This was our first cruise and it was great! The ship was very nice even though it was older. There was plenty of things to do to keep you occupied and relaxed. The food was amazing and our cabin, which was a balcony cabin, had plenty of room. Our room attendant was truly amazing and our waiters at our dinner service were so awesome that we requested to be seated in their section every night. We swam with the dolphins at Cozumel, and if you have never done this or are thinking about it, I would highly recommend it. The experience is unbelievable. As we are members with World Wide Travel Experts we booked our cruise and flights through them. With our membership we were able to find and save about $80/ticket on 4 airline tickets and as we did save a little on our cruise. Our larger savings will be on our next vacation with utilizing the points we earned on this one. Read Less

It's my first time boarding Navigator of the Seas with my parents and siblings. I would say our overall experience was incredible. I am usually not a fan of spending my vacation on the sea but this one had been an awesome experience. I will rate my experience in detail: Ship: 4.5/5 The ship is so big and there were so many places in the ship where you can find yourself entertained or relax and have a quiet time. It's well equipped and all decks were maintained clean. As far as the decorations, I am beyond impressed (you will really feel you are in a cruise ship, which was great). Cabin: 5/5 I don't really mind having a studio sized stateroom as long as it is well maintained and clean. I mean sheets, linens, and bath towels were changed in a timely manner. Our stateroom attendant Basille (or Basil) - our stateroom was Deck 8, room 8653 - was excellent and very attentive. He was very thorough with his job and made sure that everything was perfect. As for our bathroom, there were so many spaces where I can put my toiletries and personal items. Closet was big enough to keep our clothing (there were 3 of us in the room) tidy. Lighting were excellent, just what I needed in a room. Room temperature was perfect. TV was okay (I have watched shows that I liked, but most of the time I am not really in my room so that's okay) Dining: 4.5/5 VERY EXCELLENT!!! > Windjammer: OMG, lots of food choices although I felt that breakfast was kind of repeated every day. Food was still delicious and hot (for hot foods). I just hope there were more options for fruit juices. Rate: 4/5 > Café Promenade: Best place for snacking 24 hours (well the only place that is open for 24 hours). Their pizza were delicious and freshly made. Service was very fast and they usually let you know how long it will take for the food to be ready. Again, I just wished there were more options for fruit juices. Rate: 4.5/5 > Sapphire Dining: THE BEST PLACE/SERVICE WE'VE EVER GOT. Our waiter Jackson and waiter's assistant Luciana were the best. They provided us excellent food service and great enthusiasm. They have great personality, were very cheerful, and were pretty much COOL! The manager along with Jackson and Luciana welcomed us with a huge smile on their faces. They also made sure that our experience was excellent with great satisfaction. Food was definitely delicious. WE REALLY ENJOYED OUR TIME HERE! Also, we got extra food since the manager prepared specialty food plus extra desserts on our second night at this dining room. THANK YOU SOO MUCH! You are 5/5 or 10/10 :) Entertainment/Activities: 5/5 There were so many activities to choose from (i.e. games, shows, fitness exercises, sports tournament, rock climbing, etc). Some of the things I wanted to do were scheduled at the same time so I had to choose which ones I would enjoy the most. However, those activities you were not able to do on the other day, they were offered in different days as well so you have the option to do them. Live music, dancing, parades, movies, shows were excellent (can't complain about it). Overall great experience. Service: I have mentioned earlier that we received excellent service so that's a 5/5 Ports and Shore excursions: I LOVE THEM ALL! Rating 5/5 in Costa Maya (Chacchoben and beach tour) with Israel (sales - excellent and he accommodated us well, customer service was excellent, and very friendly), Joel (our tour guide - very informative and I learned so much from him; he's great), and Guillermo (tour driver - very good, made sure our trip was smooth and on timely manner). Rating 4/5 in Cozumel for Snorkelling (I think I'm not a fun of snorkelling for long periods of time especially the waves were strong, but experience was still good). I would recommend Navigator of the Seas for family, friends, or couples cruise experience. It's worth it! Read Less

I had a wonderful time on Navigator of the Seas, it has been a few years since I sailed on her so it was nice to return. Embarkation was very smooth and very easy at Southampton as always. My cabin was 6209 an inside but kept very clean and tidy by Imade Muliana as all stateroom attendants he worked hard. All staff were amazing and all seemed happy and again worked hard. Kristina in the Schooner Romeo and Joel in the Cosmo lounge deck 14 Edward and Elvis in Vintages again all nice and kind thanks guys. Food everywhere on Navigator was very good I took advantage of eating in Chops for the first two nights. Chops as always never seems to change to me always a great dining choice. The main dining room food was again really good for Breakfast, Lunch (sea days) and Evening Meal, Wellington and Luyao worked very hard in the evenings. The Windjammer had a great variety of food and was very good, service in there was also good. Park Café offered some lovely snacks if you had room for them. The Diamond lounge had the usual Breakfast fair and evening snacks all were very nice and tasty. As always I never get to go to the main theatre but other entertainment was very good. Clo was great and did an amazing job keeping everyone entertained. Service throught I thought was excellent and the ship was kept very clean and tidy. I went to my first Cruise Critic meet and mingle hosted again by Clo it was really good. Also the itinerary was great I enjoyed every port of call but it was so nice to return to Vigo a lovely town I think. Read Less

The destinations were what we were wanted to visit. Having already cruised with this company on the Adventure and Explorer of the Seas we were happy with the standard. They all carry approximately 3k passengers and there is plenty of room in the various areas of the ship, although when the weather is inclement seats are at a premium. Entertainment is good as well as all the staff, especially in the restaurants and bars. They all work very hard, long, hours and are very appreciative of praise when given. Food is of a very good standard and very plentiful; you can always ask for more if you feel unfulfilled. It is worth taking out the premium drinks package if you enjoy a few glasses of wine and spirits per day. Otherwise you have to pay for all drinks, even bottled water, and they are expensive. We opted to not pay gratuities up front and spoke with customer services once we were on board to make sure we were not charged the daily charge. We chose to show our appreciation of service personally to those who deserved it over a god spread of staff. Read Less

This was a first trans atlantic cruise and particularly wanted to do New York. The cruise was excellent just a few things that let it down. Firstly not enough evening entertainment on the fabulous promenade, the Boston stop should be looked at as it was so disappointing we did not get of the ship until just before 2 pm and had to be back on board by 4.30pm even though they knew the ship would not sail until after 7.30 as a lot of the tours were running late. This stop should be an overnight to allow for the lengthy customs procedure that way people would get a chance to experience this beautiful city. The food although presented nicely was very bland and tasteless even in the speciality restaurants the only one I would say was a speciality was Givonnis were food was excellent. Other than that the cruise was excellent and the service was exceptional I am putting the food and entertainment problem being because it was a re-positioning cruise as on my previous RCI cruise food was excellent. The biggest disappointment was Boston not getting to see it properly and to add insult to injury to find an apology by the way of 2 free drinks vouchers when I was already fully inclusive does not smack of a personal service. So hopefully RCI will look at the Boston part of the trip and re-think it or at least advertise it as a customs stop with possibility of getting of ship for a few hours. My highlight was sailing in to New York and then finding we were docked on the bottom of 50th Street which was a 15 minute walk to Times Square RCI definitely got that one right. Read Less

The itinerary, was a little unique, the ability to do an 8 day cruise, as opposed to a 'normally offered' 7 day cruise. I was interested in sailing with the Navigator, as I had sailed on this ship within the past 8 years. It 'supposedly' had been dry-docked for modernization and refresh, but it still showed plenty of signs of age(ageing), lack of continuous maintenance, and required many updates to keep up with some other RCCL ships in their fleet. I'm hoping (and was told) that this ship will be going for dry dock in the next couple of seasons, as really does need the extra amenities, and modernization, as the other ships; that represent the RCCL name and product. The R Bar still shows the same reflection of The Champagne Bar, and the Diamond/Diamond Plus and Concierge Lounge still do not have enough room for its loyal, repeat and Concierge level cruising passengers Read Less

Navigator of the Seas – March 5th 2016 Sailing My wife and I are seasoned cruisers and I have completed Cruise Critic entries of our past voyages, I certainly do not use this forum to criticize at least that is not my intent. I do however share my thoughts and experiences based on previous cruises and comparable voyages. With that being said this is my review of the MS Navigator of the Seas from Cruise Port to Embarking to disembarkation. Ft. Lauderdale Cruise Port Embarkation Unfortunately the MS Navigator was delayed 2 hours prior to docking in Ft. Lauderdale on March5th this meant that the furthest Southern Dock was used which is not very passenger friendly to say the least. The Traffic is a mess and not very organized. Nonetheless we managed to get through without that big of a deal. Just an FYI to Platinum and above RCCL members – The signs for Check in are not advertised to well so you need to ask where these areas are, it does make a difference. The only good thing about Ft. Lauderdale is they finally finished the freeway construction into the Port (Only took a couple years). As for Disembarkation the terminal is just as dis-organized going out as it is coming in and we generally take the early off the ship option so I cannot imagine what it is like if we waited until Nine or Ten AM. Thus my only advise is, feel it out when you arrive and make your best educated decision on what you see it’s like. MS Navigator of the Seas Well we were told that the Navigator is the sister ship to the Freedom and you wouldn’t notice too much difference – well not quite, the MS Navigator is actually smaller in Width and Length so there is a noticeable difference but you will overcome the differences rather quickly so it’s not a show stopper. The ship is arranged similar to that of the Freedom Class ships so getting around should be relatively easy. The Promenade is smaller in width and this is probably where you will see the most difference. As for the Location of the dining rooms and specialty restaurants - Just an FYI Giovanni’s and Chops Grill are located right inside the Windjammer (Left and Right) sides AFT Ship so no worries about running cross country to find these. The Ship overall has had some face lifts but is still in need of a few minor things that will make it complete. For example the elevators on AFT Starboard side seemed to be a lot slower than the elevators on the AFT Port side. We even experienced one of the Starboard side elevator doors opening and closing several times before it finally reset and started running its normal cycle. Also the women’s rest rooms on Deck 11 (Windjammer Side) seemed to be out of order for the week of our cruise not sure what happened after day 1 but it never recovered for use. The Sliding doors seem to be a little of with Sensors on Deck 4 and deck 11. As aforementioned the ship is a tad bit smaller but it is definitely not a show stopper. MS Navigator of the Seas CREW Words cannot describe how ecstatic we are with the Crew – We had a group of six and there was not one crew member that did not make us feel like part of the RCCL Family. We have taken over Nine cruises and although we had great service from the staff, the MS Navigator Crew raised the bar on Customer Satisfaction we were absolutely mind blown on the interaction – the service and the commitment this crew had absolutely amazing, we made some awesome lifelong friends with this RCCL Staff and already conversing on social media. It was something we didn’t expect and something we will never forget. So with that as I said in the beginning words cannot describe how awesome this crew was during our trip and we hope you have the same interaction. Windjammer / Specialty Dining Well honestly we only used the Windjammer for Breakfast, most of our dinners were in the main dining room as our wait-staff was so top notch we could bear not having dinner with them on a nightly bases. Although when we did use the Windjammer the food was good although it appeared it was more crowded than normal but that could certainly be about timing. There could have been more staff on hand during the breakfast service but nothing extremely bad. We did not try any of the Specialty restaurants as the timing just wasn’t there for us. But I didn’t hear any bad reviews from anyone on the ship. The Main Dining Room (Sapphire) was absolutely incredible from the Hostess down to the wait staff it was fantastic. During one of our dinners the wait staff let us know that there was a Galley Excursion that costs about $30.00 per person, Although we were a little reluctant to do it – we decided to anyway and I will be the first to say it was well worth the experience in understanding firsthand how the Galley works I highly recommend you take this tour if the opportunity presents itself. Games and Shows on Navigator We only made a couple shows (Quest and Love and Marriage) both are great shows and if you have time it would be worth seeing / participating in either one. As for the headliner shows, honestly there wasn’t allot of advertisement on the ship about the headliner shows so I couldn’t even tell you who was on board, generally you would see this advertised on the ship or a marquee but honestly I don’t remember seeing much of anything. BINGO – Well this was our first and last time playing bingo, it’s not your typical bingo play – you have 3 rounds of Bingo and depending on how you play – Soft Card or Electronic will determine how much it cost to play. You can figure and averages start about $25 and go up from there. Game 1 is your general BINGO Straight or Diagonal Cover, Game 2 is 4 Corner and Game 3 is Cover All. Now I am not an expert BINGO player but I heard allot of people complaining when game one was over in 4 Number Picks and we all found out there is only one prize for each round. No one was expecting anything extravagant but come on RCCL a T-Shirt and or a Specialty restaurant Gift Card would be nice 2nd and 3rd Place prizes especially after 5 minutes playing round one. Round two went a little longer with only one prize awarded and round 3 was for a Free Cruise, So it just so happened that there was a 3 way tie and the answer to the tie is, The MC would pull a number and if that number is on your card you win. Uhm… Not good – and no one was happy of how this all ended. So do your-self a favor and ASK the questions before you play – How much? How Many Prizes and how Tie Breakers are handled. As for the Pool Side – Pretty much the norm as any other cruise except my overall standing complaint is the music is way too loud, not that it’s a bad thing but it is nice to sit on the deck and have a conversation that doesn’t require a bull horn to communicate with your party who is two and a half feet in front of you. Overall Appearance on Navigator The ship was very clean except the pool area; I certainly don’t blame the workers I do however believe that RCCL and Passengers bear most of the Brunt on this. First we are smokers and we are polite smokers meaning we will not wander into a nonsmoking area, we keep our areas clean and do not impede on others to clean up after ourselves in any shape or form. RCCL needs more trash and recycling containers on deck 11 and need table ashtrays as well. These two simple and low cost products can help allot of unnecessary work for everyone, but more importantly help to detour those passengers who like to leave their garbage anywhere and everywhere. Restrooms were clean and the only non-operational Restroom was the aforementioned Women’s area on Deck 11 Windjammer. Gest Services Officers Utterly fantastic – never met such an awesome Guest Services crew. We had some room issues that we later found out were are issues. Which I will explain below – Nonetheless they were very helpful and very patient with us. Stateroom 3626 Deck 3 AFT three doors from the Elevators – Awesome area, great for immediate access to dining rooms, elevators, casino etc. We liked it so much we are booked next year on the same ship same room. As I mentioned before there was a slight room problem that RCCL failed to alert us of. They have staterooms that are POWER EFFICIENT meaning there is a trigger Pocket below the light switch that when activated it allows your lights to turn on and off. If you don’t place the cards into the slot the correct way your lights will not work. Well it took us a few days before someone finally explained it to us (Guest Services) although we felt silly we laughed quite hard about it because we were sure there was an issue with our room’s electric. So check with your State Room Attendant and ask if you have such a room – I think they are retrofitting these rooms a little at a time. Overall The MS Navigator is a great ship, with a great Crew and we are looking forward to sailing on her again in March 2017 if not sooner. Read Less

I've never cruised on my own before but would definitely do it again. Started in Rome and left out of Civitavecchia port, next day we were in Scilly (Messina). I had booked a tour through the ship to see Taormina. I found the guide very organized and informative and enjoyed seeing the ancient city, originating in 1440's. Even though I was the only person not "coupled up" I was welcomed and treated friendly by other guests. After a long day traveling it was a delight to go back to my balcony room all clean and tidy. My cabin steward was an angel, I miss him now I'm home. My room was extra large as the balcony bowed out from the ship I was starboard aft and could see the bridge at the front but also close to the end of the ship. My only complaint about the balcony was my neighbors were heavy smokers and it drifted into my room whenever I opened the balcony. I choose late dining as we were in port fairly early, the service was top notch and attentive but had a friendly tone. The food was average, none of the meals stood out even on formal nights. I think the RCCL could improve in this area. That being said, the entertainment was wonderful. Second night was a BeeGee's tribute show that had everyone dancing in the isles. I saw the ice show and it was very entertaining, I still don't know how the performers managed such high jumps! In the promenade one evening everyone was dancing to a group of dancers doing the Village People impression. I didn't join in the conga line but maybe I would have if I was drinking. There broadway rendition was also first rate. The entire atmosphere of the ship was calm and efficient. Another port of call I booked with the ship was the ruins of Ephesus. We left Kusadasi port early and the excursion lasted 5 hours exploring the ancient Roman ruins dating back to the 11th century. A lot of walking on marbled streets filled with chariot ruts but well worth the 3 mile trek. The tour guide had the frailest guest set the pace. Day 4 was Athens which I did on my own but wasn't impressed. Got ripped off for $160 eu for a lunch I didn't order, I only wanted a snack. Wouldn't bother with Athens again. My all time favorite is Chania, Crete. I rented a convertible and drove up around the mountains with the beautiful turquoise waters following me. The only traffic I saw was a few mountain goats. Followed the road along the Northwest coast up to ancient Monasteries, tranquil little villages with the sound of birds calling me further up. I stopped at the British Commonwealth War Cemetary, which lies on a small plateau, just above sea level on the Souda Bay.Along the winding "old road" of Crete I saw many honey farms. The last day out was a sea day, so I took advantage of the saltwater pool on board, it was cold, but refreshing. Overall a great experience. What I would like to see improved would be the food, the spa, the pursers desk (not helpful), and disembarkation process. I was thrown out 3 hours prior to my transfer. Still I would recommend this to any solo travelers or couples. Read Less

I traveled with 5 of my coworkers. We all work for a major Airline and word spread that they made a ton of money last year and all employees were receiving a profit sharing check from the company. I've traveled with these same coworkers before (ages from 44 - 62) and we all get along so well. We did Hawaii the previous year and wanted to try Egypt for 2011. Well, we all know what happened in Egypt. So we nixed that idea. Some one bought up Europe and since none of them had been on a cruise before, I suggested a Med. cruise. I went home and saw Navigator for $499.00 (inside cabin). My coworkers couldn't believe it. Well we did get a share of the profits and immediately called RCCL and put down deposits in February. Fast Forward and October arrives quickly. We fly free, only having to pay taxes, so for $42.50 we flew round trip to Rome from Philly. Flight was very nice on an Airbus 330 and the flight attendants were wonderful. This was my first time to Europe and I'm hooked. We flew in a day early and stayed at the Hotel Georgina. Would stay again if cruising out of Rome. Right up the street from Termini Station. Place was clean and inexpensive. Immediately dropped our luggage and headed to the Coliseum. If you do go, people will be walking back and forth offering tours to go in. Please take it. We paid an additional 7 euros and it was worth every euro. She walked us around the whole place and gave us a history lesson of things I never knew about the Coliseum. We had walkie talkies that went around our necks and you put it up to your ear when the guide speaks. I was in awe of this place. After that we went back to our hotel and napped then woke up for dinner. The food was so fresh and the pasta and wine so good. We took the train from Termini to the port of Civ. Saved a lot of money doing it that way. Just make sure you get to the train station early. We had a hard time finding out what track our train was on. Train ride was nice with some good scenery. Having been on the Explorer before, I was looking forward to being back on the Voyager class. We had 2 inside cabins and 1 couple had a balcony. Our cabin was comfy. Love the shower doors. Navigator is going into drydock soon. I'm sure there was wear and tear around the ship. However, everything was clean and shiny. I only noticed a few dirt spots on the carpet, because it was right there in plain sight. 3,000 pax trampling around on the carpet, so that didn't bother me at all. The welcome back show was very enjoyable. Please don't miss it. Our 1st port was Messina, Italy. We booked an independant full day tour and was given 3hrs in Taormina, then went to Castelmola, had lunch at a restaurant with a beautiful view of Mt. Etna, then back to tour Messina. We loved our guide who fed us so much history and answered all questions. Everyone agreed this was a wonderful start to the cruise. It was sunny and in the 70's perfect weather for touring. Next was a sea day. It was windy that day, so relaxing outside was out of the question. I found a quiet corner and read and had a few drinks. Some of my coworkers had the compass and followed activities off of that. Everyone had a relaxing day. The Ice Skating show was fabolous as always. Don't miss it. Next was Athens, Greece. Had an independent tour and went to the Acropolis. We felt a little cheated out of this because when you buy your tickets, it includes other sites, however, they're closed for whatever reasons. I don't think we should pay full price for tickets if they know a lot of the other sites are closed. Acroplis was amazing. Went to the New Museum. Awesome place. Went to Plaka and walked the streets with our guide. Nice and quaint. Athens dept of sanitation was on strike and there was bags of trash everywhere. Yuck. Enjoyed our day. The ruins were simply amazing. We did the Michael Jackson Name that Tune after dinner. Great fun. Athens was sunny and in the 70's. Next, Turkey (Ephesus). Again, an independent tour. Went to Mary's house, Ephesus ruins were unbelievable. Saw an reenactment of gladiators fighting in front of Cleopatra and Antony. They put on a show with horses and chariots in full costumes. It was so neat. We happened to be in the right place at the right time. Got some great pictures. Also, went to the carpet show because someone was interested in purchasing a rug and he did. He's getting it framed and hanging it on his wall. He said it costs to much money to be walked on. We had a turkish lunch there also, it was outside with white tableclothes. Our Tour guide again was wonderful. Learned so much. Went to the Movie Theatre, saw a movie with Denzel Washington in it. Forgot the name, but it was a good movie. It was warm this day, but with a nice breeze. Next was Crete, I slept in that day and never went on the island. Some of my coworkers did and they said it was nice. They bought some souvenirs. This day was sunny and warm. So while everyone was off the ship, we had it to ourselves. We played basketball. Had the court all to ourselves. Then played mini golf. We never laughed so hard. Next we went and changed into swim suits and went to the Solarium, found chairs together and read, listened to Ipods or slept. We went in the jacuzzi which was nice and hot. I fell asleep with my face in the sun and would you believe I got sunburned. They had a barbecue lunch set up that day with ribs, chicken, salads, all types of food. I have to also say our dining team was unbelievable. Our head waiter came around every night. He told us they make other dishes not on the menu, just ask. One night we had curry chicken. Which was not on the menu. So good. Lobster was not served on this cruise. I did miss that. Food was good, I actually gained 10 pounds. However, I feel Carnival has more varieties of food and I prefer their menu. Embarkation was painless. We carried our own bags and was off the ship in no time. We stayed another night in Rome. So took the train back. Found another hotel, Hotel Everest. It was up the street from Hotel Georgina. We dropped off our luggage and took the subway to the Vatican. And would you believe while we were standing in the middle of the square, the Pope comes out to deliver his blessings. He said it in about 3 different languages including english. Incredible. I'm not Catholic, but not many people can say they saw the Pope, Live. We also took the Subway to see the Trevi Fountain. Just Incredible. Our flight home left on time and we had the cruise of a lifetime. I would like to think Cruise Critic. All our private tours were found from reviews posted on this website. Hopefully, 2012 we can do another Med. cruise. I'm hooked. Read Less