Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas - Cruise Review

Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 11:55:21 -0400
From: emmysoo1@shaw.ca (Emmy Schaffer)
Subject: Review

Review of Navigator of the Seas
May 3, 2003
Miami, At Sea, Labadee, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, At Sea, Miami

Background:
This was the 6th cruise for my husband Rick and I ages late 40’s. We had sailed three times previously on RCI and twice on Princess. This was our first experience with the ‘Voyager ‘ class ships. This was the 22nd sailing of Navigator since she was built in Finland and first started sailing in November 2002. We were traveling with my sister Madeline and husband Doug and were meeting up with a great couple I met on line 8 months previous Mitch and Veronica.

We booked our own air on the Internet and flew from Detroit to FLL with a stop in Atlanta on Delta. Flights were on time. Price was very good and paid about $166.00 per person and booked it 10 months prior.

We used the Tri County Express ground transportation that is located in a small booth just outside of baggage claim. We had a bit of difficulty finding it but when we did the gentlemen was very friendly and helpful. You can use the shuttle for $15.00 per person but for 4 people who we were it was more cost effective to use a town car for $55.00 plus tip. It was about a 27-minute ride to the Hyatt Regency in Miami.

I must make a note here that even though we had an excellent experience with Tri County my friends Mitch and Veronica as well as one other couple I met did have problems with the driver of the shuttle van not knowing where he was going. They drove around Miami for quite some time before arriving late at the Hyatt. They even said that he dropped one passenger off at the wrong Holiday Inn and had to go back and get him. The other couple also said that their driver on a different run did not know where the Holiday Inn Marina in Miami was. So just be careful to make sure your instructions to the driver are very clear.

We flew in the day before and stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Miami that I had booked on Priceline. We paid only $27.00 per night for a great hotel and a good location. It was a 10-minute walk to Bayside and we found a Walgreen’s nearby on the way to Bayside and liquor store not that far. There was a nice bakery for coffee and pastries or croissants for breakfast the morning before we got on the ship. It was just down the street on the corner. They also had made to order breakfast items. Sorry I cannot remember the name.

We grabbed a taxi at the Hyatt about 10:15 am for a short trip to the pier that cost about $7.00 plus tip.

We arrived at the pier about 10:30 am and were greeted by a port official who checked our passports and questioned us about SARS. The porter then took our luggage and he pointed in the direction to go. We got into the terminal and were allowed to go up the escalators into a waiting area immediately. They first called diamond & platinum members and any members of wedding parties of which there were quite a few. We managed to go through security and were all checked in with Seapass in hand by about 11 am. So far so good or so we thought.

We were told to wait by the escalator at one end of the room. Well we waited for about 1-½ hours and then they decided that one of the boarding doors was broken so they herded us into a very long line of people who had definitely come in after us. After another ½ hour wait we were allowed up the escalator and able to board Navigator. FINALLY after 11 months of waiting I was on this great, incredible beauty of a ship. Embarkation could have been much better and this sentiment was expressed by many people we talked to both in the long line an later on the ship.

Much has been written about this class of ship and I had read much information and viewed many pictures on line. I felt I knew her but nothing prepared me for what I saw. Now was the time to experience this all for myself.

Of course the first impression is the best and it did not disappoint. First area of course was our cabin an Atrium #7279 deck 7 overlooking the Promenade. We really liked this type of cabin. You had a great view of the parades and was a great spot for people watching. Our cabin was right above the ‘Casino Royale’ sign and across from the “Two Poets Pub’ which always seemed to be busy.

At night we simply left the curtain open a very small crack and the light from the promenade came into the room. It was no different your own room at home.

The location of the hair dryer is tricky and is located in a very narrow drawer on the desk where the chair is placed. Also the bed is a king size bed which was very nice. Regarding the mini bar it did keep things cold enough. One problem we had was that on two occasions we were charged for taking something out once a bottle of water and on another day 2 cans of coke and another bottle of water. We did not touch any of these items and had the charges reversed by visiting the Guest Relations.

Our Room Steward Bertha was a ‘dud’ as far as I was concerned. First of all she never introduced herself to us nor did she come into the cabin to explain the features like the mini bar. I would insist that the room steward take everything out of the fridge. We were not sure if the room steward just did not know how to count or if she was charging things to the wrong cabin. I can easily say of our 6 cruises she was the most inept of all our room stewards. We only saw her on three occasions.

On the last morning of the cruise when everyone else has their shipboard bill on their door ours and her other cabins did not have their bills. I checked at 5: 30 am and every so often after that and she finally knocked on the door about 7:10 am to give it to us. We were anxious to receive it since you could no longer check on the interactive TV and the last mini bar charge had appeared late the night before so we wanted to make sure it had been taken off so we did not have to make a trip to the Guest Relations at that busy hour.

So my advice is to watch and monitor your shipboard account on TV. We had also been charged double for a drink at one of the bars.

We had requested at time of booking a large table for early dining. There was my husband, my sister, her hubby and myself. After booking we met a very nice couple on line and through e-mailing they decided to switch from late dining to early. It was too late to do it through the travel agent so soon after boarding we went to the dining room to see the maitre’d to request a change. Much to my surprise early dining was full and it is usually the other way. Anyway we checked out the table we originally were placed at and it was only a table for 4 on the main level of the dining room.

There were only two tables for six left on the third level of the dining room so someone graciously took us to see the tables to make our decision. We took one of the tables and were seated at table 551 on level 3 Swan Lake Dining Room.

The décor of this dining room was very soft and pleasing to the eye. Soft greens with gold and cream colors. Our waiter was Isadoro from India and Assistant waiter Coca from Romania. Both did an excellent job. They both worked very hard especially Coca who had many tables to take care of. I personally tipped them above the recommended amount.

On two evenings I brought my own wine to dinner and Isadoro did not charge us a corkage fee. That was very gracious of him and I thanked him. Our headwaiter was Christopher from United Kingdom. This was the same headwaiter we had on our last RCI cruise is 2000 on Enchantment.

The dining rooms on all three levels are very beautiful each with their own décor. The large and beautiful chandelier that hangs in the center of the dining room is certainly the focal point. You would be hard pressed to find as beautiful a room for dining anywhere.

During the dining hour someone would play the piano and it was very pleasant. I must say that conversation was very easy in this dining room and it was not overly noisy, as I have experienced on other ships especially Princess ships. A very pleasant, relaxing experience.

We were all very pleased with the food in the dining room. Some highlights for us were the lobster (of course), filet mignon, turkey parmiagian and prime rib for the entrées Desserts were outstanding with the standouts being soufflé, crème brule, banana cream pie, cherries jubilee and baked Alaska. Actually all were very good and we sampled many.

Cold soups were also a great choice and the pasta dishes as well. I would often order an appetizer size of the pasta dish as a course along with my entrée.

We did dine in Portofino’s on our friend Veronica’s birthday on the Monday evening and had a lovely window table. Our server Anna Maria explained every course to us. Dinner was fabulous especially the dessert course. She first brought out a tray of dessert appetizers with strawberries dipped in white and dark chocolate and slices of biscotti.

I had the tiramisu served with in a chocolate edible cup. Also the berries with zabaglione cream were very nice as well.

The snacks/cookies and sandwiches served in the Café Promenade were also very good. Cookies were especially yummy and so were the little sandwiches. Great spot for that first cup of coffee in the morning or a bite to each in mid afternoon. Great place to watch the Promenade parades from as well.

Food in Windjammer was also good. I found no problem with the quality of the food here. Jade was a nice addition for some Asian choices and they had an area in the morning set up called ‘Grab and Go Breakfast’ here they had muffins, bagel, pastries and coffee and juice to go.

One other place we dined was at Johnny Rockets and enjoyed a burger and the famous onion rings and fries. It was a fun place to eat and I recommend it. We were there about 12:30 pm and there was a 15-minute wait but they did give you a beeper to let you know when your table was ready and you had a choice of eating inside or out.

This ship is truly amazing and all the adjectives just do not do it justice. It really has to be experienced. Some of my favorite spots on board were of course the Promenade since it was a real people-gathering place. Loved the parades and entertainment that took place in this area. Café Promenade was great and the Two Poets Pub seemed busy all the time. Best picture taking spot has to be the Helipad on Deck 5 especially at sailaway. You have to walk on deck 4 all the way to the front of the ship and then go up the flight of stairs to deck 5. Don’t miss this spot! Also the Metropolis Theatre is amazing and seats 1400 people. There are a few spots on the first balcony that can be slightly obstructed by poles. The dining rooms visually are spectacular as is the atrium with its sculptures. My suggestion is to just wander around and try and see every area. We even went up to the 15th deck and checked out the Skylight Chapel. Very pretty spot.

I have to comment on the RCI staff on board. Each and every one of them was very friendly always greeting you with a good morning or hello in the halls and public areas. This was so refreshing and I certainly appreciate the effort they made to make me feel welcome.

The entertainment was very good. It was the first sailing of our cruise director Jeff Martin after coming off of Voyager of the Seas. Poor guy more than one time referred to the ship as Voyager but that was understandable. I enjoyed him as a cruise director.

We had the Coasters as a headliner entertainment on one night and they gave a very entertaining high-energy show especially considering the ages of these guys. Another headliner was Mark Preston one of the original members of the singing group “The Lettermen” He did do some of his old songs like “Put your head on my shoulder” and Shangri-la, “Hurt so bad” and “Going out of my Head/Can’t Take my Eyes off of You”

I enjoyed the first production show very much as it featured Broadway tunes and it ended with songs from Mama Mia which I have seen at the theatre so that was my favorite.

We attended the Love and Marriage Game and as usual it was very entertaining. I always love that show. As well the Adult Karaoke was amazing and we had some excellent singers. It was truly professional. Even the host remarked more than once that this was the best Karaoke he had been to.

Of course as everyone says the Ice Dance show really is not to be missed. The tickets for the show went on sale in the morning of the first day at sea and there was indeed a long line but it went very quickly. We went to the show on the Tuesday evening, as there was not any headliner or other scheduled entertainment that evening. We all enjoyed it very much.

The Promenade parades are fun to watch and happen on two nights. They have great colorful costumes and the entertainers walk on stilts.

Port of Call:
This was a western Caribbean itinerary that included Labadee, Cozumel, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman.

Labadee: This was my first time at this port and I liked it very much. It is so beautiful and quite a photo op from the ship and from the beaches. We decided to walk to Hideaway Beach through suggestions I had read on line. It is the farthest beach to the left when you get off the tender. The water was beautiful and calm. The day was very hot so sitting on the edge of the water with a drink in hand and a floating mat was just about all I could handle. It was so relaxing.

We enjoyed the BBQ lunch that the RCI employees put on. They had hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, ribs, various salads, fresh fruit and cookies and some cake desserts. It was a very nice day.

There are great photo ops of the Navigator as you are leaving by tender and from the beach itself.

This was also my first visit to this island. I had booked on line a tour with Ionie McBeam. She met us promptly at the pier and ushered us to her air-conditioned van. There were about 12 of us. Our first stop was at Dunn’s River Falls. I really enjoyed this climb up the falls and did not find it hard at all. You just had to be careful but it was most enjoyable.

After our stop there she took us for a ride through Fern Gully and made various stops to see such locals as the Spice man and the Fire Man. Of course with every picture that was snapped they looked for a tip.

She proceeded up to Shaw Gardens area for a photo op of the ship. Now I had heard many, many glowing reports about Ionie on line but in my opinion her tour was nothing out or the ordinary. I was disappointed and expected more. She hardly said anything or commented unless you asked a specific question. I would not go with her again. This was the opinion of others in my tour who has also read all those glowing reports. I basically flipped a coin as to who to go with either Ionie or Peat Taylor.

We also booked a tour on our own on the Internet with Nativeway. After some delay in the beginning we made our way to their van and they brought us to the marina and the boar. There were 30 people on the boat about half and half Navigator passengers and passengers from Carnival Triumph. It took about 25 minutes to reach Coral Gardens for snorkeling and we stopped first there because it was very busy at Stingray City Sandbar. We then proceeded to the Sandbar and it was in complete contrast to the year before when we had gone about the same time of year.

Last year the water was like glass and so calm. This day it was not and had many waves and it was a rough ride out. The tour itself was very good and everyone should experience this place at least once.

After we arrived back at the marina those that wanted to be dropped off at the 7 mile beach all got into one vehicle and my hubby Rick and I went to the public beach for about 1 ½ hours. The driver agreed to pick us up at a designated time. There were about 12 of us that went there. There was no admission and there were washrooms and change facilities but no places to buy a drink. An ice-cream truck did come by in the parking lot so we grabbed and ice cream cone. The beach was so beautiful with long white sandy beach and beautiful warm very blue water.

We had been to Cozumel last year so this time we decided to do some shopping in the morning. We took the cab from the ship into town and that cost about $6.00 and had the taxi driver drop us off at Los Cinco Soles. I purchased a few things here and we started walking and shopping along the way until we got to Carlos ‘n Charlie’s where we went in and had a drink. We mainly wanted to check things out to see what it was all about. Now we were there about 1 pm so it was still early so things were relatively calm but we did get the idea of what goes on. We did enjoy ourselves and are certainly glad we made a stop there. We checked out the gift shop and bought some t-shirts to take back home.

Now this part I was worried about since I had a 12:50 flight out of FLL and the ship sailed into Miami. I requested early disembarkation and received pink colored tags. Now I was aware that white was one of the first colors to be called so I was leery when I saw the pink colored tags. I made a quick stop at the Guest Relations desk and asked about the pink tags and he said this was the LAST color to be called.

Now they let you fill out the information on the interactive TV as to what time your flight is and from this information they decide what color tags you get. Well I selected the earliest time and still got the wrong colored tags.

The Guest Relations person simply changed my tags to an early color, which was Orange, and it was the second color to be called. White colored tags were called at about 7:20 am and our color Orange was called at about 7:35 am We made our way out, found our luggage and went through customs and were putting our things into the cab by 8:15 am. We arrived about 25 minutes later at the FLL airport and the cost of the taxi was $57.25 to be exact. It was about 8:45 am now and we inquired about an earlier flight but with 4 of us traveling they only had 3 seats so we sat and waited patiently for our 1 pm flight.

I was very pleased with the disembarkation process and really sweated about how this procedure would go. It was very easy to find your luggage on the carousel.

Met up with many Cruise Critic friends who had chatted on line. This enhanced the cruise experience greatly. Thanks to all of them that I met and had the pleasure of talking with. You all know who you are.

No problem with chair hogs around the pool area. Not many smokers either at least not that I noticed. The smoking areas poolside were more defined and people seemed to adhere to them. Only real smoke I noticed was in the casino and that is to be expected. Also in the lounges as long as you sat in the non-smoking side you were fine.

Noticed that the bar servers do not go around with trays of drinks around the pool like they used to at least not as much. Am not sure of the reason for this. I remember them walking around with Love Connections, Mango Tangos and Pina Colada’s much more frequently. I saw this mostly on embarkation day.

Highly recommend this class of ship and especially the Navigator. She is a stunning, beautiful, amazing, fantastic ship. Not enough adjectives to describe her. Royal Caribbean did not disappoint in any way, shape or form. Looking to book the next one.

One other note I would like to thank my sister Madeline and Doug as well as new found friends Mitch and Veronica for being great tablemates and for helping to make this cruise one we will all never forget.

If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to e-mail me at
emmysoo1@shaw.ca

Cruise reviews can be extremely helpful to new and experienced cruisers by giving the cruise vacation consumer's view of various RCCL ships and ports. If you've sailed aboard an RCCL ship, we hope you'll write and tell us about it by using our special form here. Sincere thanks to those who take the time to do this so that others can have the benefit of shared information and experiences.

Royal Caribbean Cruisers' Discussion Group
Embarkation (Main Index) - Current Postings - Cruisers' Cruise Calendar
Cruise Reviews and Port Reports - Images of Ships - Our History

Music is provided for personal enjoyment only. This is not an official Royal Caribbean site. This non-commercial site is maintained by Lois A. Evensen. Ms. Evensen is not a travel agent. Please read the Special Request from the WebAnchor regarding the structure of this site, how you can participate, postings, and E-mails. We'd love to know how you like this Cruisers' Discussion Group; if you have questions or comments, click here to tell us.

COPYRIGHT © 1997 - 2006 by Lois A. Evensen.
No part of this web site may be downloaded or reproduced in any form, anywhere.
You are welcome to link to this site at http://www.Evensens.net. Do not link directly to images.
All content including images on this site are copyright protected under United States of America and International laws.
If you have other questions or comments related to this web site, links, or would like to purchase any of the Evensen images, contact the Webmaster.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

United We Stand