Just home from Navigator - 9/2/06

[takeavacation]

This was my 1st RCL cruise -- had a wonderful time! The Navigator is a beautiful ship. We departed on 9/2 to a nice break in the rain we experienced all day! The sailaway was very nice -- and the good weather held for most of the cruise -- even though rain had been predicted EVERYWHERE we went (Western)

 

We were in an inside cabin on deck 10 -- great location - and so dark that I made up on lots of missed sleep! Our room steward Henderson kept everything very tidy and did a great job.

 

Dining room service was incredibly excellent -- had the best waiter on the ship! It was his first week back on the ship after his 2 month break. We were in the Nutcracker dining room (deck 3) -- waiter was Ercan Aslancan from Turkey. Turns out there are 4 waiters in the dining room with the name Ercan -- all from Turkey! Go figure! Anyways, our Ercan was kinda short and bald -- but very fun and entertaining -- not to mention pretty darn cute too!:) He's on his last contract with RCL and then retiring to return to Turkey -- has been with RCL for 10 years!!!

 

Bar staff was very good -- especially loved Anil in the dining room (and his loving cups) -- and Rendell around the pool and upstairs in the theatre! Both were very friendly -- and generous with the drinks!!;)

 

We loved the ports -- beach day in Labadee (with lots of Labadoozie's -- anyone know the receipe?), Phil Layfayette in Ocho Rios (climbed the falls and inner-tubed on the White River), NativeWays in Grand Cayman (island tour and stingrays (a day or 2 after Steve Irwin passed away from the stingray incident) and a ship tour to Xel-ha at the Cozumel port.

 

Anyway -- anyone with questions -- feel free to ask. But, no...I didn't see the concierge lounge. The cruise director was Shane something, the captain was Rick Shaw (I believe).

[TennisLover]

How was the entertainment at night? What did you do?

[camaj]

I'm so happy to see a Navigator review as there aren't too many right now except in the review section.

 

How was Cozumel? My sister was there in December and she stated that there was still a lot of rebuilding going on and a lot of damaged buildings. Just wondering how far along it has come in nine months.

 

Like Tennislover, I also want to know about the entertainment too. What kind of shows did they have?

[galimeyer]

We also had a great time. We did the tubing with Phil Lafayette and had a great time too.

 

Cozumel is still rebuilding, though we didn't have to tender. All of the stores along the main road are brand new. We actually booked an excursion through RC for the Adventure Park/Zipline/Snorkling combo. The hotel where the exursion was still doing quite a bit of rebuilding.

 

We didn't go to any of the shows, but we did go to name that movie tune (songs from movies) and we did battle of the sexes (the woman won!) and then stayed for Rock-a-rokie. For any of you soap fans Shaun Brady from Days of our Lives was on the ship and participated in rock-a-rokie.

[katiensb]

was told by C&A that this was going to be an implemented change. When...she didn't say...nor did I ask. It appears the EOS is now too large to dock at the Mallory Square pier??

 

Isn't the NOS larger?

 

Katie

[Dreamz2cruise]

Hi there - thanks for your review. We are sailing on NOS this Saturday (Western). Do you have a compass available? I would love to see one from a recent cruise.

 

Did you get the coke card? If so, did you think it was worth it?

 

What was your favorite spot on the ship? (Which bar did you enjoy most and why?).

 

So excited to go - only 4 days left!!

[MissT]

Did you have the new bedding? If so what did you think?

[cruisingagentone]

We had Rendell as our bar waiter in the dining room. He was wonderful!!

He would come and look for us on the pool deck and wait on us up there.

[Broch]

Dining room service was incredibly excellent -- had the best waiter on the ship! It was his first week back on the ship after his 2 month break. We were in the Nutcracker dining room (deck 3) -- waiter was Ercan Aslancan from Turkey. Turns out there are 4 waiters in the dining room with the name Ercan -- all from Turkey! Go figure! Anyways, our Ercan was kinda short and bald -- but very fun and entertaining -- not to mention pretty darn cute too!:) He's on his last contract with RCL and then retiring to return to Turkey -- has been with RCL for 10 years!!!

 

We also had an Ercan from Turkey on the Explorer back in May. He was also short and bald, he was getting married next year and he was actually the best waiter we have had in all our cruises. Wonder if it is the same fellow. Wish I knew his last name.

[zerelda]

Thanks for the review! We're sailing on Navigator for the first time next June, on the Italian Mediterranean itinerary... the official website at http://www.navigatoroftheseas.co.uk/ is pretty good and has told us a lot about what to expect on the ship, but it's great to hear people's experiences first-hand... :) Really looking forward to it!

[gris]

My husband and I are sailing this Saturday on the Navigator of the Seas. We just found out that we were upgraded from a D1 to a JS. Four more days to go woo hooo

[Dreamz2cruise]

gris - We are sailing her Sat. too!:) We were also upgraded from a D1 to a JS. What a nice surprise that was for us as well. Enjoy the cruise:)

[takeavacation]

Trying to re-adjust to "real life" and it's going pretty slow!!!

 

Entertainment:

I went to the 1st production show and it was pretty good. I missed the 2nd one, but heard that it was good. There were a couple of comedians on board -- the 1st guy was very funny -- the 2nd one was a comeidan/magician -- and he was ok. The ice show was very very good -- I was impressed with what they could do on such a small surface! Of course, Quest was as fun as always -- I recommend that to anyone. We also did the Battle of the Sexes and the women won -- which was to be expected!!

 

The Dungeon Disco seemed to be quite the hot spot in the evening -- all ages and varying music each night. Also up in the Viking Crown Lounge there was always something going on. The Piano Bar was always very crowded and the entertainer was very good -- and had everyone singing along!

 

Cozumel: I didn't get into Cozumel since I took a ship tour to Xel-ha. But, it does look like there is still A LOT of construction taking place. The old pier is still there -- and what a disaster it is! At least half of it is missing or under water. We were told that we were the 1st ship to dock at the new pier -- we were expected to tender.

 

Compass: Sorry didn't bring any home with me.

 

Soda card: I didn't get one, because I'm trying to cut down on soda intake. But, they were about $42 per person and tons of people had them! If you drink more than 3-4 sodas per day -- I'd say that it is a good idea.

 

Favorite Spot on Ship: I'm an outside girl -- so I loved being on the decks at night -- the breezes felt great. I loved going up to the heli-pad -- it is quite a different view of things. The Crown Viking Lounge gives you a great view of the pool area and the ocean all around -- that was nice. My favorite had to be the dining room though -- the room is beautiful and I loved the entertainment of our dinner table and wait staff!!

 

New Bedding: We had it!!! It is soooo comfortable and cozy! I hated to get out each day -- and couldn't wait to get back in. We were in room 1531 (inside on deck 10). I hope everyone gets to experience the new bedding soon!

 

Phil Lafayatte -- We did the tubing and the falls climb with Phil. He was great -- and I received a "hope you got home safe" email from him this morning! Talk about service!

 

Any more questions?

[takeavacation]

Ercan (the waiter) did say that he had a girlfriend at home in Turkey for the past 5 years -- but, no mention of getting married next year. He is retiring next year after 10 years of service -- so maybe he will get married. He was by far the best waiter I've ever had on a cruise ship!!! Probably the same guy from the other ship last year --- he didn't mention what other ships he had been on though.

[Kali4]

I to just got back from sailing on the Navigator. When in Grand Cayman I went on the island tour & stingrays with NativeWays - You must have been on the same crowded van as I was.

Anyway, this was my first cruise in over 6 years and I had a wonderful time. The coke card is a good idea if you plan to drink a lot of soda, I got one for my son, $28, and I know that I saved some money that way.

We got upgraded from an inside cabin to a balcony room, so that made the trip even better. I can't wait until my next cruise, whenever that is.

[CanadianFanatic]

I was on this same 9/2 cruise on NOS and it was an AMAZING week for weather thats for sure. See for yourself!

 

It was HOOOOOOOT! :eek:

 

 

 

 

[TennisLover]

Thank you so much everyone for the info!

 

Takeavacation -- I am thrilled to hear about the piano bar! That has been our favorite part of Carnival cruises! Who was the entertainer on Navigator? Also very happyto hear about the new bedding!

 

Kali4 - How was NativeWays? The only thing you mentioned was "crowded van"... I need to book our GC stingray day and am researching the private tour companies. We've done the stingrays before, but some in our group haven't. Will want to do that and then go to the beach. Is there a beach that you can snorkel from? Some will want to snorkel, others will want to just "beach." I'll check out the GC board, but thought I'd ask you since you were just there. And, what balcony were you in?

[TennisLover]

I was on this same 9/2 cruise on NOS and it was an AMAZING week for weather thats for sure. See for yourself!

 

OMG. Those photos are amazing! I can't wait!

[Kali4]

Native ways was ok. The van was a little crowded. We spent more time than we were supposed to at the turtle farm, so we had to rush through the rest of our stops. As for the beach, we drove up to it, looked out the window, then drove away. The guys in charge of the stringray part of the tour were excellent. I had my 5 year old son with me and they paid special attention to him.

I was in room 9364.

[wakelover]

We are going on the NOS in May. It will be our third cruise but my parents first so there is an added element of excitement! If you have photos it would be wonderful to see them.

 

Can I ask - around the pool area does it get very lively or are there spots where you can just relax and chill out?

[Broch]

Ercan (the waiter) did say that he had a girlfriend at home in Turkey for the past 5 years -- but, no mention of getting married next year. He is retiring next year after 10 years of service -- so maybe he will get married. He was by far the best waiter I've ever had on a cruise ship!!! Probably the same guy from the other ship last year --- he didn't mention what other ships he had been on though.

 

We are on the Navigator next June. It would be wonderfull to see him again and better still if he was our waiter.

[jenna703]

Sounds like fun!! I can't wait. I'll be on it (Eastern Caribbean) in October for my wedding. I'll be getting married in St. Thomas! I hope the weather cooperates. It's on to Hurricane Gordon after Florence and my name is Sandy...one of the hurricane names for this season. My fiance says if she hits...it will be a sign for him to run!!

:p

[Kali4]

Directly around the pool can get lively on the days that you are at sea, but there are many places around the edges and on the higher decks where you can relax. There is also a pool and jacuzzi area which is for adults only, but it is fairly quiet there.

[takeavacation]

Native ways was ok. The van was a little crowded. We spent more time than we were supposed to at the turtle farm, so we had to rush through the rest of our stops. As for the beach, we drove up to it, looked out the window, then drove away. The guys in charge of the stringray part of the tour were excellent. I had my 5 year old son with me and they paid special attention to him.

I was in room 9364.

 

We must have been in different Native Way groups -- because there were no kids in our group -- and the van wasn't very crowded.(Maybe you were on the 9am boat tour? We were on the 12 noon boat tour). We didn't stop at a beach -- except for a quick look, but I think that is because we took the full island tour. They also offer a tour that does the stingrays and then snorkeling/beach. We went to Hell, a rum-cake/rum store, the Turtle Farm and then out to the marina and onto a boat. The guys on the boat were by far the best part of the tour --- very very good! Also - the driver on the way back to the ship was great -- we were running quite late and he knew that we'd all taken the tour independent from the cruise line (therefore ship won't wait for us) and he avoided all the street traffic by traveling back roads and thru neighborhoods! Just made it for the last tender to the ship!!!

[takeavacation]

We are on the Navigator next June. It would be wonderfull to see him again and better still if he was our waiter.

 

I don't think that Ercan will still be on the ship next June -- he told us that he would be retiring at the end of his 6 month contract -- which would be Feb 2007. Maybe though -- and if not --- there are 3 other Ercan's there to choose from:rolleyes: ......