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

Cruise was very nice. Ship doesn’t look worn at all. Minor issues but all ships do. Cabin was amazing and very spacious. Main dinning room was great for 7 out of 9 nights. Terminal for boarding was a nightmare. Was standing in line right by the escalators to board then a rude worker stated everyone needs to be seated or no one will board so we had to go to back of terminal to find a seat. Then they would call out levels/statuses. Of course nobody came by use to tell everyone about boarding suites so we were skipped and had to go when they called for emerald. The chefs table was amazing and well worth the price (lasted from 6:30 until almost 11). Ports were nice and not crowded, most of them we were the only ship there! Loved Bonaire and Curaçao. Aruba wasn’t that nice looking or attractive. So nice to not have many kids aboard. The total count was around 3,600 and only about 300 kids. Read Less

This was the third time we have done the Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao itinerary and the 4th time I have been on navigator. Each time gets better! We left the day after Thanksgiving out of the Port of Miami. The only real huge drawback of the entire trip was the cruise-port! This cruise-port in Miami is now borderline abysmal. We left out of terminal G. Boarding the ship took far too long. As a Diamond member the "expedited process" taking over 40 minutes was a joke. Note to the Royal Caribbean senior management bean counters - when you treat people like cattle, you have a problem. You need to fix this process. It was pretty sad. But once on board, the Navigator Magic was there. The entire staff knows this ship is going to dry dock for a major overhaul, but there they were, a crew committed to making sure their passengers would have a great time. Sure the ship is in need of updating, but the staff who run the ship dulls the age of it. The captain and his crew were awesome and the cruise director and his staff were equally all in. We had an inside cabin on Deck 7 - Aft. Our stateroom attendant Melky was simply awesome. The room was spotless everyday. Anything we asked for, he had it there in a flash. The bed however had the typical 4 inch slate pool table slab for a matress. If you want to feel like toothpaste can be squeezed out of you then you'll find out it feels. Melky did try to remedy the situation with a padded insert. It was successful in making the 4 inch slate feel like padded 4 inch slate. The toothpaste just doesn't squeeze out as fast..... Dinner in the dining room was very good. Our waiter Yu and her assistant Awayan were totally attentive and did their absolute best every night. They were impressive. Our Head Waiter Naji also was visible and made sure all the details were spot on. The whole team was top notch. We had the opportunity to spend time in the Diamond lounge and Crown Viking Bar. We were served by an outstanding staff. Zoltan was behind the bar with his colleague O'jarvis. Cruisers, it you want to be served, these two are two of the best. Zoltan gets the nod for being the absolute best, both were engaging, helpful, made the experience that much better. The viking crown is a special place, looking out at a port or stars at night, the planners at RCL knew what they were doing. But these two made the place that much better. The entertainment was excellent. The comedy, ventriloquist, dancing and ice show were all great. One thing that the Navigator has is a orchestra with a horn section. Trumpets, trombone and Saxophones. Everytime on board we enjoy this orchestra that much more. Whether they are playing in the Metropolis Theater, Royal Promenade or any other venue, the shows they put on are amazing! Ports Aruba - did an Island tour the last time, but we wanted to do some jewelry shopping and play in a few casinos. We wound up buying a very nice pair of earrings and palm tree with opal inlay at Kay's Jewelry. Aruba is a great place. The beaches are nice and so are the people. Bonaire - Spent time perusing the local shops, like Aruba, we toured the Island the last time there. But we should have taken the sunset cruise. Next time there we will do that excursion. We saw the boat go buy our ship and then we saw pictures of someone who did the excursion and took amazing sunset shots of the sun setting. Like the Grand Canyon, pictures just don't tell the whole story, you want to see it. Curacao - Another great Island. The locals are so Friendly. We did the Island tour the last time so we stayed local to Port. There is plenty of great shopping in Port and the locals are so friendly there. Next time back we will go to a beach for a few hours and enjoy it. I might not have said a lot about these three Islands, but they are all exceptional to visit. These Islands have so much individual personality to suit anyone's tastes so before going, check out travel sites and this one for ideas on excursions. Labadee was part of the itinerary - it is a great beach Island. Taking the jetski's out for a ride is a great thing for anyone old enough to do. You will enjoy RCL's island! The Fitness Center is pretty good - except they keep MSNBC on the TV's. It ruins the good vibes in the place. There should not be political on board a cruiseship - stop the nonsense. There should be music and fans too. But instead, you see the crackpots on while you are working out. Think about it... Read Less

Before giving my negative experiences, I want to say if you can't have fun on a cruise there is something wrong with you. We are platinum on Norwegian, but we were wanting to be diamond on Royal , so we booked this nine day cruise. We arrived at the port at 10:00, hoping to board by 11:30. Our status gives us Prority boarding. The boarding was horrible!! It was like herding cattle. The cameras were broken! And we didn't get on until 1:00!!! On the first day, we like to eat in the main dining room. It wasn't open. We had the Promenade inside room, which means we had a window overlooking the Promenade. This was really nice. We had the greatest cabin Stewart--- Camilla Trindade. She was wonderful! She was always there to help you and she always had a smile on her face! I have a C-PAC. She got me distilled water and an extension cord. I like to hang my shorts, but I didn't have enough pronged hangers. She brought me 10 more. EXCELLENT SERVICE!! The first Sea night we had a reservation at Chops. The appetizers were excellent. I had the shrimp cocktail and the crab cake. The shrimp were huge and the crab cake delicious. Then came the horrible steak. We got the 12 oz Ribeye ordered medium rare. It was well done. We sent it back. The second one was even worse! It was so thin--- no where near 12 oz. It was tough and well done. The next Sea night we ate at Giovanni's. We didn't like the appetizers , but the filet Mignon was EXCELLENT! It was cooked to perfection! We complemented the chef. We had already made reservations for our third night at Chops. The head of all the restaurants just happened to be at Giovanni's that night. We told him about our experience at Chops. He was wonderful! He told us he would change our last reservation to Giovanni's and he would allow us to get the appetizers brought to us from Chops. When we ate our last meal at Giovanni's everyone asked how we got those appetizers and we said, " Just Ask" We only took one tour and that was with Bonaire Vista Tours. Our tour guide was Joli and she was excellent. It was well worth the $35 per person. Now our other negative experience. We went to the Cruise Next desk and Erwin made our reservations for our next cruise on Norwegian in January. We also signed up for a Royal Carribean credit card. He was to have transferred all our on board charges to the new credit card, which he didn't handle correctly which we found out when we were disembarking. (which I will discuss later). Since the cruise in January was so close, we had to pay for it in full. That night I got a certificate from the Casino for $100 off the price of my next cruise. The next day I went back to Erwin twice. He said that because we had paid in full he couldn't apply the $100. I went to the casino host and he told me to talk to the head of the Cruise next desk. After three visits to Cruise Next I finally got it applied. Since you have to wait forever at the Cruise Next Desk to be helped-- this was a waste of my last Sea day!! I have to say the I like was Royal Carribean does in the main dining room for lunch. You can order from the menu or go to their Tutti a Bar or both. This is where you can have them custom make a salad the way you like it and you can fix your plate from a variety of entrees. They have an antipasti table. They have a table with all kinds of desserts, including a chocolate fountain and a sundae ice cream bar. I really enjoyed this. One night in the dining room, they have lobster. You can get as many lobsters as you want. On Norwegian they no longer serve lobster. One night they had baked Alaska, which I haven't seen on a cruise in years! Now to the horror in disembarking. It is always so easy on Norwegian, but it is a horror on Royal. We take SAS transportation to and from Fort Lauderdale and the port.( They are excellent!). But if you are after 10:00 you risk having to wait 45 minutes for them to pick you up. If you are through customs before that you don't have to wait long. With Royal you sign up for a time to disembark. We chose 9:00. We were number 17. 9:00 came and went and they hadn't called our number. They had stopped calling numbers at 15. Finally at 9:30 the girl suddenly called all numbers under 25. This made it a mad rush for 10 groups being called at once. When we finally got up to the station where they scan your card, they wouldn't let us off the ship because they said we hadn't paid our bill. We tried to give them the info over the phone, but they wouldn't allow it. We had to go up to customer service to sign for it to be paid. This was Erwin's fault. No one had called us or left us a message that there was a problem with our bill. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!! Then we finally get off the ship, the escalator to customs is broken. We had to wait forever for a elevator to get us to customs. A TOTAL NIGHTMARE!! Read Less

This was my 6th cruise on Royal Caribbean. A group of 10 of us sailed out of Miami. I sailed on Oasis in June 2018 and while I am not in any way comparing the ships, Navigator just looked tired. The ship is a great size, big enough to wander without feeling overwhelmed but not so small that you feel cramped. The main areas were OK looking but the cabins are in desperate need of refurbishment. The chair and ottoman in our cabin were so dated and dirty that we didn't even sit in it. We had an interior virtual balcony room which I was looking forward to but as my 15 year old son stated "this is dumb". I was really thinking that it would enhance the experience but it didn't. We kept the curtain on it closed all the time. The food on the ship was very predictable. Breakfast in the Windjammer was the same everyday. My biggest complaint here was waffles. There was a waffle iron with a staff member making fresh waffles but only 4 at a time...so there was always a shortage. In the main dining room, the service was fantastic. We did have to fight tooth and nail to have us all seated together (not RC's fault, our travel agent didn't have our reservations linked). The dinner was pretty much a carbon copy of the other cruises I've had on Royal. No complaints about the taste, its just that it was exactly the same as other cruises I've taken. The deserts were bland however. The ice skating rink was cool and even saw the show. I did think it was odd that they used that space to do the Quest game show (again something I've seen on every RC cruise). Embarkation was great. No problems here at all. Disembarkation was a bit disappointing We waited in line for about 45 minutes to get off. Probably nothing they can do about that but the line started on one side of the ship wrapped through the main dining room and then to the other side of the ship before you can get off. From what I understand, the ship is due for dry dock in the next couple months. I think this will help the overall experience. Read Less

A big reason we usually choose RC is because of our Diamond status (those who pay for suites also enjoy.) However it’s became apparent RC is no longer valuing the loyalty this brings them. The Diamond lounge is usually a place where you get the added benefits of a quiet place to get a contintental breakfast and happy hour with free drinks at night. However, it feels like this is a bother to the staff. The first thing that happened is they sent notification to our room that happy hour was from 4:30-8pm. When we arrived at 4:30, they told us that it doesn’t begin until 5pm. Even showing the paper we received, we were told it was wrong. Then when we asked for a drink at 8pm before leaving, we were told last drink was at 7:55. At breakfast, they only had a carton of milk by the coffee. We asked for something non-dairy (due to allergy) and were practically yelled at that there was “only milk!” When we then asked the concierge if maybe tomorrow a non-dairy could be provided, she replied very snootily “I’m sorry you were inconvenienced. I’ll see what we can do.” Also, we used to always be issued robes to use in our staterooms, but our cabin steward told us that is no longer a service. I didn’t bring a robe because of this and now it makes getting ready difficult. I asked for a couple of extra towels, and he agreed but looked very pained, which means he probably gets flack from management. I will tip him very well to compensate, but I feel bad. At the pool, you are only allowed 2 towels per person. Period. No exceptions. So there’s no way to have 1 towel cover your chair, one for a pillow and one to dry off. I realize it is a luxury to do this, but I’m on vacation! I feel like I’m at a very low end hotel. These are pretty simple things but apparently the staff is overworked and not getting support from management to make guests happy. Honestly, save $100 and just take a Carnival Cruise because this is what RC is catering to.Ill definitely be sharing this with our travel agent to warn others as well. Read Less

Oh, Mr Porter, what shall I do? I wanted to go to Boston and New York and they've taken me on to the Canary Isles....OK, it doesn't rhyme or fit the tune, but it sums up what happened to us on our first experience of cruising. My wife and I decided two years ago to blow our savings on a cruise down the Eastern Seabord of the USA. Royal Caribbean International were advertising a 13 night cruise leaving from Southampton in early November, calling at Boston, New York, Port Canaveral and Miami - all places we had never visited, but would very much like to see. We took a deep breath and booked, then waited as the months crawled by, getting excited at the prospect of the Big Adventure ahead. Two weeks before departure, I went in to hospital and we had to miss the sailing. Insurance paid for most of the financial loss, so when an identical cruise was advertised last February, we decided to tempt fate and book up again. This time we were both fit and well as the day of departure arrived. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the ship wasn't in quite such great shape. Newspapers carried the story of a catastrophic failure of one of the stabilsers which caused hull damage and resulted in the cruise before ours being curtailed for emergency repairs. Then came the storm warnings. Late on the Friday before Monday's sailing our travel agents contacted us to say that because of adverse weather conditions in the Atlantic, the ship would not be calling into Boston, New York or Port Canaveral, but instead would spend time in Belgium and French ports before taking a southerly route to Miami. With someone else booked to move into our house the next day to dog-sit, and goodness knows how much already spent on return air-travel, overnight stays and car-hire, we felt we had no choice but to continue with the cruise, even though we had zero interest in spending time in Bruges or LeHavre. (No offence, Belgium and France, but we have visited you lots of times before.) Our disappointment was utter, and there was little excitement left when we went on board The Navigator for our first cruising experience. Things appeared to look up when, just before sailing, the Captain came on the Tannoy to say that - reponding again to weather changes - we would now be sailing direct to the Canary Isles, then crossing the Atlantic to the Bahamas for a day's water sports and sunbathing on a tropical island before going to Port Canaveral. (Back on the list). Nine happy days at sea allowed us to work up an appetite for the day of snorkling and coral reef exploration we were promised on Coco Cay, the RCI's private island paradise in the Bahamas. Crossing the Bay of Biscay was pretty choppy as the broken stabiliser was still not working, but the seas soon calmed down to a light swell. The crew were magnificent, the onboard entertainment excellent, and because so many people had cancelled at the last minute, we virtually had a waiter each. Life on board was relaxing and fun-packed, and our spirits rose. Sure, we had missed meeting our old friends in New York, and we never got to see Boston, but the sun was shining, the southern breezes were balmy, and there was that delicious day of water sports in the Bahamas to look forward to. The Day arrived, and the whole ship's complement lined up to disembark, larded in sun cream and already dressed in swimming gear. Announcement over the Tannoy: "Because of the swell, tenders are not prepared to put out from the island. We will not now be spending the day on Coco Cay but will divert to Freeport for a few hours on Grand Bahama." More dashed hopes. More cancelled excursions. But still, there was a guided tour of the Everglades at Port Canaveral to look forward to tomorrow, wasn't there? Well, no, actually, becuase later that day, after a rather uninteresting few hours on the quayside at Freeport, we had the message that all guided tours booked for the next day were off because of "immigration difficulties." So far, of the four excursions we had booked, none had or would now take place. As a last ditch effort to have some fun somewhere, we booked a shuttle ride to Magic Kingdom. Been there before, and it costs an arm and a leg, but, hey, we're on holiday. The ship docked in Port Canaveral. The shuttle bus made it to the Magic Kingdom. We had five hours in the park - just time for two rides and a ten-minute show - then back to the ship. Or so we thought. The coach broke down on the way back. We waited forty minutes in a gas station for a replacement bus, and ended up back at the ship seconds before it sailed, missing half of our last meal on board because we were so late back, and having to wear the same clothes we had worn for a sweaty day in the seething Disney park. Short of actually sinking mid-Atlantic, it is difficult to see how anything else could have gone wrong on this voyage. We have never cruised before - is our experience typical? Read Less