We chose this itinerary as we had never been to this part of the world before and love RCI. Embarkation/debarkation was flawless and quick. We chose a promenade cabin which was fine, quite quiet and kept clean by Adams. Couldn’t fault the food in the Windjammer, Chops Grille or the MDR. All the staff were very friendly and efficient. Everywhere was kept lovely and clean, all the toilets were spotless always. 2 sides to the entertainment; the first comedian we had do 2 shows was really funny, the 3 tenors were amazing, as was the ventriloquist. Toni Warne was very good too. Unfortunately we didn’t rate the ships singers/dancers very much, they weren’t awful, but not particularly good. They seemed too loud. We also didn’t rate the Queen tribute band, quite a few people did walk out and the comedian on the last night wasn’t too funny (only the last 5 minutes). He seemed to shout too. This is personal taste and only my opinion. The ice show was wonderful, very professional and enjoyable. Wish they did more than one! The shore excursions were good, though St. Petersburg was extremely busy being July, but we did the 2 day tour with RCI and our 2 guides were amazing. Only problem, which we’ve experienced before, is the Americans on our coach pushed to the front for everything, so rude some of them, one nearly knocked me over to get on the coach before me. Why? We all have a seat on the coach and are going to the same place, but they just barged straight to the front of any queue. Urgh! Overall this was an excellent cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We honestly couldn’t fault anything, the food, the staff, the ship and most of the people we met were lovely. Read Less

In the last 8 years this would be our 11th cruise, 7 of which have been RCI. We chose this itinerary mainly for the overnight stop in Saint Petersburg and that it called in Oslo, Tallinn and Copenhagen. With a free Deluxe Drinks Package and Free Gratuities, the price for an outside accessible cabin (one of our party in a wheelchair) was quite reasonable. Over the years we've come to expect a certain standard from RCI, the food is normally great, the entertainment some of the best we've seen on land or at sea and the itineraries and arrangements very good indeed. Boarding in Southampton, we were not disappointed, at most 20 minutes from parking the car to boarding the ship. Rooms were ready so we were able to drop our hand luggage and straight off to explore the ship and grab a snack in the Windjammer. My first thought during the Muster Drill was that it seemed very disorganised. In fact, normally there would be a tannoy announcement about the mandatory drill happening at N o'clock, but we heard no announcement, only saw crew stood in stairways with hi-vis jackets and screens advising to proceed to your muster station. One kind crew member took a look at our cards and directed us to the Forward Starboard area where we would find our muster station. When we got there, we actually noticed on one of the way finder screens, that actually our muster station was on the Port side and to the rear of the ship! Our first experience in the dining room was that once again, even though we book a wheelchair accessible room, the table we were allocated for dinner was right at the back of the dining room, off to one side, probably one of the most awkward places to get to. We don't mind, but the other guests tend to get a little annoyed when you're trying to squeeze past them, interrupting their dinner. The menu on night one was ok, nothing special but we had to wait a considerable time as the waiter for our table was alone, and it was his first day. We didn't eat in the main dining room on night 2 as the menu had nothing on it that any of our party fancied, but we accept that this sometimes happens, so just went to the Windjammer, which worked out well as we also wanted to catch a show which would have made dining in the Main Dining Room a rushed affair. As we had purchased a speciality restaurant package for 3 nights and booked the Mystery Theatre Dinner, we ate in Chops grill on night 3, Giovanni's on night 4 and due to a long day ashore, the Windjammer again on night 5. We checked the MDR menu every night and apart from Spaghetti Bolognese or Strip Steak, there was hardly anything that all of us would eat, so we largely continued eating in the Windjammer or Chops. We did return to the MDR on two more occasions, the first of which was again an acceptable meal, but nothing special. The second I actually could not finish my main meal as it was incredibly salty and actually made me feel ill. I had the Strip Steak and honestly had i not ordered it, I'd have thought it was gammon instead of beef!. Entertainment on board was more or less what we expected from RCI. A few guests were not impressed but largely people seemed to enjoy the shows and guest artists. We mostly did our own thing in all the ports as most docked within a short walk to the main town or attractions. The only exception was Saint Petersburg where an organised tour was needed unless you had an independent visa or other escorted tour organised. As a first time in that port, we opted for the safety of the RCI tour, which was a most enjoyable two days, but did feel a little rushed in places. It might have been better to visit a few less churches or museums to have more time in one or two churches and museums, but we still enjoyed it anyway. I am not going to go in detail about each port as everyone has their own taste and can find out a lot of information by googling the locations or looking at sites like Trip Advisor. All I will say is I was not disappointed by any of the ports of call and would certainly return to all of them. In summary, I really enjoyed the cruise and the ports and the features on board the ship, but... RCI are clearly cutting costs, mostly in staff. Bar waiters were lacking, ending up going to bars ourselves to get drinks otherwise we'd be waiting until we were about to leave to get a drink. The food in the Windjammer was largely good with a wide selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we never struggled to find a spot to sit for our group of 4. The Main Dining Room menu has gone downhill in our opinion. The ingredients are simply too specific so people who do not like or are allergic to certain ingredients, such as mushrooms, had a limited selection to start with and nobody really wants to eat a Strip Steak every night for 12 nights! My incident with a salty meal aside, the service was pleasant enough but it did not feel special, or even like a top class restaurant. Chops Grille was as good as always. On the quieter nights the food and service was exceptional, more like that we'd expected in the Main Dining Room, but on the last night, it was very busy and they seemed to struggle to cook consistently good food in the same efficient manner. Once again it seemed that another waiter or two might have been needed, and probably another chef. Our room attendant "Dexter" was great. Very pleasant and helpful and took the time to get to know us and our routines so we was both visible but invisible too, if that makes sense. Finally, I was disappointed that for the first time on any RCI cruise, there was no "The Quest" gameshow put on. This has always been a really great night and something we look forward to, but it simply did not happen. I would certainly look at a baltic cruise again and would consider the Navigator, but I can't help feeling a little disappointed in the experience this time. I'm not sure if it's just being spoilt in the past with prior cruises, or if it's cost cutting, but this time the "special" was not there for me. Read Less

We chose this cruise mainly because the ports of call are places which we have not been to yet. Port of embarkation was also a plus since we were able to go around London a few days before the actual cruise. This was my third time to cruise using Royal Carribean and from the first time I cruised with RCL, I was very impressed. Their food selection in the Windjammer is very wide especially if one prefers to have a casual dining. The Sapphire dining is a great alternative for breakfast if I prefer a more formal ambience. I love the salad bar served during lunch at the Sapphire dining during sea days and for dinner, service of waiters are excellent. And after dinner, we always look forward to the shows at the Metropolis theater which has been prepared very well. The cruise director and staff have always prepared activities fit for all. As for the cabin we stayed in, it was spacious and was always kept clean by our stateroom attendant. All our requests have been granted. I feel that whenever I am onboard Royal Carribean, I feel pampered by all the friendly staff of the ship. The shore excursion options are all good. And the way the excursions were handled were very orderly. I am now planning my next cruise with Royal Carribean that will fit my budget and the dream places I would like to see. Read Less

I always wanted to go to Scandinavia and st.Petersburg.iheard review from other People about the Royal Caribbean ships how wonderful they are. I had a really wonderful time on the cruise and the food was great!!! The ship was fabulous and the service in the whole was good. The only thing that was bad was the cabin which I feel was falsely advertised and too small meaning four of us had to sleep on bunk beds in a cramped environment. I hit my head a few times and the rest my family found this arrangement really uncomfortable. We did complain to customer services however the ship was full capacity and we couldn’t get an upgrade. In the end we were only given a complimentary meal. Make sure you check your cabin size as this will ruin your holiday! The tours were also really good however I feel there was not enough to do on board on the sailing days. A good holiday despite the above but make sure you book with a travel agent as the website is really misleading. Read Less

This is the first time for me to travel by cruise, it is an excellent experience. The ship and stateroom are very clean and nice. The stateroom attendant was very efficient and did a good work. The staff on the cruise are very friendly and helpful. Especially the wait persons were very attentive and friendly. We had couples days in the ships cruising and there were lots of things to do during those days, and you would not feel bored in the ship. The environment in the ship was very nice and comfortable. The maintanance of the ships was excellent. Food was very nice and lots of different cuisine and variety to choose for. The menus was slightly different everyday so that you could have different food everyday. And there were some other special restaurants which is worth to try. I would definitely recommend my friends and family to go with this trip with Navigator of the seas. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the destination/ ports of call. Starting in Southampton, embarkation was very quick and smooth, staff were friendly and helpful. Staff on board the ship were friendly, helpful and never had any problems apart from when going into the next cruise area to enquire about something and I think it was because it was not about booking a cruise onboard that the gentleman concerned was very rude, apart from that no problems. Our Cabin Steward Stanley was very good without being intrusive. The Dining room staff - Resteraunt Manager, Head Chef and table staff were all very good and tried to solve a problem that we had. Our cabin 6514 was at front and was very large as was the shower room, plenty space in both areas. I have a bad back and found the bed to be not comfortable but our Cabin Steward sorted that out by laying 2 folded duvets under the sheet to make it more comfortable and it worked a treat, no fuss an no bother. The balcony was in need of maintenance and the door was quite hard to slide open and shut. Entertainment on board was a bit hit and miss. The Ice show was fantastic and a couple of the other shows were ok but not anything to shout about. We visited the casino 2 nights but can see how easy it would be to get hooked and spend spend spend and come away with a very empty wallet. Dining was a bit of a problem for us as we are both vegetarian. In the main dining room there is only 1 vegetarian option every night and if you dont like curry or spicey food then its not going to be a good experience. My gripe with this is that if you pay xyz for your holiday and the person in the next cabin pays the same, he has a varied choice of what he can eat, fish, steak, chicken, pork with all the trimmings but you are stuck with a half hearted not very inventive dish on a nightly basis. We brought this to the attention of the Diningroom manager and chef and they did their best to sort things out for us. The food in the dining room never came out hot until the last night. The food in the Windjamer is very good, hot, and plenty of choice. We ate in Giovanni's which was lovely and also Sabor Tapas and that was very good too. Port of Call - Oslo, lovely clean place but we landed there on a Sunday and not much open, we went to the Olympic Ski Jump which was interesting. Copenhagen, went on a trip with RCL. I have a major gripe with these tours, you only get 30 mins free time which is not nearly long enough and this seems to be the norm in all the organised trips in all ports. Did one of the palaces and Tivoli where we had an hour... Tallin, The old town is lovely and worth a stroll through Helsinki, We booked a tour but it was cancelled due to not enough people so landed doing the hop on hop off bus, to be honest it was quite stressful as we got off in Market square and then got back on, the bus took us back to the ship and then to another side of the port to another ship before heading to the rock church which we wanted to see, we arrived back at the bus stop which had several frantic people worried that they would not get back to ship on time as you have to get a shuttle bus from Market square, we were not informed about this when we had to take this as a trip, it turned out that the hop on bus is the shuttle bus, all very confusing, we made it back just in time. St Petersberg, Organised tour of The Metro, Market and Shopping - Metro was an experience but not what we thought it would be and we had researched it before going on holiday. The market that they took us to was awful and every one complained, we were walked through a food market at great pace and the stall holders were none too friendly. We were taken to a cafe/resteraunt for tea and russian pie and got coffee and pancakes........ then we were taken to a shop off the beaten track with 30 mins to use the toilet, get some tea and shop, very rushed, a 3 hour trip lasted 5 hours due to the traffic. Day 2, Church of the spilled blood and river/canal boat trip. Church was so crowded and visit was hurried, boat trip was a disaster as the coach could not get to the river because of traffic and we had to walk some distance on not to good pavements with traffic all around. The river was high therefore we could only go on one canal and was a bit of a let down. The sights and sounds in St Petersberg were good to experience even if most of them were from a coach. Skagen, My favourite, what a lovely place and the weather was superb, we spent about 3 hours just wandering. The Ship, Nothing much to complain about, it is a lovely ship, yes there are things that need to be done and will no doubt be done when it gets a refit but all in all it was good. Read Less

This was our third cruise on a Royal Caribbean vessel and as usual everything ran like clockwork. Our embarkation at Southampton was effortless and took less than ten minutes from entering the embarkation hall to being on board the Navigator of the Seas. Although our cabin was not ready at the time of embarkation as we had arrived early provision was made on board to have a meal in the Windjammer (self service restaurant). The variety of food and quality was suitable for all tastes. While the quality of the food was not exceptional it was more than adequate for our tastes and we were more than happy with it. An announcement was made when the cabins were ready to be occupied and we proceeded to our inside cabin. We had purchased a "guaranteed" cabin which amounts to pot-luck but we were not disappointed with the one allocated to us. (Cabin 6135). Our baggage was delivered to our cabin in the late afternoon after having been left in the embarkation hall for Royal Caribbean to deliver to our cabin. We opted for "My Time Dining" which meant we could choose anytime we preferred within the opening hours of the main dining room. We chose to share a table and added to our enjoyment by meeting from all walks of like. As stated the quality of the food was more than reasonable without being outstanding but this is a subjective view as this is our opinion. The service in the main dining room by Oliver and Sachin was excellent and we appreciated their regular input regarding recommendations. The entertainment was average other than the ice show which was outstanding as was the band/orchestra. We did not participate much in the entertainment on board, however, a large variety as available on a daily basis. Unfortunately we visited Oslo, which is within walking distance of the port, on a Sunday, where everything was closed. Our next port of call was Copenhagen where we took a Hop-on-Hop-off Red Bus that collected us on the Pier and returned by a shuttle bus which was included in the price. Helsinki was celebrating a public holiday and to the disappointment of most there was not much to do. The highlight of our cruise by far was the visit to Saint Petersburg which is a must, although the process through passport control is cumbersome, Royal Caribbean had the process well organized and we were able to get through within 25 minutes where we were met by our tour guide. We had pre-booked a tour with Alla Tours and as we are senior citizens we were advised by Anja at Alla Tours to do the two day "Must See Tour". A tour of Saint Petersburg is a must! The old city of Tallen was very interesting and we used a shuttle bus as it is approximately a 30 minute walk from the harbour. Skagen, in Denmark, is a small fishing village which we visited by using a shuttle bus as it is approx 25 minutes walk from the pier. In summary we had a fabulous cruise, well catered for by RC, and disembarkation was a walk in the park. Would we recommend this cruise and cruise liner, hell yes. Stephen & Maureen from South Africa Read Less

Cruise chosen because of destinations. Dining and entertainment was excellent the variety and performers were top class. The service provided by dining room staff and stateroom attendant was excellent and the food was excellent too. The ship was well maintained, clean with first class hygiene standards. We found the excursion staff not as helpful as I would have expected and one or two were quite surly. While an airport transfer was not available on the RCI website in advance a transfer to Gatwick was available on board at $100 whereas National Express was £24 after a short taxi ride for £5. WiFi was $12.99 a day and one had to purchase 12 days. The WiFi was extremely slow and expensive. I would have expected WiFi to be free as it is on board Emirates flights and many coffee shops, airports and National Express buses. We found the ship to be too big and crowded and difficult to find seating in coffee shop, windjammer and lounges. The time ashore at some of the ports of call was too short and the excursions desk would not or could not provide adequate information as to alternative tour arrangements available dockside. On the whole though the cruise was enjoyable with 4 relaxing days at sea and well chosen ports of call. Read Less

Chose this cruise because of the destinations but felt let down by the company's dining experience in the main restaurant. Should have been a fine dining experience but the food was never hot. Stateroom was roomy and well serviced and staff all very friendly. Windjammer restaurant was great for food in mornings and any time during the day so why can't that be replicated in the main dining room. I was not impressed by the different prices charged on wines over the ship with prices in the Sapphire seeming to be higher than the Windjammer, still haven't worked out why. All in all the feelings were that we were a captive audience and RCI were going to take us for as much as they could which is a shame as it could have encouraged us to cruise more but it left negative thoughts rather than positive. Ship apparently has a refit due - hope they do something about the galleys on decks 3,4 & 5 and manage to keep the food hot once prepared. Read Less

We were allocated a room on the 2nd deck, even when the engines had stopped there was a continental weiring all the time, made it very hard to sleep. Hardly any hot water for shower and several broken items in our stateroom. The whole ship needs a revamp. The service in all areas was bad. Would not use the line again at the moment they only seem interested in making money. The drinks were expensive if you were not on a drinks package, and you have to buy 2 of these and as I don’t drink this wasn’t feasible. On the whole the service in the dining room was bad, the first night it took over 2 hours to finish our evening meal. There was nowhere you could get a decent coffee, I asked for a latte in a cup and was told they only use paper cups, awful. Not happy Read Less