Navigator of the Seas? Good experiences anyone??

[monctonguy]

I don't have high expectations....as long as its clean, safe, food is good(imo) and the service at bars for drinks is reasonable, I am happy.

I don't expect or demand a lot.

 

But if some are used to higher/better service and they didn't get it on this ship and only this ship then I can see why they are disappointed.

 

Is NOS becoming the "runt" of the fleet?

 

Seems to be a wide variety of complaints coming from many different people on different cruises on her.

[aenglish1609]

For those that went on the 9 night trip, does anyone happen to have the dailies? Thanks.

[Clarea]

For those that went on the 9 night trip, does anyone happen to have the dailies? Thanks.

Scans start on post #110:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2429524

[Green Recruit]

This is directed to the OP...

 

If I read every negative review on here (and believed them all) I would probably not cruise! So let me just say this, we spent 26 days on Navigator in Oct./Nov. and LOVED it! We are going back to the ship this month for another 19 days. So I guess it's not quite as bad as some make her out to be.

 

Enjoy yourselves and take the reviews (both good and bad) with a grain of salt...

 

Teri

[BillOh]

I'm still confused by all the hate for this ship. She's easily our favorite in the fleet along with Mariner. Unless something crazy has happened in the last 2 years????

 

For me its been just more than 7 years, but we are just now at the point in our lives we could consider a cruise longer than 7 days so some of these itineraries out of Miami look inviting. I have been reading about the tent issues and 6 ships in port. Hopefully that will work itself out before I book in 2019.

[gagirl7143]

Sailed NOS 9 DEC 16 and I am a loyal RCL customer 91 RCL & 45 X cruises, but I must say it was the most unenjoyable cruise I have ever been on in my 19 years of cruising !! This was my 6th cruise on NOS 3 TA & 2 EUR . It saddens me greatly to see all the lower level crew members working extremely hard to please but with the total lack of supervision from Hotel Director down ! Rarely saw anyone with strips anywhere on the ship !!

 

ONLY Excellent points : 1. Room Attendant, 2. Waiter & Asst Waiter, and 3. ALAN the Diamond Concierge !

 

UNSATISFACTORY areas to many to mention all, but here are major ones : 1. Food Horrible, 2. Crown & Anchor program nonexistent (no loyalty ambassador) 3. Customer Service Desk extremely slow with do not care attitude, 4. Total lack of leadership in hotel department, few if any officers visible around the ship,probably hiding from unhappy guest !

 

If this was my first RCL cruise I would probably never come back !

 

We too were on this sailing and throughly agree with poster. Our wait staff was wonderful in the MDR and room attendant as well Allan worked so hard to pickup the slack caused when the Loyalty Ambassador walked off but with over 1,000 diamonds and above his task was overwhelming. He did a great job. Bar staff headed by Leroy was also fantastic. However food was such poor quality that the head waiters were so apologetic that you felt sad for them.

We met at least 5 back2backers that were either trying to get off the ship to change to other ones or walking away with no refund. Sad just sad!!

 

 

 

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[mike sbr]

We were just on the Dec 23rd sailing on navigator. Although this was only our second cruise(the other being on adventure) we felt that the only noticeable change was to the food in the MDR.

 

We only ate in the MDR 4 of the 11 nights which was a huge disappointment because we were really looking forward to it. Windjammer and specialty restaurants were great.

 

Cabin staff(Angel) was amazing and met every need. Our room 8320(centre hump) was in a very convenient location and quiet.

 

Again not having a lot to compare to id have to say that our sailing on navigator was amazing, other than MDR food which is my only complaint.

 

 

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[chessbriar]

One thing I have learned from cruising and reading the posts here, is take everything with a grain of salt.

 

Far more people will post to complain than they will to praise. Even though far more people usually have a wonderful cruise. There's no agenda here just unhappy people want to vent where happy people want to relish their fond memories.

 

I have read many bad post about ships I were preparing to board. I went into the cruise with low expectations and pretty much every time walking off the ship having a wonderful vacation.

 

I just remember to tell myself, I am cruising with thousands of people who are there to have a great time and hundreds of cruise staff doing all they can to make sure we do have a great time. Many times if we don't have a great time, the fault lies on us and our expectations. Then there are times when you just feel jinxed.

 

Here's hoping you have a great cruise.

[leah94]

What is wrong with some people? The NOS is one of the most beautiful and well-kept ships out there. The food in the MDR was very nice (better than Allure of the Seas last year) and deserts were great as well. Only went to the buffet for breakfast but it was pretty good as well. Service was pretty good considering there are over 3000 guests aboard. Please don't pay any attention to the whiners who expect perfection. You can't guarantee perfection even at a Four Seasons. Even the top hotels don't have to cook for and serve 3000 people per day!!! After reading the negative reviews here I was stunned when I got on board and it was the total opposite to what I had read. People act like cry babies because some crew member didn't smile at them? Please ,get on with life and enjoy your cruise! If you're going to fuss soo much about NOS, then take a bus tour around the country instead. Geez!!

[PaulnKarl]

Just got back from the 3 day Bahamas cruise (1/3-1/6). Mixed feelings. The ship was great - especially considering its age. Had to be the youngest demographic I've ever sailed with, but that was probably due to its length & destination. Very mixed cruise, Spanish, Russian, French. Friendly and efficient staff - especially in the MDR. However, with the exception of the ice show (outstanding) the entertainment was mediocre. The Windjammer café was chaos, probably because the MDR was half empty every night. The only place for late night snacks was the Promenade café - way too crowded and very limited fare. I was surprised to find alcoholic drinks were so expensive compared to other cruise companies I've been on lately. But, we had a great time. We sailed Royal Caribbean ten years ago - first time back (our memories may not be reliable) but disappointed with what we found.

Edited January 11, 2017 by PaulnKarl

[goodml]

What is wrong with some people? The NOS is one of the most beautiful and well-kept ships out there. The food in the MDR was very nice (better than Allure of the Seas last year) and deserts were great as well. Only went to the buffet for breakfast but it was pretty good as well. Service was pretty good considering there are over 3000 guests aboard. Please don't pay any attention to the whiners who expect perfection. You can't guarantee perfection even at a Four Seasons. Even the top hotels don't have to cook for and serve 3000 people per day!!! After reading the negative reviews here I was stunned when I got on board and it was the total opposite to what I had read. People act like cry babies because some crew member didn't smile at them? Please ,get on with life and enjoy your cruise! If you're going to fuss soo much about NOS, then take a bus tour around the country instead. Geez!!

 

Don't paint with such a wide brush. I've been cruising for nearly 30 years and while some were better than others I've never felt the need to formally complain. The ship is not "one of the most well-kept" out there. On the day we arrived there was a sign on the toilet saying don't be alarmed by the black stuff floating. It's just from an old part that we're gradually replacing. The part let go and my toilet forcefully overflowed into my cabin for as long as it took for someone to arrive to shut the water off from some place in the hall. I had the great misfortune of being in the shower at the time with no way out. Hello get on with the fixing. I dare you to say that's not a big deal. That's just one of the issues we had and there were more. Not everyone complains just for the sake of complaining.

[Syracruisin]

Was just on the Navigator Jan 6-15 (I'll hopefully post my review by tonight). We all had a great time. I thought the food was very good in both Windjammer and Sapphire. The rooms were clean and staff for the most part was pleasant. Guest services was a little slow and gave a bunch of nonanswers (including about my missing bag the first day that was sitting right behind them), but they were inundated every day. Seems the biggest issues onboard are with the "stripes" thinking they're better than everyone (guests as well as other employees), Diamond and Pinnacles not feeling pampered enough, and rude cruisers. But I really don't care what some "officer" on a cruise ship or rude cruiser is doing; I'm too busy enjoying my vacation. And if you go with that attitude, you should have a great time.

[juniorsmom]

Was just on the Navigator Jan 6-15 (I'll hopefully post my review by tonight). We all had a great time. I thought the food was very good in both Windjammer and Sapphire. The rooms were clean and staff for the most part was pleasant. Guest services was a little slow and gave a bunch of nonanswers (including about my missing bag the first day that was sitting right behind them), but they were inundated every day. Seems the biggest issues onboard are with the "stripes" thinking they're better than everyone (guests as well as other employees), Diamond and Pinnacles not feeling pampered enough, and rude cruisers. But I really don't care what some "officer" on a cruise ship or rude cruiser is doing; I'm too busy enjoying my vacation. And if you go with that attitude, you should have a great time.

 

I was on this cruise as well and I totally agree. This cruise made us diamond so I guess we aren't used to any pampering yet lol.

 

Food was good in the Sapphire dining room and Windjammer. (No specialty restaurants).

 

We are pretty low maintenance and we just enjoyed the 9 days and the ABC islands.

 

Start the cruise off with a positive attitude and it will follow you through.

[Back2golf6]

A group of 6 of us will be on the Navigator mid-March; the way I look at it, it won't be snowing, I won't be at work, and I don't have to cook/clean. For 9 days, my only responsibilities will be to enjoy an adult beverage or two, work on my tan, and have a fabulous time exploring the ship and ports!

 

As long as there's not a dead body stashed somewhere in my cabin, I'm more than likely going to have a grand old time. . .:D

[linedancer]

I was on NOS Jan 15-20. Loved it. We were not at the tent so getting onboard was a breeze. Our room steward was good. Our dinning staff was awesome. Alan and David in diamond lounge were wonderful. Never had to wait for a drink. But the lounge was very rarely full. The ho'rderves in the lounge were the best we ever had. Food in MDR was ok. Some better then others but we never had to send anything back. We enjoyed the shows. We did notice less bar servers. Most times you had to go to bar for your own drink. They use to walk around more. We did not have drink package. Departation was also a breeze. We would sail on NOS again. Any vacation is what you make of it. Have fun and happy sailing.