Review of the Navigator of the Seas - March 26, 2005 Sailing

[PhoenixCruiser]

Welcome Julie :D

 

Glad to hear you enjoy your time on The Navigator!

 

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[dromMOM]

Dear..NEWBIE..

 

The nice thing about being a NEWBIE is a clean slate.. Nothing to compare your experiences with.

 

The OP here loves cruising.. she has two more booked already.. but she has a lot to compare them with. She has stated that if she didn't enjoy herself on her cruises she wouldn't keep going.. But where you have a choice is what Cruise Line.

 

She has been on enough lines to be able to tell you what she adores about each. I know she said she had a great vacation but the more you go on them more you tend to compare everything.

 

Check back after your next one. Especially if you choose to try a different line. I think you will agree you will find your self comparing it with your first one.

 

I think the problem on this voyage of the Navigator..was if you are laying in the sun.. and have the need for a nice cold dip in the pool.. and your timing happens to coincide with Scuba lessons.. its a let down. I hear there are only 3 pools on this ship and no kiddie pool? Just chalk up the OP's experience to rotten timing.. maybe same thing with the ice cream machines.. When you had the urge they were working and when she did they weren't. I am sure neither you or the OP can vouch for the operation of the ice cream machines during the entire day! So I do believe that it is possible to have them not working multiple times. I had a different experience every time I went to replenish my Ice tea. I did this at a variety of machines.. there were three times different machines weren't working.. (this was on the Carnival Valor) They get emptied pretty fast and need to be replenished the same thing with the ice cream machines.. thats the real issue and it is on every ship. There is always going to be that moment the machine empties or gets jammed and someone wanted to use it.. I would guess if we search in any of the other cruise line boards we can fine similar situations.. I know none of us stood by those machines all day long and can honestly say they were working all day. 2000.. folks eating ice cream is bound to cause some glitches! :D

 

 

But back to you, I'm glad you had a great time..Really what is not to like.. The Eating... everyones fantasy is to order everything on the menu.. well here your fantasy is fulfilled! LOL and we are all bound to find something that tastes good.. Drinking.. no problem.. you won't have to worry about how you will get home when you have too much to drink..

 

Entertainment.. gee you dont have to pay for parking.. Or take the TUBE or Train.. to get there..

 

Everything close at hand.. everything you could ask for..

 

And so many really nice people to meet.

 

And the fun of visiting new places every day or so.. sigh..............

 

I better get back to my Cruise Brochures.. and make my decision...soon..

[Elizanessie]

Welcome Julie:D

 

As I said earlier....although we had a few problems on the Navigator...it didnt stop me booking another cruise with RCCI.

On our first RCCI,which was on the Splendour, we had a problem when an item of ours disappeared from the Pursers Desk and I said I wouldnt cruise with RCCI again...but with the support of good people here I tried again with RCCI.

My son and I had in the past travelled all over Europe...but doing land holidays....nowadays though we only cruise....we dont want to do land holidays...apart from a few days post/pre cruise.

Cruising suits us....it might not suit everyone but for us it the best way to holiday.

Although I must say I am very upset at RCCI for the JR's surcharge....it wont stop us going on the Voyager size ships.We are hoping the Explorer comes to Europe when the new ship enters the fleet...so that we can encourage family to try RCCI....without the long flights to USA.

Cruising is the only way to travel for us.

By the way Julie....in the Floataway lounge you will find a thread for UK passengers...hope you can drop by and meet everyone.

Liz

[bluehorizonlover123]

You know.....this is the problem with these boards... since people are anonymous they feel they can jump all over others..... and criticize them on every post.

 

It used to be years ago ....when the boards were first put online.... that people could state their opinions without everyone jumping on their backs about everything they had to say.

 

I was giving future cruisers a heads up about what to look for. If you want to do the rock climbing wall be sure to get there a half hour earlier and wait for them to take the names. They start at 4pm so get there at 330pm. If you want to do the ice skating get there at 9am. If you want to do the early ice show be in line at 830am. If you want to roller blade find the skates and quick. I was just giving people ideas of what to expect and look for.

 

Some people on this board are thinking I wrote my review with meanness or with evil intent but I did no such thing. This was my 11th cruise. I have 4 more planned. 2 this year and 2 next year. Is this cruise going to stop me from cruising, of course not!!!! But there is always bad with the good. If you don't know what the bad might be, you won't know to get it corrected right away. I tried to get them to fix the teen program while on board and got no response from them. I am a teacher and wanted to talk to the teen guy and help him do some activities that teens would enjoy. Every time I went to meet him he wasn't there. He never showed up to do anything. That is why Royal is compensating me alot of money for a future cruise if I choose to go on the line again. It was definitely not something I did.... it was their staff person who chose not to do his job correctly.

 

Our broken beds were not fixed while we were onboard. Our room steward elevated the issue to his superior and he did nothing about it either. I came home and I complained. I was compensated.

 

If you want to go on your cruise, have bad things happen, and then not notify them about the things that went wrong when you come home, that is your choice, but I wanted them to fix these things so that future cruisers on the Navigator would have a better experience than I.

 

Will these things stop me from cruising, of course not. Did I have a relaxing enjoyable week in paradise.... Of course I did. Did I like the dining room food on Royal, not much.

 

Did it annoy me greatly when they made announcements on the loud speaker early in the morning and it wakes me from a dead sleep.....yes

 

Did it annoy me greatly when they made announcements on the loud speaker when I was trying to nap out at the pool....yes

 

They don't make these kind of announcements all day long on Princess. It is a much more subdued atmosphere. They make them on Carnival but I might take another Carnival cruise in the future. I am just pointing out what goes on. You are judging my statements. No nastiness is intended on my part.

 

If you take the Navigator I am sure you will have a nice time.

Just know what to expect and get there early for shows, rock climbing, etc and you should have less problems along the way.

 

I did pay an extra thousand dollars for this ship then I would have paid if I went on Princess or Carnival for this spring break week. The fares were definitely higher. We paid for a larger room. It was in the front of the ship. It did not have the bunk beds in the room. It just had the queen bed and the sleeper sofa. The rates for this room were more expensive than a regular outside room. The room was definitely bigger than a balcony room or an outside room. But the extra floor space was not in a place that was usable. The space between the window and the twin bed was huge but we didn't ever go over to that spot so it was unusable space for us. We could have kept all our luggage in that space all week and it would have fit perfectly if we didn't want to put it under the bed. But we didn't do this.

 

For the price we paid I could have gotten a mini suite on Princess or Carnival or NCL but we chose Royal because of all the activities it had to offer. When we got there was when we realized my kids didn't even use them. This is just my opinion. You don't have to jump all over me about it.

 

Enjoy your life... and keep your blood pressure down.....Blue H L

[dromMOM]

Bluehorizon............so nicely put........................

[Cruising89143]

To the OP, I personally think that you are making more out of this than what has been said. You stated the facts of your cruise which many of us appreciate and some of us stated the facts of "our" cruise on the same ship. Not saying that what you experienced did not happen but some of us also let others know that we did not expericence those things on our cruise. Nothing wrong with that.

 

When a person comes to this board and posts something like their cruise review or even their thoughts they have to expect comments to be made. I think that you had some legit complaints but it seems that the cruise line has stepped up to the plate and offered some type of compensation for your inconvenience. I think that is great. I know that you would have much rather had them taken care of while on board but sometimes things just do not work out our way.

 

What has been said on this thread happens on each and every board. Every board has what I call "cruise line cheerleaders" who will defend their favorite line to the end no matter what happened. On the other hand there are some that will simply post their own observations from their cruise to help a new person be able to draw their own conclusions to what has been said. Just start looking forward to your next cruise.

[Cruising89143]

Please be kind to me as this is my very first posting and I'm a little scared !!

We are from the UK and were on the Navigator the week after the OP (2nd April). I'm really sorry that she had a bad experience on the Navigator because we had a wonderful time and have already booked again for next year !! It was our first cruise so, unlike the OP, we have nothing to compare it against. However, we thought the food in the dining room was superb and the service incredible. Moreover, all of the ice cream machines were working during our week on board and we used the Cafe Promenade extensively - I agree, the cookies were incredible!!!

I saw one of the pools being used for scuba diving on two separate occasions but perhaps I was lucky as the lessons only lasted for about half an hour so my kids just played in the other pool and it wasn't a problem.

We also had an ocean view stateroom but ours had two pullman beds instead of a sofa bed and it worked out fine. I must say though that our kids are only aged seven and five so it would have been a totally different experience with teens!!

I hope I don't get slated as a 'newbie' but I just wanted to give my opinion - please be gentle !!!!

 

Julie

 

Welcome to the boards Julie. Cruising is a great thing. One and you are hooked for life.:)

[dromMOM]

Cruisingator2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To the OP, I personally think that you are making more out of this than what has been said. You stated the facts of your cruise which many of us appreciate and some of us stated the facts of "our" cruise on the same ship. Not saying that what you experienced did not happen but some of us also let others know that we did not expericence those things on our cruise. Nothing wrong with that.

 

When a person comes to this board and posts something like their cruise review or even their thoughts they have to expect comments to be made. I think that you had some legit complaints but it seems that the cruise line has stepped up to the plate and offered some type of compensation for your inconvenience. I think that is great. I know that you would have much rather had them taken care of while on board but sometimes things just do not work out our way.

 

What has been said on this thread happens on each and every board. Every board has what I call "cruise line cheerleaders" who will defend their favorite line to the end no matter what happened. On the other hand there are some that will simply post their own observations from their cruise to help a new person be able to draw their own conclusions to what has been said. Just start looking forward to your next cruise.

 

 

Crusingator2 actually the post she is answering is miles in this section. It really is directed at one really "intense" consistant trouble maker (I will not repeat the name) who if you go thru this persons posts have never offered a review or SOLID advice. They just place sarcasm every time they post. She wasnt really directing this in response to you or most of the other posters..

 

OP.. next time you should Quote the person specifically... so paranoia doesnt rage in here!!!LOL :cool: ;)

[Cruising89143]

Crusingator2 actually the post she is answering is miles in this section. It really is directed at one really "intense" consistant trouble maker (I will not repeat the name) who if you go thru this persons posts have never offered a review or SOLID advice. They just place sarcasm every time they post. She wasnt really directing this in response to you or most of the other posters..

 

OP.. next time you should Quote the person specifically... so paranoia doesnt rage in here!!!LOL :cool: ;)

 

I know who you are referring to on this post but I also took it that she was making comments directed to some of us that also made comments. I'm not paranoid at all. I don't let what's said on a message board bother me in the least.

[Tom4Ben]

Thanks to everyone who sent me 'welcome' messages. It wasn't that frightening after all !! I read these boards extensively prior to my first cruise and learnt lots of tips from everyone. You are all so right - cruising is very addictive!!

Liz - where is the 'floataway lounge ?' - told you I was a newbie!!

[Elizanessie]

Oh am I a cruiseline cheerleader?...heck we dont have cheerleaders here.....oh and I dont think I quite have the legs for one.

Liz

[Cruising89143]

Oh am I a cruiseline cheerleader?...heck we dont have cheerleaders here.....oh and I dont think I quite have the legs for one.

 

Liz

 

Only you can answer that question!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Elizanessie]

cruisingator2

Well I have only cruised with RCCI so I cant compare it to other cruiselines.....but I do recognise that RCCI does have faults....you only have to read my previous posts here to see that.....but until perhaps I am an old crinkly and my son(16) is alot older then RCCI suits us.My parents love Cunard but they adored the Brilliance when on it last year.....and as much as I would love to try Cunard it wouldnt suit my son....so for the moment we will stick to RCCI.

I am most upset just now .....I would love to have the RCCI ringtone on my mobile phone...but alas it isnt the type to have it.....so I just stick to my caribbean tune....hey I could be called a RCCI cheerleader after all.

 

 

Liz

[PhoenixCruiser]

Liz - where is the 'floataway lounge ?' - told you I was a newbie!!

 

Here's a link to the Floataway Lounge :D

 

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[Cruising89143]

cruisingator2

 

Well I have only cruised with RCCI so I cant compare it to other cruiselines.....but I do recognise that RCCI does have faults....you only have to read my previous posts here to see that.....but until perhaps I am an old crinkly and my son(16) is alot older then RCCI suits us.My parents love Cunard but they adored the Brilliance when on it last year.....and as much as I would love to try Cunard it wouldnt suit my son....so for the moment we will stick to RCCI.

 

I am most upset just now .....I would love to have the RCCI ringtone on my mobile phone...but alas it isnt the type to have it.....so I just stick to my caribbean tune....hey I could be called a RCCI cheerleader after all.

 

 

Liz

 

:) Liz, I understand what you are saying. I tried RCI for the first time about four years ago and really enjoyed myself. I now am going on my fourth RCI cruise next week with another one booked for December. I don't think that Cunard would be a good fit for me right now. Maybe one day.

[Elizanessie]

Oops sorry Julie missed your post...I am all a tizz...this is a new laptop and keep losing things...here is the link for the UK pax to chat.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=21314&page=51&pp=25

 

 

Liz

[bluehorizonlover123]

Eliza I am sorry that is how they handle the complaints in the UK. All I had to do was call a customer service number in Florida and tell them my complaints. It was mostly made about the teen program and the bed. That is what I talked about the most. They offered me $500 off a future cruise, called and emailed the ship for me to verify. Checked for other complaints. Were very nice about it. I have complained on Princess when my son threw up in the room and the cabin steward did not change the sheets or clean the rug and bedspread and we were stuck with the smell in an inside room. They offered us all a $50 shipboard credit on a future cruise. I complained on Carnival years ago, can't even remember why, it was so long ago, and they offered us 10% off a future cruise. If you don't tell them problems you had on the ship how are they going to know about it and fix the problem. The customer service rep I had when I called Royal said that I was the first complaint she has ever heard about the teen program, which means to me that people never call and let them know about the problems. If we don't tell them about what goes on, then that employee will continue to do the same thing cruise after cruise and they will never fix the problem. I feel it is our duty as paying customers to tell them when things are not right with the ship. I always write things on the comment cards and usually it is all good, but when things go wrong I tell them that too. They want to know about it. They were very appreciative that I let them know about the problems I had. It is too bad the UK office is not more responsive to customer complaints also. Your money is just as good as money they receive from their US customers.

[bluehorizonlover123]

Yes the scuba lessons go on all week. This is a big money maker for the ship. They charge $300 for the weeks worth of lessons. They have a special booth set up on the pool deck where they sell scuba gear and snorkeling gear and they do it every single week to make money of course. So yes one of the pools will be busy all the time with the scuba diving lessons going on.

[bluehorizonlover123]

The solarium pool is always open but it is for adults only. The 2nd pool in the main pool area was always full of scuba divers. I don't know where this MM person was all week but there were scuba divers in there on all sea days taking their lessons to get certified.

[bluehorizonlover123]

Julie you are very sweet. I wish we would have had the pullmans. It would have been very nice. We had the sofa sleeper and this is where the problems arose. There were no pullmans in our room at all. That is what we are used to. Usually my 3 kids share an inside room and there are pullmans in the ceiling but the room we were assigned had no pullmans, just the sofa sleeper that was like a futon type bed.

 

 

And Drommom thank you so much for sticking up for me. You have always had very good advice when posting on this board and I really appreciate all you have done to save me from getting my feelings hurt from some of these malicious posters on this thread. You are a true friend!!!

[bluehorizonlover123]

Cruisingagtor 2- I was not offended by anything that you said. There were others who were jumping all over me for things I said which were just my opinions. They are definitely entitled to their own opinions and I won't criticize them for what they experienced. I have just posted my opinions and just leave it at that.

[Elizanessie]

blue...is the scuba lessons a new thing?...I never saw that when we were on the NOS.

 

As my son will be 16 by the time of our next cruise in Oct ...he is looking forward to being with me in the Solarium....he doesnt swim....but loves to go in the pools...but like me he hates it if people start jumping in the pool and splashing around.

I think I will send an email to RCCI in Miami to check up on the older teen activities this time before we go....I want assurances that there will actually be teen activites being held.

I still have the email I sent to Miami complaining about the lack of activities on the NOS last Feb...so I cant understand them saying they hadnt heard of this sort of thing before.

But then again...well....I spoke to RCCI here in the UK this week about the Meet and Mingles and the two people I spoke to hadnt ever heard of them!!:( and when I explained what they were and asked if it was possible to find out if the time for ours could be changed....they wouldnt give me an answer as my booking is with a group and through a US TA.....I only wanted a simple wee answer.....but nope they wouldnt answer me.:mad:

Liz

[Cruising89143]

Cruisingagtor 2- I was not offended by anything that you said. There were others who were jumping all over me for things I said which were just my opinions. They are definitely entitled to their own opinions and I won't criticize them for what they experienced. I have just posted my opinions and just leave it at that.

 

I know one that you are referring to but I have found that it is best just to let it roll off and not let it bother me. Life is too short for that.:) We all have to many cruises in our future!!!!!

[1corona4u]

Julie you are very sweet. I wish we would have had the pullmans. It would have been very nice. We had the sofa sleeper and this is where the problems arose. There were no pullmans in our room at all. That is what we are used to. Usually my 3 kids share an inside room and there are pullmans in the ceiling but the room we were assigned had no pullmans, just the sofa sleeper that was like a futon type bed.

 

 

And Drommom thank you so much for sticking up for me. You have always had very good advice when posting on this board and I really appreciate all you have done to save me from getting my feelings hurt from some of these malicious posters on this thread. You are a true friend!!!

 

GOOD LORD!! Other than me telling you that your review started out negative, and ended that way, I challenge YOU to show me what I said that was malicious!!!

 

That's the thing about these boards, no one has a BACKBONE!!!!

[MM27]

The solarium pool is always open but it is for adults only. The 2nd pool in the main pool area was always full of scuba divers. I don't know where this MM person was all week but there were scuba divers in there on all sea days taking their lessons to get certified.

 

This MM person was out at the pool for the majority of the cruise :D . I didn't deny that they used it for scuba diving. I watched them one day. As a matter of fact I also said it was used for volleyball. I said they were not in there that long and when they were there was always the pool right next to it that was available. I mentioned the solarium with the age limit too. You make it sound like they used the pool 24 hours a day. We get the point, you didn't like your cruise. You have the right to say all the bad things about the Navigator/RCI or whoever else you find fault in. However, I and anyone else that enjoyed ourselves have the right to share what wonderful experiences we've had. I'm all for if you're not happy with the product you've purchased, go somewhere else for your product, but I'm ready for my next RCI cruise in July.