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I originally booked this cruise as the second leg of a back to back. The first segment was cancelled by Royal so instead of 14 nights on the ship, I now have just 9 nights. First world problems. Itinerary: Day 1 - Embark in Miami Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Labadee Day 4 - Sea Day Day 5 - Aruba Day 6 - Curaçao Day 7 - Bonaire Day 8 - Sea Day Day 9 - Sea Day Day 10 - Debark in Miami I last sailed Navigator just a few months ago on the same ‘ABC’ itinerary. That was an awesome cruise even though it was a few weeks before she went in for her makeover. Navigator isn’t the first ship to be ‘refreshed’ but how they did this refreshment does have some notable differences. When the refreshment couldn’t be completed in time Royal canceled the first leg of my planned B2B. They eventually completed the work and on short notice invited employees and some media on a 2 night ‘shakedown’ cruise using the time that was left over from the cancelled cruise. Check out this blog post from @Matt who participated in that shakedown cruise which illustrates how this refreshment is new and different: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/02/28/navigator-of-the-seas-completes-115-amplification-upgrades-across-the-ship To set the stage, I’ve sailed Adventure and Mariner after their recent makeovers. I’ve also sailed Explorer, another in the Voyager class. While I love most ships I sail including the newer Oasis and Quantum class, Voyager class ships are my favorite at the moment and all of the above mentioned ships fall into this class. With my recent Navigator ABC cruise in mind I am looking forward to experiencing the same ship on the same itinerary but in a fully refreshed condition. My hotel is near Miami's airport but I flew into the Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale airport since it was cheaper. For the first time I took the Tri-Rail train from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami International Airport. When I landed in Ft Lauderdale the prices to reach my hotel in Miami for Lyft was $45 and Uber $48. The Tri-Rail cost me $3.75 but it was a longer transfer compared to Lyft/Uber. I may do a separate post on the Tri-Rail experience. In summary it was great for just $3.75 but it did take over twice as long compared to a ride-share. From my hotel in the Miami airport area as I write this I am not too far from the Port of Miami and will be ready to go early in the morning hoping the ship is available early given no debarking passengers to hold us up.

T-1 Day Almost a year ago, my family booked this cruise. Now we’re less than a day away from boarding the beautiful Navigator of the Seas to embark on our 9 night journey to the Southern Caribbean. I guess it’s best to start this live trip report by telling everyone a little bit about myself. I’m 17 from Atlanta, Georgia. I know I’m probably quite a bit younger than most of the users on Royal Caribbean Blog, but what can I say - it’s never to early to become obsessed with cruising. Going on this cruise with me are my mom, dad, elderly grandmother, and her elderly friend. We booked two separate balcony rooms, so my grandmother and her friend will stay in one room and I’ll stay in the other room with my mom and dad. My dad and I both booked the classic soda package and the voom surf voyage package so we can communicate with each other while on the ship. After diligently checking the cruise planner every 3 or so days, I was able to get the voom package for $19.18 a day, which was the cheapest I’ve seen it for the past 6 months. We chose this cruise strictly for the itinerary. The ABC islands have been on our list for quite some time, and when they offered them at the next cruise desk on our last cruise, we just couldn’t pass it up. The intertary is as follows: Day 1: At sea Day 2: Labadee, Haiti Day 3: At sea Day:4 At sea Day 5: Oranjestad, Aruba Day 6: Willemstad, Curaçao Day 7: Kralendijk, Bonaire Day 8: At Sea Day 9: At Sea In Labadee we’re planning to just have a beach day, in Aruba we’re doing a Trikes tour, we’re going to just play it by ear in Curaçao, and in Bonaire we rented a few golf carts. We got into Miami yesterday night with my dad driving my grandmother and her friend down and my mom and I flying since she had to stay later to work and I had to stay later for finals. Today in Miami we did a little sight seeing at Little Havana, South Beach, and Bayside. After lunch we ran a few last minute errands to pick up the things we realized we forgot to pack, and all got pedicures (including my dad). He was not a fan of the flip flops lol. At least they had blue. Now all that’s left is our last dinner of 2018 on land and then it’s cruise time tomorrow!!

dear fellow RCI fans/ cruisers: attached my review of our group cruise would love to hear from others re what liked best / worse on the cruise? best to all, ron morton louisville KY Review of Navigator of Seas cruise 17-26 Feb 2017 1. Service: Outstanding dining room and room stewards 2. Main dining room: pro lobster night con: new York strip steak unenven cooked/ extra fatty 3. Specialty dining: pro chef’s table last night, excellent chef/host , ziumi/Giovanni/sabor excellent 4. Shore excursions: pro “double dip†snorkel adventure Bonaire, con: beach at Labadee crowded 5. Onboard activities: pro new friends, water color class, ballroom dance class ; con: too late for 70s party 6. Bars/shops: pro new RCL gear (backpack/cooler), first for coffee package , con: none 7. Onboard RCL singer/dancers shows: pro Ballroom dancing show, ice skating show 8. Diamond club: pro backstage theater tour, con: cutoff at 805pm for free drinks in one venue and l;ittle bit more flexibility in another venue 9. Embarkation/disembarkation: pro: getting on ship, con: disembarkation chaotic, need priority diamond lounge