Navigator review, 12-24 sailing, with pics!

[Namocsid]

Navigator OTS review, 6 night W Caribbean holiday cruise, 12-24-11

Background: This is our (myself, 32 and DS13) 3rd cruise. We’ve cruised previously on the Majesty and on Oasis.

Embarkation: We flew in to FLL and arrived at 11:40. We had our luggage and were on the way to the port by Noon. Lines at pier 29 were pretty long to clear security. Check in went pretty quickly after that and we made our way onboard right around 1pm. Our room was ready when we boarded. Pier 29 later that afternoon:

 

The ship had divers in the water working on removing the starboard side rear stabilizer, so we were delayed in sail-away until maybe 6:30. We had early dining and were at supper when we left port, so it must have been somewhere around that time.

Comparatively, the embarkation process was the slowest that we have experienced with Royal, however it was not bad. Miami and Pier 18 are just faster.

 

The ship: Overall the ship is in good condition. I liked the size of the ship as compared to the Majesty last year. I liked the royal promenade, and was pleased that I could feel the ship rocking slightly while underway (one of the biggest things I missed while on Oasis was that the ship didn’t seem to rock at all) I found it to be clean and generally well maintained. There were some places that wear-and-tear was evident.

Royal Promenade:

 

The cabin: We had cabin 8620, right on the hump. I found this to be a great location, right near the aft centrum stairs, so it was very convienient to get to things. The cabin steward, Michael from Montego Bay, was very friendly and efficient. We asked for Ice and to have the mini-bar removed and he did so while we were at supper. The cabin itself had several wear and tear issues. It did not in any way degrade the quality of the cruise or the comfort of the cabin, but for sake of being nit-picky I’ll list a few anyway. Half of the numbered buttons on the safe were missing, however the safe functioned fine. The sink had multiple chips and bits missing from the front edge. The vent in the shower came loose and hit my son on the head. (our room steward put it back and we had no further issues with it). The TV remote didn’t work too well, probably needed some new batteries. The bottom of the TV was chipped and had some pieces missing. Our friends who were travelling with us were in cabin 8618 and their cabin seemed to be in better shape. Unfortunately no pictures of the cabin.

Dining: We had early seating, table 277 with waiter Roy and assistant waiter Flo. We found their service to be absolutely excellent. Roy was very attentive and brought plenty of extras to the two teenagers we had sitting at our table, and had puzzles or tricks for them to try to solve nightly. Food quality is subjective, but we found the food to be good or better with nearly everything we ate. The only dish that someone at our table didn’t care for was the Thai BBQ chicken breast.

Menus: I looked and couldn’t find any 6 night menu rotations, as I was trying to plan what night we would eat at Portofino’s (as it ended up, we didn’t). I don’t have pictures of the menus, but will try to list which menus were which night in case that helps someone else in the future.

Night 1 was the traditional first night menu with the Vidalia Onion Tart. Night 2, first formal night, was Christmas day and had the special Christmas menu. I think I had the crusted Alaskan halibut, which was OK. Night 3 they had the usual menu from the first formal night (escargots, shrimp ravioli, etc). Night 4 was Italian night ( scallop risotto, garlic tiger shrimp, etc). Night 5 was the 2nd formal night and had the regular menu featuring lobster. Night 6 was probably the weakest menu of the cruise, and it happens to be the only night’s menu that I have a (bad) picture of:

[fish6]

We are sailing on the Navigator in March so I am loving your picture review!!

 

Thanks,

Donna

[Namocsid]

Ports: We visited Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Labadee. We had been to Falmouth and Labadee previously. We enjoyed all three of the ports. In Grand Cayman we booked a tour with stingray sailing and had a great time with the stingrays and snorkeling on a nearby reef. We were originally booked for the morning tour, however we arrived in port late after rescuing some Cubans the previous day. We caught the first tender over at 11:30 and had no difficulty finding the representative of the company right inside the cruise terminal. She told us that the tour was rescheduled to go at 1:00 and so we took an hour or so to go and do some shopping. The tour itself was great, the captain and crew of the Far Tortuga are a fabulous bunch. The boat wasn’t very crowded and we had some great fresh fruit for the sail back to the marina. We had a few more minutes to wander around the port before catching the tender back to the ship.

Pics from GC:

Stingray city:

 

 

 

Snorkeling shots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for now. I'll work on posting a review of Falmouth, Labadee, and then continue with more about the ship and the holidays. If anyone has questions or something specific you want a picture of, let me know and if I have it, I'll post it!

[dfa1]

Thanks for the review & pics. Looking forward to embarking 2 weeks from today! :)

[rwbulldog]

Hi, I'm enjoying following along. We are going on the Navigator for the second time for my wife and I, and the first time for our 2 boys in 3 weeks. Could you please let me know what drinks were included on Navigator without the soda card? We're debating getting the soda or juice package but will save the money if there's enough of a selection without it.

[PBJ63]

We were on this cruise as well and had a great time. We arrived at the pier at about 11:30 and virtually walked on the ship. Security had no line and check in only had us waiting 2 or 3 minutes. We were in the Windjammer eating by noon. Drinks available without the package are tea, kiwi-strawberry juice and mango flavored water. All were good. At breakfast, they also had orange and apple juice. This was our first time on RC and we were very happy with it, although thought the food was very bland. We went to Chops one night and loved it. As you can see by the ticker, we booked next Christmas as well. This next time we will be on the Adventure and sail from Puerto Rico.

[Namocsid]

We were on this cruise as well and had a great time. We arrived at the pier at about 11:30 and virtually walked on the ship. Security had no line and check in only had us waiting 2 or 3 minutes. We were in the Windjammer eating by noon. Drinks available without the package are tea, kiwi-strawberry juice and mango flavored water. All were good. At breakfast, they also had orange and apple juice. This was our first time on RC and we were very happy with it, although thought the food was very bland. We went to Chops one night and loved it. As you can see by the ticker, we booked next Christmas as well. This next time we will be on the Adventure and sail from Puerto Rico.

 

Well, we're going to follow your lead and join you on the Adventure next Christmas as well! GMTA!

[Namocsid]

Falmouth, Jamaica

 

We visited this port on the Oasis in April, and at that time the port was still very much a work in progress. None of the stores were open, and all of the vendors were set up outside the shops under the awnings. The port is probably 95% finished at this point, all of the stores are open, there is a nice (slightly crowded) artisan’s market area with plenty of stalls having mostly the same items.

 

 

We were in port early this morning, and were joined a few hours later by the Oasis, who was backing in as we were going ashore to wander around the port area.

 

 

We didn’t have any excursions planned for this day, and took the time to enjoy the port area, a massage for me (TA provided amenity), a lunch of jerk pork ($8) and a red stripe ($3) from the Scotchie’s stall, while my DS enjoyed fresh coconut water straight from the nut ($3US).

 

 

 

We headed back onboard and hung around by the pools and hot tubs for an hour or so ahead of sail-away, where the stilt walkers and port staff waved us goodbye from the pier. We headed off to Labadee, leaving Oasis behind in Falmouth.

 

 

Overall, Jamaica is a lovely place. Next time we visit, we’ll have to be more adventurous and explore the town a bit or try an excursion. Unfortunately, the port is a bit too far from Ocho Rios for me to want to plan a trip to that area. Also, it would be nice to expand the food and drink options around the port, they really need some (preferably local) restaurants and bars.

 

Finally, a view from the ship away from the port:

 

 

Up next, Labadee!

[jakenashleysmom]

Great review so far....question, what were the food and drink options at the port? Or close to the port if you know? Would you feel comfortable walking outside the port area and going to have a bite to eat and a drink?

[Namocsid]

Great review so far....question, what were the food and drink options at the port? Or close to the port if you know? Would you feel comfortable walking outside the port area and going to have a bite to eat and a drink?

 

We actually didn't leave the port area itself, although my parents (who were also on this sailing) did. They seemed to feel safe enough, however I don't believe there are any real options for food or drink outside the port at this time.

 

Based on what I remember inside the port area there are vendors set up for food and drink, but not too many options. There's a margaritaville booth with food and drinks, sodas or beer and maybe margaritas, though I forget on that. I do remember it was maybe $5 and change plus tax/gratuity for a Red Stripe from them. There's a Scotchie's booth selling jerk pork/chicken/fish for about $8 a plate. Mine was supposed to come with 1/4 lb pork, rice, beans and some sort of bread, didn't get the rice or beans but did get two bits of fried dough that were very unremarkable. Red stripes from them were $3. There was a vendor selling coconuts for $3 and they'll open it up and put a straw in it so you can drink the coconut water, and I remember there was a gentleman with a cart selling shaved ices, but I don't know on the prices on that.

 

If we were going to do it again, I think we might have done the "chukka beach break with lunch" excursion, which is relatively close to the port, but only available for booking as a ship's excursion.

[disneyfan68]

Ports: We visited Georgetown, Grand Cayman; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Labadee. We had been to Falmouth and Labadee previously. We enjoyed all three of the ports. In Grand Cayman we booked a tour with stingray sailing and had a great time with the stingrays and snorkeling on a nearby reef. We were originally booked for the morning tour, however we arrived in port late after rescuing some Cubans the previous day. We caught the first tender over at 11:30 and had no difficulty finding the representative of the company right inside the cruise terminal. She told us that the tour was rescheduled to go at 1:00 and so we took an hour or so to go and do some shopping. The tour itself was great, the captain and crew of the Far Tortuga are a fabulous bunch. The boat wasn’t very crowded and we had some great fresh fruit for the sail back to the marina. We had a few more minutes to wander around the port before catching the tender back to the ship.

Pics from GC:

Stingray city:

 

 

 

Snorkeling shots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for now. I'll work on posting a review of Falmouth, Labadee, and then continue with more about the ship and the holidays. If anyone has questions or something specific you want a picture of, let me know and if I have it, I'll post it!

 

Awesome underwater pictures! What kind of camera are you using? Also what tour company did you use in Grand Cayman? Did you book through RCCL?

 

Karyn

[Namocsid]

Karyn,

 

Before this trip I bought myself (happy black Friday!) a Sony DSC-TX10. It's waterproof to 15 feet, shock proof, etc. I find it easy to use and I like it so far. I also took my Sony DSC-W220 compact digital camera for other pictures around the ports and ship and not in the water.

 

We used Stingray Sailing dot com for the excursion and were pleased with them. I would not hesitate to book with them again.

[Namocsid]

Labadee, Haiti

 

We arrived in Labadee on time, right around 9am. Our group was ready to go ashore at 9:30 or so, the gangway had been open for quite a while at this point. Labadee is an absolutely beautiful spot with plenty of things to do, or plenty of beach, sun, shade, or water to do very little.

 

Arrival into Labadee:

 

 

If you’ve read previous reviews, then you’re aware that there are several different beach areas at Labadee. We elected to head to the furthest one from the ship, Columbus Cove.

 

Columbus cove from the water:

 

 

The beach here is sandy and the water is pretty calm and sandy or grassy bottomed. We didn’t need water shoes to get into the water, though I would recommend them for walking around otherwise. When we were here on the Oasis in April they offered a one-way tender ride from the pier to Columbus cove, but that wasn’t operating this day. We grabbed a tram (free, but the driver informed us that he’d accept tips for the “tour”). Trams do operate all the way to the Columbus Cove area, however the one we picked stopped halfway. Two of our group got off here and went to do the Dragon’s Tail roller coaster; the rest of us walked though the rather aggressive artisan village to the beach. We found a nice part sun/part shade area and tipped an attendant a few bucks for fetching and arranging chairs for us. We rented a few floating mats while on shore ($12 ea) and signed the two teenagers up for an hour at the water park so they could bounce on the inflatable toys. Meanwhile, my plan for the day:

 

 

 

Lunch was available from 12-2 and consisted of hot dogs, hamburgers jerk chicken legs (quite good, I thought) and ribs. Salads, sides, and desserts were also available. Water, tea, and fruit punch were available to drink, or you can order sodas/beer or other limited drinks at one of the bars. There were no lines at all, which was surprising after the long wait we had while here on Oasis.

 

I took my snorkel gear along with us, but wasn’t able to see very much as the water was a bit cloudy, even further out by the rope. Did manage to spot a few fish, but nothing like the reefs and aquatic life in Grand Cayman.

Snorkel pic:

 

 

We got the boys each a “Labadoozie” frozen drink from one of the nearby bars, as the ones the bar servers were carrying around were a bit liquid. One couple seemed upset that the bar at the beach (not by the lunch spot) could not fix them a strawberry daiquiri, but that location was set up for soda, beer, or labadoozies only (they pre make them and put them in large drink coolers, then scoop out the frozen mix into your cup and top with rum, if you like). If you haven’t had one of these before, they’re quite good. DS enjoys it as a “cruise tradition”. It’s a frozen concotion made with cream of coconut, pineapple juice, papaya juice, mango juice and grenadine. It tastes like a dreamsickle. Virgin ones are (I think) $8.95 + gratuity.

 

We headed back to the ship about 3, while sailaway was scheduled at 5. They did have a medical helicopter take off from the helipad shortly before we sailed out, though I didn’t hear any announcements as to why. After we got cleaned up and showered, the boys and I went up to the Viking crown lounge to enjoy the views and play some cards. We had a very nice day and enjoyed a nice sunset over the Haitian mountains as we left and set sail for home.

 

[LBumb]

great photos

[Cupcrazy]

Great review! Love the pics

[Newbcruiser1]

Loving your review! We'll be on the Navigator in 3 weeks so it's helping with the excitement! :)

 

Do you happen to have any pictures of the cruise compasses? Do you recall what night the pool party/buffet was?

[will773]

Awesome review so far! Love your pics, can't wait for the rest.

[Namocsid]

Loving your review! We'll be on the Navigator in 3 weeks so it's helping with the excitement! :)

 

Do you happen to have any pictures of the cruise compasses? Do you recall what night the pool party/buffet was?

 

I do have all of the compasses, but no way to scan them. The "midnight buffet" aka the "Dancing under the stars deck party" was on Day 4 after leaving Falmouth at 11:00pm. There was a "battle of the sexes" game on the pool deck at 10:30. so plenty of activity going on. We enjoyed it.

 

And I have a picture to go along with it!

[Namocsid]

Activities:

 

I found that I really like the Voyager class of ships. There are plenty of options on things to do, and no way to really do everything. Good thing we're going on the Navigator again before the spring transatlantic so we'll have another chance. So, some of the things that we did: Swimming pools are salt water. The pools were never super busy even on sea days. Hot tubs tended to be busy during the day, but not bad at night. I enjoyed "bubbling away" for a bit after supper on some nights. We did use the in-line track, which was a fun sort of thing to do at sea. We did ice skate as well. Didn't make the rock climbing wall. The boys said that they did the mini-golf while waiting for the sports desk to open for another session of in-line skating.

 

Teen activities (12-14). The teen compasses are now on half sheet cardstock paper, they were full sized separate compasses on Oasis. Most of the teen activities that our boys attended seemed to be enjoyable. The welcome-aboard first night party was cancelled or something, because our boys were turned away as it was for little kids only. I Thought this was a bit of a drag, as it would be nice for the kids to make new friends on the first night, however it was Christmas Eve so maybe that had something to do with it. I think I have most of the teen compasses if anyone has specific questions.

 

Shows: We didn't do all of the shows, unfortunately. We did attend "Ice Dancin'" and enjoyed it. We attended the main production show "Ballroom fever" on night 5 and enjoyed that as well. I thought that the shows were good overall, keeping in mind that you're on a cruise ship and not first run Broadway. There was a special holiday ice show, but we didn't make it to that one.

 

Cruise director and staff: Dan (The party man) was our cruise director. I thought he did a good job overall. He kept things fun and moving, and wasn't pushy about advertising upcoming shows. He and his staff did a good job, though I don't think the cruise director would make or break a cruise for me. Did attend the Love and Marriage game show, didn't make the quest.

 

I enjoyed the 2 poets pub on the promenade deck for beers, football, a nice environment, and the pub songs of Dallas Cord. Definitely worth a visit. One of the bar servers in there was excellent, Dimitri, I think. He was very nice and friendly even though I don't' think he ever waited on me. The other bar server was a bit standoffish and preferred to talk with the airbrush tattoo girl across the promenade.

 

Negatives: The ice rink is pretty small for the amount of people that they let skate during any given session. I would really like Royal to add the online waiver capability to the Navigator like they have on the Oasis, it would save a lot of time standing in line. Or perhaps have the waivers available at guest services or somewhere else so you can pick them up and fill them out in the convenience of your cabin.

 

And what's a post without pictures?

 

Pool area:

 

 

Ice Skating:

 

[travelgrl1278]

LOVING your review! We're on Nav in 35 days and can't wait!

[azdmelani]

Navigator OTS review, 6 night W Caribbean holiday cruise, 12-24-11

Background: This is our (myself, 32 and DS13) 3rd cruise. We’ve cruised previously on the Majesty and on Oasis.

Embarkation: We flew in to FLL and arrived at 11:40. We had our luggage and were on the way to the port by Noon. Lines at pier 29 were pretty long to clear security. Check in went pretty quickly after that and we made our way onboard right around 1pm. Our room was ready when we boarded. Pier 29 later that afternoon:

 

The ship had divers in the water working on removing the starboard side rear stabilizer, so we were delayed in sail-away until maybe 6:30. We had early dining and were at supper when we left port, so it must have been somewhere around that time.

Comparatively, the embarkation process was the slowest that we have experienced with Royal, however it was not bad. Miami and Pier 18 are just faster.

 

The ship: Overall the ship is in good condition. I liked the size of the ship as compared to the Majesty last year. I liked the royal promenade, and was pleased that I could feel the ship rocking slightly while underway (one of the biggest things I missed while on Oasis was that the ship didn’t seem to rock at all) I found it to be clean and generally well maintained. There were some places that wear-and-tear was evident.

Royal Promenade:

 

The cabin: We had cabin 8620, right on the hump. I found this to be a great location, right near the aft centrum stairs, so it was very convienient to get to things. The cabin steward, Michael from Montego Bay, was very friendly and efficient. We asked for Ice and to have the mini-bar removed and he did so while we were at supper. The cabin itself had several wear and tear issues. It did not in any way degrade the quality of the cruise or the comfort of the cabin, but for sake of being nit-picky I’ll list a few anyway. Half of the numbered buttons on the safe were missing, however the safe functioned fine. The sink had multiple chips and bits missing from the front edge. The vent in the shower came loose and hit my son on the head. (our room steward put it back and we had no further issues with it). The TV remote didn’t work too well, probably needed some new batteries. The bottom of the TV was chipped and had some pieces missing. Our friends who were travelling with us were in cabin 8618 and their cabin seemed to be in better shape. Unfortunately no pictures of the cabin.

Dining: We had early seating, table 277 with waiter Roy and assistant waiter Flo. We found their service to be absolutely excellent. Roy was very attentive and brought plenty of extras to the two teenagers we had sitting at our table, and had puzzles or tricks for them to try to solve nightly. Food quality is subjective, but we found the food to be good or better with nearly everything we ate. The only dish that someone at our table didn’t care for was the Thai BBQ chicken breast.

Menus: I looked and couldn’t find any 6 night menu rotations, as I was trying to plan what night we would eat at Portofino’s (as it ended up, we didn’t). I don’t have pictures of the menus, but will try to list which menus were which night in case that helps someone else in the future.

Night 1 was the traditional first night menu with the Vidalia Onion Tart. Night 2, first formal night, was Christmas day and had the special Christmas menu. I think I had the crusted Alaskan halibut, which was OK. Night 3 they had the usual menu from the first formal night (escargots, shrimp ravioli, etc). Night 4 was Italian night ( scallop risotto, garlic tiger shrimp, etc). Night 5 was the 2nd formal night and had the regular menu featuring lobster. Night 6 was probably the weakest menu of the cruise, and it happens to be the only night’s menu that I have a (bad) picture of:

 

We are sailing a week from today! Thanks for the review with pictures :)

[Namocsid]

Holiday stuff:

 

Midnight mass and Hanukkah services were available at various times during the cruise. The ship was decorated with poinsettias all around, garlands and lights in the main dining room, a large tree in the forward centrum end of the promenade, and a very large gingerbread village/display outside the windjammer.

 

There were some special holiday activities as well. We boarded on Saturday December 24th. There was holiday caroling offered that evening at 11:15. Santa arrived at the rock climbing wall Christmas morning at 8:45 and paraded around through the ship to the Ixtapa lounge on deck 5, where he gave gifts to the children on board. Younger kids got an Adventure Ocean fleece blanket, older kids got a RC sling backpack. I think there was another type of wrapped present, but I'm not sure what was in there, I didn't see anybody unwrap one while I was waiting for ds.

 

They also had a special holiday ice show twice on day 2 (Christmas day). There was a special Christmas parade, opportunities to take holiday photos in a sleigh in front of the tree, holiday trivia, holiday themed "name that tune" and a few other things. Christmas music in the MDR and all over the ship

 

Overall I thought the ship was decorated nicely and there were plenty of nice offerings for the holidays. We like getting away for Christmas and avoiding some of the holiday stress. It's very nice not to have to cook or clean.

 

Up next, the present to the ship: 12 Cubans in a dinghy. Stay tuned for the rescue photos!

[will773]

Can't wait for these rescue photos. They are always fascinating!

[Namocsid]

Christmas day rescue:

 

About 8:30 am on Christmas morning when we were about 30 miles NW of Havana, Captain Tommy came over the ship’s PA and announced that we were turning around to go check out a small dinghy. We turned the ship around and pulled alongside what looked like a small inflatable dingy, which might have been homemade. Capt. Tommy came on the PA again and announced that we were going to send one of our “rescue” boats over to talk with the people in the boat. I will say that the Capt. Kept us very well informed of what was going on during the entire process. So they sent the rescue boat over and discovered that there were 12 people (nobody ever said Cubans) in the raft/boat 10 men, 2 women, no children. One of the men had an injury to his lower leg/foot and they brought him onboard the Navigator so the ship’s doctor could take a look at him. The other people onboard declined to be “rescued” at the time and stayed several hundred yards away from the ship running their small outboard motor.

 

Rescue boat returning from the dinghy:

 

 

 

Rescue boat with injured man aboard (with tops of other people's heads):

 

 

I think they had the injured man onboard around 9 or 9:30 am. They announced that the ship had been in communication with the USCG out of Key West, and that they were dispatching a plane and a cutter to our location. They estimated the plane would arrive around noon (I think) and the cutter would arrive around 2. We would remain near the raft/boat until the Coast Guard released us, and then we would set off towards Grand Cayman. Fast forward to around lunchtime and the CG plane flew over head, circled, flew overhead again, and then went back to Key West.

 

About 1:00, they sent the rescue boat over again to check on the refugees, and at that time they decided to be brought onboard, as their boat was taking on water. The rescue boat brought them onboard 3 at a time. We waited for the cutter to arrive around 2, meanwhile the rescue boat towed the now-abandoned dinghy around… I guess to avoid it hitting the ship or drifting off?

 

After the cutter “Pea Island” arrived, the cutter lowered their inflatable speedboat and transferred the refugees two at a time to the cutter, followed by a few trash bags of what I assumed to be their clothing and belongings (they had changed into RC blue jumpsuits). The USCG then marked the dinghy with some sort of letters to identify that they knew about it, we picked up our rescue boat, and headed off towards GC about 2:30 or 3pm.

 

 

 

 

 

Capt. Tommy announced that we’d be running all 5 engines full speed towards GC, and would arrive and begin tendering around noon the following day (instead of 8am). We would stay an extra hour in port and the last tender would be at 6pm. We actually arrived in GC earlier than that, and our group was on the first tender ashore at 11:30 or so.

[PBJ63]

The Coast Guard spray painted the letters USCG followed by OK. I assume this was to tell anyone who found the raft that the people were ok. This was such an thought provoking day to watch such a rescue. How desperate must people be to set out in such a raft! It really put my life in perspective and helped me realize more fully how blessed we are. We watched most of it from our balcony as well.