Navigator of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,293 reviews

Navigator of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Navigator of the Seas
User Avatar
nkdelgado
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

Rating by category

Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2007

Hello everyone, we have just returned from our first cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas. My review may be biased because I have nothing to compare it to. However, I loved our cruise! We made our travel arrangements through a local agent. She booked our air arrangements and 1-night pre-cruise hotel through Royal Caribbean. We flew out of the Indianapolis airport at 8:00 a.m. and we landed in Fort Lauderdale at 10:30 a.m. A representative from Royal Caribbean met us at baggage claim and escorted us to our coach. We were taken to the J.W. Marriott on Brickell Ave. in Miami. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous. It was a three block walk to the ocean, and a 5 minute cab ride to Bayside Marketplace. We spent the evening in Bayside, bought some last minute items for the cruise, and watched a live band. I have to admit we are from a smaller community in Indiana, and at night the freaks come out in Miami! It was an experience just to people watch. A Royal Caribbean representative met us at the hotel around 12:00 noon on Saturday and took us to the pier. Our mouths were hanging open at the sight of the ships at the pier. It doesn't look like they should even float! We filled out our sign and sail information prior to leaving so boarding only took about 10 minutes. We had left our baggage with the porters so the only thing we had was a small carry-on. Once we were on the ship we just stopped and looked at each other. My husband said, "Now where do we go?" A R.C. employee stepped up to us and said, "Where would you like to go?" We were really on vacation. After reading the posts on this board, I was expecting our stateroom to be extremely small and cramped. We booked a promenade stateroom, mid-ship. When we got to the room we were surprised. It had plenty of room. The bathroom was a bit small, but I am a big girl with claustrophobia, and I never felt confined. We then set off to explore the ship. The public areas of the ship were beautiful. There was art everywhere, and the decorations never appeared gaudy or overwhelming. We fell in love with a painting hanging between the fifth and sixth floors on the staircase by the dining room. Our room steward Jemni was excellent as was our wait staff, Surrender and Mehigh. We never had a problem getting anything we asked for, and in some cases more than we asked for. At dinner, Surrender would not blink an eye if we ordered two of anything. One girl at our table ordered at least three entree's and two desserts everynight. On lobster night, my husband kept teasing me that I would eat everyone's portion. Surrender heard him and brought me 3 lobster tails! I have to admit that the food in the dining room was my least favorite part of the cruise. It was delicious, just over the top. I would have much preferred to eat in the windjammer or specialty restaurants, but I didn't want to miss visiting with our new tablemates. That was another thing that I was impressed with. We had a table of six, and Royal Caribbean matched us up with two other couples who were the same age as ourselves.

My husband and I participated in a few onboard activities. We absolutely loved Quest! My husband joined the sexy legs contest (and lost thank God). We went to the shows and Karaoke. I did get motion sickness (even though I took Dramamine) in the evenings. The show lounge was at the end of the ship, and I could really detect the motion. I don't know if this is usual or if it was a rough cruise. It always seemed worse at night. Our ports of call were; Labadee (Haiti), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Grand Cayman (Cayman Island), and Cozumel (Mexico). At Haiti, we lounged on the beach and did the barbecue. We walked through the market. Prior to cruising everyone told us how pushy the locals were going to be. They were persistent, but were never rude. When we said no thank you and moved on they went on to someone else. We did not try to bargain them down to much. We kind of felt like $5.00 would mean a lot more to them than us. After everyone was boarding the ship, we realized that we had forgot to get any local currency for my scrapbook. We went back into the market when everyone was packing up. Then the locals sort of surrounded us (we were the only customers left). When they found out what we wanted everyone started diving into their pockets and purses trying to be the first to whip out the cash. We didn't have any smaller bills, so the man gave us a paper bill and a coin for $5.00. I have no idea how much his currency is worth. I have a feeling he made a really good bargain, because he couldn't stop smiling. At Ocho Rios we had booked a horseback riding excursion. However, it was raining so hard that the tour was cancelled. We were soaked from simply getting off the boat and just went back to our cabin to change and take a nap. We never even got off of the boat again there. Grand Cayman was a beautiful port. We shopped a little and then took a taxi to Sea Grape Beach. It was beautiful, with fine sand beaches and clear water. We ate at Senior Frogs and wondered back to the boat to nurse our sunburns. (Even though we had on S.P.F. 35). Cozumel was our favorite port. We did a speedboat excursion. Our guide picked us up at the pier and brought us to a private beach. We received instruction on how to drive our boats and set out caravan style on a 30-45 minute trek to another private beach. We were supposed to stay about 30 feet behind the boat in front of us. We were zooming along (which is so fun, I cannot tell you) when a wave was building as it was coming at us from the side. It swelled over the top of our boat, pushing it completely on it's side. The wave stole my sunglasses off of my face! When it passed we were at least 100 feet out of line. The water had bogged our motor and we couldn't get back up to speed. The rear guide had to pull alongside us and switch us boats in the middle of the ocean! We laughed until it hurt. My husband jokes that Nemo is wearing my glasses.

Over all this was an excellent vacation. I would recommend this ship and line to anyone. There was a good mix of people on board. I know there were tons of kids, because they did a program in the dining room, but we never saw them misbehaving or out of control. We felt safe, and pampered for the whole week.

Cabin Review

Cabin pro
previous reviewnext review

Find a Navigator of the Seas Cruise from $208

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.