Navigator Rehab Shakedown Review

[LetsGetWet!]

The new Cosmopolitan Lounge i.e. Viking Crown

 

Wow, they've completely done away with the name "Viking Crown Lounge"? That's surprising, that name has been synonymous with RCCL for decades! Of course, it's gone entirely on Quantum. :(

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 via Tapatalk

[Canadian Tyler]

Really enjoying your pictures! Thanks for posting!

[BecciBoo]

More pics have uploaded so here are some cabins pics:

 

 

 

Todd is out of focus on this one, but Cozumel is up:

SIZE]

Edited February 10, 2014 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

Back to Izumi:

 

We were seated and given warm rolled up wash cloths to freshen up, then the menu which alas, I was having such a good time, forgot to film!:rolleyes:

There is no cover here and dishes are priced separately.

 

The hot rock is a must, you cook your choice of meat and veggies and it works brilliantly. LOVED it! The sushi rolls are excellent, I got the fried shrimp one, yum!

I am still waiting for the food porn to upload, guess I should've waited longer to post....they are such big images its taking a long time, so I may skip around to other areas...sorry:o

[Big_G]

Becci,

 

Except for the chairs, where would you rank the DL amongst others you've been in? Love the pics. Thanks for the review.

[dln929]

 

Yes, and it was very pleasant going out there!:D Lots of overflow if needed.

 

You have made me one very happy girl! There's no indication whatsoever that there's any outdoor seating on the new Navigator deck plans you see on the RCI website. What a great surprise!!!

[voyager70]

Loving your review & pics. Keep it coming! Love that the DL has outdoor seating.

[BecciBoo]

I would go to Izumi's more than once a cruise and look forward to Allure in May, can't wait to get that sushi again!

 

And there are choices for those who do not like sushi too, like the hot rock. Soup, etc. And you pick seafood, chicken or steak along with asparagus, carrots, bok choi etc. to cook on the rock. Dessert was an oriental flavored Flan with ginger and Lichi...mmm!

 

Pics of these soon!

 

But it really is a must! I think the hot rock was $18 for the seafood to $14 for the chicken, really reasonable even though you're doing all the work! That rock stays piping hot! I found you should put the meat on first and then as the rock chills the veggies...works perfectly!

Edited February 10, 2014 by BecciBoo

[BecciBoo]

Becci,

 

Except for the chairs, where would you rank the DL amongst others you've been in? Love the pics. Thanks for the review.

 

Almost exactly like Mariner's and Freedoms, just different wallpaper, tile, but the same grey/yellow theme...it had the tree trunk tables, which I don't prefer, but.....

 

The spread for the cocktail hour was great, drinks great, full bar, unlike the Radiance which only gave us certain pre-selected cocktails:(

 

The old adage, each ship is different in certain areas applies well.

[LetsGetWet!]

Becci, thanks so much for taking the time to do this, VERY interesting for fellow Texans like us who will be giving serious consideration to Navigator!

 

Also, just noticed where you live - small world! Our son & daughter-in-law, along with our darling grandson, live n Spring Branch! :)

[BecciBoo]

We like to eat breakfast in the MDR so we can get our fave Eggs Benedict and we continued this option, never ate breakfast in WJ so can't comment except to say they still have the omelet estation there.

 

Lunch was Johnnie Rockets, we tried to do it all as Dh's parents have never cruise RCCL before and we were giving them the whole enchilada. They loved Johnnie Rockets. Wanted to go again but we made them go elsewhere! The song and dance here was a good one. Such fun! then on behind Rockets to the new Flowrider:

 

[Big_G]

Almost exactly like Mariner's and Freedoms, just different wallpaper, tile, but the same grey/yellow theme...it had the tree trunk tables, which I don't prefer, but.....

 

The spread for the cocktail hour was great, drinks great, full bar, unlike the Radiance which only gave us certain pre-selected cocktails:(

 

The old adage, each ship is different in certain areas applies well.

 

Thanks. I haven't been on Mariner but I get the idea having been in Freedom's. I didn't know if the Voyager Class DL's would be laid out differently from Freedom Class..

Edited February 10, 2014 by Big_G

[BecciBoo]

Becci, thanks so much for taking the time to do this, VERY interesting for fellow Texans like us who will be giving serious consideration to Navigator!

 

Also, just noticed where you live - small world! Our son & daughter-in-law, along with our darling grandson, live n Spring Branch! :)

 

Yeah, we love it out here! You are welcome.

[BecciBoo]

Random around the ship pics:

 

 

 

 

It looked like they did something different with the ceiling material and the lighting, couldn't put my finger on it though.

 

And here is the new Star Lounge which used to be called Ixtapa I think, and had Aztec deco. They had some ingenious solutions as to camouflage this. They clad the Aztec carved columns with string beading from top to bottom, worked quite well, but the structure as you can see still has the Aztec feel, I guess they elected not to change that as you can see from this one:

 

New bar in Star lounge:

 

[LetsGetWet!]

Random around the ship pics:

 

 

 

It looked like they did something different with the ceiling material and the lighting, couldn't put my finger on it though.

 

And here is the new Star Lounge which used to be called Ixtapa I think, and had Aztec deco. They had some ingenious solutions as to camouflage this. They clad the Aztec carved columns with string beading from top to bottom, worked quite well, but the structure as you can see still has the Aztec feel, I guess they elected not to change that as you can see from this one:

 

 

New bar in Star lounge:

 

 

 

Those new chairs look no more comfortable than the ones you mentioned from the Diamond Lounge...

[BecciBoo]

I loved what they did with the upholstered pieces...they used washable fabrics mostly with a sheen to them, almost plastic feeling but still cloth, very practical, should hold up well, without seeming too cheaply done.

 

Some more random:

This was a clever addition, but may have been there before, a big picture frame for great formal night pics:

 

Todd found this quite amusing...said it appeared they wanted you to wash your hands IN the urinal:

 

Izumi food porn: the eel sushi roll

[BecciBoo]

Those new chairs look no more comfortable than the ones you mentioned from the Diamond Lounge...

 

Yep, but the couches were great!

[LetsGetWet!]

Are you guys anywhere near the river? Our kids live on a "W W" street, without trying to give away an address! :)

[BecciBoo]

Wow! Sorry I put that food porn pic in the wrong place:eek:

 

I loved the Centrum sculpture:

 

 

New photo place with upscale silestone counters:

 

[Topo Gigio]

 

You have made me one very happy girl! There's no indication whatsoever that there's any outdoor seating on the new Navigator deck plans you see on the RCI website. What a great surprise!!!

 

All Freedom & Voyager Class ships with a Diamond Lounge, have this outdoor seating area. Especially in the Caribbean it's very nice to sit out there.

[BecciBoo]

Are you guys anywhere near the river? Our kids live on a "W W" street, without trying to give away an address! :)

 

We are out on Rebecca Creek Rd and no it wasn't named for me:DLOL

[LetsGetWet!]

We are out on Rebecca Creek Rd and no it wasn't named for me:DLOL

Haha! They're on the other side of 281, just a bit north of Rolling Creek.

[BecciBoo]

 

Cozumel: we normally go over to Nachi Cocom, my favorite, but we elected to just do some shopping and enjoy Navigator that day, leisurely and I loved this, almost nobody on Navigator.

 

Up next one of the "serious issues" I mentioned in Ace1Zoe1's thread, upon which, a negative poster criticized for being subjective. We went to Sabor's for our comp dinner and that is where these issues reared their head.

 

Our cruise buds had done Navi before the rehab back in December and complained about service issues, even telling me they did not intend to return to Navi as they experienced the worst service on any RCCL ship they have been on to date, these are Diamond members and we cruise with them frequently.

 

Of course these issues can be worked out, but we have to agree with her assessment in some areas, they need better management here. Sabor's proved to be one of them. We are sending Ken a review so hopefully he can fix it!

 

In any event, I have some pics of the menu and décor to post but not all of them are up yet, my techie had to go to work this morning to make more dough for Allure:D When he returns and we get the pics from his Dad also, I'll post tons more.

 

They tucked Sabor into the top floor of the old Dungeon just in front of Schooner Bar...Here is Sabor:

 

 

Menu

 

[BecciBoo]

Sorry they are so small but I think Patti or somebody has already posted the menu somewhere.

 

Anyways...we were seated and our waiter took our drink order and we waited...and waited...and waited, now DH was getting steamed and started to time it...we waited 35 minutes and had to question the waiter as to why our pitcher of Red Sangria hadn't arrived...the Nlaws had 2 of the margaritas, one of which they had added acai berry and something else to, which they did not like...you don't mess with traditional margaritas and they put tequila in our Red Sangria so the yummy flavor of the red wine, brandy and fruit that makes a great Sangria was ruined....and no salsa in sight....strike 1!

 

In trying to be trendy and hip in the realm of high class upscale cuisine the chefs for Sabor have dropped the ball IMO. None of us were happy there with 3 exceptions, the quacamole was excellent and my FIL loved his red snapper. But to this born and bred Texican, this was no TexMex food. That has been discussed before on these boards. I didn't really expect it to be San Antonio style TexMex and was ready for the upscale treatment, but they were not too sharp about their approach.

 

They have starters which are all right, then a section for tacos which they toute as home made hand rolled and if they had been anything less than artic ice cold when brought to our table I may have liked the taste of mine. And a Platas section for more main dishes.

 

For Starters we tried the Chili Calamari which we all liked along with the chicken stuffed jalapeno bites The "Carne Asada" tacos do not resemble our Carne Guisada, it was just pieces of beef dry with not much in the way of sauce....here in Texas it is served, firstly hot, secondly quite saucy so it didn't fly.

 

My Pulled pork tacos were alright, made with flour tortillas and they were good tasting, but also cold and here they roll soft flour tortilla tacos, they tried to stand them up in a metal taco shaper:confused:

 

MIL had Barbaqoa tacos....here in Texas the word Barbacoa means "cheek meet" and is made from the head of the cow. Sorry to evoke that image here, but they are deliciously moist and yummy. these were made with rib meat??????? MIL did not like at all.

 

If they ever get the service issues resolved and the temperature of the food right (Mexican has to be served hot) then Texans will do Sabors even though its tastes are quite different than what they are used to.

 

Our waiter brought us a sampler dessert tray and everything on it was lapped up with great relish...this they got perfect! Chocolate dipping sauce with Churos, some kind of coconut flan, another pudding like concoction and some other I don't recall, but it was scrumptious. BUT, you really need the other food to be right.

 

I don't think Texans would pay the cover for this meal and the prices on the drinks if it isn't at least palatable even though not resembling what they are used to getting here for way under those prices and indescribably delicious too.

I thought Rita's had it's hits and misses but I liked their chicken soup and quesadillas...this stuff not so much. Wish the chefs they hired were more authentic and that the service had been timely, we spent nearly 2 hours there and it was due to the lag times and that 35 minute wait for our drinks.

 

Off to get groceries now, will return in the PM with more pics.

Edited February 10, 2014 by BecciBoo

[PCWalton1]

Becci,

Thank you for doing this review of Navigator. The VR balcony look pretty cool. I could have used one on our 15 days on legend. :)