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ROYAL CARIBBEAN Cruise vLog Part 5 | Navigator of the Seas 2019 | Perfect Day at Coco Cay

Just did that cruise, you'll love it. Really loved Santorini

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Thank you Bob,

But i've spent hours online trying to get reviews and info- very little on RC's tours. What there is is mixed in with cruise reviews.. I'm exhausted from searching.

Check out the port of call forums here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

 

Also consult TripAdvisor, that is a good source of reviews.

Would you say that Oia is enough to see? I can't drink alcohol so visiting a winery would just be torture. If seeing Fira is worth it, I could suck it up and deal with the winery if not for the views.

I'm really scared to use private tour companies as itinerary changes and the possibility of being late back to the ship- I couldn't deal with the stress. Did you think Olympia was worth it?

Thanks for your insight.

We did a Royal Caribbean excursion in Santorini and it was really good. You're the first off and into the tender boats and don't have the faff of dealing with the cable car up. I can't remember the name of the tour we did but it took us to a winery first, then to Oia and finally dropped us back off in Fira.

 

Only downside was that we didn't have as much time in Oia as I would have liked but being the first off and skipping the cable car was worth its weight in gold.

 

We didn't do a Royal Caribbean excursion in Katakolon, we used a private tour company to see Olympia.

 

Haven't been to Dubrovnik or Kotor though so can't help you with those sorry.

Really need some assistance in choosing excursions for this cruise of a lifetime. Celebrating my 50th BD. This is the August 18, 2018 cruise.

We are going to:

Venice

Dubrovnik

Kotor

Santorini

Katakolon

I'd really like advice on Royal Caribbean's excursions if possible. There's so many and I have no idea what to choose. Are there excursions NOT to do? Should do? Thanks for any help.

Josh

I've taken 3 Atlantis cruises.. they were great when I was young and fit in with the others. I'm older now and don't particularly like clubbing anymore, I don't spend every waking minute in the gym. And while those cruises are fun, I'd much rather take more cruises for less money than less for more money. For me, it's just I grew out of that.

I've honestly never had any issues in the past with RC. And this cruise wasn't horrible. It just wasn't what I expect from RC. Out of all the ships I've sailed on, big or small, I've had a great time. It was good to see that the ship had some updates but I expected more from all of the hoopla.

I will say that I like that the ship docks in Roatan which makes for an easier and quicker exit.

There is however not very much around where this ship docks.

It's unfortunate because a lot of my disappointment could have been alleviated simply by good customer service. Which I must say, I've always previously gotten. Live and learn.

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I was really looking forward to this cruise- celebrating graduating from nursing school, introducing family members to cruising and just getting away.

I'll start with the good- the referbished centrum is beautiful and I really think the cruise benefits from having activities and shows there. The "R Bar" is billed as a champagne bar but had no sparkling wines or prosecco.

The beds were comfy and room service allows for full breakfast, unlike Majesty. That's really nice to have. Drinks were reasonably priced and well poured. Dining staff were just great fun. Smiles and really went ouf of their way to make you happy. Adding a Broadway style show really helped change up the entertainment rather than just the standard tired 70's show and music. That needs to either be updated or removed from all cruises. I've cruised RC for 10 years and the Boogie Nights show is always the same..yawn. Unfortunately, the singing wasn't top notch. The comedien was hilarious. Room service was always on time and cabin attendant was top notch. Another plus, the crew altered the scheduled activities on the last day because of not great weather and rough seas. That was good of them to do so.

Chops was amazing- start to finish. Food devine, great atmosphere, great staff, and we even got a dolphin show during dinner as a school of dolphin were swimming beside the ship.

Now for the bad- First off, I pick a day to do the spa on every cruise. I spent an hour at the acupuncture seminar and then another 30 min setting up appointments and prices. When I arrived for my massage, I was told they made a mistake and I would have to get the higher priced massage- Bait and Switch much? At the time, there was no offer to just make it right- so I promptly canceled both appointments and they lost out on all that money. Yes they called that night and agreed to let me have it at that price, but I already had plans made and things scheduled.

The food was lackluster and not a great variety. On most RC cruises, in the Windjammer, they will have both sides open- Salad bar, Asian bar, Cuttery bar, Pizza, hotdogs hamburgers....a lot of food choices. This ship has one or the other side open and basically a single double sided bar about 20ft long- hotdog/hamburger bar and a desert bar. Lunch wasn't even served at 11:30am. I went to the desert bar to get a cookie and a staff member barked "you're not supposed to be here right now"- sorry, no signage that says that.

The activities schedule was a bit strange- usually there are multiple activities occuring at the same time to allow variety- not this ship. Maybe a couple of times that was the case, but definitely not the rule. I mean, has anyone ever seen 300 people show up for a towel folding seminar on other cruises? So you had 1000 people going from the make show, across the ship to the other side for Kareoke then back across the entire ship for a comedy show.

And then there's this very strange layout of the ship. The designers must have been hungover that day. I know, lets hide the shops in the center hallway where people will cross 3 times during the cruise rather than in the centrum area where they all congregate for shows and drinks and mingling. Lets make it more difficult for them to spend money... Let's take away the Sorrentos pizza parlor completely (I will say the Park Cafe had great food- probably some of the best on the ship next to Chops). Also, the Casino had no smoke-free night like most RC ships do. So it was an effort just to breath- I did manage to take $150 of theirs from the roulette table.

There never seemed enough personnel to take care of the guests- for example: During the main shows in the theater, a theater that holds about 1000 people, there were never more than 2-3 drink staff on the floor level and not ONE upstairs. Again, lets make it more difficult for the ship to make money.

I've been on 10 RC cruises and this one has to be the most lackluster ever- especially when comparing this ship which is about the same size as Majesty. Majesty wins by a far margin. My next cruise will either be Majesty again or Oasis ...or maybe I'll try NCL's Epic. I'll never cruise Vision again and will never recommend it either. Speaking of Oasis- it parked by us at Cozumel and Vision could be its lifeboat. It dwarfed us.

Well these are my views as I experienced it. I know others were having a blast and I'm glad.

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Less than 48 hrs

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Now that school is finished I can concentrate on this vacation. So very excited to celebrate graduation and testing before I tackle studying for the NCLEX boards. Can't wait

J

Well, I passed my exit exam- Graduation aka Pinning is April 30. So happy and relieved.

It'd be wonderful to have a drink with you all.

:D

Thank you. I say I'll be celebrating, I may not as I still have to pass the exit exam. Looking forward to the rest in any case.

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