OCD Planner's NAVIGATOR Post Dry Dock Pictorial Review

[Cindy]

 

Hotel Director said they were redesigning the coffee tables, but when available is the question.

 

Hi Carla! I loved your pictures on the other thread!

 

I think it was in a suite on Carnival where we had a really neat coffee table design. You could raise and lower the table, so if you wanted to use it for dining you easily could.

[a68vet]

a68vet, I'm glad to see that your virtual window worked as advertised. I understand that there are just two cameras, one facing forward and the other aft. Is that correct?

Rick

 

Rick,

 

We only saw Starboard view in Galveston, then Only forward. Never saw aft view although wouldn't say it was not available. I knew they had only two camera locations but thought they had multiple cameras there showing the corresponding Balcony view to the location of your inside VB, plus some aft views were mentioned when leaving one of the ports was mentioned. There wasn't a lot of actual details about VB beforehand, I was curious and that't why we intentionally booked to find out.

 

I think it was a fair review and I had just a few suggestions for improvement, like more control of the set and choices of view. Even a view of the Promenade might be interesting at times. Much better to see that at night than a black screen with rails only.....

 

We used the VB view most of the time in our cabin but preferred Deck 14 views. The inside is still very small and so being outside of it a lot was normal. That is actually a plus to having an inside, it helps you get out and about more. VB makes those times in the cabin more interesting with something to see. ;)

[cmason]

Two cameras: one forward, one aft. The Virtual Balcony views are aligned to the cameras: bow views on forward facing screens, and aft views on stern facing screens.

 

The screens are NOT where the mirror is in an inside stateroom (ie port and starboard). They are on either a forward or aft wall.

 

There was some mention of the difficulty of putting the screen on a port or starboard wall, and also that more cameras would be needed to provide a proper view for port or aft.

 

I imagine the primary reason is that you need to match the view with the motion of the ship. If you have a forward screen with an aft view, the motion of the ship would not match that of the view out the virtual window and you would get sea sick. This is also why you can't change the view.

 

A port or starboard view would need multiple cameras to match a port forward or starboard aft view, to keep the motion consistent with the view.

[petel]

Rick,

 

We only saw Starboard view in Galveston, then Only forward. Never saw aft view although wouldn't say it was not available. I knew they had only two camera locations but thought they had multiple cameras there showing the corresponding Balcony view to the location of your inside VB, plus some aft views were mentioned when leaving one of the ports was mentioned. There wasn't a lot of actual details about VB beforehand, I was curious and that't why we intentionally booked to find out.

 

I think it was a fair review and I had just a few suggestions for improvement, like more control of the set and choices of view. Even a view of the Promenade might be interesting at times. Much better to see that at night than a black screen with rails only.....

 

We used the VB view most of the time in our cabin but preferred Deck 14 views. The inside is still very small and so being outside of it a lot was normal. That is actually a plus to having an inside, it helps you get out and about more. VB makes those times in the cabin more interesting with something to see. ;)

 

Happened to meet the lead on the VB contract.....and he said.....

Volume is giving them fits so there isn't any yet...

Camera locations are having some issues but will be increased...

Controls in the cabin are still being worked out...

Choices can be added but not until the control issues are fixed...

Some people were given email contacts to continue feed back...

I will try to find mine :p

This project is a lead in to Quantum so it will get the attention needed....

Promenade view, live shows, and flow rider are some of the suggestions...

 

There will probably never be any connections or games allowed. It is not meant to be a substitute for the TV.

 

So, your mileage may vary but that is MHO and what I can remember now. :)

[Cindy]

 

I imagine the primary reason is that you need to match the view with the motion of the ship. If you have a forward screen with an aft view, the motion of the ship would not match that of the view out the virtual window and you would get sea sick. This is also why you can't change the view.

 

A port or starboard view would need multiple cameras to match a port forward or starboard aft view, to keep the motion consistent with the view.

 

A couple weeks ago I read a technical article about the virtual balconies. The author stated that one of the problems the developers faced was needing to have the virtual view be within 1 second of the actual ship movement. Any longer than that would cause sea sickness.

[KITKAT0229]

I wonder how the new VBs compare to the Virtual Portholes on the newest Disney ships. I'd be rather disappointed to find that I no longer had a sofa and only 1 chair. Perhaps replacing the mirror above the bed would have been better. Heck they could've provided larger flat screen TVs on the wall instead with the extra channels to see the different views. I'm sure these rooms on Quantum will be much differet and more like they've been represented online and previous media releases. Perhaps this concept will work better on Quantum versus trying to retrofit an existing cabin with this concept. So far I'm not convinced to try one.

[golfpccc]

Rick,

 

We only saw Starboard view in Galveston, then Only forward. Never saw aft view although wouldn't say it was not available. I knew they had only two camera locations but thought they had multiple cameras there showing the corresponding Balcony view to the location of your inside VB, plus some aft views were mentioned when leaving one of the ports was mentioned. There wasn't a lot of actual details about VB beforehand, I was curious and that't why we intentionally booked to find out.

 

I think it was a fair review and I had just a few suggestions for improvement, like more control of the set and choices of view. Even a view of the Promenade might be interesting at times. Much better to see that at night than a black screen with rails only.....

 

We used the VB view most of the time in our cabin but preferred Deck 14 views. The inside is still very small and so being outside of it a lot was normal. That is actually a plus to having an inside, it helps you get out and about more. VB makes those times in the cabin more interesting with something to see. ;)

Don, have you heard if the VB are in different size cabins? Just noticed that RCCL is showing one on their web site advertising the Navigator out of Galveston and it is a LOT larger than the one y'all had and the furniture is placed differently. Maybe if the cabin were as big as the one they show, it wouldn't be so bad.

[cjdixon4]

This is why I get confused, I guess! :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet, I see LOTS of reports of ice-cold pools, almost unusable, especially if its not in the summer months...

 

I'm totally cracking up at your posts of all the varied responses about hot/cold pools! It doesn't appear that ANYBODY knows what their talking about when it comes to that subject...LOL Probably have to take our chances, and hope for decent temperature water. :rolleyes:

[golfpccc]

A couple weeks ago I read a technical article about the virtual balconies. The author stated that one of the problems the developers faced was needing to have the virtual view be within 1 second of the actual ship movement. Any longer than that would cause sea sickness.

 

Did hear from a few people that said the VB made them sick.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

[a68vet]

Two cameras: one forward, one aft. The Virtual Balcony views are aligned to the cameras: bow views on forward facing screens, and aft views on stern facing screens.

 

The screens are NOT where the mirror is in an inside stateroom (ie port and starboard). They are on either a forward or aft wall.

 

There was some mention of the difficulty of putting the screen on a port or starboard wall, and also that more cameras would be needed to provide a proper view for port or aft.

 

I imagine the primary reason is that you need to match the view with the motion of the ship. If you have a forward screen with an aft view, the motion of the ship would not match that of the view out the virtual window and you would get sea sick. This is also why you can't change the view.

 

A port or starboard view would need multiple cameras to match a port forward or starboard aft view, to keep the motion consistent with the view.

Since starboard / port views not available, how would you explain a starboard view in my starboard stateroom on Sunday and a Bow view on Monday...... :rolleyes: In Cozumel we had a wide open "real" view on starboard side of the island but our VB had nothing but bow view.

 

We never experienced any motion sickness issues, and my wife would have certainly had it if the view caused it. She won't even watch my old video tapes from cruising due to them making her sick! Only there is not much to see on forward view at sea or in port....just my opinion. People are different though, I met a man once who said his wife got seasick sitting by their pool at home and had to face her chair away from the water! :eek:

[a68vet]

Don, have you heard if the VB are in different size cabins? Just noticed that RCCL is showing one on their web site advertising the Navigator out of Galveston and it is a LOT larger than the one y'all had and the furniture is placed differently. Maybe if the cabin were as big as the one they show, it wouldn't be so bad.

All of them are category "J" I believe, so it's hard to tell which ones are larger now. However, if you have access to an older Navigator's cabin category sizes and numbers, you could probably figure it out. Also maybe compare to other Voyager Class categories! ;)

 

don

[a68vet]

A couple weeks ago I read a technical article about the virtual balconies. The author stated that one of the problems the developers faced was needing to have the virtual view be within 1 second of the actual ship movement. Any longer than that would cause sea sickness.

It is very close, enough so that you hear a slight echo when ship announcements are going on in the hall and on decks with cameras. ;)

 

don

[a68vet]

Happened to meet the lead on the VB contract.....and he said.....

Volume is giving them fits so there isn't any yet...

Camera locations are having some issues but will be increased...

Controls in the cabin are still being worked out...

Choices can be added but not until the control issues are fixed...

Some people were given email contacts to continue feed back...

I will try to find mine :p

This project is a lead in to Quantum so it will get the attention needed....

Promenade view, live shows, and flow rider are some of the suggestions...

 

There will probably never be any connections or games allowed. It is not meant to be a substitute for the TV.

 

So, your mileage may vary but that is MHO and what I can remember now. :)

Do you mean repair "volume" or sound "volume"? Our set volume was fully controllable from mute to loud. Downtime for our area outage was almost 24 hours, so they do have their hands full.

 

I think they "should" solicit opinions and ideas from early passengers. What better "focus group" could a company ask for? For Free! I would certainly be glad to participate. I'll add comments to my survey, but never sure those always get very far.

 

Thanks,

 

don

[mil76]

Maybe I'll learn more about this when I continue reading. I'm amazed at what my friends told me tonight........all coffee tables gone from all cabins, JS, and down. Where do you eat, when wanting to eat in?

 

What gives???

 

 

This is great news as far as I'm concerned. We always sail with 4 in our room, and the coffee table is always in the way. The first thing we do every cruise is put the coffee table out on the balcony. Sometimes we get in trouble with the stateroom attendant, but usually is just sits on the balcony the entire cruise. Our cruise next month on the Navigator is our first interior room cruise, and I was wondering where we would stash the coffee table. Problem solved!

[cmason]

In an interview with the virtual balcony designer, he says:

 

"Another good question from our readers was why the virtual balcony shows a view forward or aft but not sideways, like a real balcony does.

 

Mattison responded, "There was no place to place a port or starboard screen. If you have a forward screen, you want have it face forward. There were some concerns about sea sickness and things like that. There may be port and starboard views eventually, but that's about all I can say."

 

http://www.******************.com/2014/02/20/inside-look-behind-the-making-of-royal-caribbeans-virtual-balcony

 

That's Royal Caribbean blog dot com

Edited February 25, 2014 by cmason

[LetsGetWet!]

I'm totally cracking up at your posts of all the varied responses about hot/cold pools! It doesn't appear that ANYBODY knows what their talking about when it comes to that subject...LOL Probably have to take our chances, and hope for decent temperature water. :rolleyes:

Yep! You can get LOTS of information from CC, and some of it is even right! ;) :D

[Jimnbigd]

Phil Anderson is in the Schooner Bar playing his piano. He was on the four day cruise just completed

I like Phil a lot. Unfortunately he told me he won't be on my May cruise -- He leaves for vacation at the end of April. Sigh. Well, maybe -- just maybe -- We can get Derek Lewis to return to the pub, now that it is non-smoking.

[wc74]

I like Phil a lot. Unfortunately he told me he won't be on my May cruise -- He leaves for vacation at the end of April. Sigh. Well, maybe -- just maybe -- We can get Derek Lewis to return to the pub, now that it is non-smoking.

 

Any idea how long his vacation is? Hoping he's back for our cruise in August.

 

Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk 4

[rubrrick]

Hi Rick, we met your good friends Ron and Barbara & we may actually be related. Had great times with them every night in DL.

 

Hotel Director said they were redesigning the coffee tables, but when available is the question.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

 

 

Hi you two. Which one of you is related? I spoke with Ron and Barbara last night, and they told me of their wonderful time. They very much missed the coffee table in their JS, glad to hear that they will be coming back, some time.:)

 

Rick

[Loves_Dogs]

Hi you two. Which one of you is related? I spoke with Ron and Barbara last night, and they told me of their wonderful time. They very much missed the coffee table in their JS, glad to hear that they will be coming back, some time.:)

 

Rick

 

I sure hope the coffee tables are back in the JS before our 5/25 cruise. We use room service and am not sure where you would eat without that table.

[petel]

I sure hope the coffee tables are back in the JS before our 5/25 cruise. We use room service and am not sure where you would eat without that table.

 

The large foot rest works well. We covered it with a towel and put the room service tray on it. Brought in the small table from the balcony for the drinks. For us it was better than the coffee table ;) Because there are no flowers on the C&A gift list the coffee table has lost its appeal.

[petel]

BTW, the new balconies on deck 12 have the new bistro tables like OAsis class. And chairs :)

[houstoncruisers2001]

I'm totally cracking up at your posts of all the varied responses about hot/cold pools! It doesn't appear that ANYBODY knows what their talking about when it comes to that subject...LOL Probably have to take our chances, and hope for decent temperature water. :rolleyes:

 

I'd say prepare for cold, hope for warm. Most pools I've ever been in on a ship have been on the chilly side. You can't just stick a toe in, get in all at once.

[lifeasme123]

Hello! I am not sure if this is the correct forum to post. Sorry if it is not.

 

We are signed up for M&M and ready to get to some warm weather. Anyway, we are using the same tour guide we used the last time we visited Falmouth via FOS. We are thinking of a scenic drive through the country and then onto Appleton Rum Factory. Since it's just DH and I, we were wondering if anyone else would like to join us...to get the per person cost down.

 

Then in Grand Cayman - any one have ideas on what beaches to hang out?

Edited February 26, 2014 by jen70

[lifeasme123]

Does NOS provide any toiletries in the bathroom?

 

 

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We were on NOS this past Dec (and back again this coming Sunday). Toiletries are not initially. You can ask your attendant like we did. She gave us shampoo, condition, lotion, body wash and I think mouthwash.