Just back from Navigator 1/24-1/28-review

[abhb]

DAY 1-We landed at FLL about 1:00 and were on the ship by 1:45. That includes getting off the plane, getting luggage, taking the taxi and embarking at the port. It was the easiest, quickest embarking of all of our 5 RCCL cruises. We went straight to our room and put down our carry on luggage. We were greeted by Anna our cabin steward. I had the room decorations for my DH's birthday. He was thrilled with them and the sign on the door made it very easy to find our cabin. We were in a Promenade cabin on the 7th floor.

Went to Windjammers for lunch. It wasn't crowded at all. Made reservation at Portofinos. Checked out our dining room table. It was just DH and myself. We wanted a large table (we like to meet new people). We had a table for 8.

Walked around to get used to the ship. She was looking as good as she did the last time we were on her in 2006. There was a sign at Guest Services that said all cabins were full on this sailing. It never felt crowded at all. There weren't too many kids. I am a teacher and we are used to sailing in the summer when there are tons of kids.

Went to dinner and only 1 other couple showed up at our table for 8. I order the stuffed chicken breast and DH ordered the cod. The chicken was dry so I ordered the veggie qusadillas. They were very good. The show was Now and Forever. It was good. The singers and dancers were much better than they were on our last NOS cruise. Watched the parade from the comforts of our room. Passed out from sheer exhaustion from being up to early.

DAY 2-Woke up and went to breakfast at Windjammers. Not busy at all. The made to order omlets were very good. We especially like the breads and rolls they have in all the dining rooms. We weren't disappointed. They were excellent as usual. We went to the pool about 9:15 and were shocked that hardly any chairs were taken. There were no chair hogs!!!!

It was a bit cloudy and chilly. We sat with our towels wrapped around us until it warmed up:eek: I was talking to a couple who were on their 1st RCL cruise. They have taken over 30 cruises most of them on Carnival. The man said that they usually go because he gets the employee rate because he gets this special he is a retired sheriff from Broward County. His beat was the Port. They were very disappointed that NOS didn't have a basket of goodies in the bathroom like a disposable razor, had lotion, toothbrushes etc. They didn't bring any of these items because they were expecting them to be on board. They asked when the free cocktail hour was. I told them I had never heard of a free cocktail hour on RCL. They said that was another negative. They said they were not impressed so far. We did see them again this morning as we were leaving the ship. I asked if they enjoyed themselves and they did said the had an enjoyable time.

Went to the Ice Show. They didn't give out tickets. The shows were only during the day at 3 and 5. It was excellent as usual.

Formal night was very nice. Most people were dressed up. Our table mates didn't show up at dinner. They had told us that they didn't want to dress up. So DH and I sat alone at a table for 8:rolleyes: There was no Fisherman's platter. The main selection wasn't even fish. I asked our waiter about the Fisherman's platter. He said they stopped doing it January 1. Dinner was good. When we got back to our room we found out our snokeling 3 1/2 hour snokel excusion had been cancelled. We couldn't even book another one until the next morning which was our only port day.

 

DAY 3-We got up early and went to the excusion desk. We did get a new excursion. It was 45 minutes of snokeling and 1 hour of beach. The snorkel was crowded and not to far from the beach (even though we took a catermeran) We didn't see many fish and we kept crashing into people. We then taken on a 45 minute boat ride to a small beach. The beach was very rocky. It was difficult to get in the water.

We went back to the ship and changed out of bathing suits and went to Johnny Rockets figuring it would be empty which it was. Took a cab and went shopping. It was Carnival time and there were groups of people dancing in the streets. They were groups of children in organized dances. It was a nice treat watching these festivities. Bought some gifts and got back to the ship around 5.

There was only 1 show tonight at 8:00. It was a comedian name Jeff Harms. He was very funny. He used the audience to drive his show. He talked about things most people could relate to like the ways of teenagers. He even picked on some in the audience.

We had dinner at Portofinos. I have a mixed review of our experience there. I ordered the filet since. Most people of CC liked it better than Chops (I loved Chops). I ordered the meat pink in the middle. I didn't say meduim or medium well since everyone has a different idea of what redness is medium. The first steak was bloody and very rare. The second steak was not bloody but still rare. The third steak was well done. At this point I was pretty full from the rest of the food that I really wasn't too hungry. I switch my order to the tiger shrimp. It was rubbery. I ate a few. I needed to save room for dessert. DH and I got the sampler. I mentioned something about the flourless chocolate cake and DH's birthday. Next thing we knew we each had the sampler, a full piece of of flourless chocolate cake and a small birthday cake. They even sang Happy Birthday. The chocolate cake was to die for:D

 

DAY 4-Got to the pool around 9:30 and no chair hogs. We were so surprised. I have never been on a cruise with no chair hogs.

The sun was shining. It got a little busy around 11:00 but it also got cloudy and windy. We started to get cold around noon so we left and changed clothes. Windjammers was very disappointing. Besides not liking too many of the selections, I bit into a meat ball and it had something crunch in it. We went to the Cafe and a had some sandwiches instead. One of the things that I like the most about Voyager class is you can always find something that will like somewhere on the ship. BTW-who ever started the thread about the Ranger cookies, I am mad at you. You got me hooked on them and I am not a big fan of coconut.

We tried to go the helipad. I was so windy that we couldn't even walk or breathe. A few minutes later the captain announced that the helipad was closed because of the wind. We walked around and stumpled upon a dodge ball tournament. That was really fun to watch.

Dinner was nice in the dining room. They did the parade of servers. The dining room seemed really empty. The 4 others at our table never showed up. Watched the parade from the room. It was very rocky sailing last night. I had to remove the hangers from the closet. They were moving around so much I kept waking up.

Disembarking was a breeze. We were in the last group called and were off the ship before 10:00. Customs was easy and we were at the air port before 11:00.

It was a great cruise and DH's 50th birthday gift.

 

Please excuse the spelling errors. I am very tired and it feels like my house is rocking:eek:

[ontheopenseas]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. Even though it seems you had a few hiccups along the way, you were able to make the best of it! Good for you! Glad you had a nice vacation!