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T-2. Occasionally live blog, Navigator of the seas


mk-ultra

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W00t!  Something new (to me)!

Basics:

Navigator of the Seas, 7 nights
LA > Cabo > Mazatlan > Puerto Vallarta > LA
Grand Suite
Unique to this trip: NYE on a cruise

This is my first time on a Voyager class ship.  Launched in 2002, and with a 2019 Amplification and freshening-up, I’ve been looking forward to trying out Navigator.  I’ve sailed on RC’s “small” ships (Liberty and Radiance), but since 2018 it’s all been on Oasis class.

RC takes such good care of their ships, size and age hardly matter unless you want the bells and whistles only available on Oasis and Quantum class.

I’m also very happy that us granola-eating hippies in CA finally have a ship again — one that goes further into MX than Ensenada.  Nothing wrong with Ensenada (ask me about the wine country out in Valle de Guadalupe if you’re planning a stop there).

Pre-cruise, I’m camped out for a couple of nights at Hilton’s Maya: https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/lgbmydt-hotel-maya/. Maya is about 12 minutes drive time to the cruise terminal.

To be honest, not much around hotel.  Food here is excellent.  Will do the walk across the bridge tomorrow to check out the city.  Probably 20 minutes to get into town.  Can see the Queen Mary from the "front lawn" of my patio room:

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It's pretty at night.  Hardly anyone would describe the LA River as pretty, but it has its moments.  Queensway Bridge:

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SFO was packed.  LAX was beyond that.  Flight time SFO > LAX was 53 minutes.  Time from de-boarding airplane to "Port of Los Angles" hotel, 2 hours.  Port of LA isn't in LA, it's in Long Beach, so fun times on the 405 and 710.

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T-1.  Boarding tomorrow.  Gonna grab an Uber or Lyft from hotel to the LA Cruise Terminal around 1030 for my 1130 scheduled time.  RC gives you +-1 hour on that, so I err on the minus side.  It's a little bit nice to be onboard early and just check out the ship while it's still a ghost town.  LA cruise port is a bit weird (having LB and LA sides).  For RC, you want to put in 100 Swinford Street when requesting a ride.

Final thoughts about the Hilton Maya: really good launching spot.  The food here at Fuego (so far: crab cakes, Cubano sandwich, and a duck and pear flatbread with Gorgonzola and arugula)... waaaay better than most hotel food.  Knock out crème brulée with fresh blueberries for dessert.

 

 

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Day 1, Friday.

As is my habit (sigh) I woke up around 0430.  What can I say, I'm like a little kid when it comes to cruise day.  Overall, very pleased with the Hilton Maya.  All of the food and service there were exceptional.

I had an 1130 show time for check-in, so me and my luggage hit the Uber button at 1030 from the hotel.  Uber was not happening.  After not having a driver try to pick up my fare for 10+ minutes, I cancelled and tried Lyft.  Much success.  Had a driver pick me up in 5 minutes.

Drive from hotel to the ship was a little longer than expected (20 minutes).  Port of LB (nee, LA) is one of the world's busiest.  The delay wasn't cruiser traffic.. it was just general commercial trucking and whatnot.  Once near the 90's berths, it was (forgive me), smooth sailing.  After getting dropped off, it took about 10 minutes to clear security and board.

Not many photos.  Port of Los Angeles is possibly the least charming port I've sailed from.  Not complaining (yay, I'm on a ship), but it's about as industrial as ports get.  One thing I wish I'd researched a little better was what is just adjacent to the berth RCI uses.  Specifically, the USS Iowa museum.  With a teensy bit of additional planning, I could have done my bag drop then walked a hundred yards or so and toured the Iowa before boarding the Navigator.  Note to my future self.

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Really moody skies making our way out of the harbor, with what can barely be called occasional drizzle.  Tonight, ship's whistle (horn) has been doing the once a minute fog signal, which is possibly the most nautically romantic thing ever.  That feels like sailing.  🙂

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First impressions about the Navigator.  It's exactly what I expected.  Well-maintained, and in general -- an RCI ship in all respects.  They all seem to adhere to some design themes.  She's a bit older, so cabin decor, while perfectly tidy, is a wee bit 20 years old in theme.  Zero complaints.  The GS cabin is like any other and more cabin than any single moron like me needs.

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Day 2, Saturday

Sea day.  Beautiful sunrise.  Met a lovely couple who are on their bizillianth cruise together during breakfast at Chops Grill.  I beat the daylights out of the casino last night playing blackjack, so... here's the part where I predict they teach me humility today.  It's also NYE, so curious how that will be onboard.  They have balloons staged all over the ship.

Ship's time went +1 hour from "real" time (Pacific) this morning... which promises some pier wind sprints tomorrow in Cabo before we depart.  We'll be cheering for the runners.

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370nm south of Port of LA.  Doing just under 20 knots and being trailed by what I think is the NCL Joy.  Tomorrow is a tender port and I'll be be doing "Luxury Day Sailing" -- which in the real world means getting on a big catamaran that hasn't once had its sails deployed.  I think I'd fall over dead in amazement if any excursion "sailing" actually used wind for anything.

Blew some early afternoon casino time at the BJ table again.  Still beating them up, so w00t!

Lots of nice folks onboard.  Cruisers are the most gregarious people you'll come across.

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Day 3, Sunday.

First time for me rounding the south end of the Baja peninsula.  I don't think I nabbed a photo that does it justice.  Stunning introduction to the Pacific's mixing grounds.

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Then off to tender to my sailing event.

Okay, color my skeptical butt very nicely surprised.  The sailboat was an actual sailboat, not a catamaran.  That's rude to you cat owners, but still.  Real 50' boat with only ~14 pax and 3 crew.  Promising.

First half of our trip was spent motoring.  Boo.  But it's CRAZY busy with tour boats around the harbor, so I wouldn't feel cheery about being under-sail in that mess either.  We went straight to Cabo's famed "arch" and the "keyhole" for everyone to get their Instagram / TikTok moments.

After that photo op, we motored another ~35 minutes to the cove at Santa Maria beach and let everyone bob around like orange corks in PFDs for an hour or so.  On the way there, we had a feeding.  Grilled shrimp, fresh guac, pico de gallo, fresh fruit and chips.  Served in an incongruous Japanese Bento box.  Tasty though, and no shortage of booze selections.

The highlight of the day for me (puts on sailing nerd hat) was the trip back.  Mainsail up, motor off.  Then... why not, let's unfurl the jib.  And do big upwind tacks all the way home.  And before every tack, let's really get it heeled over deliberately so everyone squeals with delight.  And just to top it off, momma humpback whale with calf on the way back.  Awesome.

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Cabo is new to me.  With NCL Joy here as well, the line to tender back was looooooooooooooooong.  Met some cool people from Norway and Denver though.  🙂

 

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Day 5, Tuesday.

So, we have the newfangled Starlink internet on our ship.  When it's fast -- it's damn fast.  It's been a little bit spotty though.  Still, for satellite service, kinda awesome.

Right now, not so awesome (sailing out of PV).

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PV was great.  Did the "Las Caletas Escape".   Basically, a very nice beach day.  Good food, good drinks and good people.  If I want to be grumpy, my only minor complaint is an 0740 show time, to wait an hour in the deck 3 theater, then to line up and wait on the pier, then do an hour on a cat to get there.  First world problem, to be sure.  Lots of people, but not crowded at all. 

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Will add more pics when Starlink gets it marbles back.  Blame Elon. Very, very good day.  This is possibly one of the best itineraries RCI has outside of Alaska.

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On 1/4/2023 at 10:29 AM, Maggie M said:

Gorgeous pictures! Can't wait to hear how it all finishes for you. Thanks for sharing - we leave on this same cruise in 16 days (not that I'm counting)!!! We're really looking forward to diving in Cabo. How long would you guess the wait to tender if you weren't on a Royal excursion was?

Tendering off the ship, not so bad.  Usual drill of getting stickered in the theater then lounging about there waiting for your group number to be called.  Be fed, and avail yourself of the theater bathrooms because you'll spend an hour or so on the pier.

Tendering back was... I don't know if I have quality adjectives.  A massive line that wrapped all around the pier.  I didn't time it, but ~2 hours of quality time in line?

Delay didn't seem specific to Royal.  The NCL Joy folks also got to enjoy the line.

 

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Day 6, Wednesday

Sea day, about 1/4 of the way back north along the Baja peninsula.

Not much to report.  Took a little time at the blackjack table this afternoon -- but my head wasn't in the game.  When fast visual math gets hard, it's time to take a break.  Will definitely hit them up again this evening.

Tonight is "dress to impress" night.  For once, I refused to pack a suit and haul around a garment bag.  I've got a nice collared shirt, but just jeans -- no slacks.  That's as fancy as I'm going to get this time around.

Interesting sea state.  3m rollers... not big.  I haven't Googled what kind of stability augmentation Navigator has (yet), but even these little ones have us rolling a bit.  That's forecast to increase to 6-7m this evening, so should be a fun ride.  🙂

Not much to photograph today, so here... have a lovely sunset from Sunday's sailboat trip.

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28 minutes ago, mk-ultra said:

Interesting sea state.  3m rollers... not big.  I haven't Googled what kind of stability augmentation Navigator has (yet), but even these little ones have us rolling a bit.  That's forecast to increase to 6-7m this evening, so should be a fun ride.  🙂

 

This may answer your question:

And this:

https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/fact-sheet/16/rhapsody-of-the-seas/

 

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3 hours ago, mk-ultra said:

Tendering off the ship, not bad.  Usual drill of getting stickered in the theater then lounging about there waiting for your group number to be called.  Be fed, and avail yourself of the theater bathrooms because you'll spend an hour or so on the pier.

Tendering back was... I don't know if I have quality adjectives.  A massive line that wrapped all around the pier.  I didn't time it, but ~2 hours of quality time in line?

Delay didn't seem specific to Royal.  The NCL Joy folks also got to enjoy the line.

 

@mk-ultra What time did you try to come back?

Edited by Tjones
Forgot to tag author.
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6 hours ago, mk-ultra said:

I was at Las Caletas, so boats back to the pier from there aren’t hop on, hop off.  1415 run back from Las Caletas… so around 1515 back to the long line for a tender back to our tub. 

@mk-ultra Sorry, I thought you were talking about the line for tender boats in Cabo. How was that experience for you?

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Day 7, Thursday.

At sea again today, which I don't mind at all.  We didn't seem to get the bigger swells that were predicted last night, but there's a good chance I just slept through it if we did.  Getting bigger rollers now, about 2 hours after local sunset.  I sleep like a baby in that stuff though.

I think I lucked out on timing for this trip.  GTFO'd out of the SF Bay Area just in time to miss all the bomb cyclone festivities.  Housemates have a cabin up in the redwoods and all the accumulating storm run-off is dumping into creeks and rivers.  They went up there (Cazadero) to prep for flooding as best they could -- then sensibly scooted right back to SF so they don't wind up treading water.  Parts of Guernville and Cazaero all the way to the coast near Jenner sound like they'll potentially be hosed.

~0700 arrival at port of LA tomorrow.  0800 disembark for me.  We're back to cold and windy shipboard.  This time around, I'm doing two post-cruise days at a hotel.  Conrad LA looks pretty nice, and the The Broad (modern art museum) and Japantown are in easy walking distance.

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/laxavci-conrad-los-angeles/

https://www.thebroad.org/

Hopefully, our atmospheric river takes a break by then.  Radar still looks a bit sketchy.  Lots of precip lined up.

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Post-cruise day 1, Friday

Disembark was painless.  I cheated a little bit and went down to deck 4 at 0745, beating more than a few people off of the ship.  No massive conga-line around the deck to hit the gangway.  "Self-assist" departure, meaning I wheeled my one suitcase off the ship instead of tagging it and putting it out the night before to pick it up shore-side.

CBP has the newer facial scanners on the way out.  No wait.  Boom: done.

Taxi rank was surprisingly excellent.  Less than 10 minutes to put my butt in a cab.  ~35 minutes from pier to the Conrad Hotel in LA.  Funny and loquacious driver, in the good kinda way.

Had an early check-in and a nice room upgrade.  20th floor, overlooking the Ghery-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall. 

https://www.musiccenter.org/visit-explore/visit-explore/campus/walt-disney-concert-hall/

Props to AMEX FH&R again for those.  As soon as I dropped my bag in my room, I left the hotel on foot in a random direction.  No destination.  Spent about 2 hours just wandering around.  Sometimes, that strategy really works out.  It's been a long time since I've been to Downtown LA proper.  In the '80s... it was, um, not something one would pick as a destination stay.

Wow -- has it changed.  Tons of new hotels and clearly a lot of hopeful investment raising it above the infamous Skid Row days I saw when I was a young teen.  It's still gritty if you lift the covers though.  I'm fine with gritty, and the hotel is gorgeous, but for family/kids?  Na.  Not the location you want.

Stumbled across the Grand Central Market.  Oh man, eat there.  It's indoors, but an open breezeway kind of set-up.  Being from SF, I'm spoiled for good Mexican food -- but there are tons of counter-service eateries, Mexican and otherwise.  If you can't find something to eat there, you're doing it wrong.  It smelled glorious the second I walked in.  Had one lengua and one cabeza taco, Spanish rice, draft Corona.

https://grandcentralmarket.com/

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Grand Central is directly across from one of DTLA's more famous spots, the optimistically-named Angels Flight Railway.

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Taking a little break from the walkies.  Back at the hotel having crab croquettes and a mojito to reinforce my countenance.

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More walkies tomorrow.  Probably MOMA and Japantown.

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Last notes:

The museum of modern art (The Broad) is catty-corner to the Conrad Hotel.  Literally, a three minute walk.  Admittance is free unless you want to also get admission to one of their highlighted artist exhibits.  You do need a ticket though (they rate-limit the number of people  -- good).  Not really a ticket, per-se... just go online and get a QR code they scan when you enter at your scheduled time.  I showed up at 10AM, right when they opened and had no problem getting a QR code in line using my phone and going in right away.

https://www.thebroad.org/

The Broad has the usual suspects.  Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko and assorted company.  Worth a visit if you're already in the neighborhood.  I wouldn't make a side-trip to do it.

Didn't make it to Japantown.

Next up: first time on Quantum of the Seas in May.  Vancouver > Alaska > Seattle.  Might be a little bit wet/brr, but I have foul weather accoutrements 🙂

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On 12/29/2022 at 7:30 AM, GatorCruiser said:

Shes a great ship, enjoy!

I'm so glad you had a great time!  We had a great time in late September.  We also stayed at Hotel Maya and we had pictures at the same spot as your picture was  Our room  was right there also on the first floor walked right out onto the grass.  The view of the Queen Mary is breathtaking.  Also the restaurant at Hotel Maya was sensational!  We walked straight across the lit up bridge in your picture.  We caught the fabulous ferry to Catalina island for Thursday before our cruise left on Friday!  That was a must!  So much history and great views, and just an overall great time.  We loved going down to Mexico again on one of our favorites the Navigator.

We are going going 2 days ahead of time to LA in March again but cruising out on the Celebrity Solstice with a free cruise voucher out of LA from our 2nd Celebrity cruise on the Equinox in August on our 8 day Equinox they gave many on our ship in August but only on the Solstice in January through March 2023.  We are doing a Pacific Coastal this time which we are very excited about!  We have a great nonstop from Atlanta on Delta each way again!  Delta credit cards really pay off is all we can say!  Celebrity Solstice leaves out of San Pedro pier which will be a new adventure also.

Your pics you shared were beautiful!  Thanks for the memories!

Michelle 

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57 minutes ago, Cruising to Retirement! said:

I'm so glad you had a great time!  We had a great time in late September.  We also stayed at Hotel Maya and we had pictures at the same spot as your picture was  Our room  was right there also on the first floor walked right out onto the grass.  The view of the Queen Mary is breathtaking.  Also the restaurant at Hotel Maya was sensational!  We walked straight across the lit up bridge in your picture.  We caught the fabulous ferry to Catalina island for Thursday before our cruise left on Friday!  That was a must!  So much history and great views, and just an overall great time.  We loved going down to Mexico again on one of our favorites the Navigator.

We are going going 2 days ahead of time to LA in March again but cruising out on the Celebrity Solstice with a free cruise voucher out of LA from our 2nd Celebrity cruise on the Equinox in August on our 8 day Equinox they gave many on our ship in August but only on the Solstice in January through March 2023.  We are doing a Pacific Coastal this time which we are very excited about!  We have a great nonstop from Atlanta on Delta each way again!  Delta credit cards really pay off is all we can say!  Celebrity Solstice leaves out of San Pedro pier which will be a new adventure also.

Your pics you shared were beautiful!  Thanks for the memories!

Michelle 

I'm glad you enjoyed the Maya as much as I did.  Like you, I thought the food there was faboo.  That was a welcome surprise 🙂  I wish I'd thought to do Catalina -- that's been on my list for a long time.  I went there once as a kid with my dad, but hardly remember it.  Good call.

All booked for Alaska.  I did one thing new: pinged Royal's "Private Journeys" folks to see what they can line up in Juneau.  I've never tried that service before.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/privatejourneys/

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16 hours ago, mk-ultra said:

I'm glad you enjoyed the Maya as much as I did.  Like you, I thought the food there was faboo.  That was a welcome surprise 🙂  I wish I'd thought to do Catalina -- that's been on my list for a long time.  I went there once as a kid with my dad, but hardly remember it.  Good call.

All booked for Alaska.  I did one thing new: pinged Royal's "Private Journeys" folks to see what they can line up in Juneau.  I've never tried that service before.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/privatejourneys/

What a great idea to remember Royal's private journeys.  Alaska is on our short bucket list for sure.  Excited to go on the new Odyssey on January 28th and after March Solstice to go on the new Wonder on May 21st.  So nice to be cruising again.  We absolutely love it!

Happy Cruising!  Thanks for sharing again your blog and awesome pictures.

Michelle

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dropping back in to report on my Private Journeys inquiry.  Reply I received was:
 

Quote

 

Hi XXX

Thank you for contacting Private Journeys for your upcoming cruise onboard Quantum Of The Seas on 08-May-2023

My name is Matt, and I am a Destination Insider, part of the Private Journeys team for Royal Caribbean Group.

I have received your request for 1 guest for Private Journey options.

To give you an idea of what types of excursions are available in each port, you can see your cruise planner by port HERE.

When it comes to Private Journeys there are typically 2 scenarios where we can arrange private tours:

1.        We can take almost any of the tours listed in the cruise planner and turn them into a private tour, rather than joining the group tours.

2.        Alternatively, if there is something specific that you are after, and is not listed, I can also look into the feasibility of that.

I would like to mention that as the resources are limited in Alaska, suppliers will typically charge the full group rate to smaller groups, so a private for one person may not be the most efficient for you. If you are interested however, please let me know what may interest you, and I would be happy to work with our local suppliers to provide you with a price and availability.

Thanks!

 

Sounds like it's more for just getting private transportation on the stock excursions vs. something boutique/curated.  The PJ team is really small, so I think I'll default to researching some possibilities to book on my own.

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