Navigator of the Seas: May 17-25

[dbsb3233]

One question - Did Navigator have the Coke Freestyle machines? Those are the self-service machines that use the special soda package cups to get any of the 50+ flavors you want. There's usually 2 machines on the promenade, and maybe another on the pool deck. Initially only the bigger ships had them, and but I'm hoping by now Navigator might have them too.

[rraider1961]

One question - Did Navigator have the Coke Freestyle machines? Those are the self-service machines that use the special soda package cups to get any of the 50+ flavors you want. There's usually 2 machines on the promenade, and maybe another on the pool deck. Initially only the bigger ships had them, and but I'm hoping by now Navigator might have them too.

 

No freestyle on the NOS, which is surely needed. Flow rider in his 40s? Must be a "younger" 40s than me! :D

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

[jcc1025]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing out of Galveston for the fist time in November. Have been on this class of ship several times and was always our favorite until we did the last two on Oasis class. You comments match our experiences on RCCL every time. I think some people just have expectations that are so far out of line that no one could make them happy. Hearing some of those negative comment when we are on board just drives me crazy. Your review just confirms our decision to try Galveston, thank you.

[lacruiser]

Rraider, thanks for a great review. We are sailing NAV on 8/24 and doing that same itinerary. Do you have any comments about the ports? We've done lots of trips on RCI but Roatan and Belize are new to us. Would love to hear any feedback about what you did, liked (or didn't).

 

I do have a question about parking and luggage. We are in North La and will be driving down, I think the night before. I have made reservations at the EZ Cruise parking place, and I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can drive up to the terminal and drop off your luggage, then go park your car and walk back to the terminal. Is this the case? Any details about that appreciated.

 

Thanks again!

[dbsb3233]

No freestyle on the NOS, which is surely needed. Flow rider in his 40s? Must be a "younger" 40s than me! :D

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forums mobile app

Damn.

 

But thanks for the info.

[Saving Up To Be Eccentric]

Shows/entertainment; The only tickets you will need to get before are the ones to the ice show. Pick those up at a kiosk on the Promenade the first night. Show times are Monday afternoon; Tuesday afternoon; and Wednesday evening. All others are first come, first served, but I would recommend arriving 30 minutes before show time to keep choice locations. If you arrive right at showtime, chances are it will be full. Times are 6:30 and 8:30

Thanks for the info!

 

To the untutored eye, that makes it look very much like the first show would accommodate people at the later dinner seating and the second show would accommodate people at the earlier dinner seating. Why would someone be complaining that they never could go to the shows with the later seating? Just not the type to go to a show before a meal, bad planners, or do they run too long?

Edited May 31, 2014 by Saving Up To Be Eccentric
clarification

[rajacks]

Rraider, thanks for a great review. We are sailing NAV on 8/24 and doing that same itinerary. Do you have any comments about the ports? We've done lots of trips on RCI but Roatan and Belize are new to us. Would love to hear any feedback about what you did, liked (or didn't).

 

I do have a question about parking and luggage. We are in North La and will be driving down, I think the night before. I have made reservations at the EZ Cruise parking place, and I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can drive up to the terminal and drop off your luggage, then go park your car and walk back to the terminal. Is this the case? Any details about that appreciated.

 

Thanks again!

 

Jumping in, but I have cruised this itinerary a few times. In Roatan, we always book a private tour with Victor Bodden. Very reasonable rates, and the drivers we've had have always been very knowledgeable, friendly, and accomodating to what you want to do. Check out their website for ideas.

[pscruzinboyz]

Hi, we were on the same cruise and had a fantastic time. And yes, we were one of the ones that never got notified of the M&M, sorry we missed it and meeting others on the roll call.....hopefully another cruise. Being this was our first time on the Navigator and have experienced 3 of the 4 other Voyager class ships....The Navigator is the WOW ship of all of them. She is beautiful and for being 12 years old....she is now a New Born. The beauty is every where. Great job during her Dry Dock. We were in 8662, D1 balcony room and very spacious for the 2 of us. We always over pack and did again this trip but plenty of room for 2 guys. To start our trip, we stayed at the Roadway Inn at Broadway and 61st...nice for one night and cheaper then almost anything out there. We flew in but other cruisers who stayed there parked for free, so maybe a good choice. We also got to the ship at 11:30 am...but instead of getting on the ship......we have done way too many cruises and since we had 8 days to explore...we dropped the luggage and walked into historical Galveston. One of the highlights of the week. We quickly found out that " The Strand ' is the party street....drinking, Yep beer and wine, eating and people watching all day long. We spent 3 hours, way too many 2 dollar Coronas, why pay 6 bucks on the ship...and had so much Fun. Highly recommend this for everybody. By 2:45, we walked right on to the ship...there was nobody there and the employee's were actually starting to leave.

We actually also did the 3 of the 4 specialty restaurants, Love Chops...never a bad Meal....Giovanni's was Very Good but Sabor is the best....GO....You will not be disappointed.

Flow Rider....experience it....way too much FUN but be careful. I am a 55 year old So Cal Guy that lives on the beach....so kind of like our ocean but the water pressure is much different and when you fall...hurts a bit more. No more then 8 people in a line anytime I was up there so no need to pay extra $$$ for a private session. BUT...one young lady, maybe in her early 30's wiped out and the force took her into the back wall and she was down for the count. Water was turned off and The Alpha call went out. Please be Careful and do what ever you can to go feet first while being washed towards the back wall.

For Us...Food was good...we are not Food snobs....as long as it is good...I like it. Love the French Fries the best since I do not eat these at home....but I did gain 4 pounds for the week...and I am active.

We did the Cave Tubing in Belize....worth the 35 or 45 dollars. Went with Butt's Up....Highly recommend this tour group and do it on your own. Only thing is you do not get much time in port to shop since it is a hike to and from the river......but worth it for being the first time in Belize.

Lot's of great entertainment and everything was top notch, no Complaints....and our Price was exceptional...so that makes it a plus.

 

Thanks for letting me chime in on your thread.

 

Mike

[Zou Bisou Bisou]

I agree, Sabor is wonderful!! We went a second time during our cruise. We also really enjoyed Izumi for dinner and Giovanni's as well as Chops but they have the NEW Chops menu which is more expensive and dropped some of our favorite menu items. Oh well...we ate there on the first night with our BOGO D+ coupon so we can't complain.

 

Navigator refurb is beautiful! Had a great time. (We sailed her in March).

[lacruiser]

Mike, glad to hear you had a good experience with Butts Up cave tubing. I think that's what we are going to do there as well. Just seems like kind of a unique thing to do.

[dudaze11]

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

 

Which grand suite room did you have and did you notice any noise from above. I will be sailing in 1556 on July 6 and am very curious about this.

[ssb]

We were on 5/25 navigator !

Disembarkation was great for us.

Everything improved !!!

We were home by 8:00 am.

Our home is 20 blocks from terminal.

Our disembarkation had nothing to do with our earned status.

 

And I've been very critical in the past of

Galveston terminal # 2 disembarkations,

Including a very time consuming report prepared and given by me

to port, customs, and RCL (goldstein) about temporary measures

needed now long before new terminal renovations are completed for Liberty.

There were responses from them to me.

And obviously some actions were taken with or without my input.

 

Disembarkation in Galveston can only be BETTER IN FUTURE

with present changes

and with new 12 million improved terminal by November 2015.

 

ALSO See below a good review by Lovedogs and used with permission off our

cruise critic roll call 5/25 navigator

:

 

Navigator of the Seas 5/25/14 - Wonderful Cruise!

BACKGROUND

Me and my college aged son on our 7th cruise, 4th on Royal Caribbean. Looking to relax after the harsh Ohio winter and do some scuba diving.

 

PRE CRUISE

We flew into Hobby airport around 1:30. We pre-booked Cool Tours for our transportation from Hobby to hotel. As soon as we landed I turned my phone on and they called with instructions to find them. Very smooth operation. Our driver was friendly and shared with us a lot of Galveston history. It was interesting and enjoyable.

 

Since we wanted to visit NASA we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott across the street from it which was a good choice. Nice hotel with several restaurants and a CVS pharmacy within walking distance.

 

EMBARKATION

We again booked Cool Tours to get us from hotel to Port Galveston. We scheduled our ride for 9:30. They called at 9:20 and were waiting outside. Since we didn't get to see Galveston, our driver took us the scenic route showing us some highlights of the island. He shared a lot of history and facts making the ride again interesting and pleasurable.

 

This has to be the smoothest embarkation ever. We arrived at the port by 10:15. Someone immediately took our bags and we got in line. By 10:30 they were letting us inside to proceed with our paperwork. In full disclosure, having a JS allowed us priority boarding but both lines were moving equally fast. After getting 'signed in' we sat for a short time and by 11:00 were in the Windjammer enjoying lunch.

 

FOOD

We mostly ate in the main dining room. I am not a 'foodie' but there were many choices and the food was good. We are not buffet people so only ate twice at the Windjammer. Food was fine and tables were plenty.

 

We used room service a couple of times and enjoyed what we ordered. I absolutely love the bistro burgers on the menu.

 

For the first time we decided to try Johnny Rockets. We ended up going there three times for lunch. The burgers were good but I was mainly going for the apple pie they offer for dessert. It's tasty!

 

SERVICE

Our room steward was Stephanie from Jamaica and she was awesome. She kept our cabin spotless and did a good job of getting in and out around our crazy schedule.

 

Our main dining room waiters were excellent. Our head waiter asked us to call him Sing as we couldn't pronounce his name. He and his assistant Deandra worked their tails off and we never wanted for anything.

 

The only service complaint I have is Johnny Rockets. Each of the 3 times we ate there the service was not good. And the workers there seemed to be genuinely miserable. The first visit we witnessed 2 servers arguing over whether a specific table was theirs or not. Definitely a downer and not the experience you expect.

 

PORTS

Since we scheduled private scuba dives in Cozumel and Grand Cayman I wont spend much time on ports. We had some of the best dives ever. If anyone wants info on who we booked with just ask. In Jamaica we did a little shopping and got back on the ship.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We attended the parade which was very enjoyable, even for adults. And we also attended my favorite, the 70's Street Party. We went to the Love and Marriage game show which was hilarious. Also made it to the ice show, titled Ice Dancing. This show is awesome! Went to Quest which is always a good time. We didn't make it to any of the other shows.

 

DEBARKATION

We pre booked our transfer back to Hobby through RCI. We were told to be in the Metropolis Theater by 8:30. We went at 7:15 and around 8:00 they were leading us off the ship. I have read complaints about lengthy waits to get through customs at this port but we had no problems. By 8:45 we were on the transfer bus headed back to Hobby.

 

GALVESTON

We really enjoyed cruising out of Galveston. I mean no insult to other home ports, but I have to say that hands down the people on this cruise were the friendliest and most polite I have cruised with. It just stood out.

I would have to guess that a large percentage of them are from Texas.

 

While I enjoyed touring NASA, I regret that I didn't get to see much of Galveston. For those of you who avoid this port because of possible fog and transportation challenges, all I can say is it's your loss. This is a great port! Due to our schedules, and the fact that my son and lots of my money go to Ohio State University, I dont get to cruise as often as I would like. Therefore I choose my cruises carefully. With this in mind, a future cruise out out of Galveston will definitely be at the top of my list.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I have enjoyed all of my cruises but this one is my favorite thus far. Everything went smooth. Fellow cruisers as well as most of the ship staff were pleasant and fun.

 

Because I need to keep in touch back home, I purchased the unlimited internet package for 1 device. Cost was $189.95 and was totally worth it. Used my Nook tablet most of the time and was able to logon all over the ship.

Unlimited for 2 devices cost $229.95, Daily Plan for a 24 hour span is $59.90, 3 Day Special Plan is $140.95, 1 hour is $29.95 and for 30 minutes it cost $10.00.

 

The ship played Country & Western music the majority of the time. Not a big fan of it. On a Caribbean cruise it would have been nice to hear a better mix of music styles. Didn't make or break my cruise, just sayin.

 

Not sure what happened in Grand Cayman. This was our 4th time there and it never took as long to tender off the ship as it did on this cruise. We pre-booked and put deposits on scuba dives which we nearly missed.

 

In prior JS cabins we had a coffee table which we made full use of. For whatever reason this JS did not which was kind of inconvenient.

__________________

[MsViola]

Rraider, thanks for a great review. We are sailing NAV on 8/24 and doing that same itinerary. Do you have any comments about the ports? We've done lots of trips on RCI but Roatan and Belize are new to us. Would love to hear any feedback about what you did, liked (or didn't).

 

I do have a question about parking and luggage. We are in North La and will be driving down, I think the night before. I have made reservations at the EZ Cruise parking place, and I seem to remember reading somewhere that you can drive up to the terminal and drop off your luggage, then go park your car and walk back to the terminal. Is this the case? Any details about that appreciated.

 

Thanks again!

 

We have used EZ cruise many times with numbers ranging from 2-18 passengers. You can definately drop your luggage off before parking. We have done it both ways.

 

Walking from EZ cruises "home" parking lot that is typically used for 7 day cruisers looks doable, and I've seen it done. Personally I think its too hard to be cute while dodging excited drivers trying to get the port :D:p.

 

If you end up in their other lot, I doubt you will want to hike that far. We have never had to wait very long to be transported to or from the terminal.

 

Be sure to sign up for their email alerts. They are always sending out $5 and $10 off coupons for customers that reserve online.

 

Whatever you decide to do I think you will be happy with choosing EZ Cruise.

 

Happy Sails!