Big Disappointment on Navigator of the Seas

[LMZinSC]

Don't understand, either, why people jump all over anyone with complaints with the whole "I was on that cruise and *I* had no problems." Ridiculous.

Not trying to jump all over the OP or minimize their experience. The point is just that not everyone will have the same experience, on the same sailing. I would hate for someone to read the OP and then decide that Navigator is a horrible ship and not book it. If it is ok for OP to post their bad experience, then it is ok for someone to post their good experience as well.

[Tyron]

Not trying to jump all over the OP or minimize their experience. The point is just that not everyone will have the same experience, on the same sailing. I would hate for someone to read the OP and then decide that Navigator is a horrible ship and not book it. If it is ok for OP to post their bad experience, then it is ok for someone to post their good experience as well.

 

I see nothing wrong with you posting your experience onboard the same sailing. As you stated without jumping all over the OP was simply you had a different experience. :)

 

To the OP, yes, you have every right to complain if there were things you found wrong. I hope your next cruise is a much better experience for you and your friends. :)

[Farmercity]

Honestly I agree with many that say write the letter and or make the calls. For all of you that discount the OP expirience there will be 10 that you don't know about. They aren't asking for a free cruise, or anything of that nature just simple things that we normally expect to be done. I wasn't on that ship, but will agree about the restrooms smelling at times, the C&A information not being distributed, and the loyalty amabsator's attitude, I was on an entirly different ship and two other C&A members ahead of me where waiting inline for our booklets and information on nightly events etc. Could it be the new points system wasn't planned out properly? Many things could explain that, but poor treatment, nasty restrooms, and general housekeeping have nothing to do with that. Our ship didnt have garbage laying all over all the time but there wasnt the same amount of people cleaning as we have expirienced on other sailings and we are close to Diamond +, I havent posted on here a million times, but have read it for the valuable information after hearing about CC a few cruises ago. Give the OP some considerration before you slam them unless you where on the same sailing.

[Paul65]

I voted yes, but I would caution you to reflect a little on the experience before writing any letter of complaint, as it seems that some of your reactions may be tainted by a bad mood caused by other issues. For example, toward the end, speaking of the loyalty ambassador, you say, "Even after I asked for a piece of tape to tape the edge of the coupon, all she did was give me a new coupon and say she had never heard of any problems I had encored." Seems like you're saying that as a complaint, and yet giving you a new coupon seems like a better response than getting a piece of tape to tape up the one you had. And I agree with her, in that I've also never heard of anyone having that kind of problem using a coupon.

 

Just make sure your complaints are as constructive as possible. Hope your next cruise is a great one.

[Hlitner]

We also have no problem believing the OP and do have a problem with folks who insist on attacking the messenger. We ourselves have had quite a few issues with RCI ships in the past few years (we have been Diamond for about 10 years) and have reacted by simply cruising with other cruise lines. RCI has made some major budgetary cut-backs in recent years (as has other lines) and sometimes it does show. We also agree with the comments that the best time to express your displeasure is on the ship. If things are really bad it can be very productive to request a meeting with the "Hotel Manager." Folks need to remember that there are many different cruise lines and you can always vote with your pocketbook.

 

Hank

[CrusingJoe]

Many bathrooms smell of old urine, the toilets do not work, and half the bathrooms are closed with signs saying out of order. There was trash in hallways, and there were musty old smells in many areas. My room had drawers that not only did not work, but were falling off the hinges. My room mini bar had bottles that had been half drunken out of, and I had to argue that I didn't drink them!! They became mad and jerked them out the room. Yes

I had a waiter roll his eyes at me when I asked what the ice cream of the day was, ( I never did find out what it was, I was just given rainbow sherbet)No bar staff would not accept my platinum coupon for buy one get one free drink, because an edge had been torn.No I never received any perks that a platinum member should receive, no robes, no gift, no invite for special parties, no special disembark area, no recognition whatsoever.Maybe And when I went to possibly book another cruise with the crown and anchor society host, she never thanked me for sailing with them, never referred to me by my name, and never asked me how I enjoyed my cruise. Even after I asked for a piece of tape to tape the edge of the coupon, all she did was give me a new coupon and say she had never heard of any problems I had encored. NoI am shocked at how rude most of the staff was,even when I would tip extra for drinks, (I usually give at least an extra dollar) They would look at it and act as if I was a stingy person.No I am so sad to think this is what RC has become.

[scarlettnyny]

Thank you for your responses. I thought this message board was about critiques- I will defiantly never post a negative response on here again!! I posted this because before I sail I like to review all comments, both positive and negative. I am not after getting a refund, or coupons, I just don't want to continue to have service such as that on my future cruises. As for a few of your questions or comments..

 

1. Yes I inquired about all of these issues while on board, every time I spoke with someone I was either told, go talk to so and so, I don't handle that. ( I would go to about 3 people and after being told the same thing over and over, just gave up,) or wow, that's never happened before.

 

2. Yes I put all of these on my comment card..never did I hear anything back from them besides a mass email thanking me for cruising.

 

3. At Geri, I understand where you are coming from. I DID mention these things as they came up. No one took me seriously or did anything to resolve them.

 

4. At Silent Bob, thanks, I will take that into consideration. Although I do not in anyway think I am an awesome customer, however at the same time I am a customer. Period.

 

Basically what I am saying is I am not used to such inconsistent service, especially not after my previous experiences on Royal Caribbean. The message you can take away is this ship was very inconsistent, and very different from my other experiences.

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you for your responses. I thought this message board was about critiques- I will defiantly never post a negative response on here again!! I posted this because before I sail I like to review all comments, both positive and negative. I am not after getting a refund, or coupons, I just don't want to continue to have service such as that on my future cruises. As for a few of your questions or comments..

 

1. Yes I inquired about all of these issues while on board, every time I spoke with someone I was either told, go talk to so and so, I don't handle that. ( I would go to about 3 people and after being told the same thing over and over, just gave up,) or wow, that's never happened before.

 

2. Yes I put all of these on my comment card..never did I hear anything back from them besides a mass email thanking me for cruising.

 

3. At Geri, I understand where you are coming from. I DID mention these things as they came up. No one took me seriously or did anything to resolve them.

 

4. At Silent Bob, thanks, I will take that into consideration. Although I do not in anyway think I am an awesome customer, however at the same time I am a customer. Period.

 

Basically what I am saying is I am not used to such inconsistent service, especially not after my previous experiences on Royal Caribbean. The message you can take away is this ship was very inconsistent, and very different from my other experiences.

 

Is there a reason that you waited four weeks to return to your thread? Did you write to Royal Caribbean, and if so, what was the response?

 

We'd like to know what happened.

 

:)

[pcur]

Thank you for your responses. I thought this message board was about critiques- I will defiantly never post a negative response on here again!! I posted this because before I sail I like to review all comments, both positive and negative. I am not after getting a refund, or coupons, I just don't want to continue to have service such as that on my future cruises. As for a few of your questions or comments..

 

1. Yes I inquired about all of these issues while on board, every time I spoke with someone I was either told, go talk to so and so, I don't handle that. ( I would go to about 3 people and after being told the same thing over and over, just gave up,) or wow, that's never happened before.

 

2. Yes I put all of these on my comment card..never did I hear anything back from them besides a mass email thanking me for cruising.

 

3. At Geri, I understand where you are coming from. I DID mention these things as they came up. No one took me seriously or did anything to resolve them.

 

4. At Silent Bob, thanks, I will take that into consideration. Although I do not in anyway think I am an awesome customer, however at the same time I am a customer. Period.

 

Basically what I am saying is I am not used to such inconsistent service, especially not after my previous experiences on Royal Caribbean. The message you can take away is this ship was very inconsistent, and very different from my other experiences.

 

Thanks for coming back and following up with this thread. I do hope you sent a letter to RCCL Corporate to let them know what happened on the Navi.

 

A few suggestions for the future:

 

Inside the cabin: don't tell customer service, and don't tell your cabin steward about broken items in the cabin; call maintenance yourself. Their number is on the phone. They usually show up within an hour, and if not, call again. Check your whole cabin as soon as you get on the ship, and when they come by the first day show him/her the problems, like the half empty liquor bottles. Your cabin was not cleaned properly on turn-around day, it seems.

 

C&A: make sure your C&A number is on your reservation AND your status is on your seapass card. Whenever I talk to a LA on board a ship I always put my seapass card in front of her on the desk. This way she can see my name and C&A status. Talk to the LA about the robes, parties, etc. that you may be missing. I think they didn't have you recorded as Platinum at first.

 

Dining room: any of the wait staff that are rude or inattentive should be discussed with the head waiter. Find one on your way out, give them your table number, and NICELY tell them your waiter is having a bad day. Politely ask they follow-up with the person. I pretty much guarantee they will fall all over themselves from then on being nice to you. (I wouldn't have eaten the rainbow sherbert; I would have politely said I needed to know the choices first.)

 

Good luck next time!

[Costafox]

Wow. A platinum member after only 6 cruises. Baloney.

 

I'm platinum and I have only done 4 cruises and will go up to emerald after my next cruise so please don't be so critical if you don't have all the facts!

 

The Navigator is my favourite of the ships I have been on and I found the crew to be wonderful but we all have different criteria to judge the ships by.

[travelberlin]

I wouldn't be surprised if the OP isn't exaggerating. I've been on the Navigator twice and it's my least favorite ship. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed my trips very much, but some ship has to come in last place and it's her. The crew just never seemed as friendly as the other ships, I've always noticed considerable wear and just overall the trip pretty mediocre. Its curious how the experience can differ from the Navigator and Mariner. Theyre identical but the Mariners crew was fantastic and the ship was amazing.

 

Oh please, lets hope it is not the standard at the Navigator to have complains about the crew and be rated by a CC member in the last place. We were also at the Mariner, and found the crew and ship very pleasant. Our experience on board the Mariner has helped to decided to book the Navigator. We are very much looking forward to cruising with this ship.

[FLSteve11]

Oh please, lets hope it is not the standard at the Navigator to have complains about the crew and be rated by a CC member in the last place. We were also at the Mariner, and found the crew and ship very pleasant. Our experience on board the Mariner has helped to decided to book the Navigator. We are very much looking forward to cruising with this ship.

 

I just got off the Navigator this morning (4-nighter). I found the crew to be friendly for myself. Doesn't mean the OP didn't have her own issues (as mentioned, people get different experiences out of it). We saw our room steward all the time and she was friendly and helpful. Our dining staff came over many times to make sure things were good with us during our meals (besides serving them of course), in fact we saw our assistant waiter in the WJ and he always made a point to say Hi to us. Never had a problem with the bar staff either (in fact, they twice did not charge me for my DD's shirley temple when I ordered my own drink as well, so that was a plus)

 

What I did find is the ship generally looks good, but there is a bit wear and tear here and there (the balcony posts are rusting, not sure what they can do about it as it's bare metal on this ship, not painted), but the balcony itself was varnished at least (unlike Explorer last year). The WJ was slow to clear tables at breakfast, plates would sit around for a bit even when the place was crowded. Also, unlike the Explorer & Majesty in the last year, there was no flavored water this trip (both my wife and I enjoyed those).

 

We did receive our C&A stuff (we're diamond), except we never did find out if there was a priority disembark area (one of the benefits for diamond). No notice came about that, so we either did not get it or it did not exist on this ship. We were going down to self disembark this morning to ask and found the ship cleared early so we ended up walking right off (customs was a bit slow though)

 

All in all we enjoyed it, ship seemed good, so no major complaints. There seemed to be not as many things to do during the day this trip (2 sea days, 1 day in cozumel), compared to others but we enjoy reading so did not mean too much to us. I wouldn't worry about the Navigator overall, I'm sure you'll have a good time on it.

[tahqa]

We did receive our C&A stuff (we're diamond), except we never did find out if there was a priority disembark area (one of the benefits for diamond). No notice came about that, so we either did not get it or it did not exist on this ship. We were going down to self disembark this morning to ask and found the ship cleared early so we ended up walking right off (customs was a bit slow though)

I was on this same cruise and there was a priority disembark. I received my "Orange 1" tags on Sunday and the priority lounge was the deck 5 dining room (Swan Lake?) for an 8:00 - 8:30 departure. However, when I showed up at 7:45 they told me I could go right off. However, when I got into the terminal they didn't want to let me collect my luggage until 8:00 because that's what the paper said! :eek:

[pam_1024]

3rd post - please - b/s spewing forth!!!

 

Just curious....how many posts do you think a person should have before being allowed to post a valid complaint? :confused:

[TwitterCruise1]

just posted my review-- got off the recent 4 day yesterday-

I'm very middle of the road opinion-wise, and while I've cruised RCCL 14-15 times, I'll have no problem saying the bad with the good. That said-- here's my review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1383933

[TahoeBob]

I recently took the 5 night cruise from FLL on Navigator of the Seas on Feb 12th This was my 6th cruise with Royal Caribbean and have never had any complaints with them, only praise. I have recommended over 20 people to cruise with them, and at least 10 of them have gone on to become members with them. This will be the first time I plan on writing a letter with complaints about unacceptable behavior.

 

I wanted to recap a few details of my complaints. Many bathrooms smell of old urine, the toilets do not work, and half the bathrooms are closed with signs saying out of order. There was trash in hallways, and there were musty old smells in many areas. My room had drawers that not only did not work, but were falling off the hinges. My room mini bar had bottles that had been half drunken out of, and I had to argue that I didn't drink them!! They became mad and jerked them out the room.

 

I had a waiter roll his eyes at me when I asked what the ice cream of the day was, ( I never did find out what it was, I was just given rainbow sherbet) bar staff would not accept my platinum coupon for buy one get one free drink, because an edge had been torn. I never received any perks that a platinum member should receive, no robes, no gift, no invite for special parties, no special disembark area, no recognition whatsoever. And when I went to possibly book another cruise with the crown and anchor society host, she never thanked me for sailing with them, never referred to me by my name, and never asked me how I enjoyed my cruise. Even after I asked for a piece of tape to tape the edge of the coupon, all she did was give me a new coupon and say she had never heard of any problems I had encored.

 

I am shocked at how rude most of the staff was,even when I would tip extra for drinks, (I usually give at least an extra dollar) They would look at it and act as if I was a stingy person. I am so sad to think this is what RC has become. :(

 

After spending years working in a major Nevada casino & Hotel in the complaint dept I will say this complaint is not really valid. with the information we were given I would have filed this in the round file.

 

There is just to many things wrong for everything to be true as she described. A real complaint would have names, times, dates.

 

Most of the staff rude, sorry but words like this are a tip off that this is just not true.

 

One time I had a customer complain against someone that was so called rude, when I reviewed the tapes it turned out that the customer was the one rude, the employee was going out of the way to help. In the end the customer just would not accept the fact that there complaint was not valid.

 

I will not say that everyone treated her as well as she would have liked, but in her complaint she strarts to what we called "piling on" it is a trick people use to make there complaints sound worse than they really are.

 

Back to this post, no I was not there. But in reviewing over 3000 complaints after theh first read I was never wrong.

[scarlettnyny]

Here is the formal letter I sent out, I never did hear anything back, but it doesn't really matter, I did my part and expressed my feelings,

oh and Tahoe Bob, you are right, this was all a lie, because I really want to take the time to make all of this up....??

 

Crown and anchor ID:

Customer Name:

Date of Sailing: Feb 12 2011

Ship: Navigator of the Seas

Hello my name is Scarlett . I had some very shocking experiences on my last cruise. I inquired about all of these issues while on board, but nothing was ever resolved. Every time I spoke with someone I was either told to go talk to someone else, I don't handle that (I would go to about 3 people and after being told the same thing over and over, just gave up,) or wow, that's never happened before. I put all of my concerns on my comment card, requesting someone contact me, but never heard back from anyone besides a mass email thanking me for cruising. Below are some of my concerns:

§ During the formal evening our wait staff seemed to disappear after the main entrée was served. After about 15 minutes a new waiter, (he never introduced himself) put down dessert menus at our table and walked off. He came back 5 minutes later and asked what I wanted. I asked what the flavor of ice cream was. He said, “I do not know.” I asked what the flavor of sherbet was. He said, “I do not know.” He then rolled his eyes at me, stepped away to ask someone, and came back and said “rainbow.” I asked if this was the ice cream as well, he simply said “rainbow.” At this point I was very uncomfortable so I just said OK. He came back with rainbow sherbet and mumbled something about our waiter being behind because of lobster night and he was happy to serve me. He plopped down the dessert and left. No one ever came back that evening to check on us. I never did find out what the specials were for dessert that night, or what his name was, but I did find out he was from Turkey. He always had a scowl on his face.

§ My room mini bar had 2 half drunken drinks. We only became aware of this because someone came into the room to check it, and he pulled out water that was half empty. He asked if we drank it, we said no. He removed it, and replaced it with a new one. He then checked the rest of the items and pulled out another used drink. We stated we had not touched the mini bar. He took the used items and left. He was very upset by this, as if we had done something. No explanation or apology.

§ Drawers in the room did not open and close properly. Many of the drawers were so worn that they had splinters and wood pieces sticking out. Railings on the balcony had rust on them.

§ Many bathrooms were out of order. They would either be locked or have signs stating out of order. None of the toilets were repaired during the cruise. By the end of the week there was at least 1 non-working toilet in each woman’s restroom. In addition, many of the restrooms had an odor to them. Basically they smelled of urine.

§ Hallways were difficult to get through because of all the carts belonging to the room attendants. They were out most of the day. Maybe this is why the hallways had an old musty odor too.

§ Bar staff at the pool would not accept my platinum coupon for the buy one get one free drinks, because an edge had been torn. He saw me tear it from the booklet, but said he could not accept that. I ended up paying for both drinks, in addition to having to tip him the extra 15%

§ When I would order a drink, if I did not tip extra, the waiter would look at the tip area and walk off without a thank you. If I tipped a dollar extra I would usually at least get thank you, but in a rude manner

§ I went to get extra ice for a bucket of beers at the pool area. After standing for 10 minutes, the bar tender asked me where I got the beer from, and that I wasn’t allowed to bring alcohol on the ship from outside. I was confused because I had bought them just yesterday at the same pool bar, and told him this. He claimed he didn’t know of Bud Light bottles ever being sold near the pool, but would give me ice anyway.

§ You list the following perks for Platinum members but did not come through with them:

· Exclusive invitation to Welcome Back Party: I was told this ship did not do this.

· SeaPass Card recognition: I was never recognized at all, except at check in at the dock.

· Priority check-in: I was told this was not available.

· Private departure lounge with continental breakfast:I was told this was only for diamond members from one person, sent to the wrong location from another, and that they had never heard of such a thing from another.

· Robes for use onboard: I was told these were not available.

· Signature lapel pin: I never did receive this, nor did I get any gift like on previous cruises.

Why list these if they are not available or do not happen. If certain ships do not provide most of the perks-they should not be listed.

§ The crown and anchor society ambassador was very unhelpful. She never asked me my name, she never asked me how I was enjoying myself and she never even referred to my status when looking into future cruises. I had to remind her I was a platinum member and that I thought I got discounted balcony rates. She said oh yeah, then gave me a discounted rate. When I mentioned my concerns she said had never heard of such problems, and that these things never happen. I finally asked for tape so I could tape back the coupon for the buy one get one free drink. She then said I’m sorry and gave me a new coupon, and to enjoy the rest of my cruise.

Basically what I am saying is I am not used to such inconsistent service, especially not after my previous experiences on Royal Caribbean. The message you can take away is this ship was very inconsistent, and very different from my other experiences.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I look forward to your response.

Scarlett Futch

[KUcruiser09]

We just got off the Navigator on Saturday--absolutely no complaints except one: We had connecting cabins, #9614, a junior suite, and #9612, a balcony--#9612 smelled horribly like old urine to me and I could hardly go in there. My sons who had the cabin just said they could take it and didn't want to complain, so we didn't.

[dfgf]

Just returned from my 3rd Navigator cruise. (I boarded the Liberty the very next day, which might make my view of Navigator a bit more critical as Liberty is a much newer ship which recently left drydock). Regardless, Navigator is beginning to show its age.

 

Among the issues with the ship:

 

* Bathroom stall doors that wouldn't close

* Elevator buttons missing the up/down arrows at several landings and in some of the elevators the entire buttons were missing - though you could still get to the proper floor by pressing the little nub that was still left.

* Worn carpet (in some spots completely worn through)

 

Among my issues with the ship's crew:

 

* Room attendant never introduced himself. The only time he was friendly at all was on the day that he explained how the gratuity envelopes worked. :D

* Windjammer service was slow. Clearing of dirty plates/glasses/utensils was VERY slow.

* Bar service was slow at all of the pool bars.

 

In terms of both condition of the ship and crew service, it was the worst experience I've had on a Voyager/Freedom/Oasis-class ship.

 

Overall, though, I enjoyed myself and had an amazing vacation.

[BillOh]

Wow. A platinum member after only 6 cruises. Baloney.

 

Wrong, I'm platinum after 5 cruises under the old system, grandfathered into the new system with, a comparable number of points. (See history in signature)

[jd10367]

Wrong, I'm platinum after 5 cruises under the old system, grandfathered into the new system with, a comparable number of points. (See history in signature)

 

Yes, we also scored with the new system. 5 cruises, hit Platinum, and now after this 7th cruise we're moving into that new grouping (Emerald?) before Diamond. :)

 

And we cruised Navigator a few years back and had no issues on her.

[BillOh]

Nice to see the RCI cheerleaders out in force.

 

I have no trouble believing the OP. By far and away the Navigator was our least favorite ship. We found it to be in need of loads of maintenace. The ship looks old and worn. We also had several cabin issues(closet doors, very worn furniture and general cleaning issues) and did report them. The result, some were fixed others were not. The head of house keeping we delt with made us feel like we were doing something wrong.

It is very possible for folks on the same ship to have completely different takes on the cruise. Lighten up.

 

Just out of curiousity, when was your trip? I remember writing my review after my April 09 cruise and As far as the condition of the ship, i found it looked newer and in better shape that Voyager did in May of 06. I did notice that one basketball backboard was missing my entire cruise, but I did figure that is one part that they probably don't keep a spare on board ship, and I can excuse that one, especially since someone confirmed on another cruise it was replaced. Also on my cruise I found the steam room in the gym and one men's room near the solarium out of order the first two days of the cruise, but both were operational again by day 3.

 

I hadn't heard talk about the railings before, but I did remember noting that it appeared that they had been refinished recently, but it was like they never blew away the sawdust after they were sanded. Since then I've been on the much older Majesty and looking forward to the Allure. My overall memory was very favorable.

[FLACRUISER99]

§ Hallways were difficult to get through because of all the carts belonging to the room attendants. They were out most of the day. Maybe this is why the hallways had an old musty odor too.

 

Best complaint ever!

[HawaiiUK]

We just got off the Navigator on Saturday--absolutely no complaints except one: We had connecting cabins, #9614, a junior suite, and #9612, a balcony--#9612 smelled horribly like old urine to me and I could hardly go in there. My sons who had the cabin just said they could take it and didn't want to complain, so we didn't.

 

Ah. We're in these two cabins in July. Hope the smell's gone by then! One thing that occurs to me. When the carpets were cleaned at work, it'd smell like cat pee. Wonder if that's what it was. However, if it does smell when we're there, I think I will at least enquire as to why it smells.

[firefly333]

just posted my review-- got off the recent 4 day yesterday-

I'm very middle of the road opinion-wise, and while I've cruised RCCL 14-15 times, I'll have no problem saying the bad with the good. That said-- here's my review:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1383933

 

Im still wondering if you got a FREE upgrade or not. You said that you got off the phone with C&A and would post a updated thread .. cant find your answer .. and for some reason you never posted it on your upgrade thread. (though you did post a smiley face smiling).

 

the link to your review also doesnt work... :(

 

so did you get your free upgrade to GS as you wanted from a D1 or not?