Thoughts from Navigator 1/19/18 Cruise

[CFIGuy]

The details: 9 night ABC (and Labadee) cruise on Navigator out of Miami with my wife, mom, MIL, and son.

Arriving in Miami and Port of Miami:

We flew into Fort Lauderdale due to better flight availability and cost of overall flights. Normally we would have stayed at a Fort Lauderdale airport hotel (and Uber/Lyft to Port of Miami), but prices were exorbitant. We instead rented a car and stayed at a Residence Inn in Plantation. The hotel was nice, and there were a ton of restaurants and shops nearby. The drive was mostly highway and about 15-20 minutes away from the Fort Lauderdale Airport.

The drive to the Port of Miami was equally easy. Time was about 40-50 minutes. We do have a SunPass, so we did use the Express Lanes on I-95, which probably saved about 15 minutes. We dropped the moms and my son off at the port, which had very minimal traffic jams, which was amazing considering four ships in port. My wife and I had to return the rental car at the Hertz location downtown. This is where I insert my recommendation to both fuel the car before going to the port (no gas stations near the port or downtown) and for the minimal cost difference in taxi/Uber fare, return the car to the Miami airport instead. Traffic in downtown Miami was bad, and I mean really bad. And this is comparing to NYC, Chicago, DC, etc. Traffic rules seemed to be suggestions at best. It took over an hour after we dropped off the moms at the port to get back to the port.

Check-in at the port: Dropping off bags was very easy, and porters confirmed everyone had passports before taking bags away (very very smart). The initial document check was very quick, but the remaining checks were very slow. For time reference, we entered the check in building just before noon. The security check needed about one extra lane, was about a 10 minute wait. The check in area though was very slow, took almost 30 minutes. There were three lines, Suites & Pinnacle, C&A, and everyone else. We were pulled to check in at the handicap line, then pulled away due to a handicap passenger arriving. Maybe we have been spoiled with the Oasis Class terminal at Fort Lauderdale, but this was definitely one of our worst check in experiences.

 

Initial arrival on board: The positive about the long check in time was that by the time we got to our room, it was 1PM. I heard that rooms on other decks were not ready until 130PM, but the main doors were all open, and our cabin was ready at 1PM. We had three of the “new” balconies on Deck 12. Two of the rooms were connecting, but we had the door between them locked. We instead had the balcony dividers opened between the three rooms. The rooms looked like any other balcony room, no real differences.

[CFIGuy]

Positives & Negatives of Cabin: We really liked being able to walk out of our cabin and be to the pool within just a minute. Also made it nice for if we had to run back to the room for something while out at the pool. Also liked that we never had doors open to an over crowded elevator, as we were the top deck (for the elevator) forward. The elevators were also a negative though, being up on deck 12, we used the elevators a lot more than we normally do. In the future, we would probably try for a room on deck 7 or 8, where we could minimize our elevator usage. As for room noise, other than some deck chairs being moved a couple of times, no noise issues. Room temperature was average, we always prefer to sleep in an icebox, so take that for what you will. Our water temperature in the shower was very finicky. Took quite a long time (3-5 minutes) for the water to get hot during certain times of the day. Also had the usual hot temperature spikes. Our stateroom attendant was very good and we had no issues with him. As will be a common theme throughout the review, we never saw the housekeeping supervisor/manager helping on the floor.

Specialty Dining: We purchased the BOGO 1st/2nd night package for $30 per person. Normally there is a note in your cabin telling you your restaurant selected and time selected. There was no note in the cabin or on our TV. We checked at Chops, and was advised that we had 8PM reservations at Chops the first night and 8PM and Giovannis at 8PM the second night. Our experiences at Chops and Giovannis was night and day.

For Chops, we were seated promptly at 8PM, unfortunately that was where the prompt part ended. While we understand that specialty dining is a little slower, it took almost 20 minutes to get menus, and 40 minutes until bread was brought to the table. No supervisor/manager to be seen. After 75 minutes, and entrees no where to be seen, and other tables with similar arrival times with entrees, I did go and find our waiter, and asked nicely to speed it up. Was told couldn’t speed up because ala minute. Entrees arrived at 90 minutes. The food was quite well, and as much as I like porterhouse/delmonico steaks, the filet was better. We asked for our desserts to be prepared for take out, and received them and the checks at just over the 2 hour mark.

For Giovanni’s, I did speak with the restaurant in the morning prior to our reservation. I did state that our service at Chops the night prior was not great, specifically very slow, and asked to be placed with a waiter that was known for their service. Short version, service was impeccable, waitress checked in with us numerous times, and everything was served in a timely manner. This was the new menu at Giovanni’s, and while there were some changes that I liked, I also missed some of the classics.

As for other dining, Windjammer was a bit of a disappointment compared to recent sailing on Anthem & Serenade. Variety at breakfast and lunch was virtually nil. There were two egg ordering stations in the morning that seemed to move rather well. I really wish that the WIndjammer would have a couple of dishes that were changed out daily. I also missed the sea day poolside lunches offered on other ships. Dinner was also a bit of a let down compared to the other ships I mentioned. On Serenade, they had a different theme nightly that was done fairly well. They also had cook to order chicken/fish/steak nightly, and made to order crepes & ice cream sundaes nightly. Anthem didn’t have the made to order steaks (stir fry nightly instead). While some nights had decent themes, it was overall lacking. I will say though that supervisors/managers were very visible, and service was great.

Main dining room was where we went the majority of dinners and for sea day lunches (minus one Johnny Rockets visit). For dinner we chose late seating. We had done My Time Dining in the past with mixed results, so choose Late now instead. Our service was excellent, and we enjoyed both our waiter and assistant waiter. As mentioned in other matters, never saw head waiter, maitre’d. We did get some of the awkward, “I hope we’re providing excellent service - very important part of our job, etc” conversations. As mentioned in prior reviews, food options have declined. Definitely getting more to the “Is there something I like” versus “What should I choose” of the past. Their lunch choices seemed to be better in my opinion. For those that like Indian food, it is available, but only via special request. Mentioning this, since I know it varies from ship to ship. Last thing to mention, they really really need to cut back on the parades/shows during dinner. Three (at least on the six nights we attended) is a bit much, and they seemed to go on and on. Audience participation seemed to be 40% at best. If they’re going to continue it, cut it back to once per cruise, although I would prefer discontinuing this tradition altogether.

 

I will briefly mention Cafe Promenade and Johnny Rockets. Cafe Promenade was as expected. I do wish that there were a few more late night dining options, or that the Windjammer was open until 930 or 10PM. Johnny Rockets was also as expected. My son and MIL went for dinner there one night, were the only ones there and their service was excellent. The waiter refused to charge them cover and wouldn’t take a tip.

[Dina7]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your Navigator cruise. I agree about there not being enough food options after 9:00 pm.

[CFIGuy]

Activities: I will be the first to admit, we did not step foot in the theater all week, so can’t tell you a thing about any shows in the theater. Also skipped almost all of the Star Lounge shows, and for the first time, missed the Ice Show too. Almost all of our activities were trivias. We really enjoyed the trivias and the entertainment staff was all excellent. The participants in trivia were also well behaved, which is what you always hope for, but sometimes don’t get. The trivias were a good mix of easy and hard. We also did Puzzle Break one night in the Star Lounge. For those of you who have done it before, it was the same case. We hadn’t done it in over 3 months, and got almost nowhere on our first attempt. This attempt did include clues from the cruise staff, which in my opinion were needed, as it was a very hard challenge. Even with the clues, only one group got the final answer right

Our other primary activity was the casino. Our favorite slot machine (Super Jackpot Party) was there, and we spent the majority of the time there. The casino was super super smoky, and as mentioned in other reviews, there were a decent amount of campers, who were there to smoke but not gamble. I really hope that the casino goes non smoking sometime soon. The casino was not smoke free on Casino nights either. With this ship having a cigar lounge, I am not sure why it couldn’t be changed to a “Smokers lounge” instead.

We didn’t do a lot of the pool activities, but there were a ton to be had. The on screen movies did repeat multiple times. I do wish that some classics were sprinkled into the mix. The pools also seemed to be closed a little more that usual or on other ships. Not sure why. While there were your typical chair hogs, it seemed to be less on this cruise versus other cruises. We could always find a seat, even on sea days, most of them prime seats.

 

Bar Service: I had purchased the Refreshment Package prior to the cruise. All of the bars provided us excellent service, although I purchased most of my drinks at the Schooner Bar. If it hasn’t been mentioned previously, there are no Freestyle machines on board the ship. Most of the bars did not have soda gun service either, they used cans or 2 liter bottles instead. Waits for drinks seemed to be shorter, but it seemed like less people had purchased a drink package on this cruise. I did see the $75 drink card special, as well as a 5 for $15 beer special. There were probably some other specials too.

[racerxspeedy]

Thanks for the detailed review! I was thinking about doing the BOGO pkg again, but after the slow service you mentioned I may not. We had this issue more times than not - I can't see paying extra and feeling like I've been ignored.

[aubreyc1988]

Thanks for the detailed review! I was thinking about doing the BOGO pkg again, but after the slow service you mentioned I may not. We had this issue more times than not - I can't see paying extra and feeling like I've been ignored.

 

the best way to get fast service in MDR/specialty dining is politely tell the your waiter you have a show you want to attend, usually ours comes out speedy when we tell them we want to make a show!

[SilkySal]

Thanks for the great review! We will be on Navigator in March.:D I have the refreshment package but DH does not have a package. He prefers beer during the day and cocktails in the DL in the evening. Wondering if they offered the 5 for $5 beers on day one, and what day did you notice the $75 drink card?:confused: Thanks again!

[danoconnl]

Staying in the deck 12 cabins at the beginning of March, how was the vibration? Inotice the vibration when I go to the lounge on the other side of the ship, but I don't notice it when I'm in the gym. Curious if you could feel it, and any other info about the room would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Dan

[sgmn]

I did see the $75 drink card special, as well as a 5 for $15 beer special. There were probably some other specials too.

 

Do you remember if the beer special was draught or bottled. DH had a 'special' deal for beer on our last cruise but didn't realise it was only for draught beer and he didn't use it all

[George C]

Should have tried Izumi I thought that was the best specialty restaurant on the ship

[carolslc]

Thanks so much for the review. Regarding Indian food in the MDR, could you request it when you arrived that evening, or did you need to request it for a future night? In other words, how much notice do they need? I love Indian food and was planning to do this at least one evening. Thank you!

[VA4family]

Thank you for posting about your experience aboard Navigator. My wife and I will be sailing on her in three weeks for a 5 Day Mexican Cruise and appreciate your comments.

[cidymom]

Thanks for your review. For the 9-night Navigator cruise to the ABC islands, do you remember what day they had the bag laundry special? Trying to plan ahead for packing purposes. Thanks for your help.

[njm5378]

Thanks for your review. For the 9-night Navigator cruise to the ABC islands, do you remember what day they had the bag laundry special? Trying to plan ahead for packing purposes. Thanks for your help.

 

Day 4. The sea day after Labadee if I recall correctly.

[CFIGuy]

Thanks for the great review! We will be on Navigator in March.:D I have the refreshment package but DH does not have a package. He prefers beer during the day and cocktails in the DL in the evening. Wondering if they offered the 5 for $15 beers on day one, and what day did you notice the $75 drink card?:confused: Thanks again!

 

I noticed a placard mentioning the beer specialoutside of the pub on the promenade mentioning this on the last two sea days. The $75 drink card was offered with somewhere between 5-7 days left on the cruise.

 

My recommendation though is to ask the bartenders daily, and check in a couple of bars. On the last day, someone stopped into the Schooner Bar and asked for the 8 beers for $25, which I had never seen. The bartender had to check with his manager to confirm it. There was also of course the $2 daily mimosa deal in the casino.

[CFIGuy]

Staying in the deck 12 cabins at the beginning of March, how was the vibration? Inotice the vibration when I go to the lounge on the other side of the ship, but I don't notice it when I'm in the gym. Curious if you could feel it, and any other info about the room would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Dan

 

Didn’t notice any vibration. The ship was very rocky on sea days, with most days having seas in excess of 10 feet. I can’t say for certain that it was rockier being on a higher deck, but with the arm (distance from the sea) being longer, there should have been more movement.

[CFIGuy]

Should have tried Izumi I thought that was the best specialty restaurant on the ship

 

This was the first cruise that we skipped Izumi on. We’ll probably try it again next cruise. I will note though that the prices seemed to be a decent amount higher than our last cruise last year.

[CFIGuy]

Thanks so much for the review. Regarding Indian food in the MDR, could you request it when you arrived that evening, or did you need to request it for a future night? In other words, how much notice do they need? I love Indian food and was planning to do this at least one evening. Thank you!

 

On this ship, it seemed to be needed to be requested the day prior. It was normally served with roti, rice, curry main, and lentils. Half of the nights it matched the curry served on the buffet in the Windjammer, the other half was different.

[CFIGuy]

Couple of random notes. I’ll try to tackle ports later today or tomorrow..

On board doctor: Two people in my party had to go to the on board doctor. My wife had some issues with her jaw, which she has never had before. After it hurting for a couple of days, she went to the doctor. Service was quick, and cost was fairly similar to an Urgent Care facility. I believe the visit fee was $135 plus medication, which was a very fair amount. You pay on board, and then claim with insurance if applicable. My MIL had some respiratory issues, so she required a couple of breathing treatments, so her cost was more, but still reasonable.

Improvements for cruise: My recommendations would be the three following things, improvement in check in process specific to Port of Miami, making casino smoke free or having at least a few smoke free days (entire day), & improving variety in Windjammer and better choices in MDR.

Awesome things about this cruise: About the best port line up from a mainland US destination, excellent staff on board, great entertainment staff

Adventure Ocean: My son absolutely loved Adventure Ocean, as he always does. As it was a smaller cruise children-wise, the two older groups were combined. This ship did NOT have Adventure Ocean dinner offered nightly, which seemed to be the first ship where this was true. Most sessions seemed to have between 15-25 kids. We did a few of the family activities, and the only “bust” was the science experiment. The others were a ton of fun.

 

Random things of note: Very rough seas on sea days both going South and heading North (in excess of 10 foot seas), only one runner in one port (and he either no showed or was already on board), on at least 2 of 4 ports had ambulance waiting to take someone away. TV channel variety seemed better than offered in the past. I especially liked Tooncast with the old Hanna Barbera cartoons.

[George C]

This was the first cruise that we skipped Izumi on. We’ll probably try it again next cruise. I will note though that the prices seemed to be a decent amount higher than our last cruise last year.

 

We were on 9 day cruise and had 5 day specialty dinning. That came to 21 per meal, I believe credit for Izumi was 35 per person ,

[aubreyc1988]

Our other primary activity was the casino. Our favorite slot machine (Super Jackpot Party) was there, and we spent the majority of the time there. The casino was super super smoky, and as mentioned in other reviews, there were a decent amount of campers, who were there to smoke but not gamble. I really hope that the casino goes non smoking sometime soon. The casino was not smoke free on Casino nights either. With this ship having a cigar lounge, I am not sure why it couldn’t be changed to a “Smokers lounge” instead.

 

 

I assume you won a bit on Super Jackpot Party hehe :') We like the Casino too, even though haven't won anything substantial on a cruise ship casino YET, but i hate when it's so smokey so thats disappointing to hear! Any newer slots or standard classics?

[RJHeller]

can you tell me what room numbers you had?