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