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Another Navigator Review (12/3-12/8/07)


emen822

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Had another great trip on the Navigator. I was travelling with my two sisters and two nieces for the Sweet 16, who were all new to cruising.

 

We woke Sunday morning to snow/ice in NY. :eek: Luckily we had booked an early flight out of Newark. We were a little delayed because of the de-icing but landed a little early in Fort Lauderdale. The weather was beautiful and we headed to our hotel, Embassy Suites. The cab driver was not too happy taking us to the hotel. I guess because of the short distance. He drove like a maniac and we joked that maybe we were part of the Amazing Race. :p Anyway, this hotel was in the perfect location. We were within walking distance to a liquor store, Publix and many other stores/restaurants. We booked a cruise package which included a ride to the pier in the morning. Also part of the ammenities at the hotel was a managers reception at night which was free cocktails from 5-8 (?) and also free breakfast in the morning. When we woke up, we were able to see the ship from our balcony. That was a great way to start the day. We headed downstairs for the 10:45 shuttle to the pier (which was a man driving a Suburban.) Once we dropped off our suitcases and checked in, we sat and waited until 11:40 or so when they started boarding. I had prepared myself for the worst but we had nothing to worry about.

 

Once onboard, we roamed the ship for a little bit then went to the Windjammer for lunch. At 1:00, we went to our rooms and met our room steward. I did not see him at all, all week but he did what he had to do in our rooms. He forgot to replace our pool towels a few times but that was just a minor annoyance. We had E1 balcony rooms right next to each other. We asked if they could open the partition between our balconies and was told no.

 

GAMES/ACTIVITIES: We played bingo all week. I won a picture of art :cool: , my niece won once and my sister won a t-shirt. Jackpot bingo was over $5,000 on the last day. My sister was only one number away!! We went to karaoke a few times and that was fun. I think the worse you sang the more applause you received. :D We played trivia a few times too. There was open skating on the last day at sea. That was the only day that I noticed that on the schedule.

 

SHOWS: We went to the show that did skits from Broadway shows, (which I can't think of the name right now.) I had seen it before so I didn't stay for the whole thing. The comedian (Rondell Sheridan) was very funny. He actually plays the father on Thats so Raven and Cory in the House, both on the Disney Channel. Love and Marriage was good and the Quest was hysterical. Studio B was packed!

 

FOOD: We ate in the dining room every night. The food was good, nothing extraordinary. Lobster was served as part of a fishermans platter and those who had it said it was delicious. We were also asked if we wanted seconds which we declined. Our head waiter (Mr. G) was the best I have ever had on my 4 cruises. He would help take dessert orders, clean off tables, etc. I have never seen other head waiters do that so I thought this was not the norm. Anyway, he was also very personable and I made a comment about him on my survey at the end of the week. We did not try Chops or Portofinos.

 

COZUMEL: We went to Nachi Cocum for the day. This was the best $49 I ever spent. The beach was beautiful and most importantly, not crowded. There were 7-8 ships in port that day so this was a great escape. The pina coladas were flowing and the food was pretty good.

 

BELIZE: We only got off the ship to shop in town. I could not believe how far we had to tender to shore but it was a quick 15 minute ride each way.

 

DEPARTURE: We had red tags which meant our departure was around 9:00. We didn't get called until about 9:30 and made our way off the ship. We waited in line for about 45 minutes just trying to get through to show our id. Once we went through, we got our luggage and handed over our cards to immigration. Again, we had to wait on line for a taxi to the airport. There are vans that will take you for $9 per person. We decided to wait for a regular taxi and our fare for 5 people to the airport was $14.50. :D Much better than $45! We arrived at the airport about 11:00 and took off on time for our flight back to freezing NY.

 

Overall, we had a great time. I love the Voyager class ships and am looking forward to my next cruise on the Adventure in March. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

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Glad to hear you had fun on the ship as well. It was a great time wasn't it?!?!? As for the quest...my fiance and I finished 2nd...

 

Were you the ones that got the dentures from the guy sitting behind you? That guy looked like he had a bag full of tricks! He obviously has been to the quest before. ;)

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COZUMEL: We went to Nachi Cocum for the day. This was the best $49 I ever spent. The beach was beautiful and most importantly, not crowded. There were 7-8 ships in port that day so this was a great escape. The pina coladas were flowing and the food was pretty good. .

 

 

Good review overall. I'm glad to read this about Nachi, we have that booked in April.

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I have one question maybe someone can help me with. Do they have a printer In the Internet cafe.

 

I did see a printer but don't know how much it would be to print something. I'm glad you brought up the internet. I forgot to write that the connection was horrible!!!! It literally took me 8 minutes to get on AOL one night. I wrote that on my comment card too. :p I was going to try to print out our boarding passes but after having no luck during the week, decided against it.

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Were you the ones that got the dentures from the guy sitting behind you? That guy looked like he had a bag full of tricks! He obviously has been to the quest before. ;)

 

No, I actually grabbed the dentures from another one of the contestants that had already gotten points. I was the one that got made fun of when they showed the replays of the "guys barking like dogs" I slid into everyone to make sure I was first.

 

What a great trip, and a WONDERFUL ship!

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COZUMEL: We went to Nachi Cocum for the day. This was the best $49 I ever spent. The beach was beautiful and most importantly, not crowded. There were 7-8 ships in port that day so this was a great escape. The pina coladas were flowing and the food was pretty good.

 

Nachi Cocum sounds perfect. Did you book this through the cruiseline or just go on your own? I cannot find it on the RCCL website excursion

page. If you did go on your own, how far and approximately how much was the taxi?

 

Looking forward to your pictures. Thanks for a great review. :)

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Great Review.. I will be on that exact cruise in March. How was Belieze? Was the shopping area far from the tender? Was there also alot of places to eat? How were the people/ beggers... were they as bad as everyone makes them out to be?

Hey fastmaxae376,

 

We will be on the same cruise as you. Can't wait! Three months from today................................:p

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Great Review.. I will be on that exact cruise in March. How was Belieze? Was the shopping area far from the tender? Was there also alot of places to eat? How were the people/ beggers... were they as bad as everyone makes them out to be?

 

The tenders took about 15 minutes each way. The shopping area was right when you got to the pier. There were a few places to eat. I did not have one person ask/beg me for anything. If you are a good haggler (if that is the right word), you do not have to settle for the first price they give you. Once they see you getting ready to walk away, they will ask you how much you want to pay. There are some stores indoors and some outdoors (flea market type).

 

Nachi Cocum sounds perfect. Did you book this through the cruiseline or just go on your own? I cannot find it on the RCCL website excursion

page. If you did go on your own, how far and approximately how much was the taxi?

 

Looking forward to your pictures. Thanks for a great review. :)

 

I booked Nachi on my own through Island Marketing. The link is cozumelcruiseexcursions dot com (http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/)

The cab ride for the 5 of us was $20 total. It costs $15 if there is 1-4 passengers in the taxi. The ride was maybe 10 minutes.

 

When was your formal night?

 

Formal night was our first day at sea which was Tuesday.

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I booked Nachi on my own through Island Marketing. The link is cozumelcruiseexcursions dot com (http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/)

The cab ride for the 5 of us was $20 total. It costs $15 if there is 1-4 passengers in the taxi. The ride was maybe 10 minutes.

 

Thank you so much for the great info. I sent off a reservation request via their website page. Did you make your reservation this way? If so, how long did it take them to reply?

 

I'm wondering about their rules regarding the weather (rain rain rain) or if the ship didn't make it to port on that day. Do you know if they charge your creditcard when you make the reservation or the day of the actual excursion?

 

If anyone has info it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! :)[/i]

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I booked Nachi on my own through Island Marketing. The link is cozumelcruiseexcursions dot com (http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/)

The cab ride for the 5 of us was $20 total. It costs $15 if there is 1-4 passengers in the taxi. The ride was maybe 10 minutes.

 

Thank you so much for the great info. I sent off a reservation request via their website page. Did you make your reservation this way? If so, how long did it take them to reply?

 

I'm wondering about their rules regarding the weather (rain rain rain) or if the ship didn't make it to port on that day. Do you know if they charge your creditcard when you make the reservation or the day of the actual excursion?

 

If anyone has info it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! :)[/i]

 

I made the reservation on the website that is above. They charge $12 per adult to hold the reservation and you pay the additional $37 in cash when you get there that day. As far as rain, I don't think there is anything you can do about that. I'm pretty sure that the only way you will get a refund is if the ship changes its itinerary. I think I heard back from them within 24 hours of my email request. Hope that helps! :)

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Cant wait!!... also was there lobster on the 5 night? I'm trying to keep a low budget so i'm staying away from excursions and would rather find my own way :)

 

Lobster was served as part of a fisherman's platter that also came with shrimp.

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