Navigator of the Seas Review
Cost Cutting is More and More Noticeable
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Due to a shuttle mix up at our hotel we were asked if we would mind getting to the port extra early. We are SO thankful that we said yes. We arrived at 9:30, way too early, and were allowed into the "shed" shortly thereafter. We had seats and a trailer which contained a washroom. Not fancy but we were the lucky ones. After about 250 people were in this shed, they closed the doors and we sat...and sat...and sat. Navigator was undergoing a Coast Guard Inspection! When I say we were lucky, can you picture the 2,000 plus people lined outside in the heat, with no water and no washrooms and no wheelchairs left! It was 12:45 before we got on the ship. The line behind us snaked everywhere on the tarmac! Some people had collapsed and emergency vehicles had been called. (Later in the cruise RCI tried to make it up to us by offering free drinks for all over by the pool and on the promenade for 45 minutes.)
We had 2 sea days before seeing any ports (reviews for them done separately)and on the 2nd sea day we went to the Meet & Mingle we had signed up for on CruiseCritic. I had been to one before and convinced the rest of my family to join in for the appetizers, free drinks and draw prizes. What a disappointment! No appetizers or free drinks arrived and the draw prizes were handfuls of those cheap RCI things like key chains. After the Meet & Mingle a group of us met for a Cabin Crawl. Some cruisers had opened up their cabins for us to see. We saw a promenade room, balconies at the hump of the ship and aft and forward, junior suite, grand suite and owner's suite. On our last cruise I had seen a promenade room for the first time and that's what I booked for this time. We were on the 6th floor with a window and window seat facing the promenade and had a first class seat to see all the parades taking place. It was also a wonderful spot to sit and read and look out over the promenade. I think the room is a bit larger than an inside room. Will book one again.
As experienced cruisers we all noticed the cutbacks especially in the dining room (but maybe the lack of appetizers and drinks for the Meet & Mingle was one of them). Our waiter actually told us that one of the dining room appetizers used to have 2 scallops and now has one. Doing the math we can see how much the deletion of one scallop can save!
Cabin Review
Promenade Stateroom
We had a promenade room, 6563, and were very pleased with it. It has more room than an inside room with a window and window seat. You can sit and watch the parades go by on deck 5 or just sit and read while looking out at the promenade. There are other rooms directly across the promenade so you did have to think at all times of closing the curtains before undressing. One evening we brought back sushi to the room and the people across from us were gesturing as to what did we have. My son took a guess as to their room number and phoned over and told them. Next thing we saw, they were sitting by their window eating sushi too! We all had a good laugh over that.