Just off NOS - WONDERFUL TIME

[SNAFL]

Let me start my saying that we are very simple people who are easily pleased. Keeping that in mind, I wanted to let everyone know that we had a WONDERFUL time on NOS last week. Just got off yesterday and wish we had booked a back-to-back. Can't tell you a thing about the main dining room because we never went - ate all our meals buffet except for one night (see below). Only did three comedy shows - two headliners were well worth it - one adult only evening I walked out of - did not find that comedian funny at all. Ice show was definintely worth going to BUT GET THERE EARLY! We arrived about 10 minutes before showtime and the only seats left had partially blocked viewed. Didn't have much luck in the casino either, but was standing near a gentleman playing Wheel-of-Fortune. He hit "SPIN" and I did a little hand thingy like I was casting luck his way and lo and behold - he hit $1,000! It was certainly his lucky night. Said that pretty much let him break even for the cruise.

 

We did the zip lining in Jamaica and it was EXCITING and fun and very safe. Anyone with an adventurous spirit should try it. We booked it on the ship and would do it again. LOTS OF FUN!!! Lots of walking, too. Be careful, it was slippery in spots. I'd recommend wearing tennis shoes. Shorts were just fine. We didn't take our good camera because we weren't sure what we had in store for us, but we could have. We were afraid there may be water involved but there was not. Keep in mind you have to have your hands totally free so don't bring much. You can leave a backpack in the van if you feel comfortable doing that. I had wished I had carried my water bottle.

 

Didn't do much in Grand Cayman. Had been there before so we just walked around.

 

Found Cozumel to be the place to shop. Did a lot of Christmas shopping actually. Would recommend going down the side streets as that is where some of the better deals are. Do shop around. One shop offered an item that started at $20. Got him down to $12 only to find the same thing elsewhere starting at $10. Ladies - I recommend Mayan Pearl - see Nelly the owner and ask her to show you her necklaces. Her store is located on 5A Avenue, spot #165. If you turn down 5A Avenue from the main road, her shop will be on your right. She'll probably have wind chimes hanging out front, some made with starfish. I bought six of her necklaces and four purses and one wind chime. She also speaks very fluent English. If she had not told us, we would have thought she was American.

 

We had dinner at Chops one night. The food was good, not great but definitely good. The service was good, too. We had a 6:00 p.m. reservation which gave us a table at the window. We were glad to be there at 6:00 because it was still light out and we had a view that we enjoyed.

 

Personally, we would not recommend the room service eggs. They just weren't cooked properly. Now my egg beaters omelet was good, but the regular eggs weren't. They were undercooked to our liking. I believe there may be a room service menu on the interactive TV but I didn't learn that until the end.

 

One helpful hint - take some baggies along to store leftovers in. We were glad to have some of the breakfast breads from our room service meals leftover to munch on later in the day. The Cafe Promenade is open 24 hours and their sandwiches were just the thing to get you through the late nights.

 

DO JOIN RCCL'S MEET & MINGLE. We are very glad we did. Met fantastic people and it was fun to run into them during the week. RCCL had giveaways and two raffle prizes. We were lucky enough to win the travel clock and used it throughout the cruise.

 

By the way, our bed was very comfortable. No complaints about that at all. Our room was great too. We had a standard balcony room - plenty of storage space and lots of room to get around. If you put anything in the hidden shelves on either side of the mirror over the desk - just remember you did. That was where I had stashed our excursion tickets and had completely forgotten about those two cabinets. They're not real obvious.

 

The greeters at the Jade/Windjammer are the friendliest of all the staff. Please be sure to tell Adalina (sp?) hello - she's the greeter in the evenings, and she's very, very, pleasant. We didn't have waitstaff to tip since we didn't eat in the dining room so we tipped her. She's a joy!

 

All in all, we had a fantastic vacation! All of you going - ENJOY!!

[cruisinmon]

Great review! We'll be on NOS late November for second time. Can't wait.

[init4fun]

Thanks for the review, will be there in Dec and looking forward to it. I will check out some of the stores off the main drag as I had heard that also. I am going to try Chops so I hope its better, hope to get a good table by a window also.

Thanks.

[turboa4]

Just of the NOS also sat. The guy greeter was absolutely awesome and hilarious. The guy was called the most popular by Shane E. Cruise director during the variety show. Had lots of laughs talking to him. Forgot his name tho. I think he was philipino.

[GranysT]

SNAFL, loved your review,up until your last sentence. "Didn't have wait staff to tip,as didn't eat in the dining room". How Sad :(

[DonnaK]

SNAFL, loved your review,up until your last sentence. "Didn't have wait staff to tip,as didn't eat in the dining room". How Sad :(

 

 

I felt the same way after reading what was otherwise a wonderful review. Even if you don't eat in the dining room, the wait staff should be tipped.

[SNAFL]

Why do people tip for something I don't use? I tipped my cabin steward quite well and the folks in the casual dining areas and bars. They are the one's who provided the services to me. I never even wlaked into the main dining room, why would I tip them? As I mentioned, I've checked, the waitstaff in the casual dining do not share the tips with those in the main dining area.

[Viking Lad]

I must agree with SNAFL. Why should she have to tip staff that have never provided a service for her? Especially if she never even used the dining room.

As much as I like fine dining, the main dining room seems a bit overdone. I may give it a try but opt for more intimate or more convenient settings on other nights.

Thank you for sharing your experiences on the Navigator of the Seas. I'm glad to learn that you had a wonderful time.

[Alexis]

Just of the NOS also sat. The guy greeter was absolutely awesome and hilarious. The guy was called the most popular by Shane E. Cruise director during the variety show. Had lots of laughs talking to him. Forgot his name tho. I think he was philipino.

 

His name is Nestor or Nester? What a fabulous guy. We loved him.