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

[APDMOM]

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

Definitely one of the best decisions we have made - booking that excursion! Stay tuned for our pictures and experience. :)

[APDMOM]

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

Good plan! I loved our roll call and the people we met!

[APDMOM]

My View: Day One - Miami

 

 

Our trip started a bit slower than we would have liked to, but we were quite okay with that. We knew we would be on the ship in a ‘short’ time.

First delay: Draw bridge… but it is fun to watch!

 

Second delay: A train… but we got a first tiny glimpse of our ship!

 

We arrived at port around 10:30. All was well and relatively quiet. (Except for the poor lady who had the job to yell, “To the right!” You had to be there…)

[APDMOM]

We got through security and check in within about 20 minutes, at which time the long wait started. Rumors abounded as to why we were so delayed, but I believe the story of "too few port agents" on the holiday weekend is true. (Side note: That leads to the story that this was not the worst delay in our cruise history. That record belongs to Fort Lauderdale while disembarking on Easter weekend. Fortunately, we were waiting to get off the ship, not onto the ship that time. We were zone 2 and did not get called until the afternoon. Some people waited in the sun for 3-4 hours to embark. We just enjoyed ice cream on the ship.)

TIP: If you embark or disembark on a holiday weekend, be prepared for possible delays.

 

When we read on these boards that there was little seating available in the diamond waiting area, I thought ...maybe about 50-60 chairs - that was my idea of "very little seating". Now, I did not count, but I guesstimate there was only seating for about 15-20 people. Indeed very crowded. But it was all okay... we were going on a cruise!

 

Back to the Navigator embarkation experience: At about 12:40, diamond level was called to board, and this was the picture inside the terminal:

 

[APDMOM]

Due to the long wait and the large number of passengers boarding practically at the same time, we opted for the Promenade Café for lunch. It was just about empty when we arrived. Here we are... Family of the Seas:

 

 

 

Note about the Promenade Café:

They had a many new options that varied every day. In some ways this was great, because we discovered a new favorite (Coconut Chicken Sandwich). In some ways it was not so great, because some of our old time favorites were no longer available daily (Muffaletta and Shrimp Sandwiches).

 

The pizza on Navigator was the best of all RCL cruises we have taken. The first day stood out though, as the pizza crust was more like a deep dish crust.

 

My favorite snacks this cruise were the White Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Cookies. They were sometimes available in the Promenade Café, and sometimes in the Windjammer.

 

One good thing about boarding so late is that our rooms were ready within about 20 minutes of sitting down for lunch. We therefore got to get our first glimpse of our corner aft balcony (7688).

 

The view from our balcony when you look through the “obstruction”:

 

I will post many more pictures of the balcony and our stateroom tomorrow, as I will lead you on the “Cabin Crawl”.

[APDMOM]

The “muster drill” or safety briefing was painless and relatively brief. Unfortunately, I missed my opportunity to get good pictures of Carnival Victory sailing away. I caught a bit of it through our “porthole” side of the balcony:

 

 

The view of Miami from our balcony:

 

An attempt at a panoramic picture & view:

[APDMOM]

Before dinner, we had a tree lighting ceremony on the promenade. The voice you hear in the video belongs to Cuddy, our cruise director:

 

 

nf4FpfMOHWE

 

 

 

The tree all lit up:

[APDMOM]

We had early dining (5:30 p.m. on Caribbean sailings), which somewhat interfered with our sailaway. However, our table was close to the entrance, and on deck 4. I therefore slipped out quickly to get a few pictures:

 

[APDMOM]

This was only our second cruise as diamond, and I will share a bit more about that experience tomorrow for current and aspiring diamond members. I will also elaborate a bit about how we saved on wifi by using our coupons.

 

We did not participate in any entertainment on the first night, as we were exhausted and ready to enjoy our balcony. With that, it was the end of our first day on Navigator, heading south! I will be back tomorrow with our sea day experience, the cabin crawl, and first formal night reports. Thank you for following along!

 

A night-time view from the back edge of our balcony - you may think that obstruction stinks, but wait until I post more balcony pictures and the views from “my” lounger!

 

 

"See" you tomorrow!

[Mikew0805]

I will be interested to see that "from the lounger view." I have always thought the obstruction was not worth it on the Voyager/Freedom class.

[taylortime05]

Following. I have this cruise booked for April 13 and I think we got pretty good deal with E2 balcony for 2 at 2200 with 150 OBC. We have never been to ABC islands so this looked like a great itinerary. But my hubby thinks we should cancel because we just finished a cruise on NCL Escape and have a family cruise on Freedom in January. He says I have booked too many cruises too close together. But when I look at moving this cruise out it's about 1K difference in price.

 

I look forward to your review so I can try to convince him we should keep this cruise!

[Cruise a holic]

We will be on the AOS We typically sail Royal Oasis Class. Have done the Quantum (yuk) and freedom class. Looking at the promenade the ships look similar. If your cabin crawl includes a grand suite I would appreciate pictures of it. Enjoy your cruise!

[Arzeena]

Love the pictures and looking forward to reading more. We are doing this cruise in April.

[SilkySal]

Enjoying your review and the pics! DH and I will be on Navigator the week of March 2nd for this itinerary and can't hardly wait! We have corner aft balcony #1388 (starboard).:cool: Wondering which side of the ship will be closest to the docks for the best island views, or might that be different each time, depending on the other ships in port that day?:confused: We have the Woodwind snorkeling trip booked in Bonaire but nothing for the rest of the ports. We also own a trike and am interested in your trike experience in Aruba, as we are on the fence about that!:rolleyes: Thanks so much for taking the time to post for us!!;)

[George C]

Another great review, really enjoyed meeting you last week, note on muster drill, I have knee problems, my wife just told them I had a issue and we were able to just sit in schooner bar for it with many others

[Nessa1dc]

Looking forward to your review. We will be doing a B2B on Navigator starting January 14th....so excited. Thank you for sharing.

[soccerdad72]

Following along - we're on Navigator this summer in Europe (our first time on a Voyager class) so I'm looking forward to all the pics of the ship (and tips).

[ksuds]

We were on your sailing. Love hearing your review. Yes, embarkation was a nightmare.

[cocacola86]

Does the ABC islands have a lot of Dutch places for food?

 

 

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[Sobro]

We will be on the AOS We typically sail Royal Oasis Class. Have done the Quantum (yuk) and freedom class. Looking at the promenade the ships look similar. If your cabin crawl includes a grand suite I would appreciate pictures of it. Enjoy your cruise!

 

The Freedom Class is essentially an enlarged Voyager Class. Flowriders were added after drydock to Voyager Class ships.

 

 

APDMOM, we enjoyed meeting you and your family on this cruise and look forward to enjoying it once again.

 

 

Greg and Rahn

[APDMOM]

Following. I have this cruise booked for April 13 and I think we got pretty good deal with E2 balcony for 2 at 2200 with 150 OBC. We have never been to ABC islands so this looked like a great itinerary. But my hubby thinks we should cancel because we just finished a cruise on NCL Escape and have a family cruise on Freedom in January. He says I have booked too many cruises too close together. But when I look at moving this cruise out it's about 1K difference in price.

 

I look forward to your review so I can try to convince him we should keep this cruise!

Definitely a good deal! I vote for keeping it, but then I also do not think there is such a thing as 'too many cruises' :D

[APDMOM]

We will be on the AOS We typically sail Royal Oasis Class. Have done the Quantum (yuk) and freedom class. Looking at the promenade the ships look similar. If your cabin crawl includes a grand suite I would appreciate pictures of it. Enjoy your cruise!

Grand suite coming up soon! :)

[APDMOM]

Enjoying your review and the pics! DH and I will be on Navigator the week of March 2nd for this itinerary and can't hardly wait! We have corner aft balcony #1388 (starboard).:cool: Wondering which side of the ship will be closest to the docks for the best island views, or might that be different each time, depending on the other ships in port that day?:confused: We have the Woodwind snorkeling trip booked in Bonaire but nothing for the rest of the ports. We also own a trike and am interested in your trike experience in Aruba, as we are on the fence about that!:rolleyes: Thanks so much for taking the time to post for us!!;)

 

Also a nice cabin! We had one of those on Freedom. Most of the time, our side of the ship faced port (which is the opposite side of your cabin). Only in Labadee did we dock the other way around. So, in Labadee you will have a view of the port itself.

 

As for the trikes, if you own one it may not be as special. I think a large part of the adventure is driving/riding that. However, it is also a great way to see the island.

[APDMOM]

Another great review, really enjoyed meeting you last week, note on muster drill, I have knee problems, my wife just told them I had a issue and we were able to just sit in schooner bar for it with many others

 

Thanks for that input, George! Really enjoyed meeting both of you also! I always love Texans... so much like home :)

[APDMOM]

Does the ABC islands have a lot of Dutch places for food?

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Maybe someone else can help here. I am not sure, as we have never eaten in the ports... part of that 'cruise budget'. :D