Royal Caribbean Cruises, Navigator of the Seas, Mediterranean

We have cruised many times with Thomson and P and O. I have to say, in fairness, that Navigator of the Seas does not match up to these. perhaps if it was the first time you cruised, you might think it was wonderful, but I can assure people that there is better to be had. The food wasn't wonderful. We often had to queue to get into second sitting and service was so slow (of course because they are trying to serve too many people at the same time) that we were not out of the dining room by 10.45 pm in time for the show. (By the way, until you have seen some of the Thompson shows, you truly have not lived!!) We have never before had to PAY for a shuttle bus, unless it was put on by the local authority and then at a very nominal fee. If Royal Caribbean say they are taking you to Marseille, then that is where they should take you, not 4 miles out with no chance of getting to the town unless you paid for the ship's shuttle bus! We HATED the stupid alcohol policy where people's luggage was x-rayed and then any bottle of wine or spirits confiscated until the end of the trip and yet you couldn't buy a bottle on board. People who paid a lot extra for a balcony like to sit there with a drink in hand, watching the sun go down, and believe me, you can do this on other lines. I would far rather they looked for bombs or drugs, rather than make ordinary people feel/ look like criminals. They said it was for safety, so you didn't get drunk and fall off your balcony. HA Ha! They spent the whole of their time trying to get you to buy drinks, including in the theatre, in the dark. They just wanted the profits. that's fine, but be honest about it. People who had cruised with other lines noticed the difference. We don't all want Razzamatazz, and for that reason I would not go with this line again. I am as entitled to MY opinion as those who obviously just wanted Disney World at sea, and got it!!! There were lots of good things. the ship was clean, the staterooms very large and luxurious, most of the staff friendly and helpful. On the downside, the tour operators didn't have a clue about the tours they were charging for and the organisation was chaotic. The chaos in Lisbon was because the tour operators had not familiarised themselves with the time difference (Lisbon in summer runs to GMT )but that's their job!! Also anyone who had a wheelchair had a real difficulty getting off the ship. there was often no reason why they didn't open up a flat gangway straight out from Deck One, so that those on scooters or in wheelchairs, or on sticks, could exit with style, rather than being manhandled. Some of us like a bit of class, we've been brought up to it, so please don't sneer. If you think this was the bees-knees that's fine and is your opinion.. it was actually "Butlins by Sea"- fine if you like that sort of thing. Some of us prefer silver service, vegetables with our meal, a salad course and mints or petit fours with coffee. we've been brought up to expect better. It certainly wasn't cheap, but they really cut corners, including being out of butter on the last two days (Bad planning) It wasn't just the British who were moaning. I heard plenty of americans say they were not happy with various aspects. And what were all those children doing having a fortnight off school and then running up and down the stairs or pushing past in the Windjammer!! Of course the kind of people who take their children off school and keep them up in the pub until midnight, are just the sort of people who WOULD enjoy this sort of cruise. Each to his own I say. We had a lovely holiday because the weather was good and we visited some beautiful places and the Bay of biscay was calm, but we won't be going back with R C. the ship was just too big. Sue from Cardiff