and we always had an open table and great service. Many times we were asked for drinks and taking the empty dishes.

Super friendly staff throughout the windjammer EXCEPT!!!!! >> What is with myself and others in a line only told to go to the other side as it was closed...supposedly.... I had my plate about half full then waited in the "other side" line to finish getting what i wanted to then come back to the "original side" and find people there??? Huh???

Next, the food was so so, i have had better... i am not much for burgers, chili, hot-dogs and such. THat left me with "so so" Indian food and i like Indian food but not so much what they had. It was fine the first day but it was the same menu every day... huh? Indian food is pretty niche from most i know and i get the international theme so why not change it up???

I ended up having more salads than ever.... good salad bar too. I wish they would have grilled chicken strips to put on the salad.

Breakfast was good, THANK YOU FOR HAVING TURKEY SAUSAGE! I also liked the flavored water they had in the windjammer. Had they changed up the international food up daily, it would have been perfect... maybe next time.

Does Prom Cafe still have the free 'Seattle's Best' coffee ?

Does Prom Cafe still have the free 'Seattle's Best' coffee ?

I could not say, I remember Starbucks which was $ and further in the cafe they had complimentary coffee and tea but whether it was Seattle's best, i don't know.

Thanks, likely was S.B., good:)