Navigator Questions

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Our cabin steward for our Jan 17th cruise left a paper Cruise Compass on our bed every night.

Anton...he was absolutely amazing and his attention to detail was unbelievable. He's getting ready to retire from RCI at the end of this contract which is in May. He's been obviously one of RCI's best !!!

Weren't you in a suite?

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

9 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Is it just me or does the whole towel animal thing seem like a waste of resources for nothing? Gotta take a lot of water (which the ships have to make), soap, employee time and more time in placing/setting. Seems strange that they are using their limited resources for this right now when the lines are bleeding out. Seems very forgivable to me, to forgo this use of resources, considering the current climate. I know folks like it and I'm no humbug but seeing so many of these just get my inner actuary a bit aggrieved..lol.  Maybe it's a sense of normalcy, that has value too IMO.  

I think that’s the whole point.  It’s to give the guests a sense of normalcy. So much of a cruise’s experience is changed that this at least gives the guests something to smile about when they come back to their stateroom in the evening.  It’s one extra towel every 3 days or so and it’s a skill that the stateroom attendants are proud to display.  They know this gesture pleases their guests.  And they are so attentive and eager to please.  We don’t get paper Cruise Compasses any more on our beds in the evening like we used to.  We can pick them up at Guest Services after 9 p.m. which we don’t mind doing but our stateroom attendant insisted that he’d get one for us every night.  I really appreciate all that they do.

[gottagoacruzn]

11 hours ago, brillohead said:

If requested, a paper menu will be provided (as seen in my photos).  You can also view the menu in the app or via QR code on your personal electronic device.

I have a flip phone, thats good enough for me, don't have an app.

[behrsmom]

We had towel animals from Yuli, our wonderful cabin steward. Regular balcony room. I was with my friend who was on her very 1st cruise at age 68 & she took great delight in them! So did I for that matter. 😊 I get your point about resource wasting. That said, the crew needed things to do on our ~20% capacity sailing & if it creates customer satisfaction that might mitigate it a bit.

[behrsmom]

Oh and we were able to get paper cruise compasses from guest services the evening before, plus paper menus in main dining if requested. App was only ok, imho.

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, behrsmom said:

That said, the crew needed things to do on our ~20% capacity sailing

On one of my Navigator cruises, my room steward had a whopping THREE staterooms to take care of.

[taglovestocruise]

14 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Is it just me or does the whole towel animal thing seem like a waste of resources for nothing? Gotta take a lot of water (which the ships have to make), soap, employee time and more time in placing/setting. Seems strange that they are using their limited resources for this right now when the lines are bleeding out. Seems very forgivable to me, to forgo this use of resources, considering the current climate. I know folks like it and I'm no humbug but seeing so many of these just get my inner actuary a bit aggrieved..lol.  Maybe it's a sense of normalcy, that has value too IMO.  

It is just you. 

[taglovestocruise]

16 hours ago, brillohead said:

I was on Navigator the week of January 17th.

Monday menu:

 

 

Tuesday menu:

 

 

Wednesday menu:

 

 

Thursday night is the "crap" menu, so we went to Chops, but I'm thinking it was pretty similar to the menu on my other cruises (FWIW, they let me charge the Chops meal on the first night with my D+ BOGOF coupon, then use it on Thursday):

 

Friday menu:

 

Saturday menu:

 

 

Sunday menu:

 

 

Hope this helps.
 

The Jerk Pork chop on day one has moved into my number one spot, but the lamb shanks are a close second.

[rj59]

I recommend the unvaxxed area for dining, since they keep distancing and it’s less crowded and easier to get a window table. The same goes for the theater—the floor vaxxed area isn’t distanced, so I went in the unvaxxed balconies and hid my wristband. I just got back from Cabo, there will be dozens of fisherman on shore begging to take you to the arch, lover’s beach, or whale watching. One guy told me he paid $10 for a private tour. If you want an amazing free show, go out on the promenade port side outside deck about 2 hours before arrival in Cabo. I saw at least 100 dolphins jumping the ship’s side wake, and a whale breached 3 times near the ship.

[taglovestocruise]

29 minutes ago, rj59 said:

I recommend the unvaxxed area for dining, since they keep distancing and it’s less crowded and easier to get a window table. The same goes for the theater—the floor vaxxed area isn’t distanced, so I went in the unvaxxed balconies and hid my wristband. I just got back from Cabo, there will be dozens of fisherman on shore begging to take you to the arch, lover’s beach, or whale watching. One guy told me he paid $10 for a private tour. If you want an amazing free show, go out on the promenade port side outside deck about 2 hours before arrival in Cabo. I saw at least 100 dolphins jumping the ship’s side wake, and a whale breached 3 times near the ship.

We were on Navigator two weeks ago. Deck 4 for unvaxed MDR was the only way to go. Too dark at night for a window, had a great table along the balcony railing.   Sat in the middle balcony for all shows as it was almost empty and never wore a mask. 

[Italy52]

We will be on the Navigator in April and have a reservation for the restaurant, Hooked.  The invoice shows that gratuity is included.  If we decide to leave a little extra, do we give it to the server or just write it on the bill.  We usually give it directly to the server but not sure if things have changed.

[taglovestocruise]

1 minute ago, Italy52 said:

We will be on the Navigator in April and have a reservation for the restaurant, Hooked.  The invoice shows that gratuity is included.  If we decide to leave a little extra, do we give it to the server or just write it on the bill.  We usually give it directly to the server but not sure if things have changed.

We did both on Navigator a week ago. Cash tip at Jamies, put it on the bill at Chop's.  Had a 2 night package and not sure if grats were included or not. Either way we always leave a $10.

[vistapat]

4 hours ago, rj59 said:

I just got back from Cabo, there will be dozens of fisherman on shore begging to take you to the arch, lover’s beach, or whale watching. One guy told me he paid $10 for a private tour. If you want an amazing free show, go out on the promenade port side outside deck about 2 hours before arrival in Cabo. I saw at least 100 dolphins jumping the ship’s side wake, and a whale breached 3 times near the ship.

We've thought about just picking up a tour on the dock, but we're leery of what level of vaccination, sanitation, hygiene we would encounter.  We're seniors and it would be a shame to get this far in the pandemic without infection, only to do something silly and put ourselves in jeopardy.  Mexico is a Level 4 country with the CDC, so we're doubtful that someone we picked at random would be vaccinated and/or COVID-free.  I'm still hopeful that more excursions will show up on the website.  At this point, there are only 6 excursions for Cabo, and 2 are sold out.  And none of the others interests us.  We've been to the Mexican Riviera many times before, and it's not a place we want to duplicate shore excursions.  We will probably just take a tender to shore and wander around the harbor area if we can't find an excursion we want.  All that said, if the cruise just goes as planned, we'll be happy and will enjoy it a whole lot, with or without shore excursions.

 

Pat

[HBCcruiser]

2 hours ago, vistapat said:

We've thought about just picking up a tour on the dock, but we're leery of what level of vaccination, sanitation, hygiene we would encounter.  We're seniors and it would be a shame to get this far in the pandemic without infection, only to do something silly and put ourselves in jeopardy.  Mexico is a Level 4 country with the CDC, so we're doubtful that someone we picked at random would be vaccinated and/or COVID-free.  I'm still hopeful that more excursions will show up on the website.  At this point, there are only 6 excursions for Cabo, and 2 are sold out.  And none of the others interests us.  We've been to the Mexican Riviera many times before, and it's not a place we want to duplicate shore excursions.  We will probably just take a tender to shore and wander around the harbor area if we can't find an excursion we want.  All that said, if the cruise just goes as planned, we'll be happy and will enjoy it a whole lot, with or without shore excursions.

 

Pat

We have been to Cabo 8 times since the pandemic started. It is cleaner and safer than many cities in the US including LA. I think you will be fine. Here is another website that has cruise ship excursions in case Royal does not offer what you want. A day trip to San Jose Del Cabo is always fun too! 

https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/shore-excursions
viator.com is another option. 
 

Enjoy your cruise! 

[Ashland]

22 hours ago, brillohead said:

Weren't you in a suite?

Yes...but that didn't matter...if you ask about it your steward would have left them in your cabin also.

Guest Services also has them each night for the next day...just ask.

[brillohead]

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

Yes...but that didn't matter...if you ask about it your steward would have left them in your cabin also.

Guest Services also has them each night for the next day...just ask.

I was okay without one, but my point is that they don't automatically leave them for "regular" passengers.

 

[Seville2Cabo]

12 hours ago, vistapat said:

We've thought about just picking up a tour on the dock, but we're leery of what level of vaccination, sanitation, hygiene we would encounter.  We're seniors and it would be a shame to get this far in the pandemic without infection, only to do something silly and put ourselves in jeopardy.  Mexico is a Level 4 country with the CDC, so we're doubtful that someone we picked at random would be vaccinated and/or COVID-free.  I'm still hopeful that more excursions will show up on the website.  At this point, there are only 6 excursions for Cabo, and 2 are sold out.  And none of the others interests us.  We've been to the Mexican Riviera many times before, and it's not a place we want to duplicate shore excursions.  We will probably just take a tender to shore and wander around the harbor area if we can't find an excursion we want.  All that said, if the cruise just goes as planned, we'll be happy and will enjoy it a whole lot, with or without shore excursions.

 

Pat

The problem is that with tendering it may be 1:30 before you are on the marina.  At that time tour options will be limited (50 guys trying to sell you the same few tours).  In general the water taxis are done by 4:30 / 5:00.  Many of the large tour boats go out twice a day and we may be arriving too late for the afternoon tour.  Also if you want to go whale watching at that time of the day, you may have to use a water taxi, which if the water is rough, can be interesting.  

 

If you want a water taxi of the Arch, always ask to see the boat first, make sure the captain speaks English and see when the boat is leaving.  You don't want to sit there for 20 minutes waiting for them to fill the boat.  $10 to 12 PP (plus $1 pp port fee sometimes) is the going price.

[bonsai3s]

14 hours ago, vistapat said:

We've thought about just picking up a tour on the dock, but we're leery of what level of vaccination, sanitation, hygiene we would encounter.  We're seniors and it would be a shame to get this far in the pandemic without infection, only to do something silly and put ourselves in jeopardy.  Mexico is a Level 4 country with the CDC, so we're doubtful that someone we picked at random would be vaccinated and/or COVID-free.  I'm still hopeful that more excursions will show up on the website.  At this point, there are only 6 excursions for Cabo, and 2 are sold out.  And none of the others interests us.  We've been to the Mexican Riviera many times before, and it's not a place we want to duplicate shore excursions.  We will probably just take a tender to shore and wander around the harbor area if we can't find an excursion we want.  All that said, if the cruise just goes as planned, we'll be happy and will enjoy it a whole lot, with or without shore excursions.

 

Pat

Just a quick note...

 

We always look forward to visiting Cabo.  Last month, Navigator, we on deck 4, outside, and enjoyed the leisurely sail-in to the Cabo harbor.  We quietly admired the spectacular views of Los Arcos as it appeared and showed all it's beauty in different angles.

 

We knew the ship wasn't full capacity...but still wondered why not many passengers were outside. When we got inside, we soon realized that most of the passengers were waiting in line to get tickets for the tender. We heard a group in line for tickets saying "We can't wait to see the Arch".

I would readily admit, we made the same mistake over 30 years ago.

[taglovestocruise]

15 hours ago, vistapat said:

We've thought about just picking up a tour on the dock, but we're leery of what level of vaccination, sanitation, hygiene we would encounter.  We're seniors and it would be a shame to get this far in the pandemic without infection, only to do something silly and put ourselves in jeopardy.  Mexico is a Level 4 country with the CDC, so we're doubtful that someone we picked at random would be vaccinated and/or COVID-free.  I'm still hopeful that more excursions will show up on the website.  At this point, there are only 6 excursions for Cabo, and 2 are sold out.  And none of the others interests us.  We've been to the Mexican Riviera many times before, and it's not a place we want to duplicate shore excursions.  We will probably just take a tender to shore and wander around the harbor area if we can't find an excursion we want.  All that said, if the cruise just goes as planned, we'll be happy and will enjoy it a whole lot, with or without shore excursions.

 

Pat

FYI, the cruise ships are also level four as rated by the CDC.

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, brillohead said:

I was okay without one, but my point is that they don't automatically leave them for "regular" passengers.

 

"Regular" passengers only need to ask about the Cruise Compass.....I only asked "how/where can we get a Cruise Compass" he replied "I'll leave one nightly for you". Just because we sail in suites we don't consider ourselves irregular 

[vistapat]

3 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Just a quick note...

 

We always look forward to visiting Cabo.  Last month, Navigator, we on deck 4, outside, and enjoyed the leisurely sail-in to the Cabo harbor.  We quietly admired the spectacular views of Los Arcos as it appeared and showed all it's beauty in different angles.

 

We knew the ship wasn't full capacity...but still wondered why not many passengers were outside. When we got inside, we soon realized that most of the passengers were waiting in line to get tickets for the tender. We heard a group in line for tickets saying "We can't wait to see the Arch".

I would readily admit, we made the same mistake over 30 years ago.

Unless we're on an organized Royal tour, so that we have tenders dedicated to it, we usually just wait until after lunch and the line dies down to go ashore and wander a little.  We're not really interested in getting there early, or in exploring the little byways and residential areas.  We just walk around at the marina, and then go back to the ship.  We've seen the arch from the ship, coming and going, on many cruises, and from boat tours we've taken in the past.  I suspect we may be missing some pretty scenery, and we were looking forward to seeing if there were any late whales in the area, but we'll be okay with a much shorter day.  I do know that the ships are also Level 4, and that if even one passenger goes ashore, he or she brings the possibility of infection back with them, but we've decided that we will be cautious but still are going on this cruise unless the ship sinks!

[Baowen]

We definitely had towel animals on our Navigator cruises over the last few months. 

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey guys, is the street on the navigator, shops & bars still open?

[imola]

2 minutes ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Hey guys, is the street on the navigator, shops & bars still open?

It was fully open in January. 

[brillohead]

49 minutes ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Hey guys, is the street on the navigator, shops & bars still open?

The street?  You mean the Royal Promenade? The very center of the ship? How on earth could they close it???