Muerz

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.

I‘m also new to RCCL but this menu is really underwhelming compared to NCL which have daily special features and even Carnival which looks a lot funkier and which also has seaday brunch specials...

Ask for a Bloody Caesar, the better version of the Bloody Mary ?

LT Steak and Seafood on the north end of Ocean Drive inside the more intimate yet upscale Betsy Hotel. The only restaurant on Ocean Drive that I enjoy. https://www.thebetsyhotel.com/lt-restaurant

Thanks for this epic trip report. I'll be on the April 12 sailing with the same itinerary and I'm pumped to finally be able to board now that I saw how great the renovation turned out to be!

Following as well. I'll be on the same cruise on April 12. It's gonna be my first RCCL sailing. Thanks in advance for taking the time out of your vacation to let us tag along.