Jan 4, 2019 Navigator

[donnacat9]

We leave shortly for this trip and I have read the advice from all of you to pick a certain waiter

in Compass Rose.   Who do you recommend on the Navigator?  

Is sitting near the entrance further away from the kitchen and where one finds a section

to return to each night?    Thanks in advance for your response.   Donna

[mj_holiday]

We just spent 24 nights on the Navigator.  We ate in CR most evenings.  We did not try to get the same waiter every evening.  We had excellent service every evening.  I also got disoriented a couple times because you could enter the CR on either side to be seated.  We did get seated in the same station a couple nights in a row and I think that was because of the entrance we came in on and the time (for us 6:30) and that section just happened to be next.  I am sure if you know the name of a server you like you can ask for a table of theirs.

[Travelcat2]

If I knew who was onboard at the moment, I would be happy to make a recommendation.  The last that I heard, Risky was on Navigator and had been promoted.  If she is there and you sit in her area, you are likely to get extraordinary service.

[Zqueeze1]

During our late October cruise from Montreal to Miami we sat in Mario’s section based on a recommendation. He and his team were fantastic and went beyond Regent’s standards.  If he is still onboard please give him a try and pass our well wishes from Roberto and Pam.  Also, have a wonderful cruise and Happy New Years!!! 

Z and TB

[donnacat9]

Thank you Jackie and Cool Cruiser!!  

We will look for both Risky and Mario.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

This trip is to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary - - where did the time go?

 

[RachelG]

Risky and Mario are both excellent.  Would recommend either.  We haven’t been on Navigator in a while but very much like the smaller ship.

[donnacat9]

We will look forward to finding them on the ship.   Thanks.   Donna

[IndiTravler]

As an FYI -- All the waiters great!  

 

If you want a window, I found it was best to skip lunch and be an early bird to dinner.   OR come later after the early birds at the windows are done - which puts you at risk that sunset had occurred and there was no view.     

[ronrick1943]

Enjoy your cruise, we'll be on the Navigator later---any likes or dislikes ob the ship?

[Hambagahle]

What I do not like about the Navigator are:

1. Lack of forward Observation lounge.

2.  Small size of the "main" lounge, Galileo's.

3.  Smallish balconies in some cases - we had a Navigator suite and could barely move on the balcony!

 

What I DO like:

1.   Intimacy of the ship

2.  "Normal" suites are more spacious than on the Mariner etc

[Travelcat2]

Gerry, you listed some of the reasons that we do not sail on Navigator.  The Navigator also does not do as well as her sister ships in rough seas - on one world cruise a poster said that she was "bouncing around like a cork" (and she is the only ship that gets us seasick).  

 

Obviously, the Navigator only has one specialty restaurant (P7) and La Veranda is not large enough to accommodate the number of passengers that want to dine there so they have to open P7 at lunch to accommodate them (this is not a big deal however, since they took a portion of La Veranda out to build P7, I do not find either space comfortable).

 

Last, if the weather is inclement and all passenger are inside, it is like a pack of sardines (well, maybe not that bad but is it crowded).

 

Note:  Silversea has two ships that are the approximate size of Navigator but have 50 less suites.  It makes all the difference in the world (they are our favorite Silversea ships).

 

P.S.  Almost forgot - we stayed in a Master Suite under the bridge and heard the officers walking back and forth all night.  This is not a sound proofed ship.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Travelcat2

[ronrick1943]

4 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

What I do not like about the Navigator are:

1. Lack of forward Observation lounge.

2.  Small size of the "main" lounge, Galileo's.

3.  Smallish balconies in some cases - we had a Navigator suite and could barely move on the balcony!

 

What I DO like:

1.   Intimacy of the ship

2.  "Normal" suites are more spacious than on the Mariner etc

 

Thanks for feedback.

[pingpong1]

I wonder why we all have to be constantly reminded.....Oh, about 4 times each week for the past 4 years, why someone doesn't like Navigator.  I think we've all received that message loud and clear by now.  Oh, and is Explorer their "favorite ship"??

[rcandkc]

Well, we are going on the Navigator for the SIXTH time in May.  Apparently, we like it just fine.  

[IndiTravler]

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 8:03 PM, ronrick1943 said:

Enjoy your cruise, we'll be on the Navigator later---any likes or dislikes ob the ship?

 

5 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

What I do not like about the Navigator are:

1. Lack of forward Observation lounge.

2.  Small size of the "main" lounge, Galileo's.

3.  Smallish balconies in some cases - we had a Navigator suite and could barely move on the balcony!

 

What I DO like:

1.   Intimacy of the ship

2.  "Normal" suites are more spacious than on the Mariner etc

 

I agree with Hambagahle said and I add the following.

 

Dislikes:

1.  The goofy bathrooms in a Navigator suites and the fact the suites are under the pool deck.

2.  Regent doesn't leverage her size to take her to more off the beaten path to unusual ports or longer stays/overnights in ports.  

 

Likes

1.  Lower per diem rates.   Due to the large number of folks who don't seem to like the ship, it seems that per diem rates are consistently lower than most of the other Regent ships making it possible for us to afford longer cruises.  

2. The group of Navigator FANS.   The folks who are on her, love her and when on board we have a good time.   

 

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, pingpong1 said:

I wonder why we all have to be constantly reminded.....Oh, about 4 times each week for the past 4 years, why someone doesn't like Navigator.  I think we've all received that message loud and clear by now.  Oh, and is Explorer their "favorite ship"??

 

And...... we (regulars) are asked the same questions hundreds of times and have no problem responding hundreds of times.  A poster asked the question and a few of us responded.   What is the big deal? (No response necessary)

 

 

[Hambagahle]

The only thing I found weird about the bathroom in the Navigator suite was it is off the living room and not off the bedroom.  For the rest it was just fine.  And yes, we were under the Pool Deck - but never heard a squeak (or even a scraping of chairs) from there.   Occasionally there was a slight smell of chorine in the corridor because of the filtration equipment for the pool but it was a "clean" smell and we never had that in the suite anyway.   The smallness of the balcony really did bother me though...

 

For the rest - as I said - I like the Navigator.  What I fail to understand is why a forward facing bar or lounge was done away with somewhere along the way and the gym put in its place ?  There is a LOT of room forward of the gym on the deck and surely a bar or lounge could be put there and the gym located somewhere lower.   On the forward lift there was a sign for some kind of bar which no longer existed...   Bizarre!

[NCCruzQueen]

Donnacat,  looking forward to your posts!!

 

 

[papaflamingo]

18 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

I wonder why we all have to be constantly reminded.....Oh, about 4 times each week for the past 4 years, why someone doesn't like Navigator.  I think we've all received that message loud and clear by now.  Oh, and is Explorer their "favorite ship"??

To be perfectly honest, I am new to Regent.  We sailed on Mariner and have booked a cruise on Navigator.  Thanks to all the "reminders" I was able to be forewarned about the potential of vibration in the stern area and booked a cabin forward to avoid it.  I am fully aware that there is no forward viewing, now know that she "bobs like a cork" at times, and that there is limited specialty restaurants on board.  

Having just come from Mariner, I would have been caught off guard had  it not been for the continuous "reminders" that you don't seem to care for.  I don't want to have to weed through months or years of posts to see what someone liked or disliked 2 years ago.  Also I like getting numerous opinions of a ship as it's a much clearer picture as to the general likes or dislikes.  Every opinion is different, and when a number of people agree or disagree on ships, it provides a fairly accurate expectation for the cruise.  I say keep the comments coming.  They're very valuable to ME in making my decisions.  And it's little more than a "click" or "scroll" to ignore a comment or thread.  

[Travelcat2]

papaflamingo - really appreciated your post - it is always good to know that what we post is helpful.

 

Since you are aware of the small issues with Navigator, you should be fine.  She is a beautiful little ship and, IMHO, the suites are much nicer than on Mariner.

 

I thought of a couple of more things that people should know about the Navigator.  All of the suites - through PH level are the same size (the lowest level has no balcony but the suite same is the same).  As has been mentioned, the Navigator Suites are under the pool deck and when we've walked through the deck with the Navigator Suites, sometimes the smell of chlorine was quite strong.  There is one Navigator suite that we like and that is 1125.  Formerly it was a hair salon.   

 

We went through quite a bit during our three Navigator cruises (most issues have been corrected).  Our last Navigator cruise was in Alaska in a Master Suite.  It was quite forward and on a high deck so my DH got seasick and, as mentioned, the sound of heavy shoes walking back and forth all night from above the bridge make sleeping difficult.  For us, we decided that Regent has other ships without as many issues so we dropped the Navigator.  

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

And to beat my dead horse, Navigator has the best standard balcony cabins (but I don't know Explorer.)  Even though they are almost identical to those on Voyager, they feel roomier, for some reason.  If only Mariner had those cabins, but then the architecture of the public spaces would no doubt be very different, and I love those public spaces.

 

And I'm in the minority among the ones who have reservations about Navigator--I love Galileos, the aft-facing Observation Lounge.

[purpleally]

On 1/5/2019 at 12:35 PM, pingpong1 said:

I wonder why we all have to be constantly reminded.....Oh, about 4 times each week for the past 4 years, why someone doesn't like Navigator.  I think we've all received that message loud and clear by now.  Oh, and is Explorer their "favorite ship"??

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[Travelcat2]

If it helps even one poster, I will post about any topic - giving my opinions 1,000 times if necessary.  It seems that regulars on the Regent board are bothered by this but not people (like papaflamingo - see above) that visit CC to learn about Regent or the ship they are booked on.  These negative comments are a shame as it gives the wrong impression of Regent and their passengers.  Perhaps in the New Year posters can give opinions without harassment (even if it done multiple times). 

[donnacat9]

Hi everyone,

 

We are aboard the Navigator now.   Found Mario in the main dining room and are very pleased with our dining experience.  We play bridge and have found the instructors to be wonderful - -our game in the afternoon is 18 boards - -

Risky was promoted two years ago and is upstairs running La Veranda.  

We introduced ourselves to both of them and let them know it was from the cruise 

critic list.   

Rough seas last night - but it was bedtime so slept through the night.  

Only negative is the airport to cruise ship.   I won’t go into details but did make a complaint onboard with the executive consieur and he stated it was a third party operation and appreciated hearing the criticism.  

 

They brought 900 flowers onboard and we will thread and make leis this afternoon.

Our meeting (meet and mingle) was a big success in that many of the ship’s personnel 

were there.   Captain spoke and answered all our questions.   The crew circulated with all of us.   It was fun.   A small group of us also met up in Galleos after muster.

 

Last night was the block party - -Capt got to every floor before 6:30!    Tonight is formal

and it is the Captain’s reception.     Sun is shining and our enrichment series with Terry are wonderful (lectures).    Time to go and make a lei to wear for tonight.

It is our 50th wedding anniversary tomorrow - -I hope it will last for two days.

Will give you more info later.   

Oh - -we found a white burgundy wine that we love - -very crisp and we still like the Pinot Noir too.    Donna

 

[liptastic]

Very pleased to hear you are having a wonderful time. Happy Golden Anniversary tomorrow have a great day.  Jean.