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

[harryfat1]

16 hours ago, perfect match said:

I haven’t started reading your Allure 2014 report yet. I’m too busy enjoying this one! 😃 We don’t sail until April so I should have time to read it after this one is done. I’ll let you know about the pictures.
 

One of the reasons I’m excited about sailing Allure again is the fact that there’s still no big purple slide blocking the view. While I enjoyed riding the slide on the other Oasis class ships that do have it I didn’t think it was good enough to warrant the space it takes up. 
 

Our first cruise post pandemic was on Allure with 2,200 pax on board. We felt like we were sailing on our own private mega yacht. The upcoming one in April is a B2B, a three day going to Coco Cay and Nassau followed by a four day going to Cozumel. I’m sure this will be a totally different experience than the nearly empty post pandemic sailing and even different in our other seven and eight day cruises on the other Oasis class ships to say the least. It will work for us because it is out of Port Canaveral which is only 90 minutes from our house and we’ll essentially have three sea days if you count turn around day, and I’ll get to go diving in Cozumel. 

 

 

16 hours ago, perfect match said:

I couldn’t resist opening your Allure trip report. I’m happy to tell you that at least on page one the pictures still show up! I’ll go back and read later.

That’s wonderful you can be on the Allure with only 2,200 people.  Way less than 50% capacity.  We were on the Princess Alaska cruise last year when vaccination/masks were still required and that kept the crowd at 65% of that ship’s capacity and it felt pretty quiet.  Can’t imagine how Allure feels with even fewer people.

 

Yeah, doubtful you will get anywhere near that number on your sailing next year.

 

Enjoy the last Oasis-class ship without the amplification while it lasts. 

 

2014 was my first “interactive” trip report where I interfaced with live people.  Previous reports were just one-way monologues.  I was a happier cruiser back then in my first report.  Now I’m just another grumpy old cruiser you find on CC that complaining “Things were so much better years ago…”

 

The funny side story on the 2010 Mariner report was that it was so long, back then the CC website couldn’t fit all the words in as it had a word count limit.  As the programmer back then never thought any “normal” cruiser would need so much space to write an online review that they didn’t leave enough space for my ramblings on the web page uploads. I had to email CC directly with my cruise report in MS Word format and they uploaded it for me from their end to make it fit.

[harryfat1]

7 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I saw this and immediately thought "Iron Man".  So off to Google I went to find the Iron Man picture:

 

 

Wait...that was Randy's Donuts, not Donut King.  So there's more than one big donut in the LA area???  Turns out, there are several, including one you can drive through.  The things you learn from a Cheapo Dad review.  

 

 

That is excellent knowledge of the Marvel Universe/LA Donut scene.  I did some digging myself and got a couple of pictures that are better than my original upload as we just drove by. 

 

 

Didn’t realize they lit up the place in green light at night but in summertime, it doesn’t get dark until late.

 

 

As you said, there are a few other big Donut places within the Southern California region. Part of the eclectic local pop culture.

 

https://losangelesexplorersguild.com/2022/01/21/giant-donuts-of-los-angeles/

 

If we weren’t going on the ship the next day and had free hotel breakfast from the hotel, we might have gotten something from the place. But how many people actually bring food ONTO the ship?  You always hear about people taking food off the ship (illegally) but I seldom read about people bringing food at the start of the cruise unless there’s a medical reason.

 

We will be in southern California next month to drop off my son for his college start so it might be worthwhile to get off the freeway for a quick detour to buy something.

 

As Southern California is too far for you, if you like unusual-looking donuts, try the Voodoo Donut chain.  There’s one in Universal Studios Florida in the CityWalk area.  We got a box from Universal Hollywood last Christmas as well as the original store in downtown Portland many years ago. They have also expanded to CO and TX.

 

the Huge line outside Portland store.  Mostly tourists like us want to check out the original Voodoo store.

 

 

The famous Voodoo doll donut

 

 

What goes well with Donuts?  Coffee of course.  If you are talking about the original store, visit the original Starbucks coffee in downtown Seattle.  We saw that prior to our Celebrity Alaska cruise many years ago as we do a full circle to bring the topic back to cruise-related.

 

 

Nobody is really reading this thread to learn about the Mexico cruise, right?

 

 

[harryfat1]

6 hours ago, Fishfan0073 said:

So I am also over 50 now but consider myself tech savey, but due to my anal score being high up on the scale I still print everything to bring with me.  My wife just shakes her head at me, but hey better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Yeah, better to be safe than sorry. Looks like there are 2 different camps on how the hard copy is used.

Do you use the hard copy as a “backup” – like in case of emergency, break glass – or do you use the hard copy as the “primary” resource bypassing the phone App?

 

Maybe as a question for the next trip report is how many people even have printers anymore? The younger the generation, the more likely they prefer virtual tickets so printing may not be an option for some if they don’t have a printer at home.

[harryfat1]

August 7 (Monday) Day 1

 

 

My favorite day of any cruise is Day 1.  Many people will disagree as it’s hectic and not relaxing but I like the excitement of seeing different things and experiencing a new ship is very special.  You get that “new” feeling only on day 1.

 

Remember back on post #2 when I asked people – what’s in your vacation?  Relaxing isn’t on my priority list so I really enjoy day 1 versus any given sea day in the cruise.

 

That being said, since I have already sailed on this itinerary three times previously, it has less of a “Wow” factor but it’s been over 15 years since we last sailed this way so maybe it’s good to see things with a fresh set of eyes.

 

Thinking about it, my first ever RCI cruise was this same itinerary back in 1996 on the Viking Serenade.  You get double and quadruple points if you know that the Viking Serenade was part of the RCI fleet years ago and actually sailed on her back in the old days.  I think the lifeboats on the new Icon of the Seas might be bigger than the Viking Serenade…

  

RCI hasn’t really put much emphasis on the West Coast sailing. The West Coast sailing has been dominated by Carnival and its subsidiary ships.  Next year Carnival will have a new ship, Firenze, coming over from their Costa subsidiary. So they will have 3 ships sailing from LA/Long Beach area versus 1 ship from RCI. Then there’s the HAL and Princess sailings up and down the state as well locking up the West Coast cruise market.

 

During the period of Mexican drug cartel wars, RCI and other cruise lines actually left the West Coast market, and only in recent years have they started home porting more ships on the West Coast.

 

Anyway, enough cruise history.  Queue up the Beatles to get the day going

 

 

 

 

And the Stones:

 

 

BobMac can mark the official count of when day 1 of the report starts. You folks thought I was kidding when I said, in the beginning, this is a “postman route”. It’s like taking a ship elevator from deck 1 to 12. The next deck up is…

 

[harryfat1]

Here is the view of the area from the room as we get ready to go downstairs for the complimentary hotel breakfast.

 

 

For the most part, I prefer to stay at hotels that have free breakfasts as it’s convenient and saves money compared to going out to eat or dining in at an overpriced hotel restaurant.  Did I mention I’m cheap?

 

Decent hotel breakfast.  Not that different from what you will see at Windjammer later in the cruise with bacon, waffles and eggs.

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

OK, done with breakfast.  Time to pack up and load up the fam and head off to the port. 

 

Oh, yeah, now is the time to put the cruise luggage tags on.  Either use the tag holders bought online as I showed earlier or just ask the front desk to borrow the stapler as you check out of the hotel with everyone's luggage down in the lobby area.

 

At the risk of sounding paranoid, do you folks check/double-check each corner of the hotel room before checking out? Always worry I will forget something important in each hotel room. Yeah, yeah, 9.2 on the scale also includes being paranoid…

 

Last hotel pic before hitting the freeway

 

 

We checked out of the hotel at 9:40 and headed for the port.  Per Google Maps, it’s less than a 30-minute drive,  Not bad for Southern California traffic on a Monday morning. For the rest of the US, it's a manic work day but for people on vacation, it's day 1 of the cruise

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Getting off the 110 freeway at the exit.  Be careful to exit at the right time or else you will be going ACROSS the bridge as the freeway keeps going and passing up the ship on the right.  Which in hindsight would have been a great photo opt to take it from above the bridge. But you can’t stop at the bridge to take a picture anyway.

 

 

So, you get off the freeway and there’s a huge line of cars at the offramp trying to go straight because if you program your Google map to go to Berth 92 where the Navigator is docked, that’s where it tells you to go.  See the red arrow.  The only problem is every one of your fellow cruisers and their cousin are going the same route and the traffic is slow.

 

 

In order to bypass the lines, map it to USS Iowa Museum and you will go on the Blue line and bypass all the traffic jams of the red line as there's no traffic on the city streets and you can enter into the loop at the midpoint..

 

Yeah, yeah, my arrows suck. You try to draw with your feet and toes and show me your arrows look…

 

The Blue arrow will get you to USS Iowa and then you drive pass it for another few hundred feet and you will get to the luggage drop area.

[Another_Critic]

4 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Thinking about it, my first ever RCI cruise was this same itinerary back in 1996 on the Viking Serenade.  You get double and quadruple points if you know that the Viking Serenade was part of the RCI fleet years ago and actually sailed on her back in the old days. 

 

My parents and brother sailed on "Viking Serenade" before she was Viking Serenade.  She was built as cruiseferry MS Scandinavia.  They actually cruised to the Bahamas with their car.

[JamesEM]

Harryfat1, Yes week 1 and week 3 were the same but what I did for week 1 was to take a ships tour, then for week 3 I rented a taxi to go back and did my own tour.  Depending on the number of ships in port (the fewer the better) you can get a deal on renting a taxi by the hour.  I did not stay on the ship for any port days, on turn around days I would go shopping/sight seeing.  I found out there was a crew bus that passengers can use for a small fee that goes to a shopping area not far from the Embassy Suites on 17th St. in FLL.

[perfect match]

6 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Nobody is really reading this thread to learn about the Mexico cruise, right?

At this point for me it’s all about the donuts 🍩! I may have to head down to Universal Studios to pay a visit to VooDoo Donuts!  😋 🍩 

It’s amazing how a picture of a giant donut sign can trigger such a craving. I guess the signs are doing their job. 😂

[harryfat1]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

My parents and brother sailed on "Viking Serenade" before she was Viking Serenade.  She was built as cruiseferry MS Scandinavia.  They actually cruised to the Bahamas with their car.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! Technically you weren't on the Viking Serenade but knowing the ship and its ferry history and family association gets you the points.

 

Maybe we remember the past with rose-colored glasses because even though the current cruise ships have much better hardware, the older ship experiences have better "software" in terms of food and quality of experience.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know, I sound like a crusty old dude...

[Coralc]

Viking Serenade had really great food. 😊 Their filets in the MDR were every bit as good as Chops.

[harryfat1]

21 minutes ago, perfect match said:

At this point for me it’s all about the donuts 🍩! I may have to head down to Universal Studios to pay a visit to VooDoo Donuts!  😋 🍩 

It’s amazing how a picture of a giant donut sign can trigger such a craving. I guess the signs are doing their job. 😂

I noticed you are a night owl as well in posting at 1 AM EST being in Florida.  Must be those last night munchie attacks.

 

If it wasn't for its Universal Studios connection, doubtful Voodoo would have made it that far East.

 

For those that never heard of Voodoo donuts, they are known for the "special/odd" type of donuts. More of the "wow" social media place.

 

Here are a few examples besides the Voodoo Doll I have already shown previously:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

12 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Viking Serenade had really great food. 😊 Their filets in the MDR were every bit as good as Chops.

I have never eaten at Chops (did I mention I'm cheap) so I will take your word for it but the cruise ship industry has focused on the "hardware" side of the business over the "software" side for the past 30 years.

 

Yes, we get more and more of the "wow" factor ships but the software has suffered in the industry's goal to capture the Newbie cruiser market.

[Fishfan0073]

14 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

Yeah, better to be safe than sorry. Looks like there are 2 different camps on how the hard copy is used.

Do you use the hard copy as a “backup” – like in case of emergency, break glass – or do you use the hard copy as the “primary” resource bypassing the phone App?

 

Maybe as a question for the next trip report is how many people even have printers anymore? The younger the generation, the more likely they prefer virtual tickets so printing may not be an option for some if they don’t have a printer at home.

The paper is backup but I also put the set sail passes in my apple wallet and my wife's.  So in really the paper is the backup to the backup.  

[Fishfan0073]

19 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

OK, done with breakfast.  Time to pack up and load up the fam and head off to the port. 

 

Oh, yeah, now is the time to put the cruise luggage tags on.  Either use the tag holders bought online as I showed earlier or just ask the front desk to borrow the stapler as you check out of the hotel with everyone's luggage down in the lobby area.

 

At the risk of sounding paranoid, do you folks check/double-check each corner of the hotel room before checking out? Always worry I will forget something important in each hotel room. Yeah, yeah, 9.2 on the scale also includes being paranoid…

 

Last hotel pic before hitting the freeway

 

 

We checked out of the hotel at 9:40 and headed for the port.  Per Google Maps, it’s less than a 30-minute drive,  Not bad for Southern California traffic on a Monday morning. For the rest of the US, it's a manic work day but for people on vacation, it's day 1 of the cruise

 

 

 

 

 

I guess I am a 9.2 on the anal scale as well.   So far every time you have mentioned being anal about something I say to myself, well I do that.

 

[maggie416]

On 8/20/2023 at 1:32 AM, harryfat1 said:

After selecting the time slot, you will need to complete the travel document info on the App and take a picture that is similar to a passport picture but it was basically useless as they re-took our pictures at the cruise terminal anyway as they didn’t like the ones we uploaded via the App.

 

A few weeks prior to cruising, you will be able to print your luggage tags from the online account as well as the set sail pass.  Which is similar to the boarding pass to get on the plane.

 

You will need the set sail pass to board the ship.  Being anal, besides downloading it on my phone, I printed hard copies of the pass for the entire family.  Just being paranoid about not able to access my phone for whatever reason at the port.  Yeah, yeah, I know, but the anal scale of 9.2 is no joke…

 

I bet I am not the only person here on CC that brings a hard copy as a backup. If anyone else prints out hard copies of the set sail pass, leave a comment below. We anal people need to unite.

 

Up to 2 days prior, you will need to complete a health questionnaire to see if you are well enough to cruise.

 

There are other things on the App that will self-populate as your cruise nears.  I think the names of the entertainers started showing up about the week prior to sailing.

 

Screen shot of the App:

 

 

 

I am 10.0 anal!!!! Stay up until MN at the 45 day check in to get the first check in time and always have a hard copy of set sail pass, would never cruise without it!!!!! LOL,  very paranoid!

Marg

[Jimbo]

13 hours ago, harryfat1 said:

I noticed you are a night owl as well in posting at 1 AM EST being in Florida.  Must be those last night munchie attacks.

 

If it wasn't for its Universal Studios connection, doubtful Voodoo would have made it that far East.

 

For those that never heard of Voodoo donuts, they are known for the "special/odd" type of donuts. More of the "wow" social media place.

 

Here are a few examples besides the Voodoo Doll I have already shown previously:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey why  No R-rated donut pictures?  I know they have them there. 🤣😁😋

Edited August 24, 2023 by Jimbo

[harryfat1]

9 hours ago, Fishfan0073 said:

The paper is backup but I also put the set sail passes in my apple wallet and my wife's.  So in really the paper is the backup to the backup.  

 

3 hours ago, Fishfan0073 said:

I guess I am a 9.2 on the anal scale as well.   So far every time you have mentioned being anal about something I say to myself, well I do that.

 

 

There are probably people out there reading this thread and scoffing at what we are doing and thinking, that’s child’s play.  I am WAY more anal compared to these chumps.

 

Having a backup of a backup should automatically add a couple of points to your anal score. By the time you get to your 5^th backup and still worry about needing a 6^th backup, then it’s therapy time…

[harryfat1]

3 hours ago, maggie416 said:

I am 10.0 anal!!!! Stay up until MN at the 45 day check in to get the first check in time and always have a hard copy of set sail pass, would never cruise without it!!!!! LOL,  very paranoid!

Marg

Interesting.  I know I had to do this for Disneyworld as they open dining reservations 180 days out and I had to get up at 6 AM to book my dining reservations as I had to plan out where I would be eating 6 months out at Disneyworld. 

 

Never realized the cruise industry is drifting in that direction.

 

So exactly how anal/paranoid are you to be a "10.0"? 

 

How many reminders on your phone/computer do you set up to remind yourself of the 45^th day?

 

As you get close to midnight, do you close all the tabs on the web browsers on your computer to make sure the RCI tab is the only one running so as not to slow the computer down? 

 

Do you have the Phone App up and running as well as your computer as to have a “backup” in case the primary option isn’t working?

 

Do you have a tablet nearby with the App open to have a backup of a backup?

 

Speaking of backup, do you worry about your electricity failing as you approach midnight? 

 

Do you have a backup generator in the backyard all fueled up and ready to go if your main electricity fails?

 

How reliable is your Wi-Fi router at home?  Do you have a second Wi-Fi router standing by in case the main one fails? The laptop isn’t very useful without Wi-Fi.

 

Inquiring mind wants to know…

[harryfat1]

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Hey why  No R-rated donut pictures?  I know they have them there. 🤣😁😋

Haha, I leave that to you.

 

My altered ego is “Cheapo Dad” – the second word implies I’m a family guy.  As such, I can’t get too aggressive in the rated R camp.

 

The most risqué I get here on CC is the “Baby Got Back” song as my buddy @BIBPhotography will tell you that is my signature song.

 

You are more than welcome to add any pictures you like – until the censorship folks at CC ban you for life…

[harryfat1]

OK, onward and forward with more day 1 boarding info

 

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

After you enter the loop of the cruise terminal "race track" area, you will see the USS Iowa museum and the Navigator of the Seas to the right

 

 

Similar to a typical airport drop-off scenario, you drop off everyone in your party and then you go and park the car on the other side.

 

Note the porters there to help people load and unload, depending on if they are coming or going. 

 

Try to flag down one of the porters and give them the big suitcases unless you really enjoy lugging them onto the ship yourself.  Don't forget to tip the guy.  Have some small bills ready.

 

[harryfat1]

After I dropped off the family and all the suitcases, I went to park the car while they flagged down the porter for the drop-off.

 

The parking lot at San Pedro is $20/day.  Which is robbery considering it's uncovered but it's a short walk to the ship.

 

 

Remember the bridge in the previous post?  It would have been cool to get some pictures from there.

 

 

Walking toward the family after parking the car.  Notice the HUGE covered building on the right.  We will see that on the last day when we get off the ship.

 

 

Met up with the family. If you need extra luggage tags, they can help you at the table here

 

[harryfat1]

Time to walk toward Tent City and start the check-in process

 

 

Two time slots are allowed inside.

 

Let's see how long is the Check-In Process. The timestamp of this picture was 10:29 AM.  

 

 

If your timeslot is after the listed time, you are asked to stand in that line to wait outside by the pretty palm trees...Yeah, be glad it's not raining.

 

As you recall, our time slot was 11 AM so we were allowed inside the tent city line to the immediate right

 

[harryfat1]

Inside the tent city as we look at the glamour part of cruise travel that no cruise line promotional brochure will ever show

 

 

Inside the tent wrap around a couple of times into the next tent where they screen you like TSA and you need to take out the cell phones and they scan the backpacks/carry-ons. Go to the RCI website for a list of stuff not allowed on the cruise ship.  Especially important for first-time cruisers as the restricted list has some common household items like surge protectors and iron.  Be sure to know the list before packing them.

 

But better than TSA as you don’t have to take off your shoes.  All your fellow cruisers appreciate you leaving your shoes on as they stand near you…

 

No photography is allowed inside the security area so you will just have to take my word on it.

 

After the security tent (on the right), you finally made it inside the cruise terminal - officially called World Cruise Center Berth 92 

 

 

Restroom to the immediate left in case someone needs it.  As I didn't need to go, you folks won't get any urinal pictures this time...