Navigator of the Seas NEVER again

[LoveyHowell]

OP - Thank you for sharing your experience and the differences from ship to ship. Doesn't sound like a great time. Cruise Critic members can be a tough crowd; easy to be mean behind a keyboard. Brush it off and ignore them. You are entitled to your opinions!

[Spurschick]

I agree when we were on the NOS the food at times could have been slightly warmer, but we found it perfectly adequate. The creme brûlée has been hit and miss across the fleet. Majesty was the best I have had, Adventure the worst and navigator in between.

 

That being said, I have never not seen a suite priority check in line. There certainly was one when we sailed Navigator. Maybe the others on this cruise could give us more info on that.

[Cindy]

Could just be confusing the names. Was there another Voyager-class ship sailing out of P.C.?

 

Explorer maybe?

 

It's possible that it was the Explorer, because she repositioned from NJ and I think arrived in Port Canaveral in mid-November.

 

While I don't doubt that the OP had a bad cruise and disliked the Navigator, I'd also like to know what ship he was on that's so different. In my experience, the liquor (and the wine:rolleyes:) in the CL/DL doesn't vary from ship to ship. The only difference lies in the drinks they'll mix. I've seen differences between ships as far as what perks are offered (and that's been well discussed on the "New Suite Perks" thread), but the food and drinks in the lounges has been largely consistent. None of them are pouring top shelf liquor.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Cindy

[Whittyone]

Something I noticed on this cruise. They were having a problem with noro, why were so many hand sanitizing stations empty? It seems every time we went somewhere you would need to go to 2 different stations to sanitize your hands. I know if I was having a health issue on my ship, those stations would be working!

[Cindy]

I agree when we were on the NOS the food at times could have been slightly warmer, but we found it perfectly adequate. The creme brûlée has been hit and miss across the fleet. Majesty was the best I have had, Adventure the worst and navigator in between.

 

That being said, I have never not seen a suite priority check in line. There certainly was one when we sailed Navigator. Maybe the others on this cruise could give us more info on that.

 

 

When I sailed on the Navigator, there was a Suite Check-In line once you got inside the terminal.

 

Just speaking from experience, I do think there were probably delays and a lot of frustration at check-in. This cruise boarded on Easter Sunday, when the disembarkation of the previous cruise would have been very slow due to a shortage of customs/immigration agents and a huge number of non-U.S. citizens to process. I wonder if they simply started running out of space in the terminal before the ship was cleared from the last cruise.

[PompeySailor]

Always used Suite Priority check-in line at Galveston and the holding area is just off to the left, where the wedding parties await boarding.

 

Maybe they have removed this big open space.

[bouhunter]

OP has posted a total of TWO TIMES at CC and this thread has received 137 replies.

 

TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes::):D:D

Edited April 13, 2015 by bouhunter

[nbsjcruiser]

Thanks for the detailed report. Its too bad it wasn't better for you but I can attest that the quality of food on the Indy in the MDR and in Chops was similar to what you experienced. I initially put it down to a bunch of new employees in the galley perhaps but since our return I keep reading more and more about people generally unhappy with quality of food not being up to RCI's normal standards. While I have no complaints about service on the Indy, sadly, our food experience sort of mirrors yours.

 

I hope it improves before we do the 8 day on the Navigator in November.

[nelblu]

Something I noticed on this cruise. They were having a problem with noro, why were so many hand sanitizing stations empty? It seems every time we went somewhere you would need to go to 2 different stations to sanitize your hands. I know if I was having a health issue on my ship, those stations would be working!

 

I loved the Quantum as they had sinks with soaps & paper towels by the WJ to wash your hands instead of the useless sanitizers as the only thing they do is dry your hands.

 

To the OP you do not mention the Maitre D with your bad experience in the dining room--In all of my cruises they usually hang around and do follow-up to all tables on the service and quality of food.

[Spurschick]

When I sailed on the Navigator, there was a Suite Check-In line once you got inside the terminal.

 

Just speaking from experience, I do think there were probably delays and a lot of frustration at check-in. This cruise boarded on Easter Sunday, when the disembarkation of the previous cruise would have been very slow due to a shortage of customs/immigration agents and a huge number of non-U.S. citizens to process. I wonder if they simply started running out of space in the terminal before the ship was cleared from the last cruise.

 

Agree, peak time can be horrific, we do it all the time and are used to it:D

 

When we did NOS last summer it was the first time we had experienced people being segregated prior to entering the terminal. There was a long snake line waiting to get in. We were suite and D+ and were asked to wait in line until they opened the terminal. Once the terminal opened they then called Pinnacles, D+ and suites to come to the front of the line. We were okay as we were on a bend so we could get out to the side. It was a bit more difficult for those in the thick of it as it was more difficult for them to get past all the people and carry on cases. It would have been easier for them to have had a seperate line for priority outside as there weren't many there that early. Then as other priority guests turned up they could have kept them flowing in.

 

We noticed that once in the terminal people were entering in clusters so we assumed they were calling one group at a time. Once inside it flowed quite well. Galveston has always been slow getting off, there's nothing new there, and we have always had to wait longer at galveston for security screening to get started to check in as well. It must be a Galveston thing;) hopefully it will improve when the refurb is complete:D

[bouhunter]

I loved the Quantum as they had sinks with soaps & paper towels by the WJ to wash your hands instead of the useless sanitizers as the only thing they do is dry your hands.

 

To the OP you do not mention the Maitre D with your bad experience in the dining room--In all of my cruises they usually hang around and do follow-up to all tables on the service and quality of food.

 

A very bizzare response........almost funny!!!!

 

Hey, pretty soon the OP can reach 200 posts for his only two!!!!!

[Bert64]

Thanks for the review! Going on this ship in January and I enjoy reading the reviews and info. Nothing beneficial comes from ONLY hearing the glowing reviews. After all, shouldn't we expect things to be good? I like hearing about the negative...it gives me a gauge of whether the issues are things I can deal with or not.

 

And I like how the OP came back and posted a review (as he said he would) that included both the good and bad, and now people are still scrambling to find something to criticize. Trying to justify being cyber-bullies over the first few pages?

[igmurray]

I too couldn't wait to get off the Navigator when I was on a b2b in January, however as I posted at the time it was not the fault of the crew or ship, it was the airline who lost my luggage and I had to go 2 weeks with minimal clothing, that being said the staff were so accommodating and bending over backwards to help me. after the cruise I wrote to RC thanking them for all there help going way over the call of duty. we like going away in Jan and next year we are only looking at the Navigator so as I can thank them again and have a better experience on this wonderful ship. Ricardo the concierge is by far the best I have come across so hardworking. I couldn't wait to get off but now cant wait to get back on.

on the food front, on a different ship, I have in the past had meals that are not hot enough (I am fussy and like my meals piping hot) I simply have a quiet word with the waiter and it is all sorted for the remainder.

[lmares1968]

Agree, peak time can be horrific, we do it all the time and are used to it:D

 

When we did NOS last summer it was the first time we had experienced people being segregated prior to entering the terminal. There was a long snake line waiting to get in. We were suite and D+ and were asked to wait in line until they opened the terminal. Once the terminal opened they then called Pinnacles, D+ and suites to come to the front of the line. We were okay as we were on a bend so we could get out to the side. It was a bit more difficult for those in the thick of it as it was more difficult for them to get past all the people and carry on cases. It would have been easier for them to have had a seperate line for priority outside as there weren't many there that early. Then as other priority guests turned up they could have kept them flowing in.

 

We noticed that once in the terminal people were entering in clusters so we assumed they were calling one group at a time. Once inside it flowed quite well. Galveston has always been slow getting off, there's nothing new there, and we have always had to wait longer at galveston for security screening to get started to check in as well. It must be a Galveston thing;) hopefully it will improve when the refurb is complete:D

I agree with your thoughts. We were first time cruisers when we sailed on Navigator out of Galveston. I had read many bad reviews about embarkation and disembarkation in Galveston.

Our experience was this.

When we arrived at 10:30 ish we were told to stand in line while our friends who all had priority boarding were in another line. I was surprised at how fast we were processed and on-board before our friends with priority status.

Disembarkation was another story. We were absolutely last to collect our luggage in the terminal and go through customs. This was because we sat and waited while all of the lines were gone.

[packedandready]

Just off this cruise and didn't have the problems the OP had. Doesn't mean they didn't happen, just that our experience was very different. The only rudeness we encountered was with other passengers.....the rudest, most gripey group of people we've seen on our 16 cruises.

 

Something I did want to mention was that boarding/disembarking before or after a Belize run can be a hit or miss thing. From my understanding, customs do a much more in-depth screening after a Belize run so it can take longer.

[bigque]

I was just off the NOS this morning as well and I have to say that this cruise will rank on the bottom of my list. The OP likely isn't just a troll trying to stir up trouble.

 

There was an increased number of GI sickness to the point of the "suits" walking around and skirting people's hands with sanitizer throughout the ship. Germs are germs though and they did the best they could in trying to contain it.

 

It was 12:30pm by time we exited the terminal with our luggage for some reason. Our exit time was to be 10am. We stood in line inside the pedway between the ship and the luggage pick up area for over an hour alone.

 

MDR waitstaff just wasn't as friendly and attentive as I have had on other RCI ships.

 

The food was not up to par when compared to my experience on other ships as well. This is the first Royal Caribbean Cruise where I actually avoided the MDR and ate elsewhere.

 

Only ONE photo was attached to my account in the computer and the photo staff had to hunt the rest of them down (not great for sales).

 

I will say that there were a couple of WOW staff though whom I loved and they were compensated well and will have high marks on my online survey too.

 

Yes, cruises are what you make of them but this one ranks at the bottom of my RCI experiences.

 

Am I cruising again anyway? You betcha! One crappy cruise (pardon the pun) doesn't scare me away. Adventure of the Seas....I will see you in October!

 

Oh WOW..... Old friends.....Blast from the past! :cool:

How have you all been doing?????? When I saw your post, I see you are going on Adventure in October. When in October are you going??? We are booked on the October 10th cruise! :cool: