FINALLY! Navigator of the Seas Transpacific Sailing to Tokyo

It had been a long year's wait for this trip . . . and now that I'm back home and writing about it . . . it already seems like it was months ago.  The cruise itself was 15 nights, but 16 on the calendar due to crossing the International Date Line as we headed west.  We actually skipped right over Thursday, October 8th.  Now THAT was weird!  It was quite efficient having us set our clocks back an hour nearly every night.  By the time we made it to the first port in Japan (Hakodate) on day #13, I was fully on local time and sleeping through the nighttime hours.

Lots of people I met didn't seem to have it so easy, with long afternoon naps necessary to make it through the day only to then find themselves wide awake struggling to avoid the casino.

For me, the key is having a room with natural daylight.  With several cruises under my belt, I now know having an oceanview room helps with my body's sleep cycle.  I enjoyed waking up in the morning to some pretty nice sights, especially once we approached Japan and our four ports.

Check out the view coming into Shimizu (day #16) before sunrise, with Mt. Fuji in the distance.  Our captain had told us the night before that the skies were expected to be clear so a lovely view at sunrise should be possible.  It sure did not disappoint! 

About my cabin, the standard size oceanview is really quite adequate for me traveling solo.  Even when Pam & I were sailing together, with the bed separated into two twins, I think we found the space to be sufficient.  Here are photos of my stateroom (#3722, which was on deck 3 mid/aft).

This was my view a little later in the morning as we approached the port in Shimizu on day #16.  I saw several lighthouses and channel lights as we approached each port.

As with my transatlantic cruise from Portugal to Florida last October, Royal Caribbean and their crew did an exceptional job with providing plenty of activities and entertainment for guest of all ages.  While admittedly these long sailings seemingly attract an older (retired?) crowd, there were a fair amount of families and children on board.  This particular cruise had an organized group of home schooled kids, so it was interesting to see how their activities were put together to support their leaning objectives.

Speaking of learning opportunities on the ship . . . one of the coolest things on these long repositioning cruises is the Enrichment Series Programs.  This cruise featured four which were all very interesting and educational.  They ranged from five to nine sessions spread out across our 10 sea days.

Amber, Mel and Ann all did a fabulous job providing some great information.  I especially found Amber's series to be particularly timely, as several of her day's content was focused on helpful information for first-time visitors to Japan.  More than once, I found myself referring back to screenshots of things she shared during her presentations.

Mel's "Inside Television" series was not only nostalgic but also enlightening in terms of what goes on "behind the scenes" of television.

Getting to spend some time with Ann over lunch in Lake Toya during an excursion added some extra insight into her interest and experience with the ocean and its sea life.

But by far, my favorite series on this ship was the "Presidents & Their First Ladies:  Dramatically Speaking" by William & Sue Willis.  They brought to life nine different stories, each with a historical tie to Japan, told from the perspective of a US President and his wife.  I of course loved Theodore & Edith Roosevelt, but the others were exceptionally portrayed as well.

There was of course entertainment throughout the day and into the evening.  Trivia contests seemed to always been happening throughout the day, as well as live music and dancing in the evening.  The ship's crew were often part of the actual entertainment activities whether they were hosting a Questions & Answers session with guests or doing silly contests like the Horse Races on the pool deck or Dancing with the Stripes in Studio B.

 

Royal Caribbean also does several game shows throughout each sailing to engage and entertain folks.  This was the first time I had seen The Price is Right, which seemed to be more about getting guests to "buy in" and win the opportunity to "come on down" to the stage to play one of the classic games seen on the daytime TV show.

Since Navigator of the Seas is one of the mid-sized ships in Royal Caribbean's Voyager class, it doesn't have a lot of the "big ship" bells and whistles like Broadway shows or an aqua theater.  That said, it does have the aforementioned Studio B which doubles as an ice arena and small entertainment venue.  The ice show iSkate Reach for the Stars was exceptional.  And while I attended it three times over the course of my time on board, I never really got any decent photos to share in this blog.  Guests are also invited to schedule skate time if they are interested in getting out on the ice for a few rounds of the rink.

Most evenings there was "headliner" entertainment in the main theater.  Some of the acts were Vegas style performers and very good.  Most of them were also scheduled for an afternoon matinee show later in the cruise.  I thoroughly enjoyed the Vegas Tenors as well as Mark Preston, formerly of The Lettermen.

 

I also found the magician and illusionist Joseph Réohm to be exceptionally entertaining.  Having been on Penn & Teller's Fool Us, he's no slouch when it comes to slight of hand magic  A couple of days after his evening performances, he did an afternoon workshop teaching a couple of basic tricks.  The kids loved it!


I'll wrap up this post with video from the Dancing with the Stripes contest.