Navigator 6/24-6/28 “We Came to Dance” Trip Report

[DancerMama25]

Hello everyone!   Just back from our 4 night Nassau/CoCoCay cruise!  After reading everything I could to prepare for the trip and all the help you provided, I thought I’d do a report with the result.    I’m going to try to post lots of photos, but have had trouble with that in the past. Fingers crossed it all works out! 🤞🏼 

 

Let me start by introducing myself and the group with which I was crushing.  I’m a late 40’s dance Mom from Michigan traveling with my husband and our 13-year-old dancer daughter.  Oh yeah, and 48 other dancers and 189 family members from our dance studio, Central City Dance in Canton, Michigan.  Here we are:

 

 

[DancerMama25]

So, we arrived in Miami a couple of days early, and as many here recommended, we stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites Brickell.   A lot of our group stayed there as well.  The rooms were clean and adequate.  The breakfast was phenomenal for an included continental style.  This hotel very clearly caters to European guests, and the breakfast reflected that.  Along with typical American choices, (pancakes, waffles, eggs, sweet rolls, muffins, bacon, sausage, etc.) they also had fresh breads and rolls, meats, cheeses, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

[DancerMama25]

The common areas and bar were large and comfortable, and we did spend time in our group playing cards and congregating in the 6th floor lobby.  The pool area was nice, but the water was sooooo warm it wasn’t pleasant to be in.  The hot tub was actually cooler.   The kids waited until the sun went down to hang in the pool, and the adults basically avoided it.   The deck was nice, though, and this is most certainly an issue because of the summer and would likely be fine in November or March.   YMMV.  The A/c in the rooms only cooled to 70°, which isn’t ideal for us sleeping, but ok.   

[DancerMama25]

The concierge recommended a local taco place, Pilos, right around the corner from the hotel for dinner.  We ventured out for the walk in the crazy heat (index over 100°-they were experiencing a heat wave) and it was worth the trip.  Delicious, fresh and flavorful.   I’d go again.    We drove to Ocean Dr to say we did it; were held up as Ferraris an Lamborghinis needed us to wait so they could pull up to valets.   🤣.  We are glad we made the trek; it really is something to see the neon and Art Deco.

 

They next day (Sunday) we headed out to South Beach for a few hours.   We found a great parking spot in a small lot for $20 just north of 4th Street on Ocean Drive.  Walked the path to the beach and had a great few hours there.  There was a 5’ long lemon shark hanging around, and a few smaller ones.  The lifeguards explained it was a Momma, and she’d been chilling near the shore for a few weeks but was harmless and non-aggressive.  We just gave her space and everything was copacetic.  The ocean felt great and it was  wonderful way to kick off the trip.  

 

 

[DancerMama25]

We woke up Monday morning and it was time to go!   So, so excited.   We had team shirts that our group wore for boarding.   So, we dressed in our blue “Rockin the Royal” Tees and headed for the parking structure at Terminal A.  I had been reading about how smooth the boarding process would be, and it most certainly was!  We drove into the parking structure at 10:00am, and the first picture I took on the pool deck after stopping at guest services was taken at 10:34.   Again, thanks to folks here for all the advice; I knew exactly what to expect and what to do because of your advice!

 

Anyway, the porters took our luggage right at our van and we were on the elevator to the terminal.  Walked inside and were guided around.   We had our photo taken by the backdrop and they were calling to board.  Before we knew it, we were walking the gangway and were ready to start our vacation.  A quick stop at guest services to make sure my onboard credit (received as a gift certificate) was there, and we were good to go.   The guest services agent was friendly, quick, and kind.  Overall, it took less than 5 minutes.  Off to explore the ship a bit!

 

 

[DancerMama25]

More to come!   Off to make dinner,  (ugh-reality) but if you’re interested, I have more!

[Getting out there]

Looking forward to more. Hope you got a great group rate.

[DancerMama25]

So, more time Monday afternoon spent around the pool deck.  The drink of the day was a Bahama Mama, so I had one, but I found two things I liked better around the pool instead.   Loved the Miami Vice; 1/2 strawberry daiquiri-1/2 piña colada with a dark rum shot float, and also piña coladas with amaretto instead of rum.  The Lime and Coconut was a fun place to grab drinks, with bartender Jefferson being a favorite of mine.    There were PLENTY of waiters walking around the pool serving as well.  No need to leave the water if you’d prefer not.  Notes:  wear some sort of shoe or flip flop.  The deck is VERY hot; it would be easy to burn your tootsies!  👣. 

 

Our room was ready by 12:30 when I went by to check.  We dropped our stuff while my husband stayed in one of the cabanas we had grabbed.  It was the starboard side yellow with aqua roof.   We opted to eat at El Loco Fresh for lunch rather than venture to the windjammer with the crowd.  It was a good choice.  Loved the flavors and fresh choices.  Had some steak, chicken, and carnita tacos, nachos, an quesadillas,.  None  of us had the burritos.    Another lice of info... if you have your sealass linked on the Royal App, you can use that instead of the paper sea pass before you get your cards in your room.

 

 

[DancerMama25]

We decided to head to our stateroom to change for muster/sail away/dinner.  We were in an inside cabin, #8455.   We had Francisco, our stateroom attendant, split our king into twins and pull down the right Pullman.  It gave us a little more usable floor space and kept the ladder away from the tv and desk.  I had been warned over and over by my mother, a seasoned cruiser, that I would hate the inside cabins.   She was wrong.  We found it to be perfectly fine, especially since we spent almost no time in it!  Our air conditioning cooled better than our Miami hotel.  😎. I was prepared to hate the bed as well; we are used to a Temperpedic at home.   It was fine.  Honestly, I kind of loved the cocoon feeling I got from being tucked under the bunk.  It was nice.  

 

The travel agent from Stars at Sea that handles the group booking sent a treat every day.   We received a fruit and cheese plate with Brie and crackers, a box of truffles, and 4 vanilla bean cupcakes.   We had two towel animals on our trip as well; an elephant and a monkey.

 

Time to head downstairs for Muster.   We were Station D19, which was fantastic because we were able to sit in the air conditioned dining room.  

 

 

[DancerMama25]

Time for sail away!    The captain announced that there were storms moving in, so we may wait for them to pass and leave a little late.   However, within minutes we were underway.   We rushed up to deck 12 to watch and participate in the Let’s Get Loud Party for a bit before heading to dinner.  , 

[DancerMama25]

As we were part of a large group, we had the early seating in the Main Dining Room.   Our table was 485.  Our head waiter was Angel from the Philippines she had been a waiter on RCI for 10 years.   Our assistant waiter was Muhamad from Jakarta, Indonesia, and he has been with Royal for 2 years.    Over the course of the week, we established a great rapport with them, especially Muhamad.   He had a great sense of humor that our girls really loved.   Our servers were good, although that wasn’t the report from everyone in our group.   All I can say is ours were appropriately attentive, friendly, efficient, etc.   

 

We were at a table of 10, all members of our group.  5 adults and 5 parents.   We ate in the min dining room every night; it was a good way for us to come together if we spent time apart during the day.  Also, it was honestly the part of the cruise my daughter was looking forward to the most.   She is an adventurous eater, and couldn’t wait to try escargot and any other (especially seafood) dish that was new to her.   She loved the escargot and had it every night, along with at least one more appetizer.   

 

Night one, I had the Waldorf salad, chicken Marsala, and key lime pie.   Key lime pie is my favorite and I was excited about it.   It had a whipped cream topping.  I only mention this because later in the week we had lunch once in the main dining room and key lime pie was on the menu, but it had a meringue top.  😝. Anyway, Lexi had the escargot, shrimp cocktail, salmon, and I think creme brulee.   Lexi loved her food.   Mine was fine.  I mean, it’s good for a restaurant that’s feeding thousands in a short period of time, but it’s not 5-star or anything.  It’s good.   The ambiance is really the point anyway.   (Our table was next to a wall, a window, and another table of 10 of our group.)

 

 

[DancerMama25]

After dinner it was too late to go to the early skating show in Studio B, so we headed to the Star Lounge for “60 seconds to win” (Minute to win it). We walked in about 10 minutes before the game show started, and we were the only ones there.  We ordered drinks and sat, then started getting frantic texts from some of our kids for us to all hurry to “The Living Room” to sign the waiver forms for our kids in the teen club.   So we grabbed our drinks and headed all the way to the other end of the ship to sign them in.   It was an adventure mostly because it’s tucked away and one of those, “you can’t get there from here” type of situations.    We laughed as we looked for where we were going.   It was the blind leading the blind in the cruise ship equivalent of over the river and through the woods that we repeated later in the week to a different venue. 😂.  We went across the deck, up the stairs, past the basketball court, next to the Flowrider, down the spiral stairs, past the chairs and behold...we were there!  And they DID NOT NEED US!   😡. We still think our kids owe us a medal because a few minutes later others in our group posted photos of them winning the game show we had left.   We’re sure we could have beaten them!  🏅.  Oh well, we caught a beautiful sunset on the deck before heading to iSkate.   

 

 

[DancerMama25]

Off to the later show of iSkate.  This was really our first “interaction” with Hugo, our Cruise Director.   While I loved his energy when we did see him, we didn’t see him very often.   Only to introduce main shows and to host Silly Quest.  He wasn’t really a presence on board other than that and that actually disappointed me.

 

iSkate was fantastic!  I think it was my favorite main show on the ship.   I loved the drones at the beginning, although their purpose didn’t really tie into the skating, they were cool.  Very, very entertaining and worth seeing!!  

 

Afterward, we hit the 70’s Disco Party on the Promenade where we met up with many more people from our group that were hanging at tables outside the Cooper & Kettle.  Had a blast doing the Hustle, dancing to Night Fever, and the YMCA.  Headed back to the room to change shoes and ran into my daughter heading to bed.  She had a good time in the Loving Room, and ended up on the pool deck watching the movie with some friends.   After changing shoes, headed back to the Promenade to meet up again, played  some euchre with friends, snacked on pizza and sandwiches from Cafe Promenade, and generally laughed and had a great time.  One of our group headed down to use a bathroom on the 4th deck, and found more of our group at the Schooner Bar, where a piano/comedian was playing.   He lead us all down there and we closed the place out gathered around the piano singing “Lean On Me” at about 1:20 am.   Several of us continued to sit there until close to 3:30 am talking and having a great time.  The casino bar is open late and is just steps away from Schooners.   It was a fanatic night!

[DancerMama25]

Tuesday morning and we are docked in Nassau.   Also docked was Empress, Disney Dream, Carnival Ecstasy, and Carnival something I can’t remember. , We got up rather early to head off to check out the market with the goal of beating the heat.  Others in our group had booked excursions at Atlantis, and some at Blue Lagoon Island.  Still others weren’t getting off the ship at all. We had breakfast in the Windjammer and headed out.  It was H-O-T!  We walked around the straw market.  My daughter and I bartered for a dress and several of the girls got a few braids.  We headed back, changed into our suits, and had a pool-filled afternoon!  At one point, there were 65 people in one of the two main pools, and 60 of them were from our group.   We were playing catch with a small football.  Other guests came and went, asking about our group and tossing the football with us.  It was great.  Again, taco lunch and some frozen drink yumminess was enjoyed.  

 

Around 3:45 it was time to get ready for the formal group shot in front of the theatre before dress your best night in the dining room.

 

 

[DancerMama25]

It was (not) formal night in the dining room tonight.  We got dressed and ready to head for dinner.   I had the baked French onion soup, beef tenderloin with mushrooms, and carrot cake.  Lexi had escargot again, and another app I can’t remember.  I really should have taken photos of the menus and kept track.   She had duck á l’orange as her main course.   Another mom and I ordered a duck plate to share.   The duck was better than the tenderloin.  

 

 

[DancerMama25]

After dinner, we went to the Ballroom Dance show in the Main Theatre.  It was (in my opinion) the better of the two singing and dancing production shows performed by the royal dancers.   The dancers are great.  Afterward, the kids were off to teen club activities including the teen dance party on the pool deck, and the adults headed off for some adult karaoke in the Cosmopolitan Club.  First, we had to FIND the Cosmopolitan Club.  We knew where it was, we just didn’t know how to get there.  It was another hilarious comedy of errors, but we found our way up there.  Lots and lots of laughs were had as we headed up there!

 

We performed “Bohemian Rhapsody” and it was a riot!   Never fear, none of us are quitting our day jobs!  We headed out to the Copper & Kettle again.  There was an acoustic guitar player, and we played more cards.

 

Our kids are somewhere down on that deck at the party. 🤣 

Edited July 1, 2019 by DancerMama25

[Merion_Mom]

@DancerMama25 This is one heck of a great review!  Keep going!

[leight]

Loving this! My sister and I are going on Navigator in Feb- will be my 3rd cruise on her but my sister's first cruise ever! Great to see a really recent review!

[DancerMama25]

Wednesday Morning and we are in CoCoCay ready for our perfect day!  We had rented a cabana near the Oasis Lagoon with another dance family.  We wanted a spot to lock some thing up, have shade, a breeze from the fan, and a good place to rest.  We had towels and water on ice in a cooler.   There was an attendant who brought us our food and drinks.  It was a great purchase.  We paid $379 for the 8 of us.  It was well worth the money.  I would do it again at that price!

 

There is a lot to say about CoCoCay.  I have lots of pictures, too.  

 

First of all, it is absolutely gorgeous!!  As you walk down the pier you are greeted by dancers and a band playing, “Perfect Day.”  There are many people to guide you to where you are going.  I thought the tram information was unclear.   I saw it running, but didn’t know where to catch it.  It wasn’t a big deal for us; nothing is really that far away.  

 

There is something for everyone.  The thrill waterpark is great if you are into slides and the wave pool.  We opted not to pay the extra for it as we live near a waterpark with the amenities.  Also, the line for the tall slide was more than an hour long for most of the day, and that’s just not how I want to spend my limited time on the island.  I respect the people that make that choice though; to each their own.

 

There are two splash pads, one pirate ship small one immediately as you enter the island, and a larger one with smaller slide, dumping buckets, and more.  They are both fresh water and the water is cool and refreshing.  My family actually spent some time in it because, let’s face it, it’s just plain fun to have the anticipation of that giant water dump.  Plus, the water was cool.  

 

The Oasis Lagoon pool was clean and wonderful.  It is a sand base pool with a heavy liner.  It is not cement!  This makes walking in it very comfortable.  The steps in and out are cushy.  There are many places with benches to sit and chill.   There was a DJ. near the bar, with a very party-like atmosphere.  That being said, if you don’t want that feel, the pool is large enough to not be a part of it.    Heads-up:  there are large iguanas all around the island, including on the pool islands.   We think they are cool, but others may not feel the same way.  They’ll leave you alone.   However, there was one near an in-water pool table and stools that the lifeguards warned to keep our distance.  She had been mistreated by guests and was sometimes aggressive out of fear.  😢.   Please, just don’t be a jerk; leave the iguanas (and chickens and peacocks) alone.  Sheesh.   The problem with the pool is that it’s too warm.  Other than that...it’s amazing.   I enjoyed sipping on CocoLocos while floating and chilling.

 

 

more CoCoCay coming....

 

 

 

 

[DancerMama25]

...CoCoCay continued...

 

We ventured to South Beach for a while.  It is gorgeous.  Just as you’d expect from any tropical beach, it was beautiful. It is shallow out for a long way.  It is definitely worth visiting for a bit.  🏖🐠🌴.  There is Sea life; fish, urchins, etc.  we did not run into any fire coral issues as others have reported.   Check it out!

 

Around 2:45 a thunderstorm rolled in.  Staff cleared the pools, etc, and many people made their way back to the ship.   Rather than getting caught in the throng, we figured we’d try to wait it out a bit and sat and played checkers in Captain Jacks.   There was an acoustic guitar-playing live karaoke.   One of the little kids from our group got up and sang “Don’t Stop Believin’.”    She’s only 9 and she was great.  I’m so glad we decided to wait it out.  As is often the case with tropical rain, it is short-lived and cleared up fast.   

 

Here are some more photos from around the island.

 

 

[DancerMama25]

Wednesday night back on the ship and time for dinner. This night they celebrated RCI’s 50th Anniversary with adorable mini birthday cakes.  I had Asian-style pork tacos for my app, and I didn’t really care for it.  The shells were really soft and dumpling like, and the consistency was off-putting to me.   The flavor of the stuffing was good, though.  I had Steak Diane with morel mushroom sauce, and I think chocolate cake for dessert.   Lexi had tiger prawns that she loved and soufflé with orange sauce for dessert.  She reports the soufflé was eggy, which she loved.

 

After dinner it was time for the magician in the Main Theatre.  This was the only show that I felt was really sub-par.   I wish I would have gone to the name that tune game shows instead,  His “big finish” was just a bunch of tangrams.  It was disappointing.  Oh well, you can’t win them all.

 

Afterward, all the adults in our group headed to Studio B for the X vs. Y battle and the adult only Silly Quest.   It is safe to say that I have never laughed so hard in my life.   Our group again wore our team shirts and we showed up in force ready to play.  I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil anything, but DO THIS.  Loosen up,have a couple of cocktails, and be ready to have fun!  (Oh, and discover which men wear boxers or briefs.)  What a great night!!   

 

Afterward, off to Schooner for more piano comedy and more time on the promenade as well.   Third night, third time in bed after 3:00 am.   It’s been a great week so far!!

[DancerMama25]

Thursday morning is a Sea day and today is the day we came for.   It’s time to get ready to dance.  The kids have rehearsal in the Royal Theatre at 8:30, followed by a Master Class given by the Royal Dance Captains.  It was a fantastic experience for our kids, and we got a backstage tour as well.   Our directors and the kids worked with the lighting and sound designers on the ship.  While our kids rehearsed, a bunch of parents had breakfast in the Main Dining Room.

 

After Rehearsal and Master Class, my daughter put on her pointe shoes and we took some pics around the ship.  The Main Dining Room’s Art is all dance-themed, so we started in there.  The waitstaff was busy setting up for the lunch, and our main waitress, Angel, saw us and came running over very excitedly to see us.  After we took a few pictures, the waitstaff clapped as we walked out.  It was very cool and unexpected.  I didn’t realize they had stopped to watch.

 

 

[DancerMama25]

After a quick lunch it was time to get ready for the 2:30 performance in the Main Theatre.   We were really hoping people would come to see the kids. (You know, other than those that brought them in the first place.) All of the dancers and singers came to watch. The kids were very excited after the show to see them there.   It turns out that many people came to see the show, and for that we were grateful!

[DancerMama25]

Afterward we relaxed a bit before heading up to the Links.  ⛳️.  We played a round of putt-putt which my daughter won.  🤦🏻‍♀️   Aside from the typical putt-putt obstacles, in addition to being on a moving ship, there were a few toddlers that were not being watched by their parents that would randomly step in fRont of you and steal or hit your ball, lay on the cup, start randomly playing ahead of you, etc.  It was pretty funny.

 

At dinner, it was time for the waitstaff to dance and Sing for us.  Although they told us of the pending survey, they did not beg for 10s as I have heard mentioned on the boards many times.   It was actually a lot of fun.   

 

I finally ran into the roving pianist!  He was tucked around the corner at the entrance to Adventure Ocean.   I was so excited to find him!   My daughter had seen him earlier in the week in an elevator, and I was actually a little jealous.   But I heard him and followed the sound!   We saw him again after the dance show in an elevator, too.

 

After dinner we headed up (over? Out?) to our third “you can’t get there” trek of the cruise: the bow in front of the helipad for our Titanic moment.  

 

There was an 80’s party on the Promenade, so of course we had to “Go Crazy,.”   They played “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” which our adult competition team tapped to this season and many of them were with us, so they did their number on the Promenade.  People were cheering like crazy and there were Pac Man ghosts dancing, too!

 

The Main Show of the evening was the second Production by the Royal Dancers and Singers called “Showgirl!”   It was good, but I didn’t think as good as the first one.   The kids did more with the teen club.  I believe they had karaoke and another dance party.   The adults had the adult comedy show in the Main Theatre.  It was Kivi, and he was hilarious!!   He gave an all ages set earlier in the week which was good, but this was definitely adult, and people were repeatedly warned.  After about the first 10 minutes of adult content, a Dad ushered his 7 year old daughter out, covering her ears. 🤷🏻‍♀️   Well, he was warned.   

 

More fun in the Schooner and then over to Boleros for a great cover band.  They ended the night with Heaven and Highway to Hell.  There was a thunderstorm in the distance with a great lightening show we could see from the bar.  All in all, a great night yet again.  Time to head back to the room for the last sleep on ship.  😢

 

 

[DancerMama25]

And finally, Friday morning arrives and it’s time to disembark.  We opted to carry off our own luggage and I’m glad we did.  We would make that choice again.   First, we went up to the Windjammer for our last meal (it sounds as ominous as it felt).   We ran into Muhamad, our assistant waiter, so it was nice to say goodbye.   It’s crazy how quickly you can care about people you meet on board.   It took a little longer than usual to clear the ship for people to debark, but when the time came, this process was just as quick and smooth as boarding.  Before we knew it, we were in our van pulling out of the parking structure.  It was exactly 8:00am.  See ya later, Navigator!   

 

I hope this helps others as previous reports helped me.   Let me know if you have any questions!  I’ll do my best!  I’m happy to give my opinion of favorite drinks, activities, etc. 🤣😉