Review - Navigator of the Seas - 7 Night Mexican Riviera Cruise

[chiguy67]

We had a great time on the Navigator of the Seas sailing from February 3-10. It was just my partner and myself and we really enjoyed to entire cruise. We flew in the night before and stayed at the Vagabond Inn in San Pedro. It was clean and we were only there for nine hours to sleep. They do have a free shuttle to the cruise port that runs every 15 minutes, it only took about 5-10 minutes to get to the port.

 

Embarkation 

We arrived a little before 10 and had a 10:30AM embarkation time. They started letting passengers on board about 10:15AM and we were on by 10:45AM. It was very quick and easy.

 

After boarding we went to Playmakers and had something to drink and had a couple appetizers when their kitchen opened at 11:30. We had nachos and the buffalo chicken wraps and both were great. After that we explored the ship went to Jamie's for lunch at noon. Jamie's has never been our favorite specialty restaurant but this one is very good and the best one we have every eaten at.

 

Cabin

Cabins were ready at 1PM so we went and unpacked, we had a spacious balcony on the hump on deck 9. It was great, we had plenty of room but would probably not RoyalUp for this type of cabin in the future since it is about 5SF larger than a regular balcony. We don't spend that much time in our cabin except to sleep, shower and change and sometimes an afternoon nap. Our cabin steward John was great. Friendly and he put an extra mattress topper and brought some extra hangers and robes.

 

Food & Beverage

We had the Unlimited Dining Package as we have done on the last 3-4 cruises and it was great. All the food in the specialty restaurants was great. Chops was great, the filets were tender and very good we went there for a couple dinners. Hooked was outstanding in both service and food, the drunken mussels were very good and we did go for a couple dinners and lunches. Jamie's was great as I mentioned before, all the pastas were great. We ate a Johnny Rockets one lunch before we got off the ship and the milkshakes and burgers were good. Playmakers is always good and we finally went and had 24 wings and they were perfectly cooked and hot.

 

I ate at the Windjammer most mornings for breakfast and a couple lunches before our excursions. The food was good and had no complaints. We didn't try the MDR but everyone we talked to liked the new menu.

 

We did decide to do the Chef's Table and we are so glad we did.  It was fantastic! Every course was perfect and the wine pairings were excellent. We had a great group and go to know them throughout the cruise.

 

We also loved the Bamboo Room drinks. I really liked the On the Go. The service was great as well and that was usually our hangout place in the evenings. The only complaint was with the Lime & Coconut bar on the pool deck. The drinks, especially the Goombah Splash was terrible, not sure if it was made wrong but after that we didn't go back. But we have never had a great drink from a pool bar.

 

Excursions

We decided to do a RC excursion in Cabo San Lucas since it was a tender port. We did the Luxurious Day Sailing and i have to say it was probably one of the best excursions we have ever taken. It was about 5 hours and the cruised around seeing whales and had a great lunch and also a great snack on our way back to the dock. Although the water was a little cold it was a blast.

 

In Mazatlán we rented a cab and he drove us around for 3 hours and it was fun. The day started with a lot of fog but by 2pm it began to lift.

 

Puerto Vallarta we went to the beach for a few hours in the Romantic District. It was perfect with 82 degrees weather but the water was cold but you could swim.

 

Entertainment

It has been years since I mentioned a cruise director for Thiago was great, he has so much energy and made all the events fun. The 3 headliners were great: 1 comedian, 1 ventriloquist and 1 singer. The shows: Showgirls and Ballroom were very good and we enjoyed them all.

 

Overall we had a great cruise and really enjoyed our first cruise from the west coast. We will definitely cruise our of San Pedro again.

[DFWJean&Bill]

 Some questions, did you fly into LAX? If so how did you get to port?

At Cabo, do you get off right in town or do we need to book an excursion to get to shopping etc?
Thank you for your review!

[chiguy67]

1 minute ago, DFWJean&Bill said:

 Some questions, did you fly into LAX? If so how did you get to port?

At Cabo, do you get off right in town or do we need to book an excursion to get to shopping etc?
Thank you for your review!

We took an Uber from LAX to the hotel and took the hotel’s shuttle to the port. We had an excursion in Cabo so we got off the ship about 1pm

[Slgenge]

We are doing the 5 day trip to Cabo on March 17, is the dining package worth it? Glad to hear to positive reviews 

[fac429]

5 hours ago, chiguy67 said:

We also loved the Bamboo Room drinks. I really liked the On the Go. The service was great as well and that was usually our hangout place in the evenings.

 

Was Raj back behind the bar?  And was Sabrina still there as well?  They were the best on my cruise...

[Coralc]

16 minutes ago, Slgenge said:

We are doing the 5 day trip to Cabo on March 17, is the dining package worth it? Glad to hear to positive reviews 

It is worth it. You save a lot. But it is kind of difficult to schedule your reservations, and it really does kind of regiment your sailing. We had the UDP on both a 5 night and 7 night sailing on Navigator last year. About night 5, DH said, let's just go to the Windjammer. 

 

On the next 2, (Serenade) we just have the 3 night dining packages. 

[easyqueasy]

5 hours ago, DFWJean&Bill said:

 Some questions, did you fly into LAX? If so how did you get to port?

At Cabo, do you get off right in town or do we need to book an excursion to get to shopping etc?
Thank you for your review!

No excursion needed for Cabo shopping. The tender takes you to the marina and there are tons of shops there. The beach is nearby also.

[Coralc]

7 hours ago, DFWJean&Bill said:

 Some questions, did you fly into LAX? If so how did you get to port?

At Cabo, do you get off right in town or do we need to book an excursion to get to shopping etc?
Thank you for your review!

Is it possible that you could fly into Long Beach? It is a really easy airport, (much easier than LAX) and closer to the San Pedro port. SWA goes there now. ☺️

Edited February 13, 2023 by Coralc

[Ashland]

OP...you didn't mention the ice show...We sailed on Navigator in January 2022 & 2023 and found the iSkate Reach For The Stars one of the best. We're booked again for Feb 2025 (an interesting story about how I booked that one so early) officially that schedule should be opening soon.

 

[lproven]

how far is LAX to port?   Do you think we can make a 10:45am flight back home on disembarkation day? 

[mil76]

26 minutes ago, lproven said:

how far is LAX to port?   Do you think we can make a 10:45am flight back home on disembarkation day? 

Depends on the disembarkation day.  I wouldn't risk it on a weekday, which is usually the disembarkation day on Navigator.  LAX itself can be a traffic nightmare much less trying to get there on the 405.  For early flights I try to use Long Beach.

[Deeliteful]

Thanks for your review . You do realise this is Cruise Critic! 😱

Lovely to hear such a positive review for a change.

[jcc1025]

16 hours ago, Coralc said:

Is it possible that you could fly into Long Beach? It is a really easy airport, (much easier than LAX) and closer to the San Pedro port. SWA goes there now. ☺️

We live in Long Beach and you can fly in there, it is actually closer to the port than LAX, depending if the cost is worth it you could also fly into Orange County as well, a little long shuttle to the port but still possible if you save enought on the flight. 

[Palmetto Pilot]

Navigator is one of my favorites. We sailed on her right before the pandemic. We especially love the vibe and decor of the bamboo room on the Navigator and Mariner. 

[ikirumata]

On 2/12/2023 at 4:40 PM, DFWJean&Bill said:

 Some questions, did you fly into LAX? If so how did you get to port?

At Cabo, do you get off right in town or do we need to book an excursion to get to shopping etc?
Thank you for your review!

I was on the same cruise. First time taking a ship out of LA. In LAX, they have an area designated for ride share called LAXit. You can catch a shuttle to the area once you leave the baggage claim (terminal 1 is within walking distance). Once you are there, there are different spots for the different companies, uber, lyft, etc… just follow the signs when you exit the shuttle. 

 

In Cabo, there is tons of shopping everywhere once you get off the tender boat. 

 

On 2/13/2023 at 11:11 AM, lproven said:

how far is LAX to port?   Do you think we can make a 10:45am flight back home on disembarkation day? 

 

I personally would not book any flights before noon if you need to go to LAX. The hardest part was getting a ride out of cruise port. Pro tip, use the porters when you get your luggage. They have a faster line through customs (and you don’t have to drag your things through the snaking customs line).