We love cruising. We stay loyal to Royal. We have been on Oasis class, freedom class and now voyager class ships. This trip was a four night trip from Miami to the Bahamas. It included a stop at CocoCay, Nassau, and one sea day. Embarkation - The ship left from Port of Miami Terminal A. The process was incredibly smooth. When you walk in there is two options. 1) If you have your set sail pass you go to a tablet and scan it. Then you have your picture taken and are on your way. The process takes a couple minutes 2) If you do not have your set sail pass then you go to the counter. We did not in this case because we booked the cruise after the three day check in window. Therefore we had to go to a clerk to complete the check in process. This process took about 6 minutes. Either option you get your room keys once you get on the ship. That was strange to us but apparently it’s becoming a more common practice. Once you finish the check in you go through security and then into a holding room. We didn’t have to wait long and were on the ship by 10:30 Ship - Wow! It is a beautiful ship. We were a little nervous since this is the oldest/smallest ship we had been on yet but we thought it was wonderful. The ship recently went through the AMPED upgrades and it looked great! Food - Overall the food was amazing. We ate all of our dinners in the MDR. We didn’t have a bad meal. It was delicious. We split our breakfasts between cafe promenade and the windjammer. The windjammer was good but it is still buffet food. Cafe Promenade has delicious sandwiches and is a good option if you just need something small. El Loco Fresh is where we had lunch on sea days- all I can say is YUM!! We loved it. Stateroom - We stayed in an interior room. It was fine for what we needed. The room was not the cleanest we’ve had but it was fine. Entertainment- It isn’t the best on this trip. The ice show is AMAZING. It’s the best I have ever seen. However the productions shows were awful! We also felt like there was less options of activities on this trip compared to normal. disembarkment - Smooth! We were able to walk off and go right through customs. The port at Miami has been upgraded and makes it easy to get on and off. Overall we had a great trip and would jump at the chance to cruise on Navigator again. Read Less

We just wrapped up a four-night Bahamas cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. We had the Key, got to the terminal about 9:30am, checked in, did security, sat in the Key area and were literally the first to board at 10:40am. We had already dropped our luggage with the stevedores, but should have waited and dropped it at the Key area on deck 4. Information about the Key was sort of scarce. We didn’t receive our bags until about 5pm. Fortunately we had packed swimsuits and sunblock and were able to enjoy the pools and slides. About the Key: -The internet package was great. -We didn’t know until the last day that the Key acts as a “fast pass” for the water slides (grr). -The Chops lunch was excellent (filet) -We only used the priority seating for the ice show, but there was plenty of room at the other shows. -Our main dining room departure breakfast the last morning was really nice. -Info on departure procedures was a bit sketchy, so we left our baggage in the cabin during breakfast and after we grabbed our luggage and just went to the bamboo room to be escorted off (shorter line). It worked out just fine. -Our “checked luggage” was with everyone else’s, no specific “Key” Area was marked off at customs. Service was always friendly and attentive, except the bar servers were surly. At the theater one night, a server refused to provide a drink menu, and at one of the pool bars the last night, the bartender acted as though he was doing us a favor by making drinks and wouldn’t even talk to us. Hopefully these were the exception. The water slides and flow rider were fun, although the pools were really crowded on the sea day. We enjoyed the soft serve ice cream once we found it, and were so stuffed from meals we didn’t snack too often! We aren’t big drinkers, but the $12 mixed drink prices seemed high. We felt that RCI “nickels and dimes” passengers a lot. The main dining room charged an extra $8 for squeezed orange juice. That’s ridiculous. We didn’t do any formal excursions and instead explored Nassau independently and spent the Cococay day at Chill Beach (the island food was better than the Windjammer buffet, especially the brownies!) Read Less

Embarkation was a breeze, arriving at 11:00, changed into bathing suits and had a great day at the pool. The band was entertaining and great dj music and enjoyed tacos by the pool. Our luggage arrived to our cabin by the time we finished at the pool, in plenty of time to clean up for dinner. Dinner service was great in My Time Dining and with our pre-board reservations we were sat immediately. The only real complaints I have for the ship is the lack of bar service. There was only one waiter in the casino and he served only the table games. If you played slots or video poker, you must fend for yourself. There was usually only one bartender at the casino bar as well. The other thing that we found lacking was the Diamond Lounge. We missed the ambiance and the view from the Crown Lounge. Being a small lounge with no windows on Deck 5 (I think) was no where we wanted to be. However the Concierge there was wonderful. Debarkation was very fast although no one adhered to their departure time. Read Less

We chose The Navigator of the Seas because of the ports of call-Western Caribbean and wanted our kids to experience a Royal Caribbean ship with all the fun activities (rock climbing wall, FlowRider, Royal Promenade, etc.). After booking our cruise about 9 months before sailing, we saw on the internet that our ship was due for an upgrade (dry dock) in early 2019. We were excited to hear that the ship would get a whole new pool deck, water slides, new restaurants and bars. Here is what you need to know about The Navigator of the Seas: DISEMBARKATION: We stayed at the Homewood Suites Lagoon. Nice hotel with free breakfast. Shuttle to the port was about 15 minutes and the cost per person was $12. There are restaurants within walking distance and a store in case you need last minute supplies. From the time we stepped off the van and boarding the ship-it was about 45 minutes-Not bad SHIP: Like I mentioned above the ship got a rework, or as Royal likes to call it: Royal Amped Up...$115 Million dollars worth! Here is what was done: -Basically the pool deck was totally redone. They re-imagined the pool area to a Caribbean resort-like feel. New waterslides, aquacoaster (first ever) -Near the pool a new bar the Lime & Coconut and El Loco Fresh (both very good additions) -Redone mini golf-very nice job-Same as what is on the Harmony of the Seas -New in the Royal Promenade: Starbucks, Bamboo Room Lounge, Playmakers Sports Bar -New restaurants: Jamie's Italian (Seriously good), Hooked (replaced Sabor)-These are both specialty for fee restaurants -Glow in the dark Laser tag and Escape Room (Fee for Escape Room) It also has the FlowRider, rock climbing wall, ice skating rink Before we left I watched video tours showing the Navigator before it was drydocked. It looked nice but let me tell you Royal did such a great job with the rework. CABIN: We decided to go mid ship with my wife in the balcony stateroom and our 3 kids across the hall in an interior cabin. We found this configuration to work well as the kids would hang in our stateroom until they went to bed. Royal replaced the carpet and had new bed linens when it was in drydock. I did notice some wear and tear on the balcony but nothing too noticeable. Our stateroom balcony was very nice. I know there are arguments in favor and against a balcony. My opinion: Get the balcony, people. You are on a cruise-it is totally worth it. End of discussion. DINING: Like I mentioned above we did opt for the specialty dining. We did a special where we did our first 2 nights at specialty dining restaurants. We chose Izumi and Jamie's Italian. Izumi was good; you have $35 to spend per person and let me tell you that is plenty. We got a few specialty rolls and some of us got the hot plate (they cook the meat in front of you on the table-very cool). With me being half Japanese I am a sushi snob...there I said it. The rice was a bit overcooked and mushi. I know this is sushi but it should not be mushi! Jaime's Italian was our 2nd night. My wife and I had eaten at Jaime's on Harmony of the Seas and did not think it memorable. This time on the Navigator it was memorable. From the service (shout out to Mihaela), appetizer (get the plank), entrees and desert (get the Tiramasu)-everything was great. As for the main dining room, we had an issue with our table. We had 2 staterooms. Knowing this, I called Royal a few times to make sure we were all going to be at the same table-they assured me we would. Well on our third night (first 2 nights were specialty) they were going to seat our 3 daughters with a couple of lovely elderly ladies and my wife and I at another table. I let the person in charge know and they did seat us all together but it was in the corner of the dining room. I talked to them and for the remainder of the cruise our table was by a window and all of us together. Shout out to Chris and Yogesh for making everything flow smoothly after that 3rd night. ENTERTAINMENT & ACTIVITIES: The shows at night were decent. The stand out was the ice skating show. They had some dancing shows and comedians that were good. Nothing inappropriate for kids. There was a very good activity crew member (actually the first person we did meet) named Aaron. When we first boarded the ship we wisely packed our swim suits so we immediately went to the FlowRider and that is where we met Aaron. He taught us how to maneuver on the FlowRider. We also saw him at laser tag and other times on the ship. He was just naturally funny and fun to be around. SERVICE: The overall service was good. Some memorable but nothing that absolutely stood out. Aaron on the activity crew was probably the one that did stand out. Also Totot our assistant waiter in the main dining room was good as well. PORTS AND SHORE EXCURSIONS: 4 Ports in 7 days-Oh My! Roatan, Honduras: We booked this independent from Royal. This was due to the fact we were trying to find a dive company that would accommodate my wife and I (PADI certified) and our 3 kids (non-certified) to dive together. We went with West End Divers and are so glad we did! Courtney & Joseph were our dive guides and Manon (the owner) made it possible for our whole family to scuba together (our own private scuba dive!) We highly recommend this company. Costa Maya: We did the zipline and waterslide excursion thru Royal at the Mayan Lost Kingdom. For whatever reason I was not expecting much. It turns out this was a super fun excursion. Also, it did rain a bit while we were ziplining which added to the fun (warm rain) Cozumel: We booked horseback riding for the girls and my wife and I booked a scuba diving excursion (both thru Royal) The scuba dive was great, we saw a shark, eagle ray and turtle. Also went thru a pass thru as well. The kids said they had a great time on the horse back ride as well Grand Cayman: We decided to go with the Sting Ray and snorkel excursion thru Royal. It was a nice excursion to do once (check the box). The water was absolutely beautiful and it was fun interacting with the sting rays. Looking back on this cruise, from the newly amped ship to the crew and dining to the 4 ports-we would say this was a very memorable cruise. If given the opportunity we would definitely go again in an instant. Royal did a great job in updating The Navigator of Seas. Read Less

We chose Royal Caribbean because we got tired of Carnival. Our ship , Navigator of the Seas was a 7 day western cruise. Great itinerary. Nice ship. However, the food on this ship was just subpar! It was awful in the Windjammer and the main dining room. Completely disappointed Would not feed that so called food to my dogs! Carnival being a lower class line has much better food! The waite staff in the dining room was fabulous. Shout out to Nuran, Dandung & Hainin. Great guys!!! The service on the entire ship was excellent! The activities were also very disappointing!!!. No good shows and the comedy shows were limited and sporadic so if you missed the show you were not going to see it. But again the food, horrible! That was our first Royal cruise and probably our last.....Wondering if the food was just lousy on this particular ship or all Royal Caribbean ships.?? Read Less

This was my 8th cruise and first time on the Navigator. Overall, it was a great ship with a great crew. The ship is very similar to the Independence and Freedom of the Seas, which I've sailed on before and thoroughly enjoyed. Lets start with the good: - The Ice show. This was fantastic and shouldn't be missed. They have a coordinated light show using drones as part of the show and it's amazing. - The guitar singer in the Windjammer singing "washy washy" songs. Haven't seen this on any other ships, and it always brought a smile to hear the days rendition of some song converted to a "wash your hands" song. Loved it. - Cruise director and staff were very energetic and funny. - Balloon drop at midnight on the first night of the cruise. I've done a New Years eve cruise and this reminded me of that scene. It was really cool. This was the first cruise where I decided to try the specialty dining as I've always been impressed with the MDR food, so was looking forward to seeing how much better the food would be. I tried Chops and Jamie's Italian restaurants. Chops was decent, but this was no where near as good as it should have been for the price. I was expecting something along the lines of a Morton's steakhouse or Ruth's Chris quality, but it really wasn't even close...more like an Outback experience. It was good, but not worth the extra money. We had a similar experience at Jamie's, though it was even more of a disappointment. Never been to an Italian restaurant where they didn't play Italian music...instead they're playing some pop/techno stuff, that just didn't fit. I've also never been to an Italian restaurant where they don't immediately serve you bread along with some form of spread. Instead, Jamie's has some different breads as part of the appetizer menu. Also the waitress seems to over explain everything. I appreciated her knowledge, but it got to the point where we just wanted her to shut up and let us eat. The staff was wearing jeans and flannel shirts...not sure how this is Italian themed, but maybe I'm not hipster enough to get it. The desserts were hit and miss...the lemon meringue cheese cake was wonderful, the tiramisu was lacking and short of any coffee flavor. I didn't get a chance to do the escape room. It wasn't open on our last sea day so you'll want to get in early so you don't miss that. Also, one night there was an even on the cruise planner for "Stargazing on the helipad". We weren't sure what would be involved with this but assumed it would have some crew lead event of sort. Nope, it was just a bunch of people on the helipad at night, all wondering what was going on. Overall, it was a great cruise and I would definitely go on it again Read Less

We chose this cruise as it is about a month out of dry dock from an extensive renovation. We have previously sailed on the Majesty, Allure, Freedom, and Mariner of the seas. We have also sailed on the Disney Wonder and MSC Seaside. We arrived at the port around 1:30 and basically walked onto the ship. Very quick and easy. We only got a chance to do the Riptide slide as we didn't feel like waiting in line for the blaster. We really enjoyed the solarium for adults only. We are early risers so we never had an issue getting chairs. I was thrilled to see them actually keep track of chairs that people tried to save. There were plenty of chairs all over in case they were all taken at the pool. We spent a good deal of time at the casino. We had fun but there was a lot of smoke that made it difficult to breathe. Our stateroom was great. We had a balcony towards the back and didn't have anyone above us. Our balcony was the last one, so it was slightly bigger than normal. We generally spend a good amount of time in the room, so we were disappointed with the few choices there were for tv. Even the movies you had to pay for didn't have good choices. We didn't do any excursions, so we splurged on specialty restaurants. We dined at Hooked the first night, which was decent. The food was good, but the service was lacking. We went to Jamie's Italian the second night and it was so good we went back again the final night. The main dining room was seriously lacking in food and service compared to the specialty restaurants. Even the plating was mediocre. I cook much better food at home. The food is one of the main things that we look forward to when cruising. I would absolutely recommend the dining package if it's something you're able to do. Food in the Windjammer wasn't as good as we have experienced in the past. El loco fresh was an excellent addition to the included restaurants. They do need to improve the queso though as it was tasteless and way too watery. We only had the pizza at the promenade which was good. We got wings from playmakers that were good as well, but they took much longer than we expected. Overall, we really enjoyed this cruise. We spent a LOT of time relaxing, which we desperately needed. Read Less

Chose this cruise because it was 9 days and I have only been to that area twice before. This ship is very hard to navigate from one area to another especially when the 3rd and 4th decks are involved. I wish we had known that water shoes were so important at the beaches in Aruba. The underwater rocks are tough. Also the "off road" tours they are really that "off road" and unfortunately far to long. Meals in the special dining rooms were excellent and the service outstanding. Meals in the dinning room had outstanding appetizers and starters but the entreas were not up to the standard set by the apps/starters. Over all the crew was very good and the rooms delightful. This was my 42 cruise and while it was not my favorite it was far from the worst. Read Less

We chose this as our 2nd cruise because we had friends already booked. We then had an additional 6 friends join us. The reason for the 4 instead of 5 is simply due to issues with or at the terminal prior to and after we returned from our cruise. We had to wait for extended period of time both times with no real communication from Royal as to what the issues were. Apparently people did not get off the prior cruise and then when we retired the escalators were broke. So communication is key so I feel they need to work on that. Other than that the cruise was unbelievable. The destinations were perfect and the staff was beyond awesome. So friendly and helpful in every way possible. Special shout out to Raj and Sagar our dining staff. They are the gold standard of service and the excellence. They were on top of everything and never had to even ask it was like they read our minds ahead of time. Julio our cabin steward went up and over our expectations. My suitcase was damaged in transit and Julio help find the materials I needed to repair it. The different towel animals each night always put a smile on our face. Thank you so much to those gentlemen they deserved to be recognized by not only by myself but by The entire Royal corporate team. Read Less

Pretty loyal to Royal and a very good cruise overall, but have to say I am disappointed in what I feel is a slippage in quality of food and communication. We booked this cruise about 8 months prior to departure. Brought our adult children as well. 5 rooms total. Selected this particular ship for length of cruise and itinerary. Our room was a regular balcony. The children were all in various interior rooms. Let me start with the concerns. Navigator was coming out of dry dock after major renovations. The cruise before ours was cancelled because the ship was not ready. Many people were wondering if our cruise was going to sail or not. RCCL would have been wise to email all of us with an update and to assure the cruise was on but there was no communication at all. The upgrades were wonderful on the pool deck. Really liked the new look and vibe; however, one new water slide never opened on our cruise, the youth space never opened, and, most upsetting to me, was that the fitness center never opened. Additionally, there was NO communication from the ship’s staff about these closures nor if and when they would open. Daily trips to Guest Services and asking directly of Hotel Senior Staff members provided a variety of reasons and excuses for lack of openings but were always told they would open at some point during the cruise. They never did. Again, RCCL would have best served its guests by providing consistent, written, and proactive communication. The Guest Services Manager did not return my call to her so I had to track her down personally. She deferred me to corporate guest services, but after the cruise, corporate referred me back to the ship’s guest services. Being just shy of Diamond status, I found this lack of communication very unsettling and unprofessional. To cap it off, not once during the cruise did I receive any invitations or communication around being an Emerald member or any sense of welcome back to RCCL. This has left me questioning my loyalty to RCCL. Having sailed Holland America just before this cruise, I also felt the food in the Windjammer was subpar compared to HA’s wonderful buffet service. Main dining room food and service was quite good on Navigator though. Love the Mexican eatery on the pool deck. Ate there a lot. Enough of the concerns. Our balcony room was clean and spacious. Bathroom was the usual tight squeeze but I am used to this. The continual pool deck music and vibe were outstanding. Music was excellent at all venues. Entertainment for the shows was also pretty good. Room service was also solid. The theme nights were fun. The ice show was outstanding—went twice. Played laser tag—also fun. Couldn’t run on the outdoor jogging track—too crowded and temporary gym (7 machines) was less than excellent. The exercise bikes were found in 1-2 inches water every morning because of deck washing at night. Labadee (spelling?) beach was beautiful. Pretty crowded at lunch time and food was just okay. Our ports of call were all good though Bonaire stands out as exceptional after taking the water taxi out to Little Bonaire for snorkeling. Such blue waters and lots of fish. Everyone in our group had a lot of fun. There’s plenty to do on the ship during sea days. Getting on and off the ship was seamless. Everyone in our group was sad when the cruise ended and I think everyone would enjoy another another RCCL Cruise. My expectations are high though, especially after spending as much money as we did to make this cruise happen, and they were not fully met on this cruise. I am not sure if I will cruise RCCL again, even though I am one cruise away from Diamond status. This makes me sad because I have been loyal to Royal all these years. We’ll see. Read Less

We chose this cruise 2 years ago based on the itinerary and sailing date. Embarkation was a breeze since the cruise before us had been canceled. However, if you were a parent with small to teenage children, you would have been very upset, since they didn't start any of the kid's programs until Thurs. night. (We left Sat.) The re-fit of the ship included major work to the 11th deck, we were on deck 10, something happened in re-fit because the whole deck's virtual balconies worked on & off. RC did the right thing and gave everyone on deck 10 a shipboard credit to compensate as if we had booked a standard room. Also, if you are a gym enthusiast, you would have been disappointed. They only had a handful of treadmills and they were located in the corner of the Solarium area. I can only assume that with the re-fit some things didn't get totally finished. The food was, as always, very plentiful, but average. Friends who we traveled with thought the food was exceptional, so it's just a matter of taste. The shows were very good and there wasn't any major seat hogging going on. I wish I could say the same for the pool deck. Regardless of how many times passengers were reminded on a daily basis not to reserve deck chairs, people did just that. So on sea days you were hard pressed to find 2 "available" chairs near each other. It's unfortunate that some people just think they are better than the rest of us, and there really isn't anything a cruise line can do about that. The ports were beautiful and the weather was great. The service was excellent, and I have never been disappointed by RC in that regard. We have cruised 10 times with them. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the 9 day itinerary. And because of how long we were in port at each stop. But unfortunately because Royal decided to set sale with the ship not being at 100% we did not get the full benefit. If you had a child on this cruise you were very disappointed, which we did in our group. Adventure Ocean did not open until the 7th day of our 9 day cruise. Royal should have disclosed this to families up front before they had us all on board. But the worst part was, they kept saying, "it will be open tomorrow", and it never was until the 7th day. Also the one water slide never opened when we were on board and the gym, which my husband would have used everyday, never opened. We all felt like they could have been more transparent of what work still wasn't done and let us make the choice if we still wanted to sale or reschedule. The food in the dining room was very good, once we got it. Most nights it was over an hour before we got our entrees, and one night was 1 hr. 40 minutes, with a 5 year old at our table. We also loved the entertainment they had on board. Great Comedians and shows. Also, we had a lot of fun in the casino. The Bar staff in the Casino were great and helped to make our trip. A big shout out to Alex, who over sees the Casino Bar, he was great! The Itinerary though was fabulous, we loved everyone of our stops and how long we got to spend at each place. Read Less

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

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

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 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

For our fifth cruise my wife and I chose a trip from Southampton calling at Bilbao and La Coruña, Spain then Cherbourg and Le Havre, France. The ship did not sail until 7pm, so I didn't feel quite as worried booking the overnight flight into Heathrow scheduled to arrive more than twelve hours earlier. Our transfer to Southampton included a pre-cruise excursion stopping at Stonehenge--one of those places that I always wanted to visit, but never thought that I would. I must admit that I would have enjoyed the ride through the idyllic English countryside a lot more without the jet lag. But that was part of the plan--maybe we would have a burst of adrenaline arriving in Europe and be able to catch up a bit as the first full day of the cruise was spent at sea. That didn't quite happen; our internal clocks seemed to be off the entire trip. But I guess that's part of what makes travel so interesting. I'm not really sure why I am writing this at all. I read a lot of these reviews and many just seem to nitpick about so many things. Unless something is very bad, very good or maybe just a bit odd, it doesn't seem worth mentioning. Our cabin was as typical as one might expect. I don't have anything to nitpick about. We ate all of our dinners in the main dining room. The first night we sat at a table that was in a very warm part of the room, so they moved us to a more comfortable one for the rest of the cruise. The food was, as expected, usually pretty good, but nothing to email home about. We did have the beef wellington one night, just so we could compare it with the beef wellington we were planning to have at one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants in London before we returned home. (Guess whose dish won.) At our first port we got a surprise. It was some kind of holiday and entrance to the Guggenheim Museum was free (or as our non-English speaking cab driver told us, "no dinero!) Actually, we were just planning to take some pictures of the Puppy sculpture outside and not go into the museum at all, but it was a nice bonus. Most of our time in the ports of call was spent very leisurely, drinking coffee at outdoor cafes. We did stop to eat some octopus in La Coruña and had some macarons in Le Havre. Our one purchased shore excursion was the trip through the idyllic Normandy countryside to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery--another one of those places on the bucket list. It was a sobering venue and well worth the price. While I have been quite well-traveled domestically for decades, for much of my life I didn't even want to travel at all internationally. After retirement, this all changed; we applied for our passports almost immediately. And a few years ago we discovered cruising--another thing that for years I had disdained. This was only our second European trip. I found it much more difficult finding English speaking Spaniards in the places we stopped than in our previous travels. In fact, the predominantly British passengers were also hard to understand with all their dialects and accents (not even counting the fact that many of them were also drunk!). Due to the facts that my wife is a smoker (and I quite often sit with her in the smoking area of the ship) and a lot of our on board time was spent in the casino, we kept running into a lot of the same people. I really enjoyed this aspect of the cruise. As far as all the bells and whistles of the Navigator of the Seas, we have never and will never try the flow rider or climb rock walls. We did try to play miniature golf once, but it was very windy. The late night comedy show we attended was entertaining. After the cruise was over we took a train into London and spent the weekend there before returning home. We visited some sites we missed on our first visit there a couple of years ago like Trafalgar Square and Greenwich. We really enjoyed the Thames Clipper River Bus. Read Less

This is our 12 cruise and we have sailed with different cruise lines but this is our second time with RC. We choose this cruise as a taster cruise for our friends, the itinerary was perfect for a first cruise. Embarkation was very quick, we arrived at the port at 11am, our cases were taken from us straight way, we then checked in and we were onboard within 15 minutes, RC are one of the best cruise lines that organise the embarkation perfectly, just make sure you complete the check in details online. Once on board we had plenty of time to explore and get our bearings on where everything is, a very easy ship to get around. Our rooms were ready at 1pm and our luggage had arrived at the cabin door. Dinner in the MD was excellent, we had great waiters and nothing was too much trouble, some of us had more than one starter, which was never an issue, we also ordered extra veg with our meals and again there were no issue with this. The food always arrived in good time, good quality and hot. We never had to wait for drinks. We ate at chops grill one night, steak is to die for but to be honest we all loved the MD so didn’t book any other speciality restaurants. We didn’t attend any of the shows so can’t comment on these, but there is one show that is in the schooner bar, Perry Grant, he is a much see, so funny and great sing along. Disembarkation was very easy, we did the walk off with our cases. Overall the ship is a little tired but the staff are awesome and hard working. The ship is the right size if you don’t like queues. Read Less

All of us cruisers are well aware of the rampant upselling on all mass market cruise lines and RCCL is no exception. Enough said about that. The Navigator was recently refurbished and it shows. Everything looked shiny and new. There were some nice additions such as a hand washing station at the entrance to the buffet. Being a vegetarian I was disappointed that the previously available vegetarian menu has now disappeared. The staff however went the extra mile to try and meet my dietary needs. I never left the table hungry. The food was overall just OK. Nothing special but nothing to complain about either. The entire staff was always friendly and did a great job at keeping the ship immaculate. .The ships activities were mostly geared toward income generating activities. Entertainment was typical for cruise shows. The ice skating show was good as was the comedian/magician. All in all nothing to complain about but nothing memorable either. Read Less

Wanted a longer cruise outside the school holiday. Never been to the Canaries before. The ship was Beaty with a lot of decoration and art. Clean and good taken care of. Our incide cabin had everything we needed and a lot of places to store our things, perfectly located on deck nine between the two lifts. Our stateroom attendant Ida did a Great job and kept it clean and was so nice to us all the time. Had read so many reviews about the need of upgrade, but that was not my experience. Always chairs available outside and it was never difficult to swim in the three pools or find a place in one of the jacuzzi. The food was very good. Specially impressed by the food in Windjammer that had a lot of choices. Also had very nice food in the MD and very good service thanks to Luise and Felix. Did take the Galley brunch and visit the kitchen and can understand how much work it is for the people in the kitchen and for the waiters to serve all the passengers. Also had some meals in chops grill and Giovanni as part of a prebooked 5dinner package. The entertainment was overall very good with some extra memorable experiences as the ice-show, the Barricade boys, Perry Grant and Craig Halliday. Cuddly was a very good as entertainment manager. Only one bad experience; with the spa treatment with a big pressure of bying products, so don’t think I will take any more spa treatments in the future. Did very excursion wit RCCL in Lisbon and Agadir. The Hippo Hippo tour with Anna in Lisbon was fantastic fun and let us see some of the major places. I don’t think We would like to go by our self in Agadir but had an very nice guide and did not felt unsafe during the excursion. I also think they was so pushing selling things in Agadir as earlier experience in Morocco. The best excursion we had was in Lanzarote with Lanzarote Experience. We had a group of 13 with our very nice guide and driver Angela on the whole day trip called grand tour. We was able to see the Timanfaya National Park, wine growing area, cactus garden, Cuevas de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua. We also had a tour in La Corunna with Hercules tours, a two hour tour around the city. The other places as Vigo, Las Palmas and Madeira we just walked around the city, easy from the chip. Will recommend Navigator and the Canaries. Read Less

Have cruised with RCCI previously. Expected the ship to feel big, like Independence, but in reality seemed a little smaller..didn't matter though. Quality of musicians in the bars around Navigator were exceptional. Bar tenders very friendly and attentive. Remembered our name, cabin number and drinks preference, really quickly, was very impressed. Jacuzzis lovely and warm and quite easy to find sunbeds most days. Food delicious, one other reviewer here has complained at the length of time that it took to have dinner. For me, going out for dinner is an occasion, that doesn't want to be rushed. A little empathy and a pleasant personality ensures that your requirements are met. We had no trouble getting a table in the area we preferred, with the fabulous waiting staff we preferred (Edwin, Karan, Fabiano) and catered for by Estefania at the door...very very attentive and ensured we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. Perhaps if other passengers are wanting to be 'fed quickly', they should eat in the Wind Jammer...quality food and service takes time. I do agree there was a lack of accompanying vegetables with the starter and main meals, however, if you add up all the calories, from start to finish of the 3 course dinner, plus drinks, there is certainly no shortage of calories there. Read Less