Anyone ever been on a Royal Caribbean cruise?

[Waffles]

We were thinking about taking a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas sometime this year. Has anyone here been on the Navigator or the Voyager? (They're sister ships I believe.) I'm looking for good/bad comments and some pictures, copies of the schedules and what not.

Thanks in advance!

 

[FergieTCat]

I just got back from a cruise on "Radiance of the Seas" and had an excellent time! The ship was beautiful.

My only advice is, if they stop in Hondorus, don't bother to get off of the boat.

 

[wovenwonder]

We will be on the Navigator on 4/24 of this year! Here are some links that I've found that may be helpful to you!

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=frm&s=927093444&f=408097554

http://www.qwikfyx.com/

 

[cindysteve]

Voyager was awesome. My ds and dd had the time of their lives. They enjoyed it as much as DCL! Kids club was great. Sporting activities galore (rock climbing wall, ice skating rink, inline skating track, mini golf, basketball, swimming) and the food and service were top notch. I would go back in a heartbeat. Room was smaller than RCL and the beds were hard. I'll be glad to answer any questions. PM me if you'd like.
-Cindy

 

[SeaSpray]

We took our first cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship last summer, but it was their smallest ship, the Nordic Empress. We LOVED it, and that's what made us decide to cruise this summer, on the Disney Magic, with our DSs.

My niece and her husband, and a group of their friends cruised a couple of months ago on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas which is a Voyager-class ship. They LOVED it!! They had fun on the rock climbing wall, roller blading, ice skating, and just exploring the entire ship. They said the food was great, especially the specialty restaurant "Portfino's" (I think thats the name of it). They had a blast and highly recommend it. Sorry I don't have any pictures for you but I can email my niece for some.

 

[Waffles]

Thakns so much for the replies everyone! It sounds like you all had a blast. RCL keeps sounding better and better, even though I would still love to do DCL.
Hey, who says you can't cruise on more than one line!

 

[sncbird]

We have been on 3 Royal Carribean Cruises since 1992. We loved all of them!! You can't go wrong with RCL!!! The Voyager sounds amazing - I don't think you will be disppointed at all!!

 

[Kteacher]

i'm going on my 8th RCCL cruise this July. I haven't been on the Navigator or the Voyager, but have been on the Adventure, which is the same class. These are beautiful ships Even with the large number of passengers you will never feel crowded. if you can swing it get a balcony-they are worth every penny! Have a great time!!!

 

[luvmydogs]

We have been on several RCI crusies and have one scheduled for the Mariner of the Seas (also Voyager Class) on 6/6/04. I second the use of www.cruisecritic.com . They're a great resource with very active message boards. Do a search for anything of interest, and you're bound to find lots of posts! They also have a Ports of Call Board if you have any questions about the islands you're visiting. I research on CC all the time.

 

[Schmeck]

Does the ice rink have real ice, or is it that teflon-like stuff?

 

[katerkat]

We've done tons of RCCL cruises! I like them better than DCL. (Heresy! ) I haven't been on that class of ship yet, but my parents have and they loved it. They said the steak restaurant on board is the best steak they've ever had - and I already think RCCL has some of the best steak at the regular restaurant!

 

[pjlla]

I am very interested to read all of your comments. We just returned from a GREAT WDW trip and in order to avoid post-trip depression, I am working up ideas for our next trip (at LEAST one year away, maybe two). We are considering the idea of a cruise (with the kids, currently 6 and 8). I would love to do DCL, just for the love of Disney, but my BIL and his wife have done several Royal Carribbean with and without their kids over the past ten years and LOVE it. ...................P

 

[AspiringCindy]

I have been on Royal Carribean's Nordic Empress 3 times. Love that ship because of the smaller size! I have also been on Monarch of the Seas and Sovereign of the Seas.We love Royal Carribean! The food is great and the shows are wonderful. My only complaint are the size of the rooms. They are way too small! DCL has much larger rooms...so does Carnival(which I hate).
QUOTE]Originally posted by SeaSpray
We took our first cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship last summer, but it was their smallest ship, the Nordic Empress. We LOVED it, and that's what made us decide to cruise this summer, on the Disney Magic, with our DSs.

My niece and her husband, and a group of their friends cruised a couple of months ago on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas which is a Voyager-class ship. They LOVED it!! They had fun on the rock climbing wall, roller blading, ice skating, and just exploring the entire ship. They said the food was great, especially the specialty restaurant "Portfino's" (I think thats the name of it). They had a blast and highly recommend it. Sorry I don't have any pictures for you but I can email my niece for some. [/QUOTE]

 

[Lezah]

We went on Navigator of the Seas in April of last year with a group of 16 friends and family and had the best vacation (outside of WDW) that we had ever had. It is an absolutely magnificent ship with so much to do each day that we couldn't possibly have done it all. I also used cruisecritic.com for information and hints and tips and found it a great resource. We had an inside cabin (category M) and the 3 of us (DH, myself and DS9) were quite comfortable as all we do in the room is sleep, shower, and change. My son loved the kids program and wished that he could have been in it longer. On 2 of the port days (Grand Cayman and Cozumel) he actually stayed on the ship in the kids program while we went ashore and we felt totally secure in allowing him to do so. The food was out of this world and our server in the dining room was awesome (Eric/Estoban). If I can answer any questions feel free to ask.

 

[floridaminnie]

With the kids clubs, do they have the pager system like DCL does?

 

[christineann]

My kids and I went on the Voyager (Western Caribbean) in June, and it was amazing. Loved the ports, loved the ship,everything was top notch. Can't wait to go again!

 

[Lezah]

There is no pager system like DCL with the kids programs. The kids do have to be signed in and out, unless a waiver is signed which of course we did not sign. Either myself, my husband or either one of his grandparents could sign him in or out only. I felt very safe with the people in the kids programs. They were great, fun, well-trained people.

 

[Waffles]

How about the teen programs? Do teens enjoy them? Also, (one more!) how flexible are they with age? For example, if there was a mature (as in most of her friends are older) 14 year old traveling with us in Spetember, and her birthday was in January, she would be in the 12-14 group. (I believe that's the ages.) Would she be able to move up to the 15-17 group?

Schmeck- The rink is ice, I believe. Can they really use teflon to make an ice skating rink? That'd be cool!

 

[Lezah]

Waffles, we didn't have any teens in our group, but those that we saw on the cruise were having a great time. The kids part of the ship (Deck 12 I believe) is awesome with all kinds of arcade games (for use with the seapass card - you can put a set amount of money on it for the kids so they can only spend a certain amount and it is also their id on board). The teen section has a "bar" that serves sodas, slushie drinks (you can buy them a card that allows them a certain amount of them 12 I think of the slushies and there is also a soda card that will allow them unlimited sodas for the duration of the cruise) and no adults at all are allowed there except to retrieve their kids!! It says right on the door, teens only!! We thought that was cool! Their were kids nights at Johnny Rockets (normally the formal nights) where the kids could eat their on their own with their kids program attendants. I hope that this helps somewhat. The age limit on RCCL is very strict as with most cruise lines. They go strictly by birthdate only, but there is some crossover as the ages go up because some of the programs do the same activities, sports etc depending on the day.