The Navigator is in fine shape, but we forgot how small she is compared to the other ships – you get anywhere on board quickly. When we boarded we saw many staff we’ve known from past cruises and many still stick with this ship. Most have been on board since last fall and haven’t had much to do since the original post-pandemic sailing date kept being postponed. For some period the Navigator was a “quarantine ship” for NCLH crew with Covid.
There are only 115 guests on board for this cruise so 1 or 2 restaurants are closed most nights, including Compass Rose. It’s getting colder as we head north so the Pool Grill may not be open at night until we get closer to Bermuda at the end of the cruise, so we’ll get to finally use our 2022 World Cruise jackets with liners. There will be a real Top Tier event with a dinner in Prime 7. We got them to switch trivia to tea time, but they may switch back when the ship is full. They are also doing wine & food pairings at dinner instead of lunch, like we did on the Mariner.
For the Grand Arctic some current staff will leave before the cruise starts and return later or transfer to another ship. Ray Solaire will do the 1st 2 segments and he doesn’t know yet who will replace him. Michael Coghlan will return in August and the twins Shambu & Vishnu will be back mid-July. Bea and Odul may be moved to another ship.
Beginning Apr 24 the crew can start wearing the more comfortable cloth Regent logo masks instead of the N9 masks.
