My review: Navigator 11/22-11/27/08 ... or ... kewlguy is a nice guy

[want2seaitall]

Lobster night on my cruise was the next night (Grand Cayman night).

 

I've heard they don't serve lobster on 4 nights...anyone know if they'll be serving on our upcoming Navigator 4 night??? My DH and oldest son would be thrilled! My younger son would plot to rescue them from the galley. :o

[silentbob007]

\ My younger son would plot to rescue them from the galley. :o

 

Unless he wants to save frozen tails, it might be too late .... ;)

[sbell1]

silentbob & arph,

 

Was there any disappointment with the shorter cruises as opposed to a 7 night? We have always done the 7 nights and I'm afraid I'll feel like it's time to pack right after we unpack! We are doing the 4 night in January. I know any cruise is better than none...just wondered if it felt extremely short.

[cruise pup]

silentbob & arph,

 

Was there any disappointment with the shorter cruises as opposed to a 7 night? We have always done the 7 nights and I'm afraid I'll feel like it's time to pack right after we unpack! We are doing the 4 night in January. I know any cruise is better than none...just wondered if it felt extremely short.

 

I've done quite a number of 4 night cruises on different lines and they seemed fine as far as length goes. I found that they pack in a lot of good events and such that are stretched out in a 7 day cruise, so you manage to get a lot of bang for your buck. For example, on Carnival you get 2 production shows in the main lounge, which is the same number you get on a 7 day cruise. Since we only hit 1 port, there were 2 sea days which is what you usually get on a 7-day cruise. Lastly packing and unpacking isn't such a major event because you don't need to bring as much. A lot of times on a short cruise I opt for the self-disembarkation option which means that I don't have to be concerned with returning to my cabin on the last evening to get my luggage packed and out for collection.

[Missus Makkem]

nice write up Silentbob, no mention of Trivia though:D

[Missus Makkem]

I too booked last minute (Tuesday before sailing) and got the same rate of 281.00 plus taxes for a single inside gurantee. This was my 15th sailing on RCCL. My cabin was assigned (upgraded to deck 3 outside) but when arriving at the pier to check in, my cabin had been changed and upgraded again to a deck 10 balcony. I was very pleased to say the least. I was on board by noon. My luggage was no where to be found but arrived around 9pm and I too had the same experience with the cabin steward when meeting him. He addressed me by the wrong name and when I looked at his manifest, the cabin I was assigned had different guests names on it. I checked the sea pass on tv and my name was on the account so I was not worried. I called he guest services desk and was informed the list the staff had was not the most recent list. My concierge key was in the room as well as the diamond discount book.

 

I visited the concierge lounge the first night and it was packed. There were alot of people drinking alot of booze. One group was very intoxicated and loud and Javier the Concierge removed them from the lounge. I was embarrased for the people. They could barely stand and Javier was very professional in handling the situation. I only went back one additional night and it again was packed. (I now recognize kewlguy being in there form his picture)

 

I found the staff hit or miss. I encountered several bar staff that went out of their way to be friendly and others that seemed bothered but I did not let that distract me in one way. In a conversation with one bartender, he told met there was a group of 150 british passengers that had free drink cards for this cruise and that they were drinking extremely heavily and the bartenders were making no money. This same group had been on the transatlantic cruise.

 

The cabins water was very yellow and cloudy so I did not use it other than to shower. I purchased bottled water to brush my teeth and to drink. I must agree with kewlguy the towels were badly stained as well. They were not white and in general were nasty.

 

My cabin was perfect, not one cleanliness issue or complaint. Was kept excellently.

 

I enjoyed the food and had no complaints of the selections at all. The garlic soup and the mushroom soup were "out of this world" fantastic. I really enjoyed the selections in Jade as well. I did not dine in the dining room simply because in my packing for the cruise, I failed to pack dress pants and shoes. My bad, but Windjammer and Jonny Rockets worked very well for me.

 

Overall, I was very pleased with this cruise and have rebooked it for January. I got alot of rest, alot of sun and some much needed ME time.

 

Sorry but someone told you porkies about the 150 that were on the previous cruise.....only 70 something did the ta and next cruise, we met them at the lunch they put on for us on the change over day.

[silentbob007]

nice write up Silentbob, no mention of Trivia though:D

 

I didn't want to gloat about it when it was you coming up with most of the (right) answers. :)

[silentbob007]

sbell1, a shorter cruise will still feel short, though they'll try to pack in as much as possible. 4 days is light-years better than 3 days, in my experience ... just that one extra day inbetween packing and unpacking actually makes it feel more like a cruise. :)

 

The nice thing about shorter cruises is that you can definitely limit how much you pack, thus making more room to bring stuff home. :)

[MAKEM]

I didn't want to gloat about it when it was you coming up with most of the (right) answers. :)

 

 

R u sure about that ?

 

she has several senior moments these days,trivia of course;)

[mustangjoe]

Silent Bob, Great review. We were on both the 5 nt.(11/22-11/27) & the 4 nt. (11/27-12/1).

 

This was our first time on a Voyager class ship. Our previous cruises (6) had all been on the Vision class ships, so when we boarded the Navigator, it was the WOW effect for us.

 

Briefly, I will metioned just a few things, with a full blown review later. We were the first on the ship on 11/22. They needed a guinea pig on test the sea pass machine and they asked my wife. Once they had everything operational, i was permitted to have my picture taken and board. We missed having our picture taken as we boarded the ship, but we didn;t miss that.

 

Our stateroom sttendfant was Miquel and he took very good care of us on both cruises. We were disappointed with our wait staff in the main DR on the first cruise. They were so slow that we skipped dessert 3 nts. just so we could make it to another function. The assistant waiter never offered us a second helping of bread and Mariano our waiter never went out of his way to please us. For the second cruise, we had Jose' as our waiter and Repec as the assistant. These two gentlemen were fantastic. Again, we had things we wanted to be to by 7:30 on 2 of the nights. Jose' had made it point the first night that if needed to leave early or the service was slow to let him know. They both did such a wonderful job, that they got over and above the recommended tipping amounts.

 

Chops is a must. We ate there the last night of the first cruise. What a meal and great service!!

 

Bar service was hit & miss. Pool Bar & Sky Bar were OK. The Champagne was the best. We went there for a b/4 dinner drink all but 2 nites and Johann from South Africa took good care of us. However, bar service in the DR sucked. I usually get the after dinner shot, but because our waitstaff service was slow and we had to leave I didn't get the shot. The other reason was, we never saw anyone carrying around a tray of the shots. By the way, good DR bar service on the 2nd cruise. Bar tender circulating with shots early on.

 

Our biggest peeve though was when we returned to port on 11/27. Those of us that were doing a b2b were told that if we were not leaving the shi to meet in the Champagne Bar at 9:30 and someone from Guest Relations would escort us off and then back onto the ship. Well 9:30 came and went & at about 9:50 Simon from England went to GR to complain. We were then told that if would be about 15 more minutes. We waited until 5 past 10, and again no one stopped by. I went to GR this time and was told that there problems with the disembarkation and that it would be another 15 minutes. FINALLY, at 10:20 someone came over took us off the ship and back on at 10:35. I did not have a problem waiting since there were over 700 Europeans that had done the TA & it was taking longer for them to clear Customs. My concern was that NO ONE from GR even acknowledge our presence or let us know that there would be a delay.

 

Although, we had these small annoyances, we would still do a b2b again. And we be sailing with RC again, as we have already booked the Voyager for 4/5 and we booked the Mariner for next Thanksgiving.

 

Also, we won't have to worry about going to the Champagne for b4 dinner drinks as we have just turned Diamond.

 

Happy Sailing to all.

 

"MY WORST DAY CRUISING IS STILL BETTER THAN MY BEST DAY IN THE OFFICE."

[want2seaitall]

Silent Bob, Great review. We were on both the 5 nt.(11/22-11/27) & the 4 nt. (11/27-12/1).

 

Hi Mustangjoe...do you have the 4 night compass? If so, can you scan and post it?

 

It would be much appreciated.

[thenextjuliemccoy]

Great review! It really helped to get us ready for our 5 day cruise on Dec 1st. Got back today and wanted to share a few additional comments--- The staff was great - everyone was helpful, friendly and many went out of their way to help! The food was good - if you been on RCI before then you will recognize the menu - not much new. The crowd was very pleasant and lots of fun - many folks from Florida due to the amazing price drops! And the ports were great! Now for specifics... yes chocolates on pillows; no yellow water; formal night is Tuesday (Italian); lobster is Thursday night. The best nights for Portofinos/Chops - Monday or Wednesday. If we had to choose - Portofinos is much better than Chops. Definitely do lunch in the dinning room on the sea days - fabulous food and great salads! Deck party with midnight buffet is Thursday. There was a 70's night the first night and a "wear Black/White" night on Wednesday. Don't miss the juggler - very funny, the comedian - not so much! The ice show is a must - the hoop lady was amazing! The casino has $5 black jack tables and pays double odds at craps on the Formal night only. You can do Cozumel on your own as taxis are very easy to find. Belize - we did a excursion through RCI - book early if you want to snorkel. Keiron, Mitch and team did a great job at trivia, quest, and pool events. The spa was very comfortable. Be sure to do a few activities with the Vitality program and then get a cute little token (9 will get you a t-shirts or visors). Everything was very easy except for the getting to our car in the parking garage after getting the luggage - however, the shuttle bus or taxi appeared to be no problem. Over all - great cruise!

[want2seaitall]

Great review! It really helped to get us ready for our 5 day cruise on Dec 1st. Got back today and wanted to share a few additional comments--- The staff was great - everyone was helpful, friendly and many went out of their way to help! The food was good - if you been on RCI before then you will recognize the menu - not much new. The crowd was very pleasant and lots of fun - many folks from Florida due to the amazing price drops! And the ports were great! Now for specifics... yes chocolates on pillows; no yellow water; formal night is Tuesday (Italian); lobster is Thursday night. The best nights for Portofinos/Chops - Monday or Wednesday. If we had to choose - Portofinos is much better than Chops. Definitely do lunch in the dinning room on the sea days - fabulous food and great salads! Deck party with midnight buffet is Thursday. There was a 70's night the first night and a "wear Black/White" night on Wednesday. Don't miss the juggler - very funny, the comedian - not so much! The ice show is a must - the hoop lady was amazing! The casino has $5 black jack tables and pays double odds at craps on the Formal night only. You can do Cozumel on your own as taxis are very easy to find. Belize - we did a excursion through RCI - book early if you want to snorkel. Keiron, Mitch and team did a great job at trivia, quest, and pool events. The spa was very comfortable. Be sure to do a few activities with the Vitality program and then get a cute little token (9 will get you a t-shirts or visors). Everything was very easy except for the getting to our car in the parking garage after getting the luggage - however, the shuttle bus or taxi appeared to be no problem. Over all - great cruise!

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments. I'm leaving in 13 days!!!

[silentbob007]

I'm glad the yellow water has been removed. I was afraid they'd start charging extra and call it "mineral water on tap." ;)

[QTBabyNurse]

I'm glad the yellow water has been removed. I was afraid they'd start charging extra and call it "mineral water on tap." ;)

 

Well....the problem is not fixed with the water. Maybe it was only on certain decks...but we were on the 12/1 sailing of the Navigator and there was DEFINITELY yellow water in our cabin! It was pretty gross! Even the crew told us they had yellow water in THEIR cabins as well!

P.S. I posted a review of the Navigator as well as a new thread.

[cruise pup]

I'm glad the yellow water has been removed. I was afraid they'd start charging extra and call it "mineral water on tap." ;)

 

Or else putting a "Seattle's Best" sticker on the faucet and charging extra for espresso.

[QTBabyNurse]

Or else putting a "Seattle's Best" sticker on the faucet and charging extra for espresso.

 

Speaking of "Seattle's Best"....is that not the WORST COFFEE EVER???? RCL needs to change to Dunkin Donuts coffee or something! :rolleyes:

[cruise pup]

Speaking of "Seattle's Best"....is that not the WORST COFFEE EVER???? RCL needs to change to Dunkin Donuts coffee or something! :rolleyes:

 

You know, I once made a remark on the RCCL board about how bad that coffee is and I got slammed by the RCCL board "Gestapo" sayng they thought it was excellent. I find it awful. I guess they think so too at RCCL since they leave out packets off Maxwell House Instant. Once in a while the dining room managed to make it come out okay but overall it was really bad. One waiter suggested it could be improved by combining half coffee and half hot water. What gets me is if they know it's not being made properly why don't they just adjust it. I find it's part of RCCL's "We Don't Give a Flying ---- Once We've Gotten Your Final Payment" attitude. NCL Gem had the best "free coffee" I've had on a cruise ship and even had espresso and cappucino makers in the Lido cafe. The hopper on top had whole beans and not powder (like RCCL) which makes a big difference.

[KeywestK]

Hey Chris.....Thanks for another great review! I always look forward to your insights and comments, as they are always very thoughtful, thorough, and generate great threads.....:) I'll look forward to your return from the upcoming PC cruise on the Jewel (my all time favorite ship!), and I know you and your folks will have a terrific time. Give them our best regards!

 

Karen

[QTBabyNurse]

Unfortunately on our cruise there was no Maxwell House instant coffee. The waiters poured the coffee only halfway up the cup so that you could weaken it by pouring water in....excuse me, but that is NOT the way to make coffee!!! Many of us just drank tea instead.....but I sure missed my after dinner cup of coffee. :cool:

[want2seaitall]

Speaking of "Seattle's Best"....is that not the WORST COFFEE EVER???? RCL needs to change to Dunkin Donuts coffee or something! :rolleyes:

 

We were ready for some b-b-bad coffee last April after being forwarned here, but honestly...we didn't mind it. It was your basic restaurant coffee. I mean, it wasn't Dunkin Donuts coffee...but then again...nothing is. Thank goodness they've been putting more in here in FL. I come from MA where there is one on every corner. Then I moved here...and they've got Krispy Kreme...and Starbucks...yuck!

[Chitoryubt]

You know, I once made a remark on the RCCL board about how bad that coffee is and I got slammed by the RCCL board "Gestapo" sayng they thought it was excellent. I find it awful. I guess they think so too at RCCL since they leave out packets off Maxwell House Instant. Once in a while the dining room managed to make it come out okay but overall it was really bad. One waiter suggested it could be improved by combining half coffee and half hot water. What gets me is if they know it's not being made properly why don't they just adjust it. I find it's part of RCCL's "We Don't Give a Flying ---- Once We've Gotten Your Final Payment" attitude. NCL Gem had the best "free coffee" I've had on a cruise ship and even had espresso and cappucino makers in the Lido cafe. The hopper on top had whole beans and not powder (like RCCL) which makes a big difference.

 

Twice (on two different RCCL cruises) at breakfast in the DR I've had coffee that, no matter how much cream I put into it, I could not get to change colors :eek:. Other than that, it has usually been ok.

[silentbob007]

Hey Chris.....Thanks for another great review! I always look forward to your insights and comments, as they are always very thoughtful, thorough, and generate great threads.....:) I'll look forward to your return from the upcoming PC cruise on the Jewel (my all time favorite ship!), and I know you and your folks will have a terrific time. Give them our best regards!

 

Karen

 

Will do ... thanks Karen!:p

[silentbob007]

Ok so I don't drink a lot of coffee (as evidenced by the fact that, somehow, part of the cup I'm currently drinking splashed into my eye) ... I thought that the coffee on the promenade was OK. It wasn't great, but drinkable, IMO. I did pass on the dining room coffee, however ... that stuff never sits well with me right before sleeping.