"Did You Just Get Married?!?!" Navigator 2/26/12 LONG Review!

[jebuell]

NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS, February 26th-March 3rd Review

 

I wrote the daily journals while on the cruise as it happened (Live, if you will), so you will notice my male companion changes from my "fiance" to my "husband" during the course of this review. :)

 

So... basic breakdown first!

 

ABOUT US: Our cruising purpose was our wedding on February 28th in Grand Cayman (if you hadn't figured that out yet!). Our group consisted of myself and my fiance (27 and 26) and 10 guests. We ranged in age from 2 1/2 (my nephew) to 62 (my father-in-law). Of the 12 of us, only four had cruised before. In fact, I met my fiance and his Mom while we were all on our first ever cruise back in 2010! The three of us had only sailed on Carnival in the past. My Maid of Honor has cruised with Carnival and Disney. Our room categories ranged from D1s all the way down to interiors and included our very own AFT BALCONY (woot!).

 

CREW IN GENERAL: Awesome! When we first got onboard we had to deal with a few things and a lovely blong Swedish woman helped us out (completely missed her name in the choas of the first day!). Simona at Guest Services was amazing. All of the stewards we'd pass in the hallway would say hi to us. The waiters were amazing. My friend David was well known to most by the end of the cruise and they'd come up to us and make some sort of reference or joke to something he did during the week. All in all I was VERY impressed! Only three people I really wasn't overly thrilled with was Warren (cruise director, but he did grow on me), Simona (activities director), and some guy we had to deal with in the MDR on the first day. Warren grew on me by the end but I never did like Simona, and luckily never had to interact with the MDR guy again.

 

STEWARD: We had Marlon (can't remember where he's from) and he was great. Cleaned our room in a timely manner, was polite, and left great towel animals. He was a little quiet, though. I actually got to know my parents' steward better because he would actually stop to chat with us in the hallways and he was very good at remembering what we were up to. Nothing against Marlon, I just like chatting with my stewards and he seemed really focused on his work.

 

WAITER: We had Francisco and I really, really liked him. He quickly learned who in our party was vegan and vegetarian and would help them make dining decisions. He quickly learned that we were a fun group and you can tease us quite well without hurting our feelings. The day before the wedding he gave me a blank dessert menu and said "now, about that wedding dress, this is probably what you can eat by way of dessert tonight". I found it funny. :) The head and assistant waiters were also great, although I think we scared the assistant waiter a bit. Poor guy was a little quiet and shy which isn't our group at all.

 

CABIN: We had 6690, aft balcony. A lot of people poo-poo the 6th deck aft balconies but I honestly don't know why. I LOVED our balcony and our cabin. It was clean and nothing was broken. There was a tube TV instead of a flat screen but that's really my only complaint. The balcony was amazing and had 2 loungers and a table with 2 chairs. I spent a lot of time out on that balcony! And you can clearly see the ocean and over that blue roof thing. And I'm a little nervous around heights so having that there was actually very comforting to me. We even put my wedding dress out there to dry it out after the wedding and wasn't worried about that. I think for families with kids, especially, these rooms would be a nice option. I would not hesitate to book a 6th deck aft balcony again. I'd prefer it over a side balcony on any deck!

 

FOOD: Loved almost everything. But I'm not picky and not a super taster. I tend to just like to eat. There were some things that were better than others but in general I liked everything I tried. I was only really disappointed with the sushi, but being a sushi snob I'm not surprised. My mother in law (who's reading over my shoulder as I write) would like you all to know that the granola bars in the Cafe Promenade were amazing and a must-have. She had 2-3 every night and got everyone else addicted to them. But since they had chocolate in them I was not able to try them myself. :(

 

PORTS: Loved them! I think that Grand Cayman, Jamaica (Ocho Rios), and Labadee are three really great ports to visit. All three offered very different experiences that made for a nicely rounded out trip. My favorite was probably Labadee, though I felt really bad that our whole group wasn't able to meet up and get together because it was too crazy and busy with two ships in port. I'd love to go someday with only one ship. My husband and maid of honor both thought Ocho Rios was the best. Everyone else really seemed to love Grand cayman.

 

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Excellent. Everyone agreed it was a great time. From the crew to the acitvities.

 

Next up I'll post the daily reviews. I'm getting my pics loaded so if I'm a little slow, I apologize! Here's the only one from the trip I have on Facebook right now (from the wedding):

 

[dawnmariex]

Nice!

[jebuell]

Saturday February 25th (Pre-Cruise Day)

 

We are from Northern California but had spent the last week before the cruise in Vegas for a convention. My photographer (Susan) happens to live in Vegas so we all just decided to fly out together after the convention. We flew on Delta to Fort Lauderdale and left Vegas at 6AM. And since we were at a casino in Vegas we opted against sleeping that night. :)

 

We got to the airport OK and our trip started out relatively uneventful... that is until we went to land for our lay over in Atlanta. I am a frequent flyer and I travel all over Mexico and the Caribbean for work, so flying and the Atlanta airport are two things I'm very familiar with and something just felt really off with this landing. As we got closer to the group the plane started rocking back and forth a bit more than I think anyone was comfortable with. And just as we were about to hit the ground for the landing we took off again! It took a few seconds to realize it was happening but sure enough, we went all the way back up! Everyone was sitting up looking confused but no one got on the overhead to tell us what was going on. It felt like FOREVER, but in reality it was probably only 2 minutes before the captain finally got on and said cross winds had made it impossible for us to safely land, so we were going to circle and try again. And luckily, we were successful the second time around! We made our transfer just fine and landed in Fort Lauderdale just a few hours later.

 

We were picked up by my old Cab Driver New Yorker friend, David, who is now a Miami "snowbird" who then proceeded to drive us madly around Fort Lauderdale because Susan's glasses broke while we were in FLL and she didn't have an extra pair. We needed to get her something before the cruise or else she'd be pretty much blind the whole week (no fun!. We had success at WalMart with what was, I swear, the only frames in the entire freakin' town that would fit her current lenses.

 

Finally we made it to the La Quinta Inn Northeast in northern Fort Lauderdale where we met up with my parents and went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. After finally picking up the last of our guests at the airport I finally drifted off to sleep... at 3:15 AM!

 

If you're wondering, the hotel was OK. We got it on Last Minute Travel for about $70/night. It had a pool but it was windy and a little cool that night so we didn't go in it. The beds were kind of small and hard but we all slept fine. It was rated 3 stars on LMT. 3 stars it is FAR from! I'd say 2 at most. I am a little upset about that because I was trying to find a nice hotel that everyone could afford and went 10 miles from the port to get one and it ended up not being that great. Definitely not as nice as other La Quintas I've stayed at in the past.

 

Highlight of the Day: Getting to Florida!

 

Lowlight of the Day: The "landing" in Atlanta and running around in Fort Lauderdale trying to find glasses frames.

 

[vavasmom]

Congratulations - that is a beautiful picture of your wedding

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review

[jebuell]

Sunday February 26th - Embarkation

 

My alarm went off at 9:15AM and despite only getting 6 hours of sleep in 2 days, I was good to go! I woke everyone else up that were staying in our room then we met my parents for breakfast at the La Quinta's continental breakfast. It was pretty good, if that sort of thing interests you. But I just had a bagel to save room for ship food.

 

At 10:15 we loaded my parents into David's car along with our luggage and sent them down to Port Everglades. The rest of us (myself, my fiance, and my two friends) packed up the room and got ready to be picked up after he finished dropping off the first load. He ended up stopping to eat so we didn't get picked up until noon and didn't get to the port until 12:30. My parents, who had arrived around 11AM, said they didn't have to wait in any lines and were on the boat within 20 minutes of arriving at the port. We, however, got to wait in a nice long line for about an hour before getting to security. I had to go to the bathroom so bad! While I didn't find Pier 29 to be disorganized by any means, they definitely do need some portas outside! I seriously almost didn't make it and how much would that have sucked? I also ended up getting a little sunburned because I forgot to put on sunblock that morning (whoops!).

 

 

Once we made it through security the rest was easy and fast. We got the Crazy Hat Lady (sorry, no picture!) and I loved finally getting to see who everyone was talking about! That's one expensive hat. :) After getting our cards we skipped the pictures and went right on board. It was around this point that I caught a glance at Susan and my other friend Emaleigh's cards and realized they weren't in the same dining room as us. All of our reservations were made as part of a group and our dining times were linked. I even called to confirm this a week before the cruise! BAH! We decided to visit the Maitre D after we got settled.

 

At this point it was 1:45 so we were able to get to our cabin right away. We had Aft Balcony 6690. You can read in the first part of my review what I thought of it. Sure, you look out over the blue roof but the water is just right there and not at all hard to see, and we loved it. It had two loungers and a table and chairs, which was perfect. In fact, as I write this I am sitting on one of the loungers listening to the ocean. It's pretty awesome.

 

 

We then went to the MDR to get the dining reservations worked out. We encountered a really awesome employee from Sweden who kindly directed us to where we needed to go. However, we then encountered a really rude gentleman (who's name I didn't catch) who just was just sarcastic and rude. Luckily the Maitre D was awesome and got our reservation changed. For the record, we had ONE table for all TWELVE of us. So a table for 12 is possible! In fact, next to us they were setting up a table for 16 for late dining, so that's possible, too, at least on NOS.

 

Then we went up to the Windjammer to get some food at about 3PM. It was there we ran into my fiance's parents. We managed to find three tables right next to each other that were empty and pushed them together. I had a salami sandwich with the word's smalled piece of salami in it, potatoes that were amazing, and some fruit which tasted fresh. The lemonade was fresh squeezed and really tasty! My friend got a DOD but the rest of us opted to pass.

 

 

Next was the muster drill. I must say that, by far, this was the most painless muster drill I have ever attended! Everyone checked in on time and it got under way pretty quickly. No life jackets needed and the review of what to do in the event of an emergency was quick.

 

Then it was time for sail away! I'd read that the best place to go for sail away was the Helipad on deck 5, but quickly realized that it was too windy up there, and since we were in the channel backward it wasn't the greatest place to be. Then I realized... Duh! We have an aft balcony! So a group of 6 of us went down to our room and watched sail away from the comfort of our balcony. Of course, not until after my Dad and I Tebowed on the Helipad. Haha! Then we had to sit on the balcony and watch everyone else leave first.

 

 

 

After that we changed and went to dinner. Our waiter is Francisco from India (Francisco from India?!?!) and so far I like him a lot. My Dad is a Vegan and maid of honor is vegatarian and he was able to guide them to their best dining options. I had this fruit plate thing but I wish I'd gotten the Onion Tart thing. My fiance did and it was amazing! Definitely a must-get! For my entre I ordered the catch of the day and it was great. The mushroom pasta thing my fiance got, however, did not look good. He said it tasted OK but I think he was a disappointed. For desert I had the Strawberry Pavluva (sp?) which I really, really loved and wanted to get another of, but it was pushing 8PM and we were the last ones left in our part of the MDR. So we packed things up.

 

From there my sister-in-law and I went up to the spa to make massage appointments for the next day, and my Mom had already made her appointed for that evening earlier in the day. We left her there for her massage and facial which she really, really loved and would recommend. Aparently they had a 2-for-1 deal going on if you booked that day and she was happy she took advantage of it.

 

We spent the rest of the evening walking around the Royal Promenade and playing the Majority Rules game show (we lost). My fiance then won $4 playing the Texas Tea slot machine (his favorite from Vegas) before we went to the Welcome Aboard Show. Here we learned that Dan, Dan, the Party Man was no longer our cruise director. Instead we met Warren, from Canada, who seems pretty good so far but a little... blah? I can't really pin point it but I'm not excited about him. We shall see how he holds up over the week! I'm a little sad we missed Dan, but I've heard good things about Warren so I don't really mind. The show wasn't exactly a variety show as advertised. Really it was just a comedian. He was OK and I laughed a few times, but it just wasn't what I expected.

 

 

After the show we decided it had been a long enough day and headed back to the cabin. We ordered some room service and as I write this it is a little after midnight and I am snacking on a cheese platter. Yum! BUT, it did take 45 minutes from the time we ordered until we got our food. A little slow for my taste. More tomorrow!

 

Highlight of the Day: Being on a freakin' SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Lowlight of the Day: Getting sunburned because I was unprepared for the line at check-in. Advise- WEAR SUNSCREEN AND A HAT!

 

 

OK, the husband (!!) and I are going to have some dinner and enjoy some Appleton Rum. I'll post the rest of the review throughout the day tomorrow.

[jebuell]

Two more quick shots from Day 1:

 

More of the balcony:

 

View from the balcony:

[newcruisergal]

We were on this sailing, and in fact until about three weeks prior to sailing we had 6690 booked, at that point we got a great deal on JS 6394 and moved over. We saw your "Newlywed" decorations on the door and each time we laughed that this was our wedding present to you, moving over so you could have an aft balcony to celebrate!!!

 

We always choose afts when we can and were a bit worried because of all the negative feedback on Deck 6 but we LOVED this cabin, it was the QUIETEST aft we've ever had, and I didn't mind the superstructure at all, like you I liked having the little bit of buffer there...we were moving fast those nights we were doing 20 knots and looking out over the railing on Deck 4 I got dizzy! I was glad we didn't have to look right down to the water but could still see and hear it.

 

You had a gorgeous day in Cayman and your wedding pic is awesome!

[jebuell]

We were on this sailing, and in fact until about three weeks prior to sailing we had 6690 booked, at that point we got a great deal on JS 6394 and moved over. We saw your "Newlywed" decorations on the door and each time we laughed that this was our wedding present to you, moving over so you could have an aft balcony to celebrate!!!

 

We always choose afts when we can and were a bit worried because of all the negative feedback on Deck 6 but we LOVED this cabin, it was the QUIETEST aft we've ever had, and I didn't mind the superstructure at all, like you I liked having the little bit of buffer there...we were moving fast those nights we were doing 20 knots and looking out over the railing on Deck 4 I got dizzy! I was glad we didn't have to look right down to the water but could still see and hear it.

 

You had a gorgeous day in Cayman and your wedding pic is awesome!

 

OMG, THANK YOU!!!!! You should have knocked, I would have hugged you. :) We loved the room so much. When that big price dropped happened I called my TA right away and our cabin actually opened up right when I was on the phone with her. It's funny to think we were probably on our phones at about the same time that day! I'd actually never heard of the aft balconies before but my TA seemed really excited about it so we took it. I really did love it. I'm an aft balcony convert and, dare I say, I may even opt for 6th deck next time if I can get it!

[jmf123]

Now I see why you had to dry out your wedding dress on the balcony! Nice review so far!

 

We even put my wedding dress out there to dry it out after the wedding and wasn't worried about that.

 

[Familygoboston]

I'm enjoying your review and your wedding story! We've cruised NOS twice over he last 2 years, and we really enjoy that ship!

Congratulations! Looking forward to the "rest of the story!"

[newcruisergal]

OMG, THANK YOU!!!!! You should have knocked, I would have hugged you. :) We loved the room so much. When that big price dropped happened I called my TA right away and our cabin actually opened up right when I was on the phone with her. It's funny to think we were probably on our phones at about the same time that day! I'd actually never heard of the aft balconies before but my TA seemed really excited about it so we took it. I really did love it. I'm an aft balcony convert and, dare I say, I may even opt for 6th deck next time if I can get it!

 

Haha, I thought that too, as soon as we got off the phone with the TA we looked again at RC's website and 6690 was GONE! Gotta love it, so glad it worked out the way it did :D

[gelo7]

Looking forward to the rest.

[fischymom]

Congrats!! I love the wedding pic with you two in the water. ;)

[jerryb48]

Jebuell, I saw where you posted on a different thread about your table for twelve. I also posted that I made my reservations a long time ago and even though we were linked for dinning, I was told we could only have a table for 10. We need one for 11. So I called rccl yesterday and told them what you posted. I was told I "might" get a large table but not for certain. I will check once on board.

When you booked did they tell you you would definitly have a large table and was it listed on the table arraingements or did you arrange that when you went to talk to them upon boarding??

Congrats on the wedding!

Thanks,

Jerry

[bcwaves]

Congratulations on your wedding! So looking forward to the rest of your review! Great photos! Also happy to see the higher table on the aft balcony. Did you happen to notice if the rest of the afts had this higher table? We have an aft on 7 next Jan. Can't wait to have breakfast out there.

[newcruisergal]

Jebuell, I saw where you posted on a different thread about your table for twelve. I also posted that I made my reservations a long time ago and even though we were linked for dinning, I was told we could only have a table for 10. We need one for 11. So I called rccl yesterday and told them what you posted. I was told I "might" get a large table but not for certain. I will check once on board.

When you booked did they tell you you would definitly have a large table and was it listed on the table arraingements or did you arrange that when you went to talk to them upon boarding??

Congrats on the wedding!

Thanks,

Jerry

 

When you get to about 2-3 weeks out from your sailing you might want to email the Restaurant Coordinator for the ship directly:

 

NV_RestaurantOperationsCoordinator@rccl.com

[jebuell]

Jebuell, I saw where you posted on a different thread about your table for twelve. I also posted that I made my reservations a long time ago and even though we were linked for dinning, I was told we could only have a table for 10. We need one for 11. So I called rccl yesterday and told them what you posted. I was told I "might" get a large table but not for certain. I will check once on board.

When you booked did they tell you you would definitly have a large table and was it listed on the table arraingements or did you arrange that when you went to talk to them upon boarding??

Congrats on the wedding!

Thanks,

Jerry

 

Two weeks before we set sail we actually only had 11 of us and one is a 2 year old, so they said it would be no problem. But then the 12th person added and I was told they'd do their best but it would probably mean two tables of 6 each. We were OK with that but still wanted one table.

 

When we got on board I discovered that my two friends were not only at a different table, they were in a different MDR (the 5th floor one instead of the 3rd floor one). The Matre D actually worked out the one table for us that first day.

 

So if you don't end up getting one table, head to him on the first day and ask. You will probably get the table you want. At least the NOS one was amazing with working things out to make everyone happy!

[jebuell]

Congratulations on your wedding! So looking forward to the rest of your review! Great photos! Also happy to see the higher table on the aft balcony. Did you happen to notice if the rest of the afts had this higher table? We have an aft on 7 next Jan. Can't wait to have breakfast out there.

 

Both balconies on either side of us appeared to have the same furniture. Not sure about the other levels though. I know someone who posts on here had a 7th deck aft on our sailing (from the Roll Calls) so hopefully she swings in and gives more insight.

[jebuell]

MONDAY FEBRUARY 27th - DAY AT SEA

 

We slept today until about 9:15then headed to the MDR for breakfast with my friends. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the breakfast selection at the MDR. It was fun to have a sit down breakfast once, but after this we'll probably do room service or the Windjammer for breakfast from now on. The selection was just lacking and the service was slow.

 

After breakfast we decided to go to the Royal Promenade where they were having a $10 sale. I picked up a watch and a big floppy hat to keep from getting sunburned the rest of the day. Then we decided to explore the ship since we realized we'd only seen maybe half of it so far. I am very impressed with the Navigator. I've read other reviews where people have said that she's showing her age, but if that's the case I personally do not see it! She feels younger, cleaner, and more organized than either of the ships I've been on before (Carnival Elation and Paradise).

 

 

We went back to the Royal Promenade for the jewelry store raffle (we didn't win) and then I went to guest services to see about getting a cake made for us to cut on our wedding day. When Simona (from Italy) at guest services heard what the cake was for she said she'd be honored to have guest services pay for it!!! I was speechless! She got it approved from the manager and got our information. I am beyond thrilled and feel so appreciative toward Royal Caribbean for allowing little perks like this. It definitely left me feeling great and if you ever have any guest services needs, ask for Simona from Italy! She was polite and efficient.

 

We still weren't very hungry at noon so we went to the casino and Susan and my fiance decided to enter the slots tournament. As I write this Susan is in second place and fiance is in 15th. The top 15 get to come back for the round that determines the winner. There's only one other chance to enter so we hope everyone blows it so they both get in, but we're being realistic and assuming my fiance will be pushed out by Friday.

 

 

I had my appointment at the spa at 1:30 and headed up that way. Iza did my massage and she was amazing! I think I fell asleep through most of it. For someone who's been very stressed the past couple of days it was a welcome relief and something I really needed. I've had more than a few massages in my day and this was by far the best I've ever had. I definitely recommend the spa! I just got the basic Swedish Massage and loved every minute.

 

By the time I was done it was 2:30 and they were opening the doors for the ice show in Studio B. A group of us were already there and I managed to get a seat next to them even though the theater was filling up fast! Word of advice- GET THERE RIGHT WHEN THEY OPEN THE DOORS! My parents showed up at 2:50 and had to stand in the back. The show itself started out a little dull and my fiance had to keep himself from laughing at the hokey-ness of it, but then the hula hoop girl came on and we were all sitting there wide eyed, mouths open. She is fantastic! The rest of the show was really great as well. So don't judge it by the first few parts, it does get much, much better. I really loved the Falco bit.

 

 

We decided that since it was formal night we'd all head to our cabins and get ready. Fiance and I went back up and took showers, got dressed, and just relaxed a bit before heading to dinner. It was another great dinner! I was so happy to see everyone dressed up so nicely (including my 2.5 year old nephew in a sports coat and bow tie!). Looking around the MDR I saw many nice dresses and tuxes and suits. It was a definitely change from my experiences on Carnival. For my meal, I had never tried escargo (sp?) before so I decided to give it a go and was very surprised at how much I liked it! David, however, did not so he jokingly offered it to my 2.5 year old nephew who devoured it like it was the greatest thing on the planet. That little guy's got good taste!

 

 

I had the seafood kibob and some berry mousse thing for dessert. Fantastic all around!

 

At about this time I started having random crew members come up to the table to wish us good luck tomorrow. I think all of our guests were telling everyone why they were there because everyone seemed to know who we were. I must admit, it felt kind of nice to hear all of the congratulations and good lucks! And when we got back to our room we had an invite to the honeymoon get together on our bed. We aren't newly weds yet, but it's still technically our honeymoon so we decided to go. We met some really nice people (shout out to Corey and Ty, if they go on this board at all! And I'm sorry if I got your names wrong.) We had some mimosas but didn't win any of the drawings. The getogether itself seemed a little... meh. It was hosted by Simona, the activities director who, frankly, drives me nuts and is probably the only crew member that I have found rude/obnoxious. And really all they had to eat were chocolate desserts and I'm allergic. So, since our guests were all gathered in the Ixtapa lounge we decided to leave early to spend what was left of the evening with them. We played a bit of the Finish the Lyric game.

 

We then swung by the Schooner Lounge to pick up some champagne for breakfast in the morning (way cheaper than ordering a dozen glasses of mimosa!). Some people have been complaining about the pianist and, honestly, I'm not a fan. He can play the piano great but lack in the singing department. But he must have been putting on a good show because the place was packed! But I have to be up early to get ready tomorrow so I decided to call it and early night. Tomorrow... WEDDING DAY! And Grand Cayman.

 

Oh, and best towel animal ever! He was watching cartoon network:

[jebuell]

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28th - GRAND CAYMAN (wedding day)

 

Today was Grand Cayman day which means it was also our wedding day! I had been trying to mentally prepared for the possibility that we would not be able to tender into Grand Cayman and end up missing it, but this was not an issue at all! The weather was great, maybe a little windy but not too bad. It rained when we first got there, but only briefly and it cleared up quickly.

 

We woke up early to get ready for our 10:30AM wedding. We had ordered breakfast to be delivered between 7 and 7:30 the night before and it showed up around 7:35. But at least they called to say it would be late. I didn't eat much besides a banana and a piece of toast that was hard as a rock (with no butter even though we asked for it). But really, small details. I'm sure we could have called and had butter run right up but we didn't care that much. We did get plenty of glasses of orange juice and enjoyed some mimosas.

 

Our first group of guests and my fiance left the boat at around 9AM. According to my fiance they were in line for the tender but some crew members got them to the front of line. But, they still had a 30 minute wait. At 9:50, however, we went down and just strolled right on the tender. No line whatsoever. So even with 6 ships in port (2 Carnival, a HAL, an AIDA, and X Millenium) we had no huge issues with the tenders. At least our week the best time to get off seemed to be 9:45-10ish.

 

I won't bore you the details of our wedding but I will say we had the ceremony at Smith Cove and it was very, very nice! I wish I could have swam! The water was so warm and clear and the sand was soft and at 11AM the beach was not crowded even with 6 ships in port. My nephew had a great time making sand angels in the soft sand. If I ever go back to Grand Cayman I will likely just go back there and swim for the day. It's close to port and free.

 

After the ceremony we went up to Pedro St. James Castle to take pictures. My wedding officiant had said it was really nice and made for some great pictures. I'm a little torn whether or not it was worth that $80 for four of us to get up there just to take pictures and wish we'd actually spent some time being tourists and checking it out. It's a neat little historical house and the grounds are beautiful. We also met Jack, the only donkey on Grand Cayman. He's an adorable old man who loves attention. My husband (!!!) chased a few chickens trying to catch one for pictures but they were too quick. We left after about 20 minutes. If you are into history, however, I really think you'd enjoy this as an excursion. It's in a lovely location and seems to be well maintained. Again, we didn't take a tour or even go into the gift shop to learn any details about it's history, just shot some pictures on the grounds.

 

Next we went to Margaritaville for lunch. It was loud and fun and I imagine if I'd been drinking I would have enjoyed it more. I did participate in the booty shaking contest, but I have no butt so obviously I didn't win! The food was OK (VERY overpriced, moreso then the other Margaritavilles I've been to) so I would recommend you go elsewhere unless you have my goal of going to every Margaritaville in the Caribbean.

 

After lunch we did a little shopping in the port area then went back to the ship. Exhausted, we passed out until dinner.

 

Dinner was Italian night and I had the Strawberry Bisque and Garlic Herb Butter Shrimp. Delicious. For dessert I had the low-fat angel food cake which I also thought was great. The cake we'd ordered from guest services never made it's way to the dining hall. I mentioned it to the waiter and he and the head waiter ran around somewhere and brought us up a special cake that they managed to find. It was actually really, really good. I'm not sure if it's a cake you can buy off their gifts list or not, but it was yummy whatever it was (vanilla, btw). We were there so late because of the cake mix-up and I felt bad that we were almost going into the late dining time, but they were great about it. They told us to take our time and enjoy ourselves.

 

My only complaint, really, for today was the boat rocking. It's not horrible but having to walk around in heels and a wedding dress on a swaying ship has made for an interesting night!

 

I also got asked SO many times today "Did you just get married?!" I understand the response but thought the question was funny. I was so tempted to reply "No, I'm just really dressed up for dinner" but didn't. :) I probably got asked that question in various forms about 20 times throughout the day.

 

We were all still exhausted from the long, hot, crazy day and basically decided to call it a night. I really wanted to attend the Disco Party, but no one else did so I stayed in as well. We are waiting on our evening snack to come via room service and then we'll probably head to bed to get a good night's sleep so we can unjoy JAMAICA tomorrow!

 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Getting married and Smith Cove.

 

LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY: The ship rocking so much it made Susan feel ill.

 

For obvious reasons, I didn't have my camera with me and didn't take any of my own pictures in Grand Cayman. So, instead, here's a shot of how many people were able to comfortable be on our balcony the other day:

 

 

A shot of our cabin #6690:

 

And one teaser I got from my photographer that we took on the ship:

 

I have to get back to work so I'll post the rest of the week later today/tomorrow. Stay tuned!

[will773]

Awesome review! Congrats on your wedding!

[KansCocoa]

Congratulations!

 

Wonderful, detailed review - and great photos! :)

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Love the pictures!!

 

Can't wait for more!!

 

 

***

[jebuell]

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 29th - OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA

 

It's Leap Year Day and Jamaica day! Before I begin I should mention that I LOVE Jamaica. I've been three times on land vacations (Negril, Montego Bay, and Falmouth in 2008, 2010, and 2011) and this is my first time visiting it for a cruise and also my first time in Ocho Rios.

 

We started off the day by meeting our friends for breakfast at the Windjammer. I had my usual (a bagel, bacon, and orange juice). The Norwegian Pearl was docked near us and it was fun seeing a different ship (I'd never seen a Norwegian before since they neglect us West Coasters). We then decided to head on out and explore Ocho Rios. We didn't have any real plans other than going to Margaritaville so I could now claim that I've been to every Margaritaville in the Caribbean. We did explore the shops near the port first and decided what we'd want to buy on the way back in and noted the prices in case we found them cheaper anywhere else. We honestly didn't look very hard, but from what I can tell those little shops right outside the port are the best options for rum and t-shirts!

 

Once you leave the port area we ran into the men in stilts giving out coupons for Margaritaville. It's really easy to get to, just turn right and walk up this wooden platform into this little shopping center and Margaritaville is tucked in the back. It's actually a very cute place and we ended up spending a lot of time here. We then went all the way down to Margaritaville and had drinks. After that we went outside to their beach out there, which was actually pretty nice except the water was cold. We probably would have just stayed there and made a beach day out of it if the water had been warmer. But, it wasn't, so we went back into the shopping center.

 

 

 

We found free WiFi at a coffee shop and I bought some coffee and we all checked out email. Oh, I also changed my Facebook status to "Married" (it's not real unless it's on Facebook!). My hubby and Emaleigh were talking with the coffee shop lady about how they wanted to go explore "the real Jamaica" a bit, and she offered to have her brother, a cab driver, drive them up to their house, actually! My other friend and I were still checking our emails (she was trying to Skype with her 1.5 year old daughter and I was trying to respond to some business emails) so we decided to pass. I now wish I'd gone with them. Aparently, he brought them above the town and they had a great view of the port and the cruise ships from up there. They went to this a garden where he told them about all of the plants they use for various ailments (including a fertility plant he offered my husband, haha!) and then a little hole-in-the-wall bar where all the people who live in that neighborhood go and had drinks and met some really cool people. They only stayed up there half an hour or so but said it was the highlight of the day by far. So if you're wondering what to do in Jamaica, maybe consider finding a GOOD (non pushy) cabbie and just ask him to take you somewhere interesting. They said they never felt like they were in any danger.

 

 

After we met back up we went walking to the left of the port. We stopped at some of the shopping centers along the way. People were constantly coming up to us and offering cab rides, but we'd say no. It was only a problem once where this guy followed my friend for about a block saying really creepy things to her. But she just told him to leave her along and she wasn't interested and he backed off. We didn't really buy anything, just window shopped along this road. At one point we'd gone further then where most tourists go and that's when it was really interesting. We found Jamaica's version of McDonalds (Mothers), we found a pharmacy and got Ibuprofin for cheaper then on the boat. We passed a few schools and eventually hit houses. At this point we were hungry so we decided to head back toward the port. I found it interesting that no one bothered us or said anything to us so we were actually less harrassed in this part of town. I'd say we probably walked a mile away from the boat. My husbands parents said they actually walked 2 miles past and saw some pretty interesting things (good interesting). You definitely don't get a good impression of Ocho Rios if you just stay in the port area.

 

We grabbed some jerk chicken at a little bar just before the port. It was pretty good and the music was hilarious (look up "Big Bamboo" lyrics). It was about 3:30 when finished eating and window shopping so we went back to the ship. We stopped by Oceans 11, the little shop near the port, and picked up our booze and souveniers. Now, I'm not sure if this was supposed to happen, but when I bought my Appleton V/X Rum (amazing, btw) they let me take it on the ship. Then when we got to the ship I tried telling the security people I had rum with me and they just told me to go through the security line. They grabbed the guy behind me but waved me right through. So now we have a litre of Appleton Rum just sitting in our room and no one seemed to care that I had it. Maybe something had happened just before we got on and they were distracted? I don't really know. And I don't plan on drinking it at all on the cruise so I sort of feel like I won the lottery but it was only $5. If only this had happened the first day of the cruise!

 

I decided to change and head up to the pool, which I hadn't even really spent any time at because I didn't want to get burned before the wedding. We found David at the pool in the Solarium along with my brother and sister in law. So the hubby and I got in and we all swam around in there for a while. It was nice because hardly anyone was in the pool. And kids were obeying the Adults Only area because I didn't see one the whole time we were there. We spent about half an hour in the pool and then 20 minutes in the hot tub, followed by another 10 minutes in the pool. They made the announcement that we were about to leave Jamaica so the hubby and I went back down to our cabin to see if we could watch the runners. But then I realized that, whoops, you can't see the dock from our room! So I showered and got ready for dinner. Btw, my friends DID watch the runners and they said there were only a couple of them. But it was still entertaining to watch.

 

 

Dinner tonight was sea-food themed. I had the crab cakes (as did pretty much everyone else at my table) and they were delicious. Then I had the fillet of fish and it was also very good. I realized tonight that I tend to order whatever on the menu is drenched in butter because this was the third night in a row I did that. I didn't mean to, it's just what sounded good! Desert was the Berrymisu and it was great! My brother saw it arrive and said "Oh! Instant regret!" as he had ordered something else that I guess didn't look as good. I teased the waiter a bit about the "Sky High Lemon Merangue" asking him if it was really sky high. It's not. I'm happy I didn't order it because it's actually really small! So order two if you're still hungry.

 

I wanted to try the sushi up at Jade so Susan and I went up there. We each had a few slices then called it good, I really wasn't impressed. The boat was really rocking again and Susan wasn't feeling so great so we just went lower on the ship. Tonight we decided to go to the Love and Marriage game. I've cruised a lot with Carnival for weddings and whenever someone gets married during the cruise they are invited up to participate. I'll be honest, it was something I was really looking forward to. But instead they picked a couple who were neither newlyweds nor on their honeymoon to be the "newlyweds". My friend said she thought they were friends of Simona or someone on the activities crew because they were pointed out when they came into the theater. They also picked a couple who'd only been married three years for the middle couple. This is the one instance where I prefer how Carnival does it, where they pick the couple who had been married the shortest time, the couple who'd been married closest to 25 years, and the longest married couple. It makes it interesting to compare dynamics and answers. In this case, I LOVED the oldest married couple, who were on their 50th year! They were adorable and hilarious and had us cracking up the whole time! They made it worth staying even though we weren't picked. The other two couples didn't have that dynamic you'd find from a true newlywed couple and a couple who'd been together for a long time. Luckily the older couple saved the show! But this pretty much solidified my opinion on Simona being the worst activities director we've ever encountered. Also, I wasn't really that impressed with Warren. He made some funny jokes during the show and was enjoyable enough, but after hearing about (and looking forward to) Dan Dan the Party Man, Warren was a bit of a let down. I think had I not expected Dan I would have enjoyed him more, however.

 

It was late at this point and we had some Zip Lining to do in the morning, so off to bed we went!

 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Walking around Jamaica, past the port areas.

 

LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY: Missing the runners at sail away. :)

[jebuell]

THURSDAY MARCH 1st - LABADEE, HAITI

 

Wow, it's March already! Today was actually supposed to be our wedding day, originally. We were going to get legally married before the cruise and then have a symbolic ceremony with our friends and family on Labadee, but RCI informed us that there would be two ships over 6,000 people in Labadee today and discouraged us from choosing this date. Thank goodness they talked us out of it because it was pretty crazy! Not horrible, by any means, just a lot of people and they were pretty much everywhere. A private ceremony at the beach would have been completely un-doable, especially since the Explorer arrived before us. So, instead, we got to enjoy the day on Labadee!

 

We had breakfast at 9:15 AM and it was neat watching us come in to Labadee, seeing the Explorer already on the dock, and watch the docking process from the Windjammer.

 

 

At 10AM my Dad and I met with several others at Bolero's for the 10AM Dragon's Breath Flightline tour. In our case we started on the ship because we hadn't quite finished docking yet. We left with the group to head onto Labadee and it was no problem getting off the boat even though it had just docked and started letting people off. Explorer had been there for about an hour already but there were still a ton of people getting off of that so the dock was pretty crowded. Luckily we found our way to the Flight Line place.

 

The whole Flight Line process goes pretty fast. I put my bag in the cubby by the building where you get your harness (I'm too cheap to pay $4 for a locker, but they are available) then went to listen to their (very brief) safety briefing. From there we walked a few hundred yards to the practice line. I didn't realize, looking at pictures and videos of this practice line, that it is right there in the middle of Labadee! I thought it was up in the woods a bit and we'd have to hike. Anyway, the practice flight was, I thought, a little scarier than the actual flight because I felt like we were going a lot faster and that thing at the end really threw me! But what I think was really the scariest part was the drive up to the main line. We took safari like trucks up there and my Dad and I were the last ones on the first truck so we ended up in the seats that face backwards. So whenever there was a turn I had no idea it was coming, and you're driving on this little dirt road very close to the edge which is basically a cliff. I knew the drivers knew what they were doing so I didn't freak out too much, but I realized that if you can get past the practice line and the drive up there, the rest is a cake walk!

 

When we got up to the main line we were divided up into group based on our weight. My Dad was called up to go in the first group and I got a nice video of him going down. Then they called for the next group and I guess I was the only 1 still left up there. I guess they put the heavier people on the outside (so the 5th line) and the lighter people on the inside because they all have slightly different tensions. So since I'm small I had a line that had more tension. Those going on lines 1 and 2 were also told to do the "torpedo" position going down so we'd maintain more speed, since it wasn't a windy day at all. After getting strapped in I sat down and realized it wasn't nearly as scary as it seemed from the pictures I'd seen, and even from the walk up the plank to get to the platform. Looking at Labadee from that height was amazing. It really is a beautiful place!

 

 

They release you one at a time starting with line 5 so I was the last to go in my group. I was amazed by how slow I seemed to be going even though I was doing the torpedo pose and on the practice line it made me feel like I was going really fast. About halfway through we were instructed to sit up into normal position and I floated right into the platform. I got a great video of it, in which I actually had time to narrate what was going on and even swing the camera around on myself. Really, I would say this excursion was a little scary but ultimately rather leirsurely. Very enjoyable, for sure and I'd love to do it again someday!

 

After meeting back up with my Dad at the bottom we returned the vests and went out to find Nellie's Beach, where we'd told everyone else to meet up with us. Now, since I post on Cruise Critic I'm well aware that there is a Nellie's Beach, and was roughly aware of where it was located (just past Barefoot Beach). However, I did not realize that it's not named/labeled on any of the maps around Labadee. And it's also not on any of the signs telling you were to go. Most of our friends and family figured it out and we quickly reunited with them, but my Mom, brother, and sister in law got confused and ended up down on Columbus Cove. They had my Dad's things with them and he just couldn't find them. We walked around Adrenaline Beach thinking they'd gone that way but there is just no chance of finding someone on that beach! It's huge and with 6,000 people in port, PACKED! So we went back to Nellie's Beach and just decided to sit down and wait for everyone to track us down. Well, turns out my family that we couldn't find had just found a spot on Columbus Sove and set up their little tent and just settled in for the day. I felt so bad for my Dad because he had to go without his suit the whole day and really didn't seem to enjoy himself. So, word of advice, pick a very specific spot to meet up with people if you need to in Labadee! We even went to Columbus Cove, but it was also packed. Nellie's Beach is really the only one we found small enough to find each other on but since it's not labeled anywhere it's hard to find if you don't listen enough to directions. I told everyone that they wanted to go to the beach that was just passed Barefoot Beach and where there were some huts lining the rocks. And if they hit the water park, they'd gone too far. But what my family had heard was that they wanted to go to the beach with the water park. Whoops! Instead, a better place to meet would be the splash Park area (which is in between Adrenaline and Nellie's Beach) and the main "Welcome to Labadee" archway/sign. Don't try on Adrenaline Beach or Columbus Cove, at least with two ships in port!

 

 

But even with 6,000 people there, we still found 6 chairs and two hammocks all together in a nice shady spot. David scared away our neighbors by being loud and crude (it's who he is and why we love him, but I guess they didn't appreciate his "Labadoozy" song and loudness!) so we actually had this little area to ourselves for several hours. It was a bit back from the beach, looking more toward the splash pad, but perfect for us! We spent a lot of time in the water (where my husband proceeded to lose his driver's license because he'd put it in his bathing suit pocket for some reason), and I love Nellie's Beach because there the water was calm, the beach very sandy with just a few rocks here and there, and we had a great view of the ships off the side. There are the newer huts to the right (toward the ships) already built and in use and then what looked like 4-5 more about half built on the left side of Nellie's Beach (toward Columbus Cove). We tried to get one but they were sold out before we even got on the ship. So I'm happy they are building more, I just hope they keep Nellie's Beach open to everyone because it really is a nice beach!

 

 

We ended up missing lunch so at about 3PM most of our group went back to the ship to get food. The husband and I decided to walk the entired southern side of Labadee from Columbus Cove to Dragon's Breath Point. It takes almost no time at all and it was fun to see everything there. We did walk through the market area and we did have a lot of people yelling at us to come look at their stuff, but we just said "No" and they left us alone. I didn't find them to be too aggressive, but my friends had gone there earlier and said that if you actually go in and let them know you have money it gets a little scary with how aggresive they can be.

 

Dragon's Breath Point was actually gated off for some reason so we couldn't go out there, which kind of bummed me out because I was looking forward to that. No reason for it from what I could tell, but, whatever! We walked up to Dragon's Breath Pub and rest a bit before taking a little side trail back to the Labadee entrance. Since it was almost 4 we decided to just get back on the ship and enjoy the rest of Haiti from our balcony.

 

The Explorer started blowing her horn around 4:45 and left us shortly after. Navigator stayed until 5:30, but we'd already gone back to the ship and didn't want to go back out. I kind of wish I had, though, just to see what it was like with fewer people around. But... we didn't. Instead we got ready for the second formal night.

 

I ordered two lobster tails and they happily brought them. I thought the lobster was great, but then again the only time I've ever had lobster in my life was on cruises. But compared to the other cruises I've been on it's been better than the last two and not quite as good as the first cruise I ever went on. So, right there in the middle. My husband and I also ordered every dessert option on the menu today since we couldn't decide. I thought the passion fruit cheesecake and cherries jubilee was awesome!

 

After dinner we went to the magician show. He was really more of a comedian than a magician. He was British and his humor was very British, so if you get it, it was hilarious. My husband and I were cracking up the whole time. And I've never seen his Dad (who's British) laugh so much in my life. The magic was only so-so and I think the humor went over most people's heads.

 

After that we watched the International Dance Compition... Team 3 was ROBBED!!!! They were incredible. If they are reading this, seriously, you were robbed. We stayed for The Quest. I had to basically drag my husband kicking and screaming there, he wanted to go up to the Solarium. But I'd read on here how the Quest is a must-do and convinced him to give it a try. I have laughed a lot on this cruise, but my stomach and side hurt from this! It's hystarical! Definitely a must-do. Let's just say I embarrassed my extremely religious, conservative mom quite a bit and I wasn't even one of the leaders. :) I lost my bra about halfway through and my husband had his pants off at one point... And, best of all, my team won first place!!! Woooot Team 2!!!! Oh, and I sort of changed my mind about Warren. He's pretty funny! Definitely had some decent quips thrown in making it entertaining enough. I still miss Dan, but I'll take Warren. Still can't stand Simona and every time we go somewhere I pray she's not there... yet she always seems to be.

 

 

Pretty much everyone else went to the comedy show, but we were exhausted and decided to call it a night. Just one night left (a day at sea). My master plan is to drag my friend down to Studio B for open skating. She's never been ice skating before, which baffles me because we grew up in Minnesota!

 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Soooo many to pick from! Probably the Dragon's Breath Flight Line, but Nellie's Beach and Quest are close seconds.

 

LOWLIGHT OF THE DAY: I really don't think I had one today. Honestly.