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1/20/13-1/27/13 Mariner of the Seas Review--with pictures!!

ckmommy

By ckmommy,
in Royal Caribbean International

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After we ate, we (including the kids) headed up to the Rock Wall. ..............

The kids did great and got to go several times. I got suited up and thought this was going to be a breeze. ................. But, the real problem was that my fear of heights clicked in. I was shaking so much! I had the strength to pull myself up, but I was so scared. I was about 2 feet from making it to the top and I looked down at the kids and Jason and said I was done. They encouraged me and I drove on. I made it to the bell. Then the stomach dropping drop to the ground. Super fun, and scary at the same time. I did not do the wall again, but I would encourage anyone to try it!!

 

I encourage you not to try Allure or Oasis' rock wal :eek: My fear of heights is pretty bad an irrational. Though on Allure you can try the zip line, once.

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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I encourage you not to try Allure or Oasis' rock wal :eek: My fear of heights is pretty bad an irrational. Though on Allure you can try the zip line, once.

 

Good to know, my friend. Hoping to do the Oasis class ships in the near future. I'll be the one watching and encouraging, but not climbing!

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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Enjoying your review! We will be on the Mariner in April. I was wondering if you could post the times and dates of all the evening shows from the daily planners? I can't seem to find that information on the boards. Thanks!!!

 

I was sure I saved all my Compasses, but I can't find day 5.

 

Day 1: one show only 7:15 Charlie Peachock and the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers

 

Day 2:

8:30 and 10:15 Center Stage Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers

 

Day 3:

 

Bob Brizendine (don't miss if he is on the Ship)--Magician/comic

6:30 and 8:30

 

Day 4:Only the ice show at 6:30 and 8:30--must get tickets to these shows

 

Day 5:??I can't remember

Late night 10:00 was the Newlywed Game though

 

Day 6: Gallery of Dreams RCCL Singers and Dancers

6:30 and 8:30

 

10:15 Quest

 

Day 7: Farewell Variety Show--RCCL Singers and Dances, Duo Entertainment and Dan Grueter (comedy)

7:15 only

10 pm Dan Grueter--Adult comedy

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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A bit of an edit to Day 2--the magic show was on Day 3. The entertainment show for night 2 was a singing and dancing show by the RCCL performers. We arrived at 8:45 for the 8:30 show. It was very full. My mom used her Gold card to get seats for some our our group, but Jason and I left and went to the schooner bar for drinks and to enjoy the piano bar. I was hoping for a better show in the piano bar, but due to the age of the folks on this cruise, it was a much older show. We are in our 30's (for a little bit longer) and I would say that the average age was 50 for this bar. I drank one Mai Tai (actually 1/2 of it) and Jason had 2 beers. That relaxed us enough to get really tired--so we walked back to the room and headed to bed.

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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Day 3 Cozumel!

 

We woke up to sunshine coming in the windows. I an sure we were out on the balcony by 6:30 in the morning. It was finally WARM!!! Warm tropical breezes and sunshine--who could want more?? We saw land to the starboard side of the ship--I think it was Cancun. Behind us was another ship cruising into Cozumel for the day!

 

8424802892_9cf6857c49.jpg

IMG_5912 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

It was the Carnival Glory.

 

No exercise class or running this morning. The kids, Jason and I headed up to Chops for a quick breakfast. I discovered the mueslix and enjoyed a bowl for breakfast. The kids found lots of food in the WJ and brought their full plates with them into Chops. Jason ordered eggs benedict (everyday). We looked at our kids plates and were shocked to see how much food they had taken. We scolded them a bit for taking so much and told them we expected them to finish all they had taken. But, the latter did not happen. This was a lesson learned for all of us. Following this breakfast, I went up with this kids to the buffet--to monitor and help them with portions.

If their defense, you cannot just take one slice of bacon. The tongs and the way it is stuck together lends for many pieces to be put on your plate. The same thing with most items the first time you get them. The huge spoon for the eggs lends a huge serving on your plate. In the end, we all figured it out.

 

Today, we had an excursion planned. We booked this:

 

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IMG_5974 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

Side Note--I do not watch much TV. The one show we all watch as a family is The Amazing Race!! When I was looking at the excursions with the kids 6 months before we went on the cruise, we saw this excursion. But, being a family of 7, $80 for 3 of us and $65 for 4 of us was awful pricy! I told the kids we just were not able to afford it. Well, Christmas came and the last present the kids opened was a certificate for the Amazing Cozumel Race excursion. Honsestly, there were tears of joy on a couple of the kids faces!!

 

We got off the Ship and shopped for a little while. The vendors are all very polite. There is one section of shops at the pier that has an upstairs. These men wait at the bottom of the stairs and ask you to go to their shops upstairs. That is a little daunting. But, we all hoofed it upstairs. I am glad we did. They were willing to barter on the prices and I got the hat I wanted for $10 less than I seen seen it for in the shops on the main shopping area below. Don't be afraid to go upstairs and negotiate a better price. The shops on the main "level" did not seem to barter at all.

 

Here are a couple photos of Cozumel:

 

8423711367_a51876c670.jpg

IMG_5939 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

8423710907_2321c1f510.jpg

IMG_5968 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

8424798962_26fc0704de.jpg

IMG_6039 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

8423707805_a7e46c806c.jpg

IMG_6040 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

Up Next the Amazing Cozumel Race...

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katerkat

katerkat

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The kids did great and got to go several times. I got suited up and thought this was going to be a breeze. I had been doing a lot of arm strength workouts, so I was pretty confident. The girl who was holding onto the "rope" for me asked if I had ever had done the wall before? I told her I had not. She told me to stay on the green rocks and I would do just fine. I started out just fine, then not so much! I had gotten my fingernails done before the trip. Each time I moved my hands, I thought I was going to rip a nail off. But, the real problem was that my fear of heights clicked in. I was shaking so much! I had the strength to pull myself up, but I was so scared. I was about 2 feet from making it to the top and I looked down at the kids and Jason and said I was done. They encouraged me and I drove on. I made it to the bell. Then the stomach dropping drop to the ground. Super fun, and scary at the same time. I did not do the wall again, but I would encourage anyone to try it!!

 

Was it just the height of the wall, or being high on the ship as well? I'm afraid of heights, but I might be able to handle the height of the wall. The wall + looking down at ocean REALLY far below, um, not so much.

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ARCruisinNana

ARCruisinNana

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Great review!! We are looking forward to our sailing. Do u remember how old u had to be for the rock wall? DS6 wants to do it, is he old enough?

 

Yes, your son will be able to climb the rock wall. This past November my 6 year old granddaughter climbed the wall-all 35 lbs. of her. She loved it. We'll be back on Mariner in March and I know she'll want to climb again. Enjoy your cruise.

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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Was it just the height of the wall, or being high on the ship as well? I'm afraid of heights, but I might be able to handle the height of the wall. The wall + looking down at ocean REALLY far below, um, not so much.

 

I did not even notice the water. I think it was the height and the fear of falling. You should try it for sure. If you only make it halfway up, you still tried.;)

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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Thanks so much for posting your review. Great pictures. We are boarding Mariner of the Seas on Sunday and this is definitely helping!

 

You will have a blast. You'll have to do a report when you get back. Hoping to have this report finished soon!

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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The Amazing Cozumel Race and night 3...

 

If you are not interested in the excursion, feel free to skip till Night 3 in the next post.

 

After we finished shopping, we started looking for where to meet up with our group for The Amazing Cozumel Race. We really did not know where to go. All the tickets said was to meet outside the gate of the pier. The shore excursions were all together on the right hand side of the path in between 2 of the shops.

 

We met up with our leader, filled out the waivers, and got our map and cell phone--to be used if we got lost.

 

8430612755_9003a724c1.jpg

IMG_5977 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

About 10 minutes later we boarded our Taxi's that took us downtown, to the only mall in Cozumel. We got our picture taken and then were allowed to use the restrooms. When all the groups arrived, we were all introduced to the other teams. There were 19 teams this time. We were given about a 10 minute intro of what was going happen, then given our first clue:

 

8431697040_e3ec45433d.jpg

IMG_5988 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

And the race was on!! And I do mean on--we sprinted to every clue! Sprinted like we were in a real race for a million dollars! Sprinted like we were about to miss our ship. Sprinted like I have never run before!! We were the first to arrive to every clue on the first half of the game. We made a slight mistake during the second clue on the 2nd half of the race AND we ran into the teen counselors and talked with them for about 3 mins--which led us to give the lead up. We finally made it to the PIT STOP and were greeted with overwhelming cheers!! After all the teams got back, they did an awards ceremony. It turned out that we took 3rd place!! We had a group of 7--with 3 very small kids. The staff lady made it a point to tell everyone that this does not ever happen with little ones. We finished the race in 1 hour and 26 mins. Normally 1st place comes in at 1 hour and 40 mins. Not today lots of speedy people. The winner of the race had a time of 1 hour and 21 mins!

 

This is what we won:

 

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IMG_6029 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

The bronze medal!! Which we all wore to dinner that night!

 

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IMG_6025 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

This is us!

 

Some things to know for this excursion:

You do not have to run the whole way--we did, but most teams did not

If you are running lots of the tourists get mad at you

Other wonder which ship is about to leave because you must be late

The locals will help, but may give you the wrong directions--be warned

The sidewalks are not in good condition--esp. to run on--I was so afraid i was going to twist my ankle.

My 8 y.o. was exhausted--he kept saying, daddy, my legs hurt--dad's response--keep running--8 y.o. OK

This was for sure the best thing our family could have done in Cozumel. So different form anything else that is offered. And, could only be done in Cozumel! $500 for our family was pretty steep, but the memories are worth

it.

You can buy lunch at the final pit stop. I was nervous to do this. Being in Mexico and not knowing the kitchen. I was really afraid we were going to get sick. Jason said not to worry. This company had a reputation to uphold and would not risk anyone getting sick over poor food. So, we ordered lunch. A HUGE plate of fish ceviche and 3 orders of Quesadillas (pork, beef and chicken). Jason also ordered 2 additional Sol beers (2 drinks /person were included in the excursion price--plus chips and salsa). The total for all this food was $38--that's all!! The food was excellent and no one got sick!

 

After lunch, we were put in a taxi that took us back to the cruise ship pier. We did a little more shopping and then got back on the ship. I think it was 2:30 when we got back on M of The S.

 

8430607413_d94267809a.jpg

RMA-130122-Gangway_4-4236575 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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Day 3 con't--

 

No pictures this time--sorry.

 

We got back to the ship and I finally got an ice cream cone. I was Hot! I can see why that self serve machine was so busy. It was good ice cream!

 

We hung out on the balcony people watching--that is so nice to do with an aft cabin. The kids left to meet up with friends. So the adults got some quiet time. By 4:30 we started getting ready for dinner. We all met up in the concierge lounge (the adults that is) for some snacks and drinks for some of us. The kids met up with us and we went to dinner together.

I think I had the Asian fried Tofu for dinner that night. I like tofu. I am not a vegetarian per se, but I do not eat much meat--lots of fish though. I was really hoping for good things with this tofu. I have mad a lot of tofu meals at home--some are good, some not so good. This tofu was blah! It was not marinated before it was cooked. There was a dipping sauce on the plate and it needed that sauce. It was worth the chance. I ate about 2/3 of it. No one else at the table wanted to try to finish it.

 

The entertainment this night was the magician I had wrote about in day 2. Sorry I messed the days up.

 

Coming up--Cancun!!

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ckmommy

ckmommy

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Do you happen to have pictures of the main dining room dinner menus? We are going to be on the Mariner in a couple of weeks and I am trying to decide which nights to book the specialty restaurants. Thanks!

 

I do not have those photos. I knew I should have taken those pictures, but I forgot. I know they are posted on these boards somewhere.

 

If you are interested in escargot--it should be on the last day. But, due to a shortage, they are not serving it. They are putting bay scollops in the dish with the butter and garlic. Just a heads up.

 

And, if you like crab cakes, do not miss them the night they serve them. I think it was day 3??

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