sdbmd

I just got off the Navigator. The infamous Tent issue at the port of Miami is a problem, but shouldn't be an issue if there are 5 ships in port. It's when there are 6 that they end up using the tent.

I've cruised a lot, and on several lines. I'm Emerald in Crown and Anchor, so a relative noob compared to many here. I've had plenty of good experiences on RC. I loved my suite on the Navigator, perfect size, comfty bed, quiet interior. Yes, we had things we were unhappy with, including food in the MDR, but I did not think the ship was seriously run down/ready for the scrap yard, by any means. I certainly don't think any level of panic about your upcoming B2B is warranted. You'll have a good time, especially if you roll with the punches rather than fixate on everything that isn't perfect.

I saw people doing self carry of luggage leaving with my Suites/Pinnacle group at 930. Guess the delayed disembarkation messed with their plans for an early departure.

Saw a lot of unhappy wheelchair passengers waiting for assistance to disembark.

Thanks to our concierge escort, we were off ship by 940 and in a cab 10 minutes later

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I was in suite 1560 and found the bed comfortable. My cabinmate took the sofa bed which was firm and very good for their bad back, so nothing but praises here.

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Did anyone on this sailing get hors d'ouerves in cabin? We had a suite but didn't get any, which seemed odd. Our cabin steward only delivered the evening menu twice out of nine nights.

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I'm currently on the Navi, on a 9 night sailing from Miami. Our second formal night is tonight . I asked our server if there would be lobster and he said "Maybe. They said they might change the menu and add it. But they're small, anyways. More like big shrimp." This is from the crew, mind you. If we don't get lobster, this will be a first in any Caribbean sailing on 5 different cruise lines.

I have also noticed issues with the internet and cable. Despite the zoom and stream level, there is no way I could stream anything. I am fully aware we are dealing with satellite internet service and that the Navi does not yet have the upgraded service available on other RCI ships. I just want to confirm the service remains low and unpredictable so people don't have unrealistic expectations.

The TV is also poor. They have one channel that plays a loop of US programs like Big Bang, Person of Interest, and Two Broke Girls. However, they have been looping the same episodes for the past seven days.... also the Smart tv functions that are supposed to let us do things like check our cabin charges and order room service are not working, at least in our cabin. I will be notifying maintenance to see if they can fix it. We have already had them out to fix a very difficult to open sliding Glassdoor and a mini fridge who's interior was warmer than the ambient air. Neither are actually fixed, they are just less bad than they were.

Overall, my traveling companion and I are pretty disappointed. It has been a while since we sailed Royal, instead using Celebrity, NCL, and Princess. Royal might have cut a few too many corners for these travelers' tastes. Thankfully, we have a wealth of choices when it comes to cruise lines.

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Yup that was the order. Quite odd. The Fireball was a bit of an add on. I think someone asked about flavored whiskey and they decided to offer this if anyone was interested.

I'm glad I didn't get stuck with a cover charge for this event. I could have gotten all of these for free under the bev package, although it would have required multiple trips to the bar.

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Whiskey tasting sounds interesting. How much did it cost and how many whiskies were sampled?

They were supposed to charge $20 pp but the host bartender waived the fee...I think because many had a hard time hearing or understanding him, but also because he admitted he "didn't know much about whiskey"(!)

We were given a serving of:

Jameson

JW Black

Woodford Reserve

Glenlivet

Crown Royal

Fireball

They also gave everyone a bottle of water so we could clean our palates between tastings.

The Johnny Walker tasting was happening at the exact same time in Port Merchant. A second one will be held on Day 8. I noted the sign up sheet for that and,of course, signed up.

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How much does RC charge for Woodford Reserve or Basil Hayden?

I got a single shot of Basil at the Two Poets today for $9.50 plus tip.

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We chose formal night as our first night in the MDR with hopes that would be one of the better menus of the sailing. We all found the food to be average and nothing really left us wanting more, even the escargot which is soaked in butter and garlic seemed to lack any strong flavor.

 

We hit the MDR last night and my cabinmate, who loves escargot, was also very unhappy with her serving. She said she tasted butter but no garlic. More alarmingly, there was significant GRIT in the snail she tried. She actually ended up (discreetly) spitting it out and reporting it to the waiter. The head waiter subsequently came by and made note of the issue. The rest of the meal was unremarkable, although we were both surprised with how empty the dining room was. Since we hit specialty Restaraunt the first two nights, I am not sure if this was unusual or not.

Tonight's menu didn't appeal so we hit Jonny Rockets which was fun and tasty.

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I was at Two Poets tonight for the Whiskey tasting, on the Navigator. I noticed they had both 12 year Balvenie and Basil Hayden available and was told they're $9.50 plus tip for a single shot pour. In the Navigator's duty free shop, the 12 yr Balvenie sells for $65 and the 16 year for $99.

Did they have the 10 drink card for sale at any of the bars? It would probably be around $80

Yes. As CruiseLifeRick posted in his live blog of this week's Navigator cruise, we do have an offer for a 10 drink card:: http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161212/2e0e6621df137b1501e246bf4a86faa9.jpg

Can confirm Makers knob creek and Basil Hayden on the Navigator as well.

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We were able to get double shots with the package.! :)

I actually wondered if this was an option. I am not a heavy drinker but have felt the pours a little light on my current Navigator sailing. Maybe ordering double rum and cokes on the bev package will save me a few trips to the bar....

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We are also on the 3/17/17 sailing and just gearing up on the travel logistics for arrival.

 

 

 

Thanks for all of the information here, and sorry folks are having tough times. My read here is that it's just Miami, regardless of terminal or tent there seems to be problems. Also, doesn't seem to matter if there is one ship in port or 5. Is that a fair assessment?

I've sailed out of Miami multiple times and don't remember much in the way of issues. When we boarded 12/9/16, the only hiccup had to do with the escalator taking you from ID check up to the metal detectors. I guess things were slow going thru the metal detectors so the queue at the top of the escalator backed up. They had to intermittently stop people from boarding the escalator so there was no pile up at the top. People sometimes aren't quick to move away from the top of the escalator so we had a near miss with a pile up as I came up.

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Navigator here, I prepurchased and had a sticker on my seapass card.

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I arrived at the port this Friday to board the Navigator at 1130 and was on ship by noon. Even if you don't have a suite , I still think you'd be on the ship in 45 minutes.

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I've sailed the S class ships 3 times in recent years and loved it. The size of the ship, the decor, the crew, the average age of the guests....all were really ideal to me. When it came time to book my December vacation, I immediately gravitated to Celebrity. However, I couldn't find an itinerary I liked so I ended up on RC's Navigator. The price difference was notable (cheaper on RC) and now that I'm on ship, the other differences (like the demographics of the customers, the decor, and the cleanliness of the ship) is fairly notable. I also think the crew to passenger ratio is worse on RC than Celebrity, so we're seeing more waiting than on Celebrity.

Don't get me wrong...I'm happy to be on RC again but I think those 3 back to back Celebrity sailings spoiled me a bit. It is a bit of "you get what you pay for", no doubt.

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On the Navi, we have so far only used the coffee card at the bar at Windjammer cafe, which brews with Seattle's Best. Will likely use it tonight at MDR.

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Day 3 on the Navigator and I've found 12 and 15 year Chivas, Basil Hayden, and Jameson. No sign of Laphroaig yet but I'll start asking. Also have not price checked the 15 year Chiv or the Basil. Jameson and 12 year Chiv were covered by the bev package, no overage.

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I boarded the Navi on Dec 9, and we had terminal G, i.e. Not A Tent. Five ships in port that day I believe.

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I boarded the Navi on the 9th. Terminal G, we arrived at 11:30 and were on ship by noon. We do have a suite which allowed us to bypass some of the line for the metal detectors and then again for check in/getting sea pass card. I was very relieved there was no tent fiasco for us....

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I've sailed NCL, HAL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, and Royal. I've seen shorts in the MDR on all of them. I've also seen people turned away in shorts on all of them. It's purely at the whim of the host/hostess.

As far as shoes go, my mom has taken her fair share of cruises and has a penchant for wearing flip flops since she hates closed shoes. They're always in good repair and some are "fancy" with bedazzling or fake flowers on them. No one has ever turned her away with them, but she never combines that with shorts unless it's at a casual spot like the buffet.

For those of you worried about the embarkation fiasco some have encountered, I learned something very useful from other threads about that very topic in this forum. It was suggested people check out CruiseTT, then click on Ports. You can look up your specific embarkation day and see how many ships will be the Miami port with you.

If it's 6, you run the risk of Navi having the makeshift Tent terminal. So far, everyone who complained about the Tent/line situation on the Navig, were embarking on a day there were 6 ships in port (at least, from the ones I've seen and checked their sailing date.)

Thank you for your reply. Wow, you had 6 ships in port that cruise.

I'm sailing the Navi this Friday and there's a total of 4 ships in port. I'm hoping this means ZERO chance of being stuck at the makeshift terminal.

Cruise with NCL and get a free premium beverage package ☺

 

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Yeah but free means built into the price of the cruise.... As much as I love NCL, when I was price shopping, I got radically different prices with vs without one Perk (which would be bev package for me, ofc :D).