Corporate doesn’t care about the customer experience
Navigator of the Seas Cruise Review to Mexico
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 8
7 Night Coastal Mexican Holiday (Los Angeles Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 29, 2023
Ship: Navigator of the Seas
Cabin number: 1100
Traveled as: Large Group
Reviewed: 3 months ago
Review summary
Although, our Royal Caribbean Cruise, for our multiple generations over New Years was not all bad, the cons very far exceeded the pros. We cruised multiple times as our children were growing up and loved it as a family. We haven’t cruised in 10 years and have now learned that things have changed a lot. Prior to booking I had read online reviews that ‘everything was an upcharge’. This turned out to be a real issue and, along with the crowds, lines, lines, and more lines, diminished the enjoyment factor for our family. First the pro’s: - [ ] The people - room and dining staff were truly outstanding. - [ ] We had three cabins - each cabin steward was excellent - attentive, charming, and informative. Aldrin and Sheldon took care of our cabins which were always immaculate. - [ ] Our staff in the dining room Handi and IGede were also outstanding. So attentive to the children and adults in our party. One of us is vegan and another allergic to shellfish, they kept this is mind with every meal. They warmly welcomed us by name each evening and were ever present and made us feel like we didn’t want to miss a meal with them. We felt like cherished guests, not just the passengers of the week. Could not have been better. - [ ] Singing numbers performed by the dining staff from 90 different countries was very entertaining. - [ ] The food was surprisingly good for a cruise ship and we did not regret deciding to avoid one of the many up charges of dining in a speciality restaurant. - [ ] Early dining conflicted with a number of family events and was impossible to get to on days that we were in port. - [ ] Also, ship-sponsored family-oriented events in the early evening often conflicted with early dining and were not repeated again. - [ ] Open buffet was good, not great. The con’s - [ ] Spa - we had pre-booked. During our appointments they suggested alternative services which replaced the pre-book price. The 30% pre-book discount was not honored and we we not informed until after the service when the charges mounted up. - [ ] We had scheduled blow outs on the formal night. The blow out for the first person in our party took so long that the others could not be completed. Just one of many examples where relaxation was replaced with rushing to meet compressed timelines - [ ] Too few pool and spa areas for the number of passengers. Like from an overpopulation sci-fi movie, standing room only. Literally, in super-spreader fashion, passengers were standing side by side in both the pool and spa. - [ ] Don’t waste your money on the KEY upgrade. Only six activities on 2 out of 8 days had 1/2 hour blocks where KEY activities had priority. Total waste of money. - [ ] Impossible to find the Key area for preferred seating at the shows. - [ ] There is a KEY preferred departure feature but that wasn’t clear until late the day before departure. We had checked with the service desk earlier in the week and they were worthless in providing this information to help plan for a smooth, coordinated departure for our family/party of eight. - [ ] No KEY line for boarding on the first day nor any in port days - even though this was a feature listed for this up charge. - [ ] Kids don’t really sale free. Although there was no footnote that some dates were excluded, our Xmas vacation break cruise charged full price for the 8 and 9 year olds in our party. Had I known that when booking, I would have put one child and one adult in a cabin - rather than four sardines in a one cabin. - [ ] Not easy to see the time. This is more important than you might think with all the fixed times for excursion departures and meal times. We had four time zone changes in 8 days, the digital maps on each level/floor and other postings in the elevators didn’t have the times showing or the upcoming changes posted. In fact, we had to call the operator from our room at least 10 times during the trip to check, and half the time received misinformation. Just one of many examples of the poor effort by corporate to put customer experience first. - [ ] 35 - 40% of the treadmills were broken in the gym throughout the cruise. - [ ] Walking track above pool deck was very poorly designed and actually was an obstacle course. Walking between deck lounges shared with guest coming from the spa and pool made for wet treacherous walking. Also, having to try to navigate around other guests just standing on the track, as it was next to their lounge chairs, was frustrating to the point that we didn’t want walk on the track. - [ ] Formal attire nights were switched without clarity creating additional uncertainty and stress. Again, public announcements were frequently ill-informed/wrong. - [ ] Intercom messages from captain and cruise director stopped playing in our room after the first two days, this adding to the information gap and diminishing our experience. - [ ] Had to print luggage tags prior to getting on ship. These could have been mailed. - [ ] We had pre-purchased arcade credits for our grandchildren. We didn’t spend even 50% given the small size/variety of the arcade combined with 50% of the games being out of order. They were not fixed during the voyage and more games broke throughout the week. Image a very small space located in a sequestered area that felt like a basement (not a place to consider leaving small children unsupervised) with mostly outdated and broken equipment. Unfortunately, we realized later that we had booked an older ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet. However, we would not have expected so many things to be in disrepair. Clearly, considering the bait and switch kids sail free issue, all the up-charges, among the many other issues mentioned, this would be an absolute cannot recommend cruise line to ever consider again. Clearly, and unfortunately for our family, this is not the same quality cruise line that we had traveled in years past.Embarkation
We had purchased the Key which was supposed to entitle us to early boarding and shorter lunes. There wasn’t a separate lune. Even at 11 am it was very crowded with ling lines - the consequence of 3000+ passengers.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food was surprisingly good. Buffet was good, not great. Service in dining rooms was outstanding. Don’t waste your money on the specialty restaurants, this just ine if the many upcharge ripoffs.
Onboard Activities
Limited and too few for the number of passengers.
Entertainment
Performances were okay if you could get a seat.
Children's Programs
Arcade was small and many of the games were broken. - [ ] Too few pool and spa areas for the number of passengers. Like from an overpopulation sci-fi movie, standing room only. Literally, in super-spreader fashion, passengers were standing side by side in both the pool and spa.
Service and Staff
This was truly yhe highlight of the cruise. Shout out to Handi, IGede, Alsrin and Sheldon. Staff at rock climbing was also great, as were the barista’s at both coffee bars. Wave Runner staff in New Year’s eve were VERY rude.
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
A bit dated, although over very clean. When we hit rougher waters the drawers opened and closed throughout the night.
Ship tip
Don’t waste your money on KEY upgrade, pre-paid arcade or prebookung a spa treatment. Kids absolutely do not sail free.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Disembarkation
Crowded and KEY privileges did not help.