Navigator of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Roomy balcony cabin with extra small shower in bath.  Very good service from steward and in dining room.  Well organized tender service to Belize.  Spent 1 hour 40 minutes in line to clear ship and customs.  Preferred shows on other lines, but lots of opportunity for activities.

We have only sailed on Carnival before.  The service (stateroom and dining room) was superior.  The "Mall-type" setup of shops, bars and otherwise was superior. The dining experience was excellent.  The entertainment was average.  I had no interest in wall climbing, ice capades, water sports or basketball.  The buffet was ordinary and the food seemed to be the same everyday. There was no "omelette" bar, just someone taking orders for omelettes and someone cooking them, not always to specifications. The Promenade restaurant with "shrimp rolls"  and being open 24 hours was excellent. The Captain was difficult to understand (on the PA) as was the Sushi Chef during their demo. The sales in the corridor were chaos, but I don't know how to make it better.  I will sail Navigator again as I have a cruse planned May-2015. Overall most features were better than Carnival.  The Casino was excellent and the dealers were very friendly.

Royal's new beverage policy is a disaster.  In the past, staff pushed drinks all day and night to improve receipts for the line.  Now with exorbitant daily fees for beverage packages, there is no incentive for the service to be so prompt.  Add to that the various "gratuities" that are added, it isn't a good value.

Per the planning suggestions from RC we were to broad at 11:30 and we did but they did not open decks until 1PM? That had never happen before on other ships. The ship was is good shape. Room as always was great. It did appear the RC has cut back on some of the small things such no wine opener in the room? Food ranged from very so-so the first night to very good at the end. Service personnel as always were very good except we were ask to move from a window table for 4 to a 2 person table away from the window because we were only 2???? This was in the windjammer did not really care for that? Bingo is to costly if the drop the cost and they would really increase the numbers...People we met were all great. shows were so-so this trip.. Galveston port is bad-bad-bad  slow act like they don't care, attitudes need adjusted!!

This was first experience with cruising and it was the best vacation I think we have ever taken. Service was spectacular, food was fabulous, staff was fantastic. We would highly recommend this cruise to anyone interested.

The Navigator of the Seas is a beautiful ship.  The crew were all friendly and helpful.  They try very hard to make sure people stay healthy by keeping their hands clean.   Hand sanitizers are every place.  They also have a very healthy smoking policy.  The only smoking areas are the casino and certain places on the decks.  The food was good.  Service was good.  We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise.

As a Gold Club member, I was concerned about some of the negative reviews for the Navigator of the Seas (NOTS) during the summer.  Not to worry.  My overall take is that there are some folks who simply can not be pleased. Bottom line:  Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and NOTS met and exceeded all of our expectations.  From the beginning:

1.  As Texans, (my wife & I) we have taken many cruises out of Galveston.  This is important!!:  No cruise line has any control over the port area. (baggage drop-off traffic control, parking, shuttles, clearance through security, etc,)  If you want to get to the area where the cruise line has control, GET THERE EARLY!  If you don't, you will get bogged down & 30 mins will turn into 2 hours or more, guaranteed.  We arrived at 11:00 am to a prepaid parking spot across from the pier, walked across the street and were at the RCI welcome desk in less than 30 minutes. (As seasoned travelers, we cut our needs down to to two large carry-ons and two back packs. If you need more, again, get there early.)

2.  Once at the Welcome desk, took less than 10 minutes to confirm our reservations, issue the SeaPasses, & get in line for on-boarding.   Walked straight on, all the way to our cabin.  (Make sure you have: your confirmed reservation (printed, hard copy); credit card for Seapass purchases; ID (passport) ready, for all persons in the party, & whatever else is required for your party.  One missing document will hold up the whole show!!)  

3.  From the moment we stepped on-board, every crew member we met was courteous, friendly and anxious to please.  Even with our early arrival (12:30 pm Sunday), our room was ready, and we had the opportunity to meet our room steward, Gloria White.  She ensured we were pleased with the room, confirmed the correct pronunciation of our names, and was an impeccable hostess during the balance of the cruise.  The little 'folded towel' animals prepared for our nightly 'tuck-in' were always something to look forward to.

4.  Cruise details:  NOTS is an immense ship.  Recently renovated and it SHOWS.  We were informed that there were 3500 passengers on board (full capacity), but it never seemed so.  All of the amenities: promenade mall & cafe; wall climbing; putt-putt golf, pools, spas, shows; surf-boarding, outdoor movie theater (very cool); and especially the Windjammer Cafe (7 day morning, noon & dinner buffet) were often busy, but never overly crowded. NOTE: See Simon Magalhaes in the Windjammer (Food Service Manager). He will provide a personal greeting that is unsurpassed.

5.  We are not into formal stuff (been there, done that), so we only had 4 meals in the Main Dining Room.  Again, extremely courteous and efficient waitstaff (made sure of the correct pronunciation of our names, which is obviously part of their training).  No problems there.

6.  Entertainment:  Nightly show on the immense poolside screen was great; indoor 'Vegas' style shows were entertaining, but not for every taste.  Really impressed by the talent of the crew members who contributed to many of the shows.  

7.  Shore excursions:  took several, but they were not related to the ship (booked them online, separately).  However, we found out on board that excursions booked through RCI are not only close in cost to online bookings, but RCI excursions get priority disembarking at all ports.  Will very much consider this option next time.  

8.  Disembarking was similar to on boarding.  Booked a 'speed pass' for leaving ship the night before (with out checked luggage) for the next morning (Sunday),  had time for breakfast, stood in line 30 mins, & were back to our car by 9:30 am.

9.  All in all, would consider this a first class trip.  Time to do everything or nothing.  Ship staff, from the Captain (whom we met personally) down to the room cleaning crews we met going to & from our cabin, were always smiling, friendly & seemed truly interested in our cruise experience.  Business as usual for Royal Caribbean & the Navigator of the Seas.

The ship was awesome. The destinations were perfect. Really, I feel the only bad thing about the cruise is Royal Caribbean's handling of certain things. When there was confusion over our pre-paid gratuities (our travel agency had already paid them to RCC on our behalf as per our bundled deal) the solution was either to pay the gratuity and take it up with the travel agent, or deny gratuity, at which point our stewardess would not be paid for our room's tips. Basically, its my problem or their stewardess' problem, but not Royal Caribbean's problem. That kind of "not my problem" attitude really was the only part my wife and I could complain about (Besides the ATROCIOUS handling of embarkation by the Galveston Port Authority. NEVER cruise out of Texas if you can help it; fly to Miami instead as it is cheaper and probably more professional and faster... took us almost four hours to get on board from arrival).

8 couples went on this cruise staying all over the boat.  We used My Time Dining with great success and after the first couple of nights we were all ushered to our tables with no problems.  The food may not have been quite as good as we have had before but it was still excellent.  We had the best waiter in the world and he took care of our every need. All other aspects of the ship was great and everyone had a good time.

I have cruised with only Carnival for the last 5 years.  This year, I wanted to try another cruise line, so I chose Royal Caribbean.  There was noticeable diffiences in the way things are done, but never the less I really enjoyed my vacation with Royal.  The crew are most friendly and helpful.  I love the ships' design.  Royal Caribbean really goes all out to see that you not board on the ship.  Having activities such as the Rock Wall, Wave Runner, and other things to keep you entertained at all time.Their shows are very entertaining as well.  I beleive that I would sail with Royal Caribbean again in the near future.

to start the cruse did not have a 24 hour eating place like they said.  It was more like a 24 hour just take what we want you to have and that is it.  Like sweets and sandwitches with bluecheese dressing.  then the food at the regular eating area was mostly european food and not american.  this is also terrible.  i had a shore excursion and it was not one of theres so we were told too bad and was given the last ticket to get off the boat.  they did not want to accomadate anyone unless you were gold or platnum member or you paid for everything from them.  also you had to pay for about anything you wanted to do on the boat.  it was a mess and trying to get on or off the boat was a mess also.  the supervisors were rude and they would yell at the crew in front of the guests.  the crew were wonderful.

The ship was really nice and the service excellent.  There was not much variety of restaurants unless you paid extra.  Only one one very small cafe open for after hours eating with 3 sandwiches or bad pizza to choose from.  Other cruise lines offer several restaurants to choose from late at night with a variety of types

Our Cruise director, Mitch, was fantastic. He's the kind of guy who makes you feel like you're best friends even though you've just met. There was a comedian we didn't really care for, but overall the entertainment was fantastic, especially the ice show and the Love and Marriage game show. The sport's deck, pools, and the other events around the ship were great. Nothing had an unreasonable line or was overly crowded. As for the food, while we could nit-pick a few things, there is no question that the food is still way above what you would get at home (and WAY above any Carnival cruise). 

Overall, we were never bored or hungry whether at sea or at port. The only real complaint I have is regarding the sales expert on board - He had several lectures on buying jewelry at the different ports and while they were actually interesting and good tips, he took forever to give out the special coupons promised for staying for the lecture. He could have very easily just handed them out as people walked out the door and let the people who actually had more in depth questions for him stay behind without feeling the need to be rushed by those who had others things to do.

Oh! and if you are wanting to visit the Margaritaville's in the different ports, the one in Cozumel is super expensive compared to the one in Georgetown and Falmouth (although it does have a trampoline out in the ocean which is pretty cool). Also the shopping in Cozumel is harder to get to while you can walk to all the shops in the other 2 ports.

The cruise was a great opportunity to get the extended family together and booking a suite was great.  It served as an informal meeting area and general spot to have a conversation virtually anytime of the day or night.  There are some great amenities on the Nav of the Seas including Johnny Rockets, the FlowRider, climbing wall, mini golf, casino, and just great venues for laying around to read a book.  Meals were nice and varied beyond what I normally have at home but not quite up to the quality on Celebrity.  The waiters were excellent and fantastic at delivering immediate food service for my 15 month grandchild while the rest of us studied menus. 

The drawbacks are the ports of call.  Roatan had beautiful beaches but what a desperately poor island with desperate people trying to make money; it is one thing for a country to encourage tourism but depressing when the poverty level is so high.  Belize was great with lots to do but the tender situation is ridiculous; either find another port or dredge that one so ships can get to shore.  As to Cozumel, in a few years with global warning and rising ocean levels the problems of this port will be solved.  I summary, only Belize was worth the stop but very limited in time by the long tender rides. 

I would advise some considerable change to the disembarking.  I am willing to bet that half the problem was arriving in the middle of a three day weekend (Labor Day) and the longshoremen were likely the least senior if not just hired that day.  But you should have anticipated this and taken charge.  Yeah, I hear you saying you can't interfere with the unions; then stop porting at Galveston.  You threat to leave and things will straighten up. 

This is my third cruise with Royal, compare to the pass cruises, this is releatively disappointed to me. The onboard services is not as great as other cruises and the staffs are not as friendly either. The ship is kinda old, and the passangers are also older generation, which was surprising to me, since the pass cruises are full of younger generation. The onboard entertainments are also fit for the older generation. 

This was my third cruise with RCCL and the first two were much better.  Overall, we had a good time but did notice that the service on board was not as good as on previous cruises.  We sailed three hours late due to "mechanical issues" and the A/C on the ship was not functioning properly the entire 7 days.  I was hot, hot, hot and not in a good way.  I will cruise RCCL again and hope that it's better next time.

Linda

everything but no food options after 9pm, except one small snack station next to the Starbucks coffee bar, was great. Clean rooms, great service staff, good entertainment and great food, except as noted above.  

I could not understand any of the announcements that were given on the ship.  Most people running the ship had very poor English communication skills.  I had a one situation that cost me additional money, due to poor communication. I burned myself on a heat lamp in the main dining room, and tried to get burn gel or burn ointment from a first-aid kit and there was nothing for burns in the first-aid cabinet, so I went to medical and was told they had nothing for burns and was never questioned about the incident, again the guy spoke very broken English.  I was disappointed there were so many things on the ship that were at an additional cost.  I provided a credit card for additional charges, which was supposed to be taken out the last day of the cruise, but some of the charges were pre-authorized, so over a hundred dollars in pre-authorized charges was tied up for a week after the cruise.  The ship departed Galveston 3-1/2 hours late.  On another note...the ship was very nice, and the room attendants were very accommodating.

This was my first cruise on Royal Caribbean and my third cruise overall. The interior stateroom seemed a little bit larger than the other cruise line. In every category, people, food, entertainment, the RC cruise seemed just a little bit nicer. I'll stick with RC from here on unless they give me a reason not to.

We enjoyed our cruise, lots to do and most of the shows were great.  I would recommend this cruise, but only to those who are not going on the cruise to eat.  most of the food was either over cooked or under cooked in the Main dining room and Windjammer (buffet).  This cruise is more for young people lots of great stuff, climbing wall, ice rink, and surfing pool.