Back from Navigator. Some Thoughts.

[KuffMUp]

We just came back from a cruise on the "re-amped" Navigator.  We had previously spent 2 weeks on her about three years ago.  There were some changes, bad and good.  I have been largely absent from CC but knew a few things had changed such as embarkation.  These are just some thoughts.

 

Embarkation:

I knew about the "new" method of embarkation with not getting your keys until on board.  We were both still a little confused about how the whole thing would work.  I had read some folks saying that it didn't matter what time your "appointment" was for checking in and that you could still get there "whenever" and get right on.  We found that not to be the case on this particular trip.

 

We booked a transfer from the hotel as we had for our numerous Florida departures.  We were told that the van would leave at 10:30 am.  Our "appointment" was 12:30 to 1:30 but after what I had read here, wasn't too concerned.  We ended up leaving shortly after 10:00 am as people had begun arriving to line up for the vans.  We dropped off our luggage and went to the new RCCL terminal in Miami.  We were directed upstairs to the new process.  Instead of lines at counters with lines designated for various C&A levels, all people were directed to a line regardless of "status".  We are lowly Emerald but I didn't see any separate lines for Pinnacle or Suites.  Perhaps if I was either, I may have looked more closely but I can't imagine those folks waiting with the "commoners".  

 

We were directed to a "line".  Envision a large room with many of those "barriers" with retractable nylon straps we are used to seeing at airports or cruises to make winding queue lines.  These were greatly simplified with just a few marking where each agent stood.  We were directed to one worker who was standing, talking with another worker with his back to us.  We stood there for a moment.  We thought we had gone to the wrong queue and stepped to the line next to us whereby the worker to was doing the directing told us we were in the wrong line and pointed us back to the worker with the back turned.  We stood there for maybe 15 to 20 seconds.  Not really a long time but it flashed in my mind how long we were to wait for his conversation to end.  The worker who was directing lines came over and told him that we were waiting.  He looked shocked, turned around, and greeted us.  So with a handheld device, he scanned our papers, took a photo, and confirmed we wanted to use the credit card on file.  Pretty painless.  We were then directed upstairs further where there was a huge room of chairs.  Again, I didn't see anything pointing to C&A status let alone Pinnacles and Suites.  We took a seat and heard the announcement that they were allowing Gold members to board.  We stood up thinking we missed our opportunity we got in line to hear that only people with a 10:30 appointment time were to board and that they would be boarding according to your appointment time.  Great.  Here we were two hours early and the thought of sitting there waiting for our "time" to get on was disheartening.  After calling Gold members, all people with a 10:30 time were welcome to board.

 

So there we sat.  Some that were arriving upstairs were directed to get in line to board and others told to find a place to sit.  At about 10:50, they began calling the 11:00 group.  I got some relief knowing we may get called slightly early.  After the room emptied out except for those of us with later times, we heard the announcement several times that they were boarding by appointment time.  There we all sat.  No one in line anymore to get on and thinking we were going to have to sit there until our "appointed" time.  After about another 10 minutes, I was relieved that they realized that we were dutifully waiting and there was no line so they called all times to go ahead to board.  That made me a bit happier.  On board we went.

 

After boarding, we decided to go ahead and head to the pool because we had just eaten breakfast.  We found that all of those people who had gotten on before us had taken every single poolside lounger with a towel and beach bags/back packs.  Not understanding how the whole "get-your-keys-at-your-room" thing was going to work, we thought we would see if this meant the room was going to be ready sooner so off we went to find our if we could at least drop off bags.  We weren't the only ones who thought this.  We were met by passengers on our deck who said that the rooms were not going to be ready until 1:30.  So now we have no keys, no place to sit by the pool, and ready for a beverage but nothing to get a drink with.  We found a lounger tucked away off to the side of the Solarium so parked ourselves and bags there.  I did head to the bar to ask about drinks.  We had to carry around our inkjet printed on 8 1/2 X 11 paper Sail and Sign pages for getting drinks.  Be careful if you print with inkjet.  Get it a little wet and it will run.  We were finally somewhat happy lounging somewhere in the vicinity of a pool and having a fruity drink.

 

Food:

 

I know food is highly subjective so I am just going to report our own experience.  Note in the past, we haven't really found much to complain about.  If we didn't like something, we just ordered or gotten something else.  We did find the food in the MDR to be relatively good.  My only complaint here was the fact that the servers forgot to bring food repeatedly.  Except for the first night, all other nights in the MDR food not only for us, but other tablemates, was forgotten.  If we ordered both a soup and salad, one was always forgotten.  Note we were not eating at the same table so we had different servers every night.  While others at the table reminded the servers of the forgotten food, we just left it alone figuring we probably didn't need both appetizers.  Flagging the waiter back down was difficult as they were probably off helping other tables.  One dinner was particularly embarrassing because the server remembered only my second appetizer.  He set it down and scurried away and never came back.  So there I was eating my salad with 6 others sitting and making conversation waiting for me to finish my salad so we could get on with the meal.  Awkward!

 

The food available for dinners in the Windjammer was nearly inedible.  I ate mainly salads for lunch at the Windjammer but found that the bowls for salad ingredients were lacking.  Most bowls were empty at most times.  There were usually one or two items left so you knew what had been available.  I sometimes had to go to four different stations to get peas, mushrooms, olives, croutons, garbanzo beans, and salad dressing.  They had four different types of greens but calling the iceberg lettuce green was a misnomer.  It was often brown.  I realize it oxidizes but there are ways to reduce that.  I guess it still tasted like iceberg lettuce but was unappealing.

 

For dinner they had steak and pork chops that had been sitting and way overcooked.  They were maybe 5 mm thick and very tough.  I took some chicken tenders and they were anything but tender.  After sawing through one with my knife, I went to spear it with my fork and it shot off the plate and across the table it was so tough.  I tried two or three times to cut it and get a piece in my mouth without success.  Everything was dried out or mushy.  However, I did find the chicken tiki masala very very good.  I've never had it so I don't know what it was supposed to be like but I did like it.  Even desserts were lacking.  Cake was dried out.  I love anything raspberry so tried the "mousse".  It was a cross between Jello and pudding.   Opaque yet jiggly.  The hard ice cream was a delight.

 

We ate lunch one day at Jamies.  It was very good and a lot of food.  We sat with some British folks who said that Jamie had gone bankrupt and closed his restaurants there.  They said it was mismanagement more than the quality of food.  We snacked several times at El Loco Fresh which I found to be pretty good and a good "free" addition.  They had moved Johnny Rocket's down to the port poolside.  It seemed to get a lot more traffic.  I never imbibed so I can't speak to the quality.  I did see a lot of people at the pool just getting fries.  Maybe they were better than the Windjammer version but I don't know what the surcharge was compared to a full meal. The extra traffic will probably be welcomed by them.   They put the soft serve ice cream in a stand alone space next to the new "Lime & Coconut" bar.  Just the pool bar with some cool vibe.  The soft serve had an attendant making the cones for you.  What a splendid idea.  They probably spent way less time cleaning and repairing the self serve.  However, one bad thing for them, a lot of people utilized it.  They will probably see that they will go through way more ice cream and will probably start charging for it like Ben & Jerry's.

 

We had the Refresh beverage package so we were supposed to get everything except the alcohol.  They had both a Starbucks and the coffee available at the Café Promenade.  I am not sure if Starbucks comes with the non-alcohol package or not but we had a horrible time with our account.  On day 2, DH happened to be flipping through the TV and found that we had been charged multiple times for drinks.  We had never received a receipt for any of them and they should have all been included.  I went to Guest Services.  She looked through the charges and told me I was charged for Red Bull.  I asked if it was included in the package?  She asked to see my card and told me yes so she would take that charge off.  We had to go through each charge one at a time to find each was covered by the package.  The reason I don't know if Starbucks was covered is we were charged for Mochas at Café Promenade and had to get those charges off as well.  Day 3, same thing.  Another trip to Guest Services to go through the bill.  Day 4, oh my God it was getting old!  I finally asked to speak to a supervisor and asked if it can't be fixed as I was getting tired of having to check my bill and then make trips to them to get them removed.  He made a call to someone and said, "I have another one."  It must have been a problem with others.  After speaking with the person on the phone and then rescanning my card, he said it was taken care of and we didn't see any more charges the rest of the trip.  But what a pain to have to check it.  We spent $611 for that package!  The reason is we don't want to worry about charges but that wasn't the case this trip.

 

We didn't try the new restaurant Hooked.  It was placed where Sabor used to be.  It seemed like a high charge for the type of food.  The most expensive things on the menu being the oysters and surf and turf.  I believe it was around $40 per person surcharge.  Again a lot for clam chowder, crab cakes, and lobster rolls.  One person we spoke to had the lobster and said it was horrible and mushy.  I could see rubbery for over cooked lobster but I don't know what would make it soft unless not cared for frozen.  Somewhat like Sabor, we  didn't see or hear of a lot of people who used it.  Perhaps it will have the same fate.

 

We found that there wasn't such a huge push to get you to buy a drink package or use the for fee restaurants.  I liked this.  I hated being interrupted while relaxing over a drink or dinner to have them interrupt to try to sell you something.  By the last two days of the cruise, they were trying to pitch Izumi but still not to the level in the past.  They quickly moved on when declined.

 

Ship features:

 

Playmakers was put in on the Promenade.  It wasn't quite as successful, at least in my mind, as the Freedom Class.  Freedom Class has it both sides of the ship and fully enclosed.  It had games and a real feel of a land based sports bars.  On the Promenade, it was very small with no places for table games.  Lots of TVs showing on the Promenade so people would stand congregated watching games.  There wasn't really a good place to sit and watch games.

 

I never made it to try the new water slides.  It looked like it would have been fun, I just never made it there during open times.  I liked the new pool.  Lots of sitting space to get a little cooled off.  I find not too many people actually swim in the pool so that was a welcome addition.  The pool is still long enough to swim if wanted and I saw a couple of people use it for that.  They used to have several rows of chairs (not lounges) that were in the shade and comfortable but those have been removed.  They had a few rattan chairs to sit in or tables and chairs to sit for dining at the two pool deck eateries.  It did seem there was more than enough space, except for the first day, to get a decent place at the pool.  The addition of upper hot tubs seemed to keep children at bay and the splash zone was a good addition for little ones.

 

The escape room was added but is difficult for a single.  If you are travelling with family or friends, you could pay to use it easily.  I think it would be fun but DH has no real desire.  If they could have a sign up area where people who are interested could get together and try would be nice.  If they do do that, it isn't advertised so they are missing out on revenue there.  Smoking was pushed up to the 12th deck so the smoke dissipated easily and didn't hang in the air under the 12th deck as before.  However, the smoke from the casino was prevalent even away from that venue.

 

Overall:

 

We had a good time.  The ship did have new features added from our last trip that were mostly welcomed additions.  We aren't Diamond nor have we ever been in a "real" suite so I can't judge the lounges for those folks.  I have to admit we once were in the Ben & Jerry's Sweet on Indy and when we didn't get keys for the suite lounge and went to ask for them, we were belittled by others in the lounge as it was not there for people like us.  I never set foot in it again so can't say if those spaces that were moved were better or worse.  We will achieve Diamond on our next cruise so after that I guess we can check it out but will not really have anything to compare it to.

[LuCruise]

Great review.  We were on Navigator in August and really liked the ship; especially with all the amplifications.

 

How frustrating for you though with the refreshment package. You would think that after it happened the first time, they would double check your account and ensure it didn't happen again (or if human error, not sure how to handle).  From my understanding, Starbucks isn't included, but Cafe Promenade would be.

 

True about Playmakers.  It ended up being a regular hangout for us, but more for the Foosball for our kids and the few arcade games, pool, etc.  It never seemed busy but we only went in the day or before dinner.

 

On a side, note...that's disappointing about the suite lounge on Indy.  We also stayed in the Ben and Jerry Sweet, and enjoyed trying it out.  Everyone was very nice, but I admit that we didn't advertise our room. 

Congrats on almost being Diamond. 

[KuffMUp]

I'm not sure the drink predicament was human error because it even added drinks when we weren't on the ship.  On the port day at St. Thomas, we slept in as the time was four hours earlier than our time zone so we had been forcing ourselves to get up at 3:00 a.m. our time.  After waking, we went to our excursion.  Upon returning, we had four charges at the Star Lounge that wasn't open and one charge in the Main Dining Room which I don't believe was open since it was a port day.  The computer seemed to know it was a package as it didn't spit out a receipt unless they have to punch that in every time which would seem redundant.  

 

I forgot to mention there were cabanas added to the pool areas as part of the revamp.  There was one on each corner of the pool and eight each side on the 12th deck.  They were for suites and Pinnacles.  As usual, no one used them except one day one was occupied.  One would think before spending money on things they think suites and Pinnacles would like, they would do a quick survey to see what they want. 

[LuCruise]

So strange about those charges! 🤔

[Grandma Dazzles]

1 hour ago, KuffMUp said:

 

 

I forgot to mention there were cabanas added to the pool areas as part of the revamp.  There was one on each corner of the pool and eight each side on the 12th deck.  They were for suites and Pinnacles.  As usual, no one used them except one day one was occupied.  One would think before spending money on things they think suites and Pinnacles would like, they would do a quick survey to see what they want. 

 

Surprised that the cabanas were reserved - cruised the Navigator earlier this year and they were for general use.  Used a couple of times and they weren’t that busy - found most people wanted sun not shade.   Sorry you weren’t able to use. 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Grandma Dazzles

[Mikew0805]

2 hours ago, KuffMUp said:

I'm not sure the drink predicament was human error because it even added drinks when we weren't on the ship.  On the port day at St. Thomas, we slept in as the time was four hours earlier than our time zone so we had been forcing ourselves to get up at 3:00 a.m. our time.  After waking, we went to our excursion.  Upon returning, we had four charges at the Star Lounge that wasn't open and one charge in the Main Dining Room which I don't believe was open since it was a port day.  The computer seemed to know it was a package as it didn't spit out a receipt unless they have to punch that in every time which would seem redundant.  

 

I forgot to mention there were cabanas added to the pool areas as part of the revamp.  There was one on each corner of the pool and eight each side on the 12th deck.  They were for suites and Pinnacles.  As usual, no one used them except one day one was occupied.  One would think before spending money on things they think suites and Pinnacles would like, they would do a quick survey to see what they want. 

The casitas are not for suites and Pinnacles. I am not either, and I used them on the June and October sailing. They are first come, first serve.

 

There was one on the Navigator that was for Super Mario, but I think he has left the Navigator now. 

[CP3o]

11 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

The casitas are not for suites and Pinnacles. I am not either, and I used them on the June and October sailing. They are first come, first serve.

 

There was one on the Navigator that was for Super Mario, but I think he has left the Navigator now. 

Boarding day on a previous Navigator cruise we did see a couple roped off with a reference to a Gold card.  I remember friends with "Gold" C&A status figured they could sit there lol.

[KuffMUp]

They were roped off the entire cruise with a sign saying "RESERVED  Suites & Pinnacles" on each.  It was an 8 1/2 x 11 paper that had been laminated. Both the upper deck and pool deck were roped off.  

 

Who knows why RCCL does anything?  It may have just been for our cruise.  It could be a test case.  See if they like it.  They used to have deck areas roped off just for suites so I just thought it was an extension of those.  There was some chatter onboard with people saying you could rent them if not in use.  If no one in suites or Pinnacles wanted them, Royal will certainly look for a way to make more money! 

[KuffMUp]

19 hours ago, Grandma Dazzles said:

 

Surprised that the cabanas were reserved - cruised the Navigator earlier this year and they were for general use.  Used a couple of times and they weren’t that busy - found most people wanted sun not shade.   Sorry you weren’t able to use. 

 

 

Yep that is them.  They only had two loungers each in them plus a small table between the loungers.  I certainly could have used one.  I got stiches removed a few days before the cruise and they discovered my wound was infected.  I didn't read the bottle of antibiotics until after the first day in the sun and I was burnt.  I wasn't supposed to be in the sun.  It was OK though.  I sat in the rattan chairs under cover to read or sat at some of the tables.  After day 3, DH was able to get me in the shade for a majority of the day.