need advice, 1st time cruiser
 

I am booked on RC Navigator in July. I want to book my flights but I am not sure if I should fly in the day before to be safe. The ship leaves Miami at 5pm. What time will I have to be at the Pier? Also, the ship gets back to Miami at 8:30 am. How long should it take to get off the ship? Can I make a 3pm flight at Miami airport? Thanks in advance.

Hi! You will love the Navigator. Lovely ship. Expect many kids in July, however. I don't think you need to book a day in advance, but if you wish to, go ahead. Book a hotel through priceline.com the day before. Personally, I would book that morning and get cruise insurance, should a hurricane be likely. I usually book a flight which arrives about 10-11. They open the lines about 11:30 and you can usually board by 12. You really have lots of flexibility in boarding- if your flight gets delayed and you can't board till 6 for weather problems, the ship will wait. You should schedule a flight no earlier than 11 for your return.3 pm you will sit for 3 hours! You can get tags at the Purser's desk for early departure if you want to be the first to leave. You sound like a new cruiser; please go to cruisecritic.com and read some reviews and tips. You might want to pack makeup, medicines, shorts or swimsuit for your first hours. Some times it takes several hours before your luggage gets to your room. Have a great time!

Thanks for the advice. I actually won this cruise so I don't know if I can purchase trip insurance. I am traveling without my kids, is there an adults only pool? I have a cabin D balcony, is this a good location? Any other tips are appreciated,thanks again.

Wow! You won a balcony on the Navigator, how great! Yes, there is an adult-only pool in the Solarium. You can get insurance to cover any of your expenses, such as flights, hotel, etc. I would ask about the other. I've had good luck with CSA- check them out. I usually pay about 50 dollars per person for the cruise, flights and pre-hotel.
Again, check out the Royal Caribbean board on Cruisecritic.com for many good tips. Sign up there, then go to the "Mix and Mingle" board and meet others who will be on your cruise- a fun way to meet people and get good travel ideas. We've done the Voyager class ships 5 times now and just love them!

I just got back from a cruise on Princess out of Fort Lauderdale. You don't mention where you are flying from, but I would be careful flying in the same day. Several passengers from Boston missed our ship due to a snowstorm and had to make their own arrangements to fly to St. Thomas to catch up with us two days later. We waited, but according to the captain, could not wait for long. They missed the ship by 10 minutes.

We are from western Canada so we have little choice but to arrive the day before. You can find many economical hotels that offer shuttles from the airport and to the cruise ship as well as breakfast.

We were able to embark between 1pm and 4:30, although we heard that people were getting on sooner.

Coming back, the cruise ship will order the disembarkation by flight times (in my experience anyways). If you have an early flight, you will get off the ship at the beginning. Last year our mid sized cruise ship got into Miami by 7am and we were at the airport by 10am. It is a short cab ride. 3pm should be no problem and you will likely want to leave the airport quickly since it is very busy when the cruise ships come in.
Don't cut it too short though, our flight back was overbooked and some people who had plane tickets got bumped just because they arrived late.

Have a fun cruise, I'm sure you will have a great time.

Lucky you! We love the Navigator. I, too, recommend getting into Miami a day early. We have started to do this, ever since we were on a cruise out of San Juan. So many people with so many horror stories of trying to get to the ship on time. The ship did not wait. We were told that they would only wait if there were quite a few ship's passengers stuck on a late flight that had been booked for them by the cruise line. Good Luck and enjoy!