Disappointing Thanksgiving Navigator cruise

[nealstuber]

Looked into Harbor House today, but it appears that they're completely booked for the date we want....may wind up at Moody Gardens instead for one night. Nice hotel, just expensive...:rolleyes:

The Hampton on the island is very nice for a Hampton. Not much of a view, but convenient to everything.

[ssb]

actually, hertz, among other rentals, is a publically traded company not a private business.

 

what???????????

[nealstuber]

what???????????

 

Didn't you know that stockholders are not private individuals? :(. Some people just have to argue even if they have to make no sense to do it.

[Ocean Boy]

Didn't you know that stockholders are not private individuals? :(. Some people just have to argue even if they have to make no sense to do it.

 

That's right. The difference between a private and public company makes no sense at all.

 

Now, back to the virtues of Galveston as a port....

Edited December 4, 2013 by Ocean Boy

[misty57]

misty57-

Hey, I'm from Illinois also (Chicago) so hubby and I have the exact same challenges that you do as far as the convenience/inconvenience of the ports. Transportation can be a little costly, BUT at the end of the day it's all about the cruise...just as you said. I'll be on Navigator 5/18, so I sure hope that you do a review. I'd love to hear your perspective on the "new" ship. Looked into Harbor House today, but it appears that they're completely booked for the date we want....may wind up at Moody Gardens instead for one night. Nice hotel, just expensive...:rolleyes:

 

We kind of have our routine down pat. We're 100 miles south of the city, and in February we book overnight hotel before flying out of Midway. Fly to destination day before all the time. I booked Harbor House through an online third party but the hotel website showed no vacancies for that date! I called the hotel to make sure it was legit and they emailed me a confirmation , so you might try googling for another way to book. I'll try to remember to post a brief review.

Let's hope for a mild winter. I dread winter driving. :p I'm still working on transportation from Hobby to Galveston. I'll be glad when things are finalized.

[pcur]

We sailed the first cruise after a ship's repositioning cruise once (RCCL ship), and vowed never again. This was in our early cruising experience, and we recognized the glitches, some bigger than others. While we did not experience all the mishaps you shared, we found things just didn't run as smoothly as previous cruises. DH and I will be on the Navigator in May, so hoping things will get settled down by then.

 

Too bad to hear your experience wasn't so great especially since it was a holiday cruise. :(

 

Sometimes being on the repositioning cruise, and the one after is a good thing. We were on the Rhapsody when she left Alaska for Australia, and you never saw such an excited and happy crew! They had 3 months of cold weather and rain, except for the very last week in Alaska.

 

When we stopped in Honolulu the outside decks were jammed with crew. They were so excited to see sunshine, warm weather, and BEACHES!!!

 

One Customer Service guy told me he was from Puerto Rico, so the Alaska bad weather season was sheer hell to him. He told me he took his break, ran outside, caught a cab, went to the first available beach, rolled up his pants, and just stood in the warm water for 10 minutes!!!

 

As for glitches in the Windjammer and MDR: we get our stuff ourselves in the Windjammer, clear our own dishes if they are behind, and in the MDR just keep asking, and don't expect dining staff new to any ship to really "get it" until the second or third night.

 

Even though there was the usual glitches, they were so happy and trying so hard you had to smile, too.

[Big_G]

Wow! Note to self, don't mess with the Texans. :D

[RCcruisinfamily]

Our MDR table was given away, luggage shows up after 8PM, 10+ Arcade games broken entire trip, fountain soda broken entire trip, no bussing dishes in buffet, having to ask for things over & over, luke-warm hot tubs, towel charge issues, bars not wanting to give my kid soda, cancelled port and crews inability to turn a dismal day into a positive, ect...

 

I was on Navigator 2 years ago and the fountain drinks were all broken. They were using 2 ltrs most places and would not give the kids any.

 

Sorry they haven't bothered to fix things. Maybe they will catch them this drydock season!

[denamo]

Sometimes being on the repositioning cruise, and the one after is a good thing. We were on the Rhapsody when she left Alaska for Australia, and you never saw such an excited and happy crew! They had 3 months of cold weather and rain, except for the very last week in Alaska.

 

When we stopped in Honolulu the outside decks were jammed with crew. They were so excited to see sunshine, warm weather, and BEACHES!!!

 

One Customer Service guy told me he was from Puerto Rico, so the Alaska bad weather season was sheer hell to him. He told me he took his break, ran outside, caught a cab, went to the first available beach, rolled up his pants, and just stood in the warm water for 10 minutes!!!

 

As for glitches in the Windjammer and MDR: we get our stuff ourselves in the Windjammer, clear our own dishes if they are behind, and in the MDR just keep asking, and don't expect dining staff new to any ship to really "get it" until the second or third night.

 

Even though there was the usual glitches, they were so happy and trying so hard you had to smile, too.

 

Your post in response to mine regarding not taking the first cruise after repositioning really made me laugh out loud. Our ship was a repositioning from Hawaii to Alaska! Maybe that explains it all. :D Thanks for the perspective. :)

[jsea]

Ironic, huh?

 

Galveston makes Trip Advisor's list of 10 US destinations on the rise in their Travelers' Choice 2013 awards. Also included: Santa Fe, NM, Destin, FL, and Kailua-Kona, HI.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-DestinationsontheRise-cTop10-g191

 

But, more to the point, what most bothers me about the port of Galveston is how seemingly limited the destinations are given the Southeast Texas coast's distance from the Caribbean. I've departed out of Ft. Lauderdale, San Juan, Costa Rica, San Francisco, Barcelona, Dover, Southampton, Harwich, Copenhagen, Rome, Singapore, and yes, Galveston (twice) and honestly didn't find the experience (dis)embarking at the Texas port particularly more offensive than any of the others.

 

Now, sailing out to the Gulf certainly isn't a scenic excursion, and sometimes the weather is less than ideal, but I recall departing out of Ft. Lauderdale on one of Sun Princess' inaugural cruises and temps were in the 40ºs.

 

The 2-night minimum that periodically pop up at some Galveston hotels is annoying (I've been affected by it), but the Island has been experiencing a record number of visitors recently and property owners are looking to maximize their revenue.

 

The bottom line is that cruises out of Galveston will sink or swim based on the economics. As long as Royal and Carnival are pleased with the return on their investment, we will continue to have their ships based out of Texas. The rise of Houston's Bayport Terminal (which from what I gather Princess and NCL are using thanks to very generous terms) will only make things more interesting for Lone Star State cruising.

Edited December 5, 2013 by jsea

[misty57]

I was on Navigator 2 years ago and the fountain drinks were all broken. They were using 2 ltrs most places and would not give the kids any.

 

Sorry they haven't bothered to fix things. Maybe they will catch them this drydock season!

 

On Oasis in August the self serve coke machines in the promenade were broken foe several days...I finally went to guest services and they were fixed that day. It can happen an any ship I guess.

[nealstuber]

Here is the intro...

 

INTRO: Navigator of the Seas (NOTS) Thanksgiving Cruise to Falmouth, Grand Cayman (NOT!) and Cozumel. I want to share our reflections of our (DW and I 45, DS 16 and DD 14) first RCCL cruise in 8 years. We drifted away from RCCL due geography and timing and are very pleased to report that the line was as great as we remembered and has not cut very few corners during this time (at least compared to Carnival, NCL and Celebrity).

Weather did not cooperate for us on this cruise: Departure day, our first sea day and Grand Cayman were windy, cold and wet (we could not call on Grand Cayman). Two of the other days were either just cold or just wet. We had perfect weather only for Jamicia. This cruise could have been a washout if not for the exceptional entertainment and restaurant staff.

This was also RCCL’s first cruise out of Galveston in 6 months and NOTS turned over a third of the crew after an extended summer in Europe. There were more than a few kinks to be worked out during the first few days and the shore side staff was downright discombobulated at both embarkation and debarkation.

We drove to Galveston and slept on the island the night before. DW and I enjoyed an underpublicized, adults only. resort 10 minutes from Falmouth and we did the Nachi Cocom thing with our teens in Cozumel. All of us enjoyed great bar service through some form of pre-paid package and our Dining Experience was our best in over 10 years.

I’ll do a day by day, but I wanted to post a few more highs and lows for folks who just want the cliff notes:

SUMMARY:

LOWS:

Terminal 2 in Galveston is no where near as nice as Terminal one which is occupied by Carnival.

Dining Room, hallways to staterooms and cabins are definitely ready for refurb.

Illusive Casino Staff.

RCCL pier in Cozumel had trouble handling FOTS and NOTS together (can’t imagine if OOTS or AOTS was there)

Poor AC throughout the ship.

HIGHS:

MDR experience on par with “the good old days”

Falmouth better than MoBay

Ship never felt crowded – kids were kept out of adult only hot-tubs.

GREAT Thanksgiving Experience (including Football in Studio B and Tasty Turkey)

HAPPY and enthusiastic crew

Confirmed proof that real people (DS) win “Free Cruise Bingo”

[Gilgo Surfer]

What do you mean your MDR table was given away?

 

Luggage showing up after 8pm out of Galveston is nothing new. We were on the Mariner in January and our Suite Attendant went down to deck 1 to find our luggage for us about 7:30pm (for a huge tip). He said the marshaling area was full of luggage that was being re screened to look for banned items (booze, extension cords, irons etc). I met several people in the spa the next morning who got their luggage at 7am MONDAY and many more throughout the cruise who's luggage ended up in the naughty room.

 

As for the hot tubs, I don't think they are ever anything but lukewarm on most ships. When I questioned another cruise line about it they said their insurance carrier demanded that the temp be cooler so that there were no lawsuits for people being burned. Since children are allowed in the hot tubs the temps have to be cooler since their skin is more sensitive. I asked why the hot tubs in the adults only area were the same cool temp and was told it was because the passengers did not obey the rules about children being in the area. The problem is cruise lines don't enforce their own rules!

 

We thought about taking the Navigator Dec 15, but knowing it is headed to dry dock in January made us think twice about it. Why would they repair stuff when they know it is going to dry dock for a month for a major overhaul. So, instead we opted for the Caribbean Princess Dec 14 and we will sail the Navigator AFTER she is drydocked.

 

On the Explorer this past October the hot tubs were REALLY hot, you had to get used to it and get in slowly.

 

On the Carnival Splendor this past May the hot tubs were lukewarm at best.

[matj2000]

RCCL pier in Cozumel had trouble handling FOTS and NOTS together (can’t imagine if OOTS or AOTS was there)

 

 

The problem with Coz is that thousands of people are getting off the ship and at the end of the pier everyone was funneled through a narrow gate and there was one single Mexican security guard trying to check everybody's bags.

It caused a tremendous backup for no reason.

Never seen that happen before.

[nealstuber]

The problem with Coz is that thousands of people are getting off the ship and at the end of the pier everyone was funneled through a narrow gate and there was one single Mexican security guard trying to check everybody's bags.

It caused a tremendous backup for no reason.

Never seen that happen before.

 

They were up to two people when we went through- but the lines for cabs and rental cars we equally herrendous.

[Cindy]

RCCL pier in Cozumel had trouble handling FOTS and NOTS together (can’t imagine if OOTS or AOTS was there)

 

That's surprising. We've been docked in Cozumel (on the Mariner) with the Allure and didn't have any problems on the pier.