Mariner Review 1/16/05-1/23/05

PROLOGUE

I'm going to try not to make this too long. Let me start by saying that I cruised with my mom(62), my dad(60), my brother Buzz(25), Buzz's girlfriend Nicole(now fiance, 24), my son David(15), and my other son Michael(17). I am 36. Michael is handicapped. He has cerebral palsy and is totally blind. He is confined to a wheelchair.

We live in upstate NY, near Albany. We decided to drive down on Thursday so we could spend a couple of days near the beach before the cruise. Buzz and Nicole were flying down on Friday. The main reason we drive down is because of everything that we bring for Michael. The last thing I need is for any of his expensive equipment to get lost. But, after our trip down and our trip back, I have changed my mind. I will fly from now on.

We left on Thursday around 6 a.m. We were making pretty good time and it looked like we would make it to Fayetteville, NC around 6 p.m.(where we were staying overnight). Shortly after we crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge, just after entering Baltimore, there was an accident on I-95 that closed all four lanes. There were signs that instructed you to get off an exit to avoid it, but, by the time we got there, traffic was backed up 3 or 4 miles before this exit. We had to stop and wait for about 2 1/2 hours. After finally getting through(by the time we made it to the detour exit, the lanes were open), we headed south. Of course, now, we hit Washington, D.C. rush hour traffic. The traffic slowed us up. When we entered NC at around the time we expected to get to Fayetteville, it started raining. And, it was raining hard. We had to slow down to about 45-50 mph. We finally arrived at the Red Roof Inn on exit 49 at around 11 p.m. We were very tired and cranky. The red Roof was fairly new, so it was very clean. We left the next morning around 7 after having breakfast at the Cracker Barrell next door. And we had more rain. The rain lasted just about the entire way down to Florida.

We had made reservations at Ron Jon's Cape Caribe Resort. We arrived there around 4. The resort is beautiful. We had two studio villas. There is a bed, sitting area with a pull out sofa, a kitchentte supplied with everything you could need, and a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. The grounds were beautiful and the pool area was cool. It was a short walk on the property to get to the beach. At the end of the hall on our floor, we could watch the ships leaving port. I would stay here again in a heart beat. Although, I wasn't crazy about the area surrounding the resort. Since it is right there at the port, it is very industrial like. But, it was a short drive to Cocoa Beach. I think I would actually stay here if I was going to Disney. The rooms were about $130/night. These are time shares, so you do not get any maid service.

After checking in and getting ourselves settled, it was time to go and pick up Nicole and Buzz at the airport. Dad and I went. It took about 45 minutes to get there. Their plane had been delayed leaving Albany, so they arrived at 7:45 instead of 6;15. They flew Southwest and had a straight through flight. We headed back to the resort and had dinner in the restaurant there at about 9:30. We were all very tired by this time, so we all headed to bed. By the way, it was still raining on and off and it was pretty darn cold for Florida.

On Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at Grills, which is right on the water. The food was very good, portions were huge, and prices were very low. After breakfast, we headed to Cocoa Beach. The sun was out, but it was still kind of chilly. We went to Ron JOn's Surf shop(we figured we just had to go there as we were staying at the resort!) where I spent more than I should have. I did find a very nice sarong for over my bathing suit. We walked to the beach and stayed there for a few minutes. My mom was sitting with MIchael at the top of the beach as we couldn't get his stroller through the sand. Some weird guy with a can of beer in a paper bag sat down near here to keep her company! He was nice enough, just weird. He did inform all of us that he had been on every RCI ship and that we would love the Mariner! Yeah, right! Anyway, after playing in the surf for a little while, we went to the Publix to get some soda and nail clippers(left the darn things home). Then, we decided to go to OLd Historic Cocoa Beach. This was about a 20 minute drive. We found some lovely shops near the water there. I managed to spend more money at a store called "Green Apples" on a purse I absolutely didn't need, but really liked. It rained again while we were walking. We headed back to the resort in the afternoon. We decided to go to dinner at Durango's, a steak house. It was pretty good.

Let me mention here that Michael is a comedian. He can also have some behavior problems that can be very annoying. So, we made him a set of rules for this vacation. They were as follows:

1.) No yelling

2.) No banging on the walls

3.) You must sleep at night

4.) You must eat all of your food

5.) You must have fun

We had to revise this slightly and added the next two rules:

6.) No hitting or pinching

7.) No throwing your toys overboard

To give you a taste of what he was like all week, the only two rules he DID NOT break were 5 and 7. I guess you hav eto know Michael to understand what it was like. I'm sure there are people who were on board the ship who remember them.

Anyway, at Durango's, he was wild. He has a little keyboard that he takes everywhere and he was playing it. When he doesn't want to play with a toy anymore, he throws it. We have gotten pretty good at catching them before they hit the floor. Well, we missed one. He through his keyboard(we just call it Little Piano) as a busboy was walking behind him with a dish bucket. Yup, it landed right in the dish bucket. That poor busboy gave Michael a wide berth for the rest of the night! Our waiter, who was also a Michael, was wonderful. We even had someone from the kitchen stop by to say hi to him. It was an interesting dinner. But, the food was good.

After dinner, we went back to the resort to get ready for the ship the next day. Earlier that evening, we had watched the Sovereign of the Seas, the Carnival Glory, and the Disney Magic leave port. That was very cool.

Ok. I guess this review is going to be longer than I thought it would! I'm going to take a break and come back later.

P.S. My best friend and her husband, Steph and Rob, were originally supposed to come with us on this cruise, but Rob's mom, who had been battling cancer for the last year, got really ill. They had to take a lot of time off to take care of her and had to cancel their trip. She passed away two days after Christmas. You may see me mention them in this review.

Wow! A great review so far. I can't wait to read the rest of it!

Lisa

looking forward to reading the rest of your view and getting a perspective of taking an older child who has special needs on teh boat as we may be faced with that same thing with a friend of ours. who has a son who is about Micheals age.

We woke up early the next morning. I can't help it. Whenever I go on vacation, I am always up at the crack of dawn. I saw the Disney Wonder and one of the Carnival ships come in to port. I can't remember now which Carnival ship it was now. We saw a few over the week. I really wanted to see the Mariner come in, but, wouldn't you know that she would come in while I was in the shower. While everyone else was waking up still, I went to Dunkin Donuts to get breakfast. The weather was cold, windy, and rainy again. This certainly wasn't the Florida weather I was used to.

After we ate and packed the van up, it was only just before 10. I knew that it would be too early to go to the port, so, we sat in the lobby of the resort till about 10:30. We headed over to the port, which only took about 5-10 minutes. There were still people getting off the ship. There was a little confusion as to where I was supposed to go to drop everyone off with the luggage. Apparently, I wasn't paying attention and I stopped where the buses are supposed to stop. We were almost unloaded when someone started yelling at me that I was in the wrong spot. We ignored him and finished what we were doing. We didn't take more than 10 minutes to unload everything. Then, while everyone was waiting with the luggage, I went to park the van. It costs $10/day to park your car. I was able to get in the covered parking on the ground level. Then, I ran to meet up with everyone. By the time I got there, they had sent the luggage on and were waiting in line.

I took about 10 minutes to check in. My other son, David, was booked in with my parents. I had booked an E2 handicapped cabin. The only complaint I have about the cabin is this: There are two twin beds. There is a sofa, but they don't fold out into a bed. Had it been just me and my sons, we would have had to go a category higher to get all of us in it. I think, especially with a handicapped cabin, they should at least have a pull out sofa and allow a third person in.

Anyway, after checking in, a very nice lady came and got Michael and I so we could board ahead of everyone else. She took hold of his wheelchair and brought us on board. We were told to wait in the lounge on the ship for the rest of the gang. So, Mike and I waited in the Bolero's lounge. We only had to wait about 15 minutes before everyone else joined us. We were on board by 11:30. It was easy as pie.

Let me make mention that this is my second cruise. I have cruised on the Voyager before, so I knew what to expect as far as the size of the ship. Nicole has cruised Disney before. But, no one else with us had ever cruised before. They were in awe of the size of her. The decor was absolutely gorgeous.

Our cabins wouldn't be ready until 1 p.m., but we were told to go to Deck 3 to the Melodies room where we could put our carry ons until we could get to our cabin. I should add that, in addition to his wheelchair, we brought Michael's stroller(it is oversized and folds up). His wheelchair doesn't fold up, and we were going on an excursion that we would need something that folds up. The stroller isn't comfortable enough for everyday use, so we had to bring both.

After dropping off our carry ons, we headed to the Windjammer for lunch. Let me say here that we did not have any problems with any food at all on this ship. The food in the Windjammer is typical buffet food, but it was good. My mom really enjoyed the food at Jade(Asian). Since the Windjammer and Jade are buffets, I don't know what some people who are so critical were expecting there. Michael is a fanatic of cheeseburgers. Unfortunately, he was so keyed up that he didn't even attempt to eat. He was yelling, throwing his toys, and pinching me while we ate this day. I have some scratches and scars to prove it! So, it was a trying experience and I was worried that this was what it was going to be like all week.

After lunch, I went with Michael to guest relations to inquire about in cabin babysitting. I wanted to get a sitter for 3 nights, both formal nights and one night that we would be going to Portofino's. I had no problems getting one. She didn't even question that Michael was handicapped. She just asked if there were any medications that he takes. I told her that I would give his medications before leaving him. Michael is not on regular medications per say. He will sometimes stay awake all night. At home, it's not too bad to deal with, but, on the ship, I didn't want this to happen. My parents were on one side of us, but strangers were on the other side. When he stays awake all night, he will play with toys and sing. He can be loud. This is usually where the banging on the wall rule comes in. At home, he will do that to get our attention. So, I asked his doctor what I could give him and she told me to just give him Benadryl. He also has a permanent dislocated hip. So, he usually gets Tylenol with his Benadryl. Anyway, we got the sitter booked.

We went to our cabins about 1. Let me just say that the handicapped cabins are huge! I had this same category cabin(E2) on the Voyager and the difference is tremendous. There is a spot just inside the door where I was able to store his stroller unfolded. The bathroom is handicapped equipped with plenty of bars. There is a fold out seat in the Shower. The shower has a regular shower head as well as a hand held one. Under the sink there is a knee button for someone in a wheelchair to push. In addition to the twin beds(we asked to have them separated), there is a sofa and chair and a small coffee table. The desk/vanity is across from the bed. I could fit 2+ wheelchairs in the width between the foot of the bed and the desk. Most balconies in this category can fit 2 chairs and a small round table. Ours had 3 chairs, a small round table, and a lounge chair. We told our cabin steward(his name started with Dios, but I never did catch the rest of it) that David would also be sleeping in this cabin. David, who is 5'10" tall, tried out the sofa and said he would be ok sleeping on that. Yeah, his feet hung way off, but he didn't care. He said it was comfortable enough. Kids are more versatile, I guess.

All of our luggage was in the cabin by 2:30. We were completely unpacked by 3:30. Everyone else had taken off to wander the ship, but Mike and I stayed at the cabin to prepare for the muster drill. That was a trip! Mike did not enjoy putting the life vest on. He kept trying to get it off. But, he did ok. We all did the muster drill and set about wandering around the ship. Mom had already gone to the dining room to make sure that all of us were at the same table. I remember from the Voyager that there was a band playing on the pool deck and loads of people up there for sail away. Well, the weather was horrible, so, the had the band on the promenade instead. We went to Deck 11 where part of it is covered for sailaway.

I have to back track here for a minute. I am a nut when it comes to preparing for a trip. Since there were so many of us that had not cruised before, I decided to do a bunch of things. We made t-shirts for everyone to wear. On the back, it said "Mariner of the Seas - January 16, 2005. Did we take a picture of all of us wearing them? Noooo! And, since we were all wearing sweatshirts, no one commented on them either. Our friends, Steph and Rob, who were also supposed to go with us, got t-shirts as well. I just left those blank on the back so they can add whatever cruise we go on next. I also made cruise cds for everyone and a cruise journal for each cabin. We had tropical leis and pastel plastic champagne glasses. I also made door signs for each cabin as well as magnets for the doors.

We went to the Cafe Promenade for a snack. We ate many little sandwiches here all week. Mike developed a great fondness for the chocolate chip cookies. We just kind of hung out there for a while and people watched. We went to the Welcome Aboard show at 8 p.m. It was good. Simeon Baker was our cruise director and he was pretty funny. The show gave a glimpse of what the shows during the week would be like. After the show, we went to dinner. We had table 280 in the Rhapsody dining room. Our waiter was Karla and our Assistant waiter was Nicolina(sp?). They were both excellent all week. Very friendly. Karla remembered all of our names and Nicolina remembered all of our drinks except Mom's, but that's because Mom had something different each night.

For dinner tonight, I had the Vidalia Onion Tart as an app. It was basically a slice of quiche made with Vidalia onions. It was very good. I chose a caesar salad each night. My entree was the Royal Filet of Cod. Now, I am not a big seafood eater. But, I was determined to try new foods this week. Well, I wasn't crazy about the cod, but Mom had it and said it was very good. It just wasn't for me. When I talk about the meals, I will primarily state what I had as that was the only one that I ever wrote down! I forgot to write down what everyone else had.

Michael was realtively good for dinner. He got a little loud a couple of times, but not too bad. After dinner, we went to the Promenade to watch the Welcome Aboard parade. That was pretty cool. I was so impressed with the costumes all week from the shows. They are very professional. By the time the parade was over, we were beat. We went back to the cabin to go to bed.

Earlier in the evening, Mom and Dad had taken David to the teen club. There was someone there to greet him and introduced him to some of the other kids that were there. After dinner, he went back to Fuel for a sail away party for the teens. I rarely saw David all week! Between the activities that he did and the arcade, he was quite busy! He got back to the cabin about 12:30 that night.

I had told him prior to this trip that I would be giving him a curfew each night and that the time would be determined by any activities that were planned. This first night, he told me that the parties in Fuel each night lasted until about 2 a.m. So, I adjusted my curfew to allow him to stay there until 2. He only broke curfew one night.

The crew on the Mariner were amazing. Everyone was very helpful with Michael and they were all very nice. I could tell that the week was going to go well.

Still to come....Day Two

This is a great review so far! We'll be on the Mariner in March. Can't wait to read the rest:)

I'm really enjoying your review, keep it coming!

We just booked the 1/15/06 sailing of the Mariner THIS MORNING and I'm already counting the days until we board!! I already KNOW we'll have an AMAZING cruise!!!

Hi Jules:

Great review...wow...detailed! I wish that I had found more time to visit with you....I just ran past you one day on the pool deck and introduced myself and said hello...then I didn't run into you again.

With just reading what you have posted so far, it sounds like you really enjoyed the week. My friends and I had a wonderful week....even though one person in our group got sick. We still all enjoyed the cruise and are ready to go again!

Keep the details coming...I'm waiting to here how the rest of the week went for you!

Take Care

some review, how can you remember all those little details!!! lol

Keep in coming!

Being a pharmacist, I've had experience with special needs children and adults. The family has to "give their all" to care for these individuals. Going on vacations with them is usually the last challenge they need. Vacations for the family is ususally a "break" from the situation.

I applaud you for giving your Michael a chance to vacation as a family. Anyone with kids knows that "vacations with your kids" is not really a vacation, just moving what you normally do at home to another location! To do this with a special needs child take more love and devotion than most of us will know in a lifetime!

Our turn on the Mariner is a little less than 4 months away! I look forward to the rest of your review!

Jacquelyn :D

I love the reveiw, I think that its great detail.

thanks for taking the time to write this review

Great review so far. I can't wait for the rest. We'll be going on the Mariner in June!! We're all soooo excited!!

I agree -- excellent review! I too can't wait to read the rest. We'll be on Mariner in March 2006.

Just didn't edit too well while eating lunch! :o

Jacquelyn: Thank you for your lovely comments. I have been taking care of my son for all of his 17 years. He goes on all of our family vacations. He especially likes Nascar vacations! Once every five years, my best friend and I go on a girls only vacation, so I do get a little break!

Kim: It was nice meeting you. I have to tell you that we bought the cheesy Cruise in Review video because my brother, my dad, and my son were on it. I saw you many times on there! You were definitely having a good time!

Thank you to everyone else who commented on this review. I am able to remember all of the details because I keep a journal when on vacation and I write in it every night. Ok, here goes Day Two.

Before we left for this cruise, my friends Steph and Rob made a scavenger hunt for us. Since they weren't able to come, they wanted to stay involved as well. We had one thing that we had to find each day and have our pictures taken with it. Some things we had to find information on. We had a bonus task to list every drink of the day and its ingredients. I will not mention what we did for the scavenger hunt in this review, but if anyone would like the list, please feel free to e-mail me and I will send it to you. It is specific to the Mariner.

We went to the Windjammer for breakfast today. After, we worked on our scavenger hunt. We got frustrated with this as there was one item that Dad had seen on the first day, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. We searched everywhere and couldn't find it. It was getting on our nerves!

After we searched for a while, we got our bathing suits on and went to the pool deck. The wind was awful! It was almost not enjoyable because of it. I took Michael in the hot tub. For those that are interested, there is a lift into one hot tub and one pool. I didn't take Mike into the pool as the water was a little too cold for him. But, I didn't notice the lift for the hot tub until it was too late. You do have to ask a crew member for assistance with it. Luckily, Mike only weighs about 70 pounds, so it was easy enough for me to get him in the hot tub. He loved the hot tub. He was in there for about an hour. From the hot tub, we watched the Men's Belly Flop contest. That was pretty funny. After a little while, we got out of the hot tub and had our first foo foo drink. A Mango Tango. How delicious! David had a non-alcoholic one.

We watched the line dance lessons for a while. That looked like fun. I would have liked to have done it, but I have to have a few drinks in me before I will attempt to dance! We went to the cafe promenade for lunch. Love those little sandwiches! After lunch, I took Mike back to the cabin so he could lie down for a while. I proceeded to fall asleep on the balcony. So, we were in the cabin until dinner. This was the first formal night, so, I had a sitter for Mike. Her name was Lydia and she is from Jamaica. She got there about 7:45. Did I mention that we had late seating for dinner? Anyway, I am always nervous that people will feel a little intimidated by Mike, but I didn't have to worry. Lydia was very nice. Mike was sitting in the armchair in the room eating his dinner when she got there. I explained to her how to lift him into bed and asked her if she would have a problem with this. I told her that I could wait until he was done eating and lift him in myself. She told me not to worry, that she would be able to do it. Sure enough, when I got back that night, he was in bed sound asleep. Lydia said that he laughed at her a lot because she couldn't remember what I had told her he would say when he was ready for bed. She also wasn't sure what he called some of his toys and he thought that was pretty funny as well. I think he liked her accent.

We were all dressed very nicely tonight for formal night. David looked handsome in his suit. For dinner tonight I had Chilled Grilled Pear Nectar soup, Caesar salad, Beef Tenderloin(filet mignon) with a peppercorn sauce and mashed potatoes. I skipped dessert tonight as I just couldn't put anything else in me. It was all delicious. The beef was cooked to perfection and melted in my mouth.

After dinner, David went back to the cabin to change his clothes and he took off for his teen things. I had Lydia tonight until midnight and I had asked David to come back to the cabin at that time so I could go and see the comedian. We went to Ellington's first to listen to the band. They were called "The M.I.T. Band". They were pretty good. At 11p.m., we headed to the Lotus Lounge for the Karoake Idol Search. There were some pretty good ones there and some pretty bad ones! The guy that sang Mac the Knife was outstanding. So was the guy who sang Blue Suede Shoes. At 12, I went back to the cabin to pay Lydia and let her get some sleep. By the way, a sitter costs $8 an hour. I gave her an extra hour's pay because anyone who watches Mike deserves it! David came back and I headed to the theater for the comedian.

The comedian this night was Derrick Cameron. He was pretty good. We laughed a lot. When he was done, I went back to the cabin and went to bed. I couldn't wait for the next day. We were going to be at Labadee and I like going there. I was ready for a beach day!

Let me add that Buzz had bought an engagement ring for Nicole and it was stored in my safe. I thought he would propose tonight, being all dressed up. I couldn't get him alone to ask him when he was going to do it. Nicole was always with him.

Also, Captain Johnny was great. He gave a very funny speech on the Promenade before dinner. I really like him. Every day, when he came over the loudspeaker, he would offer his chinese friends' piece of advice for the day. He is much better than the one we had on the Voyager. For anyone that has sailed with him, you'll remember this:

"Good morning, good morning, good morning. This is Captain Johnny speaking from the bridge". Michael love hearing this every morning. He is still saying it now!

I have to go back to work tonight, so the rest of this review will be done daily.

Tomorrow.....Day Three

My DH and I are also NASCAR fans. He likes Dale Earnhart JR and I like Dale Jarrett. We go to the race in Atlanta every year in the fall.

Looking forward to your next installment!

Jacquelyn :D

Excellent review so far.

Looking forward to the rest of it. Can hardly wait until we board.

Who was the CD?

LLM (Lisa) how are you? I have the Mariner booked for September.

wow this is wonderful. We have a party of 16 heading out to Orlando on Feb 8 and boarding Mariner on the 13th. Since we have 4 families going and such a wide variety of ages (also two 15 yrs olds thanks for the heads up on the late night activities) I was wondering if you could send the scavenger hunt. That would be an absolute blast. Also thanks for the ideas about the magnets. We are having t shirts made up and I am planning on getting some leis as well. Too bad we couldnt have been on the ship at the same time, sounds like we certainly think alike.

WONDERFUL review, keep it coming!!!!!!!!

I love this review! You are doing a great job of telling us all about the ship, your activities and your family all in a unique way.

I have been on the Mariner before, so I am having a wonderful time following along with your vacation. I have a question though...several people have been mentioning Ellington's in their reviews. My DH and I don't remember Ellington's, so I looked on the ship's layout and cannot find it. Where is it?

Please, please don't make us wait to find out about the engagement. :( My daughter and boyfriend are going on a cruise in one month. We are hoping that he will propose to her while they are sailing. I can't wait to find out how Buzz proposed to Nicole. :)

Jules: I love everything you have posted...you are fantastic with this review!

Good morning, Good morning, Good morning....I love that! Isn't Captain Johnny fantastic! When we boarded the Mariner on Sunday, Captain Johnny was the first person we saw...he was eating lunch in the Windjammer! He is the most visible Captain I have ever had on a cruise ship...and the most entertaining!

When you have a chance, would you please email to me the scavenger hunt list? I love that idea and we are going back on the Mariner in October this year. I would love for my gang to play a scavenger hunt during the week. My email is snowgirl771@yahoo.com

Thanks

Agree, excellent review :D :D Thanks, looking forward to reading your next installment!

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I am thoroughly enjoying your review. We will be cruising on the Mariner 3/27. We are also booked at Ron Jon's Caribe Resort...however we are paying 209.00 a night for the same type room...probably because it is Easter weekend. Thank you for the positives about Ron Jon's. I have read alot of negatives and was a little worried. I also applaud you for taking your son. I am a nurse and have worked with patients like your son. I would love a copy of the scavengar hunt. My email is unique41015@yahoo.com

Love your review! We'll be on the Mariner in April and doing the western cruise, too. Looking forward to the next installment.

Joan D.

We will be on the Mariner in May. What really gets to me is what a good mother to Mike. I am a family Psychologist and am attending med school. I have always had a fondness in my heart for special needs individuals. I really applaud you,I know it is difficult sometimes. You are a great mom. I hope mike loved his time on the Mariner. God Bless you...:cool: sorry if my typing is a little off,I have been up for the last 26 hours studying and conducting counseling sessions.:D

Blueice (Wendy),

Hi! Long time no see! I have tried to e-mail you several times but they don't seem to be getting to you. Did you change the address? You're going on the Mariner. That is awesome! I'm sure that you will love it. Send me an e-mail when you get a chance.

Lisa

DarlingNancy...when are you going in May? I'll be on the 5/22 Western Mariner. You could really use a break from med school! Good luck with it!

JG...where do you work? I noticed on your profile you are a LPN. Working the evening shift can be tough!

Hope you get some time to sneak in your next installment. I also keep a "journal" of what happens on the cruise. I also keep "clean" copies of the Compasses to refer to later.

Did you have to ask RCL for a "special needs" sitter or did you just explain the situation and they sent someone to you? I'm glad they had someone Michael could relate to and allow you some precious "time on your own". I'm sure your younger son is of help also, but needed "his" vacation too!

Looking forward to your next installment!

Jacquelyn :D