Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas will call Galveston, Texas year-round starting in the winter of 2013, after she undergoes a refurbishment.
Navigator of the Seas will offer seven-night western Caribbean cruises after she enters drydock in February 2014 as part of Royal Caribbean's effort to update every cruise ship in the fleet.
During Navigator of the Seas' time in drydock, she will receive
- FlowRider surf simulator
- Giovanni’s Table
- Park Café
- Izumi Asian Cuisine
- Virtual Balconies for select interior staterooms
- New panoramic oceanview staterooms – featuring full-length, floor-to-ceiling windows
- Outdoor oversized movie screen overlooking the main pool
- Royal Babies and Tots Nursery
- New Diamond Lounges for suite and Crown & Anchor Society members
- Cupcake Cupboard
- WiFi throughout the ship
- flat-panel televisions in all staterooms
- interactive signage
Royal Caribbean executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, Lisa Bauer, commented on the news, "We are thrilled to be homeporting Navigator of the Seas, with her new enhancements and first at-sea amenities year-round in Galveston. As part of our commitment to delivering the most innovative and contemporary vacation experiences to guests, the iconic FlowRider, as well as the new Virtual Balconies, will be among a new range of amenities being introduced aboard the Voyager class of ships – making every ship our best ship. These exciting and unmatched onboard amenities on Navigator of the Seas, offer adventurous family vacationers many opportunities to be WOW’ed in ways that only Royal Caribbean can deliver.”
Two of the new features, the virtual balconies and panoramic oceanview staterooms, are features that Royal Caribbean is "live testing" aboard Navigator of the Seas to get the technology ready for Quantum of the Seas, which will be under construction at the time.
