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My cruise countdown is finally at 7 days! We’ve been in dry dock since September and these 8 months without a sailing have dragged on and on. Itinerary This mini 3-night sailing only stops in Ensenada, BC, Mexico. I’m still trying to book the 4N so I can get back to Catalina but a full week of vacation vs. 2 days is usually the dealbreaker, especially with a big Europe trip sucking up vacay days later this summer. I’ve been on a 2-cruises-a-year kick since the pandemic and this one will get me there (assuming a river cruise “counts” - oh wait, I’m the one making the rules)!! Day 1 - Friday - Departs Los Angeles Day 2 - Saturday - Cruising Day 3 - Sunday - Ensenada, BC, Mexico Day 4 - Monday - Returns to Los Angeles Who’s Going My BFF (Meredith) and I (Daryl). This is the first time I am sailing with anyone other than my husband! Meredith (aka Squirrel - we used to say Hey Girl, which transitioned to Gwirl and finally Squirrel) moved away to Oregon a few years ago so I gifted us this cruise to be able to hang out while also experiencing my favorite pastime. Cabin JS 1294. This was a suite guarantee that was sooo much cheaper than picking my own JS. I am usually pretty picky about our location so have never booked Guarantee before but the savings were wild. Cabin 1294 looks to be close enough to an elevator, mid-ship on deck 10. I have RoyalUp bids out on GS, 2 BR GS and the OS but the sailing is sold out so it would be a miracle! Pre-Purchases Of course I had to get us the DBP, not bad at $72.99 pp/pd. When I went on this same itinerary in Oct 2022, I paid $75.99!! Never thought I would see prices lower on a weekend-partiers 3N. We have lunch at Hooked on Day 1 and Dinner at Izumi night 2. I’ve never booked Hooked before as my husband and I aren’t huge seafood lovers but saw they had a chicken sandwich and burger on the menu for me! Meredith loves seafood so she should be pleased and we can avoid the Day 1 lunch madhouse in the WJ. I was toying with the idea of Playmakers instead but with no windows to the outside, a real restaurant felt superior. When we used to live in the same city we had sushi nearly every week so Izumi was an easy specialty dinner choice. I also got us a set of RCCL slippers from the semi-hidden Royal Gifts section because they were $7.99 and I could not say no. Walking barefoot in the cabin always makes me think about what’s lurking in the carpeting so these should calm me. Lastly, we have 2-device internet so that should help with my Blogging Under the Influence!! Or is it PUTI @SweetPea??? I love that we’re embarking the same day so I will have your sneaky, in-the-bathroom blog to return home to. That reminds me, I should toss some underwear in my growing packing pile right now. Excursion I let Meredith pick/buy us the excursion and she chose the Desert Nest Zipline available in the cruise planner. Love a zipline and it definitely won’t be warm enough for any water-based activities so it sounded like a good plan to me. We’ll also probably roam the streets of Ensenada afterwards and take a peek in the Papas and Beers as is the norm. Pre-Cruise Hotel We’re staying at the Crowne Plaza Harbor Hotel the night before siiiimply because Meredith works for IHG and we got it for free. We easily could’ve driven up on the morning of embarkation but who doesn’t love a night in a hotel!? We will make our 10:30am check-in time slot on the dot without any traffic to contend with. Mostly I am excited to experience the Navigator water slides again! Best in the fleet in my opinion (until I make it to Icon, of course). Last time we went on Nav, I said I would book again for the slides alone! The two person raft is so so fun. Hopefully we get some semblance of warmth in the midst of the May Gray/June Gloom frigid coastal weather we have going on. I am also excited to see the production and ice shows. We missed them last time around due to laziness/being too full after dinner but I will make it a point to get in there this time! Meredith and I met doing theatre as children, then rekindled our friendship in a musical as adults and greatly appreciate live stage productions!! Let me know if you have any Navigator questions and I will do my best to find out or photograph things. I’m going to take a page out of the @OCSC Mike blog playbook and post in smaller snippets instead of big long recaps at the end of the day which should help with not forgetting any shenanigans. Wheeee 7 days till cruise day! And with Memorial Day this weekend, my mini work week should fly by!

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.

Hiya, thinking of doing a quick trip to Cococay usually leads me to think of Mariner and Navigator; but I noticed Independence has some 4 night trips going to Cococay as well; I've been on Mariner and Navigator, can anyone tell me the main differences between those and Indy? I'm going with my 21 year old daughter and staying in a balcony and wondered if I should try Indy instead of Mariner/Navigator. Opinions?

Hi all, I will be on navigator from Miami on the 23-27 of December will there be any Christmas events and what are the best tips for navigator and cocoay as it is my first time after the cococay renovation thanks in advance

We are now just about one week out from the cruise, so it is about time to get this party started. This will be my first attempt at a live blog so we shall see how this goes. I think we can title this blog Navigating around the hurricanes. 4 night Navigator Cruise 9/23-9/27 Who’s Going? For this trip, it will be the whole family. I’m Greg, the primary planner, my wife Heather who is the “bad influence” on the planner, and our daughter Lydia (9) and son Johnny (6). This whole trip is a surprise to the kids. They have no idea that we are going.

Hello! I am thinking of booking a 3-night cruise on Mariner or Navigator. They both go to CocoCay and Nassau. Should I go on Navigator or Mariner? Thank you!

Hello! I’ve heard a lot of people talking about the 4-night cruises on Navigator and Mariner that have 2 stops at Cococay. Does anybody have dates for these special itineraries? I might be interesting in booking them.... ? Thanks

Here's my immediate family on the Navigator June 24-28, 2019

Hi all. Was just looking at old cruise compasses from Navigator of the Seas Southern Carribean Cruises and saw that every night but one the showtimes were 8:30 and 10:30, and this seemed pretty late. This wasn’t for the holiday cruise, though, so I was wondering if any of y’all had been on the holiday cruise and remember what time your shows were.

Hi all! I have been actively reading all of the Cruise Compasses and know that the dinners in the MDR have themes. I’m really curious about what is actually on the menu for those dinners, and even an idea of what is available to breakfast and/or lunch in the MDR interests me. Does anyone have photos they’ve taken of the menus? Or some great recollection and is willing to give me some info? Thanks!

Navigator OR Indy? Both 5 day cruise to Caribbean!!! What would YOU pick and why?

We are going on the Navigator Of The Seas for the first time In August after being on the Indy a few times was wondering if it has Freestyle Machines and does Sabor cater for someone who doesn't like spicy food as 3 of us do but 1 doesn't so can they do him a steak or a burger etc. Also I love the gym , is it as good as Indys and is it true there s a hot tub in it.

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

I have two of us (John and Kirk) interested in doing a reef trip in Grand Cayman arriving April 12 and wanted to see if we could find someone to share the cost. $450 for 4 people. Half day reef trip. http://www.flyfishgrandcayman.com. Bonefish, Snook, Permit, Tarpon, Snapper Jacks, Barracuda

Did anyone out there go on the 12/6/15 sailing on Navigator out of Fort Lauderdale? I am hoping to see copies of the Cruise Compass. Thanks.

Does anyone have images of the Compass from the Navigator OTS from summer 2015? The most recent one that seems to be online is from April 2015. Looking specifically for the itinerary that visits Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. Thanks!

What are the mini-fridges stocked with? Do they have beer or airplane size liquor bottles inside?