What You Need to Know Before Boarding the Navigator of the Seas

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My family and I just returned from a 9-day cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas. This was our second cruise and we had a fantastic time. Last year we spent 7 days on the Liberty of the Seas and when we returned I wrote What You Need to Know Before Boarding the Liberty of the Seas, which many people found very helpful. Since we spent 9 days on this cruise, I wanted to share What You Need to Know Before Boarding the Navigator of the Seas so that you and your family would know what to expect.

During this trip, my family traveled with grandparents, adult kids, an aunt and uncle, 2 pre-teens and a 6-year-old. Since we were on the ship for 9 days we made sure to experience as much as possible. Here are a few things that we learned after boarding the Navigator of the Seas.

1. There are 2 soft serve ice cream machines. One is located against a wall in the Windjammer and the other one is located on Deck 11 against a wall in the pool area. During our cruise, the machine in the pool area was often times slow and very busy.
2. In order to get to the other side of the ship, you have to cut across from the pool on Deck 11, Deck 5 through the Promenade, or Deck 3 (or maybe Deck 4) through the Casino.
3. The Sapphire Dining room serves a sit-down lunch during days at sea. They have an amazing salad bar and often times a pasta bar or stir fry bar. The food is amazing and you can wear shorts!
4. Each night your room attendant will leave a compass on your bed for the next day. The compass will tell you everything that you need to know, from how to dress at dinner, when the food establishments open, what port you will be at, and every show and activity. My girls and I looked forward to reading the compass every night and highlighting the shows and activities that we planned to attend. There is also an Adventure Ocean compass for the kids.
5. While the ship is at a port you can leave your little ones in the care of the Adventure Ocean staff at no charge and they will provide them lunch. Read the Adventure Ocean compass for the hours that they are open. Sometimes during days at port, they will open early.
6. If you scan a towel out while at the pool and you do not scan it back in, you will be charged around $20 per towel.
7. If you plan on going to the ice show, get there early. The room to the show is small and it fills up really fast.
8. During days at sea, the pool will get crowded fast! Consider getting up early and eating breakfast at the pool.
9. The medical facility is on Deck 1. You can purchase a variety of over the counter medicines at a higher than normal price. If you need to see the doctor it will cost around $140-165. I can’t remember exactly how much but I remember that it fell in this price range.
10. The Navigator of the Seas does not have a kid friendly pool. There is an ankle-deep pool for itty babies but the two pools that we saw were 5 ft 3 inches deep. They do provide life vests for guests/kids that can’t swim. My girls used them and still had fun.
11. Every few days check your itemized invoice, even if you have not made any purchases. You can do this on the television in your room or you can go to Guest Services on Deck 5 and have them print one for you. We were charged for 2 hot chocolates, which we did not order. Guest Services removed the charge immediately.
12. The ship has a tendency to be cold. Be prepared for this and pack a sweatshirt, hoodie, sweater or jacket.
13. The ship has Outdoor Movie Nights. Grab a seat early.
14. As with most cruise ships, there are overpriced shops on board. Unless you have money to burn, look and wait to buy on Amazon. You will 99.9% of the time get a better deal.
15. Purchase and bring a passport. Yes, you can get away with a birth certificate, along with a marriage certificate if your current name does not match what is on your birth certificate. As a safety precaution, you should have a passport.
16. Adventure Ocean can reach capacity so make sure that you arrive early.
17. Decorate your cabin door. It is magnetic so it is always fun to bring a dry erase board so that you can communicate with your party or write riddles on it for other passengers to answer.
18. Room service cost around $8 and to be honest, it is not that good! If you are going to order room service there is not a maximum that you can order from what I have seen. We had multiple rooms so before we ordered, we made sure to see if our other family members needed anything.
19. If you plan on shopping while at the port, bring small bills.
20. If you have a large party and you plan on eating in the Main Dining Hall, consider splitting your party into 2 groups. This will get you seated much faster.
21. If you plan on purchasing the WIFI package, the best way that we communicated was via FB messenger. I have heard a lot of people say that they were able to communicate easily via the WhatsApp.
22. Make sure to pack pants if you plan on eating at the Main Dining Hall or at any of the restaurants. You will need pants during formal nights and sometimes the restaurants will not allow you to wear shorts, so be prepared.
23. When you pack for your trip leave some empty space for items you plan on bringing back.
24. On Deck 12 there is a fitness center. It is big and has a huge hot tub that is never crowded and away from large crowds.
25. On Deck 14 there is an amazing sushi restaurant called Izumi that not too many people know about.
26. Wash your hands a lot!
27. The Navigator of the Seas is similar to the Liberty of the Seas but slightly smaller.
28. A few times a day there will be trivia at the Schooner Bar. If you want a seat make sure to arrive early. Even if you are not good at trivia, you should go because you will leave learning something while you are at the Windjammer.
29. If you want chocolate milk at the Windjammer but you do not see it in the cereal section, ask someone at the drink station or a waiter. If they have it, they will make sure that you get it.
30. If your kids are at Adventure Ocean, try and pick them up at least 15 minutes before closing. The line for pick up tends to get long.
31. The food at the Cafe Promenade, which is located on Deck 5, is complimentary. They also provide cups of water and lemonade at no cost.
32. If you plan on watching a movie inside the Metropolis Theatre, which is located on Deck 4, grab some pizza and snacks from the Cafe Promenade to enjoy while watching the movie.
33. There is a Connoisseur Club on Deck 5 outside of the Star Lounge.

What to Pack When You Go On a Cruise 

Here is a video I took of parts of the ship:

My family had a great time on our cruise. Our experience was amazing and we learned a lot that will prepare us for our next cruise adventure with Royal Caribbean. If you have been on the Navigator of the Seas, do you have any tips that newcomers need to know before boarding?

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