My review: Navigator 11/22-11/27/08 ... or ... kewlguy is a nice guy

[silentbob007]

Quips, quirks, and biases

One of the great things about cruise vacations is that, in many cases, they are what you make of them. Because of that, I always like to include this little introductory section where I describe where I’m coming from, as context definitely colors any review. This was my 10th cruise on Royal Caribbean, and 20th cruise overall. I’ve been “loyal to Royal” lately because I like their ships, have received competitive pricing, enjoy the C&A perks, and enjoy the OBC I receive for NextCruise bookings. I made my booking directly through Royal Caribbean the Tuesday before the Saturday departure.

I’m currently a graduate student, and I booked this cruise on a lark just under a week before its departure because a) the cruise rate was phenomenal ($281 base fare for a single person in an inside guarantee) b) the airfare was tolerable, and c) I needed a break from school (again after my October cruise, sheesh!). This was to be my first official Diamond cruise, though upon talking to C&A before leaving, it was clear that I would have a little leg-work to do once I got onboard because my most recent Majesty cruise was too recent for the computer system to count it as a credit.

Pre-Cruise

I dislike flying the day of the cruise, and I especially dislike doing it in/near winter. However, one benefit of booking so late was that I felt fairly confident when looking at the short-term forecast that there would not be any significant weather occurrences on embarkation day. I arrived at the new Indianapolis airport at about 6 in the morning, my 8:00 direct flight on AirTran to Fort Lauderdale left without a hitch, and I had my bags collected by 11 AM in Fort Lauderdale (which looked like a refugee camp at this point with all of the cruise passengers with late flights sitting around with their baggage. From these boards I knew that the airport was close so I hailed a cab and a $17.50 ride later (including the $2 airport fee), I was waiting for a porter in front of Navigator.

Embarkation

When I got out of the cab, I actually had a little trouble getting a porter to help me (they were all draw to taxis and vans with more people, etc). When I finally got the attention of one, I told him that I didn’t have tags. He went looking for the manifest and couldn’t find one, so he took the number off of my SetSail Pass, put it on a blank tag, and sent me on my way.

Once in the terminal, things seemed a little confused. In going through security, I asked twice about needing to take my laptop out of my bag. The first agent said yes, but the person manning the scanning machine said no, so I was grateful not to go through the hassle. I then proceeded to the priority embarkation line, which was empty, and was immediately shown to a check-in agent. The lady came back with the wrong key, then the right one, and seeing I was “Platinum” on my card, she sent me on my way, remarking that of course I already knew everything (and failing to note, as I’d find out later, that my room assignment had changed). I made my way past that security photo stations (they weren’t boarding yet) and was vaguely directed to waiting area. I approached one of the agents to ask where I was supposed to sit and, upon seeing my card, she brought me to a group of chairs and had people move their luggage so that I could have a seat. A few minutes later, a different agent got on the PA and apologized for the wait, but explained that the ship was going through a full Coast Guard inspection because she had just returned from Europe. I was not aware of this fact, but having been in a similar situation on the Brilliance last year, I knew that even at 11:15, there was going to be a bit of a wait. Another announcement was made a few minutes later, and after about 30 minutes of waiting, an agent came through to collect all Platinum and Diamond members and escort them through the security photo process and then on the ship. I ended up being about the 5th person to board (besides any wedding party or other group).

My first stop on the ship was the Guest Relations desk. While waiting in the terminal, I spent time looking at my SeaPass and realized that my room assignment had changed. The day I had booked my inside guarantee, I had been fairly quickly assigned an accessible oceanview cabin on Deck 2 and this assignment had not changed on my reservation up to the time it disappeared off of the Royal Caribbean website. Since the numbers on my SeaPass signifying the last 3 digits of my cabin were different I knew I had been moved, but had no idea what deck. It took a little explanation to the guest relations person I spoke to (I would have thought that “What cabin am I in” was a standard question), but he told me that I was now in a cabin on Deck 6. I asked about my bags and the fact that they were going to another room and was told not to worry about it … they knew they had changed my room. Figuring that accessible room had become needed and that I was back in an inside, I went off to explore the ship until we could access the cabins. I headed to the Windjammer, which was not open yet, so I shot hoops and played a bit of mini-golf until the Windjammer opened (I think around noon).

At a little after 1, I went to look for my new cabin. As it turns out, I had been upgraded to a balcony cabin just off the aft hump (6334). This was a huge shock for me (I’ve never been visited by a category-jumping upgrade fairy) and I was suspicious that this was not my true cabin because it had been made-up with two Platinum books and a German version of the Compass. My key worked though, so in a flash of inspiration, I checked my onboard account on the TV and, sure enough, it had my name down. For the oddness to continue though, the room steward visited later and asked me if I was “Willie” … it turns out that my upgrade was so new that she still hadn’t received my name on her roster. She took my name, removed the Platinum books, and left me to my room which, since I was alone, was the first time I’ve ever looked around a cabin and though that I had an overabundance of space.

___

I'm sitting in FLL typing this, so please excuse the fact that I'm going to split this into sections. The narrative will end soon and review will begin ... I swear.

[rednancy1]

Good read so far. And congrat's on the balcony upgrade.

[uksimonusa]

Originally Posted by silentbob007

Quips, quirks, and biases

One of the great things about cruise vacations is that, in many cases, they are what you make of them. Because of that, I always like to include this little introductory section where I describe where I’m coming from, as context definitely colors any review. This was my 10th cruise on Royal Caribbean, and 20th cruise overall. I’ve been “loyal to Royal” lately because I like their ships, have received competitive pricing, enjoy the C&A perks, and enjoy the OBC I receive for NextCruise bookings. I made my booking directly through Royal Caribbean the Tuesday before the Saturday departure.

I’m currently a graduate student, and I booked this cruise on a lark just under a week before its departure because a) the cruise rate was phenomenal ($281 base fare for a single person in an inside guarantee) b) the airfare was tolerable, and c) I needed a break from school (again after my October cruise, sheesh!). This was to be my first official Diamond cruise, though upon talking to C&A before leaving, it was clear that I would have a little leg-work to do once I got onboard because my most recent Majesty cruise was too recent for the computer system to count it as a credit.

Pre-Cruise

I dislike flying the day of the cruise, and I especially dislike doing it in/near winter. However, one benefit of booking so late was that I felt fairly confident when looking at the short-term forecast that there would not be any significant weather occurrences on embarkation day. I arrived at the new Indianapolis airport at about 6 in the morning, my 8:00 direct flight on AirTran to Fort Lauderdale left without a hitch, and I had my bags collected by 11 AM in Fort Lauderdale (which looked like a refugee camp at this point with all of the cruise passengers with late flights sitting around with their baggage. From these boards I knew that the airport was close so I hailed a cab and a $17.50 ride later (including the $2 airport fee), I was waiting for a porter in front of Navigator.

Embarkation

When I got out of the cab, I actually had a little trouble getting a porter to help me (they were all draw to taxis and vans with more people, etc). When I finally got the attention of one, I told him that I didn’t have tags. He went looking for the manifest and couldn’t find one, so he took the number off of my SetSail Pass, put it on a blank tag, and sent me on my way.

Once in the terminal, things seemed a little confused. In going through security, I asked twice about needing to take my laptop out of my bag. The first agent said yes, but the person manning the scanning machine said no, so I was grateful not to go through the hassle. I then proceeded to the priority embarkation line, which was empty, and was immediately shown to a check-in agent. The lady came back with the wrong key, then the right one, and seeing I was “Platinum” on my card, she sent me on my way, remarking that of course I already knew everything (and failing to note, as I’d find out later, that my room assignment had changed). I made my way past that security photo stations (they weren’t boarding yet) and was vaguely directed to waiting area. I approached one of the agents to ask where I was supposed to sit and, upon seeing my card, she brought me to a group of chairs and had people move their luggage so that I could have a seat. A few minutes later, a different agent got on the PA and apologized for the wait, but explained that the ship was going through a full Coast Guard inspection because she had just returned from Europe. I was not aware of this fact, but having been in a similar situation on the Brilliance last year, I knew that even at 11:15, there was going to be a bit of a wait. Another announcement was made a few minutes later, and after about 30 minutes of waiting, an agent came through to collect all Platinum and Diamond members and escort them through the security photo process and then on the ship. I ended up being about the 5th person to board (besides any wedding party or other group).

My first stop on the ship was the Guest Relations desk. While waiting in the terminal, I spent time looking at my SeaPass and realized that my room assignment had changed. The day I had booked my inside guarantee, I had been fairly quickly assigned an accessible oceanview cabin on Deck 2 and this assignment had not changed on my reservation up to the time it disappeared off of the Royal Caribbean website. Since the numbers on my SeaPass signifying the last 3 digits of my cabin were different I knew I had been moved, but had no idea what deck. It took a little explanation to the guest relations person I spoke to (I would have thought that “What cabin am I in” was a standard question), but he told me that I was now in a cabin on Deck 6. I asked about my bags and the fact that they were going to another room and was told not to worry about it … they knew they had changed my room. Figuring that accessible room had become needed and that I was back in an inside, I went off to explore the ship until we could access the cabins. I headed to the Windjammer, which was not open yet, so I shot hoops and played a bit of mini-golf until the Windjammer opened (I think around noon).

At a little after 1, I went to look for my new cabin. As it turns out, I had been upgraded to a balcony cabin just off the aft hump (6334). This was a huge shock for me (I’ve never been visited by a category-jumping upgrade fairy) and I was suspicious that this was not my true cabin because it had been made-up with two Platinum books and a German version of the Compass. My key worked though, so in a flash of inspiration, I checked my onboard account on the TV and, sure enough, it had my name down. For the oddness to continue though, the room steward visited later and asked me if I was “Willie” … it turns out that my upgrade was so new that she still hadn’t received my name on her roster. She took my name, removed the Platinum books, and left me to my room which, since I was alone, was the first time I’ve ever looked around a cabin and though that I had an overabundance of space.

___

I'm sitting in FLL typing this, so please excuse the fact that I'm going to split this into sections. The narrative will end soon and review will begin ... I swear.

$281 base fare, and you end up in a balcony...WOW great luck, now, can you have the C&A balcony discount credited to you reservation LOL

[petesweet]

That's a pretty nice deal for that price! Enjoy your diamond status. I look forward to reading more.

[silentbob007]

Originally Posted by uksimonusa

$281 base fare, and you end up in a balcony...WOW great luck, now, can you have the C&A balcony discount credited to you reservation LOL

I have a feeling that that would be pushing it ...

[rubrrick]

Great review.............so far!! Looking forward to hearing more!!

Rick

[FL_Cruiser64]

Nice review.

In regards to the upgrade: couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Congrats.

In regards to Kewlguy: You met my hero. I am jealous.

[rednancy1]

Originally Posted by FL_Cruiser64

In regards to Kewlguy: You met my hero. I am jealous.

I wanna meet Kewlguy too!

[nanfromatlanta]

I've met Kewlguy, and I can attest to the fact that he really is COOL...

[ssatterly]

keep it comming!!!!!!

[silentbob007]

Quest for Diamond

Even with assurances from the C&A agent I spoke to that she would email the ship and let them know I would be Diamond, I was about 95% sure that the important order of business for embarkation day would be getting my status upgraded and getting ahold of that Concierge key. Guest services told me that I would need to talk to the Loyalty Ambassador (with hours starting at 6 PM the first day) in order get my status straightened out. At 5:55 I found a small line of people at the Ambassador’s desk. She showed up a little after 6 and a short time later, she was telling me that she couldn’t find my Majesty trip and, in fact, I my history only showed 5 cruises even though I had 9 credits. [side note: I still find the kinks, quirks, and shortcomings of the C&A system amazing considering it deals with such a valuable commodity as loyal, repeat guests … I had to go through the same rigmarole when I moved from Gold to Platinum] Luckily, having anticipated this problem, I whipped out my SeaPass from Majesty and was quickly given a Diamond sticker on my Navigator SeaPass, a Diamond book, and most importantly … that concierge key.

OK … on with an actual review … I swear. ☺


The Ship

I have been on two Voyager-class ships before, Voyager and Explorer, which are both the “early” versions of the ship. In truth, the only differences I noticed were art/sculptures on the pool deck and balconies on the outside of the superstructure rather than the “cave” balconies that can be found on the early designs. In fact, having had a cave-balcony at the end of July on Explorer on deck 6, I can say that I much preferred the deck 6 balcony I received on Navigator. The plexiglass front to the balcony offered a much better view of the water while in a seated position and the balcony just seemed to feel more airy.

As for the rest of the ship, the Voyager-class staples were all present and working. The Royal Promenade was impressive, as always, though I was surprised to see the Explorer’s sports bar replaced by the Navigator’s wine bar. I thought that the insides of the ship were well-kept, and it was nice to be in a room that wasn’t full of scratched furniture, dirty carpets, etc. The outside of the ship, in my opinion, seemed like it could use a little work as I noticed many rust spots as I walked around the outside promenade. Probably the most irritating issue about the ship on this voyage was the water … it was generally a light shade of yellow for most of the voyage. It didn’t have any extra odor that I noticed, but pulling a glass of yellow water out of the tap is pretty disgusting, as is using white towels with yellow stains all over them. I’m not sure what caused it, and I have no idea if an explanation or apology was ever given.

[dutchess43]

Great review. I enjoyed reading it. I hope the water was an insolated incident as we are sailing a 14 day ta in apr. We sailed on Enchantment in aug 07 & there was a massive problem with yellow & brown water for months on that ship. I have not seen anything written lately so hopefully they fixed the problem on enchantment. Glad you enjoyed the upgrade what a nice surprise. You never did say so I assume that your luggage arrived without a hitch. How did you enjoy the Cl & who is the concierge? Nice perk isn't it? We love the cl. Good for you that you brought along your last cruise sea pass. It's a good thing because as of late you cannot trust the C&A board.

[rednancy1]

I enjoyed reading your review so far. Sorry you had a problem being recognized as a Diamond. That was brilliant thinking having your Majesty Seapass with you.

The yellow water does sound icky.

Glad you got to enjoy the CL.

[cruise pup]

Originally Posted by silentbob007

Quest for Diamond Probably the most irritating issue about the ship on this voyage was the water … it was generally a light shade of yellow for most of the voyage. It didn’t have any extra odor that I noticed, but pulling a glass of yellow water out of the tap is pretty disgusting, as is using white towels with yellow stains all over them. I’m not sure what caused it, and I have no idea if an explanation or apology was ever given.

Consider yourself lucky. On the previous cruise, the transatlantic, the water was coming out brown at times. It made a reasonably good substitute for the Seattle's "Best" coffee served in the Windjammer and CP. Captain Bang was asked about the water at the Meet & Mingle and said the water is tested in the ship's hospital and is safe to drink. I made sure to drink the filtered water served in the Windjammer and Dining Rooms. I was told by the crew that the water fountains were also okay to drink from (the only one I saw was in the men's changing room in the gym).
I'm curious if you found the crew to be particularly friendly. I found a lot of the crew would walk by in the corridors and outside decks without acknowledging the passegers. This is the first time I've ever encountered this. Usually everyone aboard a cruise ship gives the passengers a friendly hello.

[GotDrums]

Great Review so far. Bummer about the water though.
We will be going on the Navigator next week to Grand Caymans and Jamaica.
Thank you for the info.
We have a balcony on deck 7 and this is our first time with RC. Looking forward to it.
Peace
Tim

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Great review......wow,. what an upgrade! Very nice!!

Glad you are now recognized as D.....enjoy all the bennies you can.

Enjoy your cruise, the Navigator is my favorite ship!

***

[silentbob007]

Ah yes ... the luggage. I guess I forgot to follow up on my story because it was a little anti-climactic. When I first talked to the room steward, I told her that my bag was heading to my old room. She wrote down that room number, then told me not to worry. Many bags seemed to be arriving late (probably because they were delayed on loading by the Coast Guard inspection). My bag was nowhere to be seen when I left to talk to the LA on the first night, but when I came back from the CL at about 8:30, it was sitting in my room. The handwritten tags had been crossed out and my new number had been put on, so I'm guessing that at some point it was caught, switched, and then brought to my room and the room steward then brought it inside when she saw it sitting out there.

[rubrrick]

Originally Posted by silentbob007

Ah yes ... the luggage. I guess I forgot to follow up on my story because it was a little anti-climactic. When I first talked to the room steward, I told her that my bag was heading to my old room. She wrote down that room number, then told me not to worry. Many bags seemed to be arriving late (probably because they were delayed on loading by the Coast Guard inspection). My bag was nowhere to be seen when I left to talk to the LA on the first night, but when I came back from the CL at about 8:30, it was sitting in my room. The handwritten tags had been crossed out and my new number had been put on, so I'm guessing that at some point it was caught, switched, and then brought to my room and the room steward then brought it inside when she saw it sitting out there.

Nice touch and very considerate of your room steward.

I always get concerned when our bags have not arrived at our cabin by the time we are ready to set sail!

Looking forward to hearing about the cruise itself.

Rick

[Ocean Boy]

Nice read so far. Keep it coming.

[silentbob007]

The Staff and Crew

I will say upfront that because I did not go to any show but the ice show and was usually in bed by 11:30-12, I really had no interactions at all with the cruise director. From my brief views of him on the television during his morning show and the love and marriage show, he seemed more suited to a European cruise than a Caribbean cruise (which makes sense). I enjoyed talking to the cruise director's staff and Vitality staff, especially Lara from Boston who ran the activities all day in Jamaica. My room steward, Elvie, was phenominal and we'd spend time every day chatting in the hallway about various topics. I'd also rate my wait staff fairly high (and I feel bad that I can't remember their names). Javier and Allan in the CL did a good job, I thought, in keeping the show moving during the busy times, and both were very easy to talk to when it slowed down a little.

As for the crew in general, I thought it was kind of a mixed bag. I was not usually greeted by other room stewards as I walked past them, nor others working on the deck. The bartenders all seemed very friendly (as is their job, right?), and the bar waiters seemed to be polite and non-harassing if you sat in their venue (for trivia, etc) and not making any purchases. I thought that the girls in the perfume shop blew me off a little, but who knows ... maybe they figured that the big money would be coming from the women buying makeup and not the guy just looking for a single bottle of cologne.

In terms of service, I thought that the low points for me came in the casual eating venues. The Windjammer greeter in the morning was always smiling, friendly, and easy to engage, but everyone else seemed fairly shut down. I remember walking into the Windjammer for lunch on the last day and saying hello to the greeter who was standing there stoicly. She looked at me, clicked her counter, and made no other expression or return on the greeting. In terms of service in the Windjammer, I thought it was a little lacking in comparison to my previous cruises. My plates were not cleared, and only once in the whole trip was I offered beverages (in my past experience, when sitting down for breakfast, usually 2-3 people would ask if I would like coffee each morning, etc).

I was probably most irritated by the service at Johnny Rockets ... and this is such a minor thing in the grand scheme, but boy it made me mad. Anyway, I made the classic mistake of forgetting to use my JR coupon until the last day, a sea day, which is of course the absolute worst time in the world to visit JR unless you want to wait. I showed up after Bingo to a packed house with long line, so I came back around 3, and while it was still packed, I was the only person in line (until others joined, of course). As I'm standing there, the officer in charge comes up to me, says "There's a wait. I'll seat you later." and walks away. OK I think ... as I see some people about ready to leave. The people do leave, and the table is not bussed for about 5 minutes. At this point, the officer doing the seating has disappeared and I'm wondering if I should just go sit or wait. Another 5 minutes pass and a group of younger kids (8-10ish) by themselves push into the restaurant and of course go to the empty seats. At this time the officer returns, looks at me, then says something to one of the waiters who proceeds to grab menus and hands them to the kids who have just sat down in front of me and about 6 other people in line. At this point I'm just mad (at having wasted my time) and I walked out because I realized it was no longer worth my time or energy. I realize that they were busy and that no one really wanted to kick the kids out and tell them to wait their turn, but come on ... service on the last day counts for more, in my opinion, because that is what sticks in your mind.