Navigator....and what happened to the grand old days of cruising?

[cruiserchris2009]

Just came back from a 7 night cruise on Navigator of the seas. Of course it's awesome to cruise and I always view it as a privilege to be able to do so. I did however notice how much the cruise industry seems to have changed since my last cruise which was over 7 years ago.

 

I don't know how much is RCCL specific, navigator specific or cruise industry generally, but it was clear that the "decadence" of cruising has been greatly diminished with a lot of cutbacks. 

 

These are not complaints...and they may seem picky...no item by itself is an issue, but taken as a whole, it adds up to a less than stellar experience as compared to those of us who were fortunate enough to cruise in the "good ole days".

 

In no order, but things that I noticed:

 

1. Windjammer shuts down at 9pm. It's not that I'm in the habit of stuffing my face at midnight but an aspect of cruising was the selection and availability of food. This 9pm shutdown was made all the more prominent due to the showtimes (see next item).

 

2. My recollection was that they used to have shows and dinner seating well timed and it didn't matter if you had early or late dining. Now, the late show is 10:15pm so when you finish you second seating dinner by 9pm, you have to wait an hour and 15 minutes for the show. And then if you finish that show it's 11pm so if you decided to have a light dinner and you're feeling peckish, you have no free dining option other than Promenande which isn't much of a selection. We consistently noticed conflicts in show times with our dinner seating. It just didn't flow well. 

 

3. Room service is only once a day now, no turn down service. Again, I appreciate that was a luxury and many hotels no longer even offer daily service, but by comparison, it is a cut back from what they used to do.

 

4. The cost of the specialty restaurants was outrageous. It used to be that it was subsidized in that you pay something but it was better than "on-land" restaurant prices. Now Chops is $62.99 plus 18% and Jamies Italian was around $55 + 18%. Those are expensive even by traditional shore side restaurants. Feels like more than "inflation adjusted" pricing.

 

5. Crew/staff is as always fantastic and friendly but I definitely got the feeling of being overworked and overstretched. Service in the MDR was efficient but bar service slow. At times I wanted a second glass of wine but I knew if I ordered it they'd get it to me by the time my main course was done so I didn't bother. And everytime they asked me for my stateroom number, whether I had the beverage package etc. On my previous cruises they would always quickly learn your preferences.

 

6. Lots of nickel and diming and little cut backs. Something as simple as a tote bag in your room for beach trips etc.

 

7. Shoe excursions ungodly pricey if booking through the cruise line. And they of course give themselves the upper hand by letting RCCL booked excursions get first tender etc. Side note, I booked the beach getaway ... borderline scam. Shuttled us to a resort in a busy part of town where we ended up having to lie by the pool because the beach was awful (see picture) which we could have done at the ship if that's what we wanted. 

 

I feel the inflection point is being reached of cutbacks affecting the cruise experience, and making all inclusive resorts an attractive option again. 

 

Still to be clear, it's an awesome vacation. Go and enjoy it.

 

Side note, it's the fellow passengers sometimes that are the hardest to contend with. To wit, the family who let their kid take a big old dump on the pool deck and just quickly walked away, or the guy who sneezed a big old wet sneeze in the buffet, looked at his hand, wiped it on his shirt and proceeded to grab the serving tongs. It's a miracle we survived covid as a species.

 

The "luxury beach getaway":

 

[Merion_Mom]

I can't argue with any of your observations.  Of course, two of them made me go "eeewwwwwwww".  😮 

[SG65CB]

I agree with your observations. #4 especially. Remember you have already paid for dinner in the MDR, the specialty restaurant charge used to be more like a surcharge for upgraded dining. 

[LHARTWICK]

COVID happened.  Cruising will never be what it was prior to the pandemic.  Just have to be thankful that it's back!  And along with Merion_Mom, I also went "eeeewwwww!"  Oh my! 🤢

[shipgeeks]

Well, I for one do not totally agree.

We've done six cruises on Enchantment and Vision since the restart.  Show times were set to mesh with the early and late traditional dinner times -- I believe 7, and 9:30.  We do the 7:45 dinner time, so could go to either if we wished to. (No show reservations needed.)

Dinners moved more quickly than in the past, which is apparently what the fast-food crowd wants.  

We didn't observe anything as gross as your incidents above (thank goodness!); in fact, although much has become more casual, the Baltimore crowd is still quite pleasant and civil.

[SG65CB]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Dinners moved more quickly than in the past, which is apparently what the fast-food crowd wants.  

 

That's a good point, they have made some changes to MDR dining, some of which were protested at the time but are now the norm. They used to take your dinner order, then take your dessert order when you were done with dinner. Now they do it all at once which saves time but caused an uproar when they made the switch. I also remember when the assistant waiter would come around the table with a basket of rolls and you'd ask for the one you want. Now they just put the basket on the table. 

[Sunshine3601]

What beach is that resort?   Did you go to excursion desk and let them know the poor quality if this excursion?  

Hopefully they will stop selling it if enough people give them negative feedback.

 

And Yup those 2 disgusting events made me go eeeewwww too!  

[easyqueasy]

6 hours ago, cruiserchris2009 said:

 

Side note, it's the fellow passengers sometimes that are the hardest to contend with. To wit, the family who let their kid take a big old dump on the pool deck and just quickly walked away, or the guy who sneezed a big old wet sneeze in the buffet, looked at his hand, wiped it on his shirt and proceeded to grab the serving tongs. It's a miracle we survived covid as a species.

 

 

Just curious if anyone spoke up or just let it go? Glad you enjoyed your cruise. 

[3yorkies]

I just got off Navigator yesterday.   I did great specialty lunches for less than the cost of a quarter pounder meal at McDonald's but I booked in advance on Black Friday.   I loved the fast service in the MDR and had two amazing servers.  I never, ever eat in the buffet on the ship or ones on land.    I saw all the shows I wanted by going at 7 or 10 since dinner was at 8.   I had only three negatives.   The pizza was not good like on a ship with Sorrento's, children were out of control with parents nowhere in sight and the ship staff just ignored it, and the non-smoking section was tiny in the casino with 14 of the few machines there shut down, and no enforcement of the no smoking, although I did persuade some to leave by pointing out the signs that were posted.   The first night they announced a few times that smoking was ONLY allowed while actively playing, but then never said it again and did not stopped those who just came in to use the casino as a smoking room.  But the diamond lounge concierge was wonderful, all the bartenders were great (love the Bamboo Room!), and my room was perfect.   So I give the cruise a 90%.   I already booked another and currently have 5 booked in 2024.  Love cruising even with a few imperfections.  

[budmeister]

7 hours ago, cruiserchris2009 said:

Just came back from a 7 night cruise on Navigator of the seas. Of course it's awesome to cruise and I always view it as a privilege to be able to do so. I did however notice how much the cruise industry seems to have changed since my last cruise which was over 7 years ago.

 

I don't know how much is RCCL specific, navigator specific or cruise industry generally, but it was clear that the "decadence" of cruising has been greatly diminished with a lot of cutbacks. 

 

These are not complaints...and they may seem picky...no item by itself is an issue, but taken as a whole, it adds up to a less than stellar experience as compared to those of us who were fortunate enough to cruise in the "good ole days".

 

In no order, but things that I noticed:

 

1. Windjammer shuts down at 9pm. It's not that I'm in the habit of stuffing my face at midnight but an aspect of cruising was the selection and availability of food. This 9pm shutdown was made all the more prominent due to the showtimes (see next item).

 

2. My recollection was that they used to have shows and dinner seating well timed and it didn't matter if you had early or late dining. Now, the late show is 10:15pm so when you finish you second seating dinner by 9pm, you have to wait an hour and 15 minutes for the show. And then if you finish that show it's 11pm so if you decided to have a light dinner and you're feeling peckish, you have no free dining option other than Promenande which isn't much of a selection. We consistently noticed conflicts in show times with our dinner seating. It just didn't flow well. 

 

3. Room service is only once a day now, no turn down service. Again, I appreciate that was a luxury and many hotels no longer even offer daily service, but by comparison, it is a cut back from what they used to do.

 

4. The cost of the specialty restaurants was outrageous. It used to be that it was subsidized in that you pay something but it was better than "on-land" restaurant prices. Now Chops is $62.99 plus 18% and Jamies Italian was around $55 + 18%. Those are expensive even by traditional shore side restaurants. Feels like more than "inflation adjusted" pricing.

 

5. Crew/staff is as always fantastic and friendly but I definitely got the feeling of being overworked and overstretched. Service in the MDR was efficient but bar service slow. At times I wanted a second glass of wine but I knew if I ordered it they'd get it to me by the time my main course was done so I didn't bother. And everytime they asked me for my stateroom number, whether I had the beverage package etc. On my previous cruises they would always quickly learn your preferences.

 

6. Lots of nickel and diming and little cut backs. Something as simple as a tote bag in your room for beach trips etc.

 

7. Shoe excursions ungodly pricey if booking through the cruise line. And they of course give themselves the upper hand by letting RCCL booked excursions get first tender etc. Side note, I booked the beach getaway ... borderline scam. Shuttled us to a resort in a busy part of town where we ended up having to lie by the pool because the beach was awful (see picture) which we could have done at the ship if that's what we wanted. 

 

I feel the inflection point is being reached of cutbacks affecting the cruise experience, and making all inclusive resorts an attractive option again. 

 

Still to be clear, it's an awesome vacation. Go and enjoy it.

 

Side note, it's the fellow passengers sometimes that are the hardest to contend with. To wit, the family who let their kid take a big old dump on the pool deck and just quickly walked away, or the guy who sneezed a big old wet sneeze in the buffet, looked at his hand, wiped it on his shirt and proceeded to grab the serving tongs. It's a miracle we survived covid as a species.

 

The "luxury beach getaway":

 

I agree with everything.

[TeeRick]

Gran ole days of most everything including cruising are over so I agree from that perspective.  Keeping prices out of it, some changes are also for the better.

[Seville2Cabo]

We were on Navigator a few weeks ago and I agree with the show time issue.  In addition, the times for  other activities (trivia, name that tune, etc) were off as well.  Usually they are in the Schooner 3, 4 and 5.  On our sailing they started at 6.  So no piano player until about 8 and we he was really bad (we left after 2 songs). 

[The Fun Researcher]

Late night food options...  completely agree.  Something I've complained about for years.  At least you are on a ship with Playmakers.  Sure you have to pay some, but I LOVED having wings later at night in Playmakers.  Re. the buffet, it would be nice if they kept a small portion of the buffet open late at night like Celebrity does for a few popular late night options.

 

Overall, would love Royal to do much better on this fleet wide.  Pizza and finger sandwiches get old fast.

 

All cruise lines have their benefits and drawbacks.  One of the things I LOVED about Norwegian was O'Sheehans, a 24 hour full service restaurant, complimentary, with a broad menu.  (However, don't get me started on the abysmal pool decks on NCL ships.)

[Ocean Boy]

17 hours ago, SG65CB said:

I agree with your observations. #4 especially. Remember you have already paid for dinner in the MDR, the specialty restaurant charge used to be more like a surcharge for upgraded dining. 

I remember when the specialty restaurants were first introduced, the "nominal" charge was stated to be the gratuity for eating there. At least that is what RCI's spokeswoman used to say on the Travel Channel.... back when that channel actually had something to do with travelling.

[The Fun Researcher]

Yes, cost of Specialty has gotten out of hand IMO. 

 

Of course, there will always be those spouting...  They won't reduce price until passengers stop paying it!  Some truth to that.  There will always be macro economics at play in all areas of the ship.

 

 

[bundtkate]

10 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

One of the things I LOVED about Norwegian was O'Sheehans, a 24 hour full service restaurant, complimentary, with a broad menu.  (However, don't get me started on the abysmal pool decks on NCL ships.)

I couldn't agree more with both of these points. I am fine with Sorrento's, but snagging a reuben at The Local (Breakaway+ version of O'Sheehans) was so much better. But you also could fit a whole extra buffet in the totally empty and useless space on an NCL pool deck.

[Morecruisesplz]

11 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

I remember when the specialty restaurants were first introduced, the "nominal" charge was stated to be the gratuity for eating there. 

Yes. Then we had all those fun discussions about how much of it the server actually received. Those were fun times. 😀

[Ocean Boy]

6 minutes ago, Morecruisesplz said:

Yes. Then we had all those fun discussions about how much of it the server actually received. Those were fun times. 😀

Yup, and whether or not people should be tipping on top of the tip they supposedly already payed to eat there. And do you tip the staff in in the MDR for the nights you didn't eat there. Yes, fun times.

[twangster]

The problem is people are paying the outrageous sums for specialty.  Until reservations fall off the price goes up and up.

 

So many new to cruise are booking ships and they don't know any better.  Windjammer hours, show times, food quality are all new to the newbies on board.  

 

Until Royal starts to see reduced bookings the cuts and higher costs go on.  

[JamesEM]

The whole cruise experience has suffered due to the cut backs, increase in prices, and rude passengers.

[Scottdalfonso]

On 12/5/2023 at 4:37 PM, shipgeeks said:

Dinners moved more quickly than in the past, which is apparently what the fast-food crowd wants.  

Yes.... I don't want to be rushed...I also don't want to be in the dining room for 2 hours. Our dinners on Oasis averaged about 65-70 minutes, and to me that is PERFECT! 

[Ocean Boy]

39 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

Yes.... I don't want to be rushed...I also don't want to be in the dining room for 2 hours. Our dinners on Oasis averaged about 65-70 minutes, and to me that is PERFECT! 

That is one reason that I like the Windjammer. Dinner progresses at exactly the pace that I want. And that pace mat change from day to day depending on my plans.

[travelberlin]

41 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is one reason that I like the Windjammer. Dinner progresses at exactly the pace that I want. And that pace mat change from day to day depending on my plans.

Unfortunately I have never experienced a relaxed dinner or lunch at the Windjammer. It is always chaotic and loud.

[Tatka]

7 hours ago, JamesEM said:

The whole cruise experience has suffered due to the cut backs, increase in prices, and rude passengers.

I’d say cruising became possible to less sophisticated crowd.

Although 7 years ago it was already not good old cruising. 🙂

[ONECRUISER]

On 12/5/2023 at 2:26 PM, SG65CB said:

I agree with your observations. #4 especially. Remember you have already paid for dinner in the MDR, the specialty restaurant charge used to be more like a surcharge for upgraded dining. 

People forget in the 90's when Specialty Restaurant's were being added to Royal Ships the charge was the Tip. Rest of cutbacks started 20yrs ago but at one point I could say at least every Decade I was paying less for Cruising then the previous. Though I'm still paying less then I did on Royal in the 80's the new releases ending that trend. Everything everywhere inc Demand is up with Ship's carrying average 110% capacity so Pricing won't be going down for while. I'll stick with older Ships doing 10+ niters less cost, less passengers, less Families, at least til they are Retired/Sold off...