Navigator Cruise Review - June 8, 2014

[vtayl1]

We are just off the Navigator of the Seas sailing June 8. This is my 6th cruise (5th RCI) and my husband’s third RCI cruise. We booked this cruise as a celebration of my birthday and our 4th wedding anniversary. We have a 9th month old baby and was also the first time we were away from him for an extended period of time.

 

 

Embarkation/Debarkation: I don’t need to say much here, as the Galveston cruise terminal port is well documented on this forum. I generally agree with most of this post – many improvements are needed here. The baggage drop-off is complete chaos. We did self-assist on debarkation and got the earliest time possible. We were off the boat by 7:15 and through custom, caught the shuttle back to our car and were on the road by 7:45.

 

Food: Every meal I had on the Navigator was a good one! Seriously, I can’t complain about one thing… well maybe the desserts in the MDR and the hard cookies in the promenade weren’t the best, but on the last day there was a mudslide cookie that was soft and chewy, perfect! We ate most mornings in the MDR. We did this after reading a lot of Max’sMom reviews and were so happy we did! We ate basically the same thing we wound have in the windjammer without having to trip over other people to get it, had great service, and got to meet some really nice people as we sat with groups.

 

On the second day we ate lunch in Izumi. It was great, we aren’t sushi experts or anything but the Miso soup was great and the rolls we got were tasty. We ordered room service the days we were at port when we got back on the boat and were happy the Honey Stung Chicken was on the menu as we didn’t see it the first day at the windjammer lunch. We ate dinner in the MDR every night except for one. Most nights I ordered two appetizers, as I could not decide. Stew had whatever beef was on the menu every night and he liked it all. We did eat a Sabor on Wednesday night and it was outstanding! Great atmosphere, the gauac was the best I’ve ever had, and delicious deserts! Ok, so maybe it’s just that I’ve never had plantain, but the plantain mash that came with the red snapper was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten!

 

Amazing desserts at Sabor- even though we were full!

 

Service: Our waiter and assistant waiter were excellent! Reynato always brought us an extra of each course to try and always made sure everyone was happy with what they ordered. Our room attendant always left our room tidy and made towel animals for us, a cruise favorite! He didn’t even get mad when I had to call him to tell him I had spilt powder all over the Navigators brand new carpet. What I did hear people complain a lot about was the pool drink service. This didn’t affect us much as we don’t drink a lot, but I did notice there weren’t pool attendants hounding you every time you turn around to buy the drink of the day. I figure with the drink packages and the included gratuities, there isn’t as much of a push to get out there and sell it, that’s just assuming though.

 

Room: We had an ocean view room, forward starboard, right off the elevator on the second floor. This is a brand new room that was added in place of the conference room during the upgrade. We had originally booked an interior but we were able to upgrade when the prices dropped for no additional cost. We liked the location because only one flight up was the theatre and 3 up to the promenade, just enough to make you not feel so bad for eating so many brownies when you make it up to the promenade. We enjoyed the natural light from the oceanview window. We will still go with whatever is cheapest but will upgrade again if we get the chance.

 

 

Entertainment: The entertainment on this cruise has been the best of any cruise we have been on! The Texas Tenors, Micheal James an action comedian, Horizon a Motown group, and the Ice Show were awesome! The cruise singers/dancers were about the same as they have been on other cruises we have been on, and there was another comedian that wasn’t really our style so we missed the late night show. Hot Spice the Caribbean band made you feel like you were always on the islands, the Latin band in Baleros and the Piano man James Morrison always had a crowd. We never listened to Papa T in the pub, and there were never many people there when we walked by.

 

The strangest thing was the band Mean Machine who was in the Star lounge most nights. They mumble the words to every song they sing. I thought it was a joke at first, but nope. Apparently sing mumbling is a thing and there are people some where that like it, or maybe they are too drunk to realize. The place to be this cruise at night was the Cosmopolitan Club! After being on the Freedom and Mariner and going to the dance club there, the Dungeon being such a strange place, I was so happy the Dungeon was not on this boat, as it is now Sabor and extra cabins. DJ Dan in the Cosmopolitan Club was great! All ages were on the dance floor! It really was a place for everyone to dance the night away!

 

The Texas Tenors

 

Ports of Call: In Cozumel we did X-rails ATV tour. While this received great reviews on trip advisor and the tour guide was great, this was one of the worst things I have ever put myself through. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want be beat to death. I know this sounds dramatic, but it really is true. Not to mention I almost lost fingers and broke my wrist driving the thing. So if you have recommendations for a Cozumel excursion you have loved we would gladly take it! Grand Caymen we took at taxi to the 7 mile beach. They dropped us off at the public beach and at the Tiki beach club we were able to get a chair in the shade for a good price, though the guy there was trying to charge and “all includive” price. It turns out if you walk away they will give you a good price. The water was beautiful, but it was crowded . Jamaica we did the Green Grotto caves and Dunns River Falls. The caves were really neat. The falls were beautiful and defiantly a must for all who go to Jamaica at least once!

 

 

Highlights: There was a Dancing MiMi on our cruise, everywhere you looked there she was dancing! I’m pretty sure everyone on the boat has a video of her or picture with her. She was fun to watch, so Dancing MiMi if you are out there in CruiseCritic land know you were a highlight of our trip!

Comfy chairs! Yes, that’s what I said. The Navigator is not shy of comfy chairs. Viking crown-comfy couch, Casino-comfy high back chairs, dining room, R bar, Star lounge, you name it there is a comfy place to sit, relax and enjoy your cruise! The Cruise Critic meet and mingle was another highlight! We met some great folks. We enjoyed running into the familiar faces throughout the rest of the cruise and enjoyed sitting with our friends SA Traveler at the Quest. We vow to never miss a meet and mingle again!

 

Dancing Mimi - she was everywhere - always dancing!!!

 

Missed: On the Mariner there was a “screening room” where they showed movies during the day, and I wished they had this on the Navigator. I know this is not a big deal to most people, but we enjoyed doing this on sea days when we tired of sitting in the blazing sun. They showed movies at night out on the big screen but we were always doing something else. Also we missed Captain’s Corner. Again, I know this might not interest most, but we have been on few enough cruises that is still interest us learning about the ship and crew.

 

That’s it for my first review. Ask away if you have any questions. I hope you enjoyed and we look forward to cruising again in May 2015 on the Oasis.

 

-Valerie

Edited June 17, 2014 by vtayl1

[dudaze11]

Great review. Can't wait to board NOTS in 20 days.

[PompeySailor]

Nice review Val, glad you and Stewart had a great cruise.. Got it right this time:)

Nice photos.

Happy Days.

[SA Traveler]

Great review Val! We enjoyed the Quest with you and Stew too! I know you were glad to get home to your baby and glad you enjoyed the cruise. I think they did away with the screening room when they added the big screen by the pool.

 

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[JimAOk1945]

Great review and pictures!

[vtayl1]

Great review Val! We enjoyed the Quest with you and Stew too! I know you were glad to get home to your baby and glad you enjoyed the cruise. I think they did away with the screening room when they added the big screen by the pool.

 

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Yeah, I figured they did away with it with the upgrade. There was never a lot of people in the room when we were on the Mariner, but we did enjoy taking in a movie or 2. We really like the movies playing in the main theater on the Freedom.

 

 

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Edited June 17, 2014 by vtayl1

[Ladysilver]

Great review and pics! :D

[vtayl1]

A few more pics...

 

Horizon - a great Motown show

 

The pool deck on a sunny sea day

 

The delicious table made guacamole

 

Captain Claus Andersen - he always had a cowboy hat and boots on, but was probably the furthest thing from a cowboy!

 

A very impressive act in the Ice Dancing show

[MLB1828]

Thanks for the wonderful review. Do you happen to remember the menu order in the MDR?

 

Thanks :)

 

 

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[vtayl1]

Thanks for the wonderful review. Do you happen to remember the menu order in the MDR?

 

Thanks :)

 

 

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I don't exactly remember. I do remember the lobster is on the second formal night which was Friday. Perhaps someone who has been on this cruise recently (and is more observant :) ) can help out.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed reading your review.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Cindy]

Thanks for the wonderful review. Do you happen to remember the menu order in the MDR?

 

Thanks :)

 

 

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This was the order in April:

 

Sunday – Mojo: Steak and Spinach Salad, Grilled Pork Chop, Prime Rib

*Monday – Saffron: Scallop Gratin, Lobster Bisque, Duck, Filet of Beef Tenderloin

Tuesday – Pimento: Caprese Salad, Arancini, Lasagna, Garlic Shrimp, Chicken Marsala

Wednesday – Basil: Cream of Mushroom, Pear Salad, Crab Cakes, Beef Duo, Chicken Cordon Bleu

Thursday – Sage: Cheese Souffle, Smoked Chicken Salad, Singapore Noodles, Potato Pie, Roasted Chicken, Mustard Crusted Roast Beef

*Friday – Jasmine: Wild Mushrooms, Corn/Pepper Soup, Lobster/Shrimp, Prime Rib

Saturday – Pomodoro: Scallops & Chorizo, Onion Soup, Roasted Turkey, Lamb Shanks

 

* = Formal Night 

[vtayl1]

This was the order in April:

 

 

 

Sunday – Mojo: Steak and Spinach Salad, Grilled Pork Chop, Prime Rib

 

*Monday – Saffron: Scallop Gratin, Lobster Bisque, Duck, Filet of Beef Tenderloin

 

Tuesday – Pimento: Caprese Salad, Arancini, Lasagna, Garlic Shrimp, Chicken Marsala

 

Wednesday – Basil: Cream of Mushroom, Pear Salad, Crab Cakes, Beef Duo, Chicken Cordon Bleu

 

Thursday – Sage:Cheese Souffle, Smoked Chicken Salad, Singapore Noodles, Potato Pie, Roasted Chicken, Mustard Crusted Roast Beef

 

*Friday – Jasmine:Wild Mushrooms, Corn/Pepper Soup, Lobster/Shrimp, Prime Rib

 

Saturday – Pomodoro: Scallops & Chorizo, Onion Soup, Roasted Turkey, Lamb Shanks

 

 

 

* = Formal Night 

 

 

 

Thanks Cindy. That is the same order as last week.

 

 

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[OceanDreams]

Really good review...thanks for sharing.

 

OceanDreams

[TC1957]

 

Ports of Call: In Cozumel we did X-rails ATV tour. While this received great reviews on trip advisor and the tour guide was great, this was one of the worst things I have ever put myself through. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you want be beat to death. I know this sounds dramatic, but it really is true. Not to mention I almost lost fingers and broke my wrist driving the thing.

 

 

We are on the Navigator in August (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel) and plan on doing the ATV. I am not being critical but I find this funny. A friend of ours said basically the same thing.

 

Maybe it is because I ride a motorcycle but like I told my wife...ATV stands for All Terrain Vehicle. They go over rough ground...of course you are going to be tossed around. That is the largest part of the fun of riding an ATV.

 

Glad you had a nice cruise.

[vtayl1]

We are on the Navigator in August (Roatan, Belize, Cozumel) and plan on doing the ATV. I am not being critical but I find this funny. A friend of ours said basically the same thing.

 

Maybe it is because I ride a motorcycle but like I told my wife...ATV stands for All Terrain Vehicle. They go over rough ground...of course you are going to be tossed around. That is the largest part of the fun of riding an ATV.

 

Glad you had a nice cruise.

 

 

You are definitely right :) The company we went thought was really great. They were well organized and our guide was outstanding. The cavern we stopped at was very cool. It was the favorite part of our excursion. We did expect for it to be rough, but not quite as rough as it was. They had a Xrail vehicle and regular 4 wheelers. I know that we took the much "rougher" path with the Xrail, so in hindsight we would have probably enjoyed the other route more. We aren't big ATV riders (wanted to try something new and different), but if you are then I am sure you will have a great time. Have fun!

 

 

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[niksmom630]

You are definitely right :) The company we went thought was really great. They were well organized and our guide was outstanding. The cavern we stopped at was very cool. It was the favorite part of our excursion. We did expect for it to be rough, but not quite as rough as it was. They had a Xrail vehicle and regular 4 wheelers. I know that we took the much "rougher" path with the Xrail, so in hindsight we would have probably enjoyed the other route more. We aren't big ATV riders (wanted to try something new and different), but if you are then I am sure you will have a great time. Have fun!

 

 

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Thanks for the review and photos! Sailing on Navigator in November, first time out of Galveston.

 

Quick question--we have a pretty early flight out of Intercontinental--if you did self assist walk off, was it a distance to walk with your luggage until you get get a porter? We really want to do walk off to be off the ship as quickly as possible, but a few in our party may be challenged if it's a distance to walk off with luggage....

 

oh, as an aside--my husband did the ATV tour you mentioned in Cozumel last year. That was his 5th ATV excursion on various cruises--he's always enjoyed them--but after the Cozumel one he said it was his last---;) he is was pain for several days.....

[frawnsay]

Thanks for your review! We're trying RCI next summer, and we'll be on the Navigator.

 

We just got back from Alaska and left our one year old at home...first time away from him, just like you two. But, we seemed to manage didn't we? :p

 

I think you picture of dessert at Sabor is all I will need to show my DH to get us to book a dinner there! ;)

 

And the pool picture...it looks busy, as you posted, but was it manageable or was it crazy?! We've never been to the Caribbean, so I don't know what to expect!

 

Thanks!

[vtayl1]

Quick question--we have a pretty early flight out of Intercontinental--if you did self assist walk off, was it a distance to walk with your luggage until you get get a porter? We really want to do walk off to be off the ship as quickly as possible, but a few in our party may be challenged if it's a distance to walk off with luggage....

 

We got a very late time for traditional disembarkation, so we went to guest services and got the first possible self-assist time which was 7:15. We got this on Friday and all of the early times were just about taken, so I would get it early.

 

We were off the boat by 7:20 and in the customs line for about 5 mins. The earlier to customs the better. We took our luggage to a shuttle in front of the terminal that took us to our parking spot for the week. We were on the road by 7:45. We have been out of Galveston twice and this is pretty much the same for both trips.

 

Now, we both only had one bag and backpack. When you got off the boat it is not a terribly long distance to walk but there is one elevator and one escalator. You can take either depending on your luggage. This is another ridiculous part of the Galveston terminal. Your luggage will have to travel trough the boat (our room was on the opposite side of the boat), down the ramp off the boat, down the escalator (or wait in line for the single elevator), a short walk to customs and out of the terminal. If you are in relatively good shape then it should not be a problem. If you think someone in your party will have trouble dragging luggage around the ship and through the terminal, then you might find someone in your party to help out. If you can do this and get a early self-assist time, I think you will avoid the horror stories of the galveston terminal.

 

Hope this helps.

[vtayl1]

Thanks for your review! We're trying RCI next summer, and we'll be on the Navigator.

 

We just got back from Alaska and left our one year old at home...first time away from him, just like you two. But, we seemed to manage didn't we? :p

 

I think you picture of dessert at Sabor is all I will need to show my DH to get us to book a dinner there! ;)

 

And the pool picture...it looks busy, as you posted, but was it manageable or was it crazy?! We've never been to the Caribbean, so I don't know what to expect!

 

Thanks!

 

We did manage being away from him (and only felt a little guilty we were leaving him with his grandmothers while he is teething)! But were missing him bad by day 5 when we weren't at port and weren't so busy. We did have a package from AT&T to be able to call some while at sea so that helped! We originally thought we would go and catch up on our sleep, but we ended up staying up late every night we were having so much fun! Did you do an Alaskan cruise? that looks like a beautiful trip!

 

I would say the pool wasn't any crazier than any other time we have been during the summer. We always found open chairs with a good view of the pool, and when the chairs I wanted weren't available I just hawk eyed them down until they came open! I like to be on the bottom floor under the shade by the pool! We never got out to the pool until early afternoon and were fine finding a seat. We did have trouble finding a chair in the Solarium on the last day but that was because it started raining and everyone evacuated the main pool to there.

 

The Navigator will be a great first RCI cruise! We are trying to talk our families who have never been on a cruise before to go on a family vacation next summer on the Navigator.

[MLB1828]

This was the order in April:

 

 

 

Sunday – Mojo: Steak and Spinach Salad, Grilled Pork Chop, Prime Rib

 

*Monday – Saffron: Scallop Gratin, Lobster Bisque, Duck, Filet of Beef Tenderloin

 

Tuesday – Pimento: Caprese Salad, Arancini, Lasagna, Garlic Shrimp, Chicken Marsala

 

Wednesday – Basil: Cream of Mushroom, Pear Salad, Crab Cakes, Beef Duo, Chicken Cordon Bleu

 

Thursday – Sage:Cheese Souffle, Smoked Chicken Salad, Singapore Noodles, Potato Pie, Roasted Chicken, Mustard Crusted Roast Beef

 

*Friday – Jasmine:Wild Mushrooms, Corn/Pepper Soup, Lobster/Shrimp, Prime Rib

 

Saturday – Pomodoro: Scallops & Chorizo, Onion Soup, Roasted Turkey, Lamb Shanks

 

 

 

* = Formal Night 

 

 

 

Thanks so much Cindy!

 

 

 

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[High Cs]

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[cmwinkel]

I was also on this cruise with my wife, daughter, MIL and BIL. Some observations:

 

- Having never been to Galveston, I found signage in and around the port really lacking. Would have liked to drop bags curbside before going to garage we had resevered, but had no idea where to enter the port. Also received bad directions from a traffic cop and ended up going to the Carnival side before realizing where we needed to go to drop off our bags for RC. However once in the terminal everything went fairly smooth. Only hiccup was they couldn't get my daughter's sea pass card to function and had to create a new card.

 

- I found the food in both the MDR and Windjammer to be good. Although didn't really care for lunch in the MDR. Just didn't find the choices to be to my taste not that the food wasn't good. Also would have killed to have potato chips available in the Windjammer. I'm not that much of a french fry person.

 

- Our waiters were excellent. We had MTD, but requested the same table for the week after the first night. The waiters really took care of my daughter who is a bit of a picky eater. We had a table right by the stairs going down to the piano, so my daughter had plenty to look at.

 

- I found bar service to be slow, especially at the pool bar. I only had a soda package as I don't drink much, but sometimes felt like a second class citizen. There were several times I walked away from the pool bar as I got tired of waiting and the bartenders just going back to the same place they just served and helping the next person who walked up.

 

- Enjoyed all the shows. While maybe not all that memorable, all the acts were entertaining.

 

- Two port issues. First why sign out pool towels on the 1st floor where depending on what stairs you come down you had to go against the flow of traffic to get back to the towels? Do this up on level three, where it is out of the way. One would think doing this day after day, week in and week out, they would have this much more organized. Second issue was with tendering in Grand Cayman. We had a 1:00 tour through RC, but we wanted to have time to shop beforehand. The night prior we asked at the excursion desk whether we needed to get the tickets they handed out for tendering. We were told since we had excursion tickets we didn't need the tickets they hand out and to go to the theater in the morning to board a tender. When arriving that the theater a guy checking tickets said we should have gone to MDR as our tour wasn't till one. We said we wanted time to shop and he said to go ahead in. While waiting they started calling group numbers, which our tickets did not have. When my MIL went to ask (she happenedd to ask the shopping lady Jana who was there) about the group numbers, she was told we were in the wrong place and couldn't get on. I immediately then went up to the person we spoke with when entering the theater and said this is ridiculus being told so many different things. He told us to get our bags and go down to the tender. Whether we should have been at the theater or gotten tickets at the MDR, I didn't care. I just wish what I was being told was consistent. Again, tendering happens every week. It really shouldn't be that confusing.

 

- Debarkation was great. We were in group number six (which I'm sure helped). We were supposed to get off at 9:15. They called us about five minutes early. Walked right off of the ship. Found our bags quickly and had no wait for customs. It was 30 minutes from the time we were called till we had the car packed up and hit the road.

 

cwinkel

[cruizinmimi]

Valerie - I loved your review. Sorry, we missed the Meet/Mingle. I wanted to see my grandson do his thing on the flowrider and I got to video him. But I did see you win "Finish that Lyric" in the Star Lounge. I loved your performance:):D

 

We found the embarkation and disembarkation to be the easiest yet from Galveston. We have been out of Galveston many times, and I'm glad RCI finally got it together. It was a total zoo in December, when we were there. We left in group 6 out of the Star Lounge at around 9am and was off and to the car within 30 minutes. It was great.

 

We loved Sabors and Chops and the dining experience on the cruise. We tried MTD again, but I'm not sure if I will do it again. I really don't like being shoved up against other people. They have all the tables too tight at MTD.

 

I loved the new look of the Navigator and enjoyed the disco (with DJ Dan) up in the Cosmopolitan Club. Ended our nights there (most nights):D