Va4fam

Returned last week from our B2B (7 day/4 day) cruises on Navigator from Los Angeles. Got to see all 5 of the West Coast ports on one trip. The 7 day trip was booked back in 2019 but cancelled due to COVID and then we rescheduled because of family conflicts. Decided to add the 4 night Ensenada/Catalina trip just a few months ago since we would already be on the West Coast and it would get us closer to the next C & A tier. This was our 2nd time sailing Navigator but first since the amplification. Really like the improvements. Embarkation# 1- San Pedro. Arrived 30 minutes early to join several hundred people that also arrived early. Very long lines almost to the Battleship parked behind Navigator terminal. No signs, no checking arrival times, very little organization. At some point one line became two (carry on items or checked bags) but 2 lines became 3....then 4 as new arrivals from the parking lot frequently cut in line near the front. Finally reached the porters to check our bag about 45 minutes after arrival and the rest of check in took less than 10 minutes. Room-JS on deck 11 near the front. This room may have been added during amplification and had modern decor. No walk in closet and perhaps the smallest bathroom we have ever had. I can only describe the balcony with one word....ENORMOUS. It was twice the size of our stateroom, you could easily host a game of beach volleyball out there. 2 loungers, 2 chairs, and a table. The only drawbacks were the extra screening glass above the balcony rail prevented some nice pictures, and the wind really whipped around on a couple of sea days. The location of the cabin on deck 11 was awesome, just steps away from Solarium, and pool deck. Very quiet. Joseph, our room attendant, was very friendly and left us wine glasses, 4 sets of towel animals, cruise compasses, and took good care of us. Pool and Bars-wow! Looks nearly identical to Oasis now. Plenty of room to spread out, great bar service, solarium was perfect for several chilly days. Dining Room-very disappointing. We went 3 times, the tenderloin on night one was so bad that nearly everyone in our section didn't eat it or returned it. Our head waiter and assistant waiter were also disappointing. No salt/pepper, no butter, no water refills, no checking on our food, extremely slow to take orders and deliver food, and frequently nowhere to be found. Many of the tables in front or behind us had different wait staff that seemed to perform more efficiently than our duo. Chef's Table-we did this on the last night of the first cruise. Outstanding. Food, Wine, Service. (I am not expecting Chef's table quality at main dining room) Windjammer-Navigator has 2 greeters during breakfast and lunch that sing songs you might know....except they insert Washy, Washy in the song when they can. Think "Dancing Queen" except it became "Washy Queen." They were great. We had multiple meals at the WJ and think they did a nice job. Plenty of food choices. What happened to the waffles at breakfast and chocolate chip cookies during lunch and dinner? Izumi (sushi only)-Went for Valentine's Day. Great views and service. Sushi rolls were tasty. Playmaker's & the Pub- went several times for pitchers of beer and appetizers, shuffleboard and large connect4. One night a family was playing the jumbosized Jenga and had a big crowd on the Promenade watching. The Pub featured a great singer, Darla Fox, who played just about anything you requested. Cafe Promenade-great place for a quick breakfast bite or late night pizza and cookies. The pizza tastes a lot better than the pizza on Brilliance last summer. Gym and Jogging Track-the gym was modern (but hot) and a little undersized. Went 6 of the 11 days. Jogging track looked nice but not very practical during daytime hours. Navigator Dunes-this might be the nicest cruise ship mini golf course we've played. And we play all of them. Don't miss it. Cruise Staff-The captain was nice and always ended his announcements with "See You Around." Cruise Director Thiago was energetic and seemed to be everywhere all the time. Andy "Elton John" did a great sing a long in the Schooner Bar. Guest Services were top notch and solved two issues for me that had nothing to do with the ship. Entertainment- We went to the Showgirls-past, present, future peformance.....costumes and music were great. The main singer could have dialed it back a couple of notches. Also went to the iSkate ice show....just wanted to see the drones but the entire show was top notch with great music and skating. Don't miss it. Saw the World Champion Juggler, he was good too. 70s and 80s dance parties on the promenade were well done and fun. Casino-smoky at times but not overwhelming. We used our free slot play but nothing else. Ports-Los Cabos (tender) was an interesting experience. We waited 2 hours for the tender and it was Super Bowl Sunday in Cabo. Entire beach turned into a SB party. We did a beach massage and ate and drank at the bar but had to walk all the way back to the pier since water taxis stopped running at 4 pm. Lesson learned. Back on the ship we watched the 4th quarter of Super Bowl on the pool deck and ate Johnny Rockets. Mazatlan-did the Deer Island kayak excursion through Royal ....it was nice but the actual kayaking part was just okay. Had enough time to do hire a Pulmonia (golf cart) driver for a tour of the city including taking us to El Faro lighthouse (we climbed it) and ran into the Captain and his wife. Our driver took us to a locals only taco place on the way back. Great day. Next time we will tour Mazatlan on our own. Puerto Vallarta-shared a van with family to the Los Puertos beach area. Walked the boardwalk and paid for beach chairs/umbrella/tacos/beer on the beach. Did not venture into the ocean, water was cold and current was strong. Super busy area with lots of people on beach for a Tuesday. We liked PV so much we may try to do a land based rental next time. Cruise # 2-about 35 of us gathered in the Star Lounge and disembarked, went through Customs, and got right back on the ship. Took less than 30 minutes. We were switching rooms to a GTY Balcony. Our room attendant moved our bags to the new room. Our stateroom on deck 6 was nicer than the JS on deck 11. Lots of room, more storage, bigger bathroom, but tiny balcony. We were right above the Star Lounge but it was very quiet, convenient to walk down one flight of stairs to the Promenade. Our new room attendant, Christina, was energetic and personable. This 4 night cruise was chilly so we asked for a blanket.....it was waiting for us when we came back from dinner. She was awesome and serviced the room 2x each day except the one day when she had the afternoon off and we told her not to worry about it. Several towel animals and cruise compasses. We did not go back to the dining room again, but received nightly phone calls asking us to come and join them. They even invited us to the "Key" breakfast on the last morning but we declined. Mostly Windjammer, Cafe Promenade, El Loco Fresh, and Playmakers for dining. Ports-Catalina Island (tender)-was beautiful but another super long wait for the tender to leave and return to the ship. Sunny but chilly day. We walked around, took pictures, and ate at a Mexican eatery. Ensenada-we did the Taste of Mexico and Margarita Madness excursion through Royal. Bus ride out of the city to a beautiful site located in wine country. We had a chef teach us how to make guacamole, tostadas, and enchilada and they served us unlimited margaritas. Then back to the city for a tequila factory tour and tasting. Great group of people on the trip and very fun day. Highly recommend this excursion. Disembarkation # 2- left the ship with our bags at 7:45 am, walked down one flight of stairs (tough to get an open elevator) and breezed through customs to the parking lot. Met our Lyft driver and were at LAX at 9:00 AM in plenty of time for our 12:45 pm flight. Random Thoughts-Navigator is a great ship. Big enough to have lots of food and fun options but small enough to easily get around. Never felt like we were more than 3-4 minutes away from everything. Crew and staff were excellent (wait staff at MDR not so much), ship looked good, waterslides were great, rooms were comfortable, entertainment was good. --Don't miss the water coaster water slide. Really fun and you don't get very wet. --Both cruises seemed at full capacity but ship never felt crowed except on tender days. We've tendered before but don't remember having to wait so long. --We met a balloon animal maker guy on the ship and thought Royal did a great job hiring him only to find out he volunteers on his own (3 hours each day). With all of the kids on board, would be a great idea to have someone like that on staff. --Chef's Table was a real highlight and something we may try again. --Went to the Diamond Lounge twice but didn't spend much time there. Many people sleeping on the chairs during turnaround day. At night it was busy with no place to sit. --The Cosmopolitan lounge (think that's the name) is spectacular and has great views of the ship and sea. --The Living Room is hidden away at the back of the ship and a great spot for teens to hang out. --The weather was nice for the first 5 days and then turned chilly for the remainder of our trip. I think it got even colder after we left. Next time we bring more long sleeves. Would like to do this itinerary again in the near future. Our next cruise will be April on Odyssey and it will take us to D+ status. If you have any questions or comments, I am happy to answer them.

We were not permitted "early arrival" at the San Pedro/Los Angeles terminal earlier this month even though we were booked in a JS. Have had 100% success rate at all other terminals.

Think everyone on this site is extremely helpful. Hopefully Royal can assist you with your concerns, but most likely your current cabin location will be just fine and you will have a great vacation. Let us know how it turns out.

For our 11 days (2 trips) on Navigator this month, we received the compass starting with our first port day through the duration of each trip. We never asked for it but told our attendant how much it was appreciated. Personal note-we enjoy getting the compass each night and planning the next day of activities. I must be old fashioned because I still like reading the newspaper too. One thing I did not enjoy was seeing the forecast predicting 70 Degrees and Sunny....only to discover that it was 54 degrees and chilly in port all day. Somebody get me the number for James Van Fleet

We did Pompeii on our own in the morning and then did a Vespa tour of Naples in the afternoon. Would love to go to Amalfi next time but not enough time to do both properly.

We just did B2B on Navigator. We are Diamond but received no robes in our JS or Balcony cabins. Also no Diamond amenity in either cabin. We didn't ask, just happy to be on vacation.

Yes. We departed the ship at 7:45 AM with our bags, breezed through customs, and in the parking lot waiting for a Lyft by 8 AM. Took about 20 minutes for the Lyft driver to arrive and another 45 minutes to get to LAX arriving just after 9 AM.

We hit 140 points on the 2nd to last night of our Brilliance cruise last summer. I met the LA at the top tier event and she confirmed we would receive during the cruise. Sure enough, we received a "Symphony of the Seas" block during the cruise.

Empress of the Seas (late February 2020). We were one of the last cruises before the pandemic and don't think she was brought back. She was small, and you could feel motion when the wind kicked up, but the best all around crew we've sailed with and had everything we needed for an enjoyable trip.

Thanks @CravingaCruisefor the Andy update. He was definitely on our Empress sailing and entertained us in the Schooner Bar each night back then. Hope he will still be performing when we board this Friday. Getting your drinks in advance is a brilliant idea. What type of drinks did you order that will save until the next day? I can't even get a paper straw to last long enough to finish a frozen cocktail.

Sounds like you are having a great cruise. Do you recall the name of the Elton John performer? He kinda looks like the one we had on Empress in February 2020. Did more people stay on the ship in Ensenada or get off? Are you going to try the water coaster?

Thanks @YellowBrickRoad.....where did you sign up and do you sign up the day of use or the first day on the shp?

Thanks @14Terry. I assumed it might be chilly the first couple of days and booked it for the day after we leave Puerto Vallarta. Should still be warm. Were pool decks and solarium crowded on your B2B? Not sure the casita rental justifies the cost but figure it's worth trying once.....YOLO right?

We had some OBC and used it to book a one day casita rental on Navigator. No more chair hogs, yay! It says the rental period is from 9 am - 5 pm. Are we allowed to come whenever we want? Is it ours to use the entire allotted time or do we lose it if we leave for lunch? Has anyone done the onboard casita rental on a ship can can share more details?

2 of our next three cruises take place during Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, and Easter. I have read plenty about Super Bowl on the ship, but don't recall much info about Valentine's Day or Easter. Anybody have experience being onboard during either day and able to share any special things Royal does to help celebrate?

I got it too....my cruise is next week so it scared me a little that I had somehow lost track of time!! Still have access to app and cruise planner. Maybe an $18 drink special is being planned by the interns.

Thank you for the information. Did you have time after the excursion to explore Mazatlan?

Just wanted to say thanks to Matt for starting the blog and podcast and continuing with it all these years. I'm a dedicated listener for over 6 years now and look forward to the podcast each week and check the blog each day. Our Royal Caribbean (and cruising) experience has been Matt 'Upped countless times thanks to the wealth of knowledge from Matt and this forum. YOLO bookings and Wind-"jamaire" have become part of our cruising life. Not sure we take time to appreciate Matt and all that he does. Please join me in saying thanks and share ways that Matt has helped you with cruising!

That's odd. We have a B2B coming up in 10 days and was able to book on both cruises. We would be moving into a different stateroom after the first cruise so no worries about a Royal UP causing a room change for us.

That is awesome. Maybe I will bring ducks and unicorns to give to crew members!

We are Diamond+ on RCI and looking to book a Celebrity Beyond cruise in 2024 or 2025. Had a question about drink packages. The 5 drinks we get each day on Royal are plenty, do we need the premium package on Celebrity, an everything included package, or something else for similar quantity? I also read that Celebrity participates in the the Royal Shareholder OBC program, which would be a nice perk.

Glad you made it safely to the ship. What time did you board.....what is your initial impression of the embarkation process in LA? Reading a lot of trip reports about overcrowding, is your sailing full? Have you had any issues so far?

Glad you had a great time on Allure. We hope to sail on her before she moves back to Florida in October. How was the condition of the trees in Central Park? Any issues of overcrowding at pools/windjammer/MDR that seem to be picking up on other ships? Did you have one or two housekeeping visits each day? Crew is finding and removing ducks?!!! Did they give a reason for it? Thanks for sharing your adventures, when is your next cruise?

I use a travel sized backpack (not camping/hiking) that allows me to carry on everything I need for 3-4 days. Even has 2 exterior bottle holder pockets for my bottles of wine! It has 2 large pockets and several smaller pockets that are great for passports and documents. Being "hands free" at the airport, cruise terminal, and UBER is a game changer.

Following along. My wife and I will be on Navigator for B2B February 10th and 17th. We are Diamond too. Our first trip to Cabo and would love to hear some great ideas about what to see and do. Hope to see you onboard.