My thoughts on our 5/1/05 sailing on Mariner of the Seas

After reading all of the fabulous reviews on this site before my cruise, I feel like it is only fair that I post some of my thoughts about our cruise that we just finished. We were on the Mariner of the Seas: Eastern Caribbean sailing, May 1-8, 2005 for our Honeymoon Cruise!

BOARDING: We arrived at the port at around 12:30pm on Sunday and since we had a JS booked we breezed right through the suites check in line. The only snag we had was that our internet cruise agency had neglected to send us the Bahamas immigration forms, so when we got to the front of the line, we had to go over and fill out the forms, and then get in line again. Even with that, we were still on the ship within approx. 15 minutes from the time we entered the terminal.

THE ROOM: We had cabin #1640, a Junior Suite. It was awesome. Plenty of room, and the balcony was great. There was absolutely no noise from above or from the rooms next to us. I would definitely book this location again.

CABIN STEWARD: We tipped $10 when we got there, and we had exceptional service from that moment on. He gave us a room tour, and then put our bags in the room when we got there. I noted that bags for his other cabins were left in the hall way. We had great service all week. I will definitely tip some money up front again. We left his full tip plus additional money at the end, as well.

MAIN DINING: We signed up for main dining, and a table for 2. We had the best dining experience that either of us has ever had on a cruise. The service was wonderful, and very efficient. I really liked that we did not have to wait for the entire table to order or to eat each course. (Sorry if that sounds selfish). Our waiter and his assistant were great. Malcolm, our waiter, was the best waiter that we have ever had. We really enjoyed our dinners with him.

While I am on the subject, we both thought the food was excellent.

CHOPS & PORTOFINO: We tried both restaurants. We enjoyed Chops more, but I think that was just because the menu was more our style. I also felt that the service was better at Chops.

WINDJAMMER: The food was definitely not as good as the dining room in the buffet. In fact, I was not impressed at all with the food in the buffet. But, we still ended up eating there for most breakfasts and lunches, so it was edible :-) There were limited seats, but we always found a table after circling the dining room once or twice so it was not that bad.

DISEMBARKING: We went down to the deck 5 on Saturday morning and they had stacks of luggage tag colors sitting out. We went ahead and chose the color we wanted for the time we wanted to get off the ship, and we were glad we did, because when we got back later they were all picked over! We were off the ship and on the shuttle bus by 8am.

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on the Mariner 6/12 and can hardly wait. Did you do any excursions? What did you like/dislike in the ports?

Thanks again.

Hi,

In Nassau we went to the Azure Spa (on our own) at the British Colonial Hilton and had the worst spa experience ever!!! Don't go there. It was not pleasant.

In St. Thomas we went on the Buck Island Sail & Snorkel. This was booked through RCCL and it was great! There are only 6 people per sail boat, and they take you out on a 45 min. sail to Buck Island, where you snorkel for about 60-90 minutes, and then sail back to the ship. We highly recommend it! It was so nice not to be crammed in with 30-40 people, and it was not a bad price. I think it was around $52 - $54 per person.

We were going to Jet Ski in St. Maarten but we shopped instead :-) A much better choice in my opinion :-) We had a great time in the shops.

We liked St Maarten best, but I think that was just because everything was so accessible - beach, bars, and shops.

The only annoying part of St Maarten was the constant "can we braid your hair" questions! My husband has long hair and they were practically begging to braid his hair. We both said no and kept walking - but we were constantly asked.

I'm glad you had a great time. Congratulations by the way. Anyway, my fiancee and I will be sailing on our honeymoon cruise in October aboard the Mariner...I can't wait. Did they do anything special for the honeymooners...like a honeymooners reception or anything like that?

Regardless, I am so looking forward to this cruise..we are in desparate need for a vacation and I know we will have a great time :)

Thank you also for taking the time to post your review...I love reading them.

Hi,

I am sure you will have a great time on your honeymoon cruise! We had honeymoon "congratulations" stateroom decorations that were purchased by some friends in our stateroom when we arrived.

I think there was a honeymooners get together, but we did not attend so I can't tell you anything about it. Sorry!

Thats okay, thank you for your quick response! I read a post a few months ago that "mentioned" something of that nature and I was wondering if it was standard on all Mariner sailings or just that one.

By your name, I'm assuming you live in Florida? I have family that lives in Kissimmee. Funny thing is: when I sail out on the Mariner they will still be here in Connecticut...they are coming up for our wedding.

Anyway, thank you again for your response. I'm most anxiously awaiting my balcony cabin...I can't wait to be able to sip my "girly drink" (as my fiancee calls them) and watch the sunset...and sip my coffee and watch the sunrise (if I'm up that early)

Yo chickee!

Mariner ROCKS!!! Love it all...glad you could experience her! (Note:signature).

Buck island is cool, we swam to the extreme right instead of counterclockwise and it was awesome!

Your marriage HAS to work...what a GREAT beginning!