Autumn Woes for Navigator

After 2 successful summers home ported in Southampton, Navigator of the Seas is going back to the U.S for good, to be replaced next year by Explorer of the Seas, her sister ship.

Her end of season has not gone well. On her half term cruise she hit rough seas in the Bay of Biscay and a very loud bang was heard in the early hours and crew seen scurrying around in life jackets with alarms going off. It transpired that a stabiliser had been damaged also causing damage to the hull and was letting in water. They were able to contain the leak enough to get the ship to Vigo where pumps were operated to get the water off and repairs made to the ship. This took over 24 hours and the itinerary had to be changed to make up the time, missing out Madeira and cutting down the time in other ports.

with the pools being out of use and some rooms flooded, guests were far from happy!!

Royal did their best to appease giving extra on board credit and 25% off a future cruise but for most, they didn’t go far enough.

The ship returned to Southampton on 5th November with many unhappy passengers, but her troubles were far from over!

Royal Caribbean’s chief weather officer had been monitoring the weather in the North Atlantic for her Transatlantic crossing leaving 5th November, due to call at Boston, New York and Port Canaveral before arriving at Miami for the Winter Season. Multiple storm activity detected forced a change of direction to a more southerly route, cancelling the North American ports and replacing them with Zeebrugge, Le Havre and Gran Canaria. This did not go down well and resulted in over 1000 cancellations.

I guess for passengers that decided to continue with the cruise they will have much more space on the ship and a more comfortable ride than if they went North and of course the cruise line have to prioritise safety and comfort of the guests above all else, so for me they made the right call in both situations.

What do you think?

Dee