S P I C E of Southeast Asia - Mariner of the Seas 03/03/17

S P I C E O F S O U T H E A S T A S I A - 3rd of March 2017, Mariner of the Seas

Some Background... I'm from Australia and currently living and working in Vietnam, joining me on this trip is my girlfriend and parents. It's been 3 years since our last cruise (far too long!) so last minute we decided to book this trip and honestly it was one of the best cruises we've been on. Let me tell you why later, but booking a suite for the first time has something to do with it.

After booking I was full of questions, searching here I found some answers but its nothing like booking a US sailing. So hopefully this thread will help future cruisers out of Singapore.

The Cruise... 7 nights discovering Asia on the "Mariner of the Seas" stopping in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi and overnight in Phuket.

I will break up my post into a few parts, so please stay tuned while I find the time to write everything.

• The Ship
  
• The Cabin
  
• Destinations
  

I know we all like photos, and don't worry I have plenty. Meanwhile here is a taste ;)

Happy to find your review (and photo). Will revive our memory two years back, same ship, same itinerary (almost. Ours was 5 nights, sans Penang and no overnight).

Looking forward.

Sent from my SM-G610F using Tapatalk

I am excited to hear your review and see pictures! I had hoped to book the itinerary that you are on for 2018 but the dates will not work for us. Right now we are booked on a b2b, 3 nighter followed by a 7 nighter with stops in Penang, Phu My and and overnight in Laem Chabang (Bangkok sort of;)).

Anyway, excited to hear about your trip and seeing your pictures! There is so little information to be found on the Singapore sailings. We are not lucky enough for a suite this trip though we did manage connecting balconies for our family of 5.

Welcome Onboard...

This cruise had to be one of the best I've been on and this is why... Prior to this trip I have been on Oasis, Allure, Voyager and Radiance however for the first time we decided to treat ourselves and book the Grand Suite.... I'm sure you can all remember the excitement of walking to your cabin and opening the door for the first time, well this time was no different and I was very impressed with the room and services offered.

We booked cabins 1268 and 1568 after countless hours of trying to find which cabin might be the least likely to be affected by the "deck chair alarm" I'm happy to report that not once for the entire cruise did we hear the deck chairs being moved in the early hours of the morning. Cabins 1268 and 1568 are located under the aft part of the solarium just before the doors into the main swimming pool area so I made a guess that its possibly one of the more quieter locations.

The room itself was very comfortable and ample room for 2 people, plenty of storage, a huge balcony with 2 sun beds and table/chairs. I believe its been around 5 years since the last dry dock but the room was in good condition and after reading about all these bed horror stories, I slept like a baby. Perhaps the beds have not been changed on Mariner as yet since they felt the same as all my previous trips.

The Grand Suite does come with come extra benefits, our favourite was the Concierge Lounge for evening drinks before dinner and having breakfast in Chops.

If you have any specific questions about the rooms, let me know!

Some photos but please excuse the "lived in look" and our formal night "selfie"

Beautiful photos!

I am excited to hear your review and see pictures! I had hoped to book the itinerary that you are on for 2018 but the dates will not work for us. Right now we are booked on a b2b, 3 nighter followed by a 7 nighter with stops in Penang, Phu My and and overnight in Laem Chabang (Bangkok sort of;)).

 

Anyway, excited to hear about your trip and seeing your pictures! There is so little information to be found on the Singapore sailings. We are not lucky enough for a suite this trip though we did manage connecting balconies for our family of 5.

You'll love it! The connecting balconies will be very nice. If you need suggestions for Phu My let me know, I've been living in HCMC for 2 years.

Thank you for all the replies! My next post will be about everything onboard the ship in a few days since I won't have my laptop while working.

Aaron

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review. I have just booked this itinerary for March 2018. This will be our first time on Mariner of the Seas. I will ask this question here (hoping that you may know), but as UK passport holders, are visas required for any of the ports (I suspect they're not, but would give me something less to worry about :) )

Am interested to hear more....we sailed on Mariner 3 1/2 years ago and really enjoyed it.

Looking forward to more of your photos.

Nice! I just started debating about doing this exact cruise. Tell more, please!