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Navigating Back-to-Back: Sept 7th-12th &Sept 12th-15th, 2022


Ampurp85

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Ship: Navigator of the Seas

Dates: 9.7.22-9.12.22 and 9.12.22-9.15.22

Who: Solo female and newly Prime

Itinerary: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico & Ensenda, Mexico x2

 

I was going to wait and start this blog in the middle of Aug. But since there is no longer testing required for sailing shorter than six nights, I decided to start this one. I don't ever "worry" about testing positive, but it is always in the back of my mind. This is an added bonus cruise for me, I normally only get to sail twice a year. Oct/Nov and Jan/Feb only because that is what my vacation time allows. Well with me being WFH until......who knows at this point, I was able to squeeze in an extra cruise. As luck would have it, I made Prime on my last cruise. I did well enough to earn a bunch of offers. One was a free interior on limited 5n or less sailings in Aug and Sept. I originally thought none of the sailings worked in conjunction with a good flying schedule. Then I got an offer with $100 off and $25 in free play. Since I don't live close to a port, it doesn't make sense to fly out for a cruise that isn't at least 6-7 days.

The free interior was a 5N Navigator sailing out of LA in September. This sailing started on a Wed, so there was a 3n sailing right behind it. I booked both, I was originally going to upgrade to a suite, but they didn't have the same room available for each sailing, no aft balconies either.  I don't know if I have mentioned it before in any of my live blogs, but my goal is to sail as many RCG ships in as many types of rooms as possible. I do suites, balconies and interiors; Oceanview is not my cup of tea. I did sail in a spacious panoramic Oceanview on Mariner, and it just confirmed why I don't care for Oceanview. It was also in the front of the ship, and I hate front of the ship cabins. I booked aft cabin 9383 for both sailings to make it a true B2B by not having to pack and move. A couple of days before final payment was due for the 3night sailing, all the interiors dropped dramatically in price. With taxes, port fees and gratuity I paid less than $500 for 8N of cruising. 

The day after I checked in for the first cruise a bunch of rooms opened up. Still no matching aft suites/balconies but interiors with virtual balconies opened up. On the Sept 12th sailing, all the interiors were going for the same price, on the Sept 7th sailing it was $34 to upgrade.  I switched my rooms to deck 10 #1643 and I am excited to try this type of room. Ultimately this cruise is just a relaxing cruise to help me make my Prime status last longer. I had tours planed for Cabo and Ensenada on the second leg but changed my mind as I have done resorts in Mexico and its all the same. At Day 40/45 I received RoyalUp offers for both cruises. Since it is a third-party who won't know I am B2B I didn't bother bidding.

The CP has been weird for both sailings: I was hoping for the 3N dining package, but it has yet to show up. Also, there was no UDP, so I got the Chops+1 and then around the 4th of July the UDP became available. It is roughly $200 for this 5N sailing and I didn't think it was worth it as I was only wanting to do maybe 3 sit down dinners. No dining package of any kind has shown up for the 3N sailing, in fact I can't even book MTD for that one in the CP. I am Diamond and Prime, so I have no drink package, I only brought VOOM in CP for the first sailing. I will use my free day or get the D discount if I really need the internet on the second sailing. 

Thanks for reading and if you want to know anything feel free to ask. 

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I did almost the same in January/February 2022; a 3-Night and then a 4-Night on Navigator.  Does your 5-Night stop at Catalina Island?  I was in an Interior Virtual Balcony (1633) and then a regular Balcony.  I found the interior pretty roomy -- for a solo traveler!  It might have felt differently had there been two people in the room.  I stayed at the Crown Plaza and posted a video on YouTube of the walk from the Crown Plaza to the Cruise Terminal.  Easy and pleasant walk.

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7 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

I did almost the same in January/February 2022; a 3-Night and then a 4-Night on Navigator.  Does your 5-Night stop at Catalina Island?  I was in an Interior Virtual Balcony (1633) and then a regular Balcony.  I found the interior pretty roomy -- for a solo traveler!  It might have felt differently had there been two people in the room.  I stayed at the Crown Plaza and posted a video on YouTube of the walk from the Crown Plaza to the Cruise Terminal.  Easy and pleasant walk.

My 5N stops at Ensenda and Cabo, the 3N only stops at Ensenada. I have the same Virtual Balcony for both sailings and yes, an interior can be roomy for just one person. 

Thanks, I will take a look at the Crown Plaza video on Youtube.

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I am officially at the 30-day mark as I received my eDocs for the cruise. 

I will be committing a cardinal sin as I am flying in the morning of. I have flown in the morning of for all of my solo cruises; pre- and post-pandemic. I always choose the first flight out. I had every intention this time of flying out the day before. This cruise leaves the week of Labor Day, we normally have our monthly meetings the first Mon of the month, well because of the holiday it got changed to the first Tues. Leaving enough time for the long-winded meetings, I scheduled a late evening flight. But AA cancelled the evening flight I had when they did their restructure to alleviate some of the flight loads. So, I had an option of taking an afternoon flight I wouldn't make or an early morning flight the day of. Lucky for me ORD goes to LAX multiple times a day and I have flown there a couple of weeks ago, I should be fine........knock on wood!

I have flown quite a bit after the pandemic and the lines to check bags have gotten worse. Add in the horror stories of lost and delayed luggage, I downsized. I have a 19/20in carry-on that is a bit smaller than standard. I feel like I accomplished a feat as I did 11 days with it for a conference in July..........and I am a plus size woman.  The 8 days for this cruise should be easy: it holds two packing cubes, some shoes, extra bag, and my travel fan. I put my toiletries, electronics and 1 other packing cube in my backpack and I am good to go. I decided to do a 11:30 check-in just in case as my plane lands a little after 9, but if it is late or I have to take second flight; I am not holding a prime check-in spot. 

Weirdly enough I just found out that technically I don't have to be solo on this cruise. This cruise is on my work calendar and one of my coworkers noticed it. He is a pretty avid cruiser himself. The prices for both sailings were very attractive and the 3N sailing was part of a GGG sale that had balconies for $199 (full price for solo so basically $99pp), plus port taxes and fees. So, he also booked a B2B, as a happy divorce celebration to himself. This is his very first solo cruise, ever. He was looking at evening flights as he always flies in the day before, but they were all connecting and so he's now on the same early morning flight........and sitting right next to me. I don't plan to spend most of my cruise with him, but it is nice to be able to have dinner with another person, if I want. 

A fun fact for him is that this B2B solo will get him to 341 points. Which is when I believe the solo supplement kicks in. 

It feels like I haven't cruise for forever, so it is not coming fast enough. 😰 😬🤣

 

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Updated Protocols
Galveston & Los Angeles 5-nights or less

We’ve been diligently working with our destinations and have made great progress towards welcoming all guests onboard our ships.

Our relaxed sailing protocols are confirmed for our departures from Galveston, Texas and Los Angeles, California sailing on or after September 5th, 2022, visiting the Western Caribbean and Mexico.

The intention is to work in phases as we relax our protocols. And, as they change, we are committed to keeping you informed.

Vaccination Recommended
We recommend that our guests be fully vaccinated against COVID‐19, if eligible. While vaccination is not required, we kindly ask you disclose your status during check-in to ensure we maintain a highly vaccinated onboard population.

Vaccinated guests should still travel with their vaccination record as some venues at our ports of call may require this documentation.

Testing
Pre-cruise
Unvaccinated guests aged 2 and older must present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 3 days of our sail date. Vaccinated guests, regardless of age, no longer need to test for sailing lengths of 5 nights or less. Additionally, we’ve removed boarding day and departure testing.

Accepted Tests
Unvaccinated guests may now provide a PCR or antigen test result from a test supervised in person or by a telehealth professional. To learn more about our accepted tests, visit our FAQ.

Check out our Healthy Sail Center for our full sailing protocols

VIEW HEALTHY SAIL CENTER

mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcreative.rccl.com

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 16 days to go......

I am sure many of you who are reading this blog know that as of today, starting Sept 5th, no testing is required for sailings under 10 nights. My next two cruises this year are 5 and 6 nights so I am happy. Happier that I could do any kind of test, if I needed to. I have a bunch of government test that I got from work and the government, which could satisfy the criteria.

AA changed my flights again. Originally, I was leaving on a 11am flight from LAX to ORD. Since I am only doing a carry-on and backpack, I was going to self-assist and get to the airport asap. They changed the 11am to a 10:15, which as cutting it way too close. I am now leaving out at 4:51, giving me a ton of free time. I booked the Los Angeles Highlights & Airport transfer excursion. A Lyft/Uber was going to run me $35 at least and this tour was $51 and kills a bunch of time. I also plan to finally enjoy a disembarkment day breakfast in the MDR.

During this current CP "sale" the UDP for the Sept 12th sailing finally populated. I can also make MTD reservations, for the longest time I could only book a reservation for the 4th day......which is disembarkment. The UDP was $99+ grats for the 3N cruise, with this being the start of a B2B, that's a pretty good deal. It is actually a great deal because the Chops+1 is $83+ grats and Nav has a Playmakers. Being some of the first on the ship means I should have no problem getting the times I want for dinner.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Awesome! Just caught up and I am happy to follow along. I had a 4N booked since release day but recently used nearly all of my vacation days and had to downsize to the 3N for early October. At this point I am going mostly for the water slides and enjoyment of sailing out of a port that's drivable for me.

My UDP is down to 99.99 too (sat at 106.99 forever) and I already have Jamie's and Izumi booked so I'm seriously contemplating it just to get Chops and Playmakers.  

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2 Days to go.....

I don't know if it is because I don't normally travel in September or because I downsized luggage, but I still have not packed. I normally am "pre" packed at least a week or two ahead of the trip.  Then closer to the trip I vacillate and change a few things. Since it is Labor Day, I guess I will endure the labor of packing. My cat is currently sitting in the open luggage giving me an expression that says this is my new home. She has never seen this one before, so she sniffed and patted for a few minutes before climbing in. I hate to break her heart and throw her out, but.........

On a funny note, my coworker joined a FB roll call for this sailing and now no longer "needs" me. He has been flirting with two members and made tentative plans to meet said women. I laughed super hard at him believing I was going to change anything I was doing to hang with him. Even harder that he thought I would somehow be sad. I could tell it bothered him that it didn't bother me.

The app was, for a long time, showing ribs as an option for the MDR. I was excited by this; I hope it would happen; it was still showing until last week. Now it is the same old boring menu that is the same across all the fleet. I do like the menu on 2 nights so hopefully the food taste accordingly. I have not heard anything about not stopping in Ensenada, so things should be fine. I believe I received my RoyalUp email before the 30 days mark and then got a RoyalUp email every week until this past Friday. The sailing still shows quite a bit of rooms available, so I am unsure how full it will be. I am so excited, I haven't cruised since Feb. I can't wait to get on the ship and hit El Loco Fresh.

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I am currently aboard Navigator and I have to say this was my worst boarding ever.

My flight was actually super good. Fast boarding, everyone was respectful with their carry on luggage. We landed early and only waited maybe 5 mins for a gate. I took the bus to the shared transit area and had a Lyft within 5min. Unfortunately,but also fortunately, my driver needed to get gas, which took 20min thanks to major lines at Costco.

I got not only an email but several alerts not to arrive before my boarding time, which was 11:30. My plane got in at 9:30 and I got my Lyft at 10am, expecting to wait and start my boarding around 11:15. I got to the port at 10:50. Several crew members told me to get in line even though I was early. 

People with 1pm boarding kept complaining they were here so they should board, almost nobody had luggage tags or doc ready. Lots of people had full water bottles and other stuff that needed to be tossed. I bypassed them all and ended up boarding and completing eMuster by 11:03. However there's no "real" terminal, just tents that lead to a room that leads to the ship.

They required mask in the "terminal " and lots of people were dicks about it. I saw tons of mask and mask wrappers on the ramp leading up to the ship. I don't know who raised them but trash goes in a trash can. The pool deck was full and already a mess. Lots of plates and cups in walkways, chairs and tables. I hit up The Lime and the Coconut,  then El Loco Fresh and enjoyed my brunch while making my dinner reservations. 

Rooms just opened so I am going to shower, charge my phone and then get my second drink of the day. Sucky, but they have the flimsy cheap cups that aren't insulated. 

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It is really hot in San Pedro, even though Chicago was still in mid 80s when I left, it feels hotter here. There was not enough shade to cool me off. Ship feels full, no seats in pool deck or in solarium. Speaking of the solarium; several families had babies and children in there, crew tried to enforce rules but people literally ignored them.

I really wanted to take a shower as soon as rooms opened but I lack clean underwear. All my packing cubes look alike and I keep a same color scheme with clothes. So I ended up with the cube that contained bathing suits and shorts in my carry-on.  Luckily I don't smell like anything but airline.

These are pictures of the virtual balcony, its pretty cool. The rest of the room is standard. I will say that I shockingly have 3 outlets; two are 120v and the other is European.

More about boarding...... they ask if you are vaxxed but don't need to see the card. The crew member joked they are now on an honor system. There was an area by the makeshift terminal that had covid testing.  When we boarded we were given an letter informing us that due to the hurricane we wouldn't be visiting Cabo, people were so upset as it's now an overnight in Ensenada. Excursions would be refunded as OBC. 

My room had 4 bottles of Niagara 16oz water in it, so no cans. I did get my plate of cookies but all of them were stale, so I made a trip to the WJ and got fresh ones. I also tried out the new cup, I don't like, it will get tossed. Guest services had a sign saying don't ask for upgrades as all the rooms are occupied. Crew still have mask and WJ is all self-serve. Saw people eating stuff as they got stuff, other than dessert I will keep my distance. 

The DX is bogo but price was $98/day. Chops+1 is $100+grats onboard and the UDP is $44/day, making it $260 onboard versus the $195 in the CP. We now have 2 sea days in a row, so good casino fun for me. 

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Doing an 11-day B2B next month on this ship. As you sail into the weekend, I'd like to know if a large selection of MLB, NCAA and NFL games are on at Playmakers.

Our last two cruises on Odyssey and Symphony had mostly international soccer and basketball. Hoping it's not the case on the Navigator.

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Day 1 continued 

The casino here was not kind. People were smoking in the non-smoking section and machines seem to be very tight. I lost way more than I wanted. The selection of machines were also very limited. I had a Gombay smash at the R bar with my coworker and one of the ladies he connected with on FB. I am not going to say much about that if you catch my drift. There are several groups here with matching attire celebrating something. Saw lots of funny shirts, the deck is remaining to be the most congested. 

I decided to have dinner in MDR, I had scheduled MTD for 8:30 but after being up since 3am for flights and traveling I decided to stand in line for 6:30. I was in line maybe 10min before I was sat. Service was slow but I expected that for first night. Tables are extremely close. I "lucked" up with a table next to the window. That mean everyone wants to take pictures, affecting my dining pleasure. 

I had a dressing-less Ceasars salad, shrimp cocktail and spaghetti bolognese. Dinner took over an hour so I just barely made it to iSkate. I saw they had roped off areas for suites, diamond plus, pinnacles and the key members,  I am glad reserved seats are back. 

The iSkate show was actually so good. They skate to a bunch of songs instead of having a themed base show. I was shocked that they did a ball routine. If you don't know what a ball is, it's basically when people of the Lgbtq+ community be extra by doing vogue, falling on the floor and dramatic with their limbs. The audience was also very extra; oohing and ahhing, clapping and screaming. You can really feel the difference from lower capacity.

After the show I lost more at the casino and then went back to the room. A physical copy of the compass was on my bed, early they had a QR code along with my diamond letter. 

 

Day 2 at sea

 

We have 2 days at sea in a row because of hurricane Kay. I decided to get up rather late at around 7:30, and go to the diamond lounge for a lite breakfast as I plan to try brunch in the MDR. Lounge is very nice and inviting but small. I counted space for maybe 30 people.  I am by far the youngest person here and I'm 37🤣

Of course the big ticket here is the coffee machine. It has been on and popping the entire hour I was there. I had issues with my Chops +1 and the diamond concierge was nice and helpful. Fruit, breads, pastries, parfaits and donuts were available. I plan to go to the top teir event at 11 after I visit the next cruise office. Internet has been decent as I was able to get a bit of work done. 

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The top cruisers today was a couple with 3172 cruise nights. There were

Plat 177

Emarld 77

D 137

D+ 47

Pinnacles 9

Total C&A members was 1093 and Nav is sailing at about 3380 according to guest services. They did a preview of the ballroom showcase, cracked some dad jokes and took pictures with the new pinnacles/top pinnacles. I had 3 mimosas as the LA tearfully announced this was her last sailing on this ship.

I did 5 laps on deck 4 around the walk area and then headed to deck 3 for brunch. I got the potato soup and chicken and waffles. The soup was perfect and amazing. The chicken and waffles were sent back. The Tabasco infused honey spilled over everything. I hate Tabasco, I actually don't eat condiments or salad dressing, I'm weird. I ordered another soup and some rolls instead.

The casino hasn't been kind and I know when to cut my losses, so I'm done with them for the rest of cruising on Nav.  I did a little Big Bang trivia and then took a nap. Since dinner was late I hit up El Loco Fresh for some tacos around 3pm. I did work until around 7pm and then hit the casino for some prime drinks and people watching. 

Small rant.....

The majority if the casino is smoking. Several men decided to come to the non-smoking section and smoke. No crew members said anything. I know the smoke will permeate everything but it's something else to literally have smoke being blown in your face. Second part of this is people bringing their children in and allowing them to play on the machines. I don't know why they think it's cute. One guy lost his full $20 because the child just was slapping hands on everything. 

Two people hit jackpots while I was there. One guy was playing $6 bets and hit $2600 but he was down over a $1000. The other was down $600 and hit $900. Saw lots of couples arguing,  including one where a lady threw her drink on her "spouse." He continued to gamble as it was white wine. 

Dinner was at Chops, my steak was a smidge more done than I normally liked bit it was still good. I decided to see what the Mac and cheese tasted like. Don't know why they half melted a slice of American cheese over it. It tasted okay, they might need to let go and let God with mac and cheese. I got my favorite dessert pineapple sorbet. I went for a bit to 70s thing on the promenade and returned to my room. 

Another rant...

Desserts have been weird. Cheesecake desserts in WJ have a dense spongecake on the bottom. I haven't seen any chocolate chip cookies, the lemon and ranger cookies have been hard and stale.  Lastly over half the desserts are some sort of cream or custard. Desserts aren't Royals strong suit, but this is a bit weird. 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I actually don't eat condiments or salad dressing, I'm weird.

My friend calls condiments "icky stuff". It's stuck with me every time I make a sandwich.  

No chocolate chip cookies?! Crazy.

Laughing at the dude who kept playing after the white wine was thrown on him. The casino sounds like a mini soap opera.

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I got no sleep. I need a TV for white noise and the one in my room is broken. I heard all the coughing, arguing, screaming and farting of my neighbors. It was almost 4am before things were quiet enough to sleep. I slept until my usual 6:30/7. Went to guest services and they said they will work on it.

I went the diamond lounge and worked a bit while having a lite continental breakfast. I plan to do trivia for a few hours. Navigator has a JR express and they do adult milkshakes,  I plan to have one for lunch today. 

Today I plan to knock out 1 or 2 books while relaxing. 

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I booked a closed-in sailing with Next Cruise and just wanted to point out the invoice now says the daily gratuity is shared amongst the dining, bar, stateroom attendants, culinary services staff and the other hotel services teams. Rep said they included it because so many people have been removing the gratuity and the staff is suffering. 

To each their own when it comes to tipping on top of the gratuity but the next cruise rep said crew has been making less now than when at reduced capacity. I'm not in anyone's wallet but I notice my service has been extra prompt and friendly because I tip. I am currently enjoying aboozy milkshake from JR in the solarium because it's raining; it is very strong, I taste way more vodka than soft serve 😅. As I have been people watching, I have seen very little tips past hands.

I received my letter in regards to being B2B. I need to meet in the Star lounge at 9am with passport, seapass card and any other documents for boarding. We will be escorted through cistoms and then back on the ship. There is a special consecutive cruisers lunch at noon. Since I am staying in same room, I don't have to leave luggage outside my door at 9am.

I am getting ready to start the 2nd book of 6 in a series.  

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Day 3 another at sea.....

Since I got no sleep I am officially done with work until probably Tues of next week. They fixed the TV but wind and rain had the satellite all wonky so TVs were freezing and certain apps, including Royals, didn't work well. 

I have to say the internet has been pretty good considering. I took a couple of work calls and the only time the signal was hit or miss was on the promenade. Sadly the best connection was found in the bathroom by the diamond lounge. I suck at the type of trivia they do on cruises and often there isn't much room, even when you get there early. 

Other than the crew wearing mask, there's no covid related restrictions or protocols in place. Some people wear mask but people shove themselves 40 deep into elevators. I feel bad as i have seen so many people not wash their hands, everything is self-service.I pretty much take the stairs, gotta work off the food somehow. 

I caught a few shows in between readings and none kept my attention, the comedian was bad. Dinner was at Jamie's and I got my usual,  Michael my server said that Dracula was his neighbor.....he is from Romania.I enjoy everything but my dessert. I chose the Pavlova and forgot it is sugar on sugar on sugar,  I regretted the decision. So a tiny bite of a piece not covered on syrup, fruit, honeycomb and other diabetes was all I had.

I got one last passionfruit guava sangria for the road and headed to my room to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is our overnight stay in Ensenada. 

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I feel like the tip thing is partly/mostly on royal. You can't make tip optional without this being an issue. People don't fully get tipping and others will save money wherever they can. I'll make sure I tip extra this coming cruise. I have a lot of OBC I can throw their way. 

What book series are you reading?

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12 minutes ago, ellcee said:

I feel like the tip thing is partly/mostly on royal. You can't make tip optional without this being an issue. People don't fully get tipping and others will save money wherever they can.

I don't know about the US but at least in Europe it would be a problem if tipping isn't optional as that would increase the price they have to advertise. A lot of countries in Europe have laws that state you have to include everything in the advertising prices etc. It started a while back with airlines offering 1 Euro flights and then after booking it you found out that there is a mandatory 15 Euro seat charge and 50 Euro airport charge and fuel charge and ...

So if one cruise line would go with mandatory tips included the advertising prices would look a lot higher compared with other cruise lines.

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@ellcee The tip thing is weird.  I agree if Royal wants to include grats with crew pay they should include it automatically in the fare. The fact that they now mention how and to whom it's being distributed means it's a problem.

I am reading the Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole. It's about "real life" tarot cards fighting to the death. 

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Day 4 Ensenada. 

I really like having a virtual balcony, I awoke around 7am and was able to lay in bed answering emails while watching the ship ease into port. We got in around 7:20 and the captain said around 8ish people should be able to disembark.  Captain Johan is funny, I think because English isn't his first language he always forgets his name. Whenever he makes an announcement he always goes "this is your captain......ummmm.....Johan." then the rest of the announcement is smooth. He even did this at the top tier event.

I just wanted fruit and orange juice so I made my way to the WJ around 9. It was a madhouse,  I thought it wouldn't be as the gangways are open but I forget we are in Ensenada overnight so people aren't in a rush to leave. I was going to get off and walk the port but I figured I would take advantage of people being off and get a good seat on deck to read. 

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The port area for Ensenada is ugly and uninviting. I decided to get off and see whats doing and nothing was, so I got back on. A bunch of seals were lazing about around the port making tons of noise. I was shocked at how few people actually got off. The decks and such were still crowded. 

I really want to know, why is it when there are more than 5 people in a hot tub the water gets all milky???? That looks so unclean. I spent an hour in the solarium on a partially wet daybed. Fun fact: they were all wet because people went straight from the water to chairs and such. This was also a problem in the WJ as I passed a sign asking people to dry off or bring a towel if they are wet.

My lunch was, for the 4th day, El Loco Fresh. I did a few laps around deck 4, then spent the rest if the day reading in various places. Since dinner was after 8, I decided to see tonight's product show. It was Showgirls: the past, present and future. I went in with low expectations and came out a fan. It was actually really good, so far my favorite original on any non-Oasis class ship. The only negative for me was one of four singers voice. She was too Broadway to sing the popular songs. Her soprano was too high and didn't blend with the other woman's and 2 men. The costumes were great and the performers looked like they were having fun. 

Tonight was my second time dining in the MDR. The service was good; it's always a little extra when you dine solo. I had the short beef rib. It doesn't compare to the one in Wonderland or 150 CP.  It wasn't bad just really fatty. I had a peach margarita with dinner and it was really good. Dessert was a delicious lemon tart. The quality of food in the MDR is good, nothing like Indy and Mariner in Jan. I was tired so I went to my room after dinner.

One thing that is odd is my room steward. I asked for ice on the first night and have yet to receive a bucket. I got cookies the first day, they were stale, and they weren't removed.I had taken the cloche off to let her know and she put it back on. In fact I brought back my dessert from Chops two nights ago and it was still here. She placed it on top of the cookies as if she thought I wanted to save them. I finally took to the WJ this morning to be discarded. She makes cute towel animals though. 

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Day 5....still in Ensenada

Sometime in the middle of the night there was an alpha, alpha, alpha call. I hope whomever it concerns is okay.

 I showered and decided to get off for a walk to the Ensenada sign for pictures. It was pretty warm out, so I sweated a bit. I hit the diamond lounge for OJ and pastries. It was quite crowded so I took it go and sat out on deck 4 by Schooner bar, reading and relaxing. I did 2 sets of trivia, guessing the movie catchphrase and scattergories. I lost scattergories by 2 point, 59 to 61. But I won the movies with 10/15. 

Since I had such a lite breakfast I was hungry.  Of course it was El Loco Fresh. The pool deck was packed, so decided to find a table in the WJ,  its also crowded but I did find a nice spot. I feel like since it was an overnight, everyone mostly stayed aboard today. Lots of people don't care. The show up to the theater, MDR and specialty restaurants in bathing suits,  most time with no cover-up. 

The crew have been amazing, even when things on the ship aren't up to par, they make up for it. Tonight will be my last night in the MDR,  I have the UDP for the second leg. I've not had the same staff each time, so I've tipped as I go. The only show is the comedian and he isn't funny. I may hit the casino and people watch.

Stray observations.....

The blue and white cup they give with drink package holds almost the same as the standard cups you get anywhere. Thr platic one they give with water, lemonade,  ice tea etc.. I have to fill my cup up more often. However this is no longer a problem as the freestyle machines only makes you wait 45sec now.

Oj and apple juice seems to be available all day. Everything is self-service and I see people getting OJ with lunch and dinner. My coworker says the ice tea is better than usual.

They have cheddar,  munster  and swiss cheese. For a while the cheese selection was lacking. They have American too but it's only placed on burgers. Some burgers, hotdogs and sandwiches are already made with condiments on them. 

Hardly anyone sits on the sun deck and most Casitas sit empty. 

Wifi seems to work better in staterooms and bathrooms over the decks and restaurants. 

I can constantly feel the ship moving, even in port.

Desserts have continued to disappoint. Today they had a strawberry syrup coverd cinnamon roll......why????

Lastly not enough "thank you's" and an insane amount of coughing with no covering of mouth; manners have been sorely lacking

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I did three cruises on Navigator this last year, a 7-day, a 3-day, and a 4-day.  The 7-day cruise was delightful and the folks on board were a pleasure to hang around with.  The 3 and 4 day cruises were a bit of a nightmare.  I sailed solo on all three and was truly disappointed in the behavior of folks on the shorter cruises.  Just a general lack of class (jeez, I sound like my mother!), and people who were incredibly unaware of how their actions affect others around them.  Ensenada was a big fat 'meh' both times I was there.  If I ever sail out of LA again, I will definitely do the longer cruise.

 

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I did bad in Disney trivia.

The pool deck proved too much, my virgin eyes/ears couldn't handle the looseness. I was reading on the sun deck and heard the most inappropriate things.  Some guys discussing whether a child in a two-piece bathing suit was old enough. There was also a lady sunbathing with her straps off.  Two guys purposely tripped her chair so she would rise up. I decided to head to the diamond lounge and chat with Francisco while I waited for my dinner reservation.  He told me of his career goal to become a Genie and I think he should be a wonderful fit. I plan to talk him up in my post survey. 

I am glad I don't have to pack. I truly wonder how the next sailing will be, since it's a weekday one. This one was a flustercluck, I have seen crew cleaning vomit more than once in the hallway when I take the stairs. I haven't got much sleep, so I plan to eat dinner and head to bed earlier than usual. 

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Day 6 and 1....LA

Port of LA is turning into my least favorite.  We were instructed to go the star lounge by 9am for consecutive cruisers. It was about 30 of us, including the couple who had just turned pinnacle on the last cruise. I got there around 8:30 after speaking with my stateroom attendant. She told me she was moving midship on the same floor so I would get a different guy but feel free to come back to my room when I wanted. I used my diamond coupons to get 4 waters and put them in the cooler.

I saw Francisco assisting guest with their new seapass cards and explaining the process. I met 3 people and we had a nice chat about transatlantic cruises and cruising in general. It was close to 10am before we exited the ship to reenter. The lines for customs was insane. Apparently no one was following the disembarkment times, so they ended up backed up and congested.  We had to wait but all we did was show our passports and then came back on the ship. 

I have the UDP and met some other consecutive cruisers so we decided to do dinner and lunch together, so I won't be eating alone. My coworker hasn't darkened my door since he hit it off with the second lady. I saw them holding hands and kissing so I am happy for them.

The ship was empty and I saw tons of crew cleaning. I made a quick trip to my room to drop off my passport but the room steward hasn't even touched my room. Lindsey implied she was going to tell the new guy to do mine first since I was B2B. It looks like he started every room but mine. 

They have a special lunch for consecutive cruisers but I have the UDP and will be eating at Jamie's. Already lots of people are joining the ship, far more kids than I thought for a weekday cruise. 

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Lunch at Jamie's was a tough one. Since I was dining with 2 extra people we ordered a lot between us. Four half orders of pasta, I always split 2, all the apps and a meat plank. They also got entrees, I am always too full for that, and we got lite desserts. For a while I have been lucky enough to get the pineapple sorbet, my luck rain out as they only had rainbow this sailing. Lunch was great. Company and crew were great as well. 

I was full enough for a nap. I met my new attendant Justine and he asked if I needed anything and when I came back I finally had my ice bucket. Unfortunately just like last sailing my neighbors lacked couth. Not so little girl screaming at the top of her lungs she's on a cruise and yelling out in the hall asking if other people are on a cruise. This went on for almost 10min before the parents told her to quiet down.

I took my walk around deck 4. Watching as people boarded with forty bags for a three night cruise. I looked in Schooner's  and thouht about doing trivia but its all the same trivia as last week. I decided I would make some personal calls and they actually killed enough time that I could head down to the casino. The welcome show was that same dry comedian, so I figured I would stay there until dinner.

I haven't found a slot I like on this ship, so I didn't play as much as I normally would. After I broke even, I went around trying to find one that called to me, I ended up chatting with a lady trying to make signature. She told me she was going to sit at one machine to make her goal. I got to the casino when it opened and stayed until a little after 7:30. She had been at that machine when it opened and thats how long it took her on $6 bets. I want to assume she recently had made prime but who knows. I did watch her blow through several jackpots, the lowest being a little over $800.

Dinner was at Chops. I had no plans to go back here but since I was not eating alone.....when in Rome.  It was meh. We got all the sides and other than the spinach and asparagus, they all lacked seasoning.  My steak was cooked well but it was steak. I checked in on the 80s party and then decided I wasn't prepared to "rock out with my sock out" so I went to the library room and watched for a bit before going back to my room. 

Tomorrow is Ensenada.......again. 

 

 

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Day....whatever. 

That same little girl was up screaming. I realized there is nothing but families on this floor floor with children. They were running and playing around 5am, knocking on people's doors. This might be the first cruise(s) I get no amazing rest. I did sleep about 2hrs until almost 8am.  But I got up showered and answered some work emails. My plan was to hit the diamond lounge for OJ but I peeked in and it was packed.

I decided I would try to snag a chair or bed in the solarium and read. They were all wet, at barely 11am. Hot tubs weren't filled but there was far more people on deck than I was anticipating. I went down to deck 5 and was going to people watch but I saw my new friends at Schooners when I passed by so we chatted. We stayed for "name that logo" trivia, we got second place with 41 right. Apparently all trivia in this ship has just bern for fun, there have been no prizes. Weird right??

After trivia we hit up Playmakers. I have only had the pleasure once and I was solo. I got a burger and chicken strips.  Well there was 3 of us and they were out of burgers so we pretty much got everything else. The nachos with the pulled pork was the bomb dot com. I got bbq wings and the chicken sandwich.  They got onion rings, wings, jalapeños poppers and the nachos.  It was so much food, I wish they did half orders of nachos.  We are trying Hooked, seafood is not my jam, so I might go and get nachos later. We were tapped out on dessert, but one day I am going to try a campfire cookie. A table across from us got the 60oz pitcher of beer, that is an amazing deal.

After that amazing lunch we went to Nav dunes and played through. I did well with my amazing score of 41. We sat on deck 13 and people watched until a little after 6. After that we went back to our rooms to get changed for dinner. Justine is a great attendant,  I have ice and he removes any dessert plate. I always take my dessert to go and I am always disappointed. On a sad note I was the only one to book the airport transportation and tour, so it was canceled.  My flight isn't until 4 and they want everyone off the ship by 9ish.......I don't know what I will do.

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