Cruise Ship Review

What follows is my review of a recent 4-night cruise to Cozumel on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas. This is one of the line's Voyager Class of ships.
This was my first time on a RCCL ship, so I spent a lot of time walking around and thinking about how this ship compares to the Carnival cruises I've done before.

First of all, this is a big ship, carrying 3100 passengers. It is 1020 feet long and weighs 138,000 tons. It has 14 decks. Think 10 football fields long. The largest ship I'd been on before was the Carnival Pride, which only carries 2124 people and is 88,000 tons.
We are dwarfed by the ship.

My main rule on cruise ships is to never take the elevators, so I certainly got exercise going from the dining room on Deck 4 to my cabin on Deck 7, up to the jogging track on Deck 13, to the Ice Rink on Deck 3, from fore to aft and back again, etc. Ok, I took an elevator a few times, but not more than a few!

The Navigator was launched in 2002, and it seemed to me that it is showing some signs of wear and tear. The upholstery looked very worn and dated in some of the lounges, and the carpet in the stateroom halls looked faded.
Glitzy Atrium with glass elevators

I was continually surprised at the range of decor throughout the ship.
The casino has a Mardi Gras theme, the dining rooms have ballet themes, the casual dining spaces have an Asian theme in front ("Jade") and Polynesian theme in the back ("Windjammer"). The stateroom halls have pale pink walls with green leaf-print carpeting.

There are several themed bars, which are repeated on many RCCL ships: Schooner Bar, with nautical decor, Boleros, the Latin-themed lounge, Vintages Wine Bar, looking like a wine cellar, an Irish pub with dark paneled walls and small tables on the Promenade in front of it. Many of the Carnival ships have one theme that is repeated throughout the ship. For example, the Carnival Ecstasy has a theme of "Great Cities of the World" and it's lounges and bars and stairwells reflect that theme. Every space on the Navigator has a different theme and decor and I'm sure people like that.

The Navigator has a great adult space in the aft called the Solarium, with nice lounge chairs, a pool, hot tubs, and partial roofing, making it a good place to relax out of the sun and out of the crowds of the main pools.

The jogging track is long, only 5 laps to a mile, but it winds around and between many lounge chairs on the deck. It's hard to concentrate on exercise when the track is also the main walkway around that deck, (people are in the way of the joggers) and one of the main lounge chair areas (not too relaxing to sit there when people are huffing and puffing past you, flinging sweat). A dedicated jogging track would be much appreciated. This trip I didn't use the exercise equipment, but the Navigator has a large space with lots of machines and weights. They also have spinning classes (which I didn't try).
RoyalCaribbean is also known for the rock climbing walls. Next trip, I'm definitely doing this!

I did go to the spa for a massage, and that was great. It's operated by the same spa company as the Carnival ships I've been on.

The ice rink at open skate time

I went to the Ice Show, a feature only on RCCL ships (and only the larger ships). The ice rink is open for anyone to skate at certain times, as well.

I went to one of the big production shows featuring rock music, and lasted about 10 minutes at one of the comedy shows. I would say the productions weren't any better than I've experienced on Carnival. The Love and Marriage Show is a hoot (on both lines)-think Newlywed Game with 3 couples who have been married for short, medium and long times. Also, the karaoke shows are really interesting and fun. They usually have several sessions, winnow down participants and have a sing-off on the last day of the cruise. The final participants are really good.

Another staple of cruise activities is the art auction. I like the fact that they give out free champagne, and you can get a free print for showing up. The print I got this time wasn't to my liking but that's the fun of it: you might get something you like. The art auctioneers give out raffle prizes, so it's also fun to stick around to see if I'd win anything.

People go there looking for a bargain, but there really aren't any out there. I asked about a print I liked and they told me if I would agree to "start the bidding" for it at a certain amount, and no one bid against me, I could buy it for that special price. Interesting way to run an auction. They advertise a 30 minute preview period, but it usually lasts closer to 1 hour, as they are trying to get people to agree to "start the bidding" on pieces. I must confess that I never stay for the whole auction, as the auctioneers drag it out as long as possible....I think when lots of people start to leave they know to wrap it up.

We also joined in the Afternoon Trivia contest. Teams compete on a 20 question trivia test. I'm happy to say my team tied for the win!
Abundant food is the hallmark of a good cruise! Our waiters in the dining room were very friendly and accommodating, bringing extra desserts-count the 9 desserts on the table-and meeting special requests for food not on the menu. Food quality is very good, about the same as Carnival. We never felt rushed to finish quickly, even as the dining room emptied out and the staff started to clean. On two of the nights the staff paraded through the dining room to music. On the 4-night Carnival cruise, I think the dining room staff had a performance each night, with more dancing and singing. But Carnival bills itself as "The Fun Ships" and the staff work hard to create that sense of fun.

Our cabin was roomy enough, and we enjoyed the balcony with the sliding glass door. The beds were rather short and had a temporary feel, rather than a comfortable hotel bed feel. Not any better than Carnival. The Navigator does have curved panels around the shower, which makes for a nicer configuration in the bathroom. No samples of shampoo, conditioner, etc. that Carnival has. Also our category of cabin did not come with bathrobes.

Aside from the dining room service, I found other attendants and waiters varied in the quality of service received. On the short 4-night cruises there's not a lot of time to get to know the staff, and the same for them getting to know the passengers. We never had poor service, but didn't feel wowed except for our dining room waiters. The Head Waiter also made an effort to stop by our table and talk with us each night.

I was pleasantly surprised by the ship and the range of activities. For such a large ship, we didn't wait in lines for food or shows-except for the ice show. Line up 30 min. before the doors open because the good seats fill up fast. The atmosphere on board ship was nice, different from Carnival's, but not too sedate.

I don't feel I've had enough experience to really compare the cruise lines, so that means a few more trips. Don't know when I'll actually become an expert....but I'll have fun working on it!