Brandfam4

Glad to hear this, thanks for the feedback.  I've sailed Serenade a few times in the Caribbean and was glad to see her head to Alaska.  It should be a great cruise!

@twangster loved reading this review. We are booked on the Serenade this summer and I was looking for a blog to get an idea of what to expect. Since Serenade is new to Alaska, I figured a review of her sister ship would be next best to get an idea of what to expect! Really enjoyed reading it and felt like we were right there with you. Even more excited now!

Once again, I remind all to make your points without resorting to personal attacks or insults. 
I know it becomes unfathomable that someone could not see your line of thinking....

...but at the end of the day, share your point and then move on.  We're discussing cruising, it should be fun!

Yesterday was a long day, and didn’t have time to sit down after we finally got to the hotel, so here goes..
Because of the recent grounding of the 737-MAX planes, we were a little delayed leaving Seattle, luckily we had a couple hour layover in Dallas, so we weren’t worried about missing that connecting flight. 
I am not a small guy (6’3”) and always hate flying because of the cramped spaces.. But! I totally scored on BOTH legs of this flight and got this awesome exit row seat!
We landed in Ft Lauderdale about 11:45pm and got off the plane and grabbed our bags. Being the celebration of our anniversary, I decided to splurge for the ride down to Miami Beach
We booked a room at The Confidant, on the beach. It’s a nice room with direct beach access and loungers to use 

 
We are spending today checking out Miami Beach. Just a little different from what we are used to! Tomorrow is cruise day!!

Riptide is open.  That's the mat racer.
The Blaster was being worked on while I was on the ship.  The contractor, 'White Water' was on the ship making adjustments and sealing seams.  It's a brand new slide and as the ships moves in the ocean they have finished dealing with little drips here and there.  
Testing was being done by them.  On my sailing not even sports deck crew were allowed or involved with the testing, it was all in the hands of the contractor.  The ship is performing a charter cruise right now so no word on the progress of the Blaster.  
"Tubes getting stuck" is likely part of the testing they are doing to determine safe operating levels.  "If someone of weight X goes when we slow the water to speed Y the tubes gets stuck, therefore do not operate below speed Y+Z".  That sort of thing.  

Have a great time! We'll be on this sailing too. Can't wait. 

Hello all! First off, after @twangster's epic blog on this same itinerary just last week, I'm not sure how I can live up, but I'm sure we will have some different experiences  and I'm happy to share ours!
Lets get started....
This will be our first ever cruise, always wanted to do it, and finally making it happen! We are celebrating our 10-year anniversary and will be sailing with my Cousin and his wife, also celebrating their 10-year. This will also be our first trip without the kids (5,3, and 1) so we are a little nervous, but still super looking forward to it!
We are flying into Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday. We are coming from Seattle, WA, so its a bit of a flight with a layover, so we wanted to make sure we give ourselves plenty of time before the cruise. We will be staying in Miami Beach at The Confidant hotel for the two nights prior to the cruise.
We have a balcony stateroom on Deck 9, mid ship. We considered just doing an interior room, but decided to splurge a little bit and I think its going to be great!
We did purchase The Key for this sailing, as well as a BOGO dining and the Deluxe Beverage Package, shaping up to be a good time!
We have several things planned and booked at our ports, you'll have to check back to see what happens!
I'll try to post pictures and update as much as time and VOOM allows me to. If you have any questions, ask away and I'll do my best to answer them!

My 8 and 12 yr old have never seen the kids menu in the MDR.....they love the escargot, fish of the day, pasta entrees, etc...

Only my youngest orders off the kids menu except when I ordered the brownie, lol.  My other girls always choose the adult menu for new and better experiences.

They sure can. My granddaughter loves salmon and often orders that off the adult menu. Also don't be afraid to ask your server for any special request for the kids or yourself. Made a special request once for my child and even though they were not able to provide it that night they did for the next night's dinner and even the night after that. Staff can't meet your needs if you don't speak up and let them know. If nothing else they will say "sorry".

Day 10 - Ugh Day.
Morning came early but the inevitable occurred.  We returned to Miami.
I meant to pack the day before but one bamboo drink lead to another and...  morning came early.
By the time I made it downstairs the self-assist line was already moving.


A quick glance over at the naughty table where items confiscated on day 1 could be retrieved.

Cafe Promenade 2am food options






Plus pizza.

Day 9 - Bamboo Room - Late
Beyond the drink menu the Bamboo Room can make other drinks.
Margarita on the rocks:
(Not from a pre-made mix, really good)

Americano

Some other concoction Zoltan dreamed up for me topped with an edible flower:

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.

The pub was also refreshed with new chairs, resurfacing the floor and new modern ceiling fans.  



I think Playmakers has had an impact on the pub.  It is still a popular spot when live musicians are playing but many times on this cruise it's been mostly empty while Playmakers is packed.

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.

Chops Grille
Also located in the Windjammer opposite of Jamie's Italian.  
I took these photos back in Curaçao when the ship was empty.  I was offered a 30% discount off the $49 onboard rate for dinner that evening.  That doesn't always happen.  
Chops was refreshed receiving new carpet, new chairs, drapes and some new decorations.











Lunch menu:

 
Dinner Menu:




 
Kids menu:


 
Desserts:

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.

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.



 

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

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.