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June 29 Awesome cruise on the Navigator!!!!

boohicks
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boohicks

boohicks

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Just want to say that I am more of a lurker than a poster and this is my first cruise review..hope it's OK. I want to personally thank those CC members with hundreds and thousands of posts who continue to help out anyone here who has a question...it is very much appreciated!! I did search a lot for the answers to the questions I had.

 

This was our second cruise on Royal Caribbean sailing 30 years ago on the Song of America for our honeymoon. So we were celebrating our 30th on June 30th!!

 

Embarkation: We live outside of Houston and arrived at the Galveston ParknCruise at 11:30 and were on the ship by 12:30. If you can be there earlier to beat the customs line, very good idea.

 

Navigator: Beautiful ship and very impressive but not as cold in some places, didn't really need a sweater in the theater or dining room. I have always worn one before. But you did need a jacket or sweater for the ice show but even then it warmed up a little inside with so many people.

 

Balcony Cabin 9372 starboard aft-Nice cabin although a few times we did feel some vibration. Our steward Inacio was wonderful, cabin was kept clean and tidy. We had 4 different animals made out of towels for 4 different nights. We did enjoy having to walk a little further to get to our room-extra calories burned!

 

Food: We had 8pm traditional dining and really enjoyed it. Our fantastic waiters were John and Ahmed, say Hi to them if you are at table for two no.496. We also tried Sabor-this is a definitely a must try,delicious and worth every penny! And we tried Giovanni's as well, again delicious and food was outstanding!

We had breakfast in the dining room once and couldn't wait to try the eggs benedict! Sorry to say, our opinion, it was a little disappointing but we ate at 9:30 and maybe this was the reason. Tried again on disembarkation morning but it wasn't available nor was the fruit bar, this bar had a beautiful selection of fruit! I did order a ham and cheese omelet and it was very good!

We did eat one time for lunch in the dining room and had the Tutti Salad..they will mix it all for you...was great!

Cafe Promenade had some good sandwiches and desserts too.

 

Drinks: We didn't do any of the drink packages so can't comment on those. We never came that close to $55/day when we cruised before, but if we did then we knew we would be drinking alot to get out moneys worth. Just our opinion.

 

Activities: So much to do....Flow rider, putt putt golf, basketball, rock climbing, ice skating, trivia etc. Lots of activities by the pool and loved the country dancing by pool side late on July 4th.

 

Entertainment- The comedian, Rick Corso was fantastic as well as his late night adult show. For one of the Headliner's show, the talented Piano Legends guy was a hit. Spectrum, 4 guys performing Motown, R&B were awesome too. The RC orchestra kept up with them and the music was excellent...dancing in my seat! The juggler was great and funny as well. Mixed opinions on the RC singers and dancers. For their second performance night there wasn't a whole lot of people in the audience. You can decide for yourself.

 

Don't miss the The Ice Show, Circus show,the 70's show(they will throw free things!), the Love and Marriage show and especially the adult show, The Quest...all of these are so much fun! The Circus Show and 70's show are in the Promenade.

For July 4th, there was an 8 foot by 5 foot cake that was made in the shape of the American Flag out in the Promenade and very tasty too. Also enjoyed watching the soccer games on the big TV's.

 

Photos: Loved having to just slide your seapass on the computer screens and see all your pictures come up digitally. There is also a "PHOTO #" on your seapass that you can go look in the nearby carousels for your photo folder. These black folders might just have all of your pictures ready for you to purchase right away. We were missing the one we wanted so we just ordered it on the screen. Then you come back later to pick the pics up and pay for them.

 

Excursions: We did two private excursions not with the ship. First one we did was a private catamaran excursion with Radical Adventures in Roatan-Awesome, Awesome time and there was only 6 of us! 2 stops for great snorkeling! Their guides would swim down and show us all kinds of different things. Snacks and lunch were delicious as well as cake for dessert too! And homemade pina coladas..so yummy! Highly recommend!

 

Second was with Cavetubing.bz in Belize and in our opinion was just OK but very relaxing! We loved our guide,The Snake Man as he is called and we were definitely not tired after this trip. We had tender tickets no.4. Met yellow shirts outside the terminal and he escorted us near their bus/vans. As their email states... to get off the ship early to begin your tour. They gave us a bottle of water right away. A school bus was waiting and they tried to get us on that one but only one seat was left. So we waited for 20 min until another group arrived. We didn't understand why they couldn't take a group of 8 in a van. But they were waiting for more people to arrive. Mr. Vitilano came and apologized. Then we waited another 25 min for more people and an air conditioned charter bus. We were all not happy having to wait in the hot sun! We asked about restrooms on bus (none)and The Snake Man had the bus driver stop to use the restrooms at nearby gas station because it was another hour bus ride. Very bumpy ride in some places. There are some neat formations inside the caves. Lunch was included and it was very good with second helpings too. Supposed to be back on ship by 4 and we made it back by 3:55. Our huge bus passed several vans, buses as well! Wow! Then is was still a long line back for tendering, but moved rather quickly.

 

In Cozumel, we just took it easy and took a taxi to the Forum shops and rode the horse and buggy back. But it was very hot that day.

 

Oh I loved the tip on here to go and enjoy the "titanic moment" on bow of the ship......Hard to believe that you are really standing there-pretty cool indeed! We loved it!

 

Don't forget to try the fabulous chocolate cheesecake martini in the R Bar on the promenade.....wow this was sooooo good!!! It was 8pm and we asked for two and it was no problem. When the bartender brought us our drinks about 10 min later(the cheese needs time to melt) he said they usually don't serve it until 10-12pm but since this was the last day....... He was very nice to make it for us. Hubby was pleased he got one too!

 

Internet Package-We purchased the 7 day with 10% discount if you are a gold member. No problems texting/email at all but sending pictures took a very long time.

 

We also enjoyed walking around on the outside of deck 4 to get some much needed exercise. LOL

 

Disembarkation-We did self assist, group C. Had breakfast in the dining room when they opened at 7am. Back to our room to finish packing a few things, took luggage with us to 4th floor, off ship at 7:55, through customs and in our car by 8:45 am. No problems what so ever!!

 

That's all I can think of but we had a wonderful time on the Navigator and cannot wait to sail on her again. Everyone we ran into was so friendly and polite especially the crew! But again, thanks to the CC members on here who post their great tips which helped to make our cruise so much FUN!! I'll be happy to answer any questions. To those who will be sailing on the Navigator-Hope you will have a fabulous time, just as we did! Enjoy your cruise!

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boohicks

boohicks

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We pulled our luggage directly from Parkncruise. We saw that the traffic was heavily backed up to 29th on Harborside. So we turned right on 29th, very quick left on Strand, left on 28th, right on New Strand. Guys were waiting in the street to check us in. He showed us where to park our car. We then walked to the terminal but almost went in Carnival's lol. RC was another 5 min straight on the walkway. Coming back, we walked off with our luggage to our parking spot. Hubby said he should have had me wait with the luggage and pick me up, because there wasn't any traffic.

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nascar junkie

nascar junkie

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That's kind of what I figured. The last cruise 10 years ago, the traffic was a nightmare on Harborside so doesn't sound like much changed. We were going on Carnival on that one and thought We'd never get in. Only concern I have pulling luggage from parking is we've got some really heavy stuff in one with a bad wheel but sounds like it's worse trying to get into the dropoff spot.

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ARCruisinNana

ARCruisinNana

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They have improved the traffic flow at the port. We also parked at Galveston Park N Cruise, but dropped off our luggage first. Coming from Houston, stay on Broadway rather than turning off where they direct you to the port. Go all the way the 22nd St. Turn off and this takes you directly to the entrance to the port. Stay to the left to go to Terminal 2. There is an island where pickup is to the right of the island, next to the building and drop off is to the left. There are porters to help you with your bags. Circle back to park the car and it's an easy walk back.

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ssb

ssb

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That's kind of what I figured. The last cruise 10 years ago, the traffic was a nightmare on Harborside so doesn't sound like much changed. We were going on Carnival on that one and thought We'd never get in. Only concern I have pulling luggage from parking is we've got some really heavy stuff in one with a bad wheel but sounds like it's worse trying to get into the dropoff spot.

 

AVOID TRAFFIC ON HARBORSIDE

 

Yes the traffic to Port and terminal from I45 via Harborside

should be avoided.

DO NOT FOLLOW

exit SIGN TO TERMINALS on causeway over bay for Harborside

DO NOT GET OFF I-45 ONTO FEEDER STREET for Harborside

DO NOT FOLLOW SIGN

 

Stay on I-45 straight into town,

which street name changes to Broadway

and stay straight to 22th past statue at 25th

and turn left on 22th

and then go ten blocks directly to and cross Harborside

directly into terminal area.

Do not ever get on Harborside (cross it)

 

For further reference the front door at Fishermans Wharf Restaurant on port is also at location of entrance at 22nd to terminals.

 

see maps courtesy of galveston.com

 

dotline.gif

pdficon.gif

Galveston Island Map PDF

Download Here (PDF 936KB) dotline.gif

pdficon.gif

Houston Map PDF

Download Here (PDF 64.9KB)

 

Another approach from Broadway is to go pass 22nd to 23rd or 24th

and left on 23rd or 24th to Harborside

left on Harborside

to 22nd

right into terminal on 22th at Fishermans Wharf

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted
Just want to say that I am more of a lurker than a poster and this is my first cruise review..hope it's OK. I want to personally thank those CC members with hundreds and thousands of posts who continue to help out anyone here who has a question...it is very much appreciated!! I did search a lot for the answers to the questions I had.

 

This was our second cruise on Royal Caribbean sailing 30 years ago on the Song of America for our honeymoon. So we were celebrating our 30th on June 30th!!

 

Embarkation: We live outside of Houston and arrived at the Galveston ParknCruise at 11:30 and were on the ship by 12:30. If you can be there earlier to beat the customs line, very good idea.

 

Navigator: Beautiful ship and very impressive but not as cold in some places, didn't really need a sweater in the theater or dining room. I have always worn one before. But you did need a jacket or sweater for the ice show but even then it warmed up a little inside with so many people.

 

Balcony Cabin 9372 starboard aft-Nice cabin although a few times we did feel some vibration. Our steward Inacio was wonderful, cabin was kept clean and tidy. We had 4 different animals made out of towels for 4 different nights. We did enjoy having to walk a little further to get to our room-extra calories burned!

 

Food: We had 8pm traditional dining and really enjoyed it. Our fantastic waiters were John and Ahmed, say Hi to them if you are at table for two no.496. We also tried Sabor-this is a definitely a must try,delicious and worth every penny! And we tried Giovanni's as well, again delicious and food was outstanding!

We had breakfast in the dining room once and couldn't wait to try the eggs benedict! Sorry to say, our opinion, it was a little disappointing but we ate at 9:30 and maybe this was the reason. Tried again on disembarkation morning but it wasn't available nor was the fruit bar, this bar had a beautiful selection of fruit! I did order a ham and cheese omelet and it was very good!

We did eat one time for lunch in the dining room and had the Tutti Salad..they will mix it all for you...was great!

Cafe Promenade had some good sandwiches and desserts too.

 

Drinks: We didn't do any of the drink packages so can't comment on those. We never came that close to $55/day when we cruised before, but if we did then we knew we would be drinking alot to get out moneys worth. Just our opinion.

 

Activities: So much to do....Flow rider, putt putt golf, basketball, rock climbing, ice skating, trivia etc. Lots of activities by the pool and loved the country dancing by pool side late on July 4th.

 

Entertainment- The comedian, Rick Corso was fantastic as well as his late night adult show. For one of the Headliner's show, the talented Piano Legends guy was a hit. Spectrum, 4 guys performing Motown, R&B were awesome too. The RC orchestra kept up with them and the music was excellent...dancing in my seat! The juggler was great and funny as well. Mixed opinions on the RC singers and dancers. For their second performance night there wasn't a whole lot of people in the audience. You can decide for yourself.

 

Don't miss the The Ice Show, Circus show,the 70's show(they will throw free things!), the Love and Marriage show and especially the adult show, The Quest...all of these are so much fun! The Circus Show and 70's show are in the Promenade.

For July 4th, there was an 8 foot by 5 foot cake that was made in the shape of the American Flag out in the Promenade and very tasty too. Also enjoyed watching the soccer games on the big TV's.

 

Photos: Loved having to just slide your seapass on the computer screens and see all your pictures come up digitally. There is also a "PHOTO #" on your seapass that you can go look in the nearby carousels for your photo folder. These black folders might just have all of your pictures ready for you to purchase right away. We were missing the one we wanted so we just ordered it on the screen. Then you come back later to pick the pics up and pay for them.

 

Excursions: We did two private excursions not with the ship. First one we did was a private catamaran excursion with Radical Adventures in Roatan-Awesome, Awesome time and there was only 6 of us! 2 stops for great snorkeling! Their guides would swim down and show us all kinds of different things. Snacks and lunch were delicious as well as cake for dessert too! And homemade pina coladas..so yummy! Highly recommend!

 

Second was with Cavetubing.bz in Belize and in our opinion was just OK but very relaxing! We loved our guide,The Snake Man as he is called and we were definitely not tired after this trip. We had tender tickets no.4. Met yellow shirts outside the terminal and he escorted us near their bus/vans. As their email states... to get off the ship early to begin your tour. They gave us a bottle of water right away. A school bus was waiting and they tried to get us on that one but only one seat was left. So we waited for 20 min until another group arrived. We didn't understand why they couldn't take a group of 8 in a van. But they were waiting for more people to arrive. Mr. Vitilano came and apologized. Then we waited another 25 min for more people and an air conditioned charter bus. We were all not happy having to wait in the hot sun! We asked about restrooms on bus (none)and The Snake Man had the bus driver stop to use the restrooms at nearby gas station because it was another hour bus ride. Very bumpy ride in some places. There are some neat formations inside the caves. Lunch was included and it was very good with second helpings too. Supposed to be back on ship by 4 and we made it back by 3:55. Our huge bus passed several vans, buses as well! Wow! Then is was still a long line back for tendering, but moved rather quickly.

 

In Cozumel, we just took it easy and took a taxi to the Forum shops and rode the horse and buggy back. But it was very hot that day.

 

Oh I loved the tip on here to go and enjoy the "titanic moment" on bow of the ship......Hard to believe that you are really standing there-pretty cool indeed! We loved it!

 

Don't forget to try the fabulous chocolate cheesecake martini in the R Bar on the promenade.....wow this was sooooo good!!! It was 8pm and we asked for two and it was no problem. When the bartender brought us our drinks about 10 min later(the cheese needs time to melt) he said they usually don't serve it until 10-12pm but since this was the last day....... He was very nice to make it for us. Hubby was pleased he got one too!

 

Internet Package-We purchased the 7 day with 10% discount if you are a gold member. No problems texting/email at all but sending pictures took a very long time.

 

We also enjoyed walking around on the outside of deck 4 to get some much needed exercise. LOL

 

Disembarkation-We did self assist, group C. Had breakfast in the dining room when they opened at 7am. Back to our room to finish packing a few things, took luggage with us to 4th floor, off ship at 7:55, through customs and in our car by 8:45 am. No problems what so ever!!

 

That's all I can think of but we had a wonderful time on the Navigator and cannot wait to sail on her again. Everyone we ran into was so friendly and polite especially the crew! But again, thanks to the CC members on here who post their great tips which helped to make our cruise so much FUN!! I'll be happy to answer any questions. To those who will be sailing on the Navigator-Hope you will have a fabulous time, just as we did! Enjoy your cruise!

 

This is just not possible. Sea Searcher said that this just an AWFUL ship/cruise. ;) :D Or maybe not. :D :D

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2068442

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nascar junkie

nascar junkie

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Posted

You guys are absolutly awesome on these alturnative routes. Just reduced my stress level about 80%. As far as the "awful review", everyone needs to take that advise and then I'd have the whole ship to myself.;);) Just kidding, of course, as that would make for a pretty boring cruise without others around.

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