Navigator - Alaska - May 2015 - Post-cruise Thoughts and Pictures

It was marvelous.

Totally out of order, but here is the summary first..

We had a marvelous time on our first Regent cruise on the Navigator... simply flawless in every way. My concern about a small ship was flawed after one day onboard. The staff and crew were the best and we wanted for nothing. We had a great group of fellow passengers and the itinerary and port timing was just right.

The running gag was Angela constantly shaking her head and saying: "...I can really get used to this." :p

There were a few very minor issues, but none ever rose to the level of a mention on board,,,and our comments were glowing.

Let me run thru the standard topics for a review and share some more images

Embarkation

A lovely lady met us at baggage claim and had already secured a luggage cart for us. Nice gesture. After we fetched our bags, it was a short walk to the bus lane and a comfortable ride to the pier. Seamless.

Check-in at the pier was smooth as silk. The new Pier 27 Terminal in SF was great. Checkin required a short wait in line and the usual "not sick" form, smile for the camera, and here's my credit card.

Literally took minutes and we boarded immediately. We dropped our carry-ons off at the cabin and left the ship for the afternoon in SF

Cabin

Our cabin was simply perfect. We had a Window cabin on Deck 5.

 



 



 



 



 

If anyone has any concern about noise from Compass Rose...forget it.

There is so much in between the 'residential' and public areas... plus the dual hallway of deck 5 make is a prefect layout.

The 300 sq ft cabin was very comfortable...and what we are used to on much higher category cabins on other ships. We would never consider in-suite dining, so this is a perfect layout for us. A veranda for this Alaska itinerary was simply not needed.

The TV channels were sparse. Half were in-house, the rest were all flavors of news and some rogue TV channel. But, the OnDemand choices were great and put me to sleep on many nights. I did not expect the tech level of the Interactive system. Very nice.

The cabin stewards were simply the best... efficient and invisible. They went over and above with certain requests.

Actually, I never had anyone keep my toiletries in such good order..

Ship and Public Rooms

The Navigator sparkled. As our first "small" ship, I had thought I would be bouncing off the walls after a few days... but found it quite the opposite. So many comfortable areas... and never a crowd to spoil the moment.

 



 



 



 

The Navigator Lounge and Connoisseurs Club were favorite hangouts; I did all my posting with a laptop in the Club and was never without companions and a good drink. The Stars Lounge was surprisingly empty most of the time.

We occasionally felt a shudder or vibration as conditions changed, but in no way was it objectionable. It is, of course, an ocean going vessel.

The library was well stocked and the game room and Internet center were always busy.

 

The boutiques are the usual OBC dumps, but we did get some good "sale' items. They do have what I think is the same flaw as Oceania... a lack of logo merchandise. I do like that stuff, but choices were sparse.

The Block Party was a real treat... what a brilliant idea.

 

Talking to folks, I was amazed how many were on their first cruise, or their first Regent cruise. I must say that many's first impression was over the "dirty" carpets. That is a tough one to get over, since the rest of the ship is stunning.

Dining

We split our dining between Compass Rose and La Veranda. Both were excellent, in food and service.

We often commented that there really was no need for a specialty restaurant on this ship. We had our final meal in Prime 7, and my bone-in rib eye was done to perfection.

Earlier in the cruise, we asked twice to see if we could get into Prime 7 and were met with an icy "..I have nothing." So, I stopped asking, and found it to be no loss... The Prime 7 meal was very good, but not dramatically different from a dinner in the MDR.

After a few days, we found it amusing, and often distracting, to see the servers and bus crew in La Veranda nearly running from place to place, and table to table, at a frenetic pace.

I am sure it is possible to deliver excellent service without track shoes. They must rule with a whip up there.

We enjoy wine with our meals; often prosecco and then switch types from first to second dish, and end with a dessert wine. We were never at a loss with an empty glass; seemed like there were as many sommeliers as waiters.

However, many were really just 'servers' and were sommelier poseurs. When we would ask for a recommendation, and get one... I would ask "why that one?" and would get a smile and a deer-in-the-headlights look.

But we thoroughly enjoyed the service and attention.

Breakfast is very important to me, and we loved La Veranda in the morning.

The Pool Deck constantly pleased with great breakfast and lunch delights

 



 

Entertainment

I found it more than adequate and always enjoy any live show. The piano soloist gave a great fill-in show the evening they cancelled a production show because of rough seas.

The Jean Anne Ryan troupe was talented and enjoyable; they did four shows. The "Cirque d'Navigator" was horrific and, as stated earlier, someone in Miami should lose their job over it. The remaining three were redeemingly successful.

The Theater is the most beautiful we have seen.

Krew Kapers was a delight, and the most well-produced crew show I have ever seen. I took quite a few pictures and gave a mem stick of them to the cast.

 

Enrichment Activities

I have never been a fan of any "enrichment" lectures. Most seem to be given by tired ex-college lecturers with threadbare and tired presentations, and pictures from Wikipedia.

Terry Breen was knowledgeable and bit more vibrant than most I have seen, but I still could not sit though one in its entirety. She did work hard during the cruise and her narration during the glacier pass was appreciated.

Spa, Fitness & Recreation

We used the steam and sauna everyday; the facility is small, but serves the purpose. The staff was friendly and helpful.

 

We visited the fitness center, but did not use it.. since I am quite fit as it is. Very bright and well equipped.

 

Angela used the Salon and Spa and was very pleased with the results. They were cordial and accommodating when a time conflict arose for an appointment.

Service

The pax-crew ratio is very obvious and really makes a difference... the service was stellar in every venue. It wasn't long before they knew our drink favorites, and would show up with them as we sat down. The crew was always friendly and smiling.

We did notice a roll-off in sharpness of service as the cruise wound down the last day or two. Half set table at dinner, missing utensils. Coffee on the pool deck but no cups...and no one around...

But, you know, we see that often on any line as turnaround day approaches.

Shore Excursions - Ports

 

What's not to like about Alaska ports?

 

We took advantage of excursions in every port. They were well run and very satisfying, and delivered exactly as advertised.

 

Astoria

 



 



 

Sitka

 



 

Hubbard Glacier

 



 

 

Value for the Money

This is always a tough call. Regent prices are lofty in general.

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and would have no problem being a repeat customer. In fact, we booked the Explorer TA while onboard.

When we price any cruiseline, we always automatically include the air and drink package if it is not part of the deal... to normalize the comparison.

I think with Regent, on an itinerary where we would take advantage of most or all included excursions, the value is there.

However, we are ones who rarely take ship's excursions. In this case (Alaska) it made sense to use the ship's tours. If we were in the Med or other civilized areas of the world, the included excursions (for us) would be a waste... and push the fare out of the comfort zone.

I found the look, feel and vibe to be very much like Oceania. Not having to show a card for a drink was nice, but not a big deal to me.

I am confident now that, in this case, luxury, luxury lite and premium plus is a bit of a myth...

...simply put, as I surmised, Regent is the all-inclusive sister and Oceania is ala carte. Beyond that, the outstanding personal service was obvious, but that opinion may be colored by the fact that it was our first 'small' ship.

Using that as a basis, it will be easy for us to evaluate which line is best for any given itinerary. I feel quite comfortable using them interchangeably now.

Both offer a fantastic experience.... and the value can be determined by the itinerary.

Will we sail on Regent again? Absolutely.

In fact we will ...way out in 2016. We seriously almost booked another cruise on the Navigator as well, for the Caribbean. But, after doing the value analysis, we opted out of that choice.

I have a feeling we won't wait until the Explorer before we are back onboard with Regent. ;)

..and a postscript about Internet onboard.

We never had a problem using the Internet for communication or posting pictures. In fact, I repaired a client's mail server while sitting by the pool one day. :cool:

WiFi coverage was prolific and lacked any dead zones that I could find

Speed is always a function of location... and I experienced as much a variance as a factor of 8 based upon where we were. You just need a bit of patience in the low bandwidth zones.

 

Thank you so much for a superbly presented post cruise report. It has been a pleasure to cruise along side you from the comfort of my study.

Regards

Swabs.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ron your post cruise review has been eagerly awaited and like your daily updates a pleasure to read.

Like Swabs I thank you for taking us on your journey. Both our cruises on Navigator have been excellent and its wonderful to hear you and Angela found it to be the same.

Regards, Jean.

I cannot wait to refer my friends to this fabulous thread. Navigator is our favorite ship and YOU are our favorite cruise guide. After this past Long Island winter, I didn't think I could be so enthralled with snow country!

Sorry you did not enjoy Terry Breen. We had her a few years ago and thought she was a wonderful speaker. But then we do like the idea of learning on our cruises.

Sorry you did not enjoy Terry Breen. We had her a few years ago and thought she was a wonderful speaker. But then we do like the idea of learning on our cruises.

So do we, but I do an awful lot of homework on our destinations before we cruise....so much is already known.

Really did not mean to be harsh about Terry...she did just fine in context.

Great photos and review and some very interesting comments. You are probably the only person that posted about the theater. Yes - Regent theaters are lovely. The theater was the only area of the Riviera that we did not care for.

You mentioned the possibility of sailing Regent again prior to "our" Explorer trip next year. May I suggest trying the Voyager? Your first ship will probably always be your favorite and the Voyager is a larger version of the Navigator (with a Observation Lounge in the front). The Mariner is also beautiful but the size of the regular cabins is noticeably smaller (including a safe that is tiny and small closets).

You made some good points about excursions. That is pretty much how we feel and is one reason we would love the ability to opt out of excursions for a credit. Like yourselves, we do not need included excursions in the Med. or even in the Caribbean.

You are such a computer guru so I hope I can ask one off-topic question....... how do I remove the picture that is included in my signature below? I know how to add it but not how to take it off. Guess I'm a bit challenged in this area:p

Very thorough review and really appreciated by all. Love the pics.

TC2: I like the kitty. I vote for keeping it.

Z and TB

Very thorough review and really appreciated by all. Love the pics.

 

TC2: I like the kitty. I vote for keeping it.

 

Z and TB

Okay, Twiggy stays for now:D She only shows up when I allow my signature to print.

As Fizzy said - altered slightly to fit my situation- I cannot wait to refer my friends to this fabulous thread. YOU are our favorite cruise guide. After this past winter, I didn't think I could be so enthralled with snow country

On another note, I couldn't help but laugh when I read your remarks about the fitness centre

".. since I am quite fit as it is. Very bright and well equipped." :D

Catherine