Just off Navigator May 25 - Questions? Comments?

[maitaiguy]

Hello all! My wife and I went on the Navigator of the Seas for the May 25th sailing.

 

Bottom line - Great cruise! I can nitpick some, and I will but the ship is beautiful after drydock and cruising now is cheaper than cruising on Royal Caribbean twenty years ago.

 

I know, I know....the mints on the pillow are gone, food in the MDR isn't what it used to be, no gifts in the staterooms the first day for returning cruisers......but it was fun and not very expensive, especially when compared to a land vacation.

 

A little background - DW and I are in our fifties, eight cruises for me, nine for her (darn those girl cruises, I'm jealous) and we are platinum on RC. We have also done cruises on NCL, Princess and Carnival. Our last cruise was the Carnival Sunshine inaugural, 12 night Europe cruise in May 2013.

 

Met some wonderful people from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missour, Louisiana and a few other states. Only talked to one other couple from California (our home) but that's ok. Loved talking to the KC Chief fans on board cuz I'm a Cali Chief fan too.

 

We were in a D category balcony cabin on Deck 9. No noise, except for the toddler on one side of us. No worries, we like kids! Cabin looked great with the new carpet and newly upholstered sofa. Bed was comfy too. Loved the balcony view.

 

I do have some opinions about the cruise that I will get into later such as flying into Houston, etc. I will check back with more and hopefully answer any questions from people that have not yet experienced the Navigator.

 

Got an opinion about adding 200 extra people to an existing ship too....

[hotinphoenix]

We were on this sailing also. I have some opinions, as well, regarding a couple of points you mentioned. Look forward to hearing what you have to say.

[maitaiguy]

Actually I have a question for CCers that have cruised many times on Voyager class ships.

 

To me, Navigator, while awesome, seemed a little more crowded than Mariner did on our cruise a few years ago. Both were sold out but Mariner did not have the extra cabins that Navigator now has.

 

My wife thinks I'm crazy although that's not anything new. She thought it was about the same. It could be in my mind but I felt that the extra cabins made a difference and not in a good way.

 

What say ye Voyager class experts? (That have sailed on Navigator since February 5th)

 

Am I nuts or not?

Edited June 5, 2014 by maitaiguy

[SA Traveler]

Actually I have a question for CCers that have cruised many times on Voyager class ships.

 

To me, Navigator, while awesome, seemed a little more crowded than Mariner did on our cruise a few years ago. Both were sold out but Mariner did not have the extra cabins that Navigator now has.

 

My wife thinks I'm crazy although that's not anything new. She thought it was about the same. It could be in my mind but I felt that the extra cabins made a difference and not in a good way.

 

What say ye Voyager class experts? (That have sailed on Navigator since February 5th)

 

Am I nuts or not?

 

We were on for Spring Break and I didn't notice any more crowding than on the TA from NO to Rome. We will be on again next week so I will let you know how it is then.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[Galveston Cruiser]

We just got off the Navigator this past Sunday.

Having sailed her last October/November prior to the refurbishment, then again last week, there was no noticeable difference in the number of guests, even with the additional cabins.

 

There were more in the pool, but lots of chairs/chaises available. But the weather was warmer and more conducive to being outside. In the Fall, there were more chairs occupied, but less in the pools.

[YadaYadaJodi]

Loving all you May 25th Navigator posters! Looking forward to what you have to say!

We have a deck 9 D2 booked for Oct. Looks to be a good location. We're just forward of the hump so not too far from the rear stairs/elevator.

 

Would love to hear about your excursions since we're doing the same ports.

 

Also curious if you had MTD & if so if you made nightly reservations.

 

TIA!!

[maitaiguy]

We were aft of the hump so we had a bit of a walk from the elevators. No big deal, we just worked off a few extra calories!

 

First time in a D balcony and we enjoyed it a lot. Bed was comfortable and noise was not a problem.

[Cindy]

We were on the April 6th cruise. I didn't notice any difference in crowding from my previous cruises on the Mariner, Voyager, and Explorer.

[maitaiguy]

My wife and I decided to try Giovanni's Table for dinner midweek after looking over the MDR choices for that evening on one of the new electronic boards. Those are really nice and helpful, by the way.

 

GT was awesome. We had gone to Portofino on Mariner a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

 

Our server, Christi, was great and the food was really, really good. The deserts were great too. I had a cannoli and we shared a slice of chocolate cake.

 

Didn't get to Chops this time although we had a great dinner there on Mariner.(It was only $25 pp in 2010). Heard lots of negative things on these boards about the menu changes but we were still thinking about going but just didn't get there this time.

 

To us, the $20 per person charge was worth it. $70 for Chops makes me hesitate.

[ssb]

We were on 5/25 navigator last week !!

Disembarkation was great for us.

Everything improved !!!

We were home by 8:00 am.

Our home is 20 blocks from terminal.

Our disembarkation had nothing to do with our earned status.

 

And I've been very critical in the past of

Galveston terminal # 2 disembarkations,

Including a very time consuming report prepared and given by me

to port, customs, and RCL (goldstein) about temporary measures

needed now long before new terminal renovations are completed for Liberty.

There were responses from them to me.

And obviously some actions were taken with or without my input.

 

Disembarkation in Galveston can only be BETTER IN FUTURE

with present changes

and with new 12 million improved terminal by November 2015.

 

ALSO See below a good review off our

cruise critic roll

call 5/25 navigator:

 

Navigator of the Seas 5/25/14 - Wonderful Cruise!

BACKGROUND

Me and my college aged son on our 7th cruise, 4th on Royal Caribbean. Looking to relax after the harsh Ohio winter and do some scuba diving.

 

PRE CRUISE

We flew into Hobby airport around 1:30. We pre-booked Cool Tours for our transportation from Hobby to hotel. As soon as we landed I turned my phone on and they called with instructions to find them. Very smooth operation. Our driver was friendly and shared with us a lot of Galveston history. It was interesting and enjoyable.

 

Since we wanted to visit NASA we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott across the street from it which was a good choice. Nice hotel with several restaurants and a CVS pharmacy within walking distance.

 

EMBARKATION

We again booked Cool Tours to get us from hotel to Port Galveston. We scheduled our ride for 9:30. They called at 9:20 and were waiting outside. Since we didn't get to see Galveston, our driver took us the scenic route showing us some highlights of the island. He shared a lot of history and facts making the ride again interesting and pleasurable.

 

This has to be the smoothest embarkation ever. We arrived at the port by 10:15. Someone immediately took our bags and we got in line. By 10:30 they were letting us inside to proceed with our paperwork. In full disclosure, having a JS allowed us priority boarding but both lines were moving equally fast. After getting 'signed in' we sat for a short time and by 11:00 were in the Windjammer enjoying lunch.

 

FOOD

We mostly ate in the main dining room. I am not a 'foodie' but there were many choices and the food was good. We are not buffet people so only ate twice at the Windjammer. Food was fine and tables were plenty.

 

We used room service a couple of times and enjoyed what we ordered. I absolutely love the bistro burgers on the menu.

 

For the first time we decided to try Johnny Rockets. We ended up going there three times for lunch. The burgers were good but I was mainly going for the apple pie they offer for dessert. It's tasty!

 

SERVICE

Our room steward was Stephanie from Jamaica and she was awesome. She kept our cabin spotless and did a good job of getting in and out around our crazy schedule.

 

Our main dining room waiters were excellent. Our head waiter asked us to call him Sing as we couldn't pronounce his name. He and his assistant Deandra worked their tails off and we never wanted for anything.

 

The only service complaint I have is Johnny Rockets. Each of the 3 times we ate there the service was not good. And the workers there seemed to be genuinely miserable. The first visit we witnessed 2 servers arguing over whether a specific table was theirs or not. Definitely a downer and not the experience you expect.

 

PORTS

Since we scheduled private scuba dives in Cozumel and Grand Cayman I wont spend much time on ports. We had some of the best dives ever. If anyone wants info on who we booked with just ask. In Jamaica we did a little shopping and got back on the ship.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We attended the parade which was very enjoyable, even for adults. And we also attended my favorite, the 70's Street Party. We went to the Love and Marriage game show which was hilarious. Also made it to the ice show, titled Ice Dancing. This show is awesome! Went to Quest which is always a good time. We didn't make it to any of the other shows.

 

DEBARKATION

We pre booked our transfer back to Hobby through RCI. We were told to be in the Metropolis Theater by 8:30. We went at 7:15 and around 8:00 they were leading us off the ship. I have read complaints about lengthy waits to get through customs at this port but we had no problems. By 8:45 we were on the transfer bus headed back to Hobby.

 

GALVESTON

We really enjoyed cruising out of Galveston. I mean no insult to other home ports, but I have to say that hands down the people on this cruise were the friendliest and most polite I have cruised with. It just stood out.

I would have to guess that a large percentage of them are from Texas.

 

While I enjoyed touring NASA, I regret that I didn't get to see much of Galveston. For those of you who avoid this port because of possible fog and transportation challenges, all I can say is it's your loss. This is a great port! Due to our schedules, and the fact that my son and lots of my money go to Ohio State University, I dont get to cruise as often as I would like. Therefore I choose my cruises carefully. With this in mind, a future cruise out out of Galveston will definitely be at the top of my list.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I have enjoyed all of my cruises but this one is my favorite thus far. Everything went smooth. Fellow cruisers as well as most of the ship staff were pleasant and fun.

 

Because I need to keep in touch back home, I purchased the unlimited internet package for 1 device. Cost was $189.95 and was totally worth it. Used my Nook tablet most of the time and was able to logon all over the ship.

Unlimited for 2 devices cost $229.95, Daily Plan for a 24 hour span is $59.90, 3 Day Special Plan is $140.95, 1 hour is $29.95 and for 30 minutes it cost $10.00.

 

The ship played Country & Western music the majority of the time. Not a big fan of it. On a Caribbean cruise it would have been nice to hear a better mix of music styles. Didn't make or break my cruise, just sayin.

 

Not sure what happened in Grand Cayman. This was our 4th time there and it never took as long to tender off the ship as it did on this cruise. We pre-booked and put deposits on scuba dives which we nearly missed.

 

In prior JS cabins we had a coffee table which we made full use of. For whatever reason this JS did not which was kind of inconvenient.

__________________

[cruiselvr04]

We were on this cruise too. We noticed it was a bit crowded in the windjammer, often hard to find a table but we always did. Quest was very full with standing room only. Tendering took a lot of time. Pool and solarium about the same as usual which means it's hard to find chairs but we always did just not together. My time dining was a wait at peak times. Johnny rockets had a line. Overall it did not seem worse to us with the added cabins but the ship was still not as full as it will be in the summer with all the third and fourth passenger ( kids).

 

We had a great cruise and will do it again in September. We now know her well and that will help make the next one even better. She's a great ship with nice facelift!

[Loves_Dogs]

Actually I have a question for CCers that have cruised many times on Voyager class ships.

 

To me, Navigator, while awesome, seemed a little more crowded than Mariner did on our cruise a few years ago. Both were sold out but Mariner did not have the extra cabins that Navigator now has.

 

My wife thinks I'm crazy although that's not anything new. She thought it was about the same. It could be in my mind but I felt that the extra cabins made a difference and not in a good way.

 

What say ye Voyager class experts? (That have sailed on Navigator since February 5th)

 

Am I nuts or not?

While I am no expert, I will ad my .02 worth. This was my 3rd cruise on a Voyager class ship and I honestly did not think it felt more crowded. That was my experience, yours could very well have been different. At any rate, it was a GREAT cruise!

[George C]

While I am no expert, I will ad my .02 worth. This was my 3rd cruise on a Voyager class ship and I honestly did not think it felt more crowded. That was my experience, yours could very well have been different. At any rate, it was a GREAT cruise!

 

I did think it felt more crowded could not always get a seat in some of the places with live music ( not shows) but piano bars etc, but this didn't keep me from booking again next April and we are looking forward to the bigger Liberity in Nov 2016

[ssb]

While I am no expert, I will ad my .02 worth. This was my 3rd cruise on a Voyager class ship and I honestly did not think it felt more crowded. That was my experience, yours could very well have been different. At any rate, it was a GREAT cruise!

 

 

Thanks for your excellent review on roll call that I referenced.

[ssb]

I did think it felt more crowded could not always get a seat in some of the places with live music ( not shows) but piano bars etc, but this didn't keep me from booking again next April and we are looking forward to the bigger Liberity in Nov 2016

 

Yes the crowds did seem more active and involved around the ship,

but that seems positive.

Including the active Roll Call groups and activities

which were very large and involved!

Lots of great folks on the ship!

 

It was a great and enjoyable cruise all the way around!

And we have booked again in January 2015,

and are on Liberty repositioning Jersey to Galveston in November 2015.

[ssb]

An email received from fellow cruiser

interested in Embarkation/ Disembarkation matters

from the 4/27/14 Navigator Galveston

Thanks Vicki:)

 

"When we got back into port on 4/27, we had the best disembark ever!! We carried off our luggage. There was a notice in the Compass that there were going to be a limited number of spots available. Well, I have heard that one before, but followed the instructions and went to Guest Services. I got Group 0ne cards. To my great joy, this actually meant something. We went to our assigned waiting spot and the crew was only letting in people with group one cards. They also had the exit blocked off so no one could sneak ahead of those who'd signed up. The crew actually stopped people with luggage and sent them to Guest Services to get cards for later departure times. Hats off to Royal for actually enforcing a rule!!!

 

 

I seriously expected the zoo I'd experienced getting off the Rhapsody and the Splendour in years gone by. On those two ships the entire centrum was filled with people and luggage and there was no organization whatsoever. The disembark cards I got back then meant nothing!! No one even asked to see them.

 

 

Even waiting in line at immigration behind a family of seven that apparently had minimal documentation, we were in our car and out of there in 30 minutes. Amazing!!"

 

Edited June 5, 2014 by ssb

[maitaiguy]

We carried our own bags off the ship too. It was the easiest disembarkation we have ever been part of. We walked off the ship at 8:00 and breezed through customs.

 

Cool Tours was ready to pick us up. It was so easy that we had over four hours to wait once we got to Hobby before our flight took off. I know that is recommended to not book an early flight out of Hobby after getting off the ship, but we had a lot of time to wait.

 

We then had a two hour layover in Vegas before catching our flight back to Cali.

 

Loved all the friendly passengers on this ship. Everyone I talked with was terrific. If the woman from Austin is reading this - yes, I went to In and Out for a Double Double the day after I got home. (She was very excited to tell me about Austin getting an In and Out when she learned I was from California. Austin seems like a cool place to live too, my Texas friends!

[KirkNC]

Welcome home! Thanks for the report!

[Texancruisers]

We were on this same sailing. My DW and I both agree that the ship did seem a bit more crowded. But with more cabins, what do you expect? We have sailed both Voyager and Mariner.

 

Food and service were spotty starting off, then got better/good. We ate at Sabor the first formal night so we didn't have to dress formal. Very good food, but the margaritas were not worth $12.00. Just my humble opinion. We had booked a second time there but cancelled.

 

Chops was very nice. We enjoyed it a lot. We would definitely repeat this place!!

 

We LOVED Izumi. Wish we would have returned there a second time. Tried, but they were closed for lunch that day.

 

We also loved the Diamond Lounge. The appetizers are GREAT!!! Lots of drinks and they allowed us to go out into the former Viking Lounge because the diamond lounge was so crowded. They changed the name. Guess that is a bow to political correctness. Who knows.

 

The newly redone décor of the ship was very nice. New everything!!! Beds were great!!!

 

We notice a lot of little things that aren't there any more, but like what one poster said, the price was great!!! It was a good cruise, but we wish that RCCL would give us more options on ports of call.

 

We hate the fact that RCCL and most all lines are building bigger and bigger ships. We have really LOVED the Vision class. RCCL, if your reading this, please give us a choice of new/smaller ships and longer cruises/different ports of call from Galveston.

[jonbgd]

I went to In and Out for a Double Double the day after I got home. . !

 

The best fast food burger anywhere IMHO

I like mine animal style:D

 

5/25 What a Great cruise

Did a B2B on the Nav a couple years ago. Have also done the Mariner and Voyager.

We usually don't cruise this time of year, so I cant compare it to anything similar.

But with all the kids it felt like a Thanksgiving cruise.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

We had a great cruise!!!

Just too darn hot and humid for me, I melted!! I guess I won't complain about our 110 dry heat anymore!

 

We are D+ and this was our 23 RC cruise, we normally cruise 14 days, so this was a quick 7 day cruise for us. This was my second time on the Navigator, first time was a girls cruise with Hurricane Frances back in 2004. We cruised with 2 other couples, one being Platinum and the other was their first RC cruise, they mostly cruise Princess.

 

Our JS was great, even better at the rock bottom rate from the NYE booking frenzy. Our cabin attendant Stephanie was awesome.

 

Had one snafu first nights dinner but quickly resolved the second night foreword. We had main dining at 5:30, we didn't get out of the dining room until 8 pm....we were able to change tables and all was great!!!

 

Enjoyed Bowzer (Sha Naa Naa) the 2 comedians, didn't go to the production shows. The Ice Dancing show was really good.

 

Richardo in the CL was very nice and friendly, but we mostly went to the DL on deck 14 every night.

 

Overall experience was great, I had heard a lot of horror stories about Galveston, none of them occurred during our cruise. ;)

 

***

[pjholmes58]

maitaiguy The first cruise I took was on the Navigator in April 2004. Last RCC was Oct 2007. Next will be April 5th 2015. We will also be sailing out of Galveston. Any ideas on travelling from HOU Intl to the port? We are flying in from Boston the night before. We were thinking of renting a car for the one day, hopefully dropping it off near the port. Then staying in a hotel close enough to the port on the day of sailing. On the way home we thought reserving a transfer for rccl. We are hoping to pay as little as possible on precruise transport (with in reason and safely lol) Rather spend the money on fun!! Do you have any suggestions on the best way? I am very excited. This will be my 4th RCCL cruise. My last cruise was on the Norwegian Dream,(not my choice lol) RCCL has spoiled me!

[lj77346]

We were on the May 25 cruise as well and had a great time. Embarkation was quick - arrived at the terminal at 11 a.m. and we were on the ship by 11:20. We were in a balcony on deck 8 (8378), the room was spacious and quiet. Rohan our room steward did a good job - kept the room clean and the ice bucket full.

 

Considering that there were 600 children on the cruise, they seemed very well behaved - bravo to the kids and parents who were watchful enough so that everyone could have a good time.

 

We ate all our dinners in the MDR and has my time dining. We ate early - between 5:30 and 6 and never had to wait. We enjoyed the waiters we had the first night (Maricris and Galen) and asked to be seated in their section every evening. They were efficient and friendly - probably the best service we've had in about 50 cruises. We thought the food in the MDR was very good - beef that was requested medium rare even arrived that way. For those concerned about suggested dress for formal nights, it appeared that anyone dressed neatly - jacket or not was seated. On other nights, even shorts were allowed in the MDR. We've always found that what people choose to wear to dinner never affects its taste.

 

The production shows were typical cruise ship fare - one with a dance theme and the other Broadway tunes. The feature shows were good - a comedian the first night, Bowzer from Sha Na Na the third night, comedians the sixth night, an acrobat/dancer the last night. The ice show was enjoyable and was presented on the fourth night and twice in the afternoon on one of the sea days returning to Galveston. On the day you board the ship, be sure to look for the table where they distribute ice show tickets so you can get the show you want.

 

The only minor inconvenience on the cruise was tendering in Grand Cayman, which seemed very slow. If you weren't on one of the ship's shore excursions and didn't hustle to get a ticket for one of the first tenders, you didn't get to shore until after noon.

 

We met lots of nice people from all over the US on the cruise. On Memorial Day there was even a little ceremony to commemorate the day. We were in the 8 a.m. group for walk-off disembarkation and everything went smoothly - we ate breakfast in the MDR and by the time we finished it was 8 and we were able to get right off the ship, minimal lines in customs and we were in our car at 8:20. Now, if RCL would only offer an occasional longer cruise out of Galveston to ports in the eastern Caribbean that would be excellent.

[maitaiguy]

maitaiguy The first cruise I took was on the Navigator in April 2004. Last RCC was Oct 2007. Next will be April 5th 2015. We will also be sailing out of Galveston. Any ideas on travelling from HOU Intl to the port? We are flying in from Boston the night before. We were thinking of renting a car for the one day, hopefully dropping it off near the port. Then staying in a hotel close enough to the port on the day of sailing. On the way home we thought reserving a transfer for rccl. We are hoping to pay as little as possible on precruise transport (with in reason and safely lol) Rather spend the money on fun!! Do you have any suggestions on the best way? I am very excited. This will be my 4th RCCL cruise. My last cruise was on the Norwegian Dream,(not my choice lol) RCCL has spoiled me!

 

Well, first I would direct you to the Gulf Departures board for lots of ideas and recommendations.

 

Second, I will tell you about my one and only experience with shuttle transportation from Hobby to Galveston and then back to Hobby post cruise- Use Cool Tours! Excellent service, new vans, good drivers that will also tell you about the history of the area.

 

Make sure to look at the Gulf Departures for other opinions though. It seems like all the options are expensive - let me explain - It is about 40 miles from Hobby to Galveston and quite a bit farther to Bush International. It cost us about $100 each way for the two of us. I can book a shuttle from my house to LAX (about 55 miles) for less money. Disclaimer - We used Cool Tours and it was a private van for just my DW and I, which was really nice. If I recall, Super Shuttle would be a shared van but they only leave from Hobby about three times a day and we would have had to wait several hours after our flight to catch a Super Shuttle and we did not want to wait.

 

We could have done the RC shuttle post cruise for less money but I waited too long to book it. The RC phone rep told me I would need to reserve it at least two weeks before the cruise. I waited too long. My bad.....I learned something new. Usually I cruise out of LA or take a cab to the airport in Florida.

 

Vacation can be a good learning experience too!

 

I hope that helps! Enjoy your cruise!!!!

 

MTG

Edited June 6, 2014 by maitaiguy

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

One more thing I'd like to mention....CROWDS.

 

The only time we really noticed the crowds were the elevators!

The Voyager class ships elevators are always jammed and seems like someone always thinks there is room for just one more.

They are always the busiest at dinner time.

 

Anyone else on this cruise notice how many times the elevator alarm would sound....OVERLOADED! :eek: Felt sorry for the person who got on and then the alarm sounded!!! If it arrived full, we waited.....I wasn't going to be THAT person!! :eek: :p :D

 

Another area of crowds is the WJ, we avoided it as much a possible on sea days and used the MDR instead. Love the Tutti Salad they have on sea days!!!

 

We really didn't notice the 600 kids they were well behaved and we didn't see any problems.

 

***