Navigator of the Seas: A "Royal" Treat
Written: Jan 12 '03 (Updated May 03 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Entertainment. Service. Accomodating. Friendly. Quality. Quantity!
Cons: Absolutely None.
The Bottom Line: The Navigator of the Seas is the best floating resort in the world, and Royal Caribbean see's to it that it stays that way.
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| xc311's Full Review: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas |
Before you read this review, please note that this is a review for the Navigator of the Seas, it is the sister ship of the Voyager of the Seas, in Royal Caribbean's Voyager Class Ships. Epinions has not yet prepared a selection for the Navigator of the Seas, due to the first sailing of Navigator in Mid-December 2002. Once the Navigator is listed, I will transfer the review.
Onto the review.
I am now an avid crusier.
Royal Caribbean got me hooked.
My sailing on the Navigator of the Seas, the fifth sailing of the extremely new ship which was the week of January the 3rd, 2003, was my second cruise overall and the second on Royal Caribbean. My first being on the Voyager exactly one year ago.
The Navigator of the Seas is officially the largest cruise ship in the world. Though there are three sister ships in the Voyager class; Voyager, Explorer and Adventurer of the Seas, the Navigator was built seperate, and thus represents the best of the Voyager class ships boasting a 10 foot increase in length, as well as the best of the ammentities found on its sister ships.
The Navigator of the Seas is really a remarkable piece of human production. It comes complete with a miniture golf course, rollerblading course, rock climbing wall, 3 swimming pools, 6 jacuzzi's, ice skating rink, 1300 seat theater, 1700 seat-three level dining room, casino, wedding chapel, over 10 bars, library, and oh did I happen to mention a mall-like promonade inside? Yes folks, the Navigator is indeed a "royal" treat.
Navigator of the Seas has the capacity to hold about 3400 passengers along with nearly 1500 crew, making it literally a floating super-resort. Royal Caribbean reports it expects 95% of those 3400 spots to be filled every single week.
Onto our cruise.
We arrived in Miami the night before our cruise, on Friday, January 2nd. I strongly suggest arriving the day before your cruise as we did, for extra precaution. As it turned out in our case, a near blizzard in the northeast would have made it impossible to travel and the reach the ship in time on sail day, so plan for everything folks.
We arrived at Port on Saturday the 3rd around 12 PM. I urge cruisers to arrive no later than this, as the big rush begins around 1 PM. From there, it took about an hour to wind our way through customs, check-in, and onto the ship.
From the outside, the Navigator is different the its sister ships as its outdoor balcony's overhang the boat, rather than the elcliptical shape of the other 3. Inside, the Navigator looks strikingly similar to the other Voyager ships, but there are differences. For one, the Navigator reversed the set-up of its Royal Promonade, putting the snack area towards the foward instead of the aft, or rear of the ship. Also, there is no spinners slot place on the Promonade, instead, a wine bar is in its place. Other differences include a seperate library from Internet terminals, as they are now one floor apart, not connected.
On our cruise I went with my girlfriend, my sister and my parents. We reserved two staterooms. For first time cruisers, I urge you to choose more than one stateroom should you be traveling with more than 2 people, as the rooms are small. However, they are noticeably bigger than the other Voyager staterooms, incorportaing some 5-7 more square feet per room. Though, room size never should matter, as on any Royal Caribbean cruise, they are just to sleep in.
When we first arrived, we ventured into the Windjammer and Jade dining rooms on the 11th deck for lunch. The Windjammer is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving everything from pasta to mahi mahi. Jade's hours are the same as it boasts a Thai cusine. The food at these two are very good, as we ate breakfast and lunch there daily. My personal favorites included their bagels and lox in the morning and various fish, for lunch. Lemonade, Iced Tea and Coffee are included, however soda will cost you.
If you are a soda drinker, and plan on drinking a fair amount, you must invest in the "Coke" card, available on the Promonade. It costs $20 for under 18 and $33 for over, and will get you free coke for the duration of the cruise simply by showing the card they provide upon purchase.
We next checked into our staterooms located on Deck 7. It took until approximately 5 PM for us to recieve our luggage, which left us more than enough time to get ready for our 6 PM Main Seating of dinner. Anyone that has cruised before will tell you to always to the main seating for dinner, as it is most flexible to you for what you want to do following dinner. Second seating begins at 8:30 and you probably won't get out until 10-10:30 nightly.
Dinner on the Navigator is one of the true highlights. The three level dining room is roughly modeled after that of the Titanic, which includes a beautiful grand staircase and golden chandeller. We chose to sit at a large table, to have the opportunity to meet other people. You have the chance to reserve a small table for your party, or large when for multiple parties when booking your cruise. The waitor staff was excellent. They were professional, kind, humourous and prompt. The dinner's for all seven nights were out of this world. The waitor's will bring you absoultely anything and everything from their menu- Seconds, thirds and fourths- they are there to serve you. Each meal offered a choice of about 4 appetizer's including usually a soup or two, 2 choices for salad, 5 choices for main entree and 5 choices for dessert. Appetizer highlights include the crab cake, lobster bisque, melon soup, shrimp cocktail, and tropical fruit. Their cesar salads were amazing. The entree's of lobster tail, lamb, mahi mahi, seafood meadley, just to name a few, were out of this world. The food is of world-class chef standards. You are definitely in for a treat each and every night.
After dinner on the first night and every night is an Entertainment show of some kind held in the Metropolis Theatre. Acts vary from cruise to cruise. The constants are a welcome show on the first night, farewell show the last, and 2 shows of the Navigator's own broadway singer's and dancers. The other 4 include comedians and musical acts. The highlight of our cruise was 3 of the Osmond brothers performaned to a standing ovation one night.
We hit the hay after the first show as it had been a long day of travel. The second day marked a sea travel day. Sea days on Royal Caribbean are packed with everything for everyone. Whether you want to play Bingo, hit the casino, sun bath, drink all day at a bar, ice skate, roller blade, rock climb, work out, spend a day at the spa, eat, sleep, sing and dance to kareokee, watch or participate in a belly-flop contest... IT IS UP TO YOU. Remember though, plan your day out! Each night you recieve a Compass itinerizing the following days activities. Read it. Learn it. Memorize it. Go over what you want to do, what you don't want to do. There are so many activities, it is no wonder you become so exhausted at the end of the days.
The ports of call on the Western Caribbean itinary of the Navigator is exaxtly the same as its sister ships. There are 4 stops begininig on the 3rd day and ending on the 6th. In order, they are Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island and Cozumel, Mexico. My favorite has to be Grand Cayman Island, which boasts some of the most beautiful beaches and coral reefs in the world.
By visiting the Explorations! desk on deck 5, you can plan out any excursion you would like at the ports of call. Whether it be parasailing, snorkling, jetskiing, swimming with dolphins, visiting mayan ruins in cozumel, or just sitting and relaxing on the beach, they will help you plan your day at the port of call.
At Labadee, on Day 3, we chose to pick a nice place on the beach, as it was a gorgeous day and soak in some rays. Labadee is a Royal Caribbean owned island on Haiti which is seperate from the actual Haitian island. It is exquisitly clean, and have beautiful beaches. They have allowed a few locals to come over and set-up marketplace type shops, but they are located and secluded on one part of Labadee. BBQ lunch is provided on the island.
In Ocho Rios on Day 4, we chose to explore the real Jamaican culture. By venturing a little down Main Street of Ocho Rios, you will come across a true Jamaican Marketplace. Be forewarned though, they will shout, and run to you for you to come visit their hut. There are no prices. It is all about negotiating.
On Grand Cayman on Day 5, we went did a snorkling excurrsion by Sting Ray City. If you have never gone snorkling, do this. You will see awesome coral reefs and ocean life, followed by close encounters with sting rays! We were brought to a sand bar of about 3 feet deep where there must have been over 200 tame sting rays swimming about. Once you get over the initial shock of it, it truely is amazing how the creatures let you touch and feed them.
At Cozumel on Day 6, we took it easy and went into town to do some shopping. Be sure to consult the onboard cruise shopping director, as he will direct you to the recommended and guarenteed shops on cozumel. We also checked out Carlos and Charlie's famous Bar, and had a few, you'll love this, Yard-long beers and margaritas. It was a good time.
The last full day was a sea day.
Our cruise onboard the Navigator of the Seas was truly a week to remember. It was amazing to appreciate the lost art of politeness, in this day of age. All of the staff was a constant joy to be around, and made you feel very welcome onboard their ship. The ammenities included on the Navigator are the best on any cruise ship in the world. Royal Caribbean hit a homerun with this one.
Update: I forgot to put this in the original review... On our cruise we were extended invitations to the CruiseCritic party as well as the Crown and Anchor Society party. CruiseCritic is an online website where cruisers from all around the round review cruises from all lines. When a certain number of passengers respond, Royal Caribbean invites all those guests onboard the ship to a private party, such as we were. Here, the Cruise Director, and Captain, met with us, and we had the opportunity to ask questions. The Crown and Anchor society, which is for people who have signed up and cruised at least once with Royal Caribbean and are over 18, also had a similar private party, but with more people. Please make sure you check these two services out prior to your cruise!
Email me at UMD311@aol.com for further details.
Jason
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
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Epinions.com ID:
xc311
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Member: Jason Lufkin
Location: West Hartford, CT
Reviews written: 69
Trusted by: 42 members
About Me:
I currently am a Junior at the University of Maryland, studying accounting and finance.
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