Royal Caribbean: Navigator of the Seas July, 2022

Baja Mexico, Ensenada; 3 nights

Hello again, Curvy Cruisers! We are back with our first cruise since 2017!! Time flies when you’re in lockdown? No. No it doesn’t. Cruising is back with a vengeance ya’ll. More and more people are booking cruises and some companies are booking out through 2025! I don’t know about you, but I can’t plan my life out that far.

Anyway, for our first cruise back we decided to try a tiny little holiday weekend cruise with a line we’ve never sailed with before, Royal Caribbean. This cruise left from Los Angeles, stopped in Ensenada and came back to Los Angeles. Very short, but a really great way to dip your toe into cruising if you never have.

When comparing room types, we were surprised to see the Junior suite wasn’t much more than a balcony cabin, so of course we booked the suite. Room 9134, for those that are interested.

**This cruise was earlier this year, so Royal was still requiring proof of negative covid tests and vaccination. Since then, most cruise lines have dropped their restrictions, and also don’t require masks on board. You can, of course, choose to wear one if you are immune compromised like myself, or just extra cautious.

The cabin:

The junior suite is incredibly spacious! (As it should be). You have your choice of a king size bed or two twin size beds, split. Aside from that, the suite not only includes a pull out sofa (size of sofa depends on # of people in room), but an additional super comfy chair that may or may not come with an ottoman.

Our super roomy Junior suite!

Now, lets talk bathroom.

As you can imagine, the bathroom is larger in this room, being a suite. We had no issues closing the door to use the sink, toilet or shower. The suite has a shower/tub combo which you don’t see in normal sized staterooms. No flooding the bathroom floor here!

This is the largest bathroom I’ve ever had on a cruise, ya’ll. It was GLORIOUS.

We didn’t exit the ship in Ensenada, only because we’d been there so often. We took this opportunity to stay on and go swimming. There is plenty of seating all over the ship, all of which are plus size passable. (What? I like alliteration)

The cabin cons:

The bed: Since this is an older ship, the bed isn’t the best. It was very stiff and a little disappointing considering it was a suite.

The toilet: Just like the Disney cruise, the space around the toilet isn’t as large as it could be. For those of us who have a larger bottom half, it could feel like a hug you don’t really want.

Balcony time! I’m noticing a trend on these older ships where the side to side dimensions of the balconies (length? width? I don’t know) are nice and large but from door to ocean, they are so freaking narrow. I know they can make these wider because I’ve seen it! It’s not a huge problem because we are just happy to have a balcony, but it could be bigger. I always say that, don’t I? I just like a spacious balcony, it’s my favorite part of a cruise if I’m being honest. It only slightly beats out the food.

Jamie’s Italian Specialty restaurant: So, we booked one specialty dining for lunch because it was really cheap. You can order as much as you want off of this menu and the lunch was less than $40 total including gratuity. We did book this ahead of time because it’s always cheaper to do that. The food was incredible. No complaints whatsoever. They did give us a table right by the window so we had that gorgeous view of the ocean so we could eat and watch the world go by. My one complaint here is the chairs. The chairs here are made of wood and don’t have any cushion or padding, so they are extremely uncomfortable. That said, you’re only there for an hour and a half, 2 hours so the food is worth it. It is definitely something to consider when making a reservation though because, I won’t lie, my butt hurt by the end of the meal.

LOOK at this PLANK of meat!

Absolutely gorgeous.

All in all, our first cruise back was nice and relaxing. We are ready for our next cruise. It’s going to be an 80’s themed cruise you guys! I’m so excited. It leaves from San Diego in February and I cannot wait. We hope to bring you ship tours, room tours, and show you all the good and bad all on our youtube channel. Socials at the top and bottom of the page if you would like to follow along. We’ll see you next time, lovelies!