We've been on Celebrity cruises most recently, so this was our first time on Royal in many years and on a ship larger than the previous one we sailed. I don't think we'd choose this class of Royal ship again and feel that the smaller ships are more to our liking. I think most of my review is based on that perspective and I was viewing everything through that lens. I think this ship is better suited to families rather than a couple looking for a relaxing getaway.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Embarkation was orderly but took a little while to get through as there were a lot of people in line. Luckily, there were plenty of agents on hand to get through the crowd of passengers.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Overall, the food was decent in the main dining room, buffet, and Cafe Promenade. We really enjoyed the continental breakfast and happy hour bites in the Crown Lounge (loyalty lounge). It was a great place for us to grab a quick cappuccino in the morning or enjoy some afternoon tea for a quiet getaway.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We only participated in one trivia. There were other activities we planned to attend, but just never got around to it. But, the trivia was fun.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We caught a few shows (ice skating & stage production) as well as some musicians. On the whole, the entertainment was good.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The standout for us was the Crown Lounge (loyalty lounge). The concierge in the lounge was always friendly and greeted everyone daily and chatted with everyone. Service in the main dining room could have been more attentive, but not certain if the waitstaff had too many tables or just getting pulled elsewhere. Drink service in the bars was typically good, but on the last night in the Bamboo Room, it seemed they were short staffed and it took a while before we were able to place a drink order.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The frustrating part of Navigator is the promenade deck where the majority of bars and shops are located. By having all of this in one location creates an overly clogged area because so many people are in one place at the same time. What made it worse was when the shops put tables in the walkway with their products to sell. So it created an even more crowded area. The other frustration was that to get from one side of deck 4 to the other to get to Schooner Bar or Hooked restaurant was to walk through the casino. There was no way to walk around the casino. We found ourselves trying to walk through the congestion of deck 5 to then get to the side of the ship we wanted for the two venues on deck 4. We also didn't like that there were few venues that had windows to see out to the ocean. The high traffic areas of the ship didn't have windows. We found the Cosmopolitan Club was a good venue to sit in and look out to the ocean. Cleanliness was good. The ship was maintained decently.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The bed was comfortable and clean. Our room steward did a good job with the cleaning the room, but it was hit or miss with the daily schedule being delivered to our room each night. We didn't even receive disembarkation instructions as detailed in the Cruise Director's video about disembarkation. With the beds pushed together to create one bed, meant that one person couldn't easily navigate the corner/end of the bed as the desk/vanity/TV blocked this access. So one of us would have to scoot down on the bed to then be able to walk to the rest of the cabin or on the side of the bed to access the night stand.
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