Navigator (Haiti/ABCs) 2017-Nov 24, LGBT and Wine

[AnnaDarel]

You guys really helped me prepare for this cruise, so in return, a review!

 

Bob, they advertised drink cards in the Compass starting pretty early. I saw people using them.

 

Myself (38) and my mother, DM (60s), took the 9-day Navigator cruise to Haiti and the ABCs. We are white single ladies from North Carolina.

 

I would characterize myself as NOT cheap. I wore Crocs everywhere, including formal nights (with otherwise formal attire). I think I offer a different perspective on RCI. If you’re horrified, go no further.

 

Demographics

 

I saw about 10 different people in wheelchairs who seemed to be getting around pretty well. Lots more walkers, who had more trouble. One lady down the hall from us zipped everywhere in her RC scooter like a roadster. It was even red.

 

Did not witness any acts of rudeness, children pooping where they shouldn’t, people sampling at the Windjammer buffet, blocking the elevators, or jumping in line. Not to say everyone was happy all the time, but everyone was civil.

 

Children — Very few children aboard. Mostly under five.

 

Canadians everywhere. Many Europeans. Our last cruise was from Puerto Rico and had a Latin pop star aboard—much more opportunity then to practice my Spanish then!

 

A more than token amount of black people—both African Americans and Europeans. I only bring it up because it upset my dinner companions so much.

 

Speaking of non-token populations…

 

LGBT

 

I went to the first LGBT meetup, now “official” in the Compass, at 10 PM in Vintages. Ten people showed up. TEN. Unheard of. Including a nice couple from Ireland. Very cool. I did not go to any of the other gatherings because I normally go to bed at 8 PM, but we remarked that there seemed to be quite a few LGBT folks aboard.

 

In fact, five gays showed up at craps all at once (no one from the gathering but we all did the secret handshake), and one of our dealers outed herself so she, too, could be a part of the Rainbow Craps Extravaganza. We lost all our money in ten minutes, but we had a great time doing it.

 

So, RC seems a very welcoming environment.

 

Transportation

 

• Flew into Miami DAY OF and took the Royal Caribbean bus service to the ship.
  
• Left the same way. Fine. $18pp.
  
• Took Uber Black home from the airport yesterday. Much better.
  

Getting aboard

 

A cluster. It took over an hour to get from the drop-off point onto the ship. iahawkfan21 reports that Customs had trouble clearing the ship. That review also has Compasses and menus and is way better than mine.

 

Internet

 

We got the drinks/internet package, so Voom surf, no stream? Or just Voom? Slow but steady. Surfed the web, did emails, kept up with things. Streamed SiriusXM each night for my NFL and NHL games.

 

Easy to switch between iPad and iPhone once they were both set up. Turned one wireless off and the other wireless on and tada.

 

Windjammer

 

Breakfast and lunch. Bad. Bleagh. Whatever, I ate it. Never much seating, we mostly sat at the little high bars.

 

Bar Service

 

Always fantastic. We had the package, and I followed the advice here to take a roll of dollar bills and tip one per drink every time. Even for sodas, which I drank a lot of. There was never much of a wait, third in line at most, usually second or first. Service was very friendly. I stuck to the Plaza Bar (Windjammer) for morning diet coke and coffee, the Casino bar for Sprite Zero, and Cafe Promenade for more diet coke and coffee. Alcoholic beverages were enjoyed at the Solarium bar, the upper deck pool bar, and occasionally Boleros. By the end of the trip I was getting double pours, which was maybe not a great idea.

 

Leaving

 

Waited for our group number in our room, sitting on the balcony, were we not supposed to do that? No one yelled at us. Left around 8:45, off the ship by 9. Then waited for our transportation bus for a half hour, whatever.

 

Shows/Music

 

DM reports that the Motown show was absolutely fantastic—she loves that kind of stuff, and has seen similar acts often at Myrtle Beach. Ice Show also A+++. Dancing demonstration was okay. Music around the ship was appealing, especially the torch songs and the Elton John things.

 

She did not care for the ship singers/dancers doing Broadway, but everyone we met gushed over them.

 

Quiet Time/Activities

 

I do not like shows and I detest live music, so I spent a lot of my time in the Solarium, outside on Deck 4, on our balcony, and in whatever bar wasn’t featuring trivia or music. Solarium pool remains awesome. Also hot tubs. Many Canadians in the hot tubs. Lifeguards now. People kept trying to talk to the lifeguards. They are not here for entertainment!

 

Eating with Others/Main Dining Room

 

Socializing not recommended. We were seated at main dining with a group of four that were very different than we were. Lots of clashing and a bad energy. Look, I am definitely the biggest sinner at any table. I’m truly an obnoxious person. But they kept referring to the Haitians as “natives.” They switched their time after a few meals, leaving us with our six person table. Next time we’ll just order a two person table.

 

We had breakfast once in the main dining room, on chocolate day (!!!!) and it was fine. Nice Canadians. Canadians everywhere. I ate four pain au chocolat. But still, eating with people is not for me.

 

Main Dining Room was EXCELLENT. Every night. After the first three nights I finally stopped eating red meat, because I was going to die, and convinced our waiter, Ajit, to serve me Indian instead. The head waiter, Nadj, said that the order he put in for me was “non-veg Indian.” That resulted in: Lamb Biryani, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikki Masala (the best), Lamb Curry, and Chicken Curry (twice). Apparently there was supposed to be fish curry, but I never saw it. DM doesn’t like Indian food, so I only get to eat it about once a month at home. I was in heaven.

 

We did not have lobster, but the lamb shank was amazing. Everything was delicious. Sufficiently warm. I was happy. We had early dining and usually wrapped up in 90 minutes.

 

The desserts were pretty bland/standard, except for the Baked Alaska and the Warm Chocolate Cake. We generally had cappucinos or decaf during dinner, and by the end of the trip, Lawrence, our beverage waiter, was dumping Baileys in it.

 

Wine

 

I am a wine snob. If you recognize my username, it’s from wine threads. I did not take aboard wine, because we had the deluxe package. It was a risk and gave me anxiety, but it paid off. I am also a jerk who didn’t photograph any wine menus, so I’m using this old one from last year. There were THREE wine lists available in the MDR at dinner. A short cocktail menu with one page of wines, a narrow folio wine list, and a big binder/traditional list. We only got to see the big one once, apparently it was in high demand. Lawrence seemed to know his wines pretty well and frequently advised us.

 

Once I moronically ordered a bottle of something we could have by the glass. I’m used to doing that at the local wine shop where I pay $10/glass or $25/bottle, and forgot I wasn’t paying for those glasses this time. *Facepalm*

 

We ordered bottles three times. The 40% discount makes it quite reasonable, generally costing twice retail, which is standard-to-low restaurant pricing.

 

Useless notes, since I can’t remember the bottle:

 

Prosecco - Not the worst I’d ever had, but next time, stick to the Brut on tap.

Chenin Blanc, South Africa - Again, not the worst, but barely to the level of “all right.” Missing that signature chenin blanc sweetness. Not much body or depth.

South Eastern Australia GSM? - I don’t think this was the Rosemont Shiraz, but maybe. Anyway, it was terrible. Avoid at all costs.

 

Better notes:

 

2014? Celeste - Torres, Ribera del Duero, "Celeste", Crianza, Spain. We drank this by the bottle and by the glass multiple times. Nice, heavy, smoky.

 

2014 Livernano Jupiter, Super Tuscan - Excellent medium-bodied Cab Sav/Merlot. Not too tart, not too heavy, not thin. Juuuust right. Very easy-going with our TOO MUCH RED MEAT menu.

 

2015? Clos du Bois Merlot - We fell in love with this wine and drank it for three nights. Very friendly and smooth, the kind of wine you can drink in one gulp, without a hint of wateriness. 2016 was $8.99 at our grocery store where we stocked up this morning. None of the harsh burn or syrup that cheap wines can have. Not Memomi-like but in the same class.

 

In short, there’s a lot for a wine snob to explore. As you can see from “Celeste” and “Jupiter,” I like picking wines based on cute names. On previous cruises I did the Caymus and Spy Valley selections. Classics or “Adventurous Reds,” pretty easy to stay satisfied.

 

I only went into Vintages that one time. It was dark and sad and I had enough wine at dinner.

 

Casino

 

I’ll admit that I took $1000 for the casino, roughly $100/night. I lost my allotment quickly at craps and blackjack and video poker, and there was never much fun in it. I earned about 118 points. The casino was always smoky and always crowded. Casinos used to be a cruise requirement. Now, maybe not so much. I’m going on my first river cruise in May. We’ll see.

 

Steward

 

Slipped the steward a $20 on the first day and she kept us happily stocked in extra toilet paper and towel animals. Cleaned twice a day, was always around. We never asked for ice.

 

Room

 

AFT BALCONY. AFT CORNER BALCONY. Life-changing. Lower deck, too, on 6. We are lower deck people who like to be near the Promenade. I loved the shower, omg. Hot and hard spray. No rust anywhere.

 

On Ship Excursions

 

DM did the all access tour and said it was great. Laundry, garbage, bridge, kitchen... everything but crew quarters.

 

Guacamole Demonstration - Pretty lame. Nothing hands-on. Basically just lunch in Sabor. But margaritas were unlimited and the food was phenomenal. Small menu, yes. I had pork tacos and chicken jalapeno balls.

 

Ports

 

Labadee - Extremely beautiful, but hot. I just walked around and went back to the ship.

 

Curacao - Irie Tour arranged by Royal Caribbean. Wonderful. Nice open-air bus ride through the city with a guide full of history, followed by two hours at Blue Bay Beach. Would go on that tour again. DM looked at real estate at Blue Bay, but it is TOO HOT. Snorkeling at Blue Bay was not as good as at Cas Abao a few years ago, so if you're really into snorkeling don't go to Blue Bay.

 

Bonaire - We did not go on a Woodwinds snorkeling tour. We went on another open-air bus ride. It was okay. Lac Bay was pretty rustic after Curaco, and did I mention it was hot? More of an eco-tour. Anyway, we saw flamingos, which are the best ever all the time.

 

Aruba - We just went to check out the Holiday Inn resort, since this was my third time in Aruba (how did I become someone who goes to Aruba so much?). The resort was fine, but offered nothing over the Marriott, where I had stayed before, and didn’t seem as AIR CONDITIONED as a cruise. Land-based vacations may not be for me.

 

I mostly enjoyed ports because the ship was empty and the internet worked better.

 

 

Pictures: imgur dot com /a/or8jG

• Ajit got me “Nothing” for Dessert
  
• View from Aft Balcony - Leaving Miami
  
• View from Aft Balcony - Aruba
  
• View of Pool from Viking Crown
  
• Stingray Towel Animal
  
• Bear Towel Animal
  

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review and the info on drink cards.:)

[George C]

 

 

Wine

 

2015? Clos du Bois Merlot - We fell in love with this wine and drank it for three nights. Very friendly and smooth, the kind of wine you can drink in one gulp, without a hint of wateriness. 2016 was $8.99 at our grocery store where we stocked up this morning. None of the harsh burn or syrup that cheap wines can have. Not Memomi-like but in the same class.

 

 

 

 

G sn

 

We were on same cruise and are wine snobs, this was only red wine we liked under the 12 package, I was thinking it may have been the one from Alexander valley which sells for about 16. We normally had the Franciscan merlot which was 14 or Oberon can for 16. Ordered glass of Berringer knights valley in Vintage and wine had gone bad, they opened a new bottle, also really thought at least Vintage would serve the better red wine at 55 degrees not room temperature

[AnnaDarel]

I was tempted by the Oberon!

 

Sorry to hear about your Vintages experience. Definitely their wines by the glass had been sitting out a while. I'm not sure who it caters to. The bartender told me it was packed during the Southampton cruises.

[Merion_Mom]

I cannot say enough good things about your review.

 

From your concise descriptions to the perfect layout, your review is a true winner.

 

:)

[spookwife]

I was tempted by the Oberon!

 

Sorry to hear about your Vintages experience. Definitely their wines by the glass had been sitting out a while. I'm not sure who it caters to. The bartender told me it was packed during the Southampton cruises.

 

It caters to people who want to be wine snobs( or think they are).

 

can never wrong with anything Clos DuBois.

[CCC3]

Great review! And thanks for the wine recommendations.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Mellylucy]

Nice review with good points of attention!

[George C]

I was tempted by the Oberon!

 

Sorry to hear about your Vintages experience. Definitely their wines by the glass had been sitting out a while. I'm not sure who it caters to. The bartender told me it was packed during the Southampton cruises.

 

There was one other good wine by the glass just a cab for 13 but they ran out of it on day 4, ordered it for lunch in Chops and then went back for dinner in Chops again and it was all gone

[welshy74]

Did I read that right -

A more than token amount of black people—both African Americans and Europeans. I only bring it up because it upset my dinner companions so much.

This is shocking!!

 

On a lighter note, I was recently on Ovation and also enjoyed Clos Du Bois, however it was the best of the bad bunch.

 

Regarding LGBT, there were a lot of gay couples, like myself, on the ship. More than I have seen in the past, however we saw no mention of a meet up which was strange. Maybe it did happen. Being controversial but are they needed anymore? From past experience very few attend.

[ksuds]

We were also on that sailing. Yes, the boarding process was an absolute nightmare. We got in the terminal about 10:30 and didn't board until almost 1:00. No organization or control of people. If there was a fire, we all would have died.

 

Food in the Windjammer was one of the worst ships we've experienced. Seemed that there was a little variety but the same things were offered nightly. Even on formal nights, there was nothing special served. We counted 10 chicken dishes on one night.

 

Chops was also not as good as other ships. We went a couple times and had filet, and bone in Ribeye. Most people that we ate with sent theirs back due to not being cooked correct.

 

Nice benefit for Suites and Pinnacles was lunch in Chops on sea days. Had the full "paid for" lunch menu.

 

Giovanni's was really good and same with Sabor.

 

Johnny Rockets was also just OK. It was better on the Majesty last month.

 

Bar service, entertainment, music in bars and by pool were all excellent.

 

Stateroom attendant was also excellent. Donna was her name.

 

Lots of crew including HD, Activity Director, and staff were either new on the ship, or just signing off when our sailing ended.

 

Did changed times on the ship on day 2 I believe. We didn't change back until the morning of our departure. Thought that was a little strange. But we gained an hour so it wasn't too bad.

[AnnaDarel]

More than I have seen in the past, however we saw no mention of a meet up which was strange.

 

 

It was in the Cruise Compass list of activities every day, rather than on the community board as Friends of Dorothy. I agree, maybe not needed anymore, but still pleasant.

[ValerieJo]

Thanks for the review and the info on drink cards.:)

 

I was also on this cruise. The drink cards were available the morning of Day 3 - Labadee. I was able to use it for some Labadoozies! The announcement of the drink cards was in the cruise compass but in very small print in the corner.

[AnnaDarel]

Thanks to iahawkfan21, I can now report that the terrible Australian wine was:

 

Andrew Peace Wines, Cabrenet Sauvignon, "Winemaker's Choice," South Eastern Australia

 

:wine-glass: (n)

[Clarea]

I was also on this cruise. The drink cards were available the morning of Day 3 - Labadee. I was able to use it for some Labadoozies! The announcement of the drink cards was in the cruise compass but in very small print in the corner.

Was this a 7-day cruise?

[ValerieJo]

Was this a 7-day cruise?

 

This was a 9 day cruise. I was very surprised to see them so early on the cruise.

[George C]

Was this a 7-day cruise?

 

9 day cruise abc islands

[purplegrapefruit]

Were there limitations on what drinks you could buy with the drink cards?

[ValerieJo]

Were there limitations on what drinks you could buy with the drink cards?

 

If there were limitations, I did not see them. We used the card on mostly fancy martini's in the R Bar or the frozen drinks in the Solarium/Pool bar.

[George C]

Suite lunch in chops was a great perk, had access to full menu on sea days and we had 5 sea days on this 9 day cruise, we had pre-paired for embarkation lunch 19 per person and concierge arraranged refund since it was included

[ksuds]

I also didn't mention that getting off the ship was a breeze. We had planned on meeting at 7:30 and when we looked off our balcony we saw people leaving the ship before 7:00. So we walked down with our luggage a little after 7:00 and there was no line at all for self carry. We walked off, no lines, customs line was also non existent.

 

We were in our car well before 7:30 and on the road.

[Clarea]

This was a 9 day cruise. I was very surprised to see them so early on the cruise.

That's great, and very early for that length of cruise. Thanks.

[Guinness1000]

Thanks for the review! Heading out on the same trip Dec 22nd. We don't drink wine, eat meat or gamble so I expect a great trip. :)

[Nessa1dc]

I must ask...why were your tablemates concerned with African Americans and Europeans?

[Greg1084]

 

LGBT

 

I went to the first LGBT meetup, now “official” in the Compass, at 10 PM in Vintages. Ten people showed up. TEN. Unheard of. Including a nice couple from Ireland. Very cool. I did not go to any of the other gatherings because I normally go to bed at 8 PM, but we remarked that there seemed to be quite a few LGBT folks aboard.

 

In fact, five gays showed up at craps all at once (no one from the gathering but we all did the secret handshake), and one of our dealers outed herself so she, too, could be a part of the Rainbow Craps Extravaganza. We lost all our money in ten minutes, but we had a great time doing it.

 

So, RC seems a very welcoming environment.

 

My partner and I were on Navigator in February and the LGBT meeting didn't seem to be quite as popular. They advertised the meet ups, but they didn't have any designated tables or anything set up in the wine bar, so you couldn't really tell who was there for the meetup or who was just there to have a glass of wine. One night we went and there were some people who seemed like "family" so we introduced ourselves, but it turns out it was just a group of gays who happened to be at the wine bar at the same time. I'm hoping our upcoming cruise on Freedom has a better designated spot for the LGBT meetup.