Review - Navigator of the Seas (9/20-9/23)

[Cruiser_1977]

Pre-Cruise: I booked parking through Spot Hero. Parked at the Embassy Suites in Crystal City. They have an airport shuttle. I paid $44. If I had parked at Reagan it would have been $68. Flight was direct DCA to MIA. Transfer to the Port through Royal. The transfer service was fantastic. I have never had a cruise line employee board the bus and give a little speech - telling parents that a ship is a mini city and to be vigilant. To the adults the same thing, don’t take your safety for granted. Below are pictures of the transfer meeting spot at MIA (near baggage claim) and my first peek at the ship.

Embarkation: From the time I got off of the bus until I was on the ship was less than 5 minutes! We got off the bus and the cruise line employees told us to just leave our bags by the bus and someone would be over to get them. There was no one to tip. It was strange and I felt weird leaving my bag there. Into the terminal, up the escalator and over to priority. A lady scanned my phone (I had the app loaded and ready) and asked if I’d been feeling ill at all recently. She then directed me to the security screening. From there directly to the ship – AMAZING efficiency. Below are the Lime & Coconut drinks, I had the Aperol Spritz. I caught of glimpse of Mario working from his cabana. I sat in a cabana a bit further down the deck.

 

Stateroom: Loved my cabin and there will be video and details in the Cabin thread. Junior Suite – Deck 10 – 1344. Rooms were ready at 1:00pm on the nose and my bag was at my room when I opened the door to leave again at 1:30!

Service: Wonderful service. I never met my room steward. Cabin was serviced twice a day. The room was always tidy. I LOVED my dinner servers. Aiman and Josephine were fantastic. Bartenders and bar servers were also pleasant and fun.
 

CocoCay:  I was up and at the gym, had a bite to eat and then was the first one off the ship. I already knew where I wanted to “camp” for the day. The island is wonderful. I would go again for sure! The weather was not great. A bit of sun here and there before 12pm. Mostly cloudy with showers. Finally, after grabbing a chicken sandwich as the Snack Shack, I gave up. The wind was terrible. I went back to the ship to explore and read before dinner.

 

Nassau: Terrible weather, again. I had not planned to visit. However, I wanted to lay in the sun, read, drink, people watch. Nope. Raining, cold and windy. I wandered the ship, watched some trivia, read, watched a movie.

Food: I like GOOOOD food. I consider Ruth Chris a good steak not a great steak. I was expecting a solid three based on reviews (scale 1-5). Overall a solid 4. I ate dinner two nights in the MDR and once at the Windjammer. Breakfast each morning in the Windjammer. Lunch on embarkation was at El Loco Fresh and then the Windjammer for Saturday and Sunday. I truly enjoyed the MDR. Windjammer was completely average. I do like that they have the Freestyle soda machines. I can’t believe they never had pizza in there. You travel to deck 5 the Café Promenade or order Room Service to get pizza. El Loco Fresh was good. I had a simple chicken quesadilla.

 

Of Note:  The only show I saw was a Battle of the Sexes contest. It was lively and fun! The piano playing, musical comedian from Schooners, was amazing. If you are a wine drinker prepared to be disappointed with the options available with the Drink Package. The one I drank was the Andrew Peace Cabernet Sauvignon. Bourbon – No Woodford. I found Bulleit in the Royal Theater when I was wandering around on the last day. Most passengers were polite and friendly. LOTS of families and groups (bachelor and bachelorette, Quince, birthdays, etc.). I did not witness any elevator rudeness or disgusting drunkenness. It really was a lovely, relaxing few days.

Disembarkation: I was up at 6:00am. I showered, then ate a quick bite and was headed off at 7:15. I did self-assist. I was sitting on the shuttle by 7:30.

Final Thoughts:  I would sail on the Navigator again. Based on this one trip Royal is heads and tails above NCL and Carnival. I was worried about the ship being bigger than my previous ships. It didn’t overwhelm me. I was able to find my way quite easily. The ship, the food, the staff, the fellow passengers all put this ahead of the other two, IMHO.

Happy to answer any questions if I can!

[The Fun Researcher]

Great review, and sounds like you really made the most of your time.

 

You just sailed on what may be our favorite ship in the fleet.  (Royal, please give us an AMPED ship out of North America for longer itineraries!)  Love what Royal is doing to AMP their ships.

Dan

Edited September 24, 2019 by The Fun Researcher

[Cruiser_1977]

Now for some pictures. I'll try to group them so they make sense. First, chicken quesadilla from El Loco Fresh.

Coffee/Tea setup in the cabin.

[Cruiser_1977]

Dining Room and Dinner #1:

 

 

 

[Cruiser_1977]

End Game from a hammock!!

[JDGGG]

Jenny, great photos and review. What did you think of Coco Cay?

[Cruiser_1977]

Dinner Wine List:

 

[Cruiser_1977]

@JDGGG LOVED CocoCay! Sad the weather wasn't better because it was great! Some pics:

[JDGGG]

Looks amazing. Did you rent a cabana?

[George C]

Thanks, love navigator, I think it’s the perfect size for a cruise ship , did you see the ice show? Any other entertainment!

[Cruiser_1977]

@JDGGG I did not rent a cabana. I hung out at Oasis Lagoon by the pool. Here is a video of the walk from the entrance of CocoCay to Oasis Lagoon. Sorry it's "bouncy" I was using my iPhone, walking and it was WINDY! Took me just 4:51 to walk it. There are trams. That have specific pick-up and drop-off locations. I kept seeing folks try to hail one like a taxi. Doesn't work that way.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bpTPzhag9FJT3yPXAL1TlmsV7QdDiimk/view?usp=sharing

 

This is a link to a video of the walk from Oasis Lagoon to the Snack Shack/Beach.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ipQBbGzB_dPd5_Sc_GWBPJTzUi_nxiD5/view?usp=sharing

 

Cabin 1344 - Junior Suite Deck 10

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1opBufYweZRYRdI3i7Hsz-9xma0IFfQCD/view?usp=sharing

Edited September 24, 2019 by JennyB1977

[JDGGG]

Wow thanks for the info. Do you have a webpage set up with pix and vids of your past cruises?

[Cruiser_1977]

@JDGGG Thank you! In my signature is a link to a blog I do for fun, so it's not super fancy. All of my reviews are linked in my signature also.

[Cruiser_1977]

@George C The only "entertainment" I went to was the Battle of the Sexes game show type thing. I believe it is where the Ice Show happens. I did not see the Ice Show. I also watched some music trivia and the musical comedian. I am not much for shows.

[racerxspeedy]

Great review - we are on NOS now.  Love the new “Amped” ship.   No piano player in schooner bar this cruise.   Only 98 diamond and above.   Only 4 people in the lounge last night including Mario.  

 

Great weather so far - 82 and sunny in Nassau. 

Great pool and bar bands.  

The ice show iskate was new -  added drones.  Very talented skaters and good costumes - no story.  

Edited September 24, 2019 by racerxspeedy

[LuCruise]

Great review.  We were on Navigator in August and really enjoyed the ship.  (Only got to see the ship because of Hurricane Dorian so missed CoCo Cay).  Too bad your port days weren't great weather.  Sounds like overall you enjoyed.

[ShillyShally]

Great review, thank you!  Navigator was the first Royal ship I sailed and I was excited by what they did to upgrade her!

[Cruiser_1977]

Lots of (american) football and tv channel queries. Yes, there was Sunday football. Playmakers was packed! Here are the channels from the tv:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bb71]

I enjoy reading the reviews of coco cay.  We were there in Aug and really enjoyed it.  We are booked again Aug 2020 on the Independence.  We were able to book a Oasis Lagoon cabana for $350 for the previous trip and I doubt that I will see a price that low again. The current cabana prices are insane.  With one ship in port, Mariner, the island was not crowded at all except for water slides.   In the near future, 2 ships at Coco Cay will be the norm and 3 could be in the future, so I am not looking forward to that.   I do appreciate the 3-4 itineraries the RCCL offers, but I wish there was another option to Nassau.  That is on busy disappointing port.  

Edited September 24, 2019 by bb71

[Luckynana]

We enjoyed Navigator July 2018.   We celebrated my aunt and uncle's 60th Anniversary with their 3 children, spouses, their grandchildren and great grandchildren.  What a great opportunity to meet their granddaughters and several great grandchildren., who live all over our Country.  It's a beautiful ship!!!  Glad you had a great cruise!!

[Cruiser_1977]

MDR Dinner #2. Apologies, I forgot to take a picture of the menu. I had escargot which were amazing!! Greek Salad & Steak Diane - medium rare. I ordered Apple Pie but got distracted talking to a mother and son and forgot to take a picture. It was yummy.

 

Edited September 24, 2019 by JennyB1977

[Cruiser_1977]

English Pub: Bulleit was not on the menu but they had a bit.

Edited September 24, 2019 by JennyB1977

[Cruiser_1977]

Schooner Bar:

 

 

[Biker19]

28 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

Apologies, I forgot to take a picture of the menu.

Not really needed if the RCI app listing was correct - was it?

[Cruiser_1977]

@Biker19 I have no idea. Once I received my Sea Pass,  I think I only used the app for my folio and the deck plan.