Navigator of the Seas, July 2011 Mediterannean

DBLBassman

1 Review

Member Since 2008

9 Forum Posts

Overall Member Rating

Sail Date: July 2011
Destination: Europe - Western Mediterranean
Embarkation: Rome (Civitavecchia)

We're experienced cruisers (Platinum status on RCL) and this was our second time on the Navigator. Our first was a short Caribbean cruise in March of 2011. Overall, we had a wonderful time and they definitely have gotten most things right on the Navigator. A few aspects could use improvement.

THE FOOD: Okay, this sure isn't in the class of Celebrity but we didn't expect it to be. Still, the food in the Windjammer cafe is just a notch or two above institutional fare. It need not be that way. The food in the dining room was good but the service at dinner (at table 418) on this July cruise was little more than competent. Unlike on other cruises and unlike our experience in March on this same ship, the wait staff never learned our names and were not engaging. Yes, we received our selections but it went little beyond that.

THE MUSIC: On both of our cruises on the Navigator, we found the musical entertainment to be poor. Either whoever does the booking has an inadequate More budget, is incompetent, or both. Jazz consisted of a mediocre piano or guitar player with a backing track. The entertainers in the lounges were barely passable in terms of their their abilities and talents. The band out at the pool muddled through well-known pop tunes with the vocalist reading the lyrics and often getting the melody wrong.

THE GUEST RELATIONS STAFF: While most of these staff members were quite helpful, responsive, and cheerful, don't try to ask questions late at night. At that time, one can still get totally nonsensical answers.

PLANNING AND LOGISTICS: Overall, the thousands of passengers were managed well. A glaring exception was after the 2:30 PM "all aboard" in Crete. As one would expect, many passengers returned to the ship in search of a bite to eat. the barbecue out by the pool closed at 2:00 PM and the dining room closed early. This turned the Windjammer cafe into a madhouse! It was over-capacity with some less-than-cordial people virtually fighting over tables. Less

Published 07/23/11

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Cabin review: D2 Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

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Port and Shore Excursions

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DBLBassman

1 Review

Member Since 2008

9 Forum Posts

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Navigator of the Seas, July 2011 Mediterannean: Navigator of the Seas Cruise Review by DBLBassman

Navigator of the Seas

Overall Member Rating