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Navigator of the Seas -- Is its soundtrack still country-themed?


JLMoran

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So I've heard Matt say multiple times how Navigator is (or at least was, prior to an Oasis-class sailing ;) ) his favorite ship. I've heard others say that it's really good as well. My family and I were considering it as one of the few options available to us in our cruise window for 2018, as it had a nice 9-night Southern Caribbean cruise leaving the same weekend with what to us was a better set of ports. But we had two concerns, one smaller and one kind of huge:

 

The small one was that, compared to Freedom of the Seas, it seemed to have less for teens to do and looked geared more towards couples or older families. After hearing Matt's various podcasts about his experience with his family, I'm guessing that wasn't a fair assessment, although I have to keep in mind that Matt's kids are younger.

 

The bigger negative for us, though, was this line from the ship's review on CruiseCritic.com -- "Country music predominates on the sound systems, and many of the onboard musical entertainers also specialize in country offerings."

 

My family as a whole likes just about anything when it comes to music, but country is one of the few genres that does absolutely nothing for us. The idea of spending 9 nights hearing country as our background music in all the public spaces while on a vacation wasn't the least bit appealing.

 

The thing is, after booking our cruise on Freedom of the Seas, I re-read that statement in the review and saw that the reason they did that was because the ship was based in Galveston, TX and the theming was done based off of that. But it looks like Navigator is now based in Port Canaveral, Florida. When a ship is relocated like that, do they re-do the musical theming to match the new location (and presumably, the expected cruiser profile)? It would be nice to have Navigator as on option for our next cruise (and there WILL be a next cruise), especially after all the positives I've read and heard.

 

I know, kind of a silly reason to avoid sailing on a particular ship. But it's like my friend who's a Disney fan and loves going there at Christmas time, but can't stand that he has to hear the exact same soundtrack in all five parks at that time of year and told me it really drives him nuts after a few days.

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I liked how you said you have a big and a small concern, thinking to myself that the small concern must be country. Then you go on to say that the small concern is a possible lack of activities for teens and the big one was the music :) .

In my mind I found that hilarious, but in truth I would find the music a bigger deal too.

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I liked how you said you have a big and a small concern, thinking to myself that the small concern must be country. Then you go on to say that the small concern is a possible lack of activities for teens and the big one was the music :) .

In my mind I found that hilarious, but in truth I would find the music a bigger deal too.

 

The lack of teen activities might have been the bigger issue if I hadn't heard Matt's podcasts that say how pretty much all the ships work to be good for families of all stripes, even if they don't all have the whiz-bang features like a Flow Rider or rock climbing wall, and that the refurbishments on Navigator did do a lot to make the ship more in line with the Freedom and Oasis class ships.

 

And I agree that you'd think music wouldn't be such a big deal, but I feel like it's one of those things that you're always aware of at least subconsciously, and it can really shape your mood for whatever you're doing in the place that it's playing.

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Maybe it's just that I spend so much time in the casino....but they seem to play the same songs over and over and over again.  It wasn't just the NAV on our latest cruise, I have noticed it before on other ships, too.  Why they can't have a bigger play list is so hard to understand. There's always ONE song that they just play to DEATH.  It's a different one, each cruise....based on whatever's "hot" at the moment, I guess.  But it is so maddening !

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Maybe it's just that I spend so much time in the casino....but they seem to play the same songs over and over and over again.  It wasn't just the NAV on our latest cruise, I have noticed it before on other ships, too.  Why they can't have a bigger play list is so hard to understand. There's always ONE song that they just play to DEATH.  It's a different one, each cruise....based on whatever's "hot" at the moment, I guess.  But it is so maddening !

 

That is so funny --- we have some friends that are on Navigator this week, and last night we viewed their recording of the belly-flop contest and my wife and I both said, "That sounds like the same music they played on Grandeur back in September for the belly-flop contest too"

 

Hmmm.... Inquiring minds want to know

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Our first cruise was on the Navigator back in 2006 out of Miami. Yes there was a lot of country music then ......Caribbean Country to include a steel drum band by the pool in the afternoon on cruise days. I can still remember "Hot, hot hot...." :blink:

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I don't remember the music on board being particularly country-themed like it was when it sailed out of Galveston.

I found it everywhere. I remember talking to the pub entertainer and thanking him for playing something other than country. 

 

Here's my live blog from that cruise out of Galveston and one of the topics I touched upon was "Hope you like country music": http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/02/15/navigator-of-the-seas-live-blog-day-7-sea-day

 

All that being said, of course the music selection is of very little consequence and I would not even mention it in the scope of picking a cruise. They can play Enya the entire cruise, but it's of as much consequence as the air freshener odor the stateroom attendent uses.

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Maybe it's just that I spend so much time in the casino....but they seem to play the same songs over and over and over again. It wasn't just the NAV on our latest cruise, I have noticed it before on other ships, too. Why they can't have a bigger play list is so hard to understand. There's always ONE song that they just play to DEATH. It's a different one, each cruise....based on whatever's "hot" at the moment, I guess. But it is so maddening !

I noticed the same thing on Allute, too. Normally I don't notice, but we had just seen one of the singers in concert that day before we sailed, so it became very noticeable.

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My taste in music is basically blues and classic rock and I have learned to tone out most background music.  Country music is okay is long as it is the newer stuff as opposed to the old "cry in you beer" country.  There is one music I cant tone out,  that is rap music.  Rap music is an oxymoron

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We were on a cruise once where the only thing they played was REO Speedwagon and the then recently released Neal Diamond best-of album...non stop, everywhere on the ship.  My 6 year old kid came home knowing the lyrics to "Keep on Loving You" ... something I hadn't even heard since high school dances with my then-girlfriend.

I'd rather have Caribbean themed music whist in the Caribbean.

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I wouldn't have brought it up, but since we're on the topic of music,,, maybe its me, but someone mentioned "their audience".  I realize they're doing all they can to attract younger cruisers/families, but i still have to believe that their bread is buttered by those 55 up.  One thing I DON'T look forward to each cruise is 24/7 Beyonce, Katy, Ferrell, Justin, and all that hip hop crap they pipe into every common space on the ship, and I can't imagine how annoying it must be for the truly older folks.  If it were me, I'd just keep it strictly instrumental, preferably island sounds, Caribbean stuff, etc.  One man's opinion.  :-)  

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I wouldn't have brought it up, but since we're on the topic of music,,, maybe its me, but someone mentioned "their audience".  I realize they're doing all they can to attract younger cruisers/families, but i still have to believe that their bread is buttered by those 55 up.  One thing I DON'T look forward to each cruise is 24/7 Beyonce, Katy, Ferrell, Justin, and all that hip hop crap they pipe into every common space on the ship, and I can't imagine how annoying it must be for the truly older folks.  If it were me, I'd just keep it strictly instrumental, preferably island sounds, Caribbean stuff, etc.  One man's opinion.  :-)  

 

For what it's worth, I'm 47 and not exactly "older"; and while I do like some Beyonce and Pharrel (not so much Katy and Justin), along with a pretty wide variety of other music, I agree with you that any vacation destination should really have a music-only soundtrack with no vocals and nothing remotely tied in to Top 40 or other stuff I'd hear on the radio any day of the week. It's part of what I like about visits to Disney, where the soundtracks are completely themed to the location (or sub-location inside Magic Kingdom or Epcot), reasonably subdued, and a long enough loop that you don't hear it 20 times in the span of one visit. I mean, I'm on vacation and I'm trying to get away from the reminders of "normal" life.  ;) 

 

I'm hoping that Freedom won't be playing Top 40 or hip-hop too much while I'm on board, or at least that there will be places I can go to get away from it besides the library or my cabin. I will definitely be taking in the musical performers at the pubs and other locations, as I'm pretty sure from what I've heard and seen here that they'll be something different. If they've got someone who's along the lines of Dave Matthews Band or Steely Dan, or a nice vintage-style jazz ensemble, I'll be a very happy sailor!  :D 

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Maybe I just don't notice, but I cant ever remember the music being terrible on any cruise or repeated all day long!

 

I enjoy a mix of music depending on what I am doing at the time, and seemed to be lots of options on any cruise so far.

 

I wouldn't want to listen to just one type of music all day and all night no matter where I was.

 

But music preference is subjective, much like food on a cruise!

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Ok, one additional gripe. Wonder if anyone agrees. Out by the pool. I'd actually rather the big screen be off, than what is usually being displayed. Insipid videos of pranks & pratfalls. And other such mindless offerings. Geez. If it's not a movie, or a live major sporting event, turn it off !! Play Caribbean music. Perhaps just photos from around the ship. Or recent/upcoming port stops. Ok, I'm done LOL

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Ok, one additional gripe. Wonder if anyone agrees. Out by the pool. I'd actually rather the big screen be off, than what is usually being displayed. Insipid videos of pranks & pratfalls. And other such mindless offerings. Geez. If it's not a movie, or a live major sporting event, turn it off !! Play Caribbean music. Perhaps just photos from around the ship. Or recent/upcoming port stops. Ok, I'm done LOL

hate those fake prank videos.  I do like when they have those screensaver-esque views during the day. 

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During the day it should be music or music videos....and turned off when live music is playing on the deck.

 

What I HATE is when they are playing a movie out there in the middle of the day.....its a pool deck, not a movie theatre...its hard to even hear the movie anyways, and people get mad if you are standing up or happening to block their view when your walking around etc....

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