First cruise, very enjoyable, great service!

Item: Navigator of the Seas
Rating: 4
Author: Betts12

Navigator of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Betts12

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 49

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Galveston Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 23, 2015

Ship: Navigator of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9217

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

This was our first cruise and we didn't have super high expectations after hearing of experiences from our friends. As it turns out, the ship was very large (no seasickness!), it had great service (especially in the main dinner dining room), and tons of things to do onboard (flowrider, rock climbing, casino, etc.). The lines at the cruise ports were shorter for Royal Caribbean than for Carnival (both ships had similar stops) and we were able to better maximize our time at each location. Rooms were larger than I expected since we only booked interior staterooms. There was even one dinner where we had lobster tails, which was delicious. Great value overall.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Great service in the main dining room. Buffet upstairs had a ton of options.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Flowrider (surfing and boogie boarding) and rock climbing for those that are sporty, casino for those that are gamblers, and pool for those that want to relax.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The comedy shows were decent, the ice dancing and broadway singing/dancing left a little bit more to be desired.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Nice large ship, rooms are cleaned twice daily.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Nice stateroom attendant, room was larger than we expected. Bed could be two twins on the side of the rooms or a queen in the center. Small sofa (smaller than loveseat, larger than one seater) and vanity with chair. Good enough overall as you don't generally stay in your room.

Ship tip

If you don't want to purchase the drink packages, they always have water, Seattle's best coffee, and hot tea available all day (Cafe Prommenade). For breakfast you can get juices for free, for lunch you get ice tea and lemonade. Be sure to get in line early for ports that require tendering!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

3 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Cozumel has gorgeous views of the water. Snorkeling here is fun, you see some interesting fish and other sea life. The real mayan ruins are far away. Having lunch with an ocean view was amazing.

Thumbs Up 3

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Easiest port to just walk and do stuff if you don't want to do an excursion. Lots of shopping and food easily available. Stingray sandbar was quite an experience, at first the stingrays are scary, but you get use to them and start having fun

Thumbs Up 5

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5

Minus some jewelry and souvenir stores, not much dining options near the cruise port if you just want to walk around. Fun island, Dunns River Falls excursion highlight recommended for those in decent shape.

Thumbs Up 1

6 Comments

9 years ago

Next time try out Chops one night! Great price for sooooo much food. The Freedom class & Oasis class ships are what I love! The shows are wonderful!!

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jstephens 9 years ago

Interior room gratuities were $12.95 per day per person. But that for both housekeeping and dining staff.

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iowachrissy 9 years ago

We sail the end of the month, and I am getting a little nervous that this is going to be way more expensive than I had planned.

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iowachrissy 9 years ago

How does the gratuity work? $12.95 a day per person per day? There are 5 of us going and not looking forward to an extra $450+ due at disembarking. How do the drinks work? Did you buy a drink package?

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graf5 9 years ago

I always cruise rccl and getting ready for our next one in January, honestly never had a complaint and glad to see they meet your expectations.

Thumbs Up 1

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gwennie1969 9 years ago

glad you had nice time

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Other reviews of this sailing

Nice ship

Fantastic Adventure

Navigator of the sea 2015