Navigator April 1-8 Bridgetown - Live Cruise Report

[Granite543]

Hey everyone! There was some interest in posting a report for the latest Navigator cruise: Bridgetown round trip. I'm just getting this thread started so I feel motivated to post later 😀.

 

A little about me: I'm in my late 30s and I'm traveling with 2 friends of similar age. We are all family men but left our families behind on this one. They will definitely be missed greatly but that's just how this trip worked out. We are staying in a grand suite. I'm not an avid cruiser, but I do enjoy it thoroughly. I've been on 3 cruises in my life but never a luxury cruise. My 2 traveling friends have been on 1 other cruise between them.

 

Now: it's a beautiful day in Barbados! We had a tough travel day yesterday, and although we managed to have some fun, we turned in very early and not coincidentally are now up early. We are staying at a decent hotel called Infinity on the Beach. It's not that close to the port but I chose it for the typical compromise reasons of cost and quality. Our suite is directly on the ocean and I'm posting this from my balcony (picture view from my balcony included)

We are scheduled to board the ship around 11:30-Noon. I have a taxi scheduled to pick us up at 11. I'm not sure when my next post will be, but I'll try to be timely with them. I'm very excited!!

[Snackdaddy]

We are looking forward to your report and please take pictures of the Grand Suite. We are booked in one for our December Miami to Miami  cruise. 

 

Stay safe.

[RJ2002]

Thank you for starting this report.  I enjoy all live reports, but I especially like reading the impressions from new Regent customers.

 

Hope your boarding goes smoothly and that you have a great cruise.

[islandchick]

Thanks so much for the live thread. Will be following closely. Have a wonderful cruise. 

[Gilly]

Adding my thanks too!  We last said goodbye to Navigator in Cape Town having sailed across the Indian Ocean in March/April 2018.  It's been a while 😎  But we're due to be back on board this Summer (in 112 days, @briar14!) and live reports are a glorious way of gearing up and building the excitement.  Wishing you much fun and a wonderful cruise - and thank you again for sharing it with us.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Gilly

[1982CruzStart]

Can't wait to read your reports. Have a great cruise. 

[Granite543]

Hi folks! Checking in from on board Navigator! I took a taxi over to the port that got us there at exactly 11:30. Getting on board was a bit of a pain but it was as expected. A lot of lines and passport Checking. But that said I was on board by noon...the first group as far as I can tell. We did a very quick and much appreciated muster drill and then directed to deck 10 for lunch. I don't have any food pics but I did have a decent burger and some very good wings. I did some minor exploring but it's a small ship so that was fast. The service has been ridiculously good. I've been asked already literally 10 times I'd there is anything I need. It's now almost 1 and the room is not yet ready so I'm chilling back on a lounger on deck 10!

 

The ship still feels pretty empty but more passengers are finally starting to board. So far this is great, but I'm very much looking forward to the room.

[ronrick1943]

Well looks like your off to a great start—30 minutes to board the ship is good.  Have a great cruise and looking forward to reading about what you think.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Love reading this!   We just left the Explorer, and I agree that the wings are really good. FYI, my husband, the lobster lover, really enjoyed the lobster nachos.  You didn’t mention ice cream...one of the major food groups.  Well worth a visit....and they make sundaes and other ice cream stuff, too.

 

Joanie

[2012_Alaska_bound]

1 hour ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

You didn’t mention ice cream...one of the major food groups.  Well worth a visit....and they make sundaes and other ice cream stuff, too.

 

And he is sitting right next to the ice cream on Navigator!!

[Zqueeze1]

Don’t forget the other food groups at the pool bar. Have a great cruise and we look forward to your posts and pics. 
Z and TB

[jimbri]

Have a great time!

[travelwell]

Looking forward to your posts. I took my first cruise with Regent, on the Navigator, when I was 40. It was a great experience. I hope you men have a wonderful time.

[Mudhen]

11 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Don’t forget the other food groups at the pool bar. Have a great cruise and we look forward to your posts and pics. 
Z and TB

Oh yes...don't forget those other food groups....like the healthy tomato part of a good bloody mary, or the citrus in a margarita....and then there's the cereal groups represented by any good whiskey, bourbon, etc.....giggle!

[Granite543]

The rest of Day 1 was fantastic! Our room was ready shortly after my last post. Here are some pictures of the room:

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the sideways pictures...when I take a picture in portrait mode that is how it posts. I still need a pic of the full bathroom, but it is very nice with both a standing shower and a tub.

 

As i said, we are 3 singles so the third bed is a roll away that they bring during turn down service and remove in the morning (its still here as of this post, but should be gone soon).

 

We met our butler and room steward and they are nice people. We asked the butler for a few things throughout the day and he was able to accommodate nearly everything. 

 

Food: So we were supposed to eat in Prime 7 in the evening but my friend didn't pick up his dry cleaning in time and therefore doesn't have appropriate pants lol. We rescheduled prime 7 reservation for tonight in hopes we can find pants on the island. So instead we got room service from Compass Rose through our butler. I don't have any food pictures because we ate in a bit of a hurry but it was very good overall. We all got the filet minion (good and cooked accurately), my one friend got a lobster tail (perfectly cooked), we got pasta bolegenes on the side (sauce was not my cup of tea), potatoes gratin (amazing) ,and various veggies.

 

There was no show tonight so we just had some drinks in the star lounge to mixed success. I forget the name of one that was awful, but most drinks were pretty good. They make a great dark and stormy! 

 

At night we sat on the forward balcony, and watched the stars after sail away. They were amazing! It happened to be a new moon and the stars were truly glorious. I couldn't capture a picture that expressed what I saw so I won't post it. That said, the balcony is absolutely massive with a complete forward view. It wraps around from the side to the front. Here are some pics.

When you step outside:

Then it wraps:

And then some more!:

 

Then we finished the night by donating to the casino. We played a little blackjack and when it was late enough we got the dealer to transition to craps. Apparently they are having a staffing issue and can only open 2 tables at a time. This could be a big problem on this cruise because when we got there both tables are full. Eventually three seats opened up but I could see this being a problem later.

 

That's the end of Day 1! Stay tuned for day 2! We may stay on the ship day 2 because no excursions are planned and we have excursions planned for nearly every other day.

[Snackdaddy]

Thank you for posting pictures of your Grand Suite!!!  We really appreciate it.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

Stay safe.

[SanFranciscoWoman]

THANKS SO MUCH!  This is great report.  Which room did you get?

[SanFranciscoWoman]

Oh, I see Snackdaddy said it's a grand suite 🙂

[RachelG]

Thanks for posting and welcome to the Regent family!

[TucsonAnnie]

Thank you for posting the great pictures 

[ronrick1943]

Thanks you for posting, all looks good—enjoy!

[califsealion]

That balcony looks amazing!

[Granite543]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments!

So we ended up having a ship day because they changed the rules for St. Lucia as now you need a guided tour or escort while on the island. No problem at all! We started the day with room service breakfast delivered at exactly 9am and it was really splendid. Then we went to the pool deck where it rained on and off until about noon. I was personally not affected and still hung in the hot tub with a lovely drink. The drinks I've established as my "go tos" are Mai Tai, Dark N Stormy, and the Voyager!! The Voyager is actually fantastic and I really like the Splendor too. Ironically I do not care for the Navigator all that much lol.

 

For lunch we went to a nearly empty Compass Rose at about 12:30. I don't normally take food pictures but I did remember to snap a few. Everything at Compass Rose was excellent this time. I had the lentil soup, the beef empanada, and the Chinese spare ribs:

As you can see i started to dig in prior to taking a picture. My friend had the Veal Cordon Blu and it was probably the best dish of the bunch:

 

Then me and my buddies went on a games rampage...we played ladder golf, ping pong, and then trivia. We actually won trivia and my buddy won ping pong! Racking up lots of points lol.

 

Now my 2 friends are getting around the world massages and I'm chilling on the balcony watching the sunset since massages aren't my thing.

 

That'd a RC ship in the distance sailing away, I forget which one.

 

Next we are still planning.  We were supposed to eat in Prime 7 tonight but there was a miscommunication with our butler so that will be tomorrow instead. Though it might be a blessing in disguise because they just announced the are playing the 2 NCAA basketball games in the theater. So we will either eat on the pool deck and see the games, or take a chance, dress up, and go to Setti Mari and see if tables are still available at 7.

 

Tomorrow will be our first excursion! Whale watching bright and early. Stay tuned! And let me know if there are any pictures you want me to take and post 😀

[Sunprince]

The ultimate “guys trip” experience! Sounds wonderful. Enjoy your time on the Navigator and thanks for sharing!

[wishIweretravelling]

Has there been any sign of Ray Solaire, the Cruise Director, on your cruise. He had disappeared the last couple of days on the cruise before yours, and he's someone who is usually quite present to all.