As a Diamond member with RC, I was expecting a fantastic cruise as I have usually had. This cruise was far from being up to par on RC's side.
Embarkation was a total disappointment. Diamond and Plus members were always offered a separate boarding area (one of the perks afforded for loyal service), but apparently not present at the pier to board for Navigator. I asked when I checked in and was ...
The Navigator was a clean and well maintained ship. Love the lay out.
Food in the dining room was excellent for breakfast,lunch and dinner. Food at Windjammer was poor. Salads were fresh, nice cut up fruit but eggs and breakfast potatoes were disgusting ( except fried eggs ). Fish was dried out, tasteless.
Lots of kids of all ages. All had fun. Lots of activities- Flow rider, golf, ice ...
This was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean since 1984 and it was our 8th cruise in total. We travelled from Canada with my husbands elderly parents. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the day before our cruise and to save money we stayed at the Motel 6 in Dania. It was clean and had reasonable rates - we were pleasantly surprised.
Our embarkation in fort Lauderdale took over an hour which we ...
This is my fourth cruise, I've had three previous with Carnival and this was my first with Royal Caribbean. I sailed with a large group of friends.
Embarkation was a bit chaotic but I expected that after reading the reviews of Port Everglade. We began around 12:30 and got on the ship closer to 2PM. Our rooms were ready so we could drop off our carry-on luggage. The Windjammer buffet was packed ...
Our first time on RCL, being fairly loyal to NCL. Could not turn down a special price of under $180 pp. Arranged for our own transfers, arrived at port and bag taken and were shown into terminal around 2:45 PM. Very long lines, snaking back and forth. We got in line and moved 10 feet in 30 minutes. Went to ask someone at the door what the issue was, and got no response. As the position we ...
Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Labadie
Arrival at port - crowded, long waiting time.
Staff - excellent (head waiter immediately changed our table when requested - other guests did not speak English. Room steward was our best ever.
Ports - Grand Cayman - tender transfer organised and speedy. Ocho Rios - found private taxi driver outside the port, very good knowledge of the island and reasonable ...
Pre-Cruise
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale one day ahead of the cruise. As we exited the baggage claim area at the airport we were approached by a man offering taxi service directly outside the door. He had some kind of taxi ID card, but no meter in his car, which was a very nice and expensive SUV. I think it was some kind of gypsy cab. The minimum taxi fare from the airport or the port is ...
Pros
1. Smooth embarkation process. Got everything done and on to the ship in about 20 minutes. The secret to embarkation -- don't arrive early! The Navigator was scheduled to sail at 5:30 PM, and we arrived at the port at about 1:30 PM. However, our disembarkation process at the end of the cruise was troubling (see the list of cons below)
2. The first production show, Ballroom Fever ...
We've been on 6 previous cruises, and my wife and I are wondering if we are turning into "cruise snobs"! We are Diamond with RCI, and we have enjoyed the Mariner three times when the ship was brand new...once with our grown kids. This trip was our "family" Christmas/reunion trip with our 3 kids, so we splurged and got the Family Suite on the Navigator.
What a beautiful suite it was...big screen ...
I have cruised on several Royal Caribbean cruises and I want to say that I am very easy-going and positive person, but this cruise was a little disappointing. Some on the ship said it was because it had just returned from the Mediterranean for several months and that Royal workers had told them, that many had left the ship and they were just placing people into positions to try to fill them. ...