Navigator review/Dec 14-19th/long/pics

[dolfandude]

First let me say that I tend to write my reviews like a diary so that I can go back and relive our cruises in future years. So I may get a little long winded but I hope you find it enjoyable and, more importantly, helpful. I make it a point to get and keep all the compasses and other papers that are given out so if you have any questions feel free to ask and I’ll research it for you.

 

We are a family of four. My wife and I are 40 somethings with two daughters 22 and 18. DD22 just graduated from college last week and this cruise was a present to her (Ha! Just another excuse for us to cruise!!) This is our third cruise this year having previously been on the Monarch in January and the Carnival Glory in June (our first Carnival cruise).

This is our 7th cruise overall starting back in 2004.

 

 

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DD22 graduated on Friday Dec 11th in the morning. We left the Savannah area on Saturday and drove to our family place on Cocoa Beach for two nights. The first thing I did on Sunday morning was drive over to Port Canaveral (5 miles) and take a look at the Freedom of the Seas! Wow! What a beautiful ship. We have previously been on the Mariner, Monarch and Majesty RCL ships. The Voyager class Mariner was our first cruise and I’ve been dying to get back to a Voyager class or higher since. The Royal Promenade took my breath away.

 

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We drove the 3 ½ hours to the Port of Miami on Monday morning and arrived at the ship at exactly 11am. Unloaded our bags and parked on the bottom floor of the RCL parking garage. Through security in minutes. No wait at all for registration and we we’re on the ship by 11:25am. WOW! No waiting whatsoever! I can’t explain the feeling of getting your seapass card and walking up the gangway onto the ship! I’m like a little kid on Christmas morning! My three ladies love to laugh at me and that’s OK! Just keep letting me cruise!!

We headed up to the Windjammer to grab some lunch but to our surprise it did not open until noon! This was a first. On our last two RCL cruises we got to the WJ around 11:15 and it was open. No biggie! We headed down to deck 5 to the Royal Promenade to explore. They ship looked beautiful. Some very minor signs of age but nothing that turns your head. Staff still shining the rails. I was impressed.

The shops we not open yet but the Café Promenade and Two Poets Pub were.

 

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For some reason the Royal Promenade seems a little smaller than I remember but I wasn’t disappointed! A huge Christmas tree is standing right outside the Café and a sleigh was in front for photo ops. Being the shutterbug I am I took full advantage and posed everyone in front (what a tourist!).

It was interesting that the Christmas tree was so close to the staircase. On one side you had maybe 18 inches and would brush against it when you passed. The other side wasn’t that much more. No, it’s not a real tree in case you wondered! They’re saving that for the Oasis! ;)

We headed back up to the WJ at noon and it was open. I’m definitely not a food critic so take my opinions with a grain of pepper (?)! I was somewhat disappointed with the WJ food today. Jade usually has some stir fry with meat but didn’t have any. I didn’t see any meat carving stations either (later in the cruise they were open). Indian food was the International choice for the day. I tried some kind of soup, three types of rice and some pork in a mushroom sauce! I was hoping for some Honey Stung chicken but alas, there was none!:( It looked like the burger station was the food of choice as I looked around the room. Disappointed but did it ruin my cruise? NOT! We’ve a very laid back family who roll with the changes and try and make good out of not so good! There are just too many attitudes in this country nowadays! :)

 

After lunch we headed up to see our cabins. It was 12:45 and we were met by a crew member who advised us we had 15 more minutes to wait. We’re on deck 8, the same as the internet café so I went ahead and logged on and choose my rate plan. $55 for 148 minutes. $.37 / minute. Yes, a little expensive, but I have daughters and there’s something called Face Book that they have to access daily! Ha! Who am I kidding? I’m addicted to Face Book and as of last month, so is my wife! I’ve caught up with 10’s of friends whom I haven’t heard from since I graduated high school 30 years ago. It’s an amazing phenomenon and no, I do not work for them! :p

 

We booked about 6 weeks ago. For the first time I booked an interior guarantee for $219! Not bad eh? I was a little apprehensive about where they’d place us and if our daughters would be close. We ended up on the 8th deck and they’re right across the hall from us. Sweet! On the very aft of the ship though and even though we’re 8 decks up, you can still feel the propulsion system all the time! More on that later. The room is actually spacious (158 square feet I think). Plenty of room for the two of us. No real signs of aging. The TV is still the old non-flat screen version.

 

In room combination safe. Mini bar with waters, Red Bull, Coke, Diet Cokes, Sprites, M&M’s and peanuts. No beer or alcohol in the fridge. Sodas are $1.95, Water is $3.95 and the snacks are $4.95.

Two 110V outlets on the make up counter. None on the walls by the bed. I bring a sound machine so I’ll have to plug it in on the counter and not next to my head! Blow dryer in the drawer. Interesting, the blow dryer has an on/off switch that you have to hold down to work! Its made this way! Doesn’t sound like an issue but it was! Did it ruin my cruise? NOT! One interesting thing is that there is a switch to turn on the ships intercom system so you can hear any announcements but….. It also plays the elevator music you hear around the ship. I didn’t notice this on the Monarch or Majesty last year. I really hate it when an announcement is being made but since you’re in your cabin you don’t hear it! Too bad you can’t turn this on and don’t have to listen to the music. It’s kinda hard to watch TV with that playing and not miss an announcement.

More to come. CC is only letting me post 5 pics at a time!

Steve

[dolfandude]

As you can see my photos didn't post! :mad:

Bear with me and I have them shortly!!

[dolfandude]

 

 

 

 

[dolfandude]

The Promenade Christmas tree from behind!

 

Got Beer?

 

Rare view of an empty pool deck!

 

 

My daughters in front of Vintages.

 

The Solarium hot tub.

[dolfandude]

 

 

Deck 8 interior cabin pictures.

 

DW and DD18 decided to take short naps while DD22 and I headed out to explore the Navigator. First stop…. The Two Poets Pub! I was really surprised that the only beers on draught were Amstel, Heineken, & Stella! No English beers. And, hugely surprising, no Guinness on draft! How would they make my beloved black & tan? Well, with a can and bottle it seems! Not to worry, after two or three and it didn’t matter anymore!!

 

We headed out to explore. Checked out the Ixtapa lounge on the same deck. It’s patterned with Mayan Indian décor. Quaint.

 

Next we headed to the Dungeon. Two floors and the upstairs being rather small. With gargoyles upstairs. DD22 commented on how eerie they looked! A very interesting choice of décor.

 

We headed down to deck 3 to see the Studio B Center ice rink. A very impressive arena. To think you’re on a cruise ship while sitting there is ridiculous! But true!

Headed up to our room around 3:30 and was amazed to find our luggage was not only there but my DW had already emptied everything! Clothes hung up and in drawers.

 

My over the door shoe holder was hung and filled with all our little essentials that we’ll probably never need! But I’ve got them! Duct tape too! I keep a cruise duffle bag with about 20 items I bring just in case we need them. First aid kit, sharpie, highlighter, Downey wrinkle release, Fabreeze, ect. But, most importantly, in my luggage were my Rum Runners filled with tasty adult beverages! Before you flame me, you should know that RCL, or any other cruise line, does not offer Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and it’s a party must for the last year or so! Trust me, RCL will still make more off our bar tab than probably 60% of the cruisers that drink! Yes, we like to have a good time (see prior reviews!). Of course, I did take four more different Rum Runners also! Flame on!

I also bring a collapsible cooler so I headed down the hall to find our room attendant. Her name was Marianna from Romania. Very nice lady. She looked to be around 40 years old. I asked her if she could keep ice in the cooler and she said no problem. DW brings Pepsi and likes it really cold. I bring ginger ale. The fridge usually just gets it chilled to barely drinkable.

 

The muster drill is scheduled for 4:30 and you should be heading in that direction by 4:15. Sail away is 5pm and you want to be done with time to get up upstairs and get a good seat for that. RCL needs to do a little better job publicizing the muster drill. Too many people come waltzing in asking where to go at 4:40 or so! The worst thing is that the muster drill goes too long and you’re stuck standing on deck four watching the Miami cargo barges the whole way down the channel! Now, if I were on the port side maybe I’d have a different opinion.

Yes, the port side is where you want to be at sail away from Miami. You get a great view of South Beach and all the high dollar homes on the bay.

We had scheduled our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet for right after sail away in the 19th Hole Sports bar. It’s located on the 14th deck next to the Crown Viking Lounge (my favorite place on any RCL ship). I was the first to get there but right on my heels were many others. We probably had 10 different posters that showed up with their family. It made for a really nice meet & greet. It’s always nice to put a face with a screen name.

At sail away we moved to the port side in the Crown Viking Lounge. It’s actually called the “Cosmopolitan Club”! When did that change? There are also two games rooms for cards and board games for adults next door. The Cosmopolitan Club has a stage for live entertainment also and is 18 and older after 11pm.

We met two younger solo cruisers, Beth from Portland, Oregon and Russ from Tallahassee (Go Noles!) at our meet & greet. As coincidence would have it, when we arrived for dinner at 7pm they both show up behind us and we asked them to join us. We chose the My Time Dining, a first for us on RCL. We have previously sailed on Norwegian Cruise Lines and loved the Freestyle dining concept back in 2006. I did not make a reservation but we were seated without a wait. The whole “make a reservation for My Time Dining” is really comical to me. Isn’t the purpose that you can go to dinner whenever you choose? To me that means we may try and go at 7pm but if something comes up and we arrive at 8pm it should be no problem, right? Well, RCL really pushes the reservation thing. At worst, you may have to wait 10-15 minutes for a table without a reservation. Big deal! And having the same waiter doesn’t really make a difference to me. Maybe you like to hear someone say “Good Evening Mr. Steve”. I really don’t care! Now, the bar is another story! “The usual Mr. Steve? “ Oh yeah! Now you’re talking my language! Haha!

Dinner was just OK. Nothing overly special. We were disappointed with the Vidalia onion tart. We had it in January and the year before and it seems they’re tinkered with the recipe! It more “eggy” if that’s a word. I know it’s a quiche but this was textured more like scrambled eggs and not much onion taste and definitely no onion pieces like before. We live in Georgia and are big Vidalia fans but this was an injustice. Did it ruin my cruise? NOT!

DW had the prime rib (just ok), DD22 had a sirloin (overcooked) and DD18 and I have the shrimp ravioli (good). I had ordered the shrimp soup but found it very fishy!

Desserts left us puzzled! Just no good choices.

The service was fine. Earl from Jamaica and James from St. Vincent were pleasant.

The dining room was clean. Overall a decent dinner.

 

After dinner we headed down to the Schooner Bar for 80’s song trivia. DD22 is a huge 70’s/80’s music fan and it’s what she wanted to do. It was scheduled for 8:45 and we arrived at 8:42 and got our pencil and paper and found a spot standing against a small bar.

They played 10 second clips of songs. 15 total. We went 15 for 15 – perfect score! Woo Hoo. We win………….wait…………two other groups were perfect also so the mc called for a “song off!”. Each group sent one person to the front to play. We, of course, sent DD22. She was up against two guys in their 40’s! Of our 15 answers she got 13 on her own without any help from us. The girl hung for two songs but couldn’t answer the third and was done! She was raised with this music and listens to it on her own! She did great.

We had planned on hanging out in the piano bar but we’ve been up since 5am and decided to play it cool tonight and come back tomorrow.

Off to bed. More to come!

[Willbcruisin]

Lovin your review and pics so far! Sailing this beauty for New years Eve and really getting excited reading your review.

 

Looking forward to the rest! Thanks for sharing!

 

Oh.....the button on the hair dryer......use a rubber band or pony tail holder;)

[dolfandude]

Lovin your review and pics so far! Sailing this beauty for New years Eve and really getting excited reading your review.

 

Looking forward to the rest! Thanks for sharing!

 

Oh.....the button on the hair dryer......use a rubber band or pony tail holder;)

Thanks! I tried a rubber band but it kept coming off!! My daughters took their own hair dryer so I guess they knew something I didn't!! :)

[Gator0178]

Keep the review coming! We leave in about a week!

[RayJacki]

Thanks! I tried a rubber band but it kept coming off!! My daughters took their own hair dryer so I guess they knew something I didn't!! :)

 

 

Maybe a use for that duct tape from your duffel bag?

BTW - we were on this same cruise and they did have the honey-stung chicken and a roast beef carving station. Seems to me thought that neither was out there when they first opened the doors, but appeared about 30-45 mins later (worth waiting for) :)

[dolfandude]

DAY TWO – AT SEA – Tuesday December 15th

 

Woke up around 8am. Got ready and headed down to the Café Promenade for coffee. Met a nice couple from Oak Ridge TN and had a conversation for 20 minutes or so.

Then headed up to the WJ for breakfast.

We stopped by the MTD table this morning to ask specifically about the reservation policy. The gentleman in charge told me that they would like you to have a reservation in order to get you the same table each evening. Otherwise, as I stated before, you may have to wait a short time. I gave in and decided to make reservations for the week. :rolleyes: 7pm on the two seas days and 8pm on the port days. That would give us time to relax and get ready for dinner without being rushed after a day ashore. I guess I was caught during a relaxed moment!

 

At the entrance to the WJ a few tables held a gingerbread village. It was cute.

 

Breakfast in the WJ is fine. No waffle station. No omelet station either. I think it was NCL that offered this. We sat next to an older couple who were wearing Oasis of the Seas shirts so I asked them about it. Seems that she was a travel agent and they did the three night TA cruise in late November. They gave rave reviews about it. We sail Oasis next November and I’ve followed her construction over the last couple of years and am really excited about sailing on her. It’s funny that when I mentioned Cruise Critic she had no idea about it. Seems that if you’re a TA that you’d follow the biggest cruise site on the internet, wouldn’t you think? :confused:

Anyway, her husband told me that she’d save me tons of money if I let her book our travel. I always book direct with the cruise lines. I love to research the ship and ports and such. I get great enjoyment from doing this. I check for price drops every few days. I like having the power myself and not having to call and rely on someone else. Just my opinion…..

We wasted some time exploring while waiting for the 11am port shopping talk to start. We got a seat in the second row center. We have never been to Cozumel or Belize and I was curious what Wesley and Victoria (the shopping consultants) would have to say. I fully realize that it’s a sale pitch to get you into the “approved” stores but sometimes these stores have actual deals for you!

We even bought the $25 port shopping book with the coupons for free stuff. I’ll you know tomorrow if it was worth it! I really just wanted to be one of the people who got the free stuff for sitting in front! That didn’t happen! It lasted about an hour and a half.

 

We headed up to the room to find our daughters. They met us at the elevator wondering where in the world we’d been! They said that they’d searched the whole ship looking for us! Duh! We told them we’d be in the port shopping talk! Seems they didn’t look there but did remember! Like I said, Duh!

 

We decided to have Johnny Rockets for lunch. RCL discontinued the free meal coupon and replaced it with a 2 for 1 milkshake offer. Shakes are $4.50 each. We don’t get the chance to eat at JR’s much so we do it when we’re on the ship. Anyone who says that it’s not worth $5 and they’d rather just get a burger in the WJ is crazy! Not even close. And they offer chili, onion rings, club and ham/cheese sandwiches, hot dogs and chili dogs. And the hot fudge Oreo sundae is included in the price also! The entertainment is always fun to watch. The servers singing and dancing to Saturday Night Fever and such! Would you rather sit in the WJ eating a dry tasteless burger with cold fries while listening to Ethel tell Harvey how her bunions are bothering her in a loud obnoxious voice? Be my guest! :eek:

 

DD22 saw that a wine tasting was being held at 4pm in Vintages and she and I decided to go. There were about 16 people there. They gave you four glasses. Two whites and two reds. I’m not much of a wine connoisseur but thought it’d be fun and different. We learned about bouquet and etiquette. And some good conversation with our companions at the table. Spent about a 1 ½ there. Cost $14 each.

 

Headed back to the room to get ready for our formal night dinner. DW likes to dress us up and have pictures taken every cruise on formal night. It actually saves hundreds of dollars compared to professional studio photographers. The ships photographers have always done a good job.

 

Dinner was a 7pm. We were seated by ourselves but at a different table from last night. But just a station away. Close enough that our assistant waiter James from last night came over and questioned why we didn’t sit in his station. Not our choice! We actually had a super assistant waiter, Louis from Mexico City tonight! He has a super personality and an excellent amateur magician. He had us and the other tables around us mesmerized.

 

Dinner was quite good this night. The filet of beef that DD22 and I had was so tender you didn’t need a knife. DD18 had the salmon, her favorite. DW was very impressed with her duck. And tonight they actually had some really good desserts on the menu! Grand Mariner soufflé was very good.

 

After dinner we headed down to the Royal Promenade Christmas tree for formal pictures. It was around 8:30 and we only waited for 10 minutes or so before they got to us. Of course the photographer posed us every which way. It always seems that we get posed more that anyone else. You think it may be due to how my lovely daughters look? Hmmmmmmm?:)

 

 

Afterwards we headed up to the room to change into something more comfortable. I love that line from the old movies. But this was for real. I despise ties! Leave the jacket in the room - you’re on vacation! And then down to the Schooner Bar for singing and laughing with Darren Bethell from Australia. He started at 10pm and was a hoot. Seems that he likes to partake in a glass of wine or four and gets better with age! Lucia and Dana from our CC meet and greet stopped by and informed me that Darren was quite “aged” last night and even forgot some of the words to songs. Aren’t they written on the sheet music or something? Haha! He was pretty good. He did 4 songs in a row from Billy Joel’s Stranger album, one of my and DD22’s favs! That made him a star in our eyes! Of course, it didn't even come close to the actual piano bar with Russell on board the Carnival Glory this past summer but it was fun.

 

Stayed with him until midnight and headed next door to the Metropolis Theater for late night adult comedy with Atlanta’s own Miguel Washington. He was very funny. Told us upfront that he is an “equal opportunity offender”! If you didn’t like it then you better get up and leave right now! He performed for an hour or so. The theater was about 80% full which really surprised me. DW had commented a few hours ago about the amount of senior citizens on this cruise. Specifically, on this RCL cruise compared with our summer cruise on Carnival (our first Carnival cruise). DW really noticed it. We’d cruised 5 times before last summers’ CCL cruise and finally understand what people say about Carnival being a more fun cruise. More fun in the respect of drinking, partying, hooting and hollering! It’s just a better atmosphere for that on CCL. Their piano bar is specifically that, a piano bar. The Schooner Bar has a piano with 7 stools around it. And, by the way, whoever designed these stools is an idiot! No back support. No place to put your feet. Just overall very non-ergonomically designed. I know it European but these things are made for elves! We first sat in them and then moved after 5 minutes to the couch and chairs nearby.

 

 

Anyway, after the comedy show DD22 wanted to find pizza. We headed over to the Café Promenade and found a pretty good line! And also Poppop and his wife from our CC group. I pray I'm as active as him when I'm older. But only about a 5 minute wait for marginally good pizza. I think any pizza is marginally good at 1:15am after drinking for a few hours!! :D

Tomorrow is Cozumel. Good night all! More to come.

[dolfandude]

Maybe a use for that duct tape from your duffel bag?

 

BTW - we were on this same cruise and they did have the honey-stung chicken and a roast beef carving station. Seems to me thought that neither was out there when they first opened the doors, but appeared about 30-45 mins later (worth waiting for) :)

Too bad for us that we missed that! We were amongst the first to enter the WJ! I did see the carving stations later in the cruise! But not the honey stung chicken. :( I really liked that!

 

Merry Christmas!

Steve

[1hogfans]

First let me say that I tend to write my reviews like a diary so that I can go back and relive our cruises in future years. So I may get a little long winded but I hope you find it enjoyable and, more importantly, helpful. I make it a point to get and keep all the compasses and other papers that are given out so if you have any questions feel free to ask and I’ll research it for you.

 

We are a family of four. My wife and I are 40 somethings with two daughters 22 and 18. DD22 just graduated from college last week and this cruise was a present to her (Ha! Just another excuse for us to cruise!!) This is our third cruise this year having previously been on the Monarch in January and the Carnival Glory in June (our first Carnival cruise).

This is our 7th cruise overall starting back in 2004.

 

 

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DD22 graduated on Friday Dec 11th in the morning. We left the Savannah area on Saturday and drove to our family place on Cocoa Beach for two nights. The first thing I did on Sunday morning was drive over to Port Canaveral (5 miles) and take a look at the Freedom of the Seas! Wow! What a beautiful ship. We have previously been on the Mariner, Monarch and Majesty RCL ships. The Voyager class Mariner was our first cruise and I’ve been dying to get back to a Voyager class or higher since. The Royal Promenade took my breath away.

 

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We drove the 3 ½ hours to the Port of Miami on Monday morning and arrived at the ship at exactly 11am. Unloaded our bags and parked on the bottom floor of the RCL parking garage. Through security in minutes. No wait at all for registration and we we’re on the ship by 11:25am. WOW! No waiting whatsoever! I can’t explain the feeling of getting your seapass card and walking up the gangway onto the ship! I’m like a little kid on Christmas morning! My three ladies love to laugh at me and that’s OK! Just keep letting me cruise!!

We headed up to the Windjammer to grab some lunch but to our surprise it did not open until noon! This was a first. On our last two RCL cruises we got to the WJ around 11:15 and it was open. No biggie! We headed down to deck 5 to the Royal Promenade to explore. They ship looked beautiful. Some very minor signs of age but nothing that turns your head. Staff still shining the rails. I was impressed.

The shops we not open yet but the Café Promenade and Two Poets Pub were.

 

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For some reason the Royal Promenade seems a little smaller than I remember but I wasn’t disappointed! A huge Christmas tree is standing right outside the Café and a sleigh was in front for photo ops. Being the shutterbug I am I took full advantage and posed everyone in front (what a tourist!).

It was interesting that the Christmas tree was so close to the staircase. On one side you had maybe 18 inches and would brush against it when you passed. The other side wasn’t that much more. No, it’s not a real tree in case you wondered! They’re saving that for the Oasis! ;)

We headed back up to the WJ at noon and it was open. I’m definitely not a food critic so take my opinions with a grain of pepper (?)! I was somewhat disappointed with the WJ food today. Jade usually has some stir fry with meat but didn’t have any. I didn’t see any meat carving stations either (later in the cruise they were open). Indian food was the International choice for the day. I tried some kind of soup, three types of rice and some pork in a mushroom sauce! I was hoping for some Honey Stung chicken but alas, there was none!:( It looked like the burger station was the food of choice as I looked around the room. Disappointed but did it ruin my cruise? NOT! We’ve a very laid back family who roll with the changes and try and make good out of not so good! There are just too many attitudes in this country nowadays! :)

 

After lunch we headed up to see our cabins. It was 12:45 and we were met by a crew member who advised us we had 15 more minutes to wait. We’re on deck 8, the same as the internet café so I went ahead and logged on and choose my rate plan. $55 for 148 minutes. $.37 / minute. Yes, a little expensive, but I have daughters and there’s something called Face Book that they have to access daily! Ha! Who am I kidding? I’m addicted to Face Book and as of last month, so is my wife! I’ve caught up with 10’s of friends whom I haven’t heard from since I graduated high school 30 years ago. It’s an amazing phenomenon and no, I do not work for them! :p

 

We booked about 6 weeks ago. For the first time I booked an interior guarantee for $219! Not bad eh? I was a little apprehensive about where they’d place us and if our daughters would be close. We ended up on the 8th deck and they’re right across the hall from us. Sweet! On the very aft of the ship though and even though we’re 8 decks up, you can still feel the propulsion system all the time! More on that later. The room is actually spacious (158 square feet I think). Plenty of room for the two of us. No real signs of aging. The TV is still the old non-flat screen version.

 

In room combination safe. Mini bar with waters, Red Bull, Coke, Diet Cokes, Sprites, M&M’s and peanuts. No beer or alcohol in the fridge. Sodas are $1.95, Water is $3.95 and the snacks are $4.95.

Two 110V outlets on the make up counter. None on the walls by the bed. I bring a sound machine so I’ll have to plug it in on the counter and not next to my head! Blow dryer in the drawer. Interesting, the blow dryer has an on/off switch that you have to hold down to work! Its made this way! Doesn’t sound like an issue but it was! Did it ruin my cruise? NOT! One interesting thing is that there is a switch to turn on the ships intercom system so you can hear any announcements but….. It also plays the elevator music you hear around the ship. I didn’t notice this on the Monarch or Majesty last year. I really hate it when an announcement is being made but since you’re in your cabin you don’t hear it! Too bad you can’t turn this on and don’t have to listen to the music. It’s kinda hard to watch TV with that playing and not miss an announcement.

More to come. CC is only letting me post 5 pics at a time!

Steve

 

Do you have any of the cruise compasses? we are going in Feb.

[1hogfans]

Did they have a Cocktail seminar?

[dolfandude]

Did they have a Cocktail seminar?

I didn't see any type of cocktail seminar in the Compass. Yes, I have all the compasses. One of my CC group was going to scan them and post them.

LUCIA -- are you out there? If she doesn't then I'll do it next week.

Let me know if there's something specific you'd like to know.

 

Steve

[kldt]

Did the ship's time change for COZ and BLZ? We leave on Monday!! I can't wait!!!

[dolfandude]

DAY THREE – COZUMEL – Wednesday December 16th

 

We docked at 8am in Cozumel, Mexico. We decided to spend the day shopping and exploring. We have a beautiful beach, Cocoa Beach FL, at our disposal whenever we want it so spending the day (and paying for it) at a beach was just out of the question! Unless it’s Hawaii or we’re there for more than a few hours.

 

Some of our friends rave about the jewelry deals in Cozumel so we needed to find out for ourselves. We caught a taxi right outside the pier exit. The white cabs with a red strip around them are the one of choice. As you exit the shopping village they’ll be folks who are in charge of putting you in a vehicle. Lots of them! It costs $7 for up to four people and they will drop you off in front of the Forum Shops on the opposite end of downtown. That way you can shop your way back towards the ship! It’s about a 3 mile ride. Pay attention as you come into downtown so you can see the big name shops if that’s what you want.

 

Cozumel has all the usual big name Caribbean shops that St. Thomas and St. Martin have. For us the trick is finding a small family run jeweler with a good reputation that will work with you on the price. We have done that in St. Thomas having been there numerous times. I’d gotten a couple of names from people but just didn’t “feel the love!” if you know what I mean. But we did purchase a beautiful London blue topaz ring with white sapphires for DW in Shine, a ship “approved” store. We felt that we got a good deal, similar to what we’d have gotten in St. Thomas.

 

 

 

One negative about shopping in Cozumel was all the Mexican men that seemed to jump out of the stores as we passed to ask us to come in. A couple even jumped in front of my wife so she had to stop from running into him. And if I get asked if want Cuban cigars again I’ll snap! I would reply “I don’t smoke!” to which they’d reply “it’s a good day to start!” Good comeback actually!

 

We shopped for a couple of hours, bought some trinkets and then made our way to Carlos and Charlie’s for lunch. I was very disappointed. I knew it was owned by the same company that owns Senor Frogs but expected it to be different. It was exactly the same. Right down to the “yard” glasses with Senor Frogs written on them!!! We ordered a Coke, a Dos Equis beer, and two drinks. We received all four in the $14 yard glasses! The waiter never asked us if we wanted the souvenir cups. It struck a cord with me! I tried to explain to him I just wanted a can of coke and bottle of beer. He played the “I don’t understand game”. Finally he brought me a bottle of beer and took the yard cup away. Then the balloon girl comes over and makes us all balloon hats and asks for a tip! That’s right, she ASKS for a tip. I don’t have anything lower that a $10 but she says she can make change and gives me a $5 back and hesitates with anything else! I just said Feliz Navidad and she goes on to her next mark! So, by now I’m fuming. The menu is in pesos so you don’t know how much anything is right away and have to divide by 12.5 to get the US dollar amount. I know its Mexico but how much of their revenue do you think comes from English reading tourists? Uh …maybe like 75% or more? Yep! Anyway, lunch was standard Applebee’s or Friday’s food. They only had four items that were actually Mexican dishes. Finally got the bill and paid. $73 (plus 15%) for lunch. Actually a little less than I expected! I consider it a learning experience.

 

We continued shopping our way down the street finally arriving at Margaritaville. Had to get a tee shirt from Parrotthead central! “Yes, I am a pirate, 200 years too late!”!!!

 

Right across the street is the MEGA store, called by some the Mexican Wal Mart. It really is! New and very clean. I was impressed with the deli and bakery staff all wearing masks! But, as DW pointed out, no gloves! While cutting meat for customers! Anyway, I like to find a local grocery and buy hot sauces and any other neat little things I might find. We purchased a bag full of pastries from the bakery ($3 or so) and, of course, the famous Mexican Coca Cola! We all loved the Mexican Coke! It’s made with real cane sugar as opposed to the US version that mixed with corn syrup. It’s sweeter and less carbonated. Very good! We’re Pepsi people who live in Coke Central (Atlanta) and liked this version of Coke much better. Then we caught a cab back to the ship ($7 for four people from anywhere downtown and cabs are plentiful). We’d been shopping, walking and eating for about 5 hours and were pretty tired. At the entrance to the pier where the cabs drop you off is a shopping village. You have to walk thru it to get to the actual pier. Plenty of shops if you forget something for someone back home!

We were back onboard about 3:30, 45 minutes before the deadline of 4:15pm.

We chilled in the cabin for a couple hours and then got ready for dinner.

 

Dinner was scheduled for 8pm tonight. We arrived on time and were seated in a totally different section on the other side of the Swan Lake dining room. Our third set of waiters in three nights! Tonight’s menu featured LOBSTER! I asked for and received an extra tail. Medium size and quite tasty.

 

 

They don’t give you melted butter but will teaspoon a little over your lobster. DD18 ordered the same and I asked for a bowl of melted butter for dipping! No problem and about 3 minutes later our waiter brought it. The plate also came with 6-7 small shrimp on the side. Very good meal. DW and DD22 had steak.

 

By now it was around 9:30pm and planned on attending the Love and Marriage game show in the Metropolis Theater at 10:30pm so we stopped by the Champagne Bar for a cocktail beforehand.

 

We always enjoy the Love & Marriage show. It’s pretty much the same on NCL and Carnival. Three couples, one newlywed, one married 10-20 years and one married for a long time…. The oldest we ever saw had been married for 60 years! The oldest couple on this cruise was so cute together. The husband even had a photo in his wallet from 1945 when they first met! The won!

After that we headed back to the room. The “Dancing under the stars” deck party started at 11:30pm but we were too tired to go.

Belize tomorrow.

Thanks for reading. More to come……….

[Gator0178]

No Way! They had lobster!!

[redsoxfan56]

Really enjoying your review! Looking forward to being on he Navigator on January 2nd!!!:D

[verodoodle]

more...please :D

[lleydens]

I didn't see any type of cocktail seminar in the Compass. Yes, I have all the compasses. One of my CC group was going to scan them and post them.

LUCIA -- are you out there? If she doesn't then I'll do it next week.

Let me know if there's something specific you'd like to know.

 

Steve

 

 

I'm working on scanning them now. I also have all of the menus.

[redsoxfan56]

I'm working on scanning them now. I also have all of the menus.

 

 

Awesome! Thanks......

[DarthGrady]

Great review, thanks for sharing. My wife and her mother were on the same sailing, they had a great time.

[lleydens]

I have them scanned, just not sure how to post them so if anyone wants the menus or the compasses please email me at lucialb at hotmail dot com

[dolfandude]

Did the ship's time change for COZ and BLZ? We leave on Monday!! I can't wait!!!

Yes! It did, which surprised me since I had read from a few CC people that it didn't. I started a thread the other day specifically about this point and apparently it's up the captain whether to change the time or not... In our case we were told (written in the Compass) to change time at 2am the morning of our Cozumel visit and change it back at 2am AFTER visiting Belize (the morning of our last sea day in our 5 nighter's case).

 

Steve

[LBumb]

thanks for posting your review it was great