CazV

The current rules are that everyone in the cabin must get the alcoholic beverage package if one person does. Exceptions are allowed in some specific cases, such as a person being unable to drink due to medications they're taking, or religious practices, or recovering alcoholic. If you have one of those cases, you have to call Royal directly and explain the situation, and then whoever doesn't get an alcohol (Deluxe) package will still have to get the Refreshment (non-alcoholic beverage) package.
It sounds from your comment like you both drink, so in your case you'll need to both get the Deluxe package. But be aware that it covers every kind of beverage on the ship, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. It's actually very easy to "break even" as long as you got the package for a decent sale price. Most of the time, getting a couple of specialty coffees, a couple bottles of water, and two or three cocktails or glasses of wine across the day is enough. And if you get a bottle of water with every alcoholic beverage you get, you'll also stay more than hydrated enough to avoid a hangover. ?

Late night WJ food consisted hamburgers and hotdogs on Navigator.  

Bridge Tour
Another benefit of the Crown and Anchor Society is a tour of the bridge.
The central cockpit.








Here you can see the vaulted ceiling behind the cockpit that used to contain the windows for the Peak-A-Boo-Bridge.




Found a screen dedicated to the water slides.  Water is heavy and the holding tanks for the slides has to be accounted for.  During an emergency the bridge may need to control the water.

New bridge technology was added to Navigator during the refresh including the Oceanstar system.  This system has the ability of receiving signals from three GPS type systems, the US GPS constellation, the European Galileo constellation and the Russian GLONASS constellation.  By combining the three system there is improved resiliency and accuracy.  The positioning system can hold the ship to within 1m of target.   


When the ship finished dry dock they sailed out of Freeport and the ship spent the first day and night at sea.  They were re-calibrating engineering data relative to weight distribution given the new structures that were added during dry dock.  Engineers on board placed sensor tanks at various locations and recorded data as the ship was maneuvered.  
The bridge wing station.

The view aft.

The view forward and the camera for the virtual balcony system near the top of the window.

This display illustrates the various holding tanks that contain different liquids.  From fuel to fresh water to waste tanks they are all monitored since the ballast they create is vital to maintaining the proper ship attitude. 
 

Navigational chart display.


 

Cruise Compass has posted:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/navigator-of-the-seas/fri-2019-03-01-0000
 

Day 9 - Sea Day Theater Tour
Another benefit of the Crown and Anchor Society you always learn something in these backstage theater tours.
First of all, the Metropolis Theater is no more.  Like other ships the fleet is moving to the standard branding of "Royal Theater"

The theater got more than just a new name.  Some new tech was installed and the theater received some TLC like all public venues did during the refresh.

Some new shows were installed during the break.  A new cast joined to perform them.  The tour today is led by the dance captain, the vocal lead singer and the lead sound and lighting technician.

 
After introductions and some general Q & A were invited on stage.







 
Here is where the head pieces for the "Showgirl" production are stored.  They are very delicate and cost in the thousands each.


Costume and 'dressing room'.  I use that term loosely because this is just a small space behind the front stage where the cast run off and on executing a costume change in seconds.











More 'Showgirl' costume storage on the other side.




Spectrum will also receive a version of 'Showgirls'.  While Navigator has five showgirls in the cast, Spectrum will have eighteen.  


Voyager class was the first that expanded the theater to include the fly away system where set pieces including walls and curtains can be lifted into the ceiling.  The stage is on deck 2 and this fly away space extends upward to the bottom of deck 6.  Prior to Voyager class the space above the theater was used for other purposes.  Any walls, curtains or set pieces have to brought in from the sides or rolled up on older ships.



 

Izumi
Deck 14 Port side
Like Chops Izumi existing in place before but was also refreshed.

El Loco Fresh
Pool side deck 11.
This has become a favorite lunch spot on many days.  Instead of heading into the Windjammer I've found myself coming here for a quick bite.
It's very popular and it took some time to get photos without lots of people in them.  In fact i had to wait until night time to get a wide angle shot like this:

Like the Windjammer there are hand washing stations at each end.

They have some pre-cooked options such as Chicken or Cheese Quesadillas and Chicken or Beef Burritos which I'm not a huge fan of. 



For me the soft tacos are the reason I come here.
The tacos are made in a taco press right on the spot. 

The initial soft taco station is staffed and based on your request they will put a taco on a plate then add which ever meat you request.  Choices are chicken, beef or pork.  


Moving along they have self serve rice, beans, chili beef and cheese sauce.

Nachos are also available.   


Then you head over the topping station and load up your nachos or tacos with all sorts of goodness.



The guacamole isn't bad.  It may not be the best guac I've had but it's not terrible either.
All in all it's a nice quick spot to grab a bite especially when hanging out around the pool.

While we are up here in the Windjammer, here is how it looks with the updates.

Hand washing station but no blow dryers like some ships have.







The CocaCola Freestyle drink dispensers are tucked away near the windows mid-Windjammer on port and starboard.

I prefer that actually.  Rather have some space around me and not be crammed in eating dinner with other people inches from me.  I estimate seating for around 60 right now.  They can add more chairs and tables if they start to sell out.  

Adventure Ocean is now open!   ...and populated with kids. 
I peaked in the windows but didn't take any photos because children were present.

BAAAAAAHHH HA HA HA HA HA!!
OK, @twangster, there's no way you're a bot. Bots don't know how to do ironic humor like that!

Jamie's Italian
Located within the Windjammer on deck 11, Jamie's Italian takes the place of Giovanni's.  



















 
Here is the dinner menu.  The same menu is used at lunch however the Lamb Chops Scottadito and Chianti - Braised Short Ribs are not offered at lunch.

Meal with an Officer
Lunch today is in Jamies Italian courtesy of Crown and Anchor for members over 340 points.  Several tables were set aside for us and a number of Officers joined us.  I sat with the Hotel Director.  The Guest Services Manager and other officers such as the Inventory Manager were present.   



The menu is from Jamies but not the regular lunch or dinner menu.  I'll cover that in another post.


Red or white wine was offered along with sparkling or still water.
Meat plank to start.


Tomato Brushetta


Truffle Tagliatelle.  Very good.

Raspberry Sorbet for dessert.  Intense flavor.  Very good.


Our Hotel Director is finishing up his current contract then will take a vacation break.  When he returns he will move to CocoCay where he will live and become the manager on the island.   The pier is getting very close to being finished.  CocoCay and Labadee are managed and operated like they are ships.  Each ship has revenue goals and operating costs that are allocated to that ship.  CocoCay is no different so in that sense he will operate and manage CocoCay just like he does in his role as Hotel Director.
I didn't have a great Jamies experience on Harmony but it was fantastic on Anthem.  This meal lived up to my Anthem experience and I'm really glad they used Jamies Italian for this event today.  The flavors in the meat plank, bruschetta and Tagliatelle are great and I can see myself coming back for more meals here.

Day 8 - Sea Day Galley Tour
Part of the Crown and Anchor benefits for Diamond Plus or Pinnacles this free galley tour is always a great way to learn some behind the scenes secrets.
For example the MDR menu is set by the Food and Beverage Manager along with the Activities Manager.  They can change it from time to time however the actual entrees are fleet standards.  Apparently the menus displayed in the Royal app are out of sync with the ship and in some cases are way off the actual menus for each day. 
One of our Sous Chef Brian will take us around today.


Preparing fruit plates.

Navigator received some galley updates during the refresh.  This is a new dishwasher that can accept just about anything and it performs a rinse, wash, dry and polish.  In the past clean items would have to be hand polished to remove water spots.  Now it's fully automated.

They simulate a health inspection as a step to get ready for the real thing.

 
Some of the food prepped in the kitchen works on a 4 hour time control plan.  Detailed logs are maintained.  Food has to be kept at specific temperatures in different phases of the 4 hour windows it goes through.  There are several check points and if the right criteria is met food is discarded.  It's not saved for the next day in the Windjammer or fed to the crew, if it crosses a threshold it's discarded.  

Our baker getting bread ready.

Some danish and pastries are not made on the ship.  They are loaded pre-made and baked on demand.

Protein cooking station


The butcher spends the most money of anyone in the galley.  On a daily basis the meats cost between $10,000 to $15,000.  On a nine night cruise like this corporate gives him or her around $100,000.00 to spend on the cruise.  That's just the meat and doesn't include other items.
These elevators are dedicated to the galley use.  They run down to the food stores in the lower decks and bring food to all levels of the dining room.

Even the loading of the bread basket is carefully planned:

Beverage station


Navigator participates in Diamond happy hour in the MDR.

Every time you take one of these tours you learn a little bit more.

Since I was in the neighborhood, here is the Solarium:

It's close to Mariner's AMPED Solarium.








Deck 11 forward received a series of new cabins that displaced the Vitality Spa gym that used to be in this area.  Here is the center entrance to the new cabin area.  


There are also entrances port and starboard sides.

He doesn’t use a camera. He’s a bot.  He just scans the scene with his laser eyes.

Never too many photos!!!! 

I never get tired of your photos.....Great Job!!! ?

Even the Viking Crown Lounge has been refreshed.





As a point of reference these photos were taken just before 7pm which is still within the Diamond happy hour yet the Lounge is nearly empty and being enjoyed by a few guests who came up here to see the remains of the day.  Proof positive that moving the Diamond Lounge down to deck 5 has had an impact on the Viking Crown Lounge and it now can be enjoyed by all guests in these early evening hours.






The pool deck as seen from the Viking Crown.  


With that my eye caught the golden hour effect.  Time to take some more evening photos...

Day 7 - Bonaire
Woke up to rain so I worked for a bit.  Around noon it started to clear and turned into a very nice day.



But who came here to look at boring beach pictures when there is a "new" ship waiting for me?  So back to the ship!
From my virtual balcony I saw we were starting to sail away and noted a sunset in the making:

Our sunset sail away from Bonaire.







I haven't shown the new Navigator Dunes mini golf and with the sun setting in front of the ship this seemed like a good time to show it to you.































For anyone wondering if it's possible to be thrown off the ship by the Blaster water slide, the part over the edge of the ship has netting over it.

Cruise Compass will be emailed to @Matt once I have them all.  He will post it here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=280
They had a comedian on day one during the welcome aboard show who also did a late night adult only session.  Once the cruise compass posts you'll see all that.
Thanks!

First this picture really is truly amazing Twangster!  You have a way of capturing these moments like none other!  We all can't thank you enough!!!  
Hello my name is Michelle and I have enjoyed reading this blog for awhile now with such friendly, cruise loving people!!!!  Thanks also Matt for starting this wonderful blog.  You all have a way of taking us with you on all of your cruises that is so exciting and inspiring to want to try all of them even though we don't have enough vacation time!  Ugh!
I'm so over the top excited for my husband and my upcoming cruise on this wonderful "new" ship.  We were on her last March in this same itenerary and fell in love with Bonaire.  Already loved A and C!  Your pics make it really seem so new!  I really appreciate all the menus from everywhere and of course the main dining room too!  We are sailing your same itinerary starting on March 29th.  We have a 3 night dining package but I'm dying to also try the wings and sliders from Playmaker's.  It's my husband Bill's 59th Bday on April 2nd.
I was wondering if you could possibly post any cruise compasses since the app is not working yet.  I want to make sure we book our my time dining and our 3 night dining package restaurants around all the wonderful new shows.  Have they had many comedians on board by chance!?!  
Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Keep enjoying your wonderful cruise and keep the pics coming!  I'm so glad you tried all those drinks because well someone had to do it!  Right!?!  
Thanks Again!
Michelle
 
 

30 days! Gonna be a long month

I just finished lunch with our hotel director here on Navigator.  This is the last cruise of his current contract.  When he returns from his break he is becoming the manager at CocoCay and he will live there full time.  The pier is basically finished but the bridge is not in place yet.  Any day now for the bridge but the pier is ready to accept ships.  

That's definitely not the same menu as on Navigator. The head chef for Jamie's Italian talked to us about the new menu that they are offering first on Navigator.