Thoughts of my Navigator cruise last week

[jdotexas]

First off, WOW!

What a beauty of a ship! The Navigator of the Seas is awesome.

DW and I are Emerald and preparing to go diamond. This was our 11th sailing.

 

The traffic coming in was a mess but not as bad as in the past, IMHO.

The port personnel and royal Caribbean folks in the terminal were fantastic.

 

The Windjammer was great, but Honey-stung chicken on embarkation day as in the

past, but available all week on the room service menu. Our stateroom D2 deck 9

was clean, fresh and well organized. Our stateroom attendant, Norma was very

efficient and very prompt.

 

The pool water was crystal clear and a comfortable temperature. The Solarium

was always quiet and peaceful.

 

The entertainment on my particular cruise was good, but the production shows

were absolutely the lamest I have seen on any cruise! The singers and dancers were

good, but the shows themselves were pitiful, IMHO.

 

The flow-rider was a blast, no pun intended. It was just as fun to watch.

 

If you just don't care what itinerary you go on, please consider skipping the one

with Belize as the customs folks go nut on you dis-embarkation. Extra scrutiny.

Our porter said every other week is horrible in backed up lines getting through

customs, whenever the ship comes back from Belize. If you want to go to Belize,

great, but just know it takes a bit longer to clear.

 

** Something went horribly wrong with the photo section. All the kiosks went down

about 20 of them. One was operational. My brother and his wife waited 2 hours

for their turn to select the photos they wish to order. They paid for them and were

told to come back at 11:00 that evening to pick them up. All this just to be advised

the photo producing machine was not working. Here's your money back. This was

their first cruise and after hearing me bragging on how great Royal was they were

a bit disappointed.

 

** There was a very small fire in the uniform store on board at around 4:00 AM.

You could here, "Bravo - Bravo - bravo". A short time later the captain announced

all was well and exactly what happened. That was classy that the captain kept us

informed.

 

** The MDR service was the slowest I have ever experienced. Our waiter and

assistant waiter were awesome!!!! Just very busy.

 

Overall a great cruise, and I would sail the Navigator in a heartbeat.

I would recommend this ship to anyone, and I love Royal Caribbean,

but may actually consider the Carnival Magic.

[BillOh]

Thanks for writing. I'll look forward to going back on Navigator when you give her up for Liberty. I've only been to Belize once, but that was 2009 and no extra scrutiny then. Suddenly more drug traffic that way?

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks for the review. Can you tell us anything about Papa T in the Pub? I know Phil Anderson in the Schooner - great guy. Just curious if the Pub is mellow or has a bit of energy to it.

[dln929]

I agree with you about the Navigator being a fantastic ship! We sailed on her last year pre-renovation and we'll be going again next spring. I love the Navigator. Thanks for writing such a positive review! I'm glad you had a good cruise.

[dna1990]

We were on same cruise and echo most of that. Photos were indeed a disaster. And all the long lines at customs...yet we were not asked a single question, no scrutiny, no bags checked, nuthin'. Me thinks all for show and a longer time for people to sweat it out and alert the dogs or something. Porter line VERY slow, only 2 lines versus 8 for other people.

 

The refurb items were cool like Flowrider and some new carpet here and there. Didn't have any interest in the Deck 12 cabins, just more people if you ask me. But other areas still seem to be in need of TLC.

 

Dead calm seas all week, no rocking to sleep.

 

Our MDR service was great, but our waiter only had our large table and one more - and they never showed. So we had him to ourselves. Spoiled back to the way it used to be.

 

Overall we enjoyed it. Will likely be back and will likely be on Liberty when she arrives next year.

[gigi65]

Thanks for the review. NOS has gotton mixed reviews, I have been trying to find out the package price for pre paid pictures for our cruise at the end of Aug and the company hasnt loaded the dates. I just am curious what were the prices like if you pre pay vs on the ship.

[dna1990]

In contacting the MyCruisePhoto website, about maybe ordering some prints now after the breakdown onboard...they of course replied with some blanket statement about only being able to order before or during a cruise.

 

Seems odd to me. But point is, if you order before, you might have better options should an issue develop while on board.

[jdotexas]

wolfganghowell, the pub has always ben a favorite of ours. The Wig and Gavel, The Pig and Whistle. The Navigator has the, uhmmm, you know I really do not recall the name of the pub. But it was DEAD!!!!!!! I mean DOA! Phil was awesome though.

[jdotexas]

Yeah dna1990, we asked why they couldn't simply mail us our photos. Isn't this the nation of why not? The photo gallery guy said, look, I've had a bad day.

 

Sometimes the only thing to say is WOW!

[wolfganghowell]

We really need to get a campaign going to get Derek Lewis back on a Galveston ship now that they are non smoking. Now THAT'S a rockin pub! :D

 

We were on Navigator in March 2013 and the pub was dead then too. I don't know why Royal doesn't figure out the entertainers that pack that place are energetic. And the pub makes money!!!

[workroombee]

Nice review! Thanks for the recent info about the Navigator. I can't wait til it's our turn to sail....it feels like forever! Reading these reviews helps pass the time more quickly.

[AggieViper]

We really need to get a campaign going to get Derek Lewis back on a Galveston ship now that they are non smoking. Now THAT'S a rockin pub! :D

 

We were on Navigator in March 2013 and the pub was dead then too. I don't know why Royal doesn't figure out the entertainers that pack that place are energetic. And the pub makes money!!!

 

I'd definitely be up for joining a campaign to get good music back... we've only experienced a rockin' pub on one cruise, but two or three cruises where it was dead, primarily due to the lack of a decent performer. Such a shame. Any idea on how to go about getting it changed? And you're absolutely right... RC is definitely missing out on sales because of it.

[AustinCruise]

Thanks for the review. NOS has gotton mixed reviews, I have been trying to find out the package price for pre paid pictures for our cruise at the end of Aug and the company hasnt loaded the dates. I just am curious what were the prices like if you pre pay vs on the ship.

 

When we sailed in March, it was about a $20 savings pre-purchasing the unlimited photo package.

[Cruisin Dave]

Great review. Thanks for sharing.

[rubrrick]

My DW is aboard in less than 2 weeks, and I'm joining her on the next week. We can report on anything that you all want to know.

 

However..........we are not late owls.......so entertainment beyond 9 PM....it's not easy to be too young at 70, but then again...........I was at the same age at 60!

 

Looking forward to a week off, just to relax!

 

Rick

[slvrbllt]

We leave on Sunday and will at least pass by the pub to see how papa t is... But we will spend the nights with Phil in the schooner bar. We went to see him in Dallas a month or so ago when he was on "leave".

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[raytownlady]

We are getting even more excited about our upcoming cruise I'm especially happy to hear there's good entertainment in the Schooner bar. We will be spending lots of time there. :D

[SnakeBitten]

Thanks for the review! Any good country or latin bands in any of the clubs?

[Bigtex1622]

We really need to get a campaign going to get Derek Lewis back on a Galveston ship .....

 

I agree, it has been too many years, since I was a " Superstar"

Really missed him the past couple of cruises.

 

 

;)

[iluvit!]

He was one of the reasons we took the Rhapsody 3 times in a row! It was so fun to watch him corral unsuspecting passers-by into "kamikaze karaoke". I still have my color changing ring.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[GSRDPM]

jdotexas,

 

I was wondering if you took the excursion to Water Caye in Belize and if so, what did you think about it? We are a family of 12 (small children to age 80+) that will be on a cruise on the Liberty of the Seas during Thanksgiving week. We were hoping on an easy excursion that would give the kids something fun to do and still permit the grandparents the opportunity to relax and watch their grandkids while avoiding the tender ride to Belize City.

[ls4977]

First off, WOW!

What a beauty of a ship! The Navigator of the Seas is awesome.

DW and I are Emerald and preparing to go diamond. This was our 11th sailing.

 

The traffic coming in was a mess but not as bad as in the past, IMHO.

The port personnel and royal Caribbean folks in the terminal were fantastic.

 

The Windjammer was great, but Honey-stung chicken on embarkation day as in the

past, but available all week on the room service menu. Our stateroom D2 deck 9

was clean, fresh and well organized. Our stateroom attendant, Norma was very

efficient and very prompt.

 

The pool water was crystal clear and a comfortable temperature. The Solarium

was always quiet and peaceful.

 

The entertainment on my particular cruise was good, but the production shows

were absolutely the lamest I have seen on any cruise! The singers and dancers were

good, but the shows themselves were pitiful, IMHO.

 

The flow-rider was a blast, no pun intended. It was just as fun to watch.

 

If you just don't care what itinerary you go on, please consider skipping the one

with Belize as the customs folks go nut on you dis-embarkation. Extra scrutiny.

Our porter said every other week is horrible in backed up lines getting through

customs, whenever the ship comes back from Belize. If you want to go to Belize,

great, but just know it takes a bit longer to clear.

 

** Something went horribly wrong with the photo section. All the kiosks went down

about 20 of them. One was operational. My brother and his wife waited 2 hours

for their turn to select the photos they wish to order. They paid for them and were

told to come back at 11:00 that evening to pick them up. All this just to be advised

the photo producing machine was not working. Here's your money back. This was

their first cruise and after hearing me bragging on how great Royal was they were

a bit disappointed.

 

** There was a very small fire in the uniform store on board at around 4:00 AM.

You could here, "Bravo - Bravo - bravo". A short time later the captain announced

all was well and exactly what happened. That was classy that the captain kept us

informed.

 

** The MDR service was the slowest I have ever experienced. Our waiter and

assistant waiter were awesome!!!! Just very busy.

 

Overall a great cruise, and I would sail the Navigator in a heartbeat.

I would recommend this ship to anyone, and I love Royal Caribbean,

but may actually consider the Carnival Magic.

 

Thanks for the review. We sail this Sunday.....

[Centex]

I'll look forward to going back on Navigator when you give her up for Liberty.

 

Is Liberty what is rumored to be next for Galveston?

 

Nevermind. Answered my own question by checking the RC site.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Centex

[Clarea]

Is Liberty what is rumored to be next for Galveston?

Not a rumor, Liberty already has itineraries out of Galveston starting Nov 2015.

[Centex]

Not a rumor, Liberty already has itineraries out of Galveston starting Nov 2015.

 

Great! It will be nice to have an even more kid-friendly ship out of Galveston.