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@twangster thanks again for taking so much of your time to blog and periscope from your cruise. I can't wait to sail on Navigator in April. Your photos and videos and insights have been really helpful. This will be my first Royal Caribbean sailing and I'm delighted I chose Navigator. ? 
I've shared links in a few FB groups to some of your content, and many people have expressed their thanks to me for sharing... so I'll extend their thanks to you too. 
Wishing you a safe trip home today. ? 

Agreed.  "Celebrity blue" or black would have been better than "OMG orange".

I think that Magic Carpet is an eye sore BUT it seems absolutely worth the ugliness.  What a GREAT way to do tendering.  A+ on the engineering.  C- on the aesthetics.
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Getting back to the ship some of the nice #modernluxury touches shine. After having the cards checked by one of the port security agents I was greeted with the offering of a cold cup of water and an ice cold towel, right nearby was a bin to toss said towels.



 
Heading back towards the ship I was able to better capture the Magic Carpet in it's tender platform glory.

Some more shots of the exit/outside of The Destination Gateway 

Overlooking the Magic Carpet

Due to some stairs going between  the outside area of The Destination Gateway and the Magic Carpet there is a wheelchair lift.

Overall the tendering process using this system is wonderful, such great ease getting on and off. The only challenge is in the case of low tide the step land side going between the tender and dock can be a challenge. I'll also add they were using the larger traditional two deck tender at another entrance at the forward section of the ship.
 

Today's port of call is Grand Cayman. One of the nice features of Edge is the use of the Magic Carpet as a tender platform and ship has some of the life boats configured as tenders. These tenders have nice cushioned seats and are air conditioned. No two level open air tenders being used with the exception of ones for shore excursions.

Another thing about needing plugs and not understanding people who use electronics is that everyone's idea of a great vacation is different. I personally love to read with my kindle by the pool or listen to a podcast with bluetooth headphones while relaxing. I also enjoy the ability to share my vacation in real time with friends and family. All of these things need charging and it's amazing how quickly the plugs get full, especially once you factor in cabin mates. I understand that some people enjoy disconnecting or using very few electronics on a cruise but it's a pet peeve of mine when someone uses their personal preference to look down upon other's choices in how they choose to spend their vacation. I'm not saying anyone here is doing that, but I HAVE seen that condescension elsewhere and it's incredibly uncalled for, in my opinion. 

Someone at Royal must be reading this forum...  my cruise planners for multiple cruises have been fixed.
No more Perfect Day Alaska, Perfect Day Hawaii or Perfect Day Panama Canal.

Good morning!  Back to reality today, but I thought I would recap our trip for everyone.  At least I can keep thinking about vacation instead of this mound of work on my desk.  
Embarkation Day-
We left our hotel in North Miami Beach about 10:15 to head over to the cruise terminal.  Again, we took an Uber XL and had a great experience (although it cost more than my estimates, but I think it had to do with surge pricing.  Anyway, we made it to the cruise port right around 10:45- our suggested arrival time was 11.  I was shocked by how many people were still trying to leave the ship and get transportation.  It made getting into the terminal a little more chaotic than I've seen in past cruises.  We went through the check in pretty seamlessly, but then we were sent to the giant room to wait.  We were able to get the last few chairs, but they still hadn't let anyone on yet.  I did have a proud momma moment during this time- you know when your kids do something and you think, "ok, maybe I am raising them well".  I was reading a book, not really paying attention and an older woman came by with her elderly mother.  The girls stood up and gave them their seats without any prompting.  I know it is just a small thing and something everyone should do, but teenagers are not always aware of their surroundings and I was happy they made this small gesture.  So, we were there until probably 11:30 or so and they told everyone to form a single file line to get on the ship.  Well, that caused some chaos and some line jumpers, but eventually we were on the ship by 12:15.  As we came on board, we walked up to the pool deck and settled in a few loungers in the shade as the kids wanted to change to go ride the water slides.  We were bummed to find out that they were not open yet.  So, we hung out by the pool- got a few pina coladas and just people watched.  The kids did some exploring, but I hung with our bags.  At around 1, the rooms were ready and we went to check them out.  We had rooms 1862 and 1866 on the 12th floor.  The rooms were nice and Gretchen was excited about her decorations that the social media staff had sent to her for her birthday.  We then went to the windjammer for lunch.  I had the Indian food and it was delicious. My picky eaters found things they were happy with, so I consider it a success.  I was also able to step inside chops and settle our reservations for the buy one get one dinners we had purchased ahead of time.  We chose Hooked for day one and Chopped for day two.  We went back to our rooms to unpack and then went back out to explore the sports deck.  The girls loved the hammocks and we watched people on the Flowrider.  Ryan (my 12 year old) decided he wanted to try, but we hadn't signed the waivers, so that took some time.  He wasn't able to do it before it was time to go change before dinner at Hooked.  All three kids are avid seafood lovers and really enjoyed Hooked.  I am not quite as into seafood as them, but I really enjoyed myself there.  Our waiter was great and they gave Gretchen a special birthday Boston Creme Pie with some extra adornments.  My husband got the raw oysters as an appetizer and thought it was delicious.  Two of the kids and my husband got the selection with lobster, fish and .... ok I forget the last thing, but they were happy with it.  My oldest daughter got the surf and turf and I got the blackened fish (I think it was grouper).  I highly recommend checking it out.  That evening we went to the opening show which was the comedian.  Everyone enjoyed that and we watched a movie on the pool deck until I looked over and all of the kids were fast asleep.  We took them to bed and got everything ready for our day tomorrow in Nassau.  

Just got done dining at Eden Restaurant. Was a very interesting meal to say the least, in a good way.
Eden Restaurant is located on the lower level of Eden. Access is via set of stairs from deck 5. Note there is a wheelchair lift for those that might need it. When being seated you'll pass by the open kitchen and offered a welcome beverage.

 
The menu is divided into five courses, each course having two options.
After ordering you're brought a small little taster.

 
Appetizers

 
Raindrops

 
Descending Frost

 
First Entree

 
Blue Velvet

 
During the meal are small little acts performed by the Edenist --Note, the pictures showing the acts are not in any proper order or within the proper course timeline.--

 
Second Entree

 
Tidal Pool

 
Cove

 
Another random performance

Also if you want to have a perforer get a bit more closer and personal with you they can be summed. Just hold the summoning stone and make eye contact.

Yes, that is a real candle
 
Third Entree

 
Life After Death (Sorry about not having a picture perfect plating. The beef had been a touch under cooked and was "attacked" before the shot could be taken.)

 
Mangalitsa

 
Yet another performance

Dessert time

 
Looking Glass

 
Forbidden Fruit

 
In addition you also get Eden Restaurant's rendition of The Globe
 
 
 


Overall if you like Wonderland give Eden Restaurant a try. Keep in mind the menu does seem a bit seafood heavy. So if you're not a big fan, might want to pass.
Now me personally, I could go for another few rounds of the Descending Frost and maybe another Cove. 
Side note: Pleasant having a dining package and not being presented a receipt at the end of the meal. I'm sure if one desired to leave extra gratuity they could request one. Overall, have yet to get one with any beverage package purchase.
--Note: At ~10:30 EDT this post was edited enhanced/edited pictures--

Solarium at night



 
Nice being trusted with towels and not worrying about being possibility of being charge $25 for one...

We made it into Fort Lauderdale last night and took an Uber XL to the hotel. Our suite is huge and much more than we needed for the one night stay. However, the views of the water and the walk we were able to take on the beach this morning made it worth it. Getting ready to leave for the port in about an hour. There is quite a bit of sea grass here, but the water is still beautiful. Everyone is so excited!

Good afternoon, I have been lurking and sometimes posting (when I feel I could be helpful) here for quite a while as we have prepared for our first Royal Caribbean cruise.  In the past, we have cruised multiple times on Carnival and once on Holland America.  This trip will be during our children's (ok, mostly teenagers now- I am a little bit in denial of them growing up) Spring Break.  I will be cruising along with my husband, our 15 and 16 year old daughters and our 12 year old son.  We have two spacious oceanview panoramic cabins on deck 12 (one room apart from each other).  We booked before the announcement of the Navigator's refurbishment and have been somewhat obsessed with learning about all of the awesome things that have been added.  We feel so lucky that we get to take advantage of so  many things that we had no idea about when we originally booked.     We have two stops and two sea days which we feel is really a great balance for our getaway.  During our first stop in Nassau, we have booked a private charter through Island Time Charters and are super excited about the fishing, snorkeling and hanging at a private beach that is included for us.  They had great reviews on TripAdvisor and I have always booked tours not through our cruiseline and have had good experiences.  I do a tremendous amount of research prior to booking and feel like that is a must do to ensure things go smoothly.  We will also be stopping in Labadee, Haiti.  During that stop, we have rented an over the water cabana on Nellie's Beach.  We splurged a little on this, but with three water and sun lovers plus a husband that isn't really into it and a son that could really care less about the beach, I figured the ceiling fans and shade would be appreciated.  I also splurged a little more because there are only two stops on this trip so our budget was slightly more per stop.  We have purchased the refreshment package for the kiddos and deluxe beverage package for my husband and me.  The kiddos learned about virgin daiquiris at our local cc years ago and I decided to go ahead and buy the refreshment package so I didn't have to worry about how much they were spending on the ship.  Paying for it in advance makes it easier for me to budget.  In addition, we purchased the buy one get one dinner and plan on celebrating my daughter's birthday at Hooked (she turned 15 today)!  I reached out to the social media group on Facebook for Royal Caribbean to ask what options are available for my daughter's birthday and they graciously offered to send her a cake and decorate the room.  I was shocked and so grateful!   
We will fly out of Cincinnati into Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.  I used Southwest points for all of the tickets down and was able to get them for free.  Due to trying to find the best ticket for my point budget, we doing have a slight layover (2 hours) in Baltimore on the way down.  I used my Delta points for the trip home and we will be flying direct back to CVG.  
A family of five makes it a little tricky with hotel rooms.  We usually either book suites or two rooms.  Teenagers have a lot of stuff and really are into feeling independent, so we find that works best for our family rather than trying to pull in a cot or a pullout in a standard room.  This time, I booked a two bedroom suite at a Doubletree property in North Miami Beach.  I am a Hilton loyalist (have you noticed my point hoarding?) and found this was the less expensive option vs. booking two rooms.  The room we booked has a pullout couch, one bedroom with two double beds and another bedroom with a king bed.  The reviews online aren't stellar- but it is only one night and coming from a beachless state staying close to the water has appeal.  We plan to Uber or Lyft from the FLL airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the port in the morning.   
We have started the packing .  I travel a lot for work and usually am a morning of my flight kind of packer, but thought since it is chilly here I could go ahead and start pulling everyone's warm weather gear and things I don't want to forget.  Or maybe I am fine with packing early because I am much more excited for this getaway than a work trip! 
We do not get the internet package while on the ship because our goal is to have family time and disconnect.  My job is also pretty demanding so it is nice to really get away and not be interrupted while I am with my family.  I will be updating this as we have service and once we arrive back home. 
 

Hey Twangster I wanted to thank you again for preparing us for all of Navigator's new awesomeness!  We did it all!  Our assigned group in the escape room ESCAPED ON DAY 2!  And it was all great from start to finish!  Loved, loved Hooked!  Went twice!  went to Jamie's but wasn't as thrilled as on Harmony and Anthem!  Hopefully better on Symphony on the 27th of this month!  The ice show was absolutely wonderful with the drones!  We went twice!  They provided for Suites behind the curtain tour of the ice show and saw the drones up close and were schooled on how they are coordinated in the show!  Very informative!  They are expanding the Suite area while we were there also!  It was a great experience in The Hawaiian Suite for a once in a lifetime experience!  That's for sure!  We were even invited with two other couples to have dinner with the chief engineer in the dining room with a special dinner!  Bill said best 59th birthday ever!  He was so personable and informative!  Not sure that will ever happen again, but we appreciated and soaked up every minute!  
Of course we had drinks in the Bamboo room with the sliders and the noodle asian salad and thought of you which was great too!  The internet worked great for Bill too all over the ship!  The ship has a different personality for sure since last year's sailing!  
Our second time in Bonaire was even more beautiful!  It was the first time where were in Curacao longer so we took the sunset catamaran cruise which was to die for!  They opened the swinging bridge for us we then went way back in the waterway which i've always wanted to do which was a new world really lots of yummy snacks and lots of drinks too!  Also came out and went up the coast and went into another waterway which was very nice also!  And the Sunset pics were wonderful!  Highly recommend!
Well thank you, thank you again for getting us prepared!  Hope we meet someday!  PLEASE KEEP BLOGGING FOREVER!  You get the best pics and fantastic recommendations too!
Only one down note!  They had a Zumba cruise on the 5 night before us and were on our cruise!  Didn't see them since I don't do anything before 10 am trivia unless it's an excursion.  But everyone from the "team" did not know that you had to get off in between sailings so they were all in bed!  So they dragged them down first.  We were not able to get on the ship until right before noon!  That is the latest we have ever got on a ship!  What made this bad for me is that I had just drank an extra bottle of water and large cup of coffee so I thought I was going to float with the ship!  I barely survived!
Wasn't the washy washy guy hysterical!?!  He was the nicest and best we've ever seen!  He even came into the main dining room and helped sing Happy Birthday to Bill!  It was a hoot for sure!  Well I must go and finish washing clothes before April 26th Symphony!  We have our cruises very close this year because we are going to be Grandparents later this Year for the first time!  I'm so excited!  Also thought of you Sabrina while were were eating in La Bamba post cruise!  It was fabulous as always!
I will continue to enjoy this awesome site, Matt, with all you awesome cruise loving people!
Michelle and Bill too!
 

Thanks for the quick reply :) it will be my kids first cruise ever and my wife and I's second (yes the first was on a carnival ship). We are super excited for this trip :). Hoping this cruise goes well for my family so I can convince them to make this an annual event :) I have the cruise bug and need them to get the bug too :)

Hello,
I‘m on the Navigator of the Seas right now and it‘s my first RCCL cruise. I‘ve been cruising mostly NCL, but also did experience Carnival, Celebrity and MSC before. I‘m not doing a fully live trip report but I try to send a few impressions and maybe answer a few of your questions.
I was at the port around 11:30am and had to wait until 12 until they let people inside the security area. No communication whatsoever about why we were delayed. Security and and document check went swiftly but then we had to wait once more on the gangway to finally board. People weren’t happy about those delays. Once onboard, around 12:30, the ship felt empty, we were the first to have a drink at the Bamboo Room and we got an excellent MaiTai. Rooms were ready shortly after 1 pm and we dropped our carry on luggage right before we went to Chops for Lunch. I honestly wasn’t blown away. I have the Key package, my parents don’t and paid for this lunch upfront only to be informed that they were also limited to the small Key lunch menu. What a waste of money for them. They didn‘t even prepare pepper sauce or bearnaise sauce and limited us to bordelaise sauce ??. The quality of the beef was fine though.
I‘m used to inside muster drills on NCL and prefer those to the chaos that was here during sweltering heat on the outside promenade. ?? 
Sailaway came and we were delayed because of a medical emergency. The captain did inform us about a small delay which then turned into 3 hours delay because apparently an elderly lady died. So sad ?.
Dinner in the MDR was very nice though and I think service and food was a step above NCL. Out of the major cruise lines, I still prefer Carnival for food quality though.
The promenade was crowded for the balloon drop and the music was too loud for me. My promenade room has rather good soundproofing but I hope in the coming days, music won‘t be as loud.
Had breakfast in the MDR today and felt it took too long for me because I want to be out on the deck enjoying the ship instead of wasting my daytime in a dining room. Once again, the food was rather good though and service was great again.
I‘m now out on the 12th deck enjoying my day but the chair hog situation is out of control compared to the other ships I‘ve been to. At 10 am the pool deck was empty but there wasn‘t a single chair available in the Solarium or in the shaded areas around the ship. They really need to do something about this.
 
 

For the random post of the night... Elevators!
It is nice knowing clearly what elevator is doing what. On the call button panel pressing up causes the up arrow to outline in green, going down red. When the elevator arrives it is clear as day what direction it is going.


Inside the elevator the screen clearly shows what floors have been selected. (I'm looking at you blue outlined buttons that just get brighter when pressed)

 

Could almost call this a sneak peek at the future of the Royal app. This is the Celebrity version.
Notice the three icons. Fork and Knife, Bed, and door knob.

Hitting the "Fork and Knife" brings you to the well known screen showing what dining venues are open, menus, and what not.

"Bed" icon brings up room control options, defaulting to the television tab.

Room tab brings up various room controls

Hitting "see all" dropdown next to lights gives granular on/off control of the various room lights.

Finally the "Door knob" icon. The initial setup requires some authentication. Once authenticated no need to do anything more other than have the app open.

Quick visit up to The Retreat sundeck
 


 

One unique thing is the Edge Villa guests have direct access to The Retreat sundeck from their room. Doors on the left side I'm going to assume lead to a locked door to the Villa.

 
Also a bar up here, just didn't get the chance to take a picture.

Some nice touches
Pizza is made with fresh dough

For people that have allergy or dietary concerns it seems everything has a tag listing the key concerns. This one for example would indicate "gluten free"

Another feature of the Terminal 25 waiting area for Suite and Zenith guests is rooftop access. Guess if you didn't mind being under the watchful eye of a security guard you could get a pre-boarding tan started.

Morning everyone!
Such a great sight seeing your ship in port.

 
Here let me get a closer view of the one on the left.

Thats how tips are supposed to work, nowadays the mentality is "if i give them a TIP before they do any work then they will do better work".  While this may be true it sets a terrible precedence as at work we call it Bribery.

You should have gotten a picture.  We could have used it when someone asks if they are allowed and, tucked in the dozen "nope, not allowed" posts someone has to chime in that theirs wasn't confiscated that one time.  It would be a great visual to post up in response.
As far as finding your own: all items confiscated are tagged with the owner's info.  Whether someone feels it is worth going through the pile to claim theirs is another story.  I'm betting each cruise ends with piles of those either donated or junked.

Ha! It definitely is a bit ironic for me to write that online reviews should be ignored while I write and record recaps of my cruises. I hope at the very least what I share is more of a glimpse into what the experience is like, rather than a sales pitch one way or another.

That means I’ve spent way too much time reading your B2B2B on Navigator and @Lovetocruise2002 star class blogs on Harmony. ?