Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has made the decision to put a ship in the Galveston market on a year-round basis. In years past, they have had a presence, but only on a seasonal basis from December to April. But NOW. . . . the Navigator of the Seas has been designated to be the ship based out of Texas, and she is quite a show!!! “WOW”!!!
Thanks to an invitation, I was fortunate to view her this past weekend, and guests on this ship will be really impressed with the improvements. She was built and entered service back in 2002, but just last month went through an $81 million dollar rehab dry dock, and they really did her and her 143,000 tons a beautiful makeover.
Added to the rooms were the usual upgrade on bedding and drapes, plus they installed flat screen TVs in every stateroom. Some of the inside rooms were converted to what they referred to as “Virtual Balcony Rooms”. Part of one of the walls, about 3-4 foot wide and floor to ceiling, they had pictures of areas of outside the ship. Cameras were strategically placed and beamed pictures of what people were looking at from the front or back of the ship or from the right or left side of the ship. Very interesting, and these rooms are all located on deck 9 and 10 of the ship. Naturally they cost a little more than the standard inside room, but much less than the real balcony rooms.
They have also added two new specialty restaurants, one featuring Japanese cuisine, the other Mexican fare. The guy managing the Mexican restaurant, called the Sabor, told me that they were getting real good reviews on that site, so far. They have also relocated Giovanni’s Table, an Italian specialty restaurant to the activity deck 11. The dining rooms have also spruced up with new chairs, tables, and lighting.
Some neat additions for those active cruisers include the FlowRider Surf Simulator, the Rock Climbing Wall, and an outdoor theatre screen along with some new enhancements to the spa and fitness center.
Additional “WOWS” were the added Panoramic Staterooms at the front of the ship and the 14 new balcony staterooms, all on Deck 12. The panoramic rooms do not have a balcony, rather the entire outside bulkhead wall is glass in a larger than normal room.. . . .right at the front of the ship.
For the families who are bringing the real younger children, they have added the “Royal Babies and Tots Nursery”, a real nice and secure location to park the young children for a while. And if you are worried about getting lost on this ship, or needing some help with directions, they have installed digital signage locations outside every elevator that helps guest navigate on the Navigator.
A little over a month ago I had a program about a group we were promoting with Rudy Fernandez, the “fearless” radio jock at KEAN. This is the ship we are on departing Sept. 7-14, and we have some fantastic rates available, so give the experienced counselors at The Travel Factory a call and get yourself on this exciting getaway with prices starting for less than $100 a day. Call at 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040.