Navigator of the Seas - March 15 Spring Break short review

[jsoenning]

My family is going on Sunday. We don't drink a lot so not sure if it is worth the drink package or even the soda package. Can you share rough pricing for beer, wine, and sodas if you bought a la carte?

 

We had the sticker shock on the same cruise. Didn't purchase wine as had in concierge lounge but lava flows (piña colada with strawberry flavoring) was $12 per drink one time and $10 per drink same pool bar on another day. That's before the 18% tip. Mimosa in the morning was mostly orange juice and $12.

 

Beer was more reasonable with domestics around $5, Red Stripe $5.5, and Negra Modelo $6. All before 18% tip.

 

Agree on lack of responsiveness from servers. No one offered anything pool side any day on the cruise. Have to watch bar and when not super crowded make your move...

[jsoenning]

Boy all I keep hearing about is how good Sabor is, were a group of 4 Mexican food lovers from San Diego. (and believe me we eat a lot of Mexican food) I sure hope it's as good as yall :D say it is! Really looking forward to it.

 

Also anyone off this cruise know if the Grapes or Grains deal was offered?

 

Thanks

 

We did Sabor for lunch and at $20 per person it wasn't worth it. Bacon wrapped chicken and tortilla soup were good appetizers. I took the servers recommendation and got fish that was very overcooked. My wife got the tiger shrimp and while the shrimp were good, no better than say Red Lobster quality. Guacamole was delicious and made to spice preference. Dessert was a mixture of small options with some amazing and some bleh.

 

In a nutshell, $40 for guacamole, 5 bacon wrapped items, a small bowl of tortilla soup and one really good bite size dessert makes me say no to going back to Sabor...

 

We decided going into the cruise if the food wasn't great we wouldn't finish it - whether in specialty restaurant, main dining or windjammer. We both only gained 1-2 pounds which was water weight. That tells you the quality of food.

Edited March 28, 2015 by jsoenning

[jsoenning]

I also was on this cruise and we had an incredible time. A couple of things that I did not like:

 

1. The brewed coffee throughout the ship was disgusting. I've sailed several times with RCL and never have experienced this. When adding cream the coffee did not even turn the normal caramel color, it looked more like mud (and tasted like it). Also, they no longer put out the to-go cups in Cafe Promenade and acted somewhat put-out when I requested them. Even then, they would not provide the hand protectors for the cups.

 

2. The food service in the MDR was just incredibly, painfully, slow. 30 minutes between courses was the norm.

 

Also, I would advise most people who drink at all to get the Premium Package. The prices are now officially insane. An obvious ploy to get everyone to sign up for a package

 

Fully agree on points above. Coffee was terrible everywhere but concierge lounge and paying for Starbucks. As in not drinkable. Cost cutting to force up charge on board.

 

Service was slow again due to cost cutting. Our assistant waiter had easily double the tables as historic or compared to Disney. Meant 30 minute wait time for milk for kids and piles of dishes on table. Normally cleared appetizer dishes during dessert. They brought fruit plates for the kids each night and Cheerios for our 13 month old. However between sitting down and their meal arriving was no shorter than an hour. By then our 3 year old had filled up on bread. Again Disney has them beat by a mile with drinks at table for kids, meals ordered for the next night ahead of time and table side within 30 minutes.

 

We had to skip dessert several nights - arrived at 5:30 pm and dessert order wasn't until 7 pm when we had nursery time booked. Wish we would have swapped to Windjammer earlier in cruise like OP. Our assistant waiter was no where around to be able to order coffee the nights we had dessert so maybe the main dining was better taste wise. Had it ordered to room service, cafe promenade, windjammer and chops - all same disgusting quality...

Edited March 28, 2015 by jsoenning

[dancingranni]

Did you play Bingo? If so, how much was it?

[Lilyrosemum]

I copy my format each cruise and do a brief review. This time, Navigator for Spring Break. Our first Spring Break cruise so I was curious to see how busy, crazy and kid-filled the cruise would be!

 

Saturday

The family left OK and I flew from SLC to DFW and they picked me up. Traffic was bad in Houston (we lived there for many years so expected that) and we ended up at our hotel (Holiday Inn Express - Webster) about 6:30 pm. The hotel was great, a Hotwire win, close to restaurants and shopping and 30 minutes from the port.

 

Sunday

It was partly sunny/cool/cloudy and we left the hotel about 10:00, stopped at Target for forgotten items, back to the hotel for a left phone charger, and finally arrived at port after an easy drive in. We parked across the street from the port in a "gated" lot and walked to the terminal.

 

There were very few porters so people basically lined up and were instructed where to put our luggage ourselves (no tips given for that!). We went into the Terminal and were through Security and checked in within 10 minutes through the Diamond line. We had friends cruising with us so we all boarded together and wandered a bit before lunch in WJ. We were on the ship by 11:30 am.

We were a family of 10 and had 14 checked bags. We got dropped off by the hotel shuttle (free from Hilton) around 11:00 am and I went and got a porter who loaded all our bags in just a few minutes. Handed him a twenty and we were on our way. Checkin was a breeze, no lines and we had a short wait until they gave the all clear for boarding and we walked right on.

 

Luggage was very slow in coming (thinking the porters do a better job of getting "like areas" grouped together) but we got it all by 6 pm or so and sent some things off for pressing. Muster was on Deck 4 at 3:45 which seemed very early. The day had cleared up and it was actually gorgeous outside!

 

We were in adjoining Promenade cabins (dh/me, 2 kids) and it was my first inside room (ever!). We had booked last minute (December) and while getting a fantastic rate for the week, the room was microscopic! There is very little storage and very little room to walk around each other. I will be back in a balcony or great after this!

 

We did late dining at 8:30 and when we checked out the table we were seated at a table for 14. They told us there was nothing we could do (we had a group of 7) and were seated with like-aged people. HA!. We were seated with other people from OK who had toddlers. They also had wanted to be with their family so we each asked to be moved and were accommodated after the first night. After that we had Dapeek (sp) and Anquar and they were excellent. We only ate in the dining room for the 2 formal nights, the first night and one other night. The food was good and served as ordered.

 

"]We ate in WJ the other nights and found it relaxed and pleasing to all. We had Izumi for lunch on the last sea day and the service was spotty, plus the food wasn't the usual quality to me. Lunch was either WJ or at the ports, and breakfast was mainly the DL for me, with a quick stop at WJ for a snack if needed. Funny we had Izumi on the last day for lunch also. But we had been a few nights before and had a wonderful time and our waiter made sure when we came for lunch we had him and he treated us like family. Oh my, such a great experience both times.[/color]

 

Weather

The weather was the BEST we've EVER had on a cruise. The first 2 days at sea were WINDY, but sunny. Every single day in port was gorgeous. The last sea day was perfect. BEST.WEATHER.EVER.

]Weather was awesome, I agree.[/color]

Ports

Falmouth - we had nothing planned. We got off, ate a horrible meal at Margaritaville and got back on. I've never been a fan of this port and usually use it as a "free" sea day on the ship. I always find it funny when people stay on the ship in Jamaica when there are so many wonderful all-inclusive resorts to go to for the day. We always use resort for a day (dot com) to book our resorts. We have been to the Hilton Rose Hall and the Jewel Runaway Beach and they are awesome, transportation to and from included. Don't stay on the ship or just wander around the man made port. Enjoy Jamaica! That was the best weather day of the cruise.

 

Cayman - we booked the 3 stop plus beach lunch trip w/Captain Marvin's. We had a BLAST. We were cutting it a little close getting back to the ship (but the lines were REALLY long and I'm sure they knew this) but the overall trip was excellent! The food was good at lunch - fish and chicken. We did the Westin,(from the site mentioned) which included a room. It was not all-inclusive but beach service for drinks and lunch was fantastic and food A+ Awesome and quiet. Not that many people and of course 7 mile beach...well enough said.

 

Cozumel - we booked Mr. Sanchos. There were 7 ships in port I think and getting off the ship and through their "security" (drug dogs, 2 for every single person off Navigator and Freedom at the same time?) was SLOW but the ride to the resort and back was quick, and the place, while busy, was not that crowded. It was an EXCELLENT day and every single person in our group had a blast. We did the all-inclusive, ordered off the menu, went to the pool bar, hung in the ocean, etc. Would definitely go again! Again we do an all-inclusive, Cozumel Palace through the same site. Short cab ride and wonderful.

 

Staff

Only saw the Cruise Director during Love & Marriage - the activities guy was out at the pool a lot and seemed personable. Beverly was our room steward and she was great. Nadja was the DL concierge and she was super friendly and nice. The waiters in the DL were excellent and offered many free-flowing drinks (of very limited choice). The rest of the staff was friendly and outgoing for the most part.

 

Sea Days

Our experience with Thanksgiving cruises is that it doesn't seem as crowded at the pool due to extended family members (old and young) that don't seem to "lay out" as much. The difference in a Spring Break cruise is EVERYONE wants to be outside. We were able to find seats by going out early (9:30) and the pool band was FANTASTIC! The videos were incredibly stupid on the big screen and it was nice to see March Madness on Saturday, instead of the same videos over and over.

 

Shows

I went to the first half of Love & Marriage and the first Adult comedy show. Really enjoyed the comedian!

 

Sunday

Disembarkation is chaos in Galveston. Absolute chaos. EVERYONE wants to take their own luggage off. Everyone gets Pass A. We were thrown into a line, told to wait at a certain spot for the end of it to come to us (start a new line), then 10 minutes (and 150 people added) later told to go to the end. They have NO process at all. Once off the ship, Customs moved very quickly. Again, although i was on the same cruise as you we had a completely different experience. The key to Galveston when you disembark is you have to get a porter. Even if you are one person with one bag you must get a porter. The cost of the tip is worth it because you do not get into ANY line. You get right to the customs and off the ship. We were planning on getting to the Diamond/D+ lounge at 8:45am to get off ship at 9:00am. They were ahead of schedule so as we were walking down the stairs at 8:40am they said just get off, no lines. Actually the easiest embarkation and debarkation I have ever had in Galveston and I have sailed out of Galveston at least 8 times.

 

Overall thoughts:

The ship looked great. We had cruised Navigator in 2006 and you could tell she had been refurbished, but I thought she looked as good now as then.

 

I felt that with the drink packages and Diamond drinks added onto our cards, the bar staff didn't seem as outgoing and friendly as I've noticed in the past. Maybe because everything is pre-paid? There seemed to be longer waits at each bar as well. Just an observation. The Diamond drinks were easy to get tho and the Miller Lite cans were rarely opened, just handed to us so we did grab a couple of extra for the room. I think they want everyone to buy the drink packages now. Just my observation. We have been doing so since they have been offered. They raised the drink prices to make the drink packages a better option. But yes, we did notice, in some places, there were not enough bar servers. But after giving an extra tip here and there we were always served promptly.

 

I also expected MANY MANY children (heck, I brought 2 of my own). I was surprised how many older teens and college aged kids there were, and NOT so many young ones. For the most part, everyone was really well behaved. There were a fun running down the hall/screaming episodes but no elevator button pushing or anything like that!

 

Holler with any questions!

 

__________________

I was on this same cruise. Gave my observations in red.

[BonTexasNY]

I also was on this cruise and we had an incredible time. A couple of things that I did not like:

 

1. The brewed coffee throughout the ship was disgusting. I've sailed several times with RCL and never have experienced this. When adding cream the coffee did not even turn the normal caramel color, it looked more like mud (and tasted like it). Also, they no longer put out the to-go cups in Cafe Promenade and acted somewhat put-out when I requested them. Even then, they would not provide the hand protectors for the cups.

 

 

Maybe it was coffee syrup? Don't know definitely, but 2 different crew members told us on different RCI cruises that syrup is used. We know how reliable THAT can be. :rolleyes: I do agree, it's undrinkable.

[jayblue]

Maybe it was coffee syrup? Don't know definitely, but 2 different crew members told us on different RCI cruises that syrup is used. We know how reliable THAT can be. :rolleyes: I do agree, it's undrinkable.

 

*faints*

 

I may have to cancel my cruise.

 

I just cannot go 4 days without a decent cup of coffee! Disney World (we were there in the pre-Starbucks months) had not one decent cup! After 8 days of theirs, I moved my coffeemaker into my bedroom.

[Cel_cruise]

*faints*

 

I may have to cancel my cruise.

 

I just cannot go 4 days without a decent cup of coffee! Disney World (we were there in the pre-Starbucks months) had not one decent cup! After 8 days of theirs, I moved my coffeemaker into my bedroom.

 

 

Rest assured - you can always buy a starbucks coffee....

 

When we were on in February the coffee was typical seattles best brand...it's a bold coffee for sure - nothing light about it no matter where we order it in the world. They had Togo cups when I was there - surprised they were removed - that seems fishy!

[jayblue]

Rest assured - you can always buy a starbucks coffee....

 

When we were on in February the coffee was typical seattles best brand...it's a bold coffee for sure - nothing light about it no matter where we order it in the world. They had Togo cups when I was there - surprised they were removed - that seems fishy!

 

I'm getting the drink plan just so I can get Starbucks every day. They aren't my favorite, but are usually the easiest to find.

 

I like Seattle's Best-when it's me making it.