lglancy

My daughter is chomping at the bit to find out if Navigator has the kids slide and pool area that other Voyager class ships have, located at the back of the ship near Johnny Rockets. We really love this area, as it's shaded, and has plenty of chairs to relax in while the kids go (repeatedly!) down the slide. Does anyone know if it does? Thanks!

Great question! We find that arriving at 11:00am is the perfect time. We usually encounter no lines inside the building (though sometimes in some ports there is a line to get into the terminal and through security) and are directed right up to check in, with very few people ahead of us. Boarding doesn't usually begin until 11:30-12:00, but that gives us time to look over the ship maps and paperwork, use the restroom, and have a snack. Most times there is a table set up with water, lemonade and cookies, and that helps to occupy kids. I would bring some toys or coloring books to give them something to do during the wait, but arriving at this time and waiting in chairs is so much better than arriving later and waiting in a long line. Be sure you've printed your SetSail pass and have it ready, along with your passports and credit card. That speeds things up. Also, arriving at this time allows you to beat the crowds to the Windjammer for that wonderful first lunch. Have a great trip, sure to be the first of many more!

I myself have been known to order a couple of shrimp cocktails or scallops gratin to call my entrée! My only suggestion is, you're not out anything by ordering an entrée just to try. If you end up not liking, it, don't eat it. We've found some delicious meals just by ordering something different. Our favorite cruise was when a tablemate always ordered "one for the middle (of the table)," as in an entrée that no one had ordered that could be tried and shared by everyone. Be sure to try the scallops gratin appetizer, beef tenderloin (best meal on any ship, ever) and artichoke crepes on night 2. While I agree that some of the main courses may not seem the most exciting, everything I've had has been excellent. There's always the strip steak and grilled chicken on the everyday menu. They are delicious, as well. And I don't blame you a bit for planning ahead. I know that three weeks from tonight I'll be leaving Cozumel aboard the Vision, and having seafood salad, poblano and corn soup, lobster and shrimp, and crème brulee for dinner. That's not a bit obsessive... Have a great trip, and enjoy!

I sure will! Anything specific you want me to look for?

Thank you. We are on the 7 night sailing on March 26.

I'm wondering if anyone who's recently sailed on Vision can provide the order of the menus? Like everyone, I'm wondering which nights to book a specialty restaurant. Also, would you happen to know if they still offer the Scallops Gratin nightly? I've lucked out my last two cruises and gotten spoiled by it being a nightly offering! Thank you all, so much.

Does anyone know if they still have the scallops gratin appetizer available every night? Our last two cruises had it instead of escargot, and I was in heaven.

We cruised on Voyager over Spring Break a few years ago, and had a good experience. Honestly the only difference we saw was that my husband had a hard time getting on the basketball court. He usually has it pretty much to himself, but it was full of kids during that cruise. We just waited a few hours to get off the ship in port, and used that time to enjoy the empty court. Another interesting thing, we noticed some fun foods at the buffet, like donuts with pink icing and jelly beans on them, that seemed to be aimed at kids. We didn't notice any particular problems with teens or terrible overcrowding. We are actually booked on Vision for this years' spring break. The only down side is the higher prices and hugely expensive airfare during this time period.

It really depends on each child's individual tastes. My 9 year old absolutely loves the program, and spends every minute she can in it, including eating meals with them. There are tons of activities, including hands on and video games, movies, science projects, song and dance, sports, plus the arts and crafts. The great thing is, the kids can try it for a few hours, and if they don't care for it, they don't have to go back. We made sure to go in and say hi to our daughter about once an hour the first few days of her first time in the program, and eventually she told us to quit bugging her and let her play. The staff truly are incredible with the kids, and our daughter always makes friends to play with during the week. To us, the kids program is one of the biggest perks of cruising.

We sailed Indy last February, and loved it. We found it to be pretty much identical to Freedom, other than it did not have the DreamWorks program. Our service was excellent. I would sail Indy again in a heartbeat.

We sailed on Divina in August 2014 at a very cheap price. We have been on 9 RC, 5 Carnival (never again), and 1 HAL. We are now 43 years old and brought our now 9 year old daughter. In our opinion, MSC did not even come close to equaling the level of service we are accustomed to on RC. We are easy to please, and aren't complainers. Our observations: service was not good. It was adequate, but staff did not greet or smile at us throughout the ship and seemed unsure of how to reply when we smiled and said hello to them, and dinner waitstaff did the minimum to get by and was not happy to be doing it. No one was rude, just seemed to not want to be there. No one ever called us by name, or remembered our dinner preferences. When I requested A-1 sauce at dinner, I was told they didn't have any (though it was on the buffet each day.) Each night if we would order two appetizers, only one would be brought. They "forgot" one every time. Food was average to below average. (We consider RC food to be very good to excellent.) Some entrees were honestly not good enough to finish. The pizza in the buffet was excellent, best we've had on a cruise, but there were only one or two staff making them, and it did not keep up with the demand. We actually saw fights break out by people just trying to get pizza, and we always dreaded having to get through the pizza mob to get to the actual buffet.. The buffet was constantly, and I mean constantly, out of cups. We drank out of coffee mugs most days. I enjoyed the drink program, in that I could by a book of 10 drink tickets for around $65, and could also use them for milkshakes for my daughter. Onboard entertainment was excellent, with the best shows we've ever seen on a ship. The ship itself is also the most beautiful we've been on, absolutely gorgeous, but there is also a large amount of space that cannot be accessed by those not a member of "the club" of some such. We found the fellow passengers to not be the friendly types we are accustomed to on RC. I'm sure it's just a difference in cultures, but our experiences would best be described as "rude." The cultures we experienced used pushing, shoving, and shouting as the norm. I read one review that said this is an Italian cruise line aimed at Italians, that happens to be cruising from the U.S. While I rolled my eyes when I read it, I must admit that I found it to be true. We also could never seem to catch the pools when they were open. Weird. My daughter enjoyed the kids program, but could not communicate with the staff. They are very limited in English. I did love that the program takes the kids to the show each night. Also be aware that a foreign transaction fee was on my credit card, as the onboard account charges were routed through Italy.

We have been shopping for a spring break cruise, and MSC is among the cheapest for this expensive time of year. That being said, my husband and I agreed that the negatives outweighed the positive, and even at the cheap price, we would not sail them again, especially considering they sail to the same old ports we've been going to for years. Of course you should give it a try, being a free cruise. You may love it, and it's hard to complain about a week in the beautiful Caribbean. Myself, I am willing to pay more for the excellence of RC, but free is the right price to give it a try! Be sure to see all the shows, they truly were the highlight.

Just wondering if anyone knows what movies have been playing in the theater onboard lately? Bonus if you can tell me the extra 2 nights menus! Thank you.

I know this isn't a direct answer to your question, but it might help, anyway. We used Kini Kini several years ago for their ATV tour. I can't say enough great things about them. We were the only 2 people who had booked this tour, so we had a very personalized experience. I wouldn't hesitate a bit to book your snorkeling with them.

I have it! This was the menu on the April 2014 sailing. I'll have to dig out my notes, but I think it was on night 4. I can't find a photo to upload, but here are the written descriptions:

Exotic Fruits

Crab and Shrimp Salad

Melon Proscuitto

Beef and Veal Tortallaci

Jalapeno Potato Soup

Chicken Consumme

Cranberry Mango Soup

Seasonal Greens

Penne Tartania-tomato garlic sauce with mussels, shrimp and scallops

Cornmeal Tilapia

Fresh Salmon

Parmesan Crusted Turkey

Beef Shoulder Filet-with roasted potatoes

Top Sirloin

Asparagus and Brie Tart

Choco Chino Trilogy-white chocolate mousse, chocolate kalua cheesecake, mud cake

Baileys Banana Brulee

Mango Parfait

Sugar Free Pineapple Coconut Cake

SF Vanilla and Berry Custard

Somewhere I have more info. I will keep looking, but this should be a good start for you. We really loved that cruise. Enjoy!

I have a bunch of food pics from the new menu that may answer many of your questions. If the search feature ever gets fixed on here, my post is titled "new menu food pics, here they are." Or, access it through my signature, or go to photobucket dot com and search "cruiserlori." I don't have a fancy camera, so they aren't the clearest pics, but it's still fun to look!

Main Dining Room: the fillet of beef served on the first formal night is the best meal all week. The Scallops au Gratin is delicious, served on the second formal night. Also, the Scallops Chorizo on night 7. Banana crème brulee, when cooked till done and carmelized, is very good, and I'm not a banana fan. The Garlic Tiger Shrimp is also a favorite.

In Windjammer, of course the famous Honey Stung Chicken, with its remoulade sauce, is awesome when it's fresh. There is also a cold pasta salad at the salad bar portion on embarkation day that I love. All the cream soups are great. The white chocolate mousse dessert (cut into squares, topped with a milk chocolate layer) is the best WJ dessert, and tastes like a homemade marshmallow. I love the tuna salad, but it's only put out later in the afternoon.

At Johnny Rockets, we love the bacon cheese fries with ranch. And one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken on a cruise is of me and my daughter eating the Oreo Sundae. It's a great setting, and just looks nice with the sundaes in the pic.

In Chops, of course the whole meal is delicious, but that Mud Pie is to die for.

Promenade Café sandwiches are great. The egg salad on embarkation day is always our go to snack after muster, to get us through to dinner. The little fruit cups are a great way to push something healthy at my daughter, and because it's in the little clear cup, it's fun for her. I love the Ranger cookies. We enjoy bringing a few small bags of chips on board with us, and taking a plate of those tiny sandwiches back to the cabin for lunch when we've tired of WJ food, or just want to lounge in the cabin. The ham and cheese are great to put in a ziplock bag and store on ice for a quick breakfast when you have an early excursion.

I've always found the MDR food to be very good to excellent, as well. Thanks for posting pics of some new things to try.

Welcome to RC. You will find it to be worlds better than Carnival. RC buffets are SO much better, from the way they are set up, to the selection and variety, and the quality of food. I agree that RC prices are more expensive than Carnival, but trust me, it's worth it. Carnival's low prices are pulling in a lower class of people that do not follow the cruise etiquette that you will find on RC. (no offense meant to those who do not fall in that category.) There are just a few differences between Freedom and Navigator. Navigator does not have Sorrentos pizza, the H2O zone water park area, or Flow Rider. It also does not have the cantilever whirlpools, but does have a huge whirlpool in the gym that is almost always empty. I actually like the Voyager class ships better (Navigator's class). Johnny Rockets is worth the $4.95 pp cover charge as a change of pace. The food is excellent and it's a fun environment. Sorrentos has pizza, paninis, salad, bread, a selection of olives, and a selection of small desserts. Water is available to drink. We found the pizza to be just okay, but a nice change of pace. This is a good place for lunch on embarkation day if you want to avoid the Windjammer crowds. Café Promenade is one of my favorite places on the ship. They have delicious little sandwiches that vary by the day. I love the egg salad on embarkation day, and the ham & cheese is available each day & is delicious. The tuna salad croissant is excellent too. On Navigator, the Café has pizza also. You will also find fruit cups, desserts and pastries, and cookies. The ranger cookies and toffee cookies are delicious. Again, water is available to drink, and everything is free. We love the Café and are there every day for some sort of snack. I like to stop there to grab a cookie before seeing a movie in the screening room or going to the ice show. You will love RC!

The above reply is exactly right: when the honey stung chicken is fresh and crispy, it is delicious. When it's sat for a bit, or from the bottom of the bin, it can be soggy and loses it's good flavor. When fresh, it's out of this world. It's the sauce that really makes it, though, so don't forget a big spoonful of the remoulade sauce in the bin next to it. Also, if you are a pasta salad fan, there is a tomato sauce based cold pasta salad on the first day that is delicious. You will find that RC buffet food is miles above anything you'll find on Carnival. No comparison.

We always do inside cabins, even when our daughter comes along. We have done outside and balcony (once) when great deals have been available, but for the price, there is no reason not to go with an inside. Shower gel and shampoo are provided in dispensers in the stall, and bar soap at the sink. They are perfectly adequate, but I do bring my own shampoo and conditioner for formal nights when I want my hair to behave.

Considering my husband was assaulted onboard the Carnival Dream in August, I am all for this. I'm willing to bet the group of thugs that attacked him and my 65 year old father as they played mini golf have criminal records. At least there could be a "keep an eye on" list...

No question, Navigator all the way. I have been on the Dream three times, because of their low prices, and have been on Voyager class ships four times as well, and booked on Independence in April. RC ships have it over Carnival in every way. You will find very few activities on Carnival, don't be fooled. On our last two cruises on the Dream, the most recent being in April and August, 2013, they did not have the laser show at all. Carnival buffets are horrible, whereas RC buffets are excellent, and RC ships themselves just have so much more to offer. We will never sail again on Carnival. Their cheap prices have lured in a cheap class of people (no offense meant to those that don't fall into that category),as we discovered on our last two cruises when the drunks ruined our vacation. On the last cruise, my husband was assaulted by a group of unruly intoxicated men as he played mini golf with my 65 year old father. The past two cruises with Carnival have shown to be an unsafe environment, and I will not take my child into this situation again. RC maintains a much better show of safety and security as well as just being all around better in every aspect. I think you will LOVE the Navigator, and just be "meh" about the Dream.

Any chance you also have the 8 nights menus?

Well darn, Graham. We're booked on the Freedom for September 9 and were so looking forward to seeing you. Can't believe we're going to miss you (an I can't believe how truly bummed I am about this!). You are truly the best CD we've ever experienced in 11 cruises. We met you on the Mariner several years ago, and still to this day, every time I hear your Snow Patrol song, it takes me right back to that cruise. You are such an asset to RCCL.

You rock! (and can I say how cool it is that you're on Cruise Critic!)