Back from the Navigator

[RachelD]

We just got back from sailing the Western Car. w/NOS on Saturday. It was absolutely fabulous. We were a little concerned at first with all of the hurricanes before we sailed, but we had perfect weather all 7 days.

 

We had sailed with Norwegian about 5 years ago and it is nothing compared to this ship. We were actually not going to cruise again because we were so bored on the Norwegian ship. Now, since cruising on the Navigator, we are trying to think of when we can start planning our next cruise!

 

We loved the ports that we went to, with the exception of Grand Cayman. We went to Labadee, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I think that Jamaica was our favorite, only because of the independent tour guide that we had. Phil LaFayette made it a great day! If we did not do the tour with him, I do not think that I would have liked it as much.

 

The food was pretty good along with the entertainment. It was just a great relaxing trip that DH and I will remember always.

[Minybear]

We loved the ports that we went to, with the exception of Grand Cayman.

 

Thank you for your report. I am glad the weather was great for your trip. We are considering doing a 5 night Western cruise (we cannot do a full 7 night Western due to it goes into Mexico). What about Grand Cayman you didn't like? The reason why I am asking the 5 night Western we are considering has Jamaca and Grand Cayman as the ports.

 

Minybear

[LeftatGator]

We're sailing on NOS in September and really excited about the ship. Glad you had a good experience!

 

Jim

[Crockett Man]

RachelD,

 

What was the condition of the ship like? We are planning a cruise on her in 2007. I know that she went into dry dock in 2002.

[Patty in NC]

Hi Rachel!

 

I am glad you had a great time. I am sailing on the Navigator in Sept doing the same itinerary. The cruise information indicates there is a "smart casual" evening in which the men are supposed to wear sport coat and tie...did they have this?

 

Also...do you happen to know which night the Crown and Anchor Society had its cocktail party for repeat cruisers? I realize you may not know this if this was your first time on RCL.

 

Any other information that might be helpful for future cruisers about attire, etc. would be great.

 

Thanks,

Patty

[sjbrown524]

Thanks for your review on the Navigator. I'm going on a 'Girls Cruise' :D in September and I can't wait to see this beautiful ship.

[crb04]

RachelD,

 

What was the condition of the ship like? We are planning a cruise on her in 2007. I know that she went into dry dock in 2002.

 

We sailed on her 5/28 of this year and she had just come out of drydock then--was great since we were at the pier early and no departing pax, so were onboard by 11ish and able to go to cabin right away. She seemed in great shape. They really work around the clock to keep her sparkling. I am an 'up at 4-5am & need my coffee person kind of person' so made lots of promenade treks when most were sleeping--sometimes caught them shampooing carpets, and polishing brass, etc. I expect you will have a great time and not be disappointed in choice of vessel.

 

Was no 'smart casual' on our sailing.

[jamandamn14]

what is she like as a family ship

[crb04]

what is she like as a family ship

 

Don't know how old your kids are, or what holds their interests but mine had a blast. Lots of activities in teen club for 13 yo daughter (scavenger hunt, pool stuff, LOTS of organized events). While he was originally anticipating getting to hang out in young "adult" venues, 18yo son didn't really like the nightclubs, as he reported they were filled with mostly 30-somethings. This seemed a little odd as others here have said they had opposite experience. We had 800-900 kids onboard for our sailing. He did have alot of fun with all the sports activities. We played mini golf (wind makes shots interesting, but fun), table tennis, there is ice-skating, inline skating, a rock-climbing wall, basketball courts, an arcade and more I'm sure I'm forgetting. We are a pretty active family, don't do much drinking/gambling, so spent quite a bit (most) of our time together onboard. My guys also played in a dodgeball tournament--was pretty entertaining to watch, too.

[K&RCurt]

RachelD,

 

What was the condition of the ship like? We are planning a cruise on her in 2007. I know that she went into dry dock in 2002.

 

The NOS was LAUNCHED NEW in 2002. Her FIRST dry dock was May of this year.

[Cruising89143]

I loved the Navigator last year and will be sailing again in December.

[Love2cruisegirl]

We just got back from sailing the Western Car. w/NOS on Saturday. It was absolutely fabulous. We were a little concerned at first with all of the hurricanes before we sailed, but we had perfect weather all 7 days.

 

We had sailed with Norwegian about 5 years ago and it is nothing compared to this ship. We were actually not going to cruise again because we were so bored on the Norwegian ship. Now, since cruising on the Navigator, we are trying to think of when we can start planning our next cruise!

 

We loved the ports that we went to, with the exception of Grand Cayman. We went to Labadee, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I think that Jamaica was our favorite, only because of the independent tour guide that we had. Phil LaFayette made it a great day! If we did not do the tour with him, I do not think that I would have liked it as much.

 

The food was pretty good along with the entertainment. It was just a great relaxing trip that DH and I will remember always.

I'm like Minybear-wondering why you didn't like Grand Cayman. Did you do any excursions there? My husband & I are booked on the Navigator-Western Caribbean-09/17/05. I've been reallly looking forward to GC and would be interested in more feedback. We're thinking of Rum Point & Stingray swim. Look forward to your response.

[Catseyes]

Hi Rachel.

 

Thank you for your review. We are going on the Navigator Sept 3rd, our first cruise Western route. It sounds a lovely ship.

 

I too would like to know what you did not like about Grand Cayman, we hope to do the Stingray City tour.

 

Regards

Tessa:)

[meripour]

Her maiden voyage was December of 2002. We were on her the third week of May this year to the Eastern Caribbean where we were told she would be in dry-dock the week after. She was going in because she bent a stabilizer coming into port and it had to be repaired or none could be deployed. This was an unplanned dock, as all the reservations for that week had to be moved. We were lucky this was the week after. We are back on her in September for the Western Caribbean.

 

You will love the ship. She feels very youthful and fresh. They were constantly doing work; including replacing the carpet around the pool in the middle of the night and painting while we were in the ports of call so as not to disturb the passengers with the smell. The layout feels very open, not confining like some ships, with the open Promenade where you can go even if the weather is bad. Cruise ships and food seem to be one in the same to most people, so much of the comments you see on CC are about the dining. Dont let the meal be the deciding factor of whether you enjoyed a weeks vacation. The restaurants were all good in their own way. The Windjammer being very large with an extensive selection for all meals, cafeteria style. The food in the dining room was more about the experience of the meal & the surroundings, the enjoyment of the waiter, dining room mgr, and the maître’de. We always figured, there will be another meal to be had – it is only food. If you dont like your service, personality of the waiter, or your tablemates, ask the dining room manger to move you to another table. They will be happy to accomodate you. Chops and Portofino are so worth it for an intimate cozy dinner where the food is prepared just for you. There are a million things to do on this trip, or do nothing at all. Smiles, please and thank you go a long way – and so does being thankful and remembering how lucky you are to have the opportunity to have such a nice vacation

[Ollie_WA]

We just got off the NOS this past Saturday too. We loved Grand Cayman, we did the stingray excursion on the cattamaran...we did the same one last year too. We were not fond of Labadee...we found the locals way to pushy for our liking. Our daughters decided to stay on the beach and sun bathe...they are 18 & 19. Hubby and I went back to the ship.

For the person that asked about the Crown & Anchor cocktail party...it was Tuesday evening...we totally forgot about it! :o

 

WE just love RCCL, that we booked another cruise while we were onboard...this time to the Mexican Riveria.

 

I thought the ship was in great shape...no complaints at all. The entertainment was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask,

 

Ollie:)

[Patty in NC]

Ollie,

 

Thanks for the info about the Crown & Anchor party...do you remember what time it was? Also, if you are Platinum or Diamond members, do you remember when that party was? We are trying to schedule some events and don't want things to conflict.

 

Thanks again...

 

Patty

[beautifulbc2]

Ollie Wa

Question for you- Star cruise, Singapore 2001, what were your thoughts on the ship, ports, activities? Would you recommend it? How did you book your star cruise? from a local ta? or ta in Singapore? Thanks if you can help, as I would like to visit SE Asia to see family and I love to cruise, too.

[RachelD]

What about Grand Cayman you didn't like? The reason why I am asking the 5 night Western we are considering has Jamaca and Grand Cayman as the ports.

 

Minybear

 

Minybear,

 

Grand Cayman seemed to us like a rundown beach town. I understand there was devastation from Ivan, but that is not what bothered me. There seemed to be a lack of an 'island' atmosphere there. We did a kayak, snorkel and beach excursion which was nice, but when we were done with that, we were not impressed.

 

It just seemed like Old Orchard Beach in Maine. I don't know... some people love it and we tried really hard to look past the McDonalds, the Wendy's, etc., but there was not much of a paradise feel to it. Even the store clerks were rude... I was looking for a slide to go on my necklace at a couple of stores and felt like I had vultures staring over my shoulder.

 

Now Jamaica, we loved. Our tour with Phil was honestly amazing. He showed us his homeland - not just what you see from the port. Afterwards, we went to Island Village for some shopping and the store clerks there were genuinly nice. At one jewelry store they actually gave us a ride in their car back to the ship because the alterations to one of the slides (for my necklace) was cutting it close to our departure time. They went out their way to make sure we were satisfied.

[RachelD]

Hi Rachel.

 

Thank you for your review. We are going on the Navigator Sept 3rd, our first cruise Western route. It sounds a lovely ship.

 

I too would like to know what you did not like about Grand Cayman, we hope to do the Stingray City tour.

 

Regards

Tessa:)

 

Tessa,

 

I hear that the Stingray City tour is a great tour. We had no desire to swim with the stingrays as we had done it a few years back at Discovery Cove in Orlando. When we were planning our day at Grand Cayman and looking at the different shore excusions nothing jumped out at us to say that we had to do it. I think that if we go on another cruise with Grand Cayman being a port of call, we might do the RumPoint excursion with Nativeway. Maybe seeing the other side of the island will show us more of what we are looking for.

 

Go to these ports... you may love stingray city. Others do, I just had no desire to be up close to them again.:)

[RachelD]

We just got off the NOS this past Saturday too. We loved Grand Cayman, we did the stingray excursion on the cattamaran...we did the same one last year too. We were not fond of Labadee...we found the locals way to pushy for our liking. Our daughters decided to stay on the beach and sun bathe...they are 18 & 19. Hubby and I went back to the ship.

 

For the person that asked about the Crown & Anchor cocktail party...it was Tuesday evening...we totally forgot about it! :o

 

WE just love RCCL, that we booked another cruise while we were onboard...this time to the Mexican Riveria.

 

I thought the ship was in great shape...no complaints at all. The entertainment was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!

 

Ollie:)

 

Ollie,

The Navigator is an incredible ship, isn't it!!!:D We found it to be decorated very nicely and there were times we forgot we were even on a ship!! We too were thinking of booking another cruise, but figured that since we are doing WDW/Universal with the kids next year, that we should wait another year to save up.

 

Now, we thought that Labadee was a great day! I loved the beach and BBQ there. We went to the beach at the end of the island (Hideaway Beach) where there were maybe 25 people there and just had fun snorkeling and relaxing.

 

We did brave the Haitian market. It can be a bit overwhelming, but we had no problems. We did a walk through at first, saying many firm, but polite, "No, thank you's" which gave us ideas of what we were looking for. Once we knew what we wanted, we went back in through the back and found one older man who had everything we were looking for. Once we had our souvenirs, we exited the same way and were done. No problems.

 

One thing I noticed is that if you stopped to look at anything or pointed out to your SO something of interest, the Haitians were like magnets to you. I found it very interesting... and sad. It made me appreciate my home and all that we have here in the USA even more.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise, too!!! There is so much to offer everyone, no matter what you are looking for!:D

[woodman6703]

Rachel D is not the only one to not like the Grand Cayman. My DW went in 03 and I did not like it, she on the other hand did. We did do the stingray city thing and it was a lot of fun. The water was clear and we also snorkel after the stingrays and that was good. But as far as the island itself I don’t know what it was I just did not like it. One thing was I thought every thing was high in price, and the people were rude, or at least game off that way. I don’t know about now but our dollar was not worth as much as there dollar. Rachel D we are going on the Navigator in October so glad to here the ship is what we thought she was.

[Ollie_WA]

beautifulbc2,

We were actually living in Singapore when we took that Cruise. There were mostly local Asians on the cruise, and hubby and I are American, so it seemed like no one could be bothered with us! It was definetly a cruise for just the 2 of...we only met one couple from New Zealand on the last morning.

The ship itself was just beautiful...I really don't remember all the activities. It was a short cruise for us...Sun- Wedn.

Patty, I think the Party was at 7:00 Tuesday evening. I do not know when the Diamond /Platinum Party was.

Rachel, we really did love this ship...we were on the Explorer (her sister ship) lat year and had a fantastic time too. My daughters were dissapointed in the Dungeon, and the DJ's choice of Music...Techno,:rolleyes: every night. The girls would go to the Family hour (10;00-11:00) everynight, only because they would play hip-hop. Then at 11:00 the DJ would announce that anyone under 18 had to leave, and then the Techno music would come on...they would always request songs but he never seemed to want to play them, so the girls would leave.:confused:

Next cruise is just hubby and I ....since both girls will be away at College.

Ollie:)

[RachelD]

beautifulbc2,

 

Rachel, we really did love this ship...we were on the Explorer (her sister ship) lat year and had a fantastic time too.

 

Next cruise is just hubby and I ....since both girls will be away at College.

 

Ollie:)

 

It's funny... we talked to another couple while on the ship who just went on the Explorer 3 weeks prior to the Navigator. They said they loved it better than the Navigator. They said the decor is the same, just the entertainment was better on the Explorer. I personally have nothing to compare it to and DH and I found everything entertaining.

 

This cruise was just for DH and I. The boys (ages 6 and 9) were at Nana and Grampa's for the week. My parents like to take the boys for a week every summer without us... I guess they like to spoil them without us constantly questioning them! After hearing about the ship and the different activities onboard, now the boys want to go! They saw the brochure and have the Adventure Ocean information memorized!

 

But, it was nice just resting in the Solarium and just taking our time...:rolleyes:

 

Glad you had a great time. We are sooooo missing the ship right now...back to work.:(

[msmaniepenny]

DH, I and another couple will be sailing on the Navigator to the same destinations in November.

 

DH was wondering how 'crowded' and how long does it usually take to get off the boat to get to shore. I know that if you have booked excursions through RCL you leave first, but how about if you are just going ashore?

[msmaniepenny]

DH is VERY concerned about the price of the drinks on the ship, does anyone know or remember how much the beer and mixed drinks are?

 

Thanks!