This is the second time that we are on this ship. We also cruised for New Year's last year and booked this cruise while we were on the ship. I have to say last year was better. The ship is getting ready to go in for dry dock for a major renovation. We live in Miami so we used Lyft to go to the port. We got there at 11:30 am. Embarkation was quick - we are Emerald and the line was very small. Our room would be ready at 1:30 so we went to the buffet to have lunch and wait for our cabin. We had an interior cabin - 9643 - it was confortable - had lots of storage space and drawers. Our cabin steward was excellent, We cleaned our room twice a day, brought us ice and was attentive to all our needs. We had Mytime dining and we had made reservations for 7:30 3 nights a and 2 nights 8:00. Out waiters were ok - not as friendly and attentive as what we are used to - maybe they had too many tables to serve. The food was ok - nothing expectacular. They never served lobster. We were on the Harmony in September and the food and the service was excellent. We ate in the buffet for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast was good - they had a good selection of items but lunch was not so good. It was like eating the previous night reheated leftovers. You could not even make yourself a great salad. The staff was attentive and friendly. We enjoyed the shows - there two production shows, one hypnotist, a comedian and a tribute to BonJovi. There were all good. We spent quite a bit of time in the Casino. The slots were not paying much. Even the high rollers were not winning big jackpots. There was a lot of smoking in the casino which I don't like - specially people who don't play go there to smoke. Non smoking slot section is very small. They had raffles but if the person was not there they did not pay the price and did not any more names. We had two stops - Nassau and Labadee. In Nassau we took a cab to Baha Mar Resort and Casino. Beautiful resort and a great casino. In Labadee we went to the beach and spent the day there and enjoyed the ships BBQ. Since we live close to the port we cruise a lot and have been to these ports several times but always enjoy going again. Disembarkation was easy. We were off the ship by 8:45 am after picking up our luggage and quickly going through Customs. The New Year's celebration was good. They had music by the pool and also in the Promenade. This year they were selling tables in both areas so people would have reserved seating. The promenade was packed so we went up to the pool deck. Overall we enjoyed the cruise. Like this ship - not too big not too small. All the staff was friendly and attentive and we would cruise on it again. Compared to the Oasis class ship what I like about the Navigator is that it has a lot of open areas to sit where you can watch the ocean like in lounges. (deck 4 & 5) What I don't like is that they have limited venues to eat - Park Cafe is very small - it has sandwiches and pizza and when the buffet is closed (3:30 to 5:30) it's the only place you can grab something to eat (for free). Coming back from Nassau there must have been 100 people in line to grab a snack. Whereas the larger ships have many more options. Read Less

I loved this cruise. I would first like to say how great the staff were. Our waiters in the dining room were a joy to talk to and the stateroom staff were also very nice and made you feel welcome. There was never a time where we didn’t have something to do on the ship. I enjoyed lounging on the poolside and in the hot tubs for times where we wanted to relax. As for the entertainment, there’s so much to say. The comedy shows were amazing, the game shows are a blast to watch, and live music and karaoke was fun. We also enjoyed mini golfing, ice skating + an ice skating show, the arcade, family bingo, and ping pong. As for the food, everything we ate was complimentary and it wasn’t bad. Most of the things were delicious, and only a few things could’ve been better. I loved going to the Windjammer every morning for breakfast, grabbing a bite from the Cafe Promenade, and dining at the Saphire Dining Room fo dinner. The gym had lots to do. I had tons of fun on this ship, even if it’s an older ship. I wouldn’t have been able to tell it was built in 2002 if I didn’t find out. New Year’s eve was also a great time, despite our balloons being stuck, but that was all joy and laughter. The days at sea were mainly lounging but if we had “nothing” to do, we could always go exploring around on the ship or the Star Lounge was a great spot for entertainment. For the ports, Nassau and Labadee were great experiences, and we were always on time. This was a great experience for my first time cruising. I think it’s great for all ages. The only negatives would be some rocking on the ship but I got used to it. Thank you Royal Caribbean!! I will miss this ship a lot. Read Less

We enjoy cruising at Christmas - no cooking, no planning, no decorating, just enjoying time together as an extended family. Last year during our Western Caribbean Christmas Cruise on the Rhapsody, we pre-booked this cruise. We were looking forward to it as we've never been to the ABC islands. However, as we started looking at shore excursions, we found we were limited because we don't dive. We decided to just wing it at each port. More on that later. Miami proved to be a bit more difficult to get to - really having to fly from Atlanta rather than spend almost 4 days driving. But we flew into FLL and Uber-ed into Coconut Grove - the Hampton Inn there proved a great central location for exploring. We walked into the Grove for sightseeing and dinner the night before and the morning of our cruise, had a great private tour with John Simmons of Miami Native tours. He dropped us right at the port after several hours of highlights around Coral Gables and Miami. Embarkation was smooth in Miami and I appreciated the small cards RCCL gave out letting us know what was open for lunch and where things were as we boarded. Lunch in the Windjammer was a zoo that first day - I was disappointed they didn't offer limited service in the Sapphire Dining Room at least to alleviate some crowds. The Navigator itself is a beautiful ship. Public areas are well-decorated, offering comfortable seating options and stunning works of art. The Promenade is a nice touch but we found ourselves wishing it offered more variety of shops and restaurant/bars. We went to Two Poets for a drink shortly after sail-away and were surprised there was no food offered - even themed snacks would be a nice touch here & at Vintages (wine bar). My Black & Tan turned out pretty much all black, which was also a bit disappointing. Our assigned dinner was at 5:30 in the Sapphire and we enjoyed meeting our tablemates and server Raj and assistant waiter Sheik. Dinner was good, with 3-4 options in each category changing every night and the rest stable for the full 9 days. Some things could have been better - I ordered Vegetable Korma one evening and specified to Raj that I was not a fan of cauliflower, if they could limit the amount of that. I think he mis-understood as mine included 1 piece of carrot, a handful of peas, and all cauliflower. My husband's contained almost none of the white vegetable. This was not the first time that happened, but we did enjoy their service, especially when Sheik brought out his ukulele and serenaded our table! Throughout the cruise, we dined in Chops for the Holiday Dinner Christmas Eve (which was amazing), Chops again for dinner on night 8 (which left much to be desired although our server Mummah(?) was fantastic), Sabor (Stephen was terrific), and the Chef's Table which was also a special treat. We had lunch on day 9 at Izumi which was also well-prepared. Windjammer was nice, although we found we did not find the variety we've found before on previous RCCL travel. They offer a late-night snack at 9:30 of burgers, hot dogs, tacos, mac & cheese, pizza, fries. No major changes to this throughout the cruise. We know this because we were there every night, getting drinking water for our cabin. It seems like it was very difficult to find ice water on this particular RCCL ship - it's at the cafe in the Promenade, on the bar in the Solarium (although not cold), and in the Windjammer. As for Entertainment, they offered the usual variety of Trivia (which was hysterical thanks to Nicholas and Dominic as well as others on the Cruise Director's staff), shows (which varied and seemed to feature 3 nights of solo singers - a bit old after the first night), a Journey Tribute Band which was great, the Ice Dancing show (terrific!), Magician (good), Comedian (didn't see him), and Juggler (great). A guest lecturer told us about the history of each port, but they moved her location several times making it hard to find and honestly, once found, she was not a great presenter. They also offered some mild hit movies at the pool and in the theater, but they were at odd times for our schedule (at the pool just after Formal Dinner) so we didn't catch any of them sadly. Movies in the cabin run $12 which was a little disappointing as sometimes that's a nice break after a few hours in the sun. The New Year's Eve celebration at 10pm in the Promenade a few nights before the real thing was actually a lot of fun, featuring live music and a huge balloon drop with stomping to pop! Public areas overall seemed a bit crowded during our 4 days at sea. The Cosmopolitan Club on 14 was a favorite hangout for us to read but it was frequently closed for private functions. The lounges on Deck 4 would have provided a nice area to sit and read, but the Casino smoke lingered too much to be comfortable for long. The R-Bar was a great spot to catch up on reading or iPad game playing, but was frequently filled with tweens playing loud games. This cruise seemed to have a preponderance of unsupervised tween groups - more so than previous holiday cruises - and this led to a lot of games of "stop at every floor" on the elevators as they ran from level to level, pressing buttons. As for lounges in the evenings, the R-Bar was easy access for a pre-dinner drink, but we were horrified by some of the concoctions they served us! Before our Holiday Chops meal on Christmas Eve, mom & I ordered Dirty Martinis. These came out with an odd yellow color. When asked, our server explained it was because of the olive juice. No. I enjoy dirty martinis, even make them at home on special occasions. Olive juice is not yellow. Yup, tasted like someone added limoncello to a dirty martini. The cosmopolitans they brought instead were perfect though. Mom ordered a Kir (not Kir Royal she explained to them) and it still came in a champagne glass with cherry. No. Finally, one of the last evenings, we ordered Cosmos again because they were good the first time. This time they came out cloudy with orange slices. Yup - cranberry juice and orange juice. Not a cosmo. So the bartenders there definitely need some help with cocktail craft, but service was good. Shore excursions - the only ones we booked through the ship were on Labadee but the Kayak Adventure was well-executed and we enjoyed our time very much. We rented a clamshell (beach lounger for two) and a floating mat. Our tickets said to go to Adrenaline Beach but the Beach Loungers were a special section a good hike from there. There is a trolley to help get around the resort, but perhaps better directions would have helped. They gave us a hard time about getting a 3rd chair. There are 3 in my family - we've always done this & rotated our time in the sun, but this time they were not as friendly. We still enjoyed our time & really liked the Labadoozie specialty drink. Pool - as usual, the empty towels on chairs flooded the pool deck each day at sea. I was impressed to see notes left on some "saved" that RCCL noted the time and said they would remove the items after X time. However, it was not consistent or enforced. Once, which reading in the Cosmopolitan Club for almost 2 1/2 hours, I eyed a set of 4 empty towel chairs in a prime sunny spot. One person came & sat on one for about 3 minutes while re-applying sunscreen, but they sat unwrinkled the whole time while I watched a woman fold a towel nearby to sit on the ground against a pole to take advantage of the sun. Overall, this cruise was enjoyed by all - from 15 1/2 to 75 1/2 year olds. We all felt very relaxed and caught up on a lot of reading. Bring games and your own entertainment - especially if you're not planning to gamble, surf, ice skate, or rock climb. I would recommend it, especially if you plan to take advantage of the diving opportunities in these islands. Well-done RCCL. Read Less

We are back from our five-day cruise and already planning another one during Spring Break in March, 2019. We like cruising. I am not sure if we like Royal Caribbean, though. Our Navigator of the Seas cruise had ups and downs. The 3,800-passenger capacity super-ship had the largest cabin room (200-sq. foot room, 65-sq. foot balcony) that Denise and I have ever experienced. It even had a large couch, and life looking out from a balcony is always better. Navigator is a beautiful ship. It has a promenade walkway that looks like a modern-city street, complete with attractive second-story apartments gracing one's view. Along this gorgeous walkway, there is a shop open where one can get coffee, tea, and pastries 24-hours a day. Now that's my kind of service. The overall service provided by the 1,100 workers is first-rate--as it is on nearly every cruise ship. C'mon, it's why we cruise. There were things about the Navigator of the Seas that make me question whether I want to cruise specifically with Royal Caribbean. This was my first Royal cruise, and it felt to me that Royal is using super-ships in search of families with children. The ad for Navigator online encourages passengers to "amp up" their experience. I am 64 years old, and I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling amplifiers at a myriad number of rock concerts during the 1970s and 80s. At this time of my life, I desire a good meal with the woman I love--followed by a game of cribbage. So maybe Royal Caribbean is not the cruise line for me. A big factor that helps me decide on a cruise line is food quality. Overall, Navigator did not have the quality I wanted. The buffet food in the Windjammer Cafe was mediocre--not bad but not great, either. Then, on the second night of fine dining, Denise got food poisoning. We can never prove such a charge, but food poisoning is our conjecture. If correct, our experience underscores the following: when Navigator advertises that it provides "cuisines that you crave," food poisoning cannot be an cuisine option. There were meals offered every night of the cruise, and we think this one--spaghetti bolognese--was reheated. Denise was quarantined for 24 hours, and--to their credit--the staff did everything in their power to make her time enjoyable as well as safe. Take a five-day cruise, however, and remove 24 hours--it's not difficult to do the math. If there is one lesson you can take from our experience, it is this: always order the meals offered just for that specific evening. There is another factor for Navigator of the Seas to address. This was the dress code of fine dining. It simply was not enforced. People in short pants and t-shirts were often seated as if they were in their finest duds--and maybe they were. However, one of the major draws for me toward cruising is that I get to pretend I am rich. I have difficulty doing this in fine dining when I am seated next to a guy in short pants wearing a faded t-shirt that says "I Have The Answer." If Mr. Know has the answer, then I have the question: What is going on here? Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Sea has issues, but we will not rule out using the cruise line in the future. Perhaps the two ships--Brilliance and Rhapsody--which regularly depart from Tampa will find their way into our cruising itinerary. Hopefully, these two ships will not talk about "amping up" that which we seek to calm down. Read Less

My husband and I planned this cruise a while ago. We have never been to the southern Caribbean so this was a great itinerary. We very much enjoyed the ports that we went to and would recommend to anyone wanting to explore it. We are very loyal to Royal and love what all they have to offer. Aruba, Bonaire and curacao were 3 of the best ports that we have been to, and might go back in the future. The ship Navigator was in decent shape and the crew was great!! The only issue we had as far as the ship was concerned was that it was FREEZING all the time. I understand having it cold but it was a little much, and my husband is never cold and he was shivering at certain times on the ship. The food was great in the MDR, as well as all the shows that we saw. The cabin was in great order and our room attendant Nicholas was on top of our every need. There were two formal nights which were very nice. The captain was informative to us and kept us in the loop with weather, the course we were taking etc. Overall we were very pleased with the entire cruise and everything that came along with it. Read Less

I cruise to snorkel. This was my first trip to the ABC Islands. Bonaire and Curacao did not disappoint. Embarkation and Disembarkation were very smooth. We used the G pier at Miami. I used Luggage Valet, which is the best $25 you'll ever spend on a cruise. My PV 6297 cabin was great for a solo. Cabin Steward Dino was exceptional. The location is one deck up from the Promenade and the MTD MDR. Dining was my one complaint. I only eat in MDR. Of my nine mains, I sent back four. They were not cutable/chewable. My efficient waiters Lazarus and Amando replaced them quickly and I was satisfied with the second chance meals. I had breakfast each morning in MDR. Eggs Benedict and bacon is my stable. All were good. The eggs benedict over crab cakes (special) was *****. One of the best breakfasts I've ever had on a cruise ship. I went to a couple of Headliner shows and they were fine. Second issue - Guest Services: I did online check-in with a cash account then changed it to credit card at boarding. Once on board I received three emails warning me to change to a credit card or my Seapass card would be frozen. Twice I went back to Guest Services and tried to get this resolved. I asked for Guest Services Manager to call me. He did after two days and said that whoever adds a charge card needs to DELETE THE CASH ACCOUNT (makes sense). Unfortunately, his staff has training issues. The only other hiccup was an OJ charge when I had the RR package and a phantom charge against my account for alcohol at a bar I didn't even know of much less visited. The Best of Arruba tour consists of an Aloe plant visit, a natural bridge that has collapsed, and the Lighthouse. Very nice air conditioned bus though!! I've already booked a repeat trip to the ABC's on Explorer in November 2019. Read Less

Overall, the ship was very accommodating. A few bumps in the road but overall, another great cruise. Folks were very helpful as I navigated the elevator, etc. in a scooter. I was traveling with a torn meniscus and didn't want to cancel the cruise. Even though we had an interior cabin, the crew took the scooter for me each evening to charge it since it wouldn't fit adequately in the cabin. We had some issues in the My Time dining with a table next to us that was quite loud and demanding so we had to be moved. It caused our waiter to give us less than stellar service but we brought it to their attention and then things improved. We are going on the ship when it comes out of dry dock to see the improvements. Overall, crew was friendly but some were less than professional - the future cruise desk personnel my husband spoke with was beyond incompetent. The ship looked pretty good for her age. Read Less

This was a cruise for our 5th anniversary and it was one of the BEST!!!! Loved the Navigator. Ship was beautiful, cabin was terrific, food was terrific, entertainment was awesome....especially the matinee starring Deana. She is an amazing talent. The production shows were great as always. Staff was awesome and we never fail to have a terrific time in the DL. We did the specialty restaurant package this time and were so glad we finally gave it a try. Chops, Giovanni's and the mexican restaurant were all extremely good. Food and service were top-notch. We will definitely do this again. Ate breakfast in the WIndjammer each morning, lunch was varied..sometimes Windjammer, other times Promenade Cafe. Main dining room had good food as usual, We have been traveling on Royal for many, many years and as usual, couldn't ask for any better. Best service and our cruises are always "top notch" thanks to Royal Caribbean. We will remain loyal to Royal!!!! Read Less

We chose this cruise for price and ports of call. Sail date 11/23/18 - 12/2/18. Ports of call were Labadee, Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. Boarding the ship was handled efficiently and we had our luggage within an hour of boarding. We had questions and we couldn’t get answers because everyone was “new.” No one directed us to someone that could answer our questions. We had breakfast in the Sapphire dining room on our first day. We were among the first seated. It took 45 minutes to get served. The food was not hot and the order was wrong. When I questioned the waiter about the mistake they showed me that they had given me an old menu. We had breakfast in the dining room on our final day and it took 50 minutes to be served. We have to cut them a break on this one because the last day can be hectic. As good as the dinner menu looked and the presentation was beautiful, the food rarely arrived hot. Room temperature was what we received in most cases. The only exception was on evenings when we had late departures and the dining room was not as crowded because passengers were still on the island. My guess is that food is plated in advance and left sitting until served because they can’t handle a full dining room. I received an old menu on one occasion. Our waiter and assistant waiter (Shenelle and Miran) were the perfect balance of friendly and professional. Our cabin was kept tidy by our room steward but we kept finding gnats in our bathroom. They appeared to be coming from the sink drain. Bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths were horribly worn with torn hems and frayed edges. Bolero bar was not clean. A puddle of liquid and debris needed to be wiped up. We noticed that upholstery throughout the ship was stained and worn. Definitely needed to be replaced. We found the Windjammer cafe was the best place to eat. Good options on the buffet and the food was hot. We were able to pick convenient times to eat so that there wasn’t a scramble for a place to sit. Chops grill was a great place to eat. Costs extra but the food was perfectly prepared. Disembarking went smoothly. This is our third Royal Caribbean cruise and we were disappointed. We aren’t sure if RC is falling apart in general or if it’s just this ship. Not sure we will cruise with RC again. Read Less

This was our 6th cruise with Royal Caribbean in the past three years. For the most part, I believe that travelers make their own luck and their own fun. If you're looking for a good time, you'll find it and if you're looking for stuff to criticize, the same also applies. This cruise was no exception. We found plenty of great fellow travelers to get to know, great food, great crew, and a great bar to hang out in most evenings. What fell short for us was the lack of possible activities on board and the poor timing of many of them. For example, if the two headliner shows are at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm, how exactly is that supposed to work for those of us with the second seating in dining room at 8:00 pm? It doesn't, and we missed out on several shows because of that. There were also inexplicable lulls in activities. For example, there was a show that got out at 9:30, just as the pub entertainer was taking an extended break until 10:30...and no other activities possible either. Nothing at the pool, nor in any clubs or other bars. Just...nothing. That sort of thing happened a few times this sailing, and--to me--felt like the entertainment director just dialing it in for the last few weeks before Navigator goes to dry dock. Dining: We loved our waiter, Andel, and thought the food in the main dining room was some of the best we've ever had on RC ships. We had purchased a 5 night specialty restaurant package ahead of time and ended up regretting it because our dining room experience was so pleasurable. The ABC Islands: This was our first time to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao...and it won't be the last. Our favorite of the three was Bonaire. We took the advice of other Cruise Critic folks and rented a golf cart from the company Bonaire Cruisers. They were a joy to work with: professional, efficient, and friendly. The golf cart cost $95 for the day. We met a Bonaire Cruisers rep just outside of the dock, and he took us to their office a few short blocks away where we filled out paperwork and paid. Then we were handed off to the map lady who gave us a map and took her time thoroughly explaining the two recommended routes (North and South), the highlights of each, and approximately how long each route would take (not counting stops). We got a lunch recommendation, too. And we were off! It was a marvelous day on a marvelous pristine island teeming with clear waters and wildlife. We are already looking around for another cruise to these islands, especially Bonaire. Read Less