Just back - Navigator 3/31

[awg1747]

Got back yesterday from a 4 night cruise on the Navigator of the seas. To put my very brief review in perspective, though I don´t cruise as much as others my last two cruises were on the Liberty of the seas and Norwegian Pearl, two new ships.

 

Embarkation - A breeze. 15 minutes tops from crossing the door to beeing on the ship. My cabin was ready at around 1 p.m., cabin 1305 on the 10th deck. Wheelchair accessible.

 

Navigator - I was very surprised. The ship is gorgeous and very well kept. You can tell its age by some of the furniture and tube TV, but nothing to detract from a great vacation. Beautiful ship.

 

Service - Excellent.

 

Entertainment - Went to the theater on the third and fourth night only, as I am not very interested in production type shows. The third night was a juggler/comedian, very good and got a deserved stantind ovation. Last night, a cheezy over produced show but fun nonetheless. I enjoyed it. Wish there was more variety in live music. Could never get to see a guitarist at the two poets pub. On a minus, went to see a movie at the screening room and was very dissapointed with the quality of the video and sound. A minor investment could improve the experience quite a bit. The room was full for the movie Red.

 

Food - As expected. Portofino was outstanding, MDR was excellent and Windjammer typical cafeteria food, but I liked it.

 

Disembark - Elevators were full, but self disembarkation was easy, maybe 20 minutes. No complaints.

 

Overall, highly recommended for the price. Have to agree that the Navigator is the best ship on the seas for 4 or 5 night cruises.

[iswimlikearock]

Thanks for the quick review. We're headed out on 4/14. A previous cruiser mentioned it took about an hour for self disembark. Did you experience this?

[bionicman97]

Thanks for sharing :)

[ChefPeg]

We were on that same sailing...3/31. The ship really is in great condition. Some areas need attention but overall the ship looks good.

 

We ate in both Portofino's and Chops....both were excellent! Windjammer was actually very nice. The food was always hot and there was a nice variety.

 

We had some issues with the Matre' d.....we booked and asked for a table for 2 on first day ( DH had mouth surgery so he's eating very slow right now, we were assigned a large table for some reason) and he tried to get us to sign up for My Time Dining, for only 2 nights we would be in the dining room. He actually was pushing it on us whenever he saw us. It was very strange. For 2 nights he could have sat us at a smaller table easily. The dining was not full on any deck at any time. So we had ate in the Windjammer for 2 nights. Not a problem since we enjoyed it very much.

 

But the rest of the crew was very friendly, we loved our cabin steward, she was so bubbly it was infectious!

 

I would recommend the Navigator to anyone. We plan on booking her again very soon.

[slm517]

Is Mosaic still performing.

[ClevelandTNCruisers]

Thanks for the review. We're headed out on the Navigator on the 22nd. It will be our first cruise w/ RCI, and we can hardly wait!!!

[njmomof2]

My mom and I are on her for the 4 night on April 28th. Celebrating my mom's 75th birthday (4/10) and my birthday is the last night of the cruise (5/1). We want to do specialty dining. I have done Chops and Portofino on Liberty...on Navigator, which do you recommend? I'm leaning towards Chops only because I only eat limited carbs so doing Italian is kind of a waste on me.

 

Glad to hear she's in good shape and that the staff is friendly and efficient. We have a flight after 1 PM so no hurry getting off, and I have passes to the Continental President's Club at FLL so we can always go there if we have too much time.

[LBumb]

good job

[PeterPan]

ClevelandTNCruiser:

 

You do realize that Navigator of the Seas will be at sea on 22 April, don't you? :D

 

I assume you are leaving for Ft Lauderdale on the 22nd, for the April 23rd sailing of Navigator.

[Suzaloo]

Just wondering how the seas were. I know we had some crazy rainy and windy weather here in Florida during the time you were on the ship and I was wondering if that affected your cruise at all. Was the ship rocking and rolling? We're about to book the 4/23 cruise on Navigator. I've been on her sister ship (Explorer) and thought she was beautiful so I have high hopes for this one!

[waterbugohio]

Just wondering how the seas were. I know we had some crazy rainy and windy weather here in Florida during the time you were on the ship and I was wondering if that affected your cruise at all. Was the ship rocking and rolling? We're about to book the 4/23 cruise on Navigator. I've been on her sister ship (Explorer) and thought she was beautiful so I have high hopes for this one!

 

Was also on this sailing. It was very smooth, although very windy. There was no rain from the time we left. FLL had a bad storm a couple days before and another one yesterday, but nothing in between. Beautiful sunny sky and about 85.

 

And yes, the self disembark took some time. We headed out of our rooms about 7:30. Never did make it to studio B where we were suppose to meet. We stood for maybe 20 min waiting on an elevator from floor 6, down to floor, each time it would stop, it would be completely full. Finally we "tried" to carry our luggage down the steps. We were 4 women on a girls only cruise and one was not feeling well, thank goodness for the kind gentleman that helped her. We made it down two flights and then were able to catch a elevator. At that point they were sending people off so we went all the down to get off.

 

We had maybe a 15 min line first, and then another 15 min or so for the customs line. Always seems like its longer, but all in all not to bad, just depressing when having to get off such a beautiful ship

[awg1747]

Self Disembark - It took a while to get to deck 1 as the elevators were full. We headed directly to deck 1 at 8:00 a.m., skipping the Studio B wait for 7:45. Once out of the ship it felt like 20 minutes or so, not too bad.

 

Seas - Not bad. Very windy, particularly the last sea day and the last night had some rocking, but not too bad.

 

Restaurants - I am not a picky eater and on prior sailings preferred to eat with my kids than to do the specialty restaurants. This time it was my wife an I only. Portofino was great, did not go to Chops.

 

Our waiter´s name was Darius. He was excellent.

 

I honestly don´t have too many negative things to say, only that the vacation was too short and that we want to do it again soon. Yes there is some nickle and diming here and there but it is worst at Norwegian (I enjoyed that cruise a lot too).

 

Re-: Mosaic. I am not sure. Only saw the juggler on night three and the last show, which was a musical tribute to a lot of great performers. Don´t recall the name of the show, but it was not Mosaic.

 

Was also on this sailing. It was very smooth, although very windy. There was no rain from the time we left. FLL had a bad storm a couple days before and another one yesterday, but nothing in between. Beautiful sunny sky and about 85.

 

And yes, the self disembark took some time. We headed out of our rooms about 7:30. Never did make it to studio B where we were suppose to meet. We stood for maybe 20 min waiting on an elevator from floor 6, down to floor, each time it would stop, it would be completely full. Finally we "tried" to carry our luggage down the steps. We were 4 women on a girls only cruise and one was not feeling well, thank goodness for the kind gentleman that helped her. We made it down two flights and then were able to catch a elevator. At that point they were sending people off so we went all the down to get off.

 

We had maybe a 15 min line first, and then another 15 min or so for the customs line. Always seems like its longer, but all in all not to bad, just depressing when having to get off such a beautiful ship

[will773]

Thank you for posting. I'm on the Navigator on 4/18 and am glad to hear that it's in good shape!

[will773]

ClevelandTNCruiser:

 

You do realize that Navigator of the Seas will be at sea on 22 April, don't you? :D

 

I assume you are leaving for Ft Lauderdale on the 22nd, for the April 23rd sailing of Navigator.

 

I was thinking the same thing! :eek:

[ClevelandTNCruisers]

I guess that is what I get for playing on cruise critic when I am supposed to be working!!! Maybe I'll try to camp out at the terminal on the 22nd!

[copnlpn2]

iswimlikearock - have you checked out RCCL 4/14/11 M&M thread for your cruise? Although we won't be having a M&M on your cruise, there are several of us posting and already getting to know each other. Stop by and introduce yourself!

 

I received information from RCCL that Mosaic won't be the headliners on our 4/14/11 cruise. Not sure when their last performance is scheduled. The headliner for our cruise is a comedian (ho-hum) but the featured skater in the ice show is superb!

 

The Navigator is probably my all-time favorite ship. I love everything about her, including her artwork, staff and three-deck dining room.

[Mystaken]

Was also on this sailing. It was very smooth, although very windy. There was no rain from the time we left. FLL had a bad storm a couple days before and another one yesterday, but nothing in between. Beautiful sunny sky and about 85.

 

And yes, the self disembark took some time. We headed out of our rooms about 7:30. Never did make it to studio B where we were suppose to meet. We stood for maybe 20 min waiting on an elevator from floor 6, down to floor, each time it would stop, it would be completely full. Finally we "tried" to carry our luggage down the steps. We were 4 women on a girls only cruise and one was not feeling well, thank goodness for the kind gentleman that helped her. We made it down two flights and then were able to catch a elevator. At that point they were sending people off so we went all the down to get off.

 

We had maybe a 15 min line first, and then another 15 min or so for the customs line. Always seems like its longer, but all in all not to bad, just depressing when having to get off such a beautiful ship

I did the luggage valet. Put luggage out last night and picked it up in PHL on Monday night. Worked great for me, as a solo cruiser. It was well worth $20. Waited in line for about 10 minutes to get through customs and accidentally met the comedian. A great way to end the cruise! Hope to see him again on another cruise, since I didn't actually see his show! Too many choices to be able to do everything.

[waterbugohio]

I did the luggage valet. Put luggage out last night and picked it up in PHL on Monday night. Worked great for me, as a solo cruiser. It was well worth $20. Waited in line for about 10 minutes to get through customs and accidentally met the comedian. A great way to end the cruise! Hope to see him again on another cruise, since I didn't actually see his show! Too many choices to be able to do everything.

 

agree with Rhonda, luggage valet is the best way to go, when it is offered to you. Just wish all ports and all airlines participated in this service. We used it the first year in San Juan and then last year they were not doing it. This cruise I flew spirit and they do not participate.

 

Rhonda, glad it worked for you.

[KALCJ1]

Just wondering how the seas were. I know we had some crazy rainy and windy weather here in Florida during the time you were on the ship and I was wondering if that affected your cruise at all. Was the ship rocking and rolling? We're about to book the 4/23 cruise on Navigator. I've been on her sister ship (Explorer) and thought she was beautiful so I have high hopes for this one!

 

 

We cruised the week of 3/21 on NOS and experienced 45 MPH winds one day and overall you would have never known it...other than a couple of "slight rocks" while down in the theater. I tend to get car/motion sickness, but I was perfectly fine and did not have to take any medication. I've cruised on EOS and AOS as well, but I will say that NOS is always a favorite. Enjoy your cruise!

[Suzaloo]

We cruised the week of 3/21 on NOS and experienced 45 MPH winds one day and overall you would have never known it...other than a couple of "slight rocks" while down in the theater. I tend to get car/motion sickness, but I was perfectly fine and did not have to take any medication. I've cruised on EOS and AOS as well, but I will say that NOS is always a favorite. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Good to know - that makes me feel better. Occasional rocking is expected. I've just been a little paranoid since cruising in March 2010 on the Carnival Glory. The ship rocked constantly for the whole first sea day and while I didn't get physically sick, it made for a very uncomfortable day and night that I would prefer not to repeat. I know you can never predict the kind of weather and seas mother nature is going to give you but I figure that April/May has the best chance for calm seas in the Caribbean. I've heard very few people complain about the seas during those months.