Navigator Doing Circles off CA Coast

[skiingj]

Just off the Koningsdam and while flying San Diego to Sacramento I noticed a RCL ship in a strange postion.  It was between LA and SAN at 11am.  Looked at the Navigator itinerary and it left LA yesterday. 

[gmerick]

Appears to be it's normal sailing pattern:

[taglovestocruise]

Three day cruise. Left yesterday, spends all day Saturday as a sea day covering the whopping 170 mile trip. Fun day in Ensenada and back to LA Sunday night with early morning drop-off in LA.  Three day booze cruise. Not a bad trip with inside cabins under $50 pp pn.  D+ vouchers are worth about $70 pp pn. Makes you wonder why they are not profitable yet.

Edited November 27, 2022 by taglovestocruise

[neverbeenhere]

Lots of drinking, gambling and specialty restauranting on these cruises. 

[skiingj]

Good info.  Thanks.  They should sail in warmer water.  😉

[fac429]

Late to this discussion, but this must be a fairly common thing.  Was on the Navigator in October, and during dinner I said "what a beautiful sunset... on the wrong side of the ship?  Are we heading back to LA already?"  But a few minutes later that beautiful sunset continued on the other side of the ship.  We were definitely going in a circle.  Maybe that was so that people on both sides of the dining room could enjoy the sunset, I don't know. 

 

I thought it might also have to do with the fact that our sailing was the first where they were using a new renewable fuel source and speculated that they might be trying to get a sense of how well it was working.  Whatever the reason, we were definitely doing loop-de-loops at sea.

[smokeybandit]

With so little distance those itineraries need to travel, they just hang out at sea.

[fac429]

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

With so little distance those itineraries need to travel, they just hang out at sea.

 

Also true, particularly on that cruise.  You could've easily beat us to Ensenada by bicycle.

[corgigrl]

We were on Navigator for a three nighter that turned into a cruise to nowhere last August. Civil unrest in in Mexico that weekend put an end to our planned Ensenada stop. We putted around in the Pacific for three days at a snail’s pace. Probably never even entered Mexican waters. 

 

[Coralc]

When we were on Viking Serenade, many years ago, itinerary was San Diego, Catalina, Ensenada. The captain announced that for those wondering why it took 17 hours to go from SD to Catalina, "We were lost, 20 miles off the California Coast, and we were going in circles all night" 😄 But now we have arrived, and the tenders will be arriving shortly.

 

I think they put on the GPS at some point and just mostly stay in one place overnight. People want to feel like they are on a cruise! 

[gottagoacruzn]

How does that happen? Lost at sea, come on!!! Seems alittle odd.

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, gottagoacruzn said:

How does that happen? Lost at sea, come on!!! Seems alittle odd.

It was Captain humor. 😄I guess you had to be there. ☺️

Edited February 11, 2023 by Coralc

[corgigrl]

1 hour ago, Coralc said:

It was Captain humor. 😄I guess you had to be there. ☺️

And they do it every week, twice! 😏

[ONECRUISER]

14 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

With so little distance those itineraries need to travel, they just hang out at sea.

Yup, Daughter did this Cruise in Nov. Then 2+ decades ago Royal use to do a 5nite Bahama Cruises. With couple Sea Days puttering along 3-5kt off Florida Coast. Woke one nite at 3am from whole Ship rocking side to side from waves as we were stopped going nowhere for hrs. Was a weird feeling

[Bruin Steve]

I always have a good laugh when on ANY cruise that leaves San Pedro on embarkation day at, say, 5:00 pm and pulls into Catalina at 8:00 am the next morning....WORLD'S SLOWEST SHIP!   I just keep thinking back to the old Four Preps song from 1958:

 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Bruin Steve

[Sianli]

On 11/26/2022 at 5:39 PM, taglovestocruise said:

Three day cruise. Left yesterday, spends all day Saturday as a sea day covering the whopping 170 mile trip. Fun day in Ensenada and back to LA Sunday night with early morning drop-off in LA.  Three day booze cruise. Not a bad trip with inside cabins under $50 pp pn.  D+ vouchers are worth about $70 pp pn. Makes you wonder why they are not profitable yet.

What is D+ voucher?

[ONECRUISER]

23 minutes ago, Sianli said:

What is D+ voucher?

Crown and Anchor Member, when you get to Diamond Plus(D+) Level get free bag wash/fold 

[mek]

9 hours ago, Coralc said:

When we were on Viking Serenade, many years ago, itinerary was San Diego, Catalina, Ensenada. The captain announced that for those wondering why it took 17 hours to go from SD to Catalina, "We were lost, 20 miles off the California Coast, and we were going in circles all night" 😄 But now we have arrived, and the tenders will be arriving shortly.

 

I think they put on the GPS at some point and just mostly stay in one place overnight. People want to feel like they are on a cruise! 

The Viking Serenade down the west coast of Mexico was our first Royal cruise.