EmilyJay

@AliSunshine27 I didn’t realise it was still closed!! I heard it should have been opened yesterday. That’s rubbish for all the kids as they seem to really enjoy Adventure Ocean. 

On our first sea day the staff were going around the pool at about mid day offering some games in the corner, but nothing that would keep them entertained for more than 10 mins. 

If it’s a health and safety issue, it must be to do with that area of the ship as they had kids in the Windjammer cafe doing dinner drop off. 

@Lolaash I did a walk around the deck this morning and saw a reserved area with loungers, assuming this is for suite guests. I have also noticed reserved seating in the theatre/ ice shows. 

Day 4: Labadoozie, lets get boozy. 

This morning we docked in Labadee!! I was looking forward to visiting here as it has been a few years since we’ve been, as our last cruise we had a change of itinerary due to hurricanes so didn’t get to visit. 

We had nothing fully planned today, so had a later breakfast in the Windjammer and then got off the ship which was hassle free. 

The weather was fantastic, clear blue skies and hot. 

We walked to Nellies Beach and set ourselves up on a lounger, the sea was beautiful, crystal clear waters and not that cold. 

First drink of the day was a Labadoozie, because it’s 5 o’clock somewhere right?! 

I noticed how much more Labadee has compared to a few years ago, a great games area and alot more activities on offer. 

You can rent floating mats for $19 for the whole day, Paddleboards for $15 per 30 mins and kayakas. Over on the rocky beach near the ziplines you can rent a small bed cabana for $40.  Everything on Labadee gets charged to your seapass cards. 

We spent most the day at the beach, we went and had a look at the lunch on offer but it was crazy busy. There was alot of fruit, and I could see hotdogs, burgers, salad and cakes. 

About 2.30pm we headed back to the ship, and stopped by the frozen yogurt stand. 

Plenty of pool sun loungers available today! 😉 

I took a closer picture of the children’s splash zone today, it’s pretty small and half of it is closed. But I’m sure children enjoy playing in there. 

If your child is potty trained and not in diapers they can use the main pools. 

Day 3: Sea Day Continuted... 

We had dinner in the Main Dining Room tonight for formal night, we booked reservations prior to the cruise and had no wait when we got there. 

Not very many people were dressed formally, lots of baggy tee’s and shorts.

(Pic attached of the menu) I opted for Escargot to start which was delcious, well the sauce was. I just couldn’t get the fact I was eating snails out my head although it was surprisingly really nice, I just couldn’t eat all of them. 

Then I had the vegetable casserole for main (I completely forgot to take a picture, by the time I remembered I’d destroyed the meal) which was so so good. Lots of flavour and a little kick of spice but not too much. 

Cheesecake for pudding which was fine, but no Cheesecake Factory cheesecake that’s for sure. 

We went to watch a show in the theater after dinner called ‘showgirl.’ You could easily turn up 15 mins before and get a seat. 

At first I thought what the f am I watching, it was the cheesiest thing I possibly had ever seen, BUT, it got good. It was their first show on Navigator and you could tell, however it is a feel good kind of show going through the past, present and future of showgirls. Some of the dancing was excellent.

Once we left the Main Dining Room, there were alot more people dressed formally. Most people were just dressed ‘casual-nice’ or in shorts and t-shirt but there were a handful of people in gowns and tuxs. 

5 hours ago, Canadian1 said:

EmilyJay  Hope you are having a lovely, fun, relaxing cruise so far!  I do have another question for you if you don't mind.  My family hasn't seen an ice show since they moved to Europe almost 20 years ago, so they are really looking forward to this on the ship.  I'm just wondering if you can tell me how they are handling the seating on this.  I know in the past I have gotten tickets for them in advance, first come first serve, but i think I read somewhere that people were lining up 45 minutes before.... which made me think it was first come first serve with no pre-tickets given.  Can you confirm for me how it will work?  Thanks so much if you can.  From what I have seen posted on social media this ice show looks pretty cool.  On a different note hopefully we also get the roaming piano player 🙂

 

Cheers and as always thanks for the consideration 🌴

Seeing the ice show tonight so will let you know how busy it is. 

You can’t book in advance for any shows on Navigator. 

1 hour ago, Muerz said:

Thanks again for all your updates. Two more questions: If you have the Surf and Stream package, how fast is it? Is it actually fast enough to download a few tv episodes onto my iPad over night? Have you had the chance to take a few pictures of the food menus? Enjoy your cruise!

It varies, it can be pretty slow at peak times. 

I had some issues even loading Facebook earlier today, but now it’s running well. 

I think if you can download something overnight you should be fine. Currently I have a internet speed of 1.6mbps. 

@Paulette3028 Only the Riptide is open which is the head first on a mat slide. It’s fun, not too fast unless the instructor gives you a push and not too much water in your face. I’ve been on it a few times, unfortunately the other slide hasn’t been open at all yet. 

The gym is also closed, so a temporary one has been set up in the solarium. 

Day 3: Sea Day 

This morning I was awake at 4.17am. Not just awake, I was awake awake instead of staying in bed I should have got up then to go and get a sun lounger.... 

But I decided to stay in bed until about 7.30am. 

Once ready, we went to the Windjammer for breakfast at 8.30ish, we walked through the Solarium and at that time of the morning nearly all the loungers had towels on, but no people. 

The Windjammer was good, plenty of food options and loads of tables available. 

We then went to the pool, where there were barely any loungers free. 

We got 2 chairs near the pool but in the shade, I then read the Cruise Compass to see what was happening today and saw a notice saying “All pool deck chairs are first come, first served.” 

No towels were removed after 30 mins like some other ships. 

There was a lady in front of us and I heard her say she came out at 7am to reserve the 12 sunbeds for their group. The most annoying thing was some of the group didn’t come til 11-12pm! Then I noticed once a sunbed became available they would throw some clothes on the sunbed and not actually use it. 

There were people sitting on the floor as there weren’t enough loungers/ too many chair hogs. 

This being said, if you go elsewhere on the ship away from the pool you can get a lounger. 

We had lunch at El Loco Fresh. It’s a buffet style area by the pool, the chicken burrito was good and there’s salad, nachos, tortillas and all sorts of Mexican goodness. 

The main pool is very nice with ample space to sit on the edges of the pool and lots of shallow water space to sit. 

Lots of activities happening throughout the day at the pool too. 

After pool time, we went to explore and found the helipad. 

(Go to deck 4, forward and walk up the staircase) it was great being able to access the helipad, incredibly windy so hold onto your small children / loose items 😂 

This is also a great area to run as it’s spacious, quiet and you can do a full loop of the ship. It is the smokers deck but not many people down there smoking. 

We went to Playmakers this afternoon, its got a great atmosphere. You can sit there and play table top games while you have a drink or you can order food at an extra cost. Lots of TVs showing sports and just alot of fun. 

One of the slides was still closed today and Adventure Ocean should be open tomorrow. The Splash area was also closed for a few hours this morning, but opened before noon. 

Tonight is formal night! Time to start getting glammed up. 

Oh before I forget the drinks limit is $13, so just an extra $1 for the Bamboo Room speciality cocktails! 👍🏻 

@kevnick0814 I have a solution for you. Go to deck 4 for a run. It’s spacious and quiet, once you get forward you have to go up a flight of steps which takes you to the helipad, but following this route you can do a full loop of the ship. 

54 minutes ago, Glitterati said:

Hello- what are the sun decks like in terms of chair hogs? I don’t particularly want to be up before it’s light to get a sunbed! 

 

And are are they removing towels from chairs? 

I will be touching on this subject tonight! But it’s awful!!!!! 

No removing towels- will explain more later. 

42 minutes ago, generaljar said:

 

Thanks for providing so much information for all of us anticipating our upcoming cruises. (We sail 12 April) So, I am trying to get a sense of what amenities are found in the cabins. Robes? Hairdryer? Enough outlets? Table/desk? We have a balcony on Deck 7 midship. Does the shower have shower gel or soap & shampoo? Any answers are helpful. Have a fantastic time!

 

No robes. 

Yes, the hairdryer is in one of the draws in the desk. 

Plenty of outlets. 

A 2 in 1 shampoo/ conditioner combo is in a dispenser in the shower as well as a small bar of soap. 

Also, lots of mirrors in the cabin! 

1 hour ago, DChamp said:

EmilyJay, what's a good sail-away bar on the outside up high?

Lime & Coconut?

Thanks for the great posts!

Definitely the Lime & Coconut for a sail-away bar. 

34 minutes ago, Ronaldo807 said:

My wife and I were watching one of the videos and were joking about that being the running track. I didn't actually think it was...I don't see how you would even be able to pass someone walking and I can foresee having to dodge a lot of people and lounges on the run.

 

The track also doesn't appear to complete a loop. Do you just run to the one side, turn around, and run back? Or am I missing something?

Yup that’s the running track. It does a loop around the foward half of deck 12. 

@Ronaldo807 That task will be easy, I’m not keen on the cheaper cocktails in the Bamboo Room but I like most of the $14 ones typically 😂 

9 minutes ago, kevnick0814 said:

Hi EmilyJay,

I saw a 'scope from the Nav last night. 

The 'running track' looks like it is half the width of what is normal.

Please let me know what you think.

I’m not a fan of the running track personally. 

It’s not that wide and because of its location, it’s made even less wide due to edges of sun beds being on the track. 

If you’re to run early morning/ late at night it’ll be fine. But otherwise it’ll be busy with people. 

8 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

That plank looks delicious. I cannot wait to try Jamie's on the Symphony.

It was delicious! I highly recommend the plank. 

@Muerz Lime & Coconut is drinks only. There is frozen yogurt on the pool deck and El Loco which is free. 

@Cel_cruise Great idea about putting items left on chairs there! There are cubby holes each side of the solarium, next to the whirpools. 

It is a bummer about Adventure Ocean. I think it’s just not fully finished yet, but they have an extra 9 days to get it done for the next cruise. There doesn’t seem to be that many children onboard that I’ve noticed. 

@whyrlygig JR is going to suit some but not others. It would 100% suit us better now too, I guess families or large groups not so much. 

It has been very popular on this sailing and so far always fairly busy. 

6 hours ago, Jasonmom said:

Some have said families can use it to keep in touch with each other for free.  Is this true?  How does that work?

 

That is a fantastic time for leaving hotel to on ship.  Enjoy every minute of it.

 

The Royal App doesn’t have a messaging service, it’s just like your cruise compass but on your phone and more interative. 

To use it without paying for wifi, connect to RoyalWifi and an option will come up to buy wifi or access the Royal App for free. 

Royal IQ may have the messaging. 

@Wville21 We are deck 7, forward. Our catorgory cabin is the cheapest. But so impressed, plenty of storage space, new carpets and new sofa. 

@Canadian 1 Jamie’s we did tonight! Yum!! Main dining room we are doing tomorrow so will take a pic of the menu if I remember. Hooked looks very nice, not sure if we’ll eat there or not if not I’ll see if I can get a pic of the menu. 

8 hours ago, natiknc1 said:

Emily,

Thank you for your posts. We are on April 12 sailing and on the same sailing but in reverse order. Our room is interior as well but on deck 8. Unfortunately, there will be 4 of us (kids are taking their first voyage 🙂 ). Is that sofa a pull down ?

Thank you!

Tasha

The sofa in our room is just a standard sofa. 

We are in the smallest cabin, I imagine you have a bigger cabin with a pull out sofa or the beds that come out the ceiling. 

It’s a small cabin, but lots of storage and we have so far found it absolutely fine for us. 

Day 2 Continued. 

We stayed in the Solarium for a few hours after boarding, I noticed there were treadmills and excercise bikes in the corner, it turns out this is the temporary gym as the actual one is closed for now. 

There are a few things closed, the aft of deck 12 is completely shut off and work is being done there. The Adventure Ocean and all that area (I think including the arcade) is closed and The Blast water slide is currently closed. 

After a while in the Solarium, where I noticed they had floor-ceiling cubby holes to put your personal belongings so you don’t need to leave them on a sun lounger we decided to try out the waterslide. 

Riptide was open, where you go head first on a mat. It was pretty good, it wasn’t too fast and you don’t get a face full of water which was nice. We did this a few times and then headed back to our cabin to change. 

Muster drill was uneventful, the actual talk was over in 5 minutes, we spent more time waiting around for people to show up and there was no hand washing video or song!!?? 

We went to the top deck to watch sailaway, we were due to sail at 5pm, but didn’t leave until about 5.30. 

After this we went to check to see if our suitcase had arrived and thankfully it was there, usually we’re very lucky and have always had our cases by 2.30pm, this is the longest we’ve waited for them. 

Once unpacked and sorted we went up to Jamie’s Italian for dinner, it’s located inside the Windjammer just after the hand washing station. 

The service was excellent and the food was amazing. 

To start we had the meat plank for 2, then mains was lasagne and the salmon with veggies and fries as a side and sorbet for dessert. 

I almost forgot to take photos as I was so hungry by this point and was ready to get stuck in. Jamie’s also do a kids menu. 

The resturant itself was nice and modern, with plenty of window seating. 

The rest of our evening we intended to stay up for the party and ballion drop, but this isn’t until midnight, and somehow I don’t think my eyes will stay open much longer. 

6 hours ago, Glitterati said:

It will be interesting to see what drinks are included in the package at the Bamboo room! 

 

I am a fellow Brit flying out to join the Navigator (in April). Not looking forward to the flight!

The Bamboo Room have “speciality cocktails” at $14 and “Classic cocktails” at $12 

The flight this time for us felt like it was lasting forever which is a first! Usually it goes by fairly quickly. But it’s all been worth it so far! 

3 hours ago, BrandFam4 said:

@EmilyJay if you can find out why Adventure Ocean isn’t open yet, I’d be ever so appreciative. 

 

Hope youre soaking up the sun the sun and enjoying your drink package so far!

Adventure Ocean is closed, haven’t heard a reason why but have heard it’s just for this cruise. Will keep you posted if it opens up or I find out why it’s closed. 

There were Adventure Ocean sign ups in the Cosmopolitan Club earlier today though. 

The drinks package has been going down well! 

4 minutes ago, CazV said:

 

I believe the fitness centre isn't open yet. 

4 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Love the ala carte Johnny Rockets menu!  Much better for us than the fixed price.

 

Dan

Unsure on the fitness centre just yet. I will try and find out, there are treadmills in the Solarium tucked out the way but they overlook the ocean. 

I am impressed with the JR prices, I expected it to cost more. I’m yet to find out if it’s included in the ultimate dining package, but I don’t think it is. 

Slide rules/ height. Hopefully you can zoom in on it. 

And Johnny Rockets Express menu. 

Day 2: EMBARKTION 

I was up at 5am thanks to Jetlag, plus the noise from the extremely thin walls of the hotel. 

We stayed at YVE hotel, 5 mins from port. The hotel is clean, great location but the noise was on another level. 

We left at 9.50am on a shuttle from our hotel, and were onboard by 10.20am. Rooms were available immediately which was lovely! 

We have an inside deck 7 cabin which was new carpet and from what I assume a new sofa. 

The ship has fresh carpets throughout and it smells incredible. 

I can comfirm there are 2 Freestyle soda machines on the Promanade and I haven’t been anywhere else but if I find anymore I will post about them. 

Wifi has been down up until now, and seems to be working ok at the moment. 

The Royal App also works for Navigator, and the daily planner comes up on there which is great and it can be used without paying for wifi. 

We have the famous hand washing song (which I actually like haha) at 4pm and sailaway at 5pm. 

I will write again later at the end of our day! 

So far so good. 

2 hours ago, cynt said:

EmilyJay GETUP!! It's time to board the ship!! LOL!!! I'm so excited for you. 11 weeks from today I board the Navigator!!

I was up at 5am thanks to Jetlag!! 

We are ONBOARD. 

31 minutes ago, CazV said:

In case anyone who's been following this thread wants to follow @EmilyJay on her travels on Navigator of the Seas over the next 9 days you might want to step over to her live review thread:

 

 

Thank you CazV. 

And thanks for letting me know about the new photos etc, I hadn’t seen them so had a quick look last night!! 

Day 1: Travel Day Cont. 

After a smooth just under 10 hour flight we have made to it Miami!! We got a glimpse of Navigator from the sky too, she looks sparkly clean and ready to go tomorrow. 

We used the MetroRail to get from MIA to Biscayne Bay and for $2.25 it was so easy! 

But now, a cup of tea is needed and I’m happy to report the hotel has English Tea woohoo. 

We are staying close to port and have a wonderful view of the port and Navigator.