Navigator 2022-23 Holiday Cruise Round Trip Miami

[fudgbug]

18 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

Thank you cwn. We have been on many Regent cruises, but never on Navigator. We had already booked a 2024 cruise on Navigator from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi. since we like smaller ships. We recently  booked the Navigator Miami to Miami in late April so I was following you all the way. My brother and one of our best friends will be joining us in their own cabins. We have all been to the Caribbean before, but for each of us, there will be new islands that we haven't visited. We are all looking forward to it, and your posts on this board  helped us feel good about our upcoming cruise.

If you are in good shape and want a workout, you might want to try the America Cup's excursion in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Thanks so much for your narrative..we were on Navigator in November. Good memories revived!

We are sailing on Splendor in two weeks to many of the same ports. You were very helpful, reviewing your tour experiences. I am somewhat handicapped and now have good ideas what to do. 
Hope to meet you one day onboard a Regent ship!

sheila

[labonnevie]

4 hours ago, fudgbug said:

If you are in good shape and want a workout, you might want to try the America Cup's excursion in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.

You don’t have to be in good shape. My wife chose to just sit when the staff assigned positions in the boat. I was a “grinder” and got a workout. Highly recommend this excursion. 

[HotRoot]

16 minutes ago, labonnevie said:

You don’t have to be in good shape. My wife chose to just sit when the staff assigned positions in the boat. I was a “grinder” and got a workout. Highly recommend this excursion. 

I was the bartender.

[Mystictraveler]

Thanks to CWN for your report. We are contemplating a cruise in Asia next year on the Navigator which we sailed on for our very first cruise almost 15 years ago. This past summer we were on the Explorer from Israel to Rome and are booked on the Splendor later this year. I have a bit of trepidation on booking the Navigator after sailing on the Explorer and my expectations for the Splendor. Since you have so much RSSC experience, what are your thoughts on sailing on the Navigator in a far away place, from the U.S., such as Asia (with its attendant higher relative air fare costs) vs. picking another closer destination and sticking with the newer ships?

[cwn]

16 hours ago, Mystictraveler said:

Thanks to CWN for your report. We are contemplating a cruise in Asia next year on the Navigator which we sailed on for our very first cruise almost 15 years ago. This past summer we were on the Explorer from Israel to Rome and are booked on the Splendor later this year. I have a bit of trepidation on booking the Navigator after sailing on the Explorer and my expectations for the Splendor. Since you have so much RSSC experience, what are your thoughts on sailing on the Navigator in a far away place, from the U.S., such as Asia (with its attendant higher relative air fare costs) vs. picking another closer destination and sticking with the newer ships?

I said I would do a  comparison of the newest and the oldest after our trip so I guess this will be it. It is personal and you may feel differently, I know many do.

 

 Others have a lot more time with Regent than we do at just -250 days. We have sailed on most major mass market ships and SS, Seabourn and Regent over the last 40 years. And we have sailed recently on a couple of the newer mass market ships. Our favorite ships now are the Navigator and the Mariner for the over all experience. Next are Seabourn Sojourn and her sisters. We do not like cruises of less than three weeks. We proved this again to ourselves this Dec with 17 days on the Splendor and then the following 14 days on the Navigator.
 

I am the wrong person to ask about  a sailing on the old or the new because I/we would do a cruise to Asia on the Navigator, we spent 137 days in her on a WC, in a heart beat! but never on the three new ships, Splendor and her sisters. Once on the Splendor this past Dec was enough, we did not enjoy that cruise like we usually do. She has some nice additions but those don’t make up for her short comings. It has nothing to do with staff quality or food quality, they were the same excellent quality on both ships. But for cost verses experience I would spend my money on a top suite on a mass market ship where there were no exclusions on things like dinning in specially restaurants. To me the suite class differences are more apparent on Regents larger ships.   

 

Why then….yes she is a beautiful glitzy, fancy ship to look at but she doesn’t function as well due to lay out and is more impersonal due to her size. She is beginning to feel like the big mass market ships. And look like them in the lay out of spaces. ( the LaVeranda was the same plan a Carnival ship we have sailed on several times and the elevators or placed like on RCL) I know she has great art work and lots of marble but that is just so much fluff. We have always said anything over 650 passengers or so is too big.
 

We like the personal touch and the friendliness of the staff when there are less people for them to deal with. Sure they call you by name on all the ships in the dinning rooms where they know your suite #, but on the dock or passing in the hall? It is a feeling a smaller ship has, that is lost with over 700.

 

Also the dinning is  different with the more specially restaurants. Certain dishes and wines are assigned to certain restaurants. It is harder for waitstaff to get to know you preferences with more places to dine. Where as on the Navigator all you had to do was to ask and it appeared in Compass Rose. Not this is reserved for xyz. Maybe we would get it maybe not. On the Navigator Daily things like ice in our water glasses after the second day,  it just appeared as long as we sat in the same section which we do.
 
When booking our next cruise on board last week I did notice that the new ships are doing more 7-10 cruises cruises from home (US) ports and sone other popular places, to me another thing more like the mass market ships. another slight shift in marketing.

 

These are our personal feelings, we pick our cruises for the ship as much as anything any more. But we will stick with Alaska or Canadian itineraries  or maybe Grand Voyages as opposed to the Caribbean. 
 

Everyone has different things that are important to them for their vacation. That is why there are so many cruise ships. Regent has to navigate a mine field to stay afloat, let’s hope they can continue to appeal to their base and not try to grow too much or too fast. That has been a death knell for many companies.

Edited January 9, 2023 by cwn

[LvnCruisin]

20 hours ago, HotRoot said:

I was the bartender.

I was the wench (twice) my husband was the grinder and we all loved the bartender!

[fudgbug]

21 hours ago, labonnevie said:

You don’t have to be in good shape. My wife chose to just sit when the staff assigned positions in the boat. I was a “grinder” and got a workout. Highly recommend this excursion. 

On our boat there were a lot of older folk that had a hard time.  I was the "do nothing".  It was a fun experience though I wouldn't do it again.

[Mystictraveler]

3 hours ago, cwn said:

I said I would do a  comparison of the newest and the oldest after our trip so I guess this will be it. It is personal and you may feel differently, I know many do.

 

 Others have a lot more time with Regent than we do at just -250 days. We have sailed on most major mass market ships and SS, Seabourn and Regent over the last 40 years. And we have sailed recently on a couple of the newer mass market ships. Our favorite ships now are the Navigator and the Mariner for the over all experience. Next are Seabourn Sojourn and her sisters. We do not like cruises of less than three weeks. We proved this again to ourselves this Dec with 17 days on the Splendor and then the following 14 days on the Navigator.
 

I am the wrong person to ask about  a sailing on the old or the new because I/we would do a cruise to Asia on the Navigator, we spent 137 days in her on a WC, in a heart beat! but never on the three new ships, Splendor and her sisters. Once on the Splendor this past Dec was enough, we did not enjoy that cruise like we usually do. She has some nice additions but those don’t make up for her short comings. It has nothing to do with staff quality or food quality, they were the same excellent quality on both ships. But for cost verses experience I would spend my money on a top suite on a mass market ship where there were no exclusions on things like dinning in specially restaurants. To me the suite class differences are more apparent on Regents larger ships.   

 

Why then….yes she is a beautiful glitzy, fancy ship to look at but she doesn’t function as well due to lay out and is more impersonal due to her size. She is beginning to feel like the big mass market ships. And look like them in the lay out of spaces. ( the LaVeranda was the same plan a Carnival ship we have sailed on several times and the elevators or placed like on RCL) I know she has great art work and lots of marble but that is just so much fluff. We have always said anything over 650 passengers or so is too big.
 

We like the personal touch and the friendliness of the staff when there are less people for them to deal with. Sure they call you by name on all the ships in the dinning rooms where they know your suite #, but on the dock or passing in the hall? It is a feeling a smaller ship has, that is lost with over 700.

 

Also the dinning is  different with the more specially restaurants. Certain dishes and wines are assigned to certain restaurants. It is harder for waitstaff to get to know you preferences with more places to dine. Where as on the Navigator all you had to do was to ask and it appeared in Compass Rose. Not this is reserved for xyz. Maybe we would get it maybe not. On the Navigator Daily things like ice in our water glasses after the second day,  it just appeared as long as we sat in the same section which we do.
 
When booking our next cruise on board last week I did notice that the new ships are doing more 7-10 cruises cruises from home (US) ports and sone other popular places, to me another thing more like the mass market ships. another slight shift in marketing.

 

These are our personal feelings, we pick our cruises for the ship as much as anything any more. But we will stick with Alaska or Canadian itineraries  or maybe Grand Voyages as opposed to the Caribbean. 
 

Everyone has different things that are important to them for their vacation. That is why there are so many cruise ships. Regent has to navigate a mine field to stay afloat, let’s hope they can continue to appeal to their base and not try to grow too much or too fast. That has been a death knell for many companies.

Thanks very much. Your reply was extremely helpful and appreciated!

[Texas Oceans]

On 1/8/2023 at 5:28 PM, HotRoot said:

I was the bartender.

Me too, but I was too short to reach the items in the cooler, a crew member passed them to me for distribution!  Great excursion!!