I sailed onboard Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas and booked an interior cabin, which was the cheapest available option.
Measuring 139,999 gross registered tons, Navigator of the Seas was the largest cruise ship in the world when launched in 2002.
In early 2019, she completed a $115 amplification, adding new dining venues, water slides, activities, and more that are round on newer ships in the fleet.
Today, Navigator is the only Royal Caribbean ship deployed out of Los Angeles, operating 3-, 4-, and 7-night cruises to Baja California and the Mexican Riviera.
In mid-June, I went on a 7-night cruise that visited Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta and paid a little over $2,280 for two people to stay in an interior stateroom, including port fees and gratuities. This broke down to $1,140 each, or about $162 per night, per person.
To save a little extra money, I chose a guarantee rate, so I was not assigned my cabin until closer to the sail date.
Not only was this my first time on Navigator of the Seas, it was my first-ever cruise on a Voyager Class ship! Since this was going to be the oldest Royal Caribbean ship that I had ever sailed on, I was interested to see the condition of cabins that were over twenty-years-old!
The first thing I noticed upon walking into my stateroom was that there was a small loveseat that was not pushed up against one side of the wall. Instead, it stuck out in the already tight walkway of the 160 square foot cabin. I am glad that I had the beds separated, as I feel like the floor space would've been minimal if they were pushed together!
The length of the loveseat exceeded the length of the wall, meaning that even if we wanted to try to rearrange the layout, it would have been impossible.
Overall, I appreciated the lighter decor compared to the dark greens found in most staterooms on Freedom Class ships. It made the room feel newer than cabins I have stayed in on both Liberty and Freedom of the Seas.
Beside of each bed was a small nightstand that had a single drawer with additional storage space underneath.
While there were no outlets beside of the beds, there were two reading lights. Had the beds been pushed together, the nightstands would've been directly underneath them, rather than on the center of the wall.
The only two American outlets were located on the vanity. There was one additional European plug; however, neither my travel companion nor myself had an adapter. Thankfully, she brought a cruise line approved power strip, so we had access to multiple USB ports through a single outlet.
Since the plugs are located far away from the bed, I recommend bringing a longer cord, so you are able to use the device from bed!
The vanity area itself had plenty of storage, with nine drawers and two cabinets "hidden" behind the mirror. Above the television was the safe and another larger cabinet.
Stateroom mini-fridges are hit or miss in that some keep your beverages colder than others. While this was not the strongest mini-fridge I have had while on a cruise, it kept a couple bottles of water cool.
The bathroom in my inside cabin was exactly what I expected. Although it was dated, it had everything that was necessary.
There were two cups attached to the backsplash, and between the shelves behind the mirror and the large shelf underneath the sink, there was enough space to hold all of our toiletries, makeup, and hair products.
As someone who cruisers frequently, I was not surprised by the size of the shower; however, it was my travel companions first-ever cruise, and she could not get over how small showers are on ships!
In terms of closet space, there were plenty of hangers for both of us to hang everything that needed to be hung. That, coupled with the shelving, meant there was enough space to unpack a week's worth of clothes. Had the safe been in the closet like on other ships, we would have had one less shelf to use.
My stateroom (#8447) was located on Deck 8 in the forward of the ship. We loved the location because it was not a far walk from the elevator bank.
Plus, it was only three decks above the Royal Promenade, making our morning coffee commute relatively painless! Three decks above us was the pool deck, so we did not have to rely on elevators much at all.
While I am still a fan of the larger Royal Caribbean ships, I wouldn't hesitate to book another cruise on a Voyager Class ship, especially if the ports of call were places I had never visited before, such as those in the Mexican Riviera!
