twangster

Before I forget, here is the day one dinner menu:

ESPN International or ESPN Caribbean is not the same as ESPN domestically. They carry many games and sporting events but ultimately what they can and cannot display is at the mercy of those that hold the international rights to broadcast an event. A ship can't pirate or steal content. If the NCAA doesn't allow a broadcast in the Caribbean, the ship has to respect that. They are exploring different options including other satellite TV providers and other means such as streaming but that doesn't get them around broadcast rights to display content.

Approaching midnight I found myself in The Bamboo Room drinking a Royal Zombie Then it was time for the balloon drop. Video of the balloon drop:

Back to the pool area as the sun sets for the evening. Those who follow me know I like to take pictures during the golden hour and at night.

Some more sail away pictures...

Many things are dropped on these super short sailings. Great ship but with an ice show, 70s event in the promenade and everything else there is so little time. It's like they compress everything that occurs on a 7 night Voyager class cruise into 3 nights. Having said that Brilliance does a Suite Sail Away on 4 night sailings so it's possible but with so much going on I can see why they wouldn't.

China has a track record of falsely accusing visitors of something and throwing them in jail in a political game of international diplomacy (or lack thereof). I chose not to be a pawn in a game beyond my control. Japan or Korea no problem. China? No thanks.

Crew are employees and subject to termination if they are so much as 5 minutes late for all aboard. Crew know not to fool around with deadlines and rules. Guests are customers who have long displayed a sense of entitlement and many are late boarding a ship on time expecting that the ship revolves around their entitled life. Cool idea for the 1% of us who would respect the rules and be off the guest ship and back on board our home ship. Bad idea for the 99% who would be late leaving, requiring multiple pages over the PA system and a man hunt to track them down. If a crew did that the solution is simple. Fired on the spot. When a guest sticks their middle finger up at the Captain and shows up late all the Captain can do is swear under his or her breath.

Likely the only time the ship yard had room for her. Very few ship yards have a dry dock for OA class. Every five years they MUST perform a dry dock to obtain a new insurance certificate under the umbrella of Lloyds of London. Blame the UK company that guides the maritime insurance they need.

JR Express on Navigator reminds me of JR on Anthem. Maybe that's where they got the idea. Adult Shakes - Not sure I remember those from Anthem. Have to explore those options. The fries at JR are basically WJ fries. I wonder if I get a plate of fries from WJ then head to JRE for a burger?

Adventure Ocean / Teen area aka "The Living Room". It's on my list. I was going to ask today since I have DX but one Bamboo Room drink led to another and ... maybe another day.

Agree. It's like asking "What meal should I avoid at dinner?" or "What color pants should I wear?" I've sailed the smallest and largest in the fleet. Loved them both. The real key to enjoying every cruise is to have proper expectations set for the ship you book. Expecting zip lines and bumper cars on the same ship will lead to disappointment. Research and adjust expectations based on research.

Not sailing out of China so little chance I'll ever be 26/26, or 27/27, or 28/28 when the time comes.

My guess is the infamous "Prices starting at..." or "Prices from ..." verbiage somewhere in fine print. Or it's an old marketing page. Based on sales they may have adjusted prices. It's old principal of supply and demand. When demand increases, so does price.

I've only done 19 ships so far. Barely scratched the surface.

I feel like I haven't been including as many photos as I normal do so here are some from our sail away. Before the fun, comes the guest assembly drill. We start sail away with our cruise director "My Beautiful People" Hugo getting the pool deck rocking on this first sailing of the Amplified Navigator of the Seas: We had to wait for a Carnival ship to turn her turn in the turning basin then it was our time. We sailed past the new Crown of Miami where Mariner was earlier on this day. In this picture on deck 12 you can see where Johnny Rockets used to be but now there is a door and set of stairs leading up to the sports deck. The sail away party kept rocking here on the rooftop of the Lime and Coconut Back on the aft sports deck the Riptide water slide was going along with the Flowrider. Several hammocks can be found back here. And with that Voom has slowed way down so I'm pausing the picture fest and going to the Bamboo Room for a drink.

That is exactly what I use it for. The nearest access point is down the hall a couple cabins. In bed the ship wifi is very weak. The travel router does a good job of boosting the signal so I have full coverage in my cabin.

Navigator has fresh floral arrangements located around the ship. They are quite large and very pretty. I'm not sure I've seen fresh flowers like this before. Nice addition. R-Bar There is a lot to like about this ship. It feels very new in a lot of places.

Yes I visited guest services on day two just so I would be on file as noting my VB isn't working. Today a letter was waiting outside my cabin. $400 OBC. Very generous actually and will just about pay for my drink package. While I was looking forward to the virtual balcony this OBC offer goes a long way to overcoming the disappointment.

Some more random pictures around the ship: Schooner Bar Boleros Starbucks

A temporary fitness area has been setup in the Solarium while they finish the new gym deck 11 aft The door off the port side Solarium that used to lead to the Peak-A-Boo bridge now just is a small outside deck areaL New deck 11 cabins occupy the space where the gym used to be and the deck that was the Paek-A-Boo bridge is now balcony space for these new cabins.

Salt. All of them.

Pool deck late night.

Change of plans since I wrote this blog. Family wants to do Europe by land instead.

The "Stowaway Piano" has made it to Navigator. First observed on Harmony and Symphony another example how Navigator is like a new ship.