Navigator of the Seas Review
Navigator of the Seas cruise from a Wheelchair users point of view
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our 7th cruise, previously cruising with P&O & Thomson's. My friend is wheelchair bound & we used a manual wheelchair. I will try & write this mainly from her perspective as a disabled cruiser. Embarkation was very easy, although I do now wish I'd accepted the offer of help pushing her w/chair as the ramp to the ship was quite steep. That was my choice. We had to wait until 1.30pm before cabins were ready to enter but that was no hardship as we were busy looking around the ship. Suitcases were left in the hallways, not always easy to get a w/chair past them and although 2 of the cases were outside our cabin I had to go searching for the 3rd. I was not alone, a number of guests had to search for their cases.
We had an accessible inside cabin on the 9th deck, very roomy although we did need to ask for more clothes hangers! Moving around the ship was very easy, flooring allowed easy pushing & there were more than enough lifts so that we rarely had to wait for one.
Disappointed with the shops on the Royal Promenade which we found to be small and pricey. Remember the prices are all in $ so we kept having to work out the sterling equivalent. On there is also the Two Poets Pub (always busy in evening) and the Café (also busy) which serves snacks 24hrs a day. We used to go there around 5.00pm for a coffee and watched the world go by (well passengers).
Cabin Review
Near lifts. Roomy for 2 people. We had twin beds. Wardrobe was big and had a rail which pulled down for ease of use BUT due to the mechanism of it , there was then limited hanging space on the one side and difficult to get to the shelves on the other. Saying that we asked for extra coat hangers and managed. There was a hairdryer and kettle, but they only provide teabags so we got coffee bags from another venue. There was also a free safe and fridge. Bathroom was easy for w/chair user to get into.
Port Reviews
Vigo
Anchored near a small marina which we sat by on the way back to the ship. As my companion was a wheelchair user we found this a slightly difficult port to get around as it was very hilly. We walked along the Promenade and then went back towards the ship and into the "shopping centre" which didn't have much, and got the lift up to a walkway. We hoped that this would take us towards more shops but as it seems to be built all on a hill we didn't get far.
Lisbon
We had a sight seeing taxi ride of over 3 hours ( cost was 70 euros) with Paulo a wonderful man who insisted on pushing the wheelchair whenever we got to a vantage point. He took us to places a coach could not have got to which showed wonderful views over Lisbon. He then dropped us of by the city centre and only 15 minutes easy walk from the ship. (our choice). We had a drink in one of the cafes in the square and then walked around the shops.
Lanzarote
Once again I chose to push the wheelchair rather than wait for an accessible shuttle bus. 5-10 minute walk from the ship on a very flat surface we reached a marina which had a number of expensive shops but also a small supermarket which had free wifi access! We then carried on walking for another 10 minutes before reaching some shops. Not impressed but then we weren't there for shopping! LOL We then carried on walking along the seafront which was very flat and managing to find seats for me to rest on. We eventually walked to a beach area were a number of the passenegers were. Decided to get a taxi back which cost 4 euros.