6-29-2014 Navigator of the Seas -- So Wonderful!

[DCPIV]

I apologize for the length, folks, but I'm verbose. I've tried to give a summary at the top.

 

 

 

The quick rundown:

 

Embarkation – On board and in Windjammer by 11:30am. All went fairly smooth and quick, but with a wrinkle that caused problems all the first night

 

Food – Better than I remembered and all quite good. Giovanni’s Table was phenomenal.

 

Drinks/bar service – Typically decent. Ultimate package was totally worth it.

 

Room/Room Attendant – Grand Suite. Wonderful.

 

Other service – Typically excellent and friendly with very few, fairly minor exceptions that are noted below. Our Concierge may have been the best we’ve seen, yet, and that is saying something.

 

Bars/Lounges – Pretty well laid out, well appointed, and fun.

 

Ship as a whole – Beautiful and well laid out

 

Kids’/Teens’ Program – Excellent.

 

Ports/Tours – Roatan and Belize City are not the sort of places you want to get off and wander around. Tours were varied, but we enjoyed them all.

 

Debarkation – A bit of a disaster, but entirely due to circumstances beyond RCI’s control (passport scanners down).

 

Other Stuff – hit and miss

 

The details:

 

Embarkation:

 

We arrived in Galveston around 10:50am. Traffic to the terminals already was quite backed up, so we went straight to Galveston Park N Cruise, who were ready and waiting for us. They even noticed that I had double-booked. After checking with me that I actually had, they cancelled the redundant booking and refunded the charge at no cost to me. After the short walk to the terminal, we were through security and at the counter with only a short wait.

 

Once at the counter, it was obvious that the check-in person was fairly inexperienced, as she somehow found a problem that did not exist. She said the names in the system did not appear as they did on our passports. We had the Set Sail Pass right there, and everything matched, but she had to “fix” it. What she did was, essentially, screw it all up and twist around my folio and my son’s (we share a name, except for the suffix). We discovered that when I tried to order a drink and found that I had an alcohol restriction on my folio, while my 13-year-old son did not. That took three visits to Guest Services, rescanning our passports, and a great deal of time to get it all resolved right before our 8pm dinner seating to get worked out. Basically, they had to rebuild our accounts from scratch. If it had not been for Nadja, our amazing Concierge, I have no idea when it would have actually been worked out. Fortunately, that was the only real problem we encountered throughout the cruise.

 

Food/food service:

 

MDR- The MDR really was quite good! It had been a few years since our last RCI cruise, and I did not recall it being this good. The only real problem we had was that the escargot kept coming out cold (until the third try, when it was good enough). Don’t get me wrong, mind you, not everything was so fantastic as to sing songs about it, but it seems the MDR has stepped up their game a bit. I am fairly picky, and I was pleased. We only had lunch in the MDR once, but everyone at our large table enjoyed what they had.

 

As somewhat expected, all the service on the first night was a bit chaotic, but it was running like clockwork on the second night and thereafter. Our Waiter (Elvis), Asst. Waiter (Desiree), and Head Waiter (Mark) were all wonderful. Our bar waiter quickly figured out what we liked and always seemed to be there when we needed her (after the first night).

 

Windjammer – The Windjammer was as I’ve always remembered it—fine for what it’s there for but not amazing by any stretch. There were a few exceptions, though: the made-to-order omelet station at breakfast, the smoked salmon, and many of the pizzas out at lunch. The pork sausage at breakfast also was quite good, and the fruit always was in good condition, but nothing else turned me on. Seating was ample (except departure morning). Since we were in a suite, we also got to enjoy sitting in Chops during breakfast. Other than embarkation day and an occasional snack, we only ate in the WJ for breakfast.

 

Promenade Café – Amazing sandwiches and yummy cookies.

 

Giovanni’s Table – DO THIS! All of us were blown away by the quality of the food and service. My Father, who was a bit skeptical, actually wanted to go back. Since we were a party of 6, it was great fun to share starters and pastas (and even some desserts), so be open to going with a large party. At the same time, it would be quite nice for a romantic dinner. Just be aware that the starter and pasta portions are enormous and meant to be shared. I expect, though, that they would be more than happy to bring smaller portions if you would prefer that. The service was truly excellent, and I felt that our Waiter and “Table Manager” (basically, the Head Waiter) truly went out of their way to ensure we had a great night. I also would have loved to go back there, but we also enjoyed dining with our friends in the MDR (not to mention that places like Giovanni’s tend to make my pants drink).

 

Drinks/bar service:

 

Both SWMBO and I had the Ultimate Package. All drinks were as good as I would expect them to be. None of them seemed watered down, although I did see some (certainly not all) of the bartenders pull out the jigger for some of the higher end liquors that are included in the package (totally reasonable). The bar service culture does seem to have dampened a bit. While there still were some friendly bartenders out there, just about all of them were going through the motions, especially the table waiters, and I imagine that is because their tips are down due to the drink packages. The notable exceptions were the Pool Bar (the guys behind the bar were a hoot and having a good time with everyone), our MDR bar waiter (always smiling), the bartenders in the Concierge Lounge (fantastic guys), and the bartenders in the R Bar. The R Bar was fantastic, by the way—at least on par with any specialty cocktail bar I’ve ever visited.

 

I read many reviews that said the pool table waiters were barely visible. That was not the case during our first two full days on board (both at sea). I saw plenty of them patrolling around. However, on the final day (also at sea), pool table waiters were as rare as hen’s teeth.

 

The Ultimate Package was totally worth it. We both greatly enjoyed the convenience of not having to deal with tickets, as well as the flexibility to try things we might not, otherwise. The freshly squeezed orange juice always was a welcome treat at breakfast. We also enjoyed the discount on bottles of wine. We did not keep track of drinks, so we do not know if we made out like bandits or like suckers, but we did not care. We were on vacation, and the package helped make it even more so. To be honest, it also was nice to see a much smaller bill at the end.

 

Room/Room Attendant:

 

We had stayed in a GS twice before, so we were not surprised that all four of us were quite comfortable in there (me, SWMBO, and too DSs-10 and 13). Adela, our Room Attendant, was wonderful. She always seemed to be in motion and smiling. She also was one of the very good ones who just always knew when you were in your room and when you were not. When our shower was having some trouble, we called her, and she said she would get right on it with someone from maintenance. Sure enough, by the time we left the room for dinner, someone was in there to work on it, and she followed up afterwards to make sure it had been done correctly (it had).

 

Other service:

 

Anyone else we had to deal with was very nice and, at least, attempted to be helpful. Attitude did not seem to be much of a problem, but competence sometimes was. With that mix-up between my folio and my son’s, the reason why I had to go to Guest Services three times is because no one down there seemed to know how to fix it until the Concierge got on the phone to some of the very high-ups and figured it all out. Pre-ordered bottles of wine also rarely showed up to the MDR table as ordered, and no one ever could figure out where the disconnect was for that. To be fair, though, just about everything on the ship went very smoothly, and everyone was very friendly.

 

As I mentioned, above, our Concierge was like some sort of smiling, super-powered ninja from Krypton. Nadja could do anything, and she did. Of the Concierges I’ve met and seen in action, I’ve not seen anyone work as hard as she did. Absolutely amazing. I was in awe.

 

Bars/Lounges:

 

We tried to hit every bar and lounge at least once, and I think we hit them all except the Diamond Lounge. All were pretty well laid out and comfortable. The only one that had something of an awkward layout was Bolero’s, as part of it were just like rows of wide chairs that faced each other. The Two Poets Pub was pretty tight if it got crowded, as all the tables were fairly close together. The Cosmopolitan Club was HUGE when compared to any other bar than the Schooner Bar, and the Schooner Bar still did not seem to be half the size.

 

The Star Lounge seemed to show the greatest benefit from the recent dry dock. It looked better than any analogous lounge I’ve seen on any other ship, yet. We only went there for one event, and I regretted that.

 

Ship as a whole:

 

Quite beautiful. We sailed on the Voyager five years ago, so we could appreciate what was done over the dry dock. Just like the Voyager, the ship almost never felt crowded. Everything was excellent condition. The ship never felt difficult to get around, and it is even easier with the interactive maps that were installed at the dry dock. It seems that just about all of the post-dry-dock bugs are worked out.

 

Kids’/Teens’ Program:

 

Obviously, I cannot give much first-hand account of what went on in these programs, but both our sons enjoyed them very much, especially our older son in the teens’ program. One thing everyone should note, though, is that the activities in each program are scheduled on the assumption that you have the early seating dining or would go to early MTD. Our older son missed a number of activities he would have liked to have done because we had the late seating (which could not be helped).

 

Ports/Tours:

 

Roatan, Honduras – We did the BOSS underwater scooters. Let me tell you, that was something else. It was pretty wild to get into and ride around in one of those things. That bubble thing really messes with your sense of perspective, but it was very interesting and fun after getting used to it. You do have a button you have to push to make it go, and it’s small and a bit tight, so you might switch around from finger to thumb to palm, etc. Only one-third of the guests at a time went out in the scooters, but you could snorkel or just lounge around the boat while not on the scooters. It was quite nice to lounge around, too, as it’s gorgeous out there, with ample room on the ship. The crew could not have been more professional and nice. Juice, cookies, mints, and cold water always were available. You’ll want them, too, as the water was incredibly salty.

 

We were not at the main port in Roatan (Coxen Hole), so shopping was very limited. You couldn’t pay me to go outside the terminal where we were (Town Center), and I normally like to do that. The West End village, where our tour was based, looked more interesting, but we had no time there.

 

Belize City, Belize – We did the Cave Tubing and Lagoon tour, booked through the ship (with Chukka). It was very interesting, and it did not involve some of the long walks with gear that I’ve heard about with some similar tours. Rather, we only had to carry our tubes a fairly short distance (that did include a fair amount of steps), but our 10-year-old handled it fairly well. Even though most of the cave paled in comparison to some others I’ve been in, it still was quite beautiful, and floating in the cool water was both refreshing and fun. Our guide was very clever and knowledgeable, which made the tour all the better. We had the same guide on the bus, and he was just as clever and fun there. They fed us a lunch of something along the lines of jerk chicken, rice, and beans, and it was quite good (especially with a few dashes of habanero sauce). When not in the cave, you could order drinks or other food from a small bar, or you could order tacos or nachos from a small stand (good tacos). The gift shop was sparse, to say the least, but we really did not have much time.

 

The bus ride out to the cave was a pretty rough, 90-minute ride. If you go (and I do recommend it), sit up front.

 

Belize City is a tendered port, and the tendering went well (despite a delay due to a squall). Belize City, though, is not the sort of place you want to get out and wander around in. It’s pretty cruddy. The terminal was much more developed than the one in Roatan, but I wouldn’t say it was worth going over for if you weren’t doing anything else.

 

Cozumel – We went to the San Gervasio ruins, here. It was a small site, but an interesting one. Another benefit was that it was on the island, so this was only a half-day tour. Our guide was energetic and knowledgeable, but we almost had to pry information about the ruins out of him. He was more interested in talking about general Mayan culture than where we actually were, so it took a lot of questions to get what I wanted out of him. He did seem like a genuinely good guy, though—not just going through the motions. The stop at Mirador was nice but almost unnecessary. It was pretty, but it was pretty dicey to climb around the point. It’s mostly a shopping stop (and the shopping was pretty bad).

 

Downtown Cozumel was like what Cozumel is, now—there for the tourists. In almost every case, you’re just a walking, talking money bag. Still, if you want to shop, this probably is the place to do it. For jewelry, the best spot may now be Touch of Gold (which, if you haven’t been down there in 5-6 years, is in the space where Columbian Emeralds used to occupy). Diamonds International now absolutely dominates the jewelry market.

 

Debarkation:

 

We’ve always been fortunate at Galveston, in that things always have gone smooth when getting off the ship. That streak ended with this cruise. The passport scanners were down, so everything had to be handled manually. We were off very early (first called group after the self-assisters), but we still were in line for an hour and a half before leaving the terminal. We were the lucky ones, too, as we’ve heard reports of folks waiting for two and half hours.

 

Other Stuff:

 

The Concierge Lounge seems to be just like the others in the Voyager class—well appointed, adequate size, but no windows. The nibbles and drinks were good (but less so the wine they were pouring).

 

We did get the Diamond drink coupons on our card. However, between the drink package and the CL, we never used them. We did have some other friends on board, and I would have liked to have bought someone a drink, but the chance never came up at the right time.

 

The “Top Tier” (Platinum and above) event was just plain lousy. There was no receiving line—the senior crew just sort of waved at you as you went through the entrance. The drinks and nibbles were okay but hard to come by (not much of a surprise, really). The Loyalty Ambassador said a few words (mostly about coming to see her—again, no surprise). The Captain had not been feeling well, so he skipped it. I had no problem with that, except that the substitute (Hotel Director) did nothing but give a brief history of the cruise line and vaguely indicate that they were not even considering building anything smaller than the Quantum. We left as soon as we could, and I doubt we’ll go back. If we do, I’m bringing my own drink to the cocktail party.

 

The new, electronic photo system worked quite well and it was fairly interesting. I do miss seeing all the other photos in the gallery, but I certainly understand all the wasted work and materials that went into the old system.

 

I might post some photos, but PompeySailor did at least as good of a job showing off the ship as I ever could. You can see his photos here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2057517&highlight=navigator

 

Compasses and Menus were substantially the same as seen in that thread, as well.

 

It was a great week!

 

 

D

[DCPIV]

Oh, one other tip that SWMBO just reminded me about!

 

On the appropriate night, ask them to put the cherries jubilee on top of the jaffa cake. You'll thank me later!

 

 

D

[cjdixon4]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I was on Navigator for the 5/18 sailing with some cousins who were first-time cruisers. We had a real ball! I loved the ship, and the re-furb was the best thing they could have done...hubby and I relaxed and watched the NBA finals games at night on that new jumbotron screen on the deck!

 

Honduras...did a tour, it was just OK. Belize...didn't go outside the terminal, but found a couple of cheap souvenirs. Cozumel...was a repeat port for me, but the best beach excursion EVER. Went to Nachi Cocum Beach, and lounged the day away. Great parasailing, banana boating, food, drinks, you name it. Probably won't return to Honduras or Belize, but it was good for one visit. Of course my first-timer cousins thought it was wonderful, and that's all that mattered to me. I don't usually go to many of the shows, but I took my cousins to their first Quest; the shocked looks on their faces were PRICELESS...LOL! Need I say more?!?

[doublej]

Will be on Navigator this Sunday, July 13-20. What are your thoughts on the entertainment/shows? Thanks.

Edited July 8, 2014 by doublej

[PompeySailor]

Thanks DCPIV , enjoyed your in depth review

Appreciated for your kind comments

Happy Days!:)

[wolfganghowell]

I gotta ask since I can't figure it out! What is SWMBO? :D

 

Thanks for the review. I remember Nadja - she is amazing and such a nice person!

 

Can you elaborate on the R Bar?

[Ladysilver]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. :)

[Mrs_Tiki]

I gotta ask since I can't figure it out! What is SWMBO? :D

 

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

[Funbobby68]

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

 

 

Bahhhaaaa

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[DCPIV]

What are your thoughts on the entertainment/shows? Thanks.

 

Although we normally see some or all the shows, we did not make a single one this time (circumstances and just going with the flow). I heard mixed reviews on the comedians (some loved; some found dull). Everyone thought the Motown review was fantastic. Overall, the quality seems to have improved, as they expanded they refurbed the stage in the dry dock and can do a great deal more.

 

Other music around the ship was at least as good as we've enjoyed in the past. The pool/Caribbean band was quite good when they were playing. James, in the Schooner Bar, was personable and could handle any "piano man" song you could throw at him. Papa T was fun in the Pub, but things could get a little cramped. Unfortunately, we never could make karaoke.

 

Can you elaborate on the R Bar?

 

It is along the lines of the specialty cocktail bars that have been going up for the last several years around the U.S. The bartenders are very good and very creative, and there are some drinks you can find only there (or, perhaps, in Sabor or some other specialty location). It has its own menu, which was quite extensive, but you can order anything. I apologize that I did not photograph it. It was fun to sit at the bar and see what they were making. We tried a number of things and enjoyed them all. Most prices were at or under the $10 covered by the package, but it was quite worth kicking in a few more bucks for the drinks that went over. You can find it at Deck 5, starboard, directly across from Guest Services.

 

 

D

[OceanDreams]

Thanks for sharing...there really hasn't been a lot posted lately on NOS. (I was getting worried-just a little bit) Cruising on her August 24th.

 

OceanDreams

[Keith1010]

Great writeup. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Keith

[Lexus1224]

Thanks for sharing...there really hasn't been a lot posted lately on NOS. (I was getting worried-just a little bit) Cruising on her August 24th.

 

OceanDreams

 

 

You have nothing to worry about! I was on the Navigator in May and I have absolutely no complaints. Well, one actually...I had to get off the ship after seven days!

[PompeySailor]

Great ship, Great Crew, she really was in top notch condition.

Staff were excellent.

We had an excellent Cruise on her in June

See reviews in signature.

Have a great cruise..

Happy Days!

[wolfganghowell]

SWMBO - Love it. :D

 

Yep, I knew they converted the Champagne bar to R Bar. We'll be giving it a try.

 

We did the drink package on our last cruise and based on that itinerary, it was worth it. This time, we aren't doing it. We will be off the full 3 days and since we are D+, we can use our drink coupons and the lounge a good part of each day. It will be interesting to make an educated comparison. ;)

[ARCruisinNana]

Thanks for sharing...there really hasn't been a lot posted lately on NOS. (I was getting worried-just a little bit) Cruising on her August 24th.

 

OceanDreams

 

If you will put Navigator in the search threads section you will find that there have been several recent reviews on Navigator. I was on Navigator for the 4th time in June, the first since the renovation. It's a great ship with a great crew. I REALLY liked Sabor.

[golfpccc]

You mentioned that you were not at the main port in Roatan - I hate to tell you this, The Town Center in Coxen Hole is the main port in Roatan. You may be thinking of the new port, Mahogany Bay, that is owned by Carnival. The port in Roatan where you docked is the port where RCCL always docks.

[DebJ14]

Thanks for sharing. Someone on our Liberty of the Seas roll call reported having a horrible cruise on the Navigator the week before. We are on the Navigator in a GS on Aug 31. It can't get here fast enough for me! I hope the Concierge is the same!

[ARCruisinNana]

Thanks for sharing. Someone on our Liberty of the Seas roll call reported having a horrible cruise on the Navigator the week before. We are on the Navigator in a GS on Aug 31. It can't get here fast enough for me! I hope the Concierge is the same!

 

Nadja should be your Concierge. She IS awesome.

[39august]

Nadja is great, for sure. Who was concierge in the Diamond lounge, please?

[cjdixon4]

Yep, I knew they converted the Champagne bar to R Bar. We'll be giving it a try.

 

 

 

I'm not sure but when I was on board Navigator in May, I think that I visited the R Bar. They made THE most delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Martini EVER. Actually, I stopped at a few of the bars so I'm not certain whether it was the R Bar, or some other spot on the Navigator. All I really remember is the Martini....:o

[DCPIV]

Ah, you reminded me of a key lime pie cocktail that one of the bartenders made (and gave us the tail end of the shaker to try). It was quite amazing.

 

(Also pardon me for being a martini purist :) )

 

 

D

[DCPIV]

Nadja is great, for sure. Who was concierge in the Diamond lounge, please?

 

We never set foot in the Diamond Lounge, I'm afraid.

 

SWMBO - Love it. :D

 

We did the drink package on our last cruise and based on that itinerary, it was worth it. This time, we aren't doing it. We will be off the full 3 days and since we are D+, we can use our drink coupons and the lounge a good part of each day. It will be interesting to make an educated comparison. ;)

 

Enjoy! Everyone has their own calculus. For this cruise, the three days at sea actually worked in favor of us buying the package, even with the CL as an option.

[cruizinmimi]

Nadja is great, for sure. Who was concierge in the Diamond lounge, please?

 

It was Larissa in June. I'm not sure if she is still in the DL.

[39august]

Thanks, Linda. We met Larissa in May when Nadja left for vacation.