Navigator of the Seas Sail Date: 12/03/2005 Eastern Caribbean Ports of Call: Miami, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau
Pre Stay: Arrived in Miami on Friday 12/02 and stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay. This has become my favorite hotel for a cruise pre stay when leaving out of Miami. The hotel has rooms with great views of the port of Miami and the ships. Make sure that you ask for a room overlooking the port when you reserve. This hotel is close to Bayside Marketplace but is not within safe walking distance due to major construction going on near the hotel. Take a taxi to Bayside. The hotel does have several restaurants with one being a sport bar with a very limited menu. They do offer a shuttle to the port but I believe that there is a charge.
Embarkation: First I should mention that this was my second cruise on this ship. The first time was the same week last year. Embarkation still has some issues but I feel that it has more to do with Immigration and Custom officials than the cruise line. Our ship did not clear until 12:30 and then boarding started. The Chairmans Club which is the room used for checking in Platinum, Diamond and suite passengers could not handle the amount of passengers trying to use this facility. RCI really needs to look at this as it was a fiasco.
Ship: Still the best looking ship that I have cruised to date and this was cruise #27. RCI does a great job in keeping their ships clean and well maintained IMHO. The Navigator is now three years old but looked as though she was a brand new vessel. There was always crew cleaning all around the ship. Captain Bang obviously takes great pride in his vessel and it shows with rest of the crew. The only negative about this ship is the elevators. I try to use the stairs most of the time but when I do have to use the elevator I would not like to wait forever to get the use of one. They seemed to have a quirk in the way that they operated and would pass right past your deck on the way up or down. Very annoying.
Cabin: We had cabin #1394 which is a Junior Suite on deck 10 aft. We had the sister cabin next door last year. IMHO these two cabins are outstanding. The cabin itself is a nice size room with plenty of storage area. The bathroom has a full size bathtub which made showering much easier. There were bottles of shampoo, lotion, body wash, Q-tips, cotton balls, lip balm and shower caps in the bathroom. The balcony in this cabin is very nice. I would estimate that it measured around 15x15. If you want sun then this is not the cabin for you as it is totally covered. At no time did I hear any noise from the Windjammer above.
Crew and Service: This is the main reason that I cruise with RCI. I have noticed with my six cruises on RCI that there is a big difference in the level of service received. The crew on this ship goes out of their way to make one feel welcome. They seem happy to be there and it shows in their actions. Everyone that I passed spoke with a smile. Our room steward Ernesto was one of the best that I have seen. The crew definitely makes a difference.
Food: I am not big on food as I have yet to go hungry on a cruise. I feel that the food that I had was consistently good. The Windjammer offers plenty of selections for anyone wanting a casual dining experience. Glad to see that RCI has rules against bare feet, no shirts and wet swimsuits in the Windjammer. Room service was used several times and each time the order arrived promptly and with the correct order. Ate at Johnny Rockets several times and the burgers were great. Again, no problems with any of the food.
Entertainment: Went to both major production shows. The same as last year but this year the four main singers seemed much stronger. Went to one show that seemed to be geared for the more mature crowd and I found him boring. Did not make it to any other shows. Spent more time in the casino which was pretty good to me all week.
Passengers: The passenger make up of this cruise was more of a mature(older) crowd. We had several condo groups on board from south Florida and the infamous Mah Jonng group. If I never see this one particular group again I will consider myself a very lucky person. You have to experience this group to know what Im talking about. Rude is the first thing that comes to mind with this group. Warning that they will be back aboard the Navigator same week next year.
Ports of Call: We had been to all of these ports of call many times so we made no particular plans for any island. Just decided to relax and walk around this time.
In San Juan, stopped at a small bar in front of the Sheraton and had a few drinks and people watched. Then on to the Hard Rock for dinner which was very good. Glad to see that the HR has reopened in San Juan after the fire.
St. Thomas: Took our time in getting off of the ship and headed downtown to walk around and then to the Green House for lunch. A great place to eat with nice views of the ships. By noon it does get busy. After lunch on to Paradise Point for a relaxing view of the Havensight area and a couple of Bushwackers. If you havent had a Bushwacker then you are missing a great drink.
St. Maarten: Again took our time leaving the ship to let the crowds thin out. Took the water taxi to town. I cannot believe the change in one year with the new boardwalk and the total rejuvenation of Old/Front Street. Phillipsburg is really doing a great job with the area. This is my favorite island by far. Had lunch at the Pasagrahan Guest House on the boardwalk. Great food, service and the view of the beach is very nice. A local was set up just outside of the house playing steel drums which added to the tropical feel of the place. After lunch we took time walking around downtown and then back to the ship.
Nassau: Walked down to the Hard Rock for a drink and then walked around and looked at the other ships in port. Went back to the ship, grabbed a drink and watched the sunset over Nassau. Just a nice relaxing day doing mostly nothing, which was the main reason for this cruise.
Debarkation: We had white tags due to being Platinum C&A. We were at the meeting area at 6:55 and walking off of the ship at 7:00. It did take over 30 minutes to get our luggage as there were many white tags. Overall a very easy debarkation. Love those past guest benefits that RCI offers.
This was a great cruise all the way around. I really have no major complaints. RCI continues to win me over with each cruise. I am now booked on the Jewel for 06 and am looking forward to trying a Radiance class ship.
