Watch out for RC extra charges

Navigator of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 9
Helpful Votes: 131

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5
Verified Review
Navigator of the Seas

4 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 02, 2019

Ship: Navigator of the Seas

Cabin number: 3608

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

RCL profits before passenger satisfaction policies really put a damper on this cruise. I expect to pay extra for alcoholic beverages, spas, etc. and to pay gratuities for actual services performed. Instead, many items are extra and there are duplicated and inappropriate charges. RCL does not permit water bottles to be brought onboard. I have a medical condition that requires me to stay hydrated. From the first moment onboard I was harassed by crew members trying to sell me unwanted items and upgrades. I wanted to find the water stations onboard. Ultimately, I only found one on Deck 5 and one on Deck 11. There is a mandatory $14.50 per person per day gratuities charge even for days when one is off the ship and not using the services onboard. But the premium meals also add an 18% gratuity even though it is being served by the same waiters and staff as the regular meal. This blatant double charging should stop. I never ordered a special meal because of this policy. There is also an 18% automatic charge for buying a water bottle when leaving the ship or at a station at the pool. The only service provided is swiping a card. But the most outrageous hidden pricing occurred on Coco Cay. There are self service beer taps (see photo). There is no pricing information shown. Only after buying an unknown quantity of beer at an unknown price and presumably plus an 18% gratuity charge did I learn what I spent. With more transparent pricing I would have spent more. Sailing with RCL has its' pleasant moments but expect to be overcharged in some way.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Buy the Key to get expedited service

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Food in main dining room was very good. Not quite as good on buffets.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Only used pool

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Main shows and ice skating show was great.

Children's Programs

No children

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Main waiter and assistant gave great service. Cabin steward was always there.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
Very clean but not always easy to get from point to point.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Very clean but definitely compact. Could use some updates.

Ship tip

Casino is smoky; you may need to avoid it.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5
All the infrastructure you can ever need for a stay either before or after the cruise.

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5
Did 2 shore excursions - one bought thru AA cruises and one bought thru Marriott activities. One was a sightseeing tour by van. One was historical walking tour highlighting rum. Great time on each.

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

3 out of 5
Stuck on the private island. Ate lunch and sat on beach. Everything else costs extra.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Buy The Key to make this an easy process.
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10 Comments

wgammon1    4 years ago

Glad you had a good cruise. Thanks for the review.

ryanpigs    4 years ago

Always pay gratuity is all some staff get

ThatGirlSteph    4 years ago

How much was the beer on coco cay???

kknorr0320    4 years ago

You can't bring open water bottles on board but you can bring a pack of water in your carry on or a reusable bottle and fill it on board.

kellies26    4 years ago

You can ask for room gratuities to be removed do you can do your own tipping accordingly. We always do this. We once missed the boat and were initially charged gratuity for 2 days we weren’t on the ship. Not again!

15mustang    4 years ago

You can bring a 12 pack of water onboard. You can also bring your own personal water bottle and refill. Daily gratuity is everyday, even if you aren't on the ship, the staff is still cleaning your cabin and preparing and serving your food. We spent a day at coco cay and spent nothing. Not sure why you thought beer would be free.

CruzeFan    4 years ago

As a follow up regarding bringing water onboard, unless something has changed in the last few weeks, you can carry on 12 17 oz bottles / cans of water, soft drinks, juice, etc. onboard when boarding.

trvljet    4 years ago

Thanks for sharing your review

CruzeFan    4 years ago

Hopefully you still enjoyed your cruise. We recently sailed on Royal Caribbean and didn’t purchase anything other than the basic cruise fare and gratuities and had a great time. We brought refillable water bottles for taking ashore and using on the ship and had no issues.

DerekMire    4 years ago

The reason why is cause people were putting alcohol in the water bottles

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