Here is my review of the 3/24 - 3/31 Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Navigator of the Seas out of Miami. Hopefully it isn't too long. Let me say that we had a great time, despite some nominal weather days. Hey, any day on vacation is better than a day at work!

Pre-Cruise I was cruising with a large group, around 70 people, and we were all taking various flights to both Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. My family, along with 16 others, took a 6:30AM flight on Delta from Denver International Airport to Miami with a 1.5 hour layover in Atlanta. Both flights were on time and we arrived in Miami at approximately 3:00PM eastern time, grabbed our luggage 15 minutes later and proceeded to the shuttle waiting area for our hotel shuttle. Our entire group was booked at the Summerfield Suites on Blue Lagoon Circle near the Miami airport based on our TA's suggestion and because she had stayed there and felt that it was adequate for just an overnight stay. We waited 15 minutes before the free hotel shuttle picked us up. The shuttle van was only large enough to take half of us but returned shortly after for the second group. We checked in and were in our room by 4:30. We inquired at the front desk for dining options within walking distance and were told there were 3 or 4 places about 3 blocks away. By now we had meet up with several others in our group that had arrived at the hotel and many of us decided to take the short walk to get some dinner. About halfway there the skies opened up and we found ourselves in the middle of a down pour. Needless to say we got soaked and the rain stopped just after we reached our destination. We were all laughing once the rain stopped! We were at a strip type mall which had a Publix and Cuban, Italian, and Chinese restaurants. There was also a Subway and a Burger King close by. With all of these choices everyone found something to suit there taste. The following morning we ate at the free continental breakfast at the hotel, which was one of the reasons we went with this hotel. It was the usual fair, bagels, doughnuts, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pancakes and waffles, cold cereals, coffee and juices. Good enough to hold us over until we boarded the ship. My overall thoughts on this hotel are that it was very nice. All of the rooms are suites, either 1 bedroom or 2 bedrooms both with a sofa bed. The 2 bedroom has 2 bathrooms and both types of suites have a kitchenette. I would definitely stay here again the next time we cruise from Miami.

Embarkation Our TA arranged to have our entire group picked up from the hotel at 1:00PM Saturday morning using PSA Tours. They arrived on time with a large coach bus and a smaller shuttle bus. We were at the pier and in our cabin around 2:30PM. The check-in process has changed from what I remember when I cruised with RCCL in 2003. Then I remember waiting in one line and waiting for the next available clerk. Now they have you wait in a line by deck, just like Princess. Once we dropped off our carry-on luggage we proceeded up to the Windjammer for lunch then to explore the ship with many of the first time cruisers. Muster went off with out a hitch right at 4:30PM but we missed part of sail away since we were unpacking. No big disappointment here since it started raining and all of the sail away activities had to be moved inside to the Promenade. Read more