An Imperfect Day at CocoCay - Review of NotS 3N 9/20

[awestover89]

Quick Stats

 

Ship: Navigator of the Seas

Itinerary: 3N CocoCay and Nassau

Date: 9/20 - 9/23

Cabin: JS 9598

Travelers: 3 Adults (Anthony, Luis, Robert)

 

Background

 

This cruise was somewhat of a last minute booking as far as our cruises usually go. Originally we only had a 7N southern Caribbean cruise on the Freedom booked in January and a 14N B2B next May on Rhapsody, but that's way too long between cruises 🙂 My husband and I recently moved to Florida, and we were able to make a long weekend work with a 3 day cruise. We were very excited to try the Amped Up Navigator and see the new CocoCay. Our friend Robert wanted to join us from Texas, and the original plan was for him to fly in Thursday, we'd meet up in Miami Thursday night, and then board on Friday.

 

Both my husband and Robert are meteorologists, so we knew the risks of hurricane season. Still, it was a good deal, especially splitting the cost 3 ways. Originally we were booked in a balcony, but about 2 weeks after final payment a JS opened up for $105 more total, and we decided to upgrade. 

 

A Stressful Start

 

Ahh, the best laid plans. Robert was sitting at the airport in Texas waiting his flight. It was delayed twice (he was connecting through Houston), before finally being cancelled. Normally Southwest is great, but they had really no options for him. Nothing would get to Fort Lauderdale on time for the cruise, but after a bit of back and forth he bought a last minute ticket on American Airlines to Miami that got in Friday morning really early. Rather than drive up Thursday we left Friday morning at 5AM, picked him up from the airport, and then went to the cruise port for check-in. A little tired, a little stressed, but we were finally back on our second home, a Royal Caribbean ship.

 

Check-In Process

Robert's return flight was relatively early Monday morning, and I needed to be back home and at work before noon, so we opted to park at the port parking lot. It was $22 per day, so a bit steep compared to other options, but at the same time I have to say it was super convenient. For longer cruises we may opt to do cheaper offsite parking, but not having to worry about a shuttle or the whole "the online price says this but you charged me that" song and dance we've had to play with some offsite lots in the past was great. The porters were a bit pushy trying to grab bags from us (we hadn't even found a parking spot yet when one offered to take our bags. We wanted to take some things out of our checked bags and put in our bookbags, so we didn't want him to. It took about 3 minutes to get him to move away from the car so we could move forward).

 

After we parked and dropped off the bags we went through the priority suite check-in which was super fast. I decided to use the mobile set sail pass on the app; almost a big mistake. For some reason the app was having a real hard time loading. It hadn't had any problems before, but it gave me a lot of trouble when we were trying to checkin. The worker was just about to print us out a paper copy when it finally loaded up. From there it was super smooth. The suite line did bypass the photo opportunity, so if you like getting a boarding photo make sure you backtrack a bit before going up the ramp.

 

First Night, Escape Room, and Thoughts of the Ship

 

Our first day on board we explored a bit, had dinner at Hooked (last minute decision), and did the Escape Room. General thoughts of the ship: Navigator was really nice. We really enjoyed The Bamboo Room, the new Tiki bar on board. That being said, I'm not sure how much of this is the fact that it was a 3 day cruise or the class in general, but there were several places that felt super painfully crowded. The bars didn't really have much space, so like whenever there was a sport's game playing, the crowds from Playmakers spilled out and completely blocked the Promenade. And whenever Boleros had music, there was no dedicated dance floor so people were just dancing in the walkways outside the bar. It was really difficult to get anywhere when the bars were crowded. Part of this may have been worsened because of the bad weather; so there were fewer people wanting to be outside.

 

The casino was also disappointing. I can't remember details of the other small-ish ships we've been on, but there was no non-smoking section at all, and it felt like the ventilation was worse than I remember it being on any other ship. Again, this could be related to the bad weather and the shorter cruise and associated clientele, but the smoke in the air was overwhelming to us.

 

Hooked was great, just as good as we remembered it on Symphony. When we got back to the room after dinner, however, we did get some bad news. A message on the phone alerted me that one of my two CocoCay excursions, a Scuba Dive, had been cancelled due to rough seas and poor visibility. I was told that a full refund would be on my statement as a refundable OBC.

 

We had a blast in the Escape Room. Compared to the others onboard various ships, Navigator's Escape Room is really impressively designed. We finished with 5 minutes to spare and lots of help from the worker, but we also had a group of 4 who didn't speak the best English, and one couple who I think was actively trying to mess things up. The Escape Room is on the 15th deck all by itself, you have to go up to the 14th deck and then take a special stair case up.

 

The Room

 

This was our second time in a Junior Suite and it felt bigger for some reason than the last time we were in one. We loved the spaciousness and the great bathroom, but we did have a couple of small issues. The sofa bed was by far the most uncomfortable bed I've ever felt. We debated trying to get a topper of some sort from our steward, but after the muster drill notification the first night (before the bed had been pulled out) we never managed to see him again. We also felt that the room just could not get cold enough; it always felt super hot even though we had the AC dial turned as far cold as it would go. I'm not sure if some of our neighbors had their balcony open or what, but it was warmer in the room than I ever recall it being on any cruise we've taken before.

 

We also felt that the room was seriously lacking outlets. We could only find three total, and all were over by the dresser/TV area. I feel pretty sure we've usually had outlets near the bed before, but we couldn't find any at all near the bed or anywhere else in the room.

 

The blackout curtains at the balcony worked great, though, and the room was a perfect pitch black at night.

 

CocoCay

 

So, the title is a bit tongue in cheek, but we heard a lot of groaning and complaining on board. I think if any staff member said "Perfect Day at CocoCay" one more time there might have been a mutiny 😛 We woke up to another message on our phone, once again from the Shore Excursions desk, telling us that our second excursion, the Swimming with the Pigs, was cancelled due to the weather. We were once again told that the cost of the excursion would be refunded, and this time were told to go speak with the Shore Excursions desk to discuss options, and as an apology they would give us 20% off a day pass to Atlantis in Nassau. We had already purchased a day pass to Atlantis (through a 3rd party, not the cruise line) so we were going to go down to the desk and see if there were any other options. Unfortunately, there was nobody at the desk and we were told that since there was a shore excursions desk on the island, that's where we had to go. So we got off the ship and went to find the Shore Excursion desk on the island. Once there we found out that ALL excursions on CocoCay had been cancelled (except the waterpark) due to weather, so the shore excursion staff never came on shore. Apparently the captain had made an announcement, but we missed it.

 

I was debating going to the waterpark, but since it was literally the only excursion available I was worried the lines would be insane. That and the bad weather (rain and really strong winds), I wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Maybe if I could have gotten a discount to the waterpark instead of Atlantis I would have done it, but again, there were no shore excursion staff available. You could buy tickets to the waterpark at the entrance, but we decided against it.

 

In the end we had lunch at the BBQ on the beach restaurant (really it was just hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled chicken), and then went to the swim up tiki bar before the wind and the rain made us want to just get back on board.

 

We heard a lot of grumbling calling it "Imperfect Day at CocoCay" and "Perfect Day my A**", but we fully understood. This is hurricane season, there was a lot of weather active, and nothing Royal could have done about it. It did get a little annoying, however, hearing the cruise director and other staff still cheerfully talk about the "Perfect Day" I get that they have a script to follow, but it seemed really tone deaf.

 

Nassau

 

Again, the weather was terrible. We had day passes to Atlantis purchased through the online vendor Resort for a Day, so we got off the ship (waiting for a break in the rain) and got in line for a taxi. The man at the stand wanted us to wait until he had a full group of 12, but after about 20 minutes another taxi driver came up and got into a bit of a fight with the man at the desk and then told us to just follow him to his taxi. He had a smaller van that only sat 6 and didn't see any reason to make us wait for who knows how long to get 9 more people. It was a flat rate of $4 per person and the ride was fairly quick.

 

I'm not sure if it was because of the weather, but the water park at Atlantis was basically completely empty. We didn't have lines for any of the slides at all. We did have a few issues with some of the lifeguards, especially Robert who is quite overweight. We started on the rapid river and he tried to use a single tube. We passed 5 lifeguards who didn't say anything at all, until the 6th blew his whistle and said because of his size Robert had to use a 2 person tube, to better distribute his weight. Fine. We switched Robert to a 2 person tube. Things were good for a while again before another lifeguard stopped us and said since Robert was only one person he couldn't use a 2 person tube. We explained what the previous life guard had said and he let us continue. We got all the way to the last set of rapids where there was a lifeguard guiding people into the rapids. I went first, then my husband, and we met up at the final exit. We waited and waited but Robert never came. Finally I stayed at the exit while my husband went trying to find him. Eventually we found him and got the story that the lifeguard blocked the rapids, flipped over his tube, and told him to get out of the river; he was too big to go down the rapids. Nevermind the fact that he had gone through 90% of the river already.

 

This pretty much ruined Robert's day, and he decided to just sit in a pool chair while my husband and I did the slides. There were only 8 slides; 4 body slides and 4 tube slides. The body slides all had really steep drops, and one body slide and one tube slide went through a tunnel in the shark aquarium. Overall it was fun, but for the extremely steep price I was expecting a lot more. It was way more expensive than a day pass to Universal Volcano Bay and offered quite a bit less. If it had been crowded I think it would have been even worse; really the only saving grace was the lack of crowds.

 

After we had ridden all the slides we decided to go get lunch. Many of the outdoor dining options were closed, presumably due to the weather, so we went inside the resort and asked what lunch options there were. We were told there was two choices; the buffet and Plato's Table. Plato's Table was a grab-and-go style shop, and the buffet only served breakfast and dinner; not lunch. ??? We were about ready to just leave and go back to the ship when we saw a restaurant in the resort casino called Olives. We decided to have lunch here; prices were a bit steep but reasonable given the fact it was inside of a resort's casino, the food was really quite good, but service was terrible.

 

By this point we were a bit flustered and disillusioned with Atlantis as a whole so we decided to just grab a taxi back to the ship to get into some dry clothes.

 

Laser Tag

 

So this was the second ship we've been on that offered laser tag. On Symphony I never was able to do it; the lines were always too long when I got there and employees were saying that they had reached the max. I decided to try again on Navigator and showed up 15 minutes before it was scheduled to start. There was a bit of a line but it didn't seem too bad. I made it all the way to the front of the line in about 45 minutes (so 30 minutes after starting). At the "front" of the line the staff told us that from there it was an hour and a half wait. Uh, what? He then explained that there were four groups inside Studio B. One was playing, one was geared up and waiting to play, one was getting geared up, and one was getting the pre-gearing up talk. Each group would have 15 minutes of play time (so an hour), then our group would play for 15 minutes, and then take off the gear. My dinner was at 6, so once again I had to leave. 

 

I really wish they had explained to people in line sooner what the actual line/wait time was. I really thought there was just one group ahead of us when we reached the doorway, so 15 minutes for them to play, 15 minutes for us, and then I'd be done at 5:30 with time to get ready for dinner. Alas, it wasn't to be.

 

Disembarking

 

We did self-assist disembarkation and it was really smooth. We left our room at about 7:30AM and were off within minutes. Customs at the port used facial recognition and it was super quick and efficient. In no time at all we were back at the parking garage and in our car.

 

Final Thoughts

 

I'm so happy to be in Florida where we can make these weekend cruises work like this. Even with the disappointments, I wouldn't hesitate to book another 3N Navigator Bahama's cruise if we get a good deal and have the time available. I really want to experience CocoCay in better weather, but as far as Nassau goes I won't do Atlantis again. We might just stay on board in Nassau, or maybe I'll do a dive. If we have three people in a room again I'll definitely either ask for an extra topper, or, more likely since we don't have to fly, bring a topper ourselves in a second bag. I'd probably also bring a fan if possible, especially if we're in a room with a balcony again. 

[awestover89]

One other thing I forgot to mention; the internet package was terrible, especially in the room. Very poor signal most of the time and it regularly cut out. Not sure if NotS has o3b after the Amplification or not, but it was worse than even Radiance and Jewel, which I know for a fact are not o3b. In most public areas we didn't have much of an issue, and it was really good on CocoCay, but in our room and a few other places it was really bad. Could have been unique to our stateroom location.

[bilyclub]

33 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

I can't remember details of the other small-ish ships we've been on, but there was no non-smoking section at all, and it felt like the ventilation was worse than I remember it being on any other ship.

 

Number 30 in the world in size out of 314 ocean going cruise ships..  Vision Class is small-ish.  Voyager Class were the trend setters and with the latest additions, (minus the added cabins), they still pack a good punch. 

Otherwise a good review.

Edited September 26, 2019 by bilyclub
sp

[awestover89]

1 minute ago, bilyclub said:

 

Number 30 in the world in size out of 314 ocean going cruise ships..  Vision Class is small-ish.  Voyager Class were the trend setters and with the latest additions, (minus the added cabins), they still pack a good punch. 

Otherwise a good review.

 

Yeah, I should specify sized based on the cruises we have personally taken. Compared to Oasis, Quantum, and Freedom classes Navigator felt quite small. Larger than Jewel and Radiance (which we greatly enjoyed as well), but in many ways it felt small like Radiance class but more crowded than Oasis class.

 

I think a large part of that was related to the weather/cruise duration, but I felt that the layout of the bars especially led to some of the problems. The two main places where we felt "cramped" was the walkways around bars especially when they were having activities, and then the casino.

[bilyclub]

They crammed a lot of new cabins into the Freedom/Voyager Classes and it really shows on the Voyager Class.  I guess the 110 extra feet makes a difference on the Freedom Class. 

Edited September 26, 2019 by bilyclub
add

[John&LaLa]

41 minutes ago, bilyclub said:

 

Number 30 in the world in size out of 314 ocean going cruise ships..  Vision Class is small-ish.  Voyager Class were the trend setters and with the latest additions, (minus the added cabins), they still pack a good punch. 

Otherwise a good review.

 

But something like 12 out of 26 in Royals world.

And getting further down the list every new build

[awestover89]

I do find the size discussion very interesting, though.

 

 JennyB1977 was also on this cruise and wrote a very good review, and she made the comment that she was worried the ship would be too big.

 

For my husband and I, most of our cruises have been on larger Royal ships, although we've been on the Jewel once, Radiance twice, and Mariner twice, and those were all smaller than Navigator. It was pretty much middle of the road size-wise.

 

Our friend Robert has only ever done Harmony, he's gone on four Harmony cruises and now this Navigator cruise. To him the ship felt incredibly small

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, awestover89 said:

 

 

First Night, Escape Room, and Thoughts of the Ship

 

 

 

The casino was also disappointing. I can't remember details of the other small-ish ships we've been on, but there was no non-smoking section at all, and it felt like the ventilation was worse than I remember it being on any other ship. Again, this could be related to the bad weather and the shorter cruise and associated clientele, but the smoke in the air was overwhelming to us.   Interesting - I am currently on the Adventure and noted that the casino was considerably less  smoky than most.  Maybe they installed a better ventilation system in Adventure's last drydock???

 

 

 

We had a blast in the Escape Room. Compared to the others onboard various ships, Navigator's Escape Room is really impressively designed. We finished with 5 minutes to spare and lots of help from the worker, but we also had a group of 4 who didn't speak the best English, and one couple who I think was actively trying to mess things up. The Escape Room is on the 15th deck all by itself, you have to go up to the 14th deck and then take a special stair case up.

 

OMG, they turned the wedding chapel into the Escape Room!  🤣

 

1 hour ago, awestover89 said:

 

The Room

We also felt that the room was seriously lacking outlets. We could only find three total, and all were over by the dresser/TV area. I feel pretty sure we've usually had outlets near the bed before, but we couldn't find any at all near the bed or anywhere else in the room.

You are remembering the Big Ships.  RC didn't start putting in more outlets until Oasis class.

 

Final Thoughts

 

 If we have three people in a room again I'll definitely either ask for an extra topper, or, more likely since we don't have to fly, bring a topper ourselves in a second bag. 

 

I brought a foam egg crate mattress topper on the Adventure with me and I am SO GLAD that I did!!!

 

Great review - thanks for sharing.  🙂 

[Clarea]

7 hours ago, awestover89 said:

One other thing I forgot to mention; the internet package was terrible, especially in the room. Very poor signal most of the time and it regularly cut out. Not sure if NotS has o3b after the Amplification or not, but it was worse than even Radiance and Jewel, which I know for a fact are not o3b. In most public areas we didn't have much of an issue, and it was really good on CocoCay, but in our room and a few other places it was really bad. Could have been unique to our stateroom location.

 

O3b has not been reported from Navigator to my knowledge.

[travelplus]

9 hours ago, awestover89 said:

Quick Stats

 

Ship: Navigator of the Seas

Itinerary: 3N CocoCay and Nassau

Date: 9/20 - 9/23

Cabin: JS 9598

Travelers: 3 Adults (Anthony, Luis, Robert)

 

Background

 

This cruise was somewhat of a last minute booking as far as our cruises usually go. Originally we only had a 7N southern Caribbean cruise on the Freedom booked in January and a 14N B2B next May on Rhapsody, but that's way too long between cruises 🙂 My husband and I recently moved to Florida, and we were able to make a long weekend work with a 3 day cruise. We were very excited to try the Amped Up Navigator and see the new CocoCay. Our friend Robert wanted to join us from Texas, and the original plan was for him to fly in Thursday, we'd meet up in Miami Thursday night, and then board on Friday.

 

Both my husband and Robert are meteorologists, so we knew the risks of hurricane season. Still, it was a good deal, especially splitting the cost 3 ways. Originally we were booked in a balcony, but about 2 weeks after final payment a JS opened up for $105 more total, and we decided to upgrade. 

 

A Stressful Start

 

Ahh, the best laid plans. Robert was sitting at the airport in Texas waiting his flight. It was delayed twice (he was connecting through Houston), before finally being cancelled. Normally Southwest is great, but they had really no options for him. Nothing would get to Fort Lauderdale on time for the cruise, but after a bit of back and forth he bought a last minute ticket on American Airlines to Miami that got in Friday morning really early. Rather than drive up Thursday we left Friday morning at 5AM, picked him up from the airport, and then went to the cruise port for check-in. A little tired, a little stressed, but we were finally back on our second home, a Royal Caribbean ship.

 

Check-In Process

Robert's return flight was relatively early Monday morning, and I needed to be back home and at work before noon, so we opted to park at the port parking lot. It was $22 per day, so a bit steep compared to other options, but at the same time I have to say it was super convenient. For longer cruises we may opt to do cheaper offsite parking, but not having to worry about a shuttle or the whole "the online price says this but you charged me that" song and dance we've had to play with some offsite lots in the past was great. The porters were a bit pushy trying to grab bags from us (we hadn't even found a parking spot yet when one offered to take our bags. We wanted to take some things out of our checked bags and put in our bookbags, so we didn't want him to. It took about 3 minutes to get him to move away from the car so we could move forward).

 

After we parked and dropped off the bags we went through the priority suite check-in which was super fast. I decided to use the mobile set sail pass on the app; almost a big mistake. For some reason the app was having a real hard time loading. It hadn't had any problems before, but it gave me a lot of trouble when we were trying to checkin. The worker was just about to print us out a paper copy when it finally loaded up. From there it was super smooth. The suite line did bypass the photo opportunity, so if you like getting a boarding photo make sure you backtrack a bit before going up the ramp.

 

First Night, Escape Room, and Thoughts of the Ship

 

Our first day on board we explored a bit, had dinner at Hooked (last minute decision), and did the Escape Room. General thoughts of the ship: Navigator was really nice. We really enjoyed The Bamboo Room, the new Tiki bar on board. That being said, I'm not sure how much of this is the fact that it was a 3 day cruise or the class in general, but there were several places that felt super painfully crowded. The bars didn't really have much space, so like whenever there was a sport's game playing, the crowds from Playmakers spilled out and completely blocked the Promenade. And whenever Boleros had music, there was no dedicated dance floor so people were just dancing in the walkways outside the bar. It was really difficult to get anywhere when the bars were crowded. Part of this may have been worsened because of the bad weather; so there were fewer people wanting to be outside.

 

The casino was also disappointing. I can't remember details of the other small-ish ships we've been on, but there was no non-smoking section at all, and it felt like the ventilation was worse than I remember it being on any other ship. Again, this could be related to the bad weather and the shorter cruise and associated clientele, but the smoke in the air was overwhelming to us.

 

Hooked was great, just as good as we remembered it on Symphony. When we got back to the room after dinner, however, we did get some bad news. A message on the phone alerted me that one of my two CocoCay excursions, a Scuba Dive, had been cancelled due to rough seas and poor visibility. I was told that a full refund would be on my statement as a refundable OBC.

 

We had a blast in the Escape Room. Compared to the others onboard various ships, Navigator's Escape Room is really impressively designed. We finished with 5 minutes to spare and lots of help from the worker, but we also had a group of 4 who didn't speak the best English, and one couple who I think was actively trying to mess things up. The Escape Room is on the 15th deck all by itself, you have to go up to the 14th deck and then take a special stair case up.

 

The Room

 

This was our second time in a Junior Suite and it felt bigger for some reason than the last time we were in one. We loved the spaciousness and the great bathroom, but we did have a couple of small issues. The sofa bed was by far the most uncomfortable bed I've ever felt. We debated trying to get a topper of some sort from our steward, but after the muster drill notification the first night (before the bed had been pulled out) we never managed to see him again. We also felt that the room just could not get cold enough; it always felt super hot even though we had the AC dial turned as far cold as it would go. I'm not sure if some of our neighbors had their balcony open or what, but it was warmer in the room than I ever recall it being on any cruise we've taken before.

 

We also felt that the room was seriously lacking outlets. We could only find three total, and all were over by the dresser/TV area. I feel pretty sure we've usually had outlets near the bed before, but we couldn't find any at all near the bed or anywhere else in the room.

 

The blackout curtains at the balcony worked great, though, and the room was a perfect pitch black at night.

 

CocoCay

 

So, the title is a bit tongue in cheek, but we heard a lot of groaning and complaining on board. I think if any staff member said "Perfect Day at CocoCay" one more time there might have been a mutiny 😛 We woke up to another message on our phone, once again from the Shore Excursions desk, telling us that our second excursion, the Swimming with the Pigs, was cancelled due to the weather. We were once again told that the cost of the excursion would be refunded, and this time were told to go speak with the Shore Excursions desk to discuss options, and as an apology they would give us 20% off a day pass to Atlantis in Nassau. We had already purchased a day pass to Atlantis (through a 3rd party, not the cruise line) so we were going to go down to the desk and see if there were any other options. Unfortunately, there was nobody at the desk and we were told that since there was a shore excursions desk on the island, that's where we had to go. So we got off the ship and went to find the Shore Excursion desk on the island. Once there we found out that ALL excursions on CocoCay had been cancelled (except the waterpark) due to weather, so the shore excursion staff never came on shore. Apparently the captain had made an announcement, but we missed it.

 

I was debating going to the waterpark, but since it was literally the only excursion available I was worried the lines would be insane. That and the bad weather (rain and really strong winds), I wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Maybe if I could have gotten a discount to the waterpark instead of Atlantis I would have done it, but again, there were no shore excursion staff available. You could buy tickets to the waterpark at the entrance, but we decided against it.

 

In the end we had lunch at the BBQ on the beach restaurant (really it was just hot dogs, hamburgers, and grilled chicken), and then went to the swim up tiki bar before the wind and the rain made us want to just get back on board.

 

We heard a lot of grumbling calling it "Imperfect Day at CocoCay" and "Perfect Day my A**", but we fully understood. This is hurricane season, there was a lot of weather active, and nothing Royal could have done about it. It did get a little annoying, however, hearing the cruise director and other staff still cheerfully talk about the "Perfect Day" I get that they have a script to follow, but it seemed really tone deaf.

 

Nassau

 

Again, the weather was terrible. We had day passes to Atlantis purchased through the online vendor Resort for a Day, so we got off the ship (waiting for a break in the rain) and got in line for a taxi. The man at the stand wanted us to wait until he had a full group of 12, but after about 20 minutes another taxi driver came up and got into a bit of a fight with the man at the desk and then told us to just follow him to his taxi. He had a smaller van that only sat 6 and didn't see any reason to make us wait for who knows how long to get 9 more people. It was a flat rate of $4 per person and the ride was fairly quick.

 

I'm not sure if it was because of the weather, but the water park at Atlantis was basically completely empty. We didn't have lines for any of the slides at all. We did have a few issues with some of the lifeguards, especially Robert who is quite overweight. We started on the rapid river and he tried to use a single tube. We passed 5 lifeguards who didn't say anything at all, until the 6th blew his whistle and said because of his size Robert had to use a 2 person tube, to better distribute his weight. Fine. We switched Robert to a 2 person tube. Things were good for a while again before another lifeguard stopped us and said since Robert was only one person he couldn't use a 2 person tube. We explained what the previous life guard had said and he let us continue. We got all the way to the last set of rapids where there was a lifeguard guiding people into the rapids. I went first, then my husband, and we met up at the final exit. We waited and waited but Robert never came. Finally I stayed at the exit while my husband went trying to find him. Eventually we found him and got the story that the lifeguard blocked the rapids, flipped over his tube, and told him to get out of the river; he was too big to go down the rapids. Nevermind the fact that he had gone through 90% of the river already.

 

This pretty much ruined Robert's day, and he decided to just sit in a pool chair while my husband and I did the slides. There were only 8 slides; 4 body slides and 4 tube slides. The body slides all had really steep drops, and one body slide and one tube slide went through a tunnel in the shark aquarium. Overall it was fun, but for the extremely steep price I was expecting a lot more. It was way more expensive than a day pass to Universal Volcano Bay and offered quite a bit less. If it had been crowded I think it would have been even worse; really the only saving grace was the lack of crowds.

 

After we had ridden all the slides we decided to go get lunch. Many of the outdoor dining options were closed, presumably due to the weather, so we went inside the resort and asked what lunch options there were. We were told there was two choices; the buffet and Plato's Table. Plato's Table was a grab-and-go style shop, and the buffet only served breakfast and dinner; not lunch. ??? We were about ready to just leave and go back to the ship when we saw a restaurant in the resort casino called Olives. We decided to have lunch here; prices were a bit steep but reasonable given the fact it was inside of a resort's casino, the food was really quite good, but service was terrible.

 

By this point we were a bit flustered and disillusioned with Atlantis as a whole so we decided to just grab a taxi back to the ship to get into some dry clothes.

 

Laser Tag

 

So this was the second ship we've been on that offered laser tag. On Symphony I never was able to do it; the lines were always too long when I got there and employees were saying that they had reached the max. I decided to try again on Navigator and showed up 15 minutes before it was scheduled to start. There was a bit of a line but it didn't seem too bad. I made it all the way to the front of the line in about 45 minutes (so 30 minutes after starting). At the "front" of the line the staff told us that from there it was an hour and a half wait. Uh, what? He then explained that there were four groups inside Studio B. One was playing, one was geared up and waiting to play, one was getting geared up, and one was getting the pre-gearing up talk. Each group would have 15 minutes of play time (so an hour), then our group would play for 15 minutes, and then take off the gear. My dinner was at 6, so once again I had to leave. 

 

I really wish they had explained to people in line sooner what the actual line/wait time was. I really thought there was just one group ahead of us when we reached the doorway, so 15 minutes for them to play, 15 minutes for us, and then I'd be done at 5:30 with time to get ready for dinner. Alas, it wasn't to be.

 

Disembarking

 

We did self-assist disembarkation and it was really smooth. We left our room at about 7:30AM and were off within minutes. Customs at the port used facial recognition and it was super quick and efficient. In no time at all we were back at the parking garage and in our car.

 

Final Thoughts

 

I'm so happy to be in Florida where we can make these weekend cruises work like this. Even with the disappointments, I wouldn't hesitate to book another 3N Navigator Bahama's cruise if we get a good deal and have the time available. I really want to experience CocoCay in better weather, but as far as Nassau goes I won't do Atlantis again. We might just stay on board in Nassau, or maybe I'll do a dive. If we have three people in a room again I'll definitely either ask for an extra topper, or, more likely since we don't have to fly, bring a topper ourselves in a second bag. I'd probably also bring a fan if possible, especially if we're in a room with a balcony again. 

I am sorry to have read about your Imperfect Day at Coco Cat and at Atlantic. I would ask Atlantis for a refund for the way your friend was treated especially if there are no upper weight or size restrictions. 

[bilyclub]

10 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

But something like 12 out of 26 in Royals world.

And getting further down the list every new build

 

Maybe watching all that video of the construction of the Voyager Class, the big Sovereign refurb, etc. too many times has scrambled my brain a little bit. The Nav was Captain Bang's ship who I always liked better than the flashy bike riding Johnny who had the Mariner.

[LuCruise]

Thanks for your review on Navigator. Sorry you had such bad weather for both Nassau and CocCo Cay.  And that's horrible how your friend was treated at Atlantis.

 

How did you find the amplifications?  We were on Symphony back in March and Navigator in August.  Your comments about Laser Tag caught my eye.  Not even sure which is better....on Symphony where you can book a time or Navigator where you can't.  The problem with Symphony is that its hard to get on by stand by as most of the spots for each game is already booked.  But then as you say with Navigator, the line doesn't look bad and then there are still 4 groups ahead of you.  My one issue with Navigator was the hours....4:30pm-8:30pm, which  doesn't give yo a ton of time to get in before dinner (if on early dining time) and then after dinner is a show. My son loves Laser Tag and he only went once or twice in the 2 days it was open.

 

It's great that you live in Florida so you can do last minute cruises over a weekend.

[Cruiser_1977]

@awestover89 Nice review and glad we did a bit different things for our reviews! Too bad we didn't meet up. I am horrified at how Robert was treated at the resort.

[ONECRUISER]

Curious if anyone knows if there is a policy for person of size in that water park. Know many other Parks and rides do, even on Royal. 

[legaljen1969]

1 hour ago, ONECRUISER said:

Curious if anyone knows if there is a policy for person of size in that water park. Know many other Parks and rides do, even on Royal. 

Whether there is a policy or not, there is no reason for someone to be treated rudely.  It definitely does not sound like there was a clear policy at all. One lifeguard said he had to use a 2 person float, another one said he's only one person so he can use only a one person float, then relented.  Then the last person blocked the rapids and knocked his float over.   Definitely no customer service and it sounds like no clear policy.
Even if they felt it was a safety issue or there was some equipment issue, there was certainly a kinder way to deal with it than just knocking him over.
Sounds like the way I was treated at Dunn's River Falls.  Water was kicked and splashed in my face. When trying to kick water in my face, the guy kicked too hard and kicked me in the chin and knocked me backwards. I had a huge red mark that went all the way down my back from my neck to my tailbone and all the way down the back of my leg. It turned into the most unsightly bruise. It matched perfectly with the bruise on my chin and upper part of my throat where he kicked.  One guy reached out to grab me so I wouldn't hit my head, and added to the bruises with a great hand mark on my upper arm. Thanks to him though, I didn't hit my head and get a concussion.  

My husband was up a bit ahead of me because he was helping  my brother with my niece.   As soon as I got up out of the water though, I thought he was going to jump back in and throw down.   I thought I was going to have to bail him out of Jamaican jail.  The guy who grabbed my arm found me on the ship and told me his wife had been taking video and caught the kick and splashing. He and his wife went to the excursion desk with me when we got back on the ship and  shared the video.  They ended up refunding my money for the excursion, and insisting that I see a doctor in the infirmary.

Anyhow, maybe a little different than just being rude, but some of these people are not very nice.   To the fellow who was mistreated, he should definitely provide feedback on the experience if for no other reason than to make sure there is a clear policy in the future.

[ONECRUISER]

12 minutes ago, legaljen1969 said:

Whether there is a policy or not, there is no reason for someone to be treated rudely.  It definitely does not sound like there was a clear policy at all. One lifeguard said he had to use a 2 person float, another one said he's only one person so he can use only a one person float, then relented.  Then the last person blocked the rapids and knocked his float over.   Definitely no customer service and it sounds like no clear policy.
Even if they felt it was a safety issue or there was some equipment issue, there was certainly a kinder way to deal with it than just knocking him over.
Sounds like the way I was treated at Dunn's River Falls.  Water was kicked and splashed in my face. When trying to kick water in my face, the guy kicked too hard and kicked me in the chin and knocked me backwards. I had a huge red mark that went all the way down my back from my neck to my tailbone and all the way down the back of my leg. It turned into the most unsightly bruise. It matched perfectly with the bruise on my chin and upper part of my throat where he kicked.  One guy reached out to grab me so I wouldn't hit my head, and added to the bruises with a great hand mark on my upper arm. Thanks to him though, I didn't hit my head and get a concussion.  

My husband was up a bit ahead of me because he was helping  my brother with my niece.   As soon as I got up out of the water though, I thought he was going to jump back in and throw down.   I thought I was going to have to bail him out of Jamaican jail.  The guy who grabbed my arm found me on the ship and told me his wife had been taking video and caught the kick and splashing. He and his wife went to the excursion desk with me when we got back on the ship and  shared the video.  They ended up refunding my money for the excursion, and insisting that I see a doctor in the infirmary.

Anyhow, maybe a little different than just being rude, but some of these people are not very nice.   To the fellow who was mistreated, he should definitely provide feedback on the experience if for no other reason than to make sure there is a clear policy in the future.

No, not judging. Was just curious, had Family Members that might not make requirements. Last time there was day original Straw Market burned down, Few days before 9/11

Edited September 26, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[legaljen1969]

1 minute ago, ONECRUISER said:

No, not judging, Was just curious, last time there was day original Straw Market burned down, Few days before 9/11

Didn't think you were judging   It just doesn't sound like there is a clear policy for sure.   And I don't know how those folks get away with treating someone so poorly.   Even if there was a policy, there is surely a better way to treat a fellow human being.

[EmilyJay]

That's a shame about the weather and I'm really sorry to hear how your friend was treated at the waterpark!

 

We were on Navigator for 9 nights in March (the first sailing after the amp) and had the best time. The internet worked well for me, it was a rough start but it got better, it definitely slowed down at peak times but for the most part it worked really well. 

As for the Bamboo Room it was always so quiet! 

I hope you get to experience Navigator again with some good weather and less stress, I'm desperate to get back on her, but sadly the 3/4 nights don't really work for us coming from the UK. 

[EmilyJay]

27 minutes ago, legaljen1969 said:

Whether there is a policy or not, there is no reason for someone to be treated rudely.  It definitely does not sound like there was a clear policy at all. One lifeguard said he had to use a 2 person float, another one said he's only one person so he can use only a one person float, then relented.  Then the last person blocked the rapids and knocked his float over.   Definitely no customer service and it sounds like no clear policy.
Even if they felt it was a safety issue or there was some equipment issue, there was certainly a kinder way to deal with it than just knocking him over.
Sounds like the way I was treated at Dunn's River Falls.  Water was kicked and splashed in my face. When trying to kick water in my face, the guy kicked too hard and kicked me in the chin and knocked me backwards. I had a huge red mark that went all the way down my back from my neck to my tailbone and all the way down the back of my leg. It turned into the most unsightly bruise. It matched perfectly with the bruise on my chin and upper part of my throat where he kicked.  One guy reached out to grab me so I wouldn't hit my head, and added to the bruises with a great hand mark on my upper arm. Thanks to him though, I didn't hit my head and get a concussion.  

My husband was up a bit ahead of me because he was helping  my brother with my niece.   As soon as I got up out of the water though, I thought he was going to jump back in and throw down.   I thought I was going to have to bail him out of Jamaican jail.  The guy who grabbed my arm found me on the ship and told me his wife had been taking video and caught the kick and splashing. He and his wife went to the excursion desk with me when we got back on the ship and  shared the video.  They ended up refunding my money for the excursion, and insisting that I see a doctor in the infirmary.

Anyhow, maybe a little different than just being rude, but some of these people are not very nice.   To the fellow who was mistreated, he should definitely provide feedback on the experience if for no other reason than to make sure there is a clear policy in the future.

Wow, that is shocking, I can't believe I've just read that. Sorry you had to experience this, I'm glad you got refunded but that doesn't make up for the behaviour of the man and you getting hurt. 

Did the man apologise to you after he kicked you? 

[awestover89]

2 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Curious if anyone knows if there is a policy for person of size in that water park. Know many other Parks and rides do, even on Royal. 

 

There was no official policy posted (we did look up before booking the tickets) That was the main reason we didn't originally opt for the CocoCay waterpark, because the slides did have posted weight limits (and there was no lazy river).

 

He is no stranger to the limitations of his weight; generally speaking whether there is an official policy or not he does not do any water slides. But at many waterparks we've gone to with him in the past, there has never been an issue with the lazy river or other river type rides. Basically as long as the inner tube floats he's never had a problem before. Without any official posted restrictions, we assumed the same would hold true (lazy river and rapid river would be fine, waterslides would be a no-go)

Edited September 26, 2019 by awestover89

[awestover89]

58 minutes ago, EmilyJay said:

I hope you get to experience Navigator again with some good weather and less stress, I'm desperate to get back on her, but sadly the 3/4 nights don't really work for us coming from the UK. 

 

The prices actually aren't terrible 😁We've actually considered taking a short weekend getaway to the UK; it's mostly the time difference and flight time that had us concerned (we decided to go to Costa Rica for that weekend instead; flights were about the same price but it's a shorter trip without much of a time zone difference)

[trivia addict]

Legaljen1969, I am so sorry that you experienced this behavior.

You story  interested me because several years ago ( probably at least ten), on a RC excursion in St. Lucia with my college age daughter, she was verbally sexually harassed by our kayak guide. She was crying hysterically and I was furious.

Upon returning to the ship,  we immediately reported the behavior to the excursion desk where we were told that there was nothing they could do because it was an outside contracted company that they used. We were not even offered a refund.

When I returned from the cruise, I wrote a detailed  letter to the Miami headquarters of RC and never received an answer.

In today’s Me Too world, perhaps things would have ended differently, but at the time we let it drop.

In true transparency, yes, I have sinced cruised with RC, but I lost respect for them because of their indifference,  and only do RC cruises when accompanying friends who have chosen it.

And I only book excursions from well known independent companies when cruising any line. Because a line will not stand behind its companies, I feel there is no point in using their excursions. Of course, I know that there can be problems with independents, but I rely on trip advisor and Cruise Critic to give me more information that I would get from Shore Excursions.

[MaskedTurtle]

I, too, am overweight, as are my sister and niece who will be cruising in a JS (with my mom)on the Navigator in January.  My sister and I shared a sofabed on the Explorer a few years ago, and it was awful.  I was told the sofabeds in the JS on NoS are like the ones in a home with mattresses, and not the kind in which the seats and seatbacks become the mattress (like on the Explorer).  I am expecting the sofabed to be terrible again.  I feel like we are going to be squooshed on there.  Was the sofabed the type in which you sleep lengthwise, or perpendicular?  We are going to ask for a rollaway and cross our fingers.  Do you have any pics of the sofabed set up?

[csnarpy]

great review!! Having done almost all the big ships, Navigator is next on my list - especially for a little boys trip.

 

one question about CocoCay, you said you could buy ticket for the park on site. Do you know if they reduce for a half day?

 

cheers!

[awestover89]

11 hours ago, MaskedTurtle said:

I, too, am overweight, as are my sister and niece who will be cruising in a JS (with my mom)on the Navigator in January.  My sister and I shared a sofabed on the Explorer a few years ago, and it was awful.  I was told the sofabeds in the JS on NoS are like the ones in a home with mattresses, and not the kind in which the seats and seatbacks become the mattress (like on the Explorer).  I am expecting the sofabed to be terrible again.  I feel like we are going to be squooshed on there.  Was the sofabed the type in which you sleep lengthwise, or perpendicular?  We are going to ask for a rollaway and cross our fingers.  Do you have any pics of the sofabed set up?

We did not grab any pics of the sofabed unfortunately. The bed came out lengthwise, so like the back of the sofa became the headboard, and the two armrests were still there. The section where the seats of the sofa were when it was folded in was the least comfortable, the middle section was a little better but not much, and the last like foot or so at the very end of the bed was actually quite comfortable.