Navigator of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Ship was clean and shiny . Food was great . Our staff was great , especially our waiter Mihia ,his server and our cabin Stewart , Ramondo. The entertainment was also great. Johnny Rockets was not very good, and the music by pool was a little loud. Would do it again .

This ship was one of the nicer ones I have been on.  I never once saw anything that was dirty.  Everything was always in clean shape.  All of the staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable.  If you are seeking the night club scene then this is not your ship.  Other then that if you are looking for a nice relaxing time then this is your ship.  Most of the passengers were adult so not many kids at all.  I can actually count on one hand how many children I saw the entire time.

My Royal Caribbean cruise experience on the Navigator of the Seas was excellent--I can hardly wait to cruise again.  I traveled with my daughter, daughter-in-law-, and two grandchildren.   The ship is stunningly beautiful, spotlessly clean, and very easy to find your way around.  The food was excellent in all the venues, as was the service in the dining room.  Our room attendant always addressed us by name, and no request was too large, or too small.  He met every request, and knew the answer to any question we had.  There was a large choice of shore excursions at each port of call.  The on board shows were fun; we especially enjoyed the ice dancing, musical impressionist, and the magic/comedy shows.  Go cruise on Royal Caribbean--it will be your best vacation ever!

Great shore excursion in Roatan.  However when we got to Galveston it was over two hours from the time they called our number, to get off ship, until we were out of customs .  We were standing in line all that time. It was very BAD!!

Beautiful ship. Have been on this ship before and kind of knew what to expect.  We were not disappointed, it is still a very nice ship.  We had an inside room with a virtual balcony, which is really awesome.  It "went out" but our room steward notified IT and it was fixed right away.  The entertainment was outstanding.  Food was very good.  Would recommend this ship to anyone.

My husband and myself had the best time.First time cruising for my husband.Hes ready to go again.The ship Navigator of the Sea was exceptional.All of the people were so nice and helpful and caring.Our room was always keep madeup,no worries about towels,like in hotels.Our waiter at dinner was AWESOME!!.So much food,anytime and it was great!!.Activities always going on from morning til night.Games shows were hilarious!!!.Everything about our trip and ship was wonderful for us.I would recommend Royal Caribbean in a heartbeat.The 7O'S night was too much fun!1970 songs were played and we all danced in the middle of the ship and did the train,it was a blast,brought back memories of my my teenage years.Crew member cam out and danced with us and the crew put on a 70's disco show.Meet people from all over the world.Cant wait til next year!!!

                                                                     Belinda-Fate,Tx

We were in a junior suite and our stateroom attendant was awesome!  We were in 1046.  Definetley request the extra bed pad for a comfort sleeping environment.  Our attendant immediately acquried one for us and it was awesome.

Our friends in 9288 were not as lucky in their balcony.  Their A/C did not work most of the week and it was found out two days before we left their balcony stateroom door was broken and that caused the A/C to turn off.  Not the best first time cruise for our friends.

We did have a good cruise and so did our friends despite the A/C experience.  However, we did have one real negative which RCL apparantly has not chosen to address.  During the Quest Game show the second to the last night, we left dinner at 9:50 and doors opened at 10 p,m.  The show started at 10:30 p.m.  At 10:05 we arrived and selected our seats and two people went to the bar for a drink and two went out to smoke.  That left two of us trying  to hold six seats but we were all there well before the show.

A 60'ish gentleman came up to me and said "you can't save seats."  I told him politely my friends had gone to get a drink or smoke, but they were here.  He then slapped me hard on my left shoulder blade as my back was to him and retreated a few steps and again told me "You can't save seats!".  I was so stunned.  I immediately responded that "it was not appropriate to assault a woman!"

A cruise staff person then approached me because the jerk complained about me.  I explained what happened and he asked if I would be comfortable on the aisle while the other "gentleman" sat six seats in.  This was the end of the theater and not a prime spot.  I said no, I was leaving as I was not comfortable anywhere near this man who assaulted me.

I went back to my cabin to fold dirty laundry before the end of the trip and left the show.  Bottom line, that staff member told me he would refer it to a police matter at port if I wanted, then said he "could not be sure the man would give his name or cabin # (after I already provided mine to the staff member on my own) because he "might have had too much to drink and was violent, or not that, "just a man's man."  I will never forget those words.

So the next day I go to Guest Services to take care of some other items and the gentleman I speak to tells me security is looking into the "incident".  I was told even though it was the last night of the cruise, I would receive a call that night.  Did we?  NO!

I responded to an RCL email to review this cruise, and I mentioned the assault and no response.  If everyone took everything so seriously when a guest is assaulted by another guest as I was assured of three times, why have i gotten no response?

I went Platinum after this cruise so I obviously love RCL.  Never ever have I had this lack of response or this violence from another guest.  I have to wonder why the staff member (who wrote his name down for me but I will not publish on this report) did not immediately go get more security to ask this man to give them his name and not tell me "he may or may not give me his name".  He was right there!

We did love the cruise itself.  It just ended very badly and I have never been physically assaulted on a cruise.  I love RCL, but I have no idea why they have not responded to me about this when they offered to file a police report not once, but three times in person.  I can only guess, they think I am forgetting about this and I am not.

Would I, perhaps.  I told them I only wanted someone to tell the "gentleman" his behavior was not acceptable which they indicated they concurred with.  I have been cruising with RCL for 20 years and I am so disappointed in their lack of response to being assaulted by a stranger on their ship and their lack of responding.

Several hours were miserable with no crew help.  The rest of the cruise was awesome.

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.