Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on the Navigator of the Seas (Maybe with few pictures added)...

[harryfat1]

12 hours ago, JamesEM said:

When I was on my last cruise a request was made to the room steward to leave the Daily Compass in the cabin instead of the mail slot, apparently a group of porch pirates were on the cruise.

Jim,

 

How was the final storm damage?  Hopefully nothing major in your area other than just a massive amount of rain.

 

At least the porch pirates only took the daily compass as they can be replaced.  

 

My fear/paranoia is the porch pirates taking the cabin keys at 1 PM and starting partying at the pool deck "buying a round of drinks for all my friends" using my account...

 

 

[harryfat1]

1 hour ago, Katems75 said:

How could the family of ten board the ship from a later port when just a few posts before this one it was mentioned that you can't board any later than ninety minutes before departure??  This family of ten would definitely be boarding way later than ninety minutes before departure and the manifest would be closed, right?

That family could not board on Day 1 as they would still be in California by the time the ship sailed. 

 

In terms of cruise days, this incident happened at midnight on Day 0.  They were hoping to take the 5 plus our red-eye leaving CA and arriving at Boston around 9 something. Maybe grab a quick Danish/coffee at Boston's Dunkin Donut shop at the airport (is it me or there was a lot of Dunkin Donuts in Boston years ago) and head for the port before 11. 

 

If everything worked out, that is the perfect plan as they thought they were playing it "safe" in flying direct with no layovers and the Boston airport isn't that far from the port.  No one ever thought there would be a plane malfunction...

 

I wasn't paying too close attention to all their conversations as both my wife and I were on hold for the 800 number on the airline as there were probably only 5 people working on the phones at 3 AM and at last 150 on the plane was calling them. 

 

I vaguely remembered they were trying to figure out at which NEXT port they could get on the ship - whether that was day 3 or later as there might have been a sea day on day 2.

 

The logistical question is whether should they still fly to Boston and then transfer to a different flight (maybe on a different carrier they have yet to buy plane tickets for 10 people) to meet up with the ship at whatever port or try to fly directly to that port by Day 3?  I don't know their itinerary as they were on a different ship/cruise than ours.

 

It's like if someone misses an RCI cruise boarding time going to the Caribbean sailing from Florida on Day 1.  If the ship has sea day on Day 2 and or a private island like Labadee on Day 3, can you even fly directly to Haiti (or want to) and somehow join the ship there or wait until Day 4?  It becomes complicated really fast as the ship is traveling and you have to move a big group to catch up to it...

 

 

[harryfat1]

Onward with more sail away pictures:

 

++++++++++++++++

 

 

 

Close-up picture of the Police Escort

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

While we are up on deck 12 watching the ship clearing the channel, there’s a party down on deck 11’s pool deck.  That’s the assistant cruise director with the mike with a yellow hat on the left.

 

 

Meanwhile, our police escort is still by the Starboard (right) side.  The dude is having too much fun in speeding up to the front and then coming back and then doing a 180-donut curve and cruising back by our side again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

Making sure we don’t come anywhere near the lighthouse. That’s one fun job to have to escort cruise ships out regularly and do donuts

 

 

 

Some of us waved to the Police escort boat as he was escorting us out and he saw us and turned on the blue lights in response to our waves saying bye and thank you.  Very nice.

 

More pictures of the area as we sailed beyond the lighthouse and our Police escort turned back to the harbor as we headed to the open seas

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Turning over to the Port side, I was trying to find the Carnival Radiance as I know she sails out the same day as us but she doesn’t sail out until 5 PM.

 

As I was out in the sun that day, I couldn't find the Carnival ship but after coming home, I found her in one of the zoomed in shots by the cranes near Long Beach Harbor.

 

 

See the Carnival ship hidden behind the cranes?  Hint: Look for the red tailfin funnel....

 

 

 

We also saw the boat come in and pick up the harbor pilot to take him back after we had cleared the barrier.

 

 

The Harbor ship next to us while the harbor pilot gets off

 

 

There he (she) goes back to San Pedro as we have officially cleared the area and heading out to the Pacific Ocean

 

 

My wife and son are not into the technical aspects of Harbor Pilot guiding us out of the channel.  Instead, after we cleared the lighthouse area, they headed down to deck 11 to dance with the crowd as part of the Sail away.

 

 

The last picture of the San Pedro outer harbor traffic before we are done with the sail away party

 

[CallieS]

On 8/30/2023 at 10:45 PM, harryfat1 said:

That is why for the 4 PM sailing time, the latest check-in time from the app is 2 to 2:30. Nothing officially later than that.

 

Has anyone heard/read stories here on CC that have people being denied boarding because they missed the 90-minute cut-off period?  Most people here are the anal types so we typically error in arriving at the port TOO EARLY but how about arriving TOO LATE?

 

I have seen YouTube Videos of Pier runners where people missed their ship coming from too much partying at the port stops but what about boarding too late on day 1?

Hi Harry! I love your trip reports, been reading them for years. I’m glad I found this one while you’re still on day one. Lol.

 

In January, my husband and I were sailing on Celebrity Apex out of Ft. Lauderdale. All aboard was 3:00pm. We had a terrible morning and arrived at the luggage drop off at 2:45pm. The porters were gone, so we carried all our luggage. We stepped onboard at 2:55pm (whew!), completed our muster video/check in by 3:05. The ship started sailing at 3:30pm. I had also thought there was a 90min rule, but who knows. If their intended sail away was always 3:30pm, then they only gave a 30min window.

[JamesEM]

Hi Harry, no real damage in our area, just some flooding and some minor wind damage.  The county where I live has building codes that require houses to be able to withstand a Cat 3 hurricane.  

[perfect match]

I love the police escort boat doing donuts while escorting you out of the harbor and the Carnival ship hiding behind the cranes!

 

We we’re lucky enough to stay first east, then south of Idalia 🌀. We did lose power for 2 hours early Wednesday morning right after I signed off Cruise Critic. After the power went out I headed to bed and woke up 2 hours later when the lights and TV came back on. I’m not even sure the blackout was storm related because we had very light rain and almost no wind at the time. A lot of the time I wish we had chosen to live closer to the beach when we moved to Florida. This week was not one of those times! 

[harryfat1]

22 hours ago, CallieS said:

Hi Harry! I love your trip reports, been reading them for years. I’m glad I found this one while you’re still on day one. Lol.

 

In January, my husband and I were sailing on Celebrity Apex out of Ft. Lauderdale. All aboard was 3:00pm. We had a terrible morning and arrived at the luggage drop off at 2:45pm. The porters were gone, so we carried all our luggage. We stepped onboard at 2:55pm (whew!), completed our muster video/check in by 3:05. The ship started sailing at 3:30pm. I had also thought there was a 90min rule, but who knows. If their intended sail away was always 3:30pm, then they only gave a 30min window.

Thanks for reading all my previous trip reports.  Unfortunately, all the bad jokes are just repeated as my comedy writing staff of one has been part of the Hollywood writers' strike so no new materials for this trip report. 

 

Luckily our fellow cruisers have been great in providing extra entertainment venues like donuts and Cirque show info so at least we have new material.

 

I would probably have burst a blood vessel in my brain if I had been at the port at 2:45 for the 3:30 departure.  You did well to be composed and made it onto the ship.  Probably shouldn't recommend this approach on future cruises...

[harryfat1]

20 hours ago, JamesEM said:

Hi Harry, no real damage in our area, just some flooding and some minor wind damage.  The county where I live has building codes that require houses to be able to withstand a Cat 3 hurricane.  

Glad everything is fine.

 

I don't think any houses in California have the hurricane code requirements.  We have earthquake reinforcement policies but those are probably inadequate (not a question of IF - it's pretty much a given a big earthquake will happen in CA one day) when the BIG ONE hits...

[harryfat1]

17 hours ago, perfect match said:

I love the police escort boat doing donuts while escorting you out of the harbor and the Carnival ship hiding behind the cranes!

 

We we’re lucky enough to stay first east, then south of Idalia 🌀. We did lose power for 2 hours early Wednesday morning right after I signed off Cruise Critic. After the power went out I headed to bed and woke up 2 hours later when the lights and TV came back on. I’m not even sure the blackout was storm related because we had very light rain and almost no wind at the time. A lot of the time I wish we had chosen to live closer to the beach when we moved to Florida. This week was not one of those times! 

Good thing the hurricane missed you guys.  

 

Yeah, in times of hurricanes and floods, being too closed to the water is a bad thing.  I'm sure the insurance rates on the costal houses are higher than the ones inland so you save money annually with lower rates.

[harryfat1]

Onward with the trip report

 

++++++++++

 

After the sail away party on the top decks, we headed down to Royal Promenade for a drink and some snacks as it’s been at over 4 hours since we ate lunch.  Major hardship in not having eaten in such a long stretch of time.

 

The only problem is everyone and their cousin has the same thought and there was a huge line at the café promenade.

 

As I complained previously, RCI does not open up their buffet between 3 to 6 PM so if you want a snack, you can’t go to the buffet like you can with Princess Cruises.

 

If the buffet was open, we could have gone there instead.

 

Speaking of the crowd, if the café is full like after sailing away, look for the “hidden” area to the far left side of the café.  There are about 4 tables on the other side of the partition.  People think that’s the crew working area as they put the carts there by the wall so from the outside, you thought it’s reserved for the crew but there are some seating areas for guests. 

 

No, of course not, I didn't take any pictures of the seating area as I was too busy eating so you are on your own to find it...

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Now we are done eating, time to go back to the cabin to shower and change, and be ready for the nighttime activities.

 

 

By the time we made it back, the connecting door was opened by the “magical” supervisor’s key.

 

Our cabin is to the right.  The boys to the left. 

 

 

Now this was the Majestic Princess connecting cabin doors - notice Princess has 2 doors that both sides can open and form their own connection.  Whereas RCI has only one door and you have to wait for the "magic key" to open it

 

[harryfat1]

Speaking of left and right, I find the RCI numbering of cabins confusing.  The Princess system is easier to remember as the is an odd number on the Starboard side and an even number on the Port side. 

 

On top of that, the color of the carpet in the cabin halls tells you if you are on the port or starboard side as one side is blue and another side is red.  It's really easy to find your way – even after enough drinks in your system, as long as you can tell the difference between red and blue, you are on the correct side of the ship - The harder part is finding your cabin in the LOOONG corridor…

 

 

[harryfat1]

Now that we have showered and changed, it’s time to head for the ice show at 7 PM at Studio B.  Being anal, I assume there must be a Studio A but I never found it the entire cruise.  Maybe because it was a short cruise I didn’t have much time so maybe next time when I’m on a longer cruise I will be able to find Studio A…

 

The ice show is pretty popular so don’t expect to show up 3 minutes prior to showtime and expect a good seat.  This photo has a time stamp of 6:44 for the 7 PM show and you can see the highly desired “end section” is already mostly full. 

 

 

Also, another good viewing section slightly off to the side is reserved for the suite guests so if you are staying in the slums like us, you can’t sit there either but I read they open those special seats to the general public a few minutes prior to the show starting. 

 

Can anyone confirm if that’s still true?

 

Per the posting by Biker, only the Navigator and some selective ships have the drone pre-show. The drone show looks better viewed from the side as the positive is different but if ice skating viewing is important, show up 30 minutes prior to the show to get the best choice of seats.

 

Not that I know diddly about ice skating.  I only watch it in passing every 4 years during the Olympics and listening to all the commentators getting all excited about some “double-axel-camel-cow-horse” jump is the extent of my knowledge of technical ice skating. 

 

However, after having watched various ice shows on different RCI cruises, the Navigator’s version seems to have harder technical jumps and spins than the silly theme (like Monopoly) of other RCI ice shows we had seen.

 

As the video of the event is better than the pictures, I thought I try to video the entire drone show.  I hope y'all appreciate the difficulty in trying to hold the phone steady for 2 plus minutes.

 

Note to self to negotiate for a higher compensation package on the next CC trip report if I have to record more of these long videos - I demand 2 iced tea coupons from the Windjammer instead of the base 1 drink coupon CC pays me...

[momof3cruisers]

That’s very cool! Thanks for sharing it. I offer a gratuity of CC cash to you for your hard work. You can’t buy anything with it. It’s just the thought that counts.

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, harryfat1 said:

Good thing the hurricane missed you guys.  

 

Yeah, in times of hurricanes and floods, being too closed to the water is a bad thing.  I'm sure the insurance rates on the costal houses are higher than the ones inland so you save money annually with lower rates.

Insurance at the lower Sierras house (Sonora area) is now $4800/year. But at least we weren't cancelled like the neighbors. 😊 Red Zone fire area. 

[perfect match]

Great drone show video! Thanks for sharing it!

[bobmacliberty]

10 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Now that we have showered and changed, it’s time to head for the ice show at 7 PM at Studio B.  Being anal, I assume there must be a Studio A but I never found it the entire cruise.  Maybe because it was a short cruise I didn’t have much time so maybe next time when I’m on a longer cruise I will be able to find Studio A…

 

The ice show is pretty popular so don’t expect to show up 3 minutes prior to showtime and expect a good seat.  This photo has a time stamp of 6:44 for the 7 PM show and you can see the highly desired “end section” is already mostly full. 

 

 

Also, another good viewing section slightly off to the side is reserved for the suite guests so if you are staying in the slums like us, you can’t sit there either but I read they open those special seats to the general public a few minutes prior to the show starting. 

 

Can anyone confirm if that’s still true?

 

Per the posting by Biker, only the Navigator and some selective ships have the drone pre-show. The drone show looks better viewed from the side as the positive is different but if ice skating viewing is important, show up 30 minutes prior to the show to get the best choice of seats.

 

Not that I know diddly about ice skating.  I only watch it in passing every 4 years during the Olympics and listening to all the commentators getting all excited about some “double-axel-camel-cow-horse” jump is the extent of my knowledge of technical ice skating. 

 

However, after having watched various ice shows on different RCI cruises, the Navigator’s version seems to have harder technical jumps and spins than the silly theme (like Monopoly) of other RCI ice shows we had seen.

 

As the video of the event is better than the pictures, I thought I try to video the entire drone show.  I hope y'all appreciate the difficulty in trying to hold the phone steady for 2 plus minutes.

 

Note to self to negotiate for a higher compensation package on the next CC trip report if I have to record more of these long videos - I demand 2 iced tea coupons from the Windjammer instead of the base 1 drink coupon CC pays me...

 

 

In all my years of sailing on Royal ships, I never once thought about a Studio A.  How could I have not had that thought?  I need to turn in my engineer card.  Disgraceful.

 

I can confirm that Suite seats are opened to everyone shortly before the show starts.

 

Great video of the drones!

 

 

[broberts]

I believe the Conference Center is Studio A.

[harryfat1]

14 hours ago, Coralc said:

Insurance at the lower Sierras house (Sonora area) is now $4800/year. But at least we weren't cancelled like the neighbors. 😊 Red Zone fire area. 

That's very expensive but like you said, just having an insurance carrier in the area is a challenge as many insurers have left the state.  I tried to get an annual quote for our house and on the website of some places, they said they no longer take new applicants for our region.

[harryfat1]

5 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

 

In all my years of sailing on Royal ships, I never once thought about a Studio A.  How could I have not had that thought?  I need to turn in my engineer card.  Disgraceful.

 

I can confirm that Suite seats are opened to everyone shortly before the show starts.

 

Great video of the drones!

 

 

Yeah, next time you and I are on the Voyager class ships, we need to do a scavenger hunt for Studio A.

 

The hardest part of the long video is that it eats up my phone storage space.  A 2-minute video at higher resolution ate up over 200 MB of storage space.  Need to come home and get it off the phone ASAP as to free up storage space.

[harryfat1]

2 hours ago, broberts said:

I believe the Conference Center is Studio A.

[harryfat1]

Onward with more skating pictures:

++++++++++++++

One drawback of cell phone pictures versus SLR is that it's harder to take pictures of moving objects at night.  Besides the slight shutter lag between when I click on the button, the auto picture feature of the phone has limitations.  I guess I could have tried the "pro" mode and tinkered around with shutter speed and F stops but that seems too much work for vacation pictures.

 

Drones

 

 

 

 

 

Not the best-focused picture but I wanted to show that almost every seat is filled with the exception of a few odds-and-ends seats behind the poles that people don't like.

 

Also, I noticed people sitting illegally on the staircases.  Land-based fire marshalls would have fits if this happened back home