Navigator of the Seas 1/6-1/15 Review

[benebire]

Enjoying your review so far. We will be on Navigator in April. Any chance you will be able to post the cruise compasses? I love preplanning

[Roofire]

Following. Thinking of doing the Christmas Cruise, your review is giving us great insight. Thank you.:)

[munny113]

Can anyone tell me what time the shows are on the Navigator?

[Syracruisin]

With respect to show times in the Metropolis Theater, they varied a little. Either 8:30 and 10:30, 9:00 and 10:45 (one late show was 11:15), or 7:00 and 9:00. They also had other evening events (more of the game show type events) in the Star Lounge.

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review!

[2flacruisers]

Woohoo! Following along as I will be sailing on the Navigator next Saturday!

 

I am an experienced cruiser, especially on RCI, and have been on the Navigator previously.

 

Looking forward to hearing about your cruise - specifically the activities and food if you could comment on them! :-)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I think you mean Sunday the 29th? I know this because that's the day we leave on the Navigator...should be great cruise!

[Syracruisin]

Day 3 - Labadee

 

We watched the ship pull into port from the balcony. We were on the starboard side, so this ended up being the only port we saw from our room. After a quick breakfast in the Windjammer and grabbing towels, we headed off the ship for our reservation at the Dragon's Flight zipline. It's a little pricey, but it was a Christmas present. We had taken towels and a backpack off the ship, but you can't bring them with you on the zipline, so we rented a locker for the day ($8). The lockers aren't huge, so don't bring a lot. The zipline guy was kind enough to let us store our towels with him at his desk because the backpack already took up most of the locker. The zipline was a blast. You do a practice run on a smaller line and then they take you up the mountain for the big one. Interesting ride in what must've been an old Haitian military vehicle that passed by goats, three guys riding one dirtbike and a security guard holding an automatic rifle. Safety first! It's supposedly the longest zipline over water in the Caribbean. From the top, we could see the ship and entire layout of Labadee.

 

After landing, we grabbed our bag and walked around. There are several beach areas on both sides, with the cove side having calmer water for swimming and snorkeling. Guys were immediately approaching us offering to find us beach chairs (I'm assuming for a tip), but we were looking for our friends and wanted to walk around a bit before settling in one spot. We ended up grabbing two empty chairs at the cove and relaxed for awhile. There are plenty of chairs stacked up behind the beach that you can drag to a spot if you don't find open ones available.

 

We later walked to the "artist's village". I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, Royal Caribbean is giving those people an economic opportunity to sell souvenirs that they won't otherwise have. On the other hand, they're so pushy and persistent that it turns a lot of patrons off. As soon as we walked in, we were approached by a nice young man offering to show us his "store", which was a stall holding the same trinkets as most of the other stalls in there. He was fine but kept showing us various cups, magnets and things we had no interest in. I ended up buying a wooden shot glass because I try to collect them. Pricewise, they start high and you have to really negotiate them down or threaten to walk away. He carved my name in the wood, which was the only "original" part of the thing; I later saw the same wooden glasses for $5 in the actual store at the foot of the artist's village. The artists aren't actually artists, they simply have a small screwdriver or sharpie they use to inscribe "Labadee" or your name in the Chinese-made trinkets. While looking at his wares, we were approached by multiple other people trying to pull us away to their stalls. My girlfriend was hassled until she just decided to walk out and return to the beach. Like I said, I have mixed feelings. I'd rather support a local by buying a souvenir from them rather than Royal's store, but they charge these people rent for being there and then give them no training or regulations over how to interact with customers and allow them to be dishonest about actually creating the things they're selling. It was a pushier version of the straw market in Nassau, only with lesser goods. Their desperation to sell something before the ship leaves really comes through and ends up backfiring because it turns people off.

 

Later, we ran into one of the other couples, and the wife mentioned wanting to buy a keychain for one of her co-workers. Being a glutton for punishment, I took her back into the artists' village because I had seen one where I bought my shotglass. We walked directly past the welcome committee and to that stall, and she bought it. I was suddenly a hero, which meant everyone else now wanted me to buy something from them! I had to explain we were only there for the keychain before leaving. Also, beware of the guys handing out "free" Haiti bracelets. They give you one, then hand you a second for your significant other and then demand money for the second one.

 

Back to the beach, the water was calm and very clear. The drink package works in Labadee, and I tried a Labadoozie sans the souvenir mug (which would've been an extra $5 or so with the package). It's strong! We really enjoyed the BBQ lunch at the beach. They had burgers and hot dogs, various salads, ribs, chicken and a Greek/Armenian section that I thought was great. One thing that was not so great was a creepy guy up in the woods on the other side of the barbed wire fence, watching and waving to people while hiding from security. The girls got nervous.

 

I thought the best area in Labadee was the Lookout Point. It's toward the front, on the other side of the first pavilion and massage area. It's a rocky point that is great for photo opportunities. Royal had a security guard at the end who offered to take pictures of us.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the stay in Labadee. Other people had previously told us not to even get off the ship because of the hassling from the people trying to sell stuff or get money for beach chairs. But I think that's a missed opportunity to enjoy a good beach day with everything included. Outside of the artists' village, it's fine. The beaches are nice and lunch was good. And I didn't mind giving a couple bucks to the "artists". They depend on that and might not see another ship (and any money that accompanies it) for two weeks.

[munny113]

Thank you so much for the info about the show times. We do anytime dining and we are trying to see the best time to eat. There are six of us and I know from the past we need to give ourselves two hours to eat.:)

[Biker19]

7 and 9.

[munny113]

Is that 7 and 9 every night? I'm getting mixed answers

[Biker19]

Yes, except first and perhaps last night where they may have only one show, sorta between the two dining times - about 7:45.

[Syracruisin]

The show times were not all at 7 and 9 in Metropolis Theater. They were as follows:

 

Day 1: 9:45 - Welcome Show - comedian Tom McTigue

Day 2: 9:00 & 10:45 - Ballroom Fever

Day 3: 7:00 & 9:00 (juggler David Lucas); 11:15 - Tom McTigue

Day 4: 7:00 & 9:00 - Marcus Terrell (from America's Got Talent); 10:15 Love & Marriage game show

Day 5: 8:30 & 10:30 - All Access (rock and pop show)

Day 6: 8:30 & 10:30 - ventriloquist Brad Cummings

Day 7: 7:00 & 9:00 - Now & Forever (broadway song & dance)

Day 8: 8:30 & 10:30 - Finis Henderson (vocalist/impersonator)

Day 9: 7:15 & 10:30 - comedian Kivi Rogers

 

They also had evening events like "The Quest" and the Ice Show in Studio B and other game show type things at the Star Lounge (times varied). They also had music or movie trivia at Schooner Bar starting between 7:30 and 8:00 most nights.

 

Dinner took almost 2 hours each night, so it made it difficult to catch everything. Plus, stuffing your face with three (or six) course meals tended to also make me tired.

[Syracruisin]

The previously mentioned lookout point at Labadee:

 

[Syracruisin]

And the view of Labadee from the top of the zipline:

 

[munny113]

Thank you so very much for all your help

[Syracruisin]

I did not photograph the menus each night. I wish I had; it would've made it a lot easier to remember what was served each night for this review. I did, however, manage to write down what I ate on Day 3 - Beef Two Ways. It was very good. I also got the fish - it was ok but lacked flavor/seasoning. There was a staff show that night, including a rendition of O Sole Mio.

 

The show that night was juggler, David Lucas. We actually went to the 7:00 show because we knew we wouldn't make the 9:00 with our 8pm dinner. He was hilarious and an amazing juggler. He also showed old Ed Sullivan clips (as opposed to new Ed Sullivan clips?) of his dad and uncle doing insane juggling and acrobatic routines. He ended with an unbelievable balancing of golf clubs on golf balls. Overall, I thought that was the best show during the cruise. We were late for dinner, which didn't amuse our servers at first, but they ended up telling us we would've gotten our food at the same time had we arrived on time due to a backup in the kitchen.

[munny113]

This is a great help. We are six people and eating in anytime dining. I'm trying to put in for our dinners. Right now I have 6:15 every night. That time frame seems to be ok for most of the shows. One of the couples likes to eat later but like you said 8:00 seating won't really be good. We don't want to rush with dinner either. Thank you again❤️

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Syracruisin]

Day 4 - Sea Day

 

That morning, we decided to go as a group to breakfast in the Sapphire Dining Room. Our server had been mentioning the breakfast hours each night at dinner, so we figured we'd give it a try. They do tell you to set aside approximately 45 minutes to an hour since they're preparing the food to order, so it's not for those in a hurry.

 

I ordered eggs benedict and thought they were great. They also offered your basic egg and sausage/bacon dishes, cereal, fresh fruit, etc. It was slightly elevated and fresher Windjammer food, but since it was included I thought it was worth doing. We were seated with two other couples and ended up having good conversations about our cruise experiences.

 

After breakfast, we checked out the jewelry talk with Erin. Erin is very friendly and eager to help guide people to the gemstones they're interested in. If you're interested in Diamonds, Tanzanite, Marahlago Larimar, or Alexandrite and attend her seminar or find her at her post on Deck 5, she'll give you the port shopping maps as well as "VIP" cards and coupons for free stuff or discounts at Mark Henry, Effe, etc. We didn't end up buying any jewelry but plenty of other people did!

 

The pool had a belly flop contest that was pretty funny. Cuddy the Cruise Director is very entertaining.

 

Lunch was spent in the Windjammer. They had a lamb stew that I thought was awesome.

 

There wasn't a ton going on in the afternoon, so we just hung out for awhile. Schooner Bar had "visual knowledge trivia", which was identify the store/product represented by its logo. We did not win (apparently there's something called "Chuis" and also something that uses the White Castle logo that isn't White Castle?? I don't know).

 

At 5:00, the ship had a 75% off watch sale. I found an Invicta that I liked and went to buy it, but the pin came right out. The saleswoman told me they'd have to damage it out. I'll come back to that watch later, because it opened my eyes to the way corporate Royal Caribbean can be (hint: the answer is not "honest").

 

Sandwiches in the Promenade are good if you're looking for a quick snack. Starbucks is included in the drink package, so I had a few Frappuccinos during the cruise. We ended up just hanging out back at the Schooner Bar after that.

Dinner

You're in luck again, because I wrote down what I ate on Day 4! These were my notes: Minestrone soup (good, a little spicy), split the arancini (good but not enough sauce), chicken marsala (great), tiger shrimp ok (meh). Tiramisu ok. Service was good, but our assistant waiter still wasn't talking to us, so we started to make up reasons as to why he didn't like us and how we could get him to talk or laugh.

 

Show

We missed Marcus Terell & The Serenades due to dinner. Apparently they were semifinalists on America's Got Talent. We did, however, catch the "Love & Marriage" gameshow at 10:15. They called three couples (newlyweds, a 10-15 year married couple, and a couple that was together for over 50 years). It was basically the Newlywed Game, complete with hilarious and embarrassing results. Cuddy was great in his role as the game show host.

 

Rant Alert:

After the show, we went to the Schooner Bar. Now, Schooner Bar was our hangout throughout the cruise, and the bartenders are fantastic. But at 9:45 every night, it changed. That's when the piano man began his set. Apparently, the ship had had a great piano player, but he disembarked in Miami and this guy got on the ship with us. He was awful. It's not that he couldn't play the piano (he was actually a good pianist). But he didn't have a great voice and made it worse by just being obnoxious and over the top. He'd start a song fine and then have to change the words or act like a goofball halfway through. I'm not kidding. He didn't make it through one full song without screwing it up. Then he started in with the show tunes. My final straw with him was his mockery of the Battle Hymn of the Republic (he's not even American). But for some unknown reason, the same crowd came out to listen to him nightly. Apparently there was a hard core group on board who had never heard heard music before and thought he was the cat's pajamas.

 

Sorry about that rant, but the guy was awful. And his resemblance to Anthony Weiner made his duets with the ladies just awkward.

 

I couldn't take it anymore and went to bed.

 

(If you want to listen to a good pianist onboard, there was a woman playing the piano at the bar on the other side of the casino. I thought she was great.)

[Syracruisin]

Day 5 - Curacao

 

As we were on the starboard side, we only saw the sea from our room this morning. I had scheduled a tour with Irie Tours that started at 10:00, so we were off the ship by about 9:15 to head out to meet them. This was the only port in which all six of us did an excursion together. Irie Tours was good about providing directions to meet them on the other side of the Rif Fort, and their bus was ready when we arrived. We booked the "Surf & Turf" Tour, which took us to the Hato Caves, a flamingo salt lake, the Nena Sanchez gallery, and Porto Marie beach.

 

Irie Tour

Our driver was Ariel. He provided a cooler in the back of the open-air school bus with bottled water, beer and sodas. As we drove through Otrobanda, he explained the historic buildings and some of the history of Curacao. There wasn't a ton of scenery on the drive to our first stop, Hato Caves. The tour price ($55) included the admission price to the cave. There were a lot of other people and tours when we arrived, but Ariel got us in with the next tour. There are several steps to ascend to reach the caves, which was both unexpected and unusual (you'd think you would have to descend to reach the caves, but not so here). Once inside, there's a maintained pathway that makes going through them an easy walk. The caves were small but interesting, with the guide explaining the various chambers. We had an opportunity to photograph one chamber (Please don't hog the backdrop with your selfies, as one girl in our tour did!). As we walked back to the bus after, I saw a trail that indicated there were Arawak drawings (there were none in the caves), but we didn't have time to explore what was down there.

 

Ariel was funny and narrated on the way to Hato, but he was pretty silent after that. We stopped briefly at the salt lake, where flamingos were lined up. It made for a good photo op. Then we headed to the Nena Sanchez gallery. The website described it as "Landhouse Jan Kok", being haunted by the spirit of a cruel plantation master. But none of this history or haunting was mentioned during the tour. It was simply "Nena Sanchez' gallery" and a stop to look at and buy her art. She was Miss Curacao 50 years ago and now an artist, and it was clearly just a shopping stop contracted with Irie Tours. Half the group stayed on the bus, and we were only there for 10 minutes.

 

The final stop was Porto Marie beach. It was a nice beach, with crystal clear water. The tour included beach entrance fees, and Ariel advised us to say that to anyone who approached us to pay. Sure enough, toward the end of our beach time a woman came up to some of our group demanding beach entrance and additional chair fees. Nobody forked over any money to her, and I'm not sure she was legitimate, as she had no identification indicating she was a beach employee. The beach offers snorkeling, and I could clearly see fish and brain coral just from where I was standing in the sand. The beach also has a bar/restaurant.

 

Overall, I thought Irie Tours was a great value. If you taxied to each of those places it would cost just as much if not more, in addition to entrance fees. They offer an "All West Beach Hopping Short Tour" for $75 that stops at three beaches and Shete Boka. I'd like to someday do that tour, but it seems to book first. They also have an East Side tour for only $25 that takes you around town and to a beach. All tours include drinks. If you don't book with Irie, I thought Porto Marie was still a good beach to go do during your stay in Curacao.

[Syracruisin]

Willemstad

 

You know the famous view of Willemstad, with the colorful buildings lined up in the harbor?

 

 

Well, that's the best part of the city. We crossed the swinging bridge, but it's not really all that exciting over there. There are souvenir and jewelry shops, and a couple of places to eat. It didn't live up to the hype I had built up in my head. A word of advice if souvenir shopping - don't buy at "Best of Curacao", unless you want one of their blue shirts. They charge almost double for the curacao liquer bottles, and other trinket prices were higher than most of the other souvenir stores in the area. We stopped along the waterfront in front of the swinging bridge. They have a couple of restaurants with patio seating along the water. View is nice; food is generic bar food. We were in Curacao until 8:00, so we stayed on land for awhile while the rest of our group had gone back to the ship after the tour. This was the one day I appreciated having late dinner, as I would not have wanted to have to get back on the ship early and miss time in port just to eat dinner. Having said that, Willemstad wasn't my favorite port, so I wish we had the late stay in Aruba or Bonaire.

 

Dinner was casual. I didn't realize it was also "white attire" night. This was even more of a "suggestion" than formal night, but several people did wear white at dinner. The show that night was a rock and pop concert.

 

A couple more pics of Curacao:

 

Porto Marie Beach

 

Flamingos on the salt lake

 

[Syracruisin]

Day 6 - Bonaire

Ut oh. It was raining when we arrived. The forecast called for occasional showers, and I was worried the day would be a washout. Luckily, although it did rain again a couple times, the showers passed pretty quickly and soon it was sunny and 80 degrees again.

 

The two of us had scheduled a kayak tour with Windows to the Sea in advance of the cruise. They told us to look for them on the pier. When we got off the ship, there were rows of blue tents with tour operators within. There are actually two piers in Bonaire, and Windows to the Sea was at the other one, in front of the Aida ship. When we arrived, there was a German couple off that ship who had agreed to the tour, and another group of six from that ship. When that group decided they also wanted to go, we almost had a problem because they only had eight kayaks ready. It was a good thing we had prebooked the tour, because they kept telling us not to worry, that we were locked in. Fortunately, the owner, Nathalie, agreed to run home to get additional kayaks so everyone was able to go.

 

FYI if you need to go - the bathroom at the pier was super clean!

 

The tour was great and unlike anything else offered at the pier. They drove us to the mangroves at Lac Bay/Lac Cai on the other side of the island. The ride out there on the dirt road was an excursion on its own. Because of the rain, the road was full of potholes of water and washed out areas. Nathalie told us she would probably cancel the next day's tour if it rained again (it did) due to the conditions. On the way, we passed flamingos and herons by the salt beds.

 

The beach at Lac Bay was beautiful. The area is isolated and doesn't have facilities (at least that I saw). But it's so calm and peaceful out there. Jairo led the kayaking, and he does a quiet tour through the mangroves, which enhances the experience. It was just peaceful and quiet. He led us through several paths through the mangroves. At one point, it began pouring and we hid out under the mangroves, which was pretty cool. The sun quickly came back out, and we got out of our kayaks and snorkeled through one of the tunnels. I saw coral, colorful roots and a lot more fish than I expected. We also saw a couple turtles poking their heads out of the water on the bay during our tour. The kayaking was pretty easy, with calm water and two people per kayak paddling.

 

After kayaking back across the bay, Nathalie awaited us with Dutch snacks, beer and rum punch. She also had agreed to drop the two of us off at a beach on our way back to Kralendijk, but with more rain looming, we opted to just go back to the port. I asked her if she had any recommendations, and she recommended Gio's for ice cream (gelato).

 

She wasn't wrong. Gio's had perhaps the best gelato I've ever had. They had all of the usual gelato flavors and some different ones. I got pina colada, and you could taste the rum flavor with the pineapple and coconut. It was so good! And not too expensive.

 

Some photos of Lac Bay:

 

 

 

[alphawave1]

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

 

We will be sailing on March 31st. Coming up fast:)

 

See you onboard, there for my birthday same cruise. Been on the Navigator before, really like it . This is my first cruise as a Diamond. So cheers for that !

[Mustang2015]

See you onboard, there for my birthday same cruise. Been on the Navigator before, really like it . This is my first cruise as a Diamond. So cheers for that !

 

See you on board as well! My husband birthday on March 31st and insisted on keeping it hush hush, he will be surprised. :)

[emtben]

What night is lobster night? That night I will be eating at specialty dining. Im going on 9day on feb 3rd. Im doing trike tour in aruba