Was on Navigator for 2018 New Years cruise and was very satisfied. How could corporate destroy my excellent ratings in three months. There were NO complaints in January and a litany of complaints from this cruise Positive 1. Crew and servers were all superb. The problem is that they didn't have much to work with. 2. Passover seder was excellent, rabbi very good, food adequate, and we had a very good time. 3. Cabin was kept immaculate and our steward Steve was very helpful with anything we asked him. Negative 1. Debarkation was a disaster. Hundreds upon hundreds of people lined up all over the place based up the schedule RCCL gave us and NO place to go. First was called to leave ship over an HOUR from time given on paper. 2. Taste and quality of food served at dinner were horrible. DO NOT order the Australian bass. Three of our members "spit it up" after the first bite. A number of other dishes had very "little" taste, and had to be returned to the kitchen. This is in contrast to the excellent food we had on the New Year's cruise. 3. Overall menu was quite poor. There wasn't enough of a variety to make people happy. Read Less

My wife and I have cruised 4 other times, but this was the first time for our two boys, ages 9 and 11. In short, everyone had a great time. On recounting the trip, the "memorable moment" count was far higher for this cruise than any of our previous trips. The four of us stayed in a Grand Suite, which was quite nice. At first glance, I thought it would be too small for our family, but after the 5 day cruise, honestly, it was plenty of space. The balcony adds a lot of square footage to where you can move around. I highly recommend being in a suite. The primary perk is that it gives you access to the Concierge Lounge. Why is that a benefit? It's kinda like a private club. The room itself is underwhelming, frankly, but you go there before dinner and you meet other suite people -- and there's some light hors d'oeuvres, but more importantly, an OPEN BAR. They don't have frozen drinks, but they can make just about anything else with their 15 bottle bar of standard stuff (gin, vodka, rum, wine, etc.) We'd get a drink, then just before we left for dinner, would ask for a glass of wine to take to dinner. No problems leaving the lounge with the wine. (I hadn't brought any cash the first night .. on the second, I tipped the bartender $20 for the many drinks he'd served us .. future glasses of wine pours were HUGE.) Two other Suite perks .. a complimentary, private tour of the bridge and galley. Also, on disembarkation day, you have your own private area and you show up in any 30 minute window, they will put you at the front of any line off the ship. Four negatives about the cruise: * The pool water is freezing cold. No one wants to be in the pool for more than a quick dip. This didn't make sense to me. Heat the pool. * The Wi-Fi speed was about 3 megs down on Day 1 .. but by Day 3, everyone was using it, and speeds were in the 150kbps range, with massive latency. (I'm a network guy.) * The "kids club" for 9-11 year olds was .. simply. bad. Our two sons had zero interest in it, which was disappointing, we'd hoped they could hang out there. It shouldn't be that hard: Buy some Xboxes and TVs, and let the kids play/watch, like other cruise lines. * During peak hours, breakfast and lunch, the Windjammer cafe is awful. Far too crowded, too disorganized, and not enough seating. For breakfast, go to the Main Dining Room, and avoid the Windjammer. Lunch food was generally average .. dinner was quite good. They always had a kids' menu, and let the kids pick off either menu. They were happy campers. Conclusion: We loved the cruise. Will repeat. Read Less

My hubby and I each needed 4 more points till D+ so booked a 5 day to Mexico (but stayed on the ship). We arrived at the port of Miami at 11:30am and were on board by noon. This was our first time on Navigator which was pretty much the same as Explorer. This cruise was during spring break so there were over 1,000 children on board which was 25% of the passengers. However they were involved in age appropriate activities so we were never bothered by them. We never ate in the dining room. I purchased the Specialty Dining BOGO for the first two nights. First night was Chop’s Grille where we both had steak medium rare. It was done perfectly. Second night at Giovanni’s and again the filet was perfect. Third night at Izumi’s where we cooked filet on hot rocks. Yum! We ate all breakfasts and lunches in the Windjammer as well as the last two nights. I especially like the Asian food on the buffet at lunch. The Windjammer was very crowded except for the port days, so we always got there when they first opened for lunch to make sure we could get a table. We never went to any of the production shows as they are pretty much the same on all cruises and hold no fascination for us. However we did go to the Ice Skating Show the first night. It was very good. What talent those skaters have! We also went to a couple of movies since we don’t go to many at home. Every evening we went to the Diamond Club where we made new friends. The concierge was very friendly and attentive and the service of the staff was superb! We were in balcony cabin 8334. It isn’t as large as the junior suites that we normally book, but was still roomy enough for the two of us. Our cabin steward Henrique Took good care of us. As far as debarkation, everything went very smoothly. We were off the ship by 8am, went through customs in a flash and were on our way. We have Global Entry cards so were able to go through customs in a very short line. All in all, a very nice cruise! We love Royal. Read Less

This was our first cruise as a family, and it won't be our last. Kids had a blast (9 + 6), and we found the perfect mix of family time and date night time. The kids enjoyed the evening sessions at Adventure Ocean. Service was wonderful, particularly in the MDR. Common areas of the ship were in great shape. State room was showing it's age but not in a way that made a difference for our overall experience. Kids loved the rock climbing, and our daughter enjoyed the Flowrider. Entertainment was good, particularly worth seeing the Ice skating show. Although it was difficult to find a chair by the pool at peak times, it didn't feel nearly as crowded as I expected given it was a sold-out cruise. We had a balcony room, and ended up using the balcony far more than anticipated. We'll be doing an Oasis Class ship for our next cruise, but we wouldn't hesitate to sail on this class again in the future. Read Less

This was our first cruise and now we are addicted. Royal Caribbean made everything so simple which made for a very relaxing vacation with my family. The ship was awesome...our balcony cabin was perfect for the 2 of us and our 11 year old son. The food did not disappoint...from the windjammer, the main dining room, Izumi, and Chops...We did the sushi making class on our first day at sea and loved it...we learned to make sushi and then enjoyed our creations. Our son loved the flowrider. The female instructor is the bomb and so wonderful with kids and teaching boogie boarding or surfing. The service both for dining and throughout the ship was awesome. Our ports were Costa Maya and Cozumel. We chose the dolphin adventure in Costa Maya for our son and he loved it. In Cozumel, we did the beach resort of Mr. Sanchos and it was perfect...all inclusive food and drink. The beach massage was great...and the water park in the ocean was great for our son. This was a perfect family vacation...I am already looking into our next Royal Caribbean adventure. Read Less

We were charged three times to our bank for stateroom charges, and have to dispute them. The bedding was unclean, private hairs and looked like urine stains. The housekeeping said they don't change the sheets everyday. No soda machines, have to stand at bar for any soda; and they are not opened all the time. The buffet sometimes had better food than the specialty restaurants. Pools and sauna were over crowded. Bingo started at $49. There is a $10 fee for cancelling specialty restaurant if you decide to eat somewhere else. The Italian restaurant had pictures of scallops on website, they do not have scallops. They also cancelled lobster nights, you do have to pay extra for lobster. Some of the bartenders would cater to the liquor customers and have the soda customers wait. Buffet for breakfast opened 30 minutes before we had to meet for the excursion, a lot of people didn't have time to eat. Cozmel had a 45 minute ferry boat before we got to shore. 5 pesos to use the bathroom at Cozmel, and no toilet paper goes in the toilet. The Turtle and Cenote tour took you to ocean before the Cenote. You are supplied with flippers, snorkel mask, and life jacket. You are taken in the ocean on a boat and told to jump off and hopefully you see a turtle, not that clear of water and the ocean waves are beating across your face while you are swimming to the boat that drove away. Costa Maya went on excursion to Myan Ruins. They were cool to see, but over 2 hour ride each way on bus through areas of sugar cane, pineapples, small towns, dogs looked malnourished. They do tell you to be careful climbing and anything else at the Ruins because the hospital is over 2 hours away. Read Less

Overpriced for the value. We cruised with 14 family members. We drove down to Miami for the cruise. Parking ramp was very expensive for the five days. Parking ramp had no signage on how to get around, including getting out. Stateroom (verandah) was terrible. Bed was old and rock hard. Language barriers were prevalent with majority of staff, no matter what the setting. Some spoke the equivalent of no English, even though the majority of the guests spoke English. Nickeled and dimed to death. I found myself crying out MOOO!! many times during embarkation and debarkation as I now know how cattle feel. Room service had a significant fee for every and any type of service. Bathroom was falling apart. Our room entrance door would not close automatically (I found it open on numerous occasions), even though it is supposed to close automatically and the verandah door did not lock without learning the way to fidget with it, from our steward. Soap tray in shower fell off the wall twice and appears to have been screwed back on, in different positions, many times. Read Less

It was an affordable vacation on Spring Break as a family. Navigator of the Seas was a decent ship. It was not that modern. You could tell it was refurbished at some point. The decor was inviting, a little above average. The room was as expected, same decor and size as most ships. The staff was above average. Very efficient, polite, everyone greeted us. Service was very quick and friendly. We were impressed by the service We didnt partake in any excursions so no comments here The entertainment on the ship was pretty good, not mind blowing, but you could tell they made an effort to keep us entertained especially on sea days. One exceptional thing on the ship was the ladies that took care of the youth programs. AMAZING WOMEN. My daughter never wanted to leave. The only part of the cruise that my wife and I were really disappointed was the quality and variety of the food, especially in the Windjammer buffet. Felt more like the Unjammer at times. Food was very mediocre, and the choices were limited. Dining room was ok but the menu needs more choices. I would recommend themed night, like Italian or Mexican, those are always fun Overall, the cruise was average. What you would expect nothing more. Nothing to blow your mind. This was a good cruise for a family vacation, or couple of college kids with little cash who just want a fun week together. Read Less

Every 2 or 3 years we go on a Cruise. Royal Caribbean was always my first choice. Last time ( 2 years ago) I had a bad experience. This time was even worst. Food is not the same anymore. The amazing dinner that i used to have , it is gone. The staff ( with some exceptions) was rude . The main answer was " Sorry , we can not do anything " . Casino machines are old , some of then older than in the worst casinos in Florida. The tour was very poor. The tour guide spent one hour teaching ridiculous words in Spanish and asking for "propina" Tips. Pools completely crowded. Not everything was bad. The cabin was good an the cabin service too. Summary , my advice " Don't pay more for Royal Caribbean , they are far away to be the same company that they were 10 to 5 years ago " . Read Less

The ship is in bad need of any refresh. The decor is very old. Broken railings, Lights not working, elevator buttons not working on several decks. Having been on several HAL, NCL and Disney cruises, the food overall on this RC sailing was by far the worst. Daily menu only rotated three dishes each night with most of the appetizers and deserts staying the same night over night. Simply lacked creativity. Insulting to have additional dishes listed on the menu but with a charge. Filet Mignon $20 charge in the main dining room. In what fine dining restaurant do they list Tilapia (farmed) as the catch of the day (on two of the 9 nights). Even our servers shook their heads and were embarrassed. No wine packages on RC. They have a sign that you can purchase sets of wine at their vintages shop which will be brought to your table. Discounts offered with the more wine purchased. After three attempts to get it worked out - gave up. Dining staff has no idea how it worked. Vintages staff admitted that it's better to go to their shop on the way to dinner to pick up your selection and take it with you to dinner. So, select the wine before seeing the menu? Didn't try the specialty restaurants. Based on the poor quality of the food in the main dining room along with the classless up sell to get a good dish, we decided not reward RC for that tactic. Although the quality of the food was comparable to a hospital cafeteria, the service was good. Nice people with great stories and conversations. The windjammer was simply terrible. 80% repeated menu day over day. You guessed it Tilapia every day. The activities were fun. The kids enjoyed the wave runner. No waterslides, but the pools were nice. Movies out on the deck would have been nice except the layout is very odd and only a locations have good views of the screen. Odd that they offer no snacks like popcorn and sodas during the night movies like they do on other lines. Not a big deal for us but something to note is the onboard shopping was weak. You know your duty free selection is bad when Disney has a better liquor selection than you. Read Less