Navigator Review 4/2-long review Awesome cruise

[mwebb]

This is my 7th cruise (most on Carnival & NCL, and 2nd on RCCL (last one years ago)It doesn't get any better than this" was my mantra for the week.

Travelling w/ 17 family & friends ages 13-72 brought a varied perspective of everyones experience.

Arrived Miami day before and stayed at Sheraton Biscayne Bay. Got on Priceline for $68. Very nice-unfortunate they are tearing it down in June to build condos. Too tired from travelling Ordered Pizza delivery from Papa Johns

so-so.

Day 1 Cab from hotel to pier $10. Arrived at pier at 11:00 and embarkation lines were a breeze(w/ wine & soda in carryon-never questioned). Maybe only 300 people ahead of us. Had to wait to get on the ship until about 1240pm. Headed to Windjammer for lunch. Jade is an oriental buffet that is sort of connected, then farther back is the Windjammer buffet line, carving station, and dessert area. ALL VERY good. Dear 14 y.o son couldn't wait to finish eating to head up to the basketball court (He even brought a BB ball with him since he wasn't sure if there was limited hours to check them out). Cabins were ready and seemed fine. Checked out ship. Bought kids soda cards $35@

 

On our cruise last year we had met a wonderful family who we became friends with and who live only 1.5 hours away from our home. Their daughter,Lauren became my son's sweetie and as a surprize, we arranged for them to join us on the cruise and surprize him. I got him to go to their cabin on the premise that we might consider an upgrade- As he knocks on the door, she answers and he about faints, then fall into each others arms hugging one another-(A Kodak moment)Dinner in the dining room- 3 tables for 6. Met Rad, a solo traveller cruiseagent who became an adopted part of our family for the week.

 

ISTVAN from Transylvania was our waiter. The food, service and attention to detail was unbelievably perfect!!!!!! Over the course of the week we learned to trust his recommendations and he never steered us wrong. He will be promoted to the Freedom when it sails and we will definately ask to be seated in his area..I think I had the herb crusted Atlantic Cod and it was terrific, other family members tried other things and all agreed they were great.Attended "Welcome Aboard" show w/ Ken Rush as CD. My past 2 cruises were on the Triumph w/ John Heald- and after seeing (experiencing) him as a CD. He is an impossible act to follow. Not taking anything away from Ken- who was very entertaining and funny.

 

Day 2. At Sea (Sun)

Got up early to get ice show tickets that were being distributed at 930. Lined up at 830 at Studio B and was first in line, however quite a few others had the same idea and by 910 the line was probably 500 people. Got tickets for our entire group for the Tuesday 900 pm show

Cruise critic meet and Mingle was set for 1130. 42 were signed up for it, but I think only about 17 came.Cookies & lemonaid It was good to put a name to a face, but I think the time of day was a little off- I know the people in my group did not attend because they were off having a BLAST in the different ship board activities. Capt. Bang & his wife did attend the meet & mingle-and I even won the raffle for the floating ship in a mouse. Met Beth & Jeff from the boards, and learned our children had already gotten to know each other. Checked out casino no luck. Bingo no luck.And visited the art auction- Won a raffle.

Formal Night-Had family pictures taken. Went to production show Now & Forever- very good

 

Day 3 Labadee. Had rented the floating mats and booked the aquapark on line. Got an early tender off the ship w/o any wait. People will pull up and arrange beach chairs for you (for a tip) At first we set up on the beach area

by the cove w a view of our ship, but discovered the other side of the island

(about a block away) was actually better- got chairs there and enjoyed floating around. Aqua park floating trampolines and icebergs were lots of fun

BBQ lunch was very good. Visited the craft market- very aggressive vendors-ended up buying a beautiful 24" wooden vase for $23 and some carved trinket boxes for $2@

 

Day 4 Ochos Rios- Booked with Peat Taylor. Went to Dunn River Falls & through Jamaican Neighborhoods. Last year,13 y.o daughter was extremely moved by the dire poverty & conditions she saw children living in.She had brought a gift with her this year for a class and our driver, Melvin (Peat's brother) stopped at a Jamaican primary school- Daughter presented teacher with the class gift and had picture taken with the group of 4 & 5 y.o. Cool experience.

We originally had tubing and horseback riding arranged w/ Peat but after weeks of drought we are in O.R on the day that there is a torrential downpour. Went to Ruins for lunch $14 pp. Jamaican buffet. Good. The Red Stripe was great. Went to town to shop and found a great Tanzanite ring at the Royal Shop one of the stores the ship recommended. Was able to haggle somewhat on price. Kids bought shirts at a store called Gem Palace.

After dinner, got in line for ice show and were able to get in one of the front rows. This is so amazing. Do not miss it.

 

Day 5 Grand Cayman Part of our group were booked with Capt. Marvin for Stingray City and LOVED IT! The rest of us did the Cockatoo catamaran sail through RCCL to Stingray city. IT was fantastic. I had been there before but this year the handlers really were attentive to all of the people in our group really getting to experience the rays. Afterwards shopped a bit for rum cake and had to get last tender by 330 back to ship. Seemed too short of a day in GC. So sad to see the damage caused by the hurricanes. Thus was hte 2nd formal night- AND LOBSTER. OK I'll admit, I had 2. (But so did most other people who ordered the Lobster.They were soooo good. Probably the best I have ever eaten and were large tails. and I had been looking forward to this the entire week. They called it fishermans plate and served it with a few scampi like shrimp. This was the night of Quest- a hilarious participation type show- Do not miss this!

 

Day 6 Cozumel- In the shopping talk on Day 1 they told us the best deals were at the forum shops and they gave you coupons for free $6.cab ride downtown. Our group took 3 cabs only to discover that supposedly the voucher on the back of 2 of the coupons were gone- so much for Free cab rides. The guys in our groups are not shoppers so this ended up not being a good thing as most of the Forum shops sell jewelry- went back to the pier area and shopped somewhat. Then went to Chakannab where some of our group were doing the Royal Dolphin swim and the rest of us were snorkelling. This is considered some of the best snorkelling in the Carribean and the first time for my 2 children doing snorkling like this ! Wonderful.

About $12 cab to Chakkanab and $8 for snorkel equipment. Decent lunch at LaLaguna at Chakanab.

 

Day 7 At Sea- Got up early to get poolside and finally have a day to just chill out and read in the sun- it has been go go go all week. and I was feeling I need a vacation after my vacation- Pouring rain.

Eventually stopped but remained overcast & cloudy- sat out and enjoyed the day- saddened the week went to quick. Went and watched family members climb the rock wall.- they all made it! Went to adult pool area which I could not believe I hadn't seen the entire week. This area has a hot tub that is like a Roman spa - and very elegant- great plac e to relax without the activity in the main pool area. Absolutely beautifuL!It's this part I hate - the packing to go home. Yet before the cruise was over, our entire group of 17 was talking about booking our next cruise and each member of our group had their favorite parts of the cruise

 

My 13 y.o daughter, 14 y.o. son, his 14 y.o girlfriend & 14 y.o nephew all loved the teen program. not so much for the structured activities- but the fact that there was so much available to choose- A criteria for a future cruise from their perspective is the basketball court, teen dance club, and an area where they just hung out. They loved meeting other kids.Although I didn't like the JR cover charge- I expected it and they each had a certain allotted amount they could charge on their sail & sign card. I even checked it out late one night with Grandma who was always up passed her bedtime- burgers & onion rings were

very good (not great- but very good)

 

Overall I would say the Navigator was my best cruise ever!

Food and service in the dining room was consistently excellent. Best ever in my 7 cruises Favorites include: Lobster, escargot, salmon, herb crusted Cod, Filet Mignon, she crab soup, Gran Marnier Souffle

Midnight buffet_Best ever in 7 cruises! Truly amazing-

Entertainment- Now & Forever, Ice Show, Quest, Motwon show- ALL Terrific

Teen activities Basketball & Rock wall !!

Adult pool & hot tub area!!!

Cabin steward, Ruth, did a fine job, nothing spectacular- but very good.

Frozen foofoo drinks were wonderful- in the fancy souveneir glass at $10.29 were a bit much.

 

I did feel the 8 x 10 pictures at 19.95 @ were pricey, particularly since there were so many we wanted to buy- other cruiselines had packages that you could select.

Carnival Triumph had a washer/dryer on each deck and this would have been handy to run a load of swimsuits & wet clothes through-On Navigator just to send a T-shirt to their laundry service was $3.

I also liked the accessability to the poolside beverages & buffet on Carnival, as compared to going all the way into the Windjammer to get a coffee or ice tea.

 

We cannot wait for our next cruise which will definately be on RCCL. Vacation schedule limits us to cruising on Spring break and we are considering another Voyager class ship- probably Adventure of the Seas.

Although Istvan our waiter will be on the Freedom,- and since we can't take him home with us- guess we will have to see him on the Freedom in the future-

 

I know this review was long but I wish you happy cruising. I'm happy to try and answer any questions at mwebb@mcas.k12.in.us (pu navigator ? in message portion.

[Ollie_WA]

Thank you so much for a very detailed review...I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of it!

 

We will be on the Navigator in 2 months with our 2 daughters 18 & 19. We are also doing the Cockatoo Catamaran Sting Ray excersion...hubby and I did it last year on the Explorer and thought it was fantastic!

Reading reviews like yours just gets me more excited.....

Thanks again,

Ollie:)

[mwebb]

Your welcome Ollie,

As I re-read what I wrote I saw all my typos- and also thought of so much more to write. In hindsight I probably wouldn't spend the money on the soda cards $70 for 2 kids if I had it to do again. I probably also wouldn't rent 8 floating mats for my family at $10@ in Labadee, maybe just 4,since the adults spent a lot of time just lounging in the chairs. I also would bring more bottled water with me for our port days.

The best part about cruising is being with family and the friends that you meet.

Even if you are not hungry go to see the midnight buffet- It is unbelievable the food carvings & ice sculptures on display. Past cruises I've bought the cookbook. With RCCLs menu changes- few things were in the cookbook they were selling.

In other comparison to Carnival & NCL- teen activities were away from the main flow- this worked very well as they had their own space and had a very good time. I did observe that the caliber of kids behavior was a 100% better on the Navigator. I know this was only one sailing and it may differ from others perspectives, but since I'm a school administrator thought I would mention it- (Last year on a Carnival ship- some teens should have been arrested for vandalism, battery, sexual misconduct/battery and underage drinking. One teen supervisor was overwhelmed last spring break- and NOTHING was done to the few troublemakers that were out of control). I did not notice any problems of this nature on the Navigator.

You will love the Navigator! Have a great cruise- I would sail it again in a heartbeat. Blessings to you on your trip

[just4kixx]

Thank you soooo much for your detailed, upbeat review! It got me very excited for our upcoming sail on the Navigator, although we are doing the Eastern Itinerary.

 

We are travelling with a party of 13... my DHs side of the family. This is our 5th cruise together, so we kindof have it down, although it is only our second time as a group on RCCL. Last year was The Rhapsody, and everyone thought it was the best! DH and I just got back from an anniversary cruise on The Radiance... it was amazing to us how much bigger than The Rhapsody that ship was... I can only imagine what the family will think of The Navigator! Our ages range from 9 to 72. I am relieved to hear that everyone in your group had their individual needs met! Playing a big role in the planning of the trip, that is something I always fear. None of the 5 kids are true extraverts, or socialites... but they do enjoy each others' company, so they should enjoy themselves... as for the adults... good drink, good food, pools, sunshine & casino... did I mention good drink?...what more could they ask for! ;)

 

Thanks again for your review.

A~ :)

[suzie21]

Thanks for a fantastic review- it sounds like you had a great time :)

 

I'm doing the Western Carribean itinerary on the Navigator and was wondering whether there was anything at any of the ports that was a definate 'must-see'? I know that I want to see the Dunn River falls but don't know what else. The catamaran excursion to stingray city sounded very good- would you say that it was worth the money?

[tyson]

Thanks for the wonderful review! My husband and I are taking our younger son on the Navigator (eastern Caribbean) in July as part of his high school graduation present. We have never been on a Voyager class ship and are very excited! Your past cruise experience sounds similar to ours--Carnival, NCL, and one other Royal Caribbean cruise. We still have over two months to wait, and your review makes me confident we will have a great time! Thanks!

[mwebb]

In Ochos Rios I would enthusiastically recommmend booking on-line with Peat Taylor. He or his brother will pick you up right after the ship docks in a 14 passenger van. WHile everone else is being hearded by the cruiseline onto a big bus. Your group is already one of the first up the Falls.This makes a big difference in He gives a very personalized tour and explains info about the island. His basic tour is only $35@ and includes the $15 admission to the Falls. He will also customize the rest of your day- we had arranged to do the Falls, tubing AND horseback riding but the weather didn't cooperate- nonetheless we had a fabulous time and this was my favorite port. We were very touched in getting to visit a Jamaicaan pre-school- helps put everyth ing in perspective and allows you to count your blessings. (Can you imagine being a child and never having your own crayons) I would take lots of dollar bills for tipping guides, etc. LOved it.

 

Cockatoo catamaran was $59 and well worth it . Did the Stingray w/ cruiseline last year for $45 I think and there were so many people in water we had minimal interaction w/ rays. This was great. If you have already done the rays a section of 7mile beach known as Sea Grape is by the Courtyar marriot- It is public and have facilities & refreshments- can rent a lounge chair and enjoy an inexpensive Beach day. FYI _Prices in GC are ridiculously high. TURTLE FARM & HELL TRIPS (LAST YEAR) WERE VERY LAME AND NOT WORTH GOING.

 

Cozumel- Royal Dolphin Swim at Chakanabwas an incredible experience but very pricey- Booked on own through Cozumelinsider. Cruiseline dolphin experience ore limited

$12 cab fare, $12 admission, $125 for 30 minutes in the water w/ the Dolphins. Videos of you interacting w/ dolphins are about $50, pictures $16-20. For 3 people this shore day ran about $500 when you count everyhting in. Yes it was really cool- and once in a life time. The rest of our group had did the ROYAL Dolphin swim last year so we snorkled there at Chakannab $12cab for 4 people, $12 admission, & $8 snorkel

rental. Broke out to $23 @ for an awesome day!!!!. Lunch there additional about $10.

Another family option in Cozumel is Paradise Beach. FREEE!!!!! Cab fare about $10.-12. Water toys & trampoline & icebergs $5 wristband for whole day. Food & frozen drinks are terrific. Great way for families to spend day w/o too much money.

 

Have a great time and let me know what you think.

[mnsawyer]

Great review. We sailed RCCL years ago on Song of America and it wasn't great. Just got off the Glory last week with Carnival and loved it but what we loved more was an itinerary with 4 stops and the Navigator fits that bill! Noticed you have sailed Carnival before and had John Heald as CD. We've had him twice - once on the Triumph and last week. My biggest concern with RCCL is the size of the rooms. We had a cat 8A balcony and loved it. Would consider sailing RCCL but don't want to spend much more than I would pay on Carnival. Any comments you can give me as to comparing the two, I'd appreciate. The cabins in all honesty, are my biggest concern. The rest I know will be fine.

[FlyingPhotog]

Great to read such a glowing and lengthy review of the NOS. We'll be going to the E. Caribbean in June with her.

[cpa2be]

MWebb, I enjoyed your review, particularly because of your experience with other cruislines. I am one of those that has only cruised with RCCL and often wonder how it compares with another cruisline. I am happy with RCCL and will continue to book with them.

 

I was on the Navigator in 10/04 and had a wonderful time. We booked on board and chose the Navigator again for our 10/05 cruise. (Even picked the same promenade room!) This time, we decided to suprised our 2 sons, 23 & 26, who have not cruised before, by taking them and their SO's with us. Yes, they were VERY excited about that one!

 

Waiting for October has been the longest year in history!! But reading reviews and threads about the Navigator make the wait easier.

 

Did you visit the Schooner Bar when the interactive piano player was there? I am curious who was playing. I think it was Matt Yee on our cruise, but we did not enjoy his playing. On the Explorer we had Anselmo Boles and he was a riot!!

[gatordad]

great review!

40 days and counting to our June 4 sailing on Navigator. Was able to squeeze this sailing in between high school graduation and the start of summer classes at UF. Don't even care what ports we go to!

[cruiseky]

MWEBB, Thanks for the great review! We sailed on the Navigator back in 2003 and will be sailing on her again this October. It is good to hear that evrything is just the way that we remembered it!

[mwebb]

In 2003 Spring break week, we sailed Carnival Triumph eastern and loved it. Would rate it A+. , so we booked her again for Apr. 2004 for Western. Loved it, but in comparison quality of food and service had slipped a bit and I would only give it only an an A. In 2002 we needed a cheap vacation and found one on NCL, Norway $1400 for 7day for 3 people during Spring break cruise only. Although we loved it at the time, in comparison I can now only rate it a B. (But that still is better than being home in the Midwest- where it was rainy & cold.)

In planning for this Spring break found Carnival had raised their rates. I was locked into travelling Spring break week and with the online agency that I used RCCL was not that much more pp ($40@) for an inside cabin and everyone I talked with raved about RCCL. I booked an inside cabin for myself and 2 children cruise only w/ taxes & fees for about $2100. Then booked air on my own. Although I would have loved a balcony it was going to run about $800 more. After I booked RCCL raised their rates- so I was glad I booked when I did- but kept checking with TA for Price adjustments or any perks. Learned the ship was sold out to a large group that won the cruise as a sales incentive, thus no price adjustments or upgrades were available.

I just wanted to be on the ship- and that $800 difference for a balcony could be the deposit on our next cruise. Our cabin was small, but tolerable. A coffee table by a loveseat was more of a nuisance than a convenience, but not even worth mentioning for removal. The room had a small refridgerator where we kept our bottled water & pop for port days- It didnt keep things real cold, but was nice to have. Bottled water is sold for $3.50@ when you leave ship. so this was a big savings for us. I think when I pack next time I will pack I will have designated suitcases pre-packed for particular shore days- to help keep us more organized.

 

The NOS is an elegant and amazing ship that I believed was very much worth it. I do understand that RCCL has stopped discounting to TAs. The Navigator has made me a RCCL convert. I will still shop price and try and save where I can- but without a doubt this would be my first choice

[pach]

Glad you had such a great time! Thanks for the review!

[dig21]

We are sailing on NOS this Saturday and several of the most recent reviews have been pretty negative so while I do want to hear it all, the good, the bad & the ugly; It's nice to read some good the week we are leaving.

[mustang67]

To dig21-I was also on the Navigator the week of 4/2. Don't worry you will have a great time. I agree with mwebb in all points. I was even on the Triumph with CD John Heald and agree he is awesome. Ken did good job as well. We went with our kids, 12 and 15 along with 3 other families also with kids. We had our first balcony room and loved it. Everyone had a good time and agreed this was BEST cruise ever. Would cruise again on Navigator without a second thought.

Have a GREAT time...

 

If you are a coffee drinker don't miss buying Jamaican Blue Mountain when in Jamaica. It's great......

[mwebb]

Have a great cruise. My review was based on the collective experience of 17 people in all age ranges. My comparisons to other cruise lines fell in the "It would be nice if...they had a washer/dryer (as on Triumph)to run a load of swimsuits,etc, it would be nice if... packages of pictures were more cost effective... It would be nice if the free beverages were available near the pool... Nothing ugly to report. The Navigator is wonderful- but I also believe every situation is what you make it. Some people are natural complainers and some have valid issues. In terms of another comparison pizza was better on CArnival. None of this was significant enough to make me switch back, as long as the RCCL price stays in the same ballpark. Yes there are things we might do differently, but nothing directly related to RCCL. DO NOT MISS QUEST OR THE ICE SHOW!!!!

[debshomespun]

mwebb: So glad you enjoyed the Navigator. We will be on her May 14 sailing, western, only 18 more days! Can't wait. We were on the Explorer in 5/03, and to date, that was our best cruise. Was on the Jewel 1/05, and it was probably the 2nd best.

 

IMHO, RC is classier than Carnival. The ice show tops our list of best shows ever, and we have seen great shows in Vegas too.

 

We have had cabins with windows, and interior cabins on both Carnival and RC. I don't feel there is much difference in the size of the rooms on the newer ships. Have been in the carnival balcony rooms, and the RC Radiance and Voyager class ships, and almost the same size.

 

My first choice is RC, but I would like to try some other lines, Princess, Celebrity to name a few.