This was the first cruise for both my husband and me. We researched and studied, reading review after review, and talked to the "cruisers" we know. We finally decided on Royal Caribbean. A friend of ours recommended Mariner of the Seas, but we ended up going with Navigator of the Seas. Our departure date was March 3 and we returned March 10, 2007.

TRAVEL TO DEPARTURE PORT: We flew out of Knoxville, TN into Orlando, FL where we had about a two hour layover before flying to Miami. At the Miami airport, we had a little difficulty finding where we were supposed to go to collect our luggage, but after recognizing someone from our flight who also had a Royal Caribbean cruise, we followed them to the right area. We booked both our cruise and our flight through Royal Caribbean (via a travel agent), so our transfer was included. It was very smooth. We quickly located a person with a Royal Caribbean sign and were directed to our shuttle bus. After a quick ride to the Miami port, embarking the ship was quick and easy.

THE SHIP: The Navigator is absolutely GORGEOUS! Her maiden voyage was December 14, 2002. The reason I know that is because that was also our wedding date. Anyway, we expected there to be evidence of some "wear and tear." There was none. This ship is immaculate---beautiful and CLEAN! The Royal Promenade is very neat. I love the idea of being able to shop while at sea! All three dining rooms were beautiful. The Centrum area is breathtaking! Everything about the ship was impressive---the casino, the Metropolis theater, the fact that there is an ice skating rink, the rock wall.... EVERYTHING. Read more