Navigator Review - 6/28

[Joaniers]

Recently returned from the 6/28 sailing of the Navigator of the Seas sailing from Civitivecchia (Rome). We are frequent cruisers as we live in South Florida and find cruising to be a wonderful and easy experience. This trip was just my mother and I. We flew into Rome on the 28th on Delta, connecting through Atlanta. Yes, I know we were brave flying in the same day, but due to scheduling issues, this was really our only choice. We met a few people during the cruise who had attempted to fly in earlier and were delayed due to mechanical problems, etc. and ended up missing the first day of the cruise and/or their luggage. We felt fortunate that this did not happen to us.

We booked our transfer to the port through Romeinlimo. Our driver was waiting for us outside of the baggage terminal and it was only a short walk to where his car was parked. The charge was 160 euro. Most of these transportation companies will only accept payment in euros, not credit cards. Therefore we had to exchange US dollars at the airport and were charged a commission and service charge, in addition to a lousy exchange rate. That being the case, the cost came to about $220 US dollars. Of course, this was our fault as we should have anticipated this, however, I just want to give everyone something to think about. We cancelled our return transfer and reserved it directly through Royal Caribbean. This way, it was charged in US dollars directly to our Seapass account – no surprises!

It was fun driving through the town of Civitivecchia as it looked like there was a market set up with assorted wares. We got to the ship (took about 45 minutes from the airport) and check in was very quick. We did have to surrender our passports and they were returned to us on the last sea day of the cruise. My understanding for this was that we were going to Turkey which is not part of the European Union. When our passports were returned, they were in fact stamped with a Turkish Visa stamp. We were not allowed to the cabins until 1 pm – the fire doors to the cabins were all closed and they had attendants “guarding” the doors. We went to the Windjammer for lunch and explored the ship. We have been on the Navigator several times but it’s still always enjoyable to walk around and explore. The ship looked to be in very good condition and clean. Everything appeared to be in good working order (with the exception of a few light bulbs).

Our cabin was a junior suite, 9314, which is on the beginning of the “hump.” Fabulous location, near the elevator, and a fantastic balcony. Cabin steward was Benicio – he was very pleasant and highly efficient. We could not have asked for anyone better! We had the early seating which on this cruise was 6:45. The late seating was at 8:45 which we thought would be too late for us. Our waiters were James and Coscan, head waiter was Carla. They were also pleasant and fun, however, the section we were seated in (table 528) was reserved mostly for My Time Dining and was usually pretty empty. Also, we missed dinner 3 nights because of the time and ate in the Windjammer on those nights. I think on a future cruise we will try the My Time Dining. The food in the dining room has definitely gone “downhill.” The quality and quantity is not what it used to be, however, we cruise for reasons other than the food and this will not deter me from cruising again. The service was excellent.

Our ports were Messina, Sicily; Athens, Kusadasi and Crete. We booked excursions through the ship to Taormina (Sicily) an Ephasus (Kusadasi). The Ephasus tour was amazing – I highly recommend it and would do it again in a heartbeat! We had a private tour booked in Athens, and explored Crete on our own.

Debarkation was a breeze – we waited in a designated area at a certain time and within 15 minutes our color was called, and we were off the ship with minimal hassles. The luggage was lined up by color and porters were abundant. We hopped on the bus and were at the airport within an hour.

Overall, this was an amazing cruise. Please ask any questions and I’ll try to answer them for you.

[RenieRaider]

Thank you for your review. Very helpful.

I have sailed on the NOS before and look forward to the Promendae Cafe. ;-)

A few questions for you...

 

Did they offer Luggage Valet?

Did you see any shows onboard?

Were there still two formal nights and were the dressier than most, being in the Med?

Do they offer Mystery Dinner in Portofino's? If so, what night?

 

Money? Was it just as easy to go to the Purser's Desk to exchange?

 

Did they have Free shuttles in any ports?

 

Thanks again!

[bluecookies]

how much did you pay for your return transfer through RCCL?

[Joaniers]

I don't recall seeing any information on Luggage Valet. We took the RCCL transfer to the Rome airport and they were very helpful in telling us where to take the luggage, etc. Also, it appears that all direct flights from Rome to any city in the US first check in through a new terminal for additional security. The security was very tight, with armed police walking the perimeter overlooking check-in and carry-on bags being tagged as well. I think maybe that's why Valet service may not be offered.

We saw a couple of the shows - they were okay, mainly production number types and they had a ballroom dancing show (probably influenced by Dancing with the Stars). There were 2 formal nights but most people were not very dressed - very few tuxes and/or gowns. However, people were certainly dressed nicer every night than I am used to seeing on Caribbean cruises. Europeans seem to dress up more than Americans, which, by the way, there were not many Americans on board.

Sorry, I don't know about the Mystery dinner.

Money was easy to exchange at the Purser's desk and there was an ATM on board as well that I saw many people use. Sometimes though the line at the desk was very long with only 2 or 3 people working. Also, they "estimated" the exchange rate and rounded up or down to compensate for their lack of change. Therefore, I wound up with a better exchange rate than did my mom because we changed in different amounts of US dollars.

There weren't any free shuttles. In Crete, they had a shuttle bus that took you to the entrance of the port because it was probably close to a mile from where the ship docked, but that was all we saw.

Hope this helps!

Loved the Promenade as well!

[Joaniers]

Return transfer was $91 per person - high but it appears to be the going rate. If there are several in your party, you're better off booking a private transfer.

[Shiver]

Our waiters were James and Coscan, head waiter was Carla. They were also pleasant and fun, however, the section we were seated in (table 528) was reserved mostly for My Time Dining and was usually pretty empty.

 

So there wasn't a lot of people doing My Time Dining?

 

We're going on the Navigator out of Civitavecchia September 13th to the western med.

 

I changed my reservation to MTD today as we are travelling with a 2 year old and would like to dine somwhere in between the two seatings. I would love to be able to show up at the MDR without reserving a time the day before, and if there are few people doing MTD on our cruise as well that might just work out fine without having to wait for a table.

[Gingerbint]

So there wasn't a lot of people doing My Time Dining?

 

We're going on the Navigator out of Civitavecchia September 13th to the western med.

 

I changed my reservation to MTD today as we are travelling with a 2 year old and would like to dine somwhere in between the two seatings. I would love to be able to show up at the MDR without reserving a time the day before, and if there are few people doing MTD on our cruise as well that might just work out fine without having to wait for a table.

 

We were on the Navigator at beginning of June - it was the positioning cruise down to Civitavecchia where it sails for the summer.

We had MTD and it was always busy, we usually got the table we asked for whether it was for 2, 4, or 6 people. If was fully booked up, as people asked to change to it from set dining and they were told no.

When leaving the dining room we usually booked a time for the following nights dinner at the main desk at the entrance. A couple of times we changed it when we realised that time clashed with a something we wanted to do. This was done by phone call or popping to the desk.

Some people never booked and just turned up when they wanted to eat, they had a short wait but were then seated.

I would suggest avoiding going to eat at the same time as the Set dining times as there will be a wait due to the amount of diners sitting down then.

On our crusie the times were 645pm and 915pm so we never went between 645-7pm and 9-915pm.

MTD was on the top floor of the MDR. We had some lovely servers, very cheerful. There was one who I didn't like because I felt he couldn't be bothered but I didn't let it spoil my experience.

[Ellencamille]

I was very interested in your e-mail. We will be leaving on the Navigator

on 9/27/09. I am very concerned about finding a taxi from the Civitivecchia train station to the ship. Royal Caribbean says it would be a 30 min walk to the ship and that there are not many taxi's available.

Did you find that to be the case?

 

Did the ship provide you with a bus ride to the train station or were you charged a fee for the ride?

 

Thank you for any assistance you can give me.

 

ellencamille

 

 

Recently returned from the 6/28 sailing of the Navigator of the Seas sailing from Civitivecchia (Rome). We are frequent cruisers as we live in South Florida and find cruising to be a wonderful and easy experience. This trip was just my mother and I. We flew into Rome on the 28th on Delta, connecting through Atlanta. Yes, I know we were brave flying in the same day, but due to scheduling issues, this was really our only choice. We met a few people during the cruise who had attempted to fly in earlier and were delayed due to mechanical problems, etc. and ended up missing the first day of the cruise and/or their luggage. We felt fortunate that this did not happen to us.

We booked our transfer to the port through Romeinlimo. Our driver was waiting for us outside of the baggage terminal and it was only a short walk to where his car was parked. The charge was 160 euro. Most of these transportation companies will only accept payment in euros, not credit cards. Therefore we had to exchange US dollars at the airport and were charged a commission and service charge, in addition to a lousy exchange rate. That being the case, the cost came to about $220 US dollars. Of course, this was our fault as we should have anticipated this, however, I just want to give everyone something to think about. We cancelled our return transfer and reserved it directly through Royal Caribbean. This way, it was charged in US dollars directly to our Seapass account – no surprises!

It was fun driving through the town of Civitivecchia as it looked like there was a market set up with assorted wares. We got to the ship (took about 45 minutes from the airport) and check in was very quick. We did have to surrender our passports and they were returned to us on the last sea day of the cruise. My understanding for this was that we were going to Turkey which is not part of the European Union. When our passports were returned, they were in fact stamped with a Turkish Visa stamp. We were not allowed to the cabins until 1 pm – the fire doors to the cabins were all closed and they had attendants “guarding” the doors. We went to the Windjammer for lunch and explored the ship. We have been on the Navigator several times but it’s still always enjoyable to walk around and explore. The ship looked to be in very good condition and clean. Everything appeared to be in good working order (with the exception of a few light bulbs).

Our cabin was a junior suite, 9314, which is on the beginning of the “hump.” Fabulous location, near the elevator, and a fantastic balcony. Cabin steward was Benicio – he was very pleasant and highly efficient. We could not have asked for anyone better! We had the early seating which on this cruise was 6:45. The late seating was at 8:45 which we thought would be too late for us. Our waiters were James and Coscan, head waiter was Carla. They were also pleasant and fun, however, the section we were seated in (table 528) was reserved mostly for My Time Dining and was usually pretty empty. Also, we missed dinner 3 nights because of the time and ate in the Windjammer on those nights. I think on a future cruise we will try the My Time Dining. The food in the dining room has definitely gone “downhill.” The quality and quantity is not what it used to be, however, we cruise for reasons other than the food and this will not deter me from cruising again. The service was excellent.

Our ports were Messina, Sicily; Athens, Kusadasi and Crete. We booked excursions through the ship to Taormina (Sicily) an Ephasus (Kusadasi). The Ephasus tour was amazing – I highly recommend it and would do it again in a heartbeat! We had a private tour booked in Athens, and explored Crete on our own.

Debarkation was a breeze – we waited in a designated area at a certain time and within 15 minutes our color was called, and we were off the ship with minimal hassles. The luggage was lined up by color and porters were abundant. We hopped on the bus and were at the airport within an hour.

Overall, this was an amazing cruise. Please ask any questions and I’ll try to answer them for you.

[yogimax]

We also had the opportunity to tour Ephesus.

 

Fantastic!

[Joaniers]

Ellencaille,

 

We did not take the train, but drove directly from the Rome airport with romeinlimo.com. For our return trip, we used RCCL's bus to take us back to the airport. I do not know if there are many taxis at the train station - however, RCCL says that there are no taxis when you disembark. In fact, we only saw buses and private drivers, but no taxis.

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing!

[gagirl7143]

Who was the cd and staff

[msukumar99]

Hi,

I am glad you had a great trip! Which company did you use for a private tour in Athens? Was it worth it!

Thanks

Mike

[RenieRaider]

Return transfer was $91 per person - high but it appears to be the going rate. If there are several in your party, you're better off booking a private transfer.

 

Joaniers???? The return transfer was from the ship to FCO? $91.00? US?

[The Big Booper]

I was very interested in your e-mail. We will be leaving on the Navigator

on 9/27/09. I am very concerned about finding a taxi from the Civitivecchia train station to the ship. Royal Caribbean says it would be a 30 min walk to the ship and that there are not many taxi's available.

Did you find that to be the case?..<<snip>>...ellencamille

 

We were on the Brilliance in 2007 and had a port stop at Civitivecchia. We took the train from the port to Rome and back to the port.

 

It is about 8 blocks from the train station to the port entrance but this is a huge port and RCI docks deep within the port. We had a shuttle bus service from the gangway to the port entrance where we then hoofed it to the train station. In the afternoon, we got a slow local back to the port from Rome and there were not many taxis available so one of us ran into the street to flag down a cab who charged an exorbitant 20 Euros for the 8 minute trip to the gangway.

 

You will be coming with luggage so I don't feel the walking/shuttle bus thing is the way to go. Also be aware that you frequently have to go down almost 20 steps to get below track level and cross to the inner platform and then drag your luggage up to street level to leave the station at Civitevecchia. This is not the case at Termini in Rome, unless you leave from tracks 25-29 which are two stories up and a 1/3 mile away from tracks 1-24. The Civitevecchia shuttles frequently use the remote tracks.

 

You might want to rethink getting from Rome to the port by train, esp. if you have lots of luggage and are not too spry.

[Joaniers]

Joaniers???? The return transfer was from the ship to FCO? $91.00? US?

 

Yes - hard to believe that this was the price, but we saw similar pricing with private transportation as well. At this point, it was worth it to us to pay since we could pay in US dollars and not worry about having euros for the return trip. If there are more than 2 of you, it is worth booking a private transfer and splitting the cost. For just 2 people, it comes out the same.

 

Regarding the private Athens tour, it was booked through a friend who works for Costa cruises. One advantage was that we were able to go to the new Acropolis museum. It seems that since this museum has just opened to the public, tours through the ship are not yet scheduling this stop. Otherwise, it was very expensive and we could have seen the Acropolis with a group for less money.

[Lady Chew]

We are paying 140 euros for transportation from ship to airport. This is about $210. If RCl transfers are $91 pp, we'd be paying $364.

[DEL67]

I was very interested in your e-mail. We will be leaving on the Navigator

on 9/27/09. I am very concerned about finding a taxi from the Civitivecchia train station to the ship. Royal Caribbean says it would be a 30 min walk to the ship and that there are not many taxi's available.

Did you find that to be the case?

 

Did the ship provide you with a bus ride to the train station or were you charged a fee for the ride?

 

Thank you for any assistance you can give me.

 

ellencamille

 

I have not tried it yet, but my understanding from the Europe board is that it is only about a 10 minute walk from the train station to the port entrancr where you pick up the free shuttle. We are on the 8/23 sailing I can tell you for sure at the end of August.

[Born4Travlin]

Recently returned from the 6/28 sailing of the Navigator of the Seas sailing from Civitivecchia (Rome). We are frequent cruisers as we live in South Florida and find cruising to be a wonderful and easy experience. This trip was just my mother and I. We flew into Rome on the 28th on Delta, connecting through Atlanta. Yes, I know we were brave flying in the same day, but due to scheduling issues, this was really our only choice. We met a few people during the cruise who had attempted to fly in earlier and were delayed due to mechanical problems, etc. and ended up missing the first day of the cruise and/or their luggage. We felt fortunate that this did not happen to us.

We booked our transfer to the port through Romeinlimo. Our driver was waiting for us outside of the baggage terminal and it was only a short walk to where his car was parked. The charge was 160 euro. Most of these transportation companies will only accept payment in euros, not credit cards. Therefore we had to exchange US dollars at the airport and were charged a commission and service charge, in addition to a lousy exchange rate. That being the case, the cost came to about $220 US dollars. Of course, this was our fault as we should have anticipated this, however, I just want to give everyone something to think about. We cancelled our return transfer and reserved it directly through Royal Caribbean. This way, it was charged in US dollars directly to our Seapass account – no surprises!

It was fun driving through the town of Civitivecchia as it looked like there was a market set up with assorted wares. We got to the ship (took about 45 minutes from the airport) and check in was very quick. We did have to surrender our passports and they were returned to us on the last sea day of the cruise. My understanding for this was that we were going to Turkey which is not part of the European Union. When our passports were returned, they were in fact stamped with a Turkish Visa stamp. We were not allowed to the cabins until 1 pm – the fire doors to the cabins were all closed and they had attendants “guarding” the doors. We went to the Windjammer for lunch and explored the ship. We have been on the Navigator several times but it’s still always enjoyable to walk around and explore. The ship looked to be in very good condition and clean. Everything appeared to be in good working order (with the exception of a few light bulbs).

Our cabin was a junior suite, 9314, which is on the beginning of the “hump.” Fabulous location, near the elevator, and a fantastic balcony. Cabin steward was Benicio – he was very pleasant and highly efficient. We could not have asked for anyone better! We had the early seating which on this cruise was 6:45. The late seating was at 8:45 which we thought would be too late for us. Our waiters were James and Coscan, head waiter was Carla. They were also pleasant and fun, however, the section we were seated in (table 528) was reserved mostly for My Time Dining and was usually pretty empty. Also, we missed dinner 3 nights because of the time and ate in the Windjammer on those nights. I think on a future cruise we will try the My Time Dining. The food in the dining room has definitely gone “downhill.” The quality and quantity is not what it used to be, however, we cruise for reasons other than the food and this will not deter me from cruising again. The service was excellent.

Our ports were Messina, Sicily; Athens, Kusadasi and Crete. We booked excursions through the ship to Taormina (Sicily) an Ephasus (Kusadasi). The Ephasus tour was amazing – I highly recommend it and would do it again in a heartbeat! We had a private tour booked in Athens, and explored Crete on our own.

Debarkation was a breeze – we waited in a designated area at a certain time and within 15 minutes our color was called, and we were off the ship with minimal hassles. The luggage was lined up by color and porters were abundant. We hopped on the bus and were at the airport within an hour.

Overall, this was an amazing cruise. Please ask any questions and I’ll try to answer them for you.

 

I just posted a thread asking the very question about the passport surrendering. Very informative -- Thank you. I am very concerned about surrendering my passport. Is this something they force you to do. Did you carry a copy of the passport off the ship -- This is something I make a habit of, but never have had to surrender my passport. I am going to check with an attorney tomorrow regarding the legality of surrendering to the Cruise Line. I am very leary of this. Thanks again for the info.

[MBnancy]

I am confused by MTD. We are on the 9/27 Navigator Western Med. When I booked our tickets, I requested the late seating, as we like to rest up after long days ashore.

 

Now it seems most of the people posting are MTD. Will we be sitting at empty tables every night, because people come and go? Or do they hold a section and fill your late dining seating with others who have requested it?

 

How do you tip the staff if you have someone different every night serving you? :confused:

[hcat]

Thanks for the review--we are doing a similar itin next month on Celebrity Solstice so your info about the ports & passports was helpful.

 

We are excited to have booked Navigator for Jan 2010 (5 day W Carib to Belize & Cancun). We have only sailed on Radiance Class or smaller so I am hoping you can comment some more about the ship. how was the music on board?

 

We are Diamond so how do we get ice show tickets now that we are barred from the Concierge lounge? & did they have a Diamond gathering in the evenings?

 

Any other tips about the ship will be appreciated

[contactkim]

Mr. Incredible,

 

GREAT post. Very helpful.

 

Did you take the train from the airport to Rome? Just curious.