NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS - Revitalized!

[eroller]

I'm been looking over the renderings press for the revitalized NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS, which will reenter service out of Miami in late February 2019.  It's really impressive, and even more comprehensive than the refit given sister MARINER OF THE SEAS.  

 

Here is a link to more information: 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/navigator-of-the-seas

 

I've also attached some renderings.  

 

Overall looks great, but there is one big loser in the refurbishment and that is the gym/spa. It's shrinking from two decks with one of those decks having an ocean view, to a much smaller interior space on Deck 12 only with no windows. How they will fit both the spa and gym in that space is beyond me. Obviously the great mens/women's steam/sauna that this ship used to have on Deck 11 is history. It is possible they could be adding new space on Deck 13 that could be the spa, but nothing is shown on the deck plan.  I hope I'm missing something.  

 

[schmeed]

Where do you see that the spa is shrinking?  According to the deck plan (April 2019 and after), it's not changing.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/navigator-of-the-seas/deck-plans/1892/11

[Ronaldo807]

Anyone have any insight on it listing both Jamie's & Giovanni's as dining options? It also lists Sabor and then states 'Head to El Loco Fresh℠ for crazy good tacos'. I'm excited and confused all at the same time.

[eroller]

9 minutes ago, schmeed said:

Where do you see that the spa is shrinking?  According to the deck plan (April 2019 and after), it's not changing.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/navigator-of-the-seas/deck-plans/1892/11

 

 

Deck 12 remains the same which is the smaller upper level of the spa with no windows, since cabins were added around it during the last refit.  

 

Deck 11 is where the change happens.  It's the large lower level of the spa now, where the lockers are and the steam/sauna.  Also the fitness center.  That will all be gone after this refit, replaced by cabins.  

 

I've attached a before and after of Deck 11.  

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Love everything except the style of the pool deck. Looks artificial.

 

Usually the exterior decks are classier than this, and I felt that Mariner and Indy managed to keep a classic vibe blended with all of their new sports deck additions. 

 

Don't feel the same way about Navigator. Reminds me of an overly stylistic Bahamas themed waterpark.

 

Hopefully it will look better in person. Renderings can sometimes be misleading. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[Biker19]

For all those who complained about the tacked on feel of the water slides at the back of the ship (I seem to remember those comments starting with Liberty) - now you'll get it all over.

[schmeed]

25 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

 

Deck 12 remains the same which is the smaller upper level of the spa with no windows, since cabins were added around it during the last refit.  

 

Deck 11 is where the change happens.  It's the large lower level of the spa now, where the lockers are and the steam/sauna.  Also the fitness center.  That will all be gone after this refit, replaced by cabins.  

 

I've attached a before and after of Deck 11.  

Of course their website doesn't reflect this deck plan.  They are TERRIBLE at web related work.  😞

[OACAggie]

No SkyPad. Seemed this was going to be on everything moving forward. Anyone try it? Maybe not as good as they planned/hoped? It is probably good they are mixing it up a little from Mariner as will be doing same 3&4 nighters.

[purplegrapefruit]

I'm sad the Navigator will only be used for 3&4 nighters.  There will be no time to explore the ship. Such great updates could be way better used on itineraries with more sea days. 

[voyager70]

The pic on the Royal home page looks fake.  There are no aft cabins.

 

[eroller]

3 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

The pic on the Royal home page looks fake.  There are no aft cabins.

 

 

 

These ships have always had aft cabins, but they don't extend to the very edge of the deck like in the rendering.  They are recessed, and the ship structure is still behind them.  Perhaps they are extending the balconies all the way back I don't know?  

[eroller]

2 hours ago, schmeed said:

Of course their website doesn't reflect this deck plan.  They are TERRIBLE at web related work.  😞

 

 

On their website (at the least the US one), look at the deck plan.  On the right towards the top of the page on the deck plan page are three sets of dates.  They are actually hyper-links to different sets of deck plans.  Click on the set of dates you want to see the deck plans for.  That should let you look at the before and after.  I hope that makes sense.  

 

 

[Jeremiah1212]

2 hours ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

Love everything except the style of the pool deck. Looks artificial.

 

Usually the exterior decks are classier than this, and I felt that Mariner and Indy managed to keep a classic vibe blended with all of their new sports deck additions. 

 

Don't feel the same way about Navigator. Reminds me of an overly stylistic Bahamas themed waterpark.

 

Hopefully it will look better in person. Renderings can sometimes be misleading. 

 

The waterslides look horrible on all of the ships. The same with the massive trampoline dome on Adventure. If these are the final colors, it really reminds me of Carnival instead of Royal. I think the entire style with the bright colors, heavily themed venues, etc. will age these ships very quickly. It's like a reversion back to the NCL ships when they were all themed. Not a good move IMO. 

[eroller]

Just now, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

The waterslides look horrible on all of the ships. The same with the massive trampoline dome on Adventure. If these are the final colors, it really reminds me of Carnival instead of Royal. I think the entire style with the bright colors, heavily themed venues, etc. will age these ships very quickly. It's like a reversion back to the NCL ships when they were all themed. Not a good move IMO. 

 

 

I have to admit the beach theme pool is very Carnival.  They did the same thing when they redid the Fantasy Class ships.  They removed the small slide and added fake palm trees.  They were going for a "resort style" pool look.  It just looks fake and tacky.  I'm hoping for better with the Royal Caribbean attempt.  They are much better at executing a theme than Carnival, and usually willing to spend the $$ to do it right.  

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

1 hour ago, OACAggie said:

No SkyPad. Seemed this was going to be on everything moving forward. Anyone try it? Maybe not as good as they planned/hoped? It is probably good they are mixing it up a little from Mariner as will be doing same 3&4 nighters.

Was thinking the same thing. 

12 minutes ago, purplegrapefruit said:

I'm sad the Navigator will only be used for 3&4 nighters.  There will be no time to explore the ship. Such great updates could be way better used on itineraries with more sea days. 

The whole point of all of this is to attract cruisers who want an intro to cruising without committing to a 7 night cruise or simply can't vacation for that long. 

6 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

The pic on the Royal home page looks fake.  There are no aft cabins.

 

It is a rendering, focusing on the new features. 

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

5 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

The waterslides look horrible on all of the ships. The same with the massive trampoline dome on Adventure. If these are the final colors, it really reminds me of Carnival instead of Royal. I think the entire style with the bright colors, heavily themed venues, etc. will age these ships very quickly. It's like a reversion back to the NCL ships when they were all themed. Not a good move IMO. 

I don't mind the waterslides or the SkyPads on other ships, but this tacky pool deck is an issue. As you said, very NCL. 

 

Hopefully it is better in person. These renderings are very over-saturated and I can imagine it ends up looking better when finished. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[eroller]

Someone on FB mentioned they see the fitness center moved aft on Deck 12, where the Adventure Ocean kids area is.  Apparently Adventure Ocean is shrinking and part of that area will be taken up by the new gym.  That makes sense to me, but I don't see it on any of the deck plans Royal Caribbean has posted their website.  

[LuCruise]

We have this booked for next summer.  Looks really cool!  I'm surprised of the negative comments.  When I saw the email I thought I was reading wrong...as the slides look really neat to me.  Reminds me of Disney in how it goes over the ship and along the sides.  I also like that you go on a tube....that kind I may even try.  Pool looks great too as the 2 on mariner got quite packed on a sea day.  Too bad about Sky Pad though...guess they give and take for features. No laser tag?

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

3 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

We have this booked for next summer.  Looks really cool!  I'm surprised of the negative comments.  When I saw the email I thought I was reading wrong...as the slides look really neat to me.  Reminds me of Disney in how it goes over the ship and along the sides.  I also like that you go on a tube....that kind I may even try.  Pool looks great too as the 2 on mariner got quite packed on a sea day.  Too bad about Sky Pad though...guess they give and take for features. No laser tag?

 

There will be laser tag. 

 

And just to clarify my above comments: I love the new features. I also like the new layout of the pool deck, but not the over-the-top stylization of it. Sorry, just the designer in me talking. Looks artificial.

Edited November 1, 2018 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[eroller]

It would be really cool if the aft cabins had their balconies extended all the way to the aft structure of the ship like in this rendering.  I don't think it will actually happen.  I'm guessing artistic license.  

 

 

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

4 minutes ago, eroller said:

Someone on FB mentioned they see the fitness center moved aft on Deck 12, where the Adventure Ocean kids area is.  Apparently Adventure Ocean is shrinking and part of that area will be taken up by the new gym.  That makes sense to me, but I don't see it on any of the deck plans Royal Caribbean has posted their website.  

Aft on deck 12:

 

[eroller]

3 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

   Reminds me of Disney in how it goes over the ship and along the sides.  I also like that you go on a tube....that kind I may even try.  Pool looks great too as the 2 on mariner got quite packed on a sea day.   

 

 

Same two pools as currently on MARINER plus the Solarium Pool.  That will not change on NAVIGATOR.  They are just being styled in the beach theme.  

 

I agree about the slides.  They look fun.  Having experienced the AquaDuck slide on DISNEY DREAM several times, I really love it.  That is what the one slide on NAVIGATOR reminds me of.  Same concept.  On the Disney slide it's also two people to a raft, and there are currents of water that push you along in certain spots.  Another cool things with Disney is that you don't drag the raft up any stairs to the top.  A conveyer built into the aft funnel where slide is does all the work.   

[eroller]

3 minutes ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

Aft on deck 12:

 

 

 

Is that from a Royal Caribbean website, or 3rd party or different country than US?  I've looked at the deck plans on the Royal Caribbean website (all date ranges) and mine doesn't show that.  I even tried different web browsers.  Anyway thanks for posting.  That mystery is solved.  I just knew it could not all fit in that small space.  

[LuCruise]

3 hours ago, Ronaldo807 said:

Anyone have any insight on it listing both Jamie's & Giovanni's as dining options? It also lists Sabor and then states 'Head to El Loco Fresh℠ for crazy good tacos'. I'm excited and confused all at the same time.

Our cruise planner has Jamie's for booking but not Giovanni's.

Edited November 1, 2018 by LuCruise

[Clarea]

3 hours ago, eroller said:

 

Deck 11 is where the change happens.  It's the large lower level of the spa now, where the lockers are and the steam/sauna.  Also the fitness center.  That will all be gone after this refit, replaced by cabins.

 

 

I cannot believe how they are destroying the fitness center.