A Trip Down Memory Lane – Day 8

We were awake quite early again, but we were not in a rush. I had a leisurely shower. We reorganised our luggage and finally got around to putting the laundry in our respective suitcases. Then we discussed what we would do for breakfast. I was quite keen to go back to Tangaroa Terrace. I would have loved another Loco Moco burrito. Graham suggested that we tried the Coffee House. He pointed out that we would probably have lunch as soon as we get on the ship and therefore didn’t need a big breakfast. He was of course right. The Coffee House was very busy. When it was our turn, Graham had a raspberry Danish and an Americano. I had a chocolate chip muffin and a cold brew with some vanilla syrup. This was hands down the worst cold brew I ever had. I think swamp water probably tastes similar. Graham was not thrilled with his Americano either. With hindsight, we would have been better off heading to the Starbucks in Downtown Disney.

Once we had finished our breakfast, we headed back to our room. We chilled for a bit in our room and then we headed out. We still had plenty of time until we were due to be picked up. I took some last photos and then we went to sit outside the main entrance of the hotel. I went inside the shop to get a pin for the Disneyland Hotel. I had just bought it when I spotted a hotel for the Villas at Disneyland Hotel. I ended up getting this, too. Then I went back outside to join Graham.

Our driver was running a little bit late, but this did not matter. I was surprised that she had come all the way from LAX airport to pick us up. Apparently only a limited number of Uber drivers are allowed to pick up and drop off at the port and they tend to be the same drivers that are allowed to pick up and drop off at the airport. I suppose this makes sense as the most common route to and from the port will involve the airport. Our driver was very nice, and she was very knowledgeable on a wide range of topics. We had a very enjoyable ride. We also arrived at the port in record time. I suppose rush hour had finished by the time we left the hotel.

The port in Los Angeles is a well-oiled machine. As soon as we got out of the car, out luggage was whisked away. I did not even get the chance to tip the porter as he had already gone by the time I had taken my hand luggage out of the boot. When we walked towards the terminal, there were various lines marked with port arrival times. Port staff checked the Set Sail Passes and directed people to the relevant lines. This was the first time that I saw port arrival times actually being enforced. I was a little bit surprised that I had seen lines for 11:00, 11:30, 12:00 and 12:30, but none for 10:30, which was our arrival time. We were directed to a line inside the tent. About 5 minutes after we got into this line, it started to move. We went into another tent, where we cleared security. This was quick and painless. We then entered the actual terminal. Check in was also very quick. It still felt a bit strange not having vaccination passes and test certificates checked. This is where things became ever so slightly farcical. As we were checking in, they were getting ready to start boarding. The idea was to board by rows of the waiting area. As we entered the waiting area, they called the first row for boarding. We were then invited to sit down in the vacated seats. It would have made sense to then call the second row next, but they called row one again. We ended up being in the second boarding group. Having said that, they were calling boarding groups so quickly, I doubt it was much of an advantage.

We stopped for some embarkation photos and then we got on the ship. We had a new experience. For the first time since Royal Caribbean switched to the new style muster drill that our muster station was on an open deck. On Quantum and Oasis class ships, all muster stations are inside. Navigator has some muster station inside, but this time our muster station was on the promenade deck. We could see our muster station as soon as we got on the ship and headed there as soon as they scanned our Set Sail Passes.  Fortunately, the muster station was already open. On recent cruises, the muster stations usually opened around midday. We checked in at our muster station then we decided to get ahead of the rush and go to the Windjammer for some lunch.

Since we had last sailed on this class ship, they had installed sinks just outside the entrance of the Windjammer. We washed our hands and then headed inside. Graham started with some crusty bread and a Caesar salad. I went straight for the hot food. I had a pork schnitzel, some beef stew, and some mashed potatoes. He then went for some pasta. I had a cheeseburger, macaroni cheese, pickles, and some pulled pork. I was delighted that they had the tropical mango water. Graham had some iced tea.

While we were having lunch, it had got quite busy. We decided to get our customary first cup of Royal Caribbean blend elsewhere so that someone else could have our table. We went down to deck 5 and headed to the Promenade Cafe. After the awful coffee we had that morning, this tasted almost like gourmet coffee. 

Once we had our coffee, we decided to check out the pool deck. We only got as far as the solarium. The solarium on this class of ship is rather strange. It is covered around the edges, but open above the pool. It was a beautiful day, so this did not matter, but it is a bit of a waste of space if it is cold and damp. They don’t have any round loungers on this ship, but they do have loungers that look like four poster beds. We redeemed our first drink voucher. Navigator has the Lime and Coconut pool bar with the signature drink of the same name. They also served this at the Solarium Bar and we both had one of those. I had every intention to have at least one of those per day, but for one reason or the other, this did not happen. I did however enjoy this one. We managed to snag one of four poster bed loungers right at the back of the solarium towards the forward elevator lobby and settled down. I read for a bit and Graham watched the world go by.

Just before 13:30, an announcement was made that the cabins were ready. We headed down to check out our cabin. They still have the old magnetic key cards on this ship, but they were still in a little envelope by the door. When I tried to open the door, the light turned red. I tried again as this kind of card can be temperamental with the same result. Graham tried his card, and he had no joy either. Fortunately, we were only on deck 6 and pretty much directly above guest services. The line was not too bad either. Soon it was our turn. The guest services officer checked our cards and advised everything should be OK now. We headed back upstairs, but we could still not get in our cabin. By then the line for guest services had grown. Graham spoke to the person who did crowd control and he called the duty manager. Graham explained what had happened. From his reaction, this was not the first that day that he had come across this. He advised that he would get maintenance on it straightaway and suggested we go and have a drink somewhere in the meantime. 

We headed over to the R Bar. This was always my favourite spot on this class of ship. It is a nice intimate spot and it used to have a very unique drinks menu. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. They just offer the generic drinks menu, which is a real shame. Still, we had no issue finding a drink each that we liked. Graham had a Pineapple Guava Sangria, and I had a Passion Spritz. When I had finished my drink, I left Graham and our carry ons in the R Bar while I checked if our lock had now been fixed. It had and I went back down to get Graham.

By the time we got back, our luggage had arrived. We unpacked. The cabins on poor little Navigator have not aged well. The look very dated. On the positive side, I love how the storage is arranged and the bed is very comfortable. While I was unpacking, I got treated to the Wash Your Hands song on the TV. I put our magnets up and then I joined Graham on the balcony for a while.

About 16:15, we decided to head back downstairs to explore the ship a little more. Then we went to the Schooner Bar for Welcome on Board trivia. This was general knowledge trivia and  a little skewed towards geography, but that was fine by me. We did OK. We got 16 out of 20 and the winning score was 17.  After trivia, we checked out the logo shop. They had a great selection of Spirit Jerseys. Graham also spotted a great sun head. I had lost my beloved batik sun hat on Symphony and although he had got a cute little sun hat on Etsy before this trip, I was not completely convinced  about this. The one Graham found reminded me of the one I had lost. It also had crown and anchor logo on the front and cord to keep it in place. I decided to ponder this. We then headed back to the cabin to chill for a bit and then get ready for dinner.

We went to dinner a little earlier than our reservation as we were both hungry. Fortunately, they were able to seat us early. We had a really nice serving team. They were both from India. The menu that evening was the Welcome Aboard menu. Graham had the crispy crab cake with a creamy Old Bay sauce and a tomato cucumber salad for his starter and I had the vegan roasted tomato soup with crunchy garlic ciabatta croutons and a basil pesto drizzle. For his main course, Graham had the southern fried chicken with Tabasco honey, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. I had the spaghetti Bolognese. We both had dessert that evening. Graham had the key lime pie, and I had the Boston cream pie. We had a couple of glasses of the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling each that we had fallen in love with on Quantum in 2022. We thoroughly enjoyed dinner. There has been a lot of complaining about the food quality ever since they introduced the new menus and like Symphony, Navigator is getting more than its fair share of negative reviews in the food department. This was not our experience. We could not fault the quality of the food or the service standards.

After dinner, we went to get photos. They were taking photos on the stairs, but they only had one backdrop out that evening. I was a little disappointed. We got some photos and then Graham headed back to the cabin. I had another quick look at the shops and then I headed down to Studio B for the ice show. The ice show is a different one than we saw on this ship in 2016. It is called iSkate, Reach for the Stars and has the reputation that it is the best ice show that Royal Caribbean ever produced. I got there about 20 minutes before the show started and I managed to get a front row seat. The show is really stunning. For once there is no pretence of a backstory, but the show combines special effects including drones, high energy music and a very talented cast. I really enjoyed this.

After the show, I headed back to the cabin. Graham was already asleep. I got ready for bed and then I settled down for the night.