Navigator of the Seas - 10/30/04 - 100th Voyage - Part 2

[hstrybuf]

Monday - Labadee - Tenders went back and forth from 8:30 to 3:30 and we were asked to use the aft elevators only. We spent the day with our new friends Pat and Tom and walked from the pier to Hideaway Beach which was less crowded. A map was provided by the ship. A tram was available but we didn’t use it. Remember to take your watershoes as the entrance to the water is very rocky. Attendants set up chairs for us in the shade near the water, drinks were available a few feet away as were the restrooms, hammocks and mats were available, and we had a great view of the ship. A BBQ lunch was served starting at 11:30. It was very good and had many more choices than I had expected. This part of Haiti appeared to have been unaffected by the hurricanes earlier in the season. Before we headed back to the ship, we stopped at the vendors area. Yes, they were somewhat aggressive, but a simple no worked just fine. I bought several handcrafted wooden items, including a globe, and a small painting. Prices were negotiable.

 

Drink of the day was the Bacardi Cocktail. Remember to order the drink of the day in a regular glass unless you want the souvenir glass every day. The dinner theme was Venetian and attire was smart casual, although most people seemed to dress casual. I did see hats and shorts in the dining room in the evening on several nights, but most people dressed as requested. The movie of the day was “Garfield” and Monday Night Football was shown in the Ixtapa Lounge. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres were offered at Vintages every evening starting from 5 to 8:30. Most evenings found us in the Two Poets Pub with our new friends from the M&M but we managed a bar crawl one evening.

 

Tuesday - Ocho Rios, Jamaica - 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. - Stay on ship’s time at this port as Jamaica is one hour behind. We had arranged a tour with Peat Taylor and met up with new friends Franki and Mark for the day. At $30 per person, we got our money’s worth! Several families from New Jersey were aboard our bus. The kids were okay, but the adults were rude, loud mouthed and just barely tolerable. Our first stop was the Wassi Art Pottery factory for a tour and shopping. They had many beautiful pieces, but I made my husband happy by purchasing something small. They also offered shipping of larger pieces and drinks were available. Next we drove through Fern Gully then headed to Dunn’s River Falls. The price of entrance was included in Peat’s fee, but we tipped him extra to cover that. Lockers were available for $5 of which $2 was returned when you turned in the lock. We were put into groups then headed down to the beach to begin our climb. Good water shoes are definitely needed here. We began our climb and really enjoyed it, but about 1/3 of the way up our legs gave out so we left the falls at the first available exit. The water was great but there were some accidents. One lady in our group appeared to have a panic attack while in other groups one woman had a skinned knee and one man had a broken finger.

 

Peat dropped us off either at the ship or Margaritaville for lunch and would have picked us up afterward to continue the tour, but we decided to skip the afternoon and stayed to shop at Island Village before meeting our friends at Margaritaville. I picked up some Appleton Estates Rum, Jablum coffee, another wood carving for my husband’s collection and some Margaritaville souvenirs. Eventually, it was time to leave the fun and head back to the ship. We were worn out from the previous days’ activities so we had a late dinner at the Windjammer when I woke up from my nap. I wish I could remember the name of the Assistant Manager at the Windjammer. He was kind enough to carry my plate to a table by the window and even brough me extra sauce for my food without being asked. Dinner theme was Caribbean Colors, attire was casual or Caribbean. Drink of the day was the Margarita.

 

Wednesday - At Sea - This was supposed to be a stop at Grand Cayman, but they were not as yet allowing more than two ships into port while they recovered from the devastation of Hurricane Ivan. We slept in, had lunch at Johnny Rockets with our Crown and Anchor coupons, then spent the afternoon recouping our energies and watching pay per view movies in our cabin. I don’t remember the exact price, either $12.95 or $14.95 per movie, but they had a good selection. During the cruise we ended up seeing “The Stepford Wives”, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Van Helsing”. This was our second formal night and the theme was the Chef’s dinner. I have to say here that our wait staff, including head waiter Claude from Belgium, were outstanding throughout the cruise! All the ladies received a long stemmed rose from Claude with a card thanking us for sailing on the 100th voyage of the Navigator. After dinner we had our pictures taken with Captain Bang (Captain’s reception) and then he spoke from the bridge on the

Promenade at 8:15. Cake and streamers followed while the passengers were treated to champagne and hors d’oeuvres. This was also the night for the Gala Buffet toward midnight. We ended this evening, like most, at one of the bars and making a donation to the casino. Drink of the day was the Goombay Smash and the movie was “Under the Tuscan Sun”. One note about Johnny Rockets. The service was great, the entertainment fun, the food just okay. I wouldn’t bother eating there again, but it was fun to do just once.

 

Thursday - Cozumel - Again, stay on ship’s time! We took a taxi with friends Franki and Mark to Chankanaab Park arriving very early. Entrance fee was $12 for adults. It seemed we had the park to ourselves for a while although there were several ships in port that day. We swam and sat on the beach for a while then decided to head to La Laguna restaurant and bar for lunch and drinks. Lunch was excellent! Several times during the day the rain came down in sheets, but we were comfy and dry until time for our swim with the dolphins. This had to be one of the most memorable experiences of the entire cruise! Of course the rain decided to soak us before we made it into the water, but our dolphin Pegaso made every minute worth it for the ten people in our group. I had no plans to shop in Cozumel this time, but did buy a couple of pictures and the video of our swim. The dinner theme for the evening was Crown and Anchor, attire was casual or 50’s - 70’s. The dinner times for the evening were changed to 6:30 and 8:45. We tipped our wait staff this night as we had dinner reservations for the last night at Chops. All of them received extra! After dinner my husband was tired so I was on my own. I decided to take in the only show that either of us attended during the entire cruise. The celebrity guest was Mickey Dolenz, former lead singer of the Monkees, and his sister Coco. They really put on a show! Before the show he autographed pictures then after the show he autographed CD’s for anyone who wanted to buy them. He was cordial to me, although just barely, even though I didn’t buy anything. A quick trip to the casino and I was done for the night. For the night owls they had a Rockin’ Through the Ages Dance party in Studio B. The drink of the day was Sex on the Beach.

 

Friday - At Sea - This was our last full day of the cruise. We packed after lunch so that we could enjoy the evening and also filled out our immigration form and baggage tags. The dinner theme for the evening was A Feast of Nations and attire was casual. Drink of the day was the Bahama Mama. Our friends Pat and Tom joined us for drinks then we all headed to Chops for our last dinner aboard the Navigator. Here again, the food and service were excellent and well worth the $25 per person charge. We made a last trip to the photo gallery so that they could pick up their pictures. Some of the pictures this trip had a thank you with them for sailing on this particular voyage. This was also the night for the Farewall Mardi Gras parade in the Promenade. The luggage went out and we once again slept like babies.

[gambler]

Thanks for such a detailed review, heading off to part 3...

[Noblarneyimirish]

Hi,

Sorry we didn't get the chance to meet. My husband and I forgot about the M and M. Do you know any details about the medical emergency that caused us to go back to Jamiaca?

 

Stephanie

[hstrybuf]

Stephanie, sorry we missed you too! I saw on another thread somewhere that a lady had a stroke and died. I hope it wasn't the lady in our group at Dunn's River Falls. She looked pretty bad.