LIVE #queensonthehighseas Navigator of the Seas 3/15: A Spring Break Extravaganza

[cruisinfromtampa]

Hello Everyone!

 

In just 3 short hours my alarm will be going off to let me know that it's time to get up and finishing packing.  Instead of going to sleep, I'm starting our review!  I mean...hey...I can always sleep on the drive down, right?

 

A little bit about our crew...This is our third year travelling together for Spring Break.   There are 6 of us total, comprising 3 couples.  We all work for the same school district, and have been counting down to this cruise for over a year!  For the second year in a row, we are being joined by two of our students' families...the same two students as last year...none of it planned.  What are the chances?!?  They think they're going to embarass us, but little do they know I packed a speedo.  I'm not going to wear it, becuase it's not a cute look, but they don't have to know that just yet.

 

We will be doing a 9-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, stoping in Labadee and the ABCs.  All of the stops are new to the others, and Labadee and Bonaire are new to DH and me.  We've booked excursions everywhere but Curacao.  I'll get more specific later.

 

DH and I made Diamond following our cruise over New Years, so this will be our first sailing with access to the Diamond Lounge and drink vouchers.

 

We are staying in a Center Aft JS, our favorite category so far, and our favorite location.

 

RC announced that Navigator would be "Amped" after we booked, and we are very excited for some of the new venues.  With it only being the 3rd cruise out of dry dock, please ask any questions you may have, and I will do everything I can to get you an answer.  I'm personally beyond excited for the water slides, which are apparently both open!

 

I hope you enjoy following along!  We're a crazy group, and I guarantee a good time!  You can also find more pictures and video by following us on Instagram, @queensonthehighseas

 

Only 14.5 hours until sail away!

Edited March 15, 2019 by cruisinfromtampa
Typos at 1:30am

[Johnamac123]

Following along. I took the Nav on the same route. The ABC's are incredible, especially for snorkel/scuba. You're going to have a great time!! 

[Paulette3028]

The first thing that most people will want to know is if ALL of the venues are open.  The gym wasn't finished when she first sailed out of drydock, the waterslides were not all open either....people with small children did not have a fully functioning Adventure Ocean either.  

 

DH and I have sailed on Navigator 3 times....and always had a great time....we look forward to doing it again at some point....for now we have other sailings on our cruise planner.

[MrFunInTheSun]

Thanks for bringing us along! 

[suesnake2002]

Have fun!!

[DiamondDiva]

Looking forward to your review, as we sail this same route at the end of the month on NOS.

Know the routine of sailing on Spring Break, as I taught many years and we did lots of Break trips.  Nice now that I am retired to do longer journeys at other times of the year! 

Have a super time, relax, and thanks for the live updates. 

 

 

[CazV]

Looking forward to following along to while away some more of my own countdown till it's my turn to sail on her in a few weeks 🙂

 

Bon voyage!

[jrljel]

Wondering if you can get a picture of one of the Junior Suites at the front of the ship on Deck 11.  These are new and look awesome!  Thanks!!

[cruisinfromtampa]

Day 1: We’re off!...to Miami.

We got up bright and early to finish packing and get the house situated so it’s good to go when we get back.

With parking costing so much, we decided to rent a van and all ride down together. It ends up being cheaper than parking multiple cars for 10 days. This thing is huge...we have tons of room to spread out.



We left a little later than planned, and have made ok time. Dropping the car off at 12:30, and hopefully to the port a little after 1:00.

Ready to be on board!

Thanks for following along!


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[cruisinfromtampa]

Wondering if you can get a picture of one of the Junior Suites at the front of the ship on Deck 11.  These are new and look awesome!  Thanks!!

I will try! I’m curious about those rooms as well. We looked into switching, but we couldn’t get our entire group moved up there together. We’re all within two room last of each other on either side, so we stayed put.


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[cruisinfromtampa]

Following along. I took the Nav on the same route. The ABC's are incredible, especially for snorkel/scuba. You're going to have a great time!! 

We absolutely love Aruba. Curaçao was a bust when we were there. But Bonaire has me excited! Here’s hoping the weather is good for our snorkeling excursion!


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[LBumb]

Following

thanks for taking me along

bon voyage

[vacationbunny]

I will be following along. We are on the 9 day starting March 29 and are so excited! Happy Cruising!

 

[cruisinfromtampa]

Ok...yesterday was insanity. It took us almost 6 hours to get from Tampa to Miami. It’s normally a 4 hour drive. We had plenty of buffer, but it still made me nervous.

Once we dropped the van off, we went about trying to figure out getting to the port. Our original plan was to just take an Uber, but there were no clear signs at the rental facility as to where pick up is. As I was wandering around looking, a shuttle driver came up and asked where we were going. I told him 6 to the port. He said $20 for everyone. We said yes. It was cheaper than one of the two uber xls would be.

Once we arrived at the port, we saw them...the piles of luggage, left waiting. It was jaw dropping how many bags were still sitting. Then we saw the line. The line to go through security stretched out and all the way back to Terminal F. It was slow moving, and unpleasant. Thankfully, we did not have to wait once we got through every step. Earlier in the day, they were sitting for over an hour with no information about when it would start. The rumor is: two people didn’t get off the ship after the last sailing and the entire thing had to be searched to find them. Someone claims to have seen two people with luggage being escorted off far after the appropriate time.

True? I don’t know. A wrench in the start for the rest of us? Yes. Does it matter this morning as I sit on my balcony looking at the wake typing this? Not in the slightest.

Once on board we went directly to Chops to adjust our dinner reservations. We all purchased the BOGO when it was still $30/person. We were able to get them moved, but it was difficult. They are heavily booked the first two nights, which is good for Royal I guess. We will be at Jamie’s Night 1 and Chips Night 2.

From there, our rooms to get our cards (which was both easy and efficient), guest services to get them punched (which didn’t happen because the line was so long), and then Windjammer for a quick bite.

I’m loving having a full bar right in the WJ. Made grabbing our traditional first cocktail of the cruise easy.




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[cruisinfromtampa]

After muster we went back to the room to relax a bit, and then up to the deck for Sailaway. I think this was my first time actually going on the deck for it. Maybe it will get old, but I enjoyed the excitement. And the view. It’s our first time sailing out of Miami, and while the journey left much to be desired, the views were breathtaking!









And finally, my first cocktail using a Diamond Voucher. The journey to free booze has been amazing. [emoji23]




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[cruisinfromtampa]

I found it. After millennia of searching...the hammock of my people has been discovered. We will rest easy for this point forward. [emoji23]





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[CRUISEFAN0001]

11 minutes ago, cruisinfromtampa said:

I found it. After millennia of searching...the hammock of my people has been discovered. We will rest easy for this point forward.

Nice job on the photos and report so far.

 

Hammock of "my people"?

[cruisinfromtampa]

Dinner Night 1: Jamie’s Italian

I have been looking forward to this since we booked. I love trying new places, and Jamie’s has had some great reviews. With this being only the third sailing after dry dock with it open, I had reservations about the flow and quality just because it was new. Those priced to be unfounded. By far the best service we’ve received at a specialty restaurant, and the best meal from start to finish. Highly recommend.

I’m going to post pictures below, with what we thought about each dish. We ordered a table full of appetizers to share, several types of pasta also to share, and then our own entrees.

Menu:



Meat Plank for 6. Absolutely delicious. Tons of flavors and textures. Thoroughly enjoyed.



Crispy Squid. Fresh and actually crispy. Batter was light which was nice. Lemon garlic mayo was great.



Garlicky Prawns. They were good. Shrimp were still in shell, and the shells weren’t split all the way up. Made eating them messy. But worth the effort for the bite. That grilled bread dipped in the sauce thought was possibly my favorite bite of the meal. I could eat 50 pieces.



Ultimate Garlic Bread. I mean...fresh bread, butter, garlic, herbs, and more garlic. What’s not to love?!? The bread was a little crusty on the outside, and soft on the inside. I have zero complaints about it. Worth the carbs and the calories.



Black Truffle Arancini. I didn’t get much truffle from them, but they were tasty. DH is incredibly picky (which makes life difficult...because I eat everything, and trying to cook for us both or pick a restaurant is a daily joy), and he raves about them.



Lamb Chops Scottadito. This is an entree, but thanks to someone on here, I learned they could be ordered by themselves as an appetizer. We ordered one chip per person, and they were delicious. We went with medium for the table, and while I would prefer a medium rare, these were still incredibly tender. Tons of flavor packed in a little bite.




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[cruisinfromtampa]

Dinner Continued. Pastas and Entrees.

Tagliatelle Bolognese. It was better than ok. Simple flavors, but good. Nothing to write home about for me. But I also make a bolognese that will knock your socks off, so I’m partial.



Creamy Penne Carbonara. Our table’s favorite. The sauce was fantastic. The bacon was crispy. Everything worked.



Truffle Tagliatelle. Also quite delicious. The truffle was subtle, which I appreciated. Sometimes it’s too heavy handed and overpowering.



Baked Lasagne. I didn’t try it, but the two who ordered it loved it.



Chianti-Braised Short Rib. Um...delicious. Everything was balanced and complimented each other well. The short rib was falling apart it was so tender, the mashed potatoes were great, and the spinach was a perfect compliment to it. The horseradish was so light but added that zip to each bite. Hands down the best entree I’ve had on a ship so far.




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[cruisinfromtampa]

Dinner Continued. Dessert and Final Thoughts.

Menu:



Epic Brownie. #divine The gelato was interesting because of the flavor, but it with the brownie and the actual popcorn plus the sauce. An incredible way to end the meal.



Vanilla Ice Cream with Honeycomb. The honeycomb comes on the pavlova, but one of my friends asked for it on her ice cream. The ice cream was good, but the honeycomb was next level. It was a fantastic example of honeycomb done right. If you’ve never had it, it’s basically a caramel, but it has baking soda mixed with an acid (usually vinegar) in it causing it to expand and foam. It’s delicious and you should try it.



Final Thoughts: We had an incredible meal. We left perfectly full. From start to finish, every step was delicious and wonderful. Our service was fantastic. Easily our favorite specialty restaurant for now. Excited to be on Harmony in June with UDP and the ability to go multiple times.


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[LBumb]

I agree first drink in diamond lounge tastes sooooo good

i remember how many cruises it took

[cruisinfromtampa]

After dinner, we walked around the Royal Promenade for a few minutes before heading back to the room to unpack and go to sleep. It had been a long day, and we were wiped. A great Day 1 with 9 more to go!

As I leave you here, I’ll share the view I’ve had while posting this morning. Can’t beat it!



Check us out on Instagram for the full adventure and more. @queensonthehighseas


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[cruisinfromtampa]

Nice job on the photos and report so far.
 
Hammock of "my people"?

It was a joke because the hammock was rainbow print. My people are the gays.


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[cruisinfromtampa]

I agree first drink in diamond lounge tastes sooooo good
i remember how many cruises it took

Wasn’t even the best tasting cocktail, but it sure did taste sweet!


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[cruisinfromtampa]

Cruise Compass Day 1










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