Navigator of the Seas Review
Hopefully a fair, if somewhat negative, review of 'What to Expect' while on RC
Rating by category
Additional details
Overall: We took the Navigator of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) to the Western Caribbean: Coco Cay, Cozumel, Grand Cayman starting November 22nd, 2015. We had about 25 family members, and I was travelling with my wife and three kids staying in two staterooms (#9358, #9360).
Apparently there are hard-core crusiers whose loyalty approaches religious ferver and then there is everyone else. So after my first cruise I fall squarely into the ‘non cruiser’ camp. The constant upselling, the rampant waiting in lines even after paying for ‘premium’ services, and the lack of any luxury put me into the ‘not a fan’ group. That said, my room was reasonable and clean, many of the crew tried hard, and as a family we had several amazing memories… though these were made because we were together, not because of the cruise. It strikes me that cruiselines have to cut prices so much because of competition that they basically lose money on the cabins, and have to recoup it during the cruise. The constant barrage of up-selling and add-ons is really wearying, makes the cruise unpleasant and ugly, and is really noticeable. It removes any romance or luxury from what is really an amazing boat sailing to wonderful places, so just considering the environment, it is telling that they cause you to forget about the sunsets and beautiful water and focus on them.
I’d rate the experience as about a 3.5 out of 10. I should note, generally speaking I prefer exclusivity (and am more than willing and able to pay). I had wanted to upgrade to a suite, but as the room was a gift from in-laws, I didn’t want to disrespect anyone or break up the group. I believe we paid about $2700 per room (x2) plus 18% tipping ($1000), in addition to the $500 airfare (x5), and a hotel rooms in Fort Lauderdale of about $150 (x2). For that we had $500 in room credit, but with various drinks, dinners, excursions were out another $1000. So the total cost was about $10,500 for a family of 5 for a week. Of note: on the first day, I tipped the room steward $40, and two bartenders $20. I also tipped our 2 dining room attendants another $120 at the end of the week.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
I should add. We asked the steward to open the balcony door to our adjoining room. All fine. But the door bangs at night and is can't be closed except from the outside. So while there is a little clip thing to keep the door secure at night, because of the way the balconies work, the door only opens in one direction. So if you have two rooms, you can open the balcony, but essentially can't close the balcony door except from the outside, which means one room can't really use the balcony. Or you have to push you sliding door aside about 4 inches -- enough to get your hand through, then push against the balcony door so that it 'pops' open, then open your sliding door the rest of the way. And if your sliding door handle is horizontal (not vertical) you will not be able to close the balcony door. It's harder to describe than if you see it in person, but suffice it to say it's not well engineered, and the silly balcony door banging can really annoy neighbors (It happened to be me that first night -- so I apologize to our neighbors as I kept hearing the noise but had no idea where it came from).
Port Reviews
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
FLL airport is pretty spartan and not nice, but the area is used to cruisers and seems able to support large numbers descending on their town.