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The Radisson Seven Seas Navigator is a sweet (suite) little ship. She has no staterooms, only large suites, and they're all outside. Ninety per cent of them have verandas.
Leave your balcony to look around your suite and you'll see even more to like. On many ships, it's easy to feel claustrophobic, but these suites are not just large, they're gigantic--for a ship anyway. Even the smallest is over 300 square feet, with room for a king-sized bed (or twins if you prefer), and even a walk-in closet with a safe.
Ours, a bit bigger than the standard suite, had a small mirrored vanity area in the bedroom, along with a generous separate sitting room next to it. The couch in it could hold six people, and across from it was an eye level TV/VCR. Maybe that doesn't seem like much, but on my last cruise, also a luxury liner, our cabin was so small that the only place for the TV was on top of the wardrobe closet. I came home with a stiff neck from watching the news on TV each night.
Our suite's bathroom was larger than our two baths at home. Usually, only one person can barely squeeze in to a ship's tiny bathroom, and showers are so small that you have to figure out how to wash all of you with your elbows squeezed against your sides. But these beautiful marble-accented bathroom are large enough to hold a spacious shower, and a full-sized bathtub. They could easily hold four people, if, for some reason, you wanted four people to be in your bathroom.
Which brings me to someone else you might not want, or at least need in your cabin. Many of the suites come with butlers, but we never could figure out what to ask ours to do. Take out some of the calories from the exceptional cuisine? Make each day two hours longer so we would have more time on this superb ship?
Most sane requests are taken care of by 24-hour room service, or the concierge. Still, I always wanted to have an English butler so I could say… "Jeeves, bring me…" Alas, this butler was French-Canadian and his name was Philippe.
This same non-claustrophobic feeling you get when you're in your cabin is true when you leave it. The main lounge for shows, a room large enough to hold all the passengers at one time, is two-tiered, so you don't feel as enclosed as you would in one large room.
The main area is an atrium, and the elevators are all glass-walled, so you can look out at three decks of airy lounges as you pass them. Upper deck lounges have large portholes offering sweeping views of the ocean. Even dining areas, which often have no views to the outside, all have portholes here so you can see the ocean while you're eating.
Most importantly, open seating at the restaurants takes away that feeling that you must eat at a certain time, the same time each day, with the same people. On this ship, you can choose your own dining time, and your own companions - or eat alone if you prefer. And while you're looking out the window, or talking to people you choose to eat with, the waiters will bring you free (non-premium) wine with your dinner.
Throughout the day, soft drinks and bottled water are all gratis, which may not seem like much, but someone I know recently spent $300 in one week on a cruise for their non-alcoholic libations alone. Radisson also gives you two free premium liquor bottles of your choice for the cruise to keep in the bar area of your suite, which also has a mini-refrigerator stocked with complimentary goodies. I told you these suites are large!
Those who want the freedom to smoke a cigar after dinner can go to the Connoisseur Club for an aromatic hand-rolled cigar. Or, if during the day, they'd rather be golfing than "stuck" inside, there are two driving cages right on board. For men who feel trapped in tuxedos, there was only one formal night on our voyage, and more than half the men wore business suits.
Even the size of this ship keeps you from feeling cramped. She's not so small that you go stir-crazy, for this largest of the Radisson fleet holds almost 500 passengers with about 350 in help. That puts it in the midrange of today's ships sidewise, although it's not mid-range price wise. It is expensive, or as the brochure states, "for discerning passengers." Still, there's no tipping, which makes it more affordable, and there are various specials on certain cruises, such as 2-1 rates and complimentary pre- and post- trips.
All in all, our cruise couldn't have been better. Since their Bermuda luxury cruises hadn't started yet, we took a six-day cruise to Cozumel, Grand Caymans and Key West. Throughout, we always found plenty of available deck chairs, all with comfortable cushioning; great people to talk to from all over the country (their air program is available from 84 American cities); and elegant and generous little touches, like wash clothes instead of paper towels in the public bathroom, free bottles of water to take with you as you go to ashore, and more.
The level of service was extraordinarily high, surprising considering their no-tipping policy. Something else we really liked was that it was a quiet ship. There were few intrusive announcements, no loud music at the pool, or pool personnel aggressively hawking drinks-all of which ruins many cruises these days. And if there were children on board, they did a terrific job of hiding them because we never found any.
What we did find, though, was always something to do - with the freedom not to do if we wished. Without ever feeling hemmed in.
RADISSON SEVEN SEAS CRUISES
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