741953

It's totally ok to reserve a lounge or maybe bar for private event. But POOL?? No. What's next? MDR??

Just got off Navigator on Friday. It's amazing! I bet it's even more amazing during Christmas. You're gonna have a great time.

iSkate is a MUST SEE!! Don't be late though. You don't wanna miss the drone lights show at the beginning. We love both Ballroom Fever and Showgirls theater shows. Didn't go to any comedy show though. 

We did a little bit of karaoke. Didn't quite like it coz the song choice was very limited. Hush Party (silent disco) was a blast!! Everyone looked so silly dancing in silence but truly having a load of fun.

Hit The Perfect Storm at 9 am, right at the time it opens. I did that on the sea day and managed to get on the slides for 6 times in 30 minutes. The line started to form around 9:30 am. If I wasn't getting exhausted from climbing all those stairs I would play for a few more times. I planned to do the slides on port days, but somehow it got busy already after we came back from port, which was around 3 pm.

One thing about Coco Cay...BE CAREFUL OF THE TRAMS! The tram we took from the ship to arrival plaza ran at SUPER FAST SPEED I had to hold on to my poor old mom so she didn't fall off  the tram. And later when we're heading back to the ship, we stopped at arrival plaza to take some pics of the water slide. I was looking up, so I didn't realize there're two trams heading my way (both directions from my left and right). My mom saw one of them coming and pulled me away, but as we stepping back, the other one from the other direction almost hit my mom. It missed only by a few inches. I know I should have been more careful about where to stand while taking pics. It's my fault. But my concern is neither of the tram driver tried to alert us when they saw me in their way. No yelling, no horn, no slowing down. They just drove towards us in normal (quite fast if you ask me) speed. When my mom noticed the first one it's already about 20 feet away from us, and no sign of slowing down.

So yeah, just be aware when you and your family walk to/from the ship or at arrival plaza. It's absolutely gorgeous at Coco Cay so it's easy to get distracted and forget about the surroundings.

1. Purchase internet package (or other packages) via Cruise Planner ahead of time - I got a great deal on VOOM Surf + Stream 2 Devices package. It's only about $17/day.

2. Download the app - I spent some time on the app the night before sail and had everything planned for the whole trip. Later I only had to double check my schedule against Cruise Compass to make sure the event time and location are correct. No time wasted on ship to browse or plan anything. Also the app makes checking in at the terminal a breeze.

3. For water slides, go there on a port day or at the time it opens - I was there at 9 am on the dot and was able to get on the slides 6 times by 9:30 am. And it was a sea day.

4. Bring your own reusable bottles 

20 hours ago, F1guynz said:

Hi, you book a date/time for the escape room and you will be paired with others who booked for the same time.

Normally the escape room runs with 12 people. We booked for 2 on Independence and were paired up with other families who we did not know.

 

5 hours ago, Matt said:

Escape room games are played with random people from the cruise.

3 hours ago, Chonseylee said:

I went by myself on Symphony and had a great time. There were some groups & couples but also a couple singles.

Thanks for all your replies!
I'm an extreme introvert and usually do better by myself, but I guess I'm gonna give it a try anyway, coz that's what this trip is all about - trying new things :-)

I'm wondering if anyone going to the Escape Room alone.

I'll be on Navigator with my 73 year old mom. I'm very sure she's not interested in Escape Room. Is it possible for me to go alone? Would it be awkward while other players are in groups?

So as Laser Tag. I don't know how it's gonna be, but I really wanna play.

"...so you can enjoy unlimited soda in your Coca-Cola souvenir cup, while streaming all your favorite music, movies and sharing your unforgettable moments in real time."

I'm pretty sure it's VOOM Surf + Stream.

I purchased internet package and that's what I see too. It's greyed out. I guess the button will be available once we're on board.

If you wanna check any of your purchase, you can go to Cruise Planner. 

5 hours ago, emsff02 said:

We were on Navigator, and had the early traditional seating and it was done. I would assume they would do it for the later seating as well, so you will probably be fine. You can always check with the dining manager when on board.

Thanks!

It looks so much fun in the videos. it'll be a great way to finish off the last dinner of the trip.

Seeing someone complaining about "no ice cream at night" just made my day. 

Don't know anything about other ships, but according to previous Navigator OTS Cruise Compass that I read, soft serve available from 11 am to 6 pm.

One more week we'll be on Navigator for our first cruise. I've already made MTD reservation at MDR for the last night, hopefully to catch the farewell performance. As first time cruisers, my mom and I would be thrilled to experience it. But as I was doing research online, I saw someone mentioned some cruises stop doing it already coz people really hate it and find it annoying and awkward. 

Does anyone know whether MDR staff on Navigator still do farewell performance on the last night? 

If they do, what time the performance will take place? Does 8 pm reservation sound good?

Thank you

As long as you go thru proper procedure to apply a travel document/visa to China, you should be fine. Especially when you're from Western countries, it's very straight forward (if you're from Hong Kong or Taiwan, it could be super tricky). It's not that complicated or "scary" as many people (or media) claimed. Remember, the media only shows the negative side of things, and people who got in trouble ALWAYS because they couldn't care less about respecting others and have that "Travelers are KING" mentality. The bottom line is, you SHOULD and CAN get a visa to enter China. Unlike United States. My mom had applied U.S. travel visa for god knows how many times. Never got approved. She couldn't even come to my college graduation. That's the sole reason I made the decision to immigrate Canada. 

Hope to hear from you about your experience on the cruise to Asia. Happy cruise planning!

Pack in my mind -  the day I booked a trip
Written down list of items - 1 month
Picking items - 2 weeks
Pack items in suitcase - 2 days

That's me for any trip 

8 hours ago, kimberussell said:

I'll tell Mom to leave the spraypaint home!

I had to look for it! I logged into Cruise Planner, then clicked on Perfect Day in the top nav. There's a section called Other activities that for me had parasailing, jet ski, etc. Under that there was a heading that said + VIEW ALL ACTIVITIES and when I clicked on that, it revealed more options (swimming pigs?!) and at the VERY bottom of that was the beach mat. Hope this helps!

Ah ha! Found it.
Thank you so much

Oh my...I thought I time traveled and read my own live blog!! 

On Nov 4, I'll be on Navigator, with my mom, for a 4 nights cruise. It'll be our very first cruise. 
For package, we purchase nothing but internet for 2 devices. 
We both don't drink at all, but we LOVE to eat. It REALLY doesn't matter what to eat. We have pretty cheap taste anyway.
Gourmet dining environment sometimes actually makes us uncomfortable. Our preferred style is "just give me the god damn food and leave us alone".
My mom is suffered from chronic knee and back pain, so for Nassau we're just gonna walk around the port, take some photos and maybe buy some rum cakes for our friends back home.
For CocoCay, I thought about getting myself a Waterpark Pass for the slides. But since it's our first cruise and my mom is not fluent in English, I wanna stay with her as much as possible. Again, we just wanna chill and EAT. That's all. I can already see my mom "stationed" at Skipper's Grill, snacking non-stop while watching her favorite videos and chatting with friends online.

I have a question. How do you pre-rented a floating mat at CocoCay? I'm too thinking about renting one, but don't see it anywhere in cruise planner.

It'll be great if you can also upload the Cruise Compass with your live blog. Only if you have the time.

I seriously can't wait for your live blog! 

I don't know if it helps, but just drop it here for your reference.

We're going on Navigator this November. We booked our flight via Air2Sea in mid September.

It's possibly the sweet spot, coz after about a week or so, I noticed overall the price has increased (though not too much) and my preferred departure/arrival time has been sold out. 

I don't know about domestic flight, but for us from Toronto, the price is about $100 CAD/person cheaper than travel sites like Expedia.

21 hours ago, twangster said:

Some people are truly impacted by cigarette smoke.  I can understand that if it doesn't bother you might not appreciate how it can affect some people.  

The problem is exacerbated when smokers don't follow the rules.  Even if the majority do follow the rules, when the minority ignore them it impacts everyone (including those that do follow the rules) and I see that nearly every cruise.

The reality is the choice to smoke cigars and cigarettes does impact other people.  The choice to break rules will cause increased complaints.  No "cutting slack" is warranted or needed.   

Unfortunately I'm very allergic to smoke, and most fragrance. But I still don't think 100% smoke free is necessary.

Anything or issue can be exacerbated when people don't follow the rules. Replace smoking with drinking or even just driving in your logic also makes whole lot of sense. 

By cutting slack, I meant only to those who follow the rules. They don't deserve all the hate.

At the end of the day, it's never about how safe/dangerous something is, it's just majority rules. 

If you carry your own luggage off the ship around 7:30am, take taxi or uber to MIA, I would say 10am or later is fine.

We plan to chill and enjoy one last breakfast before leaving the ship, plus giving it some buffer time in case of unexpected situation (e.g. find our luggage), we booked 2pm flight out of MIA.

It's our first cruise. I hope it'll go smoothly.

I'm not a smoker, but I never understand all the hate smokers get.

Smokers don't "accidentally" hurt or kill people after smoking (of course we're talking about smoking cigarette, not pot). Drunk people do. A lot.

As long as smokers behave and smoke at the designated area, they posses zero harm at all. But drunk people are walking threats everywhere they go, even for hours after. Yet, the world seems very proud of them and legitimately promoting it as an awesome thing to do. Of course it's all about money. It's how the world works nowadays.

It's unpopular opinion, I know. I just can't wrap my head around it every time I see topic like this.

How badly cruise ship or any place designed their designated smoking area has nothing to do with the smokers. If smokers already followed the guidelines but the smoke still manage to find its way to you, it's NOT their fault. Please be reasonable. Cut smokers some slack, will you?

9 hours ago, Slatts said:

I’m on Navigator of the seas today, it’s a new thing there starting. We leave at 930 pm and will have Fireworks and a laser show. 
 Perfect day and night coco cay there calling it 

Woah, fireworks at Coco Cay? It's awesome!

We'll be on Navigator next month. I really hope they make it a regular thing.

3 hours ago, twangster said:

This was last winter and contributed to their decision to switch to Bell.  They fought Rogers as best they could, escalating it as high as they could but Rogers refused to do anything.  

Sounds pretty typical of Rogers 

I'm just gonna use clear packing tape to seal the whole tag, punch a hole on it, and use cable ties to secure it on the luggage.

My car insurance card, my mom's in-case-of-emergency contact card...I "laminated" a whole lot of things with clear packing tape.

I find it works amazingly well. Tear proof and waterproof.

4 hours ago, twangster said:

Family had a bad experience with Rogers and roaming in the US.  They paid for the ability to roam but still had exorbitant usage fees.  When they inquired Rogers basically said "it's because you used data".  So the roaming package allowed them to roam and gave them the impression some data was included but it wasn't, they had to pay for actual usage as well as the privilege to roam.  

Bottom line check with your cell phone provider and ask a lot of questions.  Get it in writing.  

Sorry to hear that. Are you using "Roam Like Home" ($7/day to use data and minute from your own wireless plan), or pre/post paid roaming that charged by min/mb?

I guess we're the lucky ones then. We had many trips to U.S. using Rogers "Roam Like Home". Fortunately all fee were charged correctly.

We're Canadians. We use Rogers "Roam Like Home" when we travel U.S. According to the website it should also cover Caribbean and Mexico.

The price may be changed already, but it should be anywhere between CAD $5 - $12 a day. Bell has something similar, but it gives you separate data and minute, as oppose of Rogers you use your own data and minute just like you're in Canada.

Unfortunately I can only tell you the info, I can't tell you whether it actually works or not. We never went on any cruise before. Our very first will be in early November  Still in the process of deciding how to tackle this.

But even if this roaming thing works, it's only when you're at a port. No cellular connection at sea no matter how.

Just found out a special event will be held on the cruise I'll be on, Navigator of the Seas Nov 4 - 8.

"Santa Barbara Reunion Cruise"!!!!!! 

Join us for the first-ever Santa Barbara Reunion Cruise featuring original cast members Lane Davies (Mason Capwell), A Martinez (Cruz Castillo), Judith McConnell (Sophia Capwell), Harley Jane Kozak (Mary Duvall), Louise Sorel (Augusta Wainwright) & Nicolas Coster (Lionel Lockridge). November 4-8, 2019 from Miami to The Bahamas on Royal Caribbean’s newly-modernized Navigator of the Seas.

I had no idea at all when I booked the cruise.

This will be my first cruise. Can someone tell me will this kind of special event affect my trip in any way? 

Will it be more crowded? Nosier? Or pretty much the same as any other date?

Thanks.

I too am going on my very first cruise soon. I never know how to tip coz I'm rarely in that situation, and I always feel awkward when doing it. That's why I pre-paid the gratuities and thought that solved the problem.

From what I learn here today, looks like the biggest expense on my upcoming cruise will be tipping. The amount you guys suggested are way more than I plan to give.

Thank god I read this thread. Otherwise I'll probably be labelled as "that cheapie" by the staff.

Just one quick question. I don't drink at all. But do we usually tip servers at the buffet, Cafe Promenade and El Loco Fresh? I mean where the food is "free".

And at MDR, where we're not gonna receive any bill, I can just tip our server before we leave right?

Thanks.