Navigator, Feb 14-19, 2009

[adk0425]

We just returned from a 5-night cruise to Grand Cayman and Jamaica aboard the Navigator. We had a blast. The ship is in good shape considering it has been pretty much constantly in service for the past 6 years. The NOS was just in dry dock and there was a smell of fresh paint, new carpet rolls and astro turf rolls, but it looks good.

The crew was friendly enough, but not as friendly as I've read on some other posts, the stateroom staff always had smiles and said hello and of course the main dining staff was great. The pool bartenders were very busy and therefore had no time to smile (who could when you have 20 people lined up to order Lavaflows, lol).

A couple of problems we had, our stateroom safe did not work, the battery needed changing. We reported this on the first day, but no one came to fix it, which was inconvenient as I locked up my jewelry, extra cash and other valuables in my suitcase which was stored under the bed.

Second problem was with the liquor I checked in after Jamaica, I bought 4, 750 ml of Sangsters Rum Cream and got 3 back plus 1 bottle of Old World Banana Rum Cream...have NO idea what happened to one of my bottles of Sangsters. Next time I will be sure to have the crew write down EXACTLY what I am checking in so there is no argument about how I checked in 4 bottles and got 4 bottles back...yeah, not the correct 4 bottles.

Good points, you MUST go to the Viking Lounge (Cosmopolitan Club) on 14 and order drinks from DJ, he will take care of you! It was amazing with 3,350 people on board that hardly anyone was up in the Viking, nice quiet spot with incredable views during the daytime.

The Main Dining room was good, first night dinner took a long time, but the next night we asked to be served faster and boy were we served fast!

No major problems on the ship I think a couple of elevators went down on the forward starboard side fo the ship, but there were lots of other elevators to use.

Hope this bit of info helps, the cruise was great overall and we had a blast in Jamaica and great scuba diving in Grand Cayman.

[Dpeeps]

What cabin were you in? We will be on the ship next month and we have several of us on level 7.....can't wait! Did you do anything special in Jamaica? We don't have any special plans for Jamaica....might go to Jimmy Buffets....did u see that place? Plan on doing the stingray tour in Grand Cayman. Thanks! Dawn

[cruisinrg]

Hi,

 

I too just came off this same cruise. Had a wonderful time. The ship looks great, crew was very friendly. We had a very nice cabin steward, always willing to help out. We were on Deck 7 cabin 7641, it was an inside cabin, great location, close to the elevators, on the same side of the ship as the dining room, the pool, the internet area. This was the quickest muster we have ever been to, got to our spot they gave the usual how to use the lifejacket speech and done, very very fast. Dining room service was good and fast. I highly recommend you going to the Ice Dancing show - don't miss it. We ate in Chops one night, hubby had filet mignon he said it was delicious, I had the new york strip, could've been a bit tastier, but we enjoyed it. We lucked out with the weather, was in the 80's every day. The pool was a little chilly, but once you got in it was fine. We've been to Grand Cayman & Ocho Rios before, so we didn't take any excursions. Ocho Rios we stayed on the ship & Grand Cayman we just walked about the shops. Hope you enjoy your cruise :)

[golfusaofcs]

I am going on the 19th any recommendations on what shows to see/skip? also do you remember if the pools were fresh or saltwater>? Thank You

[adk0425]

Can't help with any pool information as I do not swim in public pools, but lots of people were swimming and enjoying themselves.

In Ocho Rios we hired a taxi driver and asked to see the "real" Jamaica and had a BLAST, the only tourist spot we went to was Dunn's Falls, other than that we mingled with the locals, even visited an elementary school up in the mountains, saw fire water (water that was lit on fire) some kind of natural spring heated by methane we believe, visited local markets, saw a fishing commune and just had a blast learning from a tour guide who is proud of his country and glad to see some Americans willing to see the real Jamaica.

All of the shows were great especially the Ice Dancin' show, and you must attend Quest! (really, you'll see why when you do). The comedian on the last night was hilarious (magician/comedian).

We stayed in 8125, forward, port side, it was on the end next to a supply closet. The Mardi Gras parade was pretty lame, but since I live only 3 hours from New Orleans, LA, I was comparing it to the quintesential mardi gras celebration. It was a great cruise and definitly can't wait for the next one.