My View: The ABC Islands on Navigator of the Seas (A picture heavy trip report)

We just returned from our 25th cruise adventure!

Just in case you have not seen or heard enough of the post Thanksgiving 9-day ABC cruise on Navigator of the Seas, I will be sharing my views too. :) (I was on the same sailing as iahawkfan21 and moopetguy, who posted a live review from the ship.)

As always, my biggest regret about this cruise is that my countdown clock now says, “SAILED!”

I will try to get this trip report done within 9 days, posting one day of the cruise per day. I always try to mark tips in red and bold, but the app will not always display this. So, I will have to edit posts on the website for that purpose.

If you skim-read, just try to look for the TIPS!

This will be picture-heavy…

Our itinerary included the following:

Stay at Hampton Inn Brickell pre-cruise

Labadee: Parasailing

Curaçao: Just walk around Willemstad and see Christmas lights

Bonaire: Mangroves, Flamingoes and Beach

Aruba: Trikes!

Hope to help you plan your future cruise through this trip report!

For my fellow geeks, here is the price tracking I have been doing for this cruise. We had $244 in OBC, and we booked the corner aft (7688) for the three of us. Due to the high demand of this cabin, we always book early. As you can see in the chart, the price dropped only 1 time below what we had paid. This was past final payment.

Our price was $2611. The last column shows the price increase/decrease. Price decreased one time by $9.

We stayed in the Hampton Inn Brickell, which was a very relaxing experience following a nerve wracking drive down I-95. After encountering multiple rain showers and a total of 7 car accidents between Daytona and Miami, the excellent service and free glass of wine at the Hampton Inn were just what we needed to unwind.

The security at the hotel is excellent. You can not go to any of the hotel floors with rooms without your key card. You have to swipe the key card in the elevator to select the higher floors with rooms.

As part of our Florida rate ($168 with taxes), we received 2 free glasses of wine and 50% off parking ($11). We decided to park at the port, as we saw many poor reviews of off-site parking. We also had a 5-hour drive back home, and decided the convenience would be worth it - not having to wait for a taxi or shuttle.

A few pictures of the Hampton Inn:

The view from our room:

We did not go out after our extended trek down I-95, as it was Thanksgiving night and we were exhausted. We packed our lunch and dinner, as we were unsure how easy it would be to find a budget restaurant on Thanksgiving Day. It is all part of our extensive “cruise budget”. :)

Nice start with photos! Will be following along.

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Embarkation day will follow tomorrow night, after I complete my "day job".

Stay tuned to find out why our long wait to embark was not the worst in our cruise history. :)

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I like the price tracking, that's impressive.

Following along, looking forward to the review. We will be on her for the same itinerary in March. I really like that price tracker you did. I think I am going to have to steal that idea. :cool:

Following along, loved your worksheet.

Enjoying your posts including the photos.

Keith

Love your reviews so looking forward to reading. I'm the same with price tracking and marking it down. [emoji2]

Hope you had a great cruise.

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Following

I am excited for your report! :D

I should hire you to be my TA with that price tracking! WHEW! I thought I was good but dang! Can't wait to see pics of ABCs. Were there last January and loved them!

This is a cruise we would like to do. Thank you!

Anxious to see and hear more, sailing on her 2 Mar. Thx in advance for the review!!

looking forward to reading more

Awesome review. I'm leaving Friday for the 9 night! Can't wait!

price tracking was super cool

Looking forward to your review...especially the Trikes in Aruba; we are booked for that excursion in March!

Following along

That way I can see what a great cruise we all just had;p

it was so good we are looking to book it again:D:D

Following! Great review so far!

Hi, everyone! Thanks for following along! Sorry for the delay... trying to catch up on my day job, laundry, homeschooling, and a Spanish class. Now I can enter my favorite part of the day... Reliving my cruise while sharing with you.

Coming up: Embarkation in Miami

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I like the price tracking, that's impressive.

:) I have 23 of those spreadsheets!

Awesome review. I'm leaving Friday for the 9 night! Can't wait!

Fun! I will try to post as fast as I can. Unfortunately, it will be a busy week for me. I will say, this was one of our favorite cruises ever (not the ship, but the islands and staff). We did like the ship and LOVED the balcony, but Oasis class is our favorite.

Enjoy your cruise!

I should hire you to be my TA with that price tracking! WHEW! I thought I was good but dang! Can't wait to see pics of ABCs. Were there last January and loved them!

LOL! I wish I could be a TA and make as much as I do for my current day job... that would be my dream :D