Navigator 6 Night Trip Journal with Pictures

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 2: January 30, 2012 - At Sea

 

We woke up at 8am today to very rocky seas. The con to the Promenade rooms is that you can’t see outside so you have no idea how the weather is. The forecast in the compass said sunny and 81, so we put our bathing suits on with cover-ups and headed up to the Windjammer. When we got out there, it was raining pretty hard, and the water was splashing out of the pools.

 

You can see Cuba out in the distance:

 

 

 

We enjoyed our breakfast - I had French toast and waffles with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, some bacon and sausage, potatoes, and a bit of melon while enjoying the view as we sailed within 12 miles of Cuba. Unfortunately the Windjammer on this cruise did not have my favorite kind of breakfast potatoes - the round ones that taste like french fries. They only had these roasted ones, as well as fried fast-food style hash browns.

 

 

The Windjammer got visibly busier around 9am or so with no empty tables to be found. We then went and got some towels and parked ourselves in the solarium under the overhang so we could stay dry as it was still raining. I read for a little while, and once the rain cleared up, I sat on the edge of the pool with my feet in. Unfortunately the water was too cold for me to brave getting in, but a few people did (although they didn’t last long!). My Mom went to the Win A Cruise Slot Tournament with a $25 entrance fee, but unfortunately didn’t get to move on to the next round.

 

 

Around 12:30, we were hungry for lunch so we went to the Windjammer and brought some food back out to our pool chairs in the solarium. I had a slice of Thai chicken pizza, some pasta, fries, and Greek salad, and my mom had a turkey burger and mashed potatoes. Everything was pretty good, although the pasta was a little bit too salty.

 

[Newbcruiser1]

After a bit more reading and watching a bit of the belly-flop contest, we headed to Johnny Rockets to use our Buy One Get One Free Milkshake coupon. We decided to stay there and they happily provided us with onion rings upon request and did some card tricks for us as we enjoyed our milkshakes. It made a great snack without having to pay the cover charge.

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

We then went for a short walk through the Royal Promenade, and to the Ice Show, “Ice Dancin’” in Studio B. The show was very good, although there were a few falls thanks to the rocky seas - overall we preferred it to the ice shows on some of the other ships though - it was very lively and the skaters seemed to be having a good time.

I went to check out the beginning of the sunset on deck 4, and then headed back to the room to relax and get ready for dinner.

[Newbcruiser1]

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Tonight was formal night with the Captain’s reception in the Royal Promenade. We walked around and people-watched for a bit, then went to the main dining room for dinner. We had requested a table for 2 on our reservation, and I e-mailed the Navigator's dining coordinator a few weeks prior to our cruise to ask for a table for 2 once again. I received a response the same day stating that we had table number 431 on deck 4 along the railing.

Our waiter Piotr from Poland, and assistant waiter Jesus from the Dominican Republic were both very nice. I had the pineapple and papaya soup which was somewhat bland and resembled applesauce, followed by the filet of beef which was good, and the chocolate soufflé, also good. We shared the sugar free coconut layer cake as well and we both enjoyed it.

 

 

The show tonight was one of the RCI production shows - “Now and Forever”. The singers and dancers were all really good, but we weren’t big fans of the show itself - I think it was intended to appeal to a more “mature” audience. I felt terrible but we ended up leaving before the end and headed back to the room to get ready for bed.

 

 

[fish6]

We then went back out on deck, sat at the pool for a bit, sat on deck 12, and played a round of mini-golf (I won!). Unfortunately it was pretty chilly outside so we were unable to go swimming as we had hoped, but it was still warmer than in Canada so we couldn’t really complain.

 

 

 

Ha! Ha! I hear you on this one. I am from Ottawa, Canada so I am really looking forward to some warmer weather on our March cruises :D Great review so far....I hope the next few days were warmer for you though!!!!

[kevinsgirl88]

i cant wait to see more!:D

[Hulalovestocruise]

Nice job so far lots of nice photos :) thanks.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Awesome review so far! Your pictures are wonderful! Thank you!!

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 3 - January 31st, 2012 - Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

We woke up around 8:30 and my Mom headed down to the Promenade Café for a pre-breakfast snack. She brought back some tea, a croissant, and a berry danish, all of which were very good. We then went to the Windjammer for a full breakfast which consisted of an omelette from the egg station, a bagel with lox and cream cheese, and more for me.

 

 

I took a walk around the deck to check out the other ships in port:

 

 

Carnival Legend:

 

 

AIDA:

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Celebrity (Millennium Class):

 

 

Carnival Destiny:

 

A pirate ship available for rent / excursions:

 

 

 

We got off the ship around 10am and were on a tender without much of a wait despite being warned that 9am-11am was considered “rush hour” for exiting the ship. The tender ride was much more comfortable than the previous time I was in Grand Cayman on the Radiance as they used large tenders rather than the ship-mounted ones. It was only a 5 minute ride to the island.

The Tender:

 

 

Looking back at the Navigator:

 

[anaivali]

GREAT REVIEW! Navigator was my first cruise... 4 years ago... :D

[Newbcruiser1]

We walked around Georgetown for about 2 hours and checked out sites such as the “Big Black Dick” and “Cheeky Monkey” (where I was yelled at for having my camera turned on in the store!) and returned to the ship at 1pm with our wallets still fully intact.

 

These dresses are made of candy:

 

 

 

On our way to our room to change into our pool gear, we stopped for some snacks at Café Promenade - I had a grilled veggie sandwich and a brownie, both of which were very good.

 

 

[citrusflorida]

Great review and format. I ended up just posting a link to my Facebook pics. I am glad you took photos of the food, which I did not do. Thanks!

[Newbcruiser1]

 

 

 

We then spent the afternoon at the pool - I went for a swim and met some nice people who were part of a group of 54, although the pool was pretty chilly. I also had some bread pudding with vanilla sauce from the Windjammer once the afternoon snacks opened at 3:30pm - a favorite of mine!

The Crown and Anchor Welcome Back party took place at 5:15 tonight, but I didn’t feel like getting ready for dinner that early so I decided to skip it. I also forgot to mention that our platinum C&A pins were delivered to our stateroom last night as well.

I watched the other ships leave before us in the afternoon, including 2 Carnival ships, the Celebrity Millennium, and an AIDA ship which was still there when we pulled away. Just prior to the Navigator leaving, the Carnival Conquest arrived around 4:45 and I could see two small tenders taking a couple people off the ship. The Conquest was not in Grand Cayman today, so I’m not sure what was going on with that.

 

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

After we left Grand Cayman, the ship was very rocky - people were bashing into each other in the hallways and it was a little bit uncomfortable. I remember reading on Cruise Critic that they had cut off 2 of the stabilizers a few weeks ago - perhaps they would have come in handy tonight. This actually became a trend for the remainder of the cruise - extremely windy with rough seas. I think this was the most motion I have felt on any of the ships I’ve been on, including the smaller Radiance of the Seas.

 

Tonight’s show was the Scintas, a family of performers from Las Vegas. It was more enjoyable than last night’s show. We also treated ourselves to our favourite drinks during the show.

 

 

After the show, we headed off to dinner. Tonight was my favorite menu of the cruise, and I had the Caprese Salad, scallop risotto, and chicken marsala. My Mom had the antipasti and lamb shank, and we shared the garlic tiger shrimp. Everything was very good, however our waiter did not pull the shrimps out of the shells as they have always done on my previous cruises. For dessert, we shared the tiramisu and the warm chocolate cake, both of which were delicious. This was by far the best main dining room dinner of the cruise. The waiters also sang which was cute.

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

 

 

 

 

After dinner we went to watch the International Dance Competition. This was the first time I have seen this done. They picked 10 couples from the audience and had them dance around Studio B to different types of music. The 3 top teams won prizes (umbrellas, etc).

The Quest took place after that, and while I’m not usually a huge fan of it, we decided to stay since we were already there and had seats. I have to say this was the best Quest I have ever been to. The items they called for were different than usual, Dan the cruise director wasn’t drunk as previous CD’s have been, and it wasn’t as raunchy as usual. It ended around midnight and I headed up to the room to get ready for the next day. No towel animals tonight, although we did receive a letter for a $50 spa credit and an invitation for the Top Tier Crown and Anchor event for the following afternoon.

A small note about towel animals - there was a note in the compass that passengers would receive one every other night, and this proved to be true for the most part. Here is the one from night 2 that I forgot to post earlier:

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

Day 4: February 1, 2012 - Falmouth, Jamaica

We woke up just before 9am today. We had wanted to try the MDR for breakfast, however their hours were insanely early today - 6:30-8:30am, so we went to the Windjammer instead. After some searching, we got a nice table by the window and could see the Liberty of the Seas across the dock. I had pancakes, French toast, etc for breakfast, and everything was delicious as usual.

 

 

We then headed off the ship for a little walk around the port area in Falmouth. Unfortunately the wind was horrendous today, the ship was squeaking and grinding against the pier, and the water was splashing between the ship and the pier, periodically soaking those walking across the gangway. I'm quite surprised they were able to even dock in that wind.

 

 

 

The last time I had been to Falmouth, most of the stores were not yet open as it was still under construction, but the port area is complete now and it turned out really nice. They have all of the usual stores found in various ports around the Caribbean, a craft market, etc. We walked around for about an hour while being pelted by blowing sand (nice way to exfoliate!) and then returned to the ship.

 

Bring some $$$ if you want your picture taken with these guys:

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

We went up to deck 5 for some frozen blended coffee drinks from Café Promenade and used our 2 for 1 platinum coupon. We both had caramel frappuccino type beverages and they were delicious. They are not on the menu, but they'll make you whatever you want!

Unfortunately I managed to slip and fall on the highly polished wood “bridge” on deck 5 on our way there and ended up with a very sore and bruised knee. The My Time Dining staff member on deck 5 who had just greeted us as we checked out the menu had seen me fall, but didn’t ask if I was okay. Fortunately nobody else saw me as the ship was a bit of a ghost town. How embarrassing! PLEASE be careful on the floors of the ship - they are extremely slippery and I do not recommend foam flip-flops - you're better off with rubber soled ones!

There was some adult Nintendo Wii bowling going on in the Ixtapa lounge so we headed there and played for a bit, then hit the pool deck. We got great front row seats and hung out at the pool for a little while, I did some aqua aerobics, and we watched the Caribbean Line Dancing class by the pool.

 

We then went to Johnny Rockets for a late lunch at 3:30. Unfortunately the service wasn’t very good today - we had to ask for our waiter as nobody came over 10 minutes after we were told to seat ourselves. The food, however, was great. We shared the Original Burger with cheddar and bacon, the chicken club sandwich, and some chicken tenders, along with the usual fries and rings. For dessert I had the Oreo sundae. It was nice to watch our little horn battle with the Liberty of the Seas and sail away from there.

 

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

 

 

We watched as we started to sail away from Falmouth! We said goodbye to the Liberty and we'd see them again tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Lots of waves and whitecaps today:

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

It was extremely windy today so I went to take shelter in the solarium after lunch and read for a little while, and then went down to deck 4 aft to watch my first sunset of the cruise. It was gorgeous!

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

 

 

 

After that, I went back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. Still full from Johnny Rockets and not seeing anything that appealed to us on tonight’s main dining room menu, we opted to skip dinner tonight and go to the Love and Marriage show, followed by a snack in the Windjammer. The Windjammer had a huge selection of foods, many of which were on the Main Dining Room menu, as well as sushi, tempura vegetables, stir fries, pastas, burgers and hot dogs, steak, chicken, chicken fingers, various potatoes, etc. You name it, they had it! They even had a crepe station! We actually really enjoyed dinner there! It was nice and quiet as well, although we were not offered beverages or anything.

 

After the Windjammer we headed down to watch some Karaoke in the Ixtapa lounge, then up to the pool deck for a really cool bartender show, The Battle of the Sexes gameshow, and the 11pm pool buffet and dance party. The party was fun and the buffet was expansive but there weren’t that many people out, likely due to the extreme wind and high seas. I was actually surprised they didn’t cancel it or move it inside

 

 

 

 

[Newbcruiser1]

 

 

 

 

We had a towel friend tonight:

 

[jebuell]

Your towel friend cracks me up! That's the most creative one I've seen so far. And thank you for mentioning the Love and Marriage game night. I've been trying to figure that out for weeks now. I know every cruise is different but hopefully ours is the same... we're getting married on Tuesday morning of our cruise and I was just hoping it wouldn't be on Monday. :)

 

Sorry you had such unfortunately weather!