Brief Navigator Review March 15/15

[Desiree]

Myself, husband and 2 kids (age 12 and 9) sailed on the Navigator of the Seas Mar 15 out of Galveston. The itinerary was Falmouth, Grand Cayman, Cozumel. This was our first cruise on RCCL but we had completed a nearly identical itinerary on the Carnival Magic. We were part of a group which chose this sailing.

Embarkation - waited over an hour for a taxi from our hotel to the port (Best Western). Was able to get a porter for the luggage luckily as it was crazy busy! It went quickly and were on board by 12:30pm.

Cabin - we were booked in 2 panoramic ocean view cabins on deck 12 (1818 & 1820). They were lovely. Spacious, plenty of storage. I enjoyed the floor to ceiling windows and found the bed comfortable. It was convenient to the elevators, pool deck, WJ. Great location, quiet, nice decor, terrible shampoo, wonderful cabin attendant.

Entertainment - the shows we saw we enjoyed - Now and Forever, Motown Divas, first adult comedian, Ice Show. Didn't care for the juggler/gymnast show the first night (repetitive I thought).

Meals - dining room service was very good. We ate in the Sapphire every night with our group. The servers were attentive, remembered our names, knew what we liked to drink. Meals were good, desserts ok. We had lunches in the Windjammer buffet. Fairly busy and sometimes tough to find a seat. Good selection and the complimentary drinks were good too. Lemonade, iced tea, strawberry kiwi water. Ordered breakfast room service twice. Always on time. Free coffee was awful. Had a few lattes from the Cafe Promade which were good.

Kids Club - nothing good to say. I registered my son the first day and allowed him to sign himself out. They charge $1 per minute for any time slot that they stay past. They said they would make sure he was out in time. Ok, I can handle that. He wasn't crazy about the idea of going so the first sea day we took him down there to see what was going on. There was 45 minutes left of the 2 hr session and they basically said he wasn't welcome as they had enough children and it would get too busy at sign out time. I said he has permission to sign himself out and they said they have a lot of kids that can sign themselves out. I never mentioned the kids club to him again after that. I'm not asking him to try a place where the staff doesn't want him around. Nothing nice to say about them at all.

Bars - my husband had the $35 beer & wine package. He got value out of it. Adequate beer selection near pool, good at the pub, the theatre bartender didn't know what beers he even had. I considered the $55 package as I like frozen drinks. After seeing only 1 server by the pool and finding long waits at the bar I resisted. I tried to find a drink menu and couldn't. I asked at the sky bar and they said they didn't have one. Huh? I was looking forward to trying different frozen drinks but I didn't really know what choices there was. I had a few ones I knew (lava flows, frozen mojito) but they didn't "sell" me with a menu. I just found the process of getting a drink difficult. Sounds crazy but I'm glad I didn't get the package as I would have been disappointed. Wine list at dinner was decent.

Ship - everything was maintained and very clean. Pool was very busy and chairs were being reserved with personal items and left empty for hours. O enforcement of the chair reservation policy. Had words with 1 woman who was saving a chair beside my and not to be seen for over an hour. The flow rider was a hit with my family. They also enjoyed the mini golf, pool, rock climbing. Didn't get to go skating as we waited until the last day and apparently they allow early sign ups. It was full and we missed out. Oh well, no big deal. Photos - I looked online prior to our cruise for a package. Nothing available. On board 1 pic is $20, 30 pic package was $300! No "all" picture option. Tried to order our embarkation photo on the last sea day after early dinner. Their system wasn't working and after 40 minutes I gave up. Photo staff couldn't help. They said it was just too busy and system freezes. I tried again at 10pm. After another 30 minutes and trying about 6 different terminals I was able to view and buy my 1 picture. People were frustrated - not just me.

Emergency evacuation - there was a medical emergency on the first sea day. We detoured north to meet the coast guard. A helicopter landed and was able to get the person. Capt. kept us informed and it was very professional. They handled it very very well. We weren't even delayed in reaching our first port of call. Nice job RCCL!!

Debarkation - fast, efficient - until customs. There were only 2 customs officials for all non-US citizens (I'm Canadian) and it took a long time.

All in all we had a nice cruise. Would I choose RCCL again? Never say never, but I have found Carnival to be equal or better and at a smaller price. We may try Princess next time. Who knows?

[At Sea 4Ever]

Thanks for your review! Would you happen to have cruise compasses to post?

[Desiree]

Sorry I didn't keep the compasses.

[houstoncruisers2001]

Thanks for your review.

 

Funny, but we were booked on the Navigator for the March 15th cruise but switched to the Emerald Princess out of Houston because the price was way lower. We spent the whole week kicking ourselves for switching.

[paigebeverly]

We were also on the same cruise. While we did enjoy ourselves we don't think our 13 year old daughter would have. We decided to book the Allure for our next cruise because it seems more kid appropriate.

[floridalady]

i did not like princess or holland america.I did like carnival dream very much and loved Royal.

[Cel_cruise]

I am sorry your kids club experience was so bad! We were on NAV in February and had the best time there (ages 4 and 8). I cant believe they wouldnt let your kid sign in for 45 minutes or that they were charging self signers that quickly (although self signers would still pay after 10pm they have a grace period to get everyone). We actually gave the kids club staff 100$ as a thank you for a great week! Maybe texas spring break is busier than it was for New England spring break :). During our week many nights the explorers and the voyagers were merged.

 

Where you on the Roatan itinerary? I have read many times that there are always hang ups with customs with that itinerary....

 

Sorry your cruise didnt WOW you....I am grateful that we enjoyed ourselves so much in February as we all really needed a vacation!! I would be sad if we returned questioning our decisions about the trip!

[Whittyone]

Thanks for the review!