Cheapo Dad's Trip Report on the Navigator of the Seas (Maybe with few pictures added)...

[Jimbo]

37 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

The Embassy Suites I looked at is near the Airport 16 miles from cruise terminal. Since I’m not familiar with the area I’ll do more research. I do like to stay fairly close to the cruise terminal.

Stay in Long Beach, much nicer more things to see and do.. Don't fret over staying close to the San Pedro Terminal.

https://www.yardhouse.com/menu/mains/steaks-chops?setRestaurant=8301&cmpid=br:yh_ag:ie_ch:dry_ca:YHGMB_sn:gmb_gt:long-beach-ca-8301_pl:menu_rd:1001

 

We also went here for breakfast the morning of our cruise.

https://www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Jimbo

[Sea Dog]

Just now, Jimbo said:

Stay in Long Beach, much nicer more things to see and do.. Don't fret over staying close to the San Pedro Terminal.

Thanks. How far is it usually to drive from LB to San Pedro cruise port? Naps in LA can be deceiving because of traffic.

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Thanks. How far is it usually to drive from LB to San Pedro cruise port? Naps in LA can be deceiving because of traffic.

7 miles, 13 minutes

[Sea Dog]

5 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

7 miles, 13 minutes

Thanks that’s not bad at all.

[Jimbo]

8 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Thanks that’s not bad at all.

I just checked my old emails, we stayed at The Westin  in Long Beach, 333 East Ocean Blvd. Long Beach California 90802

[Sea Dog]

2 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I just checked my old emails, we stayed at The Westin  in Long Beach, 333 East Ocean Blvd. Long Beach California 90802

Thanks I’ve added this to my notes.

[harryfat1]

5 hours ago, h20skibum said:

 

I miss those good old days, as you watched people trying to navigate the stairs with their life vests, dragging a strap in one hand, and trying to not spill that drink in the other hand.

 

This is from an old Independence of the Seas sailing in 2009.

 

Excellent point, Mark.  In my haste to post my info, I totally forgot to drop in the "good old days" of Muster Drill. 

 

Although none of my pictures are nearly as good as your "sea of red" life vests.

 

I think the 2009 timeframe was near the end of the practice of wearing vests to the Promenade deck.  I looked back at my photo archives and from photos of the 2009 Alaska cruise on Celebrity, we assembled on deck without life vests.

 

Going further back to the Carnival cruise from 2008, here's a picture of me and the boys inside the cabin before we went to Muster Drill. They were issued the "junior-sized" life vests.

 

[dani negreanu]

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I’m hoping it’s just because they don’t book that far out.

 

In my experience, bookings open one year before. I was successful to book more than an year in advance when I called the hotel directly.

[harryfat1]

4 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

Thanks Judy. I have looked into the Doubletree and Embassy Suites close to port. Unfortunately when I go to their sites and put in the dates both hotels say they are sold out. I’m hoping it’s just because they don’t book that far out.

 

I believe the major chain hotel reservations don't go out for more than 1 year. Airlines go 11 months out.  LA/Orange County region is a massive area so you will have no problem finding a hotel room for the night or two.

 

The only question is how many nights pre-cruise you plan to spend in the area as that will likely influence where your hotel will be.

 

I think anything from LAX onward south to Long Beach will work.  We were near LAX and it was less than a 25-minute drive to get there on the freeway as it's a reverse commute on the 110 Freeway so it's not that big of deal as you would need an Uber right either way to get to the hotel on arrival date from LAX or going to port the next morning.

 

We stayed in Torrance pre-cruise for our 2010 and 2012 cruises.  That's a nice area as well so if you find any hotel bargains in that area.

 

Here's the Miyako Hotel near the Japan district in Torrance.  Lots of Japanese restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g33182-d1650996-Reviews-Miyako_Hybrid_Hotel-Torrance_California.html

 

 

[Katems75]

16 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

But before you get too comfortable, the workers are trying hard to get you to check in at your assigned muster station while you are still on the Promenade deck.  You were supposed to have watched the video on your App on how to put on the lifevest and know the sounds of the emergency drill and so on. 

 

This is one of those “things are better now” compared to pre-covid.  In the old days, you had to stand outside the Promenade deck about 30 minutes prior to the ship’s sail away with thousands of your fellow cruisers in the heat to listen to the long announcements and watch the workers put on the life vests in front of you.

 

If you really go back even further, in the really old days, everyone had to take the vests from their cabins and put them on while standing on the deck.  They stopped that after a while and for a while it was no vest, but just showed up.

 

Now it’s easier as you just go to your muster station, let the workers at that station scan your phone to signify you were there and you understood the rules and you are done.

 

On paper, I applaud the idea as it’s fast and efficient since nobody likes to stand outside.  But the 9.2 anal/paranoia person in me always wonders how many first-time cruisers really paid attention to the app on this and really know what to do in an emergency?  Do they even know where the life vests are in their cabins?

 

You all know full well that if something goes wrong on some future sailing and people don’t know enough about how to use/find the life vests, there will be tons of talking heads on National news shows asking why people are unaware of the life vest process because it was simplified/turned virtual back in the old days (current)...

I didn't think the life vests were in the cabins...I thought they were at the muster stations??  Yikes, I've only done two cruises but I guess I am one they didn't get through to!  One was pre covid and one post.

 

[Sea Dog]

6 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

In my experience, bookings open one year before. I was successful to book more than an year in advance when I called the hotel directly.

Yes that what I think too. It’s just weird that the website would say “sold out” instead of just graying out the dates.

 

 

2 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

I believe the major chain hotel reservations don't go out for more than 1 year. Airlines go 11 months out.  LA/Orange County region is a massive area so you will have no problem finding a hotel room for the night or two.

 

The only question is how many nights pre-cruise you plan to spend in the area as that will likely influence where your hotel will be.

 

I think anything from LAX onward south to Long Beach will work.  We were near LAX and it was less than a 25-minute drive to get there on the freeway as it's a reverse commute on the 110 Freeway so it's not that big of deal as you would need an Uber right either way to get to the hotel on arrival date from LAX or going to port the next morning.

 

We stayed in Torrance pre-cruise for our 2010 and 2012 cruises.  That's a nice area as well so if you find any hotel bargains in that area.

 

Here's the Miyako Hotel near the Japan district in Torrance.  Lots of Japanese restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g33182-d1650996-Reviews-Miyako_Hybrid_Hotel-Torrance_California.html

 

 

Thanks I will look into those. Appreciate your help.

[harryfat1]

Hi everyone,

 

We are going to the Cirque du Soleil show later today so I won't be home to post any Mexico cruise pictures today but will share a few highlights from today's event later on - maybe for some that's probably a better trade-off as you are tired of seeing cruise related photos.

 

Here's the preview of the show:

 

 

 

[perfect match]

We are big fans of Cirque du Soleil and have seen quite a few of their shows. Haven’t been to one in quite a while though. Before the pandemic, I think. We haven’t seen Drawn To Life at Disney Springs yet. Since we haven’t made any plans for our anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks, that sounds like a plan to me! 😀

 

Going to check for tickets now, and to see if any of the traveling Cirque shows will be in the area soon. 
 

UPDATE - Bazaar will be in St Petersburg in Feb-March. That’s workable as a day trip for us.  

 

Corteo will be in Jacksonville later in the spring. That’s a bit farther than we want to go for a day trip, so while it is possible it would take a bit more planning. We may have already seen Corteo, but if we did it was quite a while ago. I’m pretty sure I remember some of the scenes that were in your first video.

Edited August 27, 2023 by perfect match

[JaynBNA]

Enjoying your trip report...do you or others happen to know which specialty restaurant is open for lunch on boarding day on Navigator?

[bobmacliberty]

6 hours ago, perfect match said:

We are big fans of Cirque du Soleil and have seen quite a few of their shows. Haven’t been to one in quite a while though. Before the pandemic, I think. We haven’t seen Drawn To Life at Disney Springs yet. Since we haven’t made any plans for our anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks, that sounds like a plan to me! 😀

 

Going to check for tickets now, and to see if any of the traveling Cirque shows will be in the area soon. 
 

UPDATE - Bazaar will be in St Petersburg in Feb-March. That’s workable as a day trip for us.  

 

Corteo will be in Jacksonville later in the spring. That’s a bit farther than we want to go for a day trip, so while it is possible it would take a bit more planning. We may have already seen Corteo, but if we did it was quite a while ago. I’m pretty sure I remember some of the scenes that were in your first video.

 

I'm so glad that you posted this.  We're also big Cirque fans, and also haven't been to one in a while.  Our first show was La Nouba in Orlando which we've seen twice.  We were hooked.  The trampoline act with the building facades was amazing.  We've also seen O, Mystere, KA (twice)...all in Vegas...plus Allegria in Columbus.  Since we live close to Jacksonville, I'll need to check out Corteo.  

[harryfat1]

4 hours ago, JaynBNA said:

Enjoying your trip report...do you or others happen to know which specialty restaurant is open for lunch on boarding day on Navigator?

Hi,

 

Thanks for reading along and appreciate your compliment.

 

We didn't utilize any Specialty restaurant so I can't comment for sure what is open.  I'm sure someone will chime in quickly after reading this to provide the exact info.

 

I know for sure the Playmaker sports bar was open for onboarding lunch.  See the picture below as people were camped out and you can see their luggage with them.

 

 

I want to say Hooked was open as well as there was a guy at the front podium around 1 PM trying to get people to eat there but he didn't get many takers.

 

They use one of the specialty restaurants on deck 11 as part of "The Key" extra fee program to provide a sit-down lunch but I can't give you any details on which one and what food is covered under that program.

[harryfat1]

9 hours ago, perfect match said:

We are big fans of Cirque du Soleil and have seen quite a few of their shows. Haven’t been to one in quite a while though. Before the pandemic, I think. We haven’t seen Drawn To Life at Disney Springs yet. Since we haven’t made any plans for our anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks, that sounds like a plan to me! 😀

 

Going to check for tickets now, and to see if any of the traveling Cirque shows will be in the area soon. 
 

UPDATE - Bazaar will be in St Petersburg in Feb-March. That’s workable as a day trip for us.  

 

Corteo will be in Jacksonville later in the spring. That’s a bit farther than we want to go for a day trip, so while it is possible it would take a bit more planning. We may have already seen Corteo, but if we did it was quite a while ago. I’m pretty sure I remember some of the scenes that were in your first video.

Good to talk to another Cirque fan.

 

I tried to remember yesterday how many Cirque shows I have seen and had to do a count in the old man's memory bank:

 

Alegria/Varekai/Mystere/La Nouba/Love/Ka were the old shows I had seen and now adding Corteo to the list. 

 

Still need to go and see "O" as that was the crown jewel show in Bellagio which RCI "stole" (errr, I meant inspired by) to create their water shows on the Oasis class ships but the "O" tickets are very expensive for Cheapo people like me to buy.  Guess will need to suck it up and buy it as a "bucket list" item.

 

Corteo has been around for a while so not surprising if you saw it.

[marci22]

On 8/25/2023 at 9:32 PM, Coralc said:

I have this book. Punctuation is underrated.

[harryfat1]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I'm so glad that you posted this.  We're also big Cirque fans, and also haven't been to one in a while.  Our first show was La Nouba in Orlando which we've seen twice.  We were hooked.  The trampoline act with the building facades was amazing.  We've also seen O, Mystere, KA (twice)...all in Vegas...plus Allegria in Columbus.  Since we live close to Jacksonville, I'll need to check out Corteo.  

I just posted my Cirque history and we have pretty similar backgrounds in the selection of shows.

 

If anyone is a Beatles fan, go check out the "Love" show in Vegas. The entire show consists of Beatles hits.

 

The "permanent" shows have better stage sets and props as the entire show is made for the theater they were housed. A perfect example is the Ka wall. You can't take that on the road. 

 

We still need to see "O" somewhere down the road.  Next time we are in Vegas for the next road trip, that has to be top of the list.

 

Few "KA" pics - a bit blurry but hard to take good photos on the cell phone in the dark with fast moving objects...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Here are some of the pictures from our show yesterday.  As with my trip report, you all get the "mail person" version with various stops instead of just 3 pictures and then we call it a day.  That's not I roll...

 

As only Patti and I are from the Bay Area, here's the intro to our subway system, BART (not the Simpsons)...

 

 

 

Saw this info for the Transbay tube while waiting for our train.  I never knew that about the tubes underneath the bay

 

 

This next picture deserves some background info.  In the old days when George Lucas was a more famous household name, if you rode BART on weekends, the train operator would point out the cranes you see around the port of Oakland as the inspiration to George Lucas in him creating the Walker Tanks from his Star Wars movies.

 

Lucas is from the Bay Area - his company is in Marin and he created his Star Wars walking tanks based on the cranes.  Part of the useless info you learned in reading this thread...

 

These are the cranes from the port

 

 

From the movies:

 

 

SF city light rain train station (MUNI) - the LED lights at top (Blue colored lights) change color few seconds

 

 

Between BART and MUNI transfer, you arrive at the front of the Chase Center in SF where the Cirque has their show in SF

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

 

We bought a Corteo Christmas ornament from the souvenir stand so that every Christmas we will remember that we attended the show

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

OK, onward and forward on the trip report for the 5% of the folks reading this thread who actually want to know about the Mexican cruise....

 

++++++++++++++

We last left off at the onboard lunch on Day 1.

 

Dessert Time.

 

They give you the small plates in the dessert section but that makes getting multiple sample items a difficult thing.  My tip is to get the bigger plate from the hot food item section and use them for the desserts so you can bring different items to sample with the family or eat it all by yourself.  No one is judging you while on vacation…

 

Don't use the small plates here

 

 

You can ONLY fit in 2 or 3 desserts comfortably on the small plates.  Then you have to get a second plate for more...

 

 

See how much more you can hold in getting a bigger plate?  You can share (or not) with people in your party.

 

Just tell yourself that you are saving water/time by not having the workers wash the second plate so you are saving the environment while you gorge on the 5th dessert on the plate... 

 

 

 

 

You will need coffee or hot tea to wash down all the desserts.  RCI serves LavAzza coffee.  I have bought these from Business Center Costco previously so I am familiar with the brand.  RCI makes its coffee pretty strong so be ready for a good kick to your coffee

 

[harryfat1]

One thing to note about Windjammer on boarding day lunch is that it will get very crowded very fast.  The major advantage of arriving early is you can get a table and start eating before the later crowd shows up. 

 

To complicate things, the cabin rooms are not ready until after 1 PM and many people who have carry-ons are rolling their luggage around the buffet area to further make the boarding lunch a chaotic scene.

 

Some people avoid this by upgrading to “The Key” option where you get a few perks such as early room access to drop off luggage as well as sit down lunch inside a restaurant and avoid the big crowd but that program is very expensive.

 

Some people rather dine at the poolside venue like El Loco Fresh (Mexican food) or down on deck 5 at Café Promenade.  The menu options there are more limited but probably less chaotic than the buffet so it’s a trade-off, depending if you prefer more food choices or fewer crowds. 

 

As someone asked previously, there are some specialty venues that might be opened on boarding day lunch so research those if that's important to you.

 

As the Windjammer becomes overflowing with more cruisers coming than leaving by 12:30, they have a pre-recorded announcement requesting that people who are done eating to vacate their tables so the other cruisers can use the space.

 

It’s a tough situation because, people carry-ons, have no place to drop them off as the cabins are not open it and they rather not drag their luggage all over the ship, including the very crowded buffet area.

 

Part of the reason why we didn’t have any carry-on luggage with us and only one backpack so that we didn't have to deal with the luggage right after boarding and it was easy to walk around the ship as we vacated the buffet area.

 

This is our second sailing on a Voyager class ship on top of 2 previous sailings on the Freedom class ships so we are very familiar with the Royal Promenade area.  Nevertheless, it was good to see the setup again after not having sailed on RCI for many years.

 

First of many sets of the Royal Promenade area.  My son said this area to him is a signature RCI cruise layout.  We all like this setup more than the Princess ship.

 

 

 

 

By then the RCI App had informed us of our table number (we have traditional dining at 8 PM) so we wanted to check out where our table is as we made our way to check out the MDR.

 

 

It is also a good opportunity to take pictures of the empty MDR as RCI does not open the area for onboard lunches.

 

As we were there taking pictures of the area, a couple of workers kept asking if we needed any help as they didn't like us just taking pictures but not like we were touching anything as we walked by.  I kept telling them we were only there to take a few pictures and that we didn’t need any help.  They kept telling me to stand in line at the front of the restaurant to talk to the head waiter if I needed help – and I kept saying I didn’t need any help.

 

Either my English is bad in them not understanding me or they are not used to people taking pictures of the empty MDR. Not the most friendly RCI Welcome Aboard crew.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by harryfat1

[harryfat1]

After MDR, it was time to check out the rest of deck 4

 

As we don’t gamble, this is the one and only picture of the casino from this cruise

 

 

Same for Schooner Bar.  The classic RCI bar where the ship has organized trivial pursuit contests is here.  I don’t have enough intelligence or memory power to attempt to play these games.  A simple man with simple mind – I like Big…

 

 

 

The typical cruise ship theater that hosts the main nightly entertainment venue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

After the theater tour, time to go up one deck to deck 5 as that's the heartbeat of the ship - the Royal Promenade.

 

 

Café Promenade where it’s opened 24 hours a day to provide quick bites and pizzas within certain time slots.  As it’s a Voyager class ship, it doesn’t have a dedicated pizza place like Sorrento’s Pizza on the Freedom class ships.

 

We stopped by here a couple of times during the cruise to grab some snacks as well as get water to bring to the cabin nightly before going to sleep.

 

 

Playmakers – the Sports Bar concept that RCI installed as part of the Amplification Process. As it costs extra to eat here, here’s the one obligatory picture from the outside and that’s my extent of checking out the place.

 

Looks like the place isn’t that busy so I guess if you plan to eat there during the cruise, boarding day lunch might work for you.  I see people with luggage as they are waiting for the cabins to open up

 

 

 

As with a typical RCI Royal Promenade setup, there’s a car on deck 5