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

[ckmommy]

Great information. Thank you so much! We are on the cruise this Sunday with 2 boys, 8 & 12. Looking forward to your posts on the rest of the days :) We're also in a Grande Suite so good info on the gold cards.

You will love having the gold card benefit. I have to say, that kids are really not welcomed in the concierge lounge. But, it is awesome for quiet time for adults before dinner. They are not forbidden, but it was not a place I wanted to felt comfortable with the kids.

[TerriDHair]

I am pretty sure he said he is done the end of March. I think he will have his replacement in place by the time you arrive. I am not sure which ship he is going to--he is not sure either. I do know he has signed on for another contract. He for sure is not going to be the Mariner again though.

 

He is so sweet--he was so good to all of us!

 

Thanks for the info. :) I hope to run into him on another ship at some point. :D

[RicardoC]

Thanks for the review & pics! We just booked our first suite (RFS 9394) for Mariner's rep in may so couldn't have been more appropriate timing :)

[ckmommy]

Day 4--Grand Cayman

 

Woke up to another beautiful sunny morning. We were pulling into Grand Cayman with lot's of other ships today. While we were getting docked or anchored or GPS anchored...I saw Oasis of the Seas. That is weird..Oasis class ships do not come here. We know there had to be a medical problem on board. I heard on these boards it was a person that had a heart attack. I sure hope they are OK. It was pretty neat seeing the Oasis!

 

We all got ready for breakfast together in Chops. It is so nice to be able to use Chop's and not have to worry at all about finding a table in WJ. Esp. a table for 7!

 

Because we had gold cards, we did not have to get tender tickets. Except, they way our reservation was only some of us had gold tickets. All the adults in our group god gold tickets, but only 1 of my kids had a gold sea pass. So, we had to get tender tickets for the other kiddos. Side note--if I had listened to the voice mail Luca had sent, I would have learned he had tender tickets for our family. Word to the wise--listen to your voicemails!!

The tender tickets were being given out at I think 9:30. We decided to play shuffleboard on deck 4 while waiting to get our tender tickets. I did sit ups while the boys played shuffleboard. We were able to get in two games before it was time to get the tender tickets. We were issued group 6 tickets. We went back to the room and packed up our backpack (including some fruit--which I know we were not supposed to take off the ship--but we did not get caught). We got in line for the tender to take us to Grand Cayman. The line was not fun and people were very testy!! It took about an hour from the time we got in line to the time we stepped onto the pier in Grand Cayman. Oh how I love to go to port where we can just dock.

 

 

Today, we opted for a relaxing beach day. I knew that there was a Marriott on 7 mile beach. Jason is a high tier member of Marriott Rewards and we have a Marriott CC. So, why not use it and get points for buying things at the hotel. I had read that getting to 7 mile beach is easy by bus. So that is what we were going to do. But, right off the pier, it is CRAZY!!:eek: Jason was first in line and a lady taxi driver found him and told him she could take us to the Marriott with no wait. Her cab was right down the street. So, he agreed. BIG MISTAKE! She put us in the cab, then left and hussled to fill the cab completely up. We waited in that cab for 25 mins. Yes, we should have gotten out and found the bus. But we didn't. Finally the taxi was full. We were off. as we were driving my 12 y.o. saw the Marriott sign. He says--hey we just past the Marriott. I told him he was wrong and probably just misread the sign. Nope, he was right! The cab driver dropped all if us at Royal Palms beach. She said that we could walk back to the Marriott. It was just a little while down the beach. Gee thanks! Here is your $28!! No tip for you!! Now, we are standing at Royal Palms beach and we have to figure out how to get to the Marriott. There is a man who appears to be taking money for an entrance fee who we ask how to get to the Marriott. He says we can walk on the beach from here to get there. OK lets go!! Hold up--you need to pay me to get into the Royal Palms Beach. OMG--really!! Luckily it was only $6 but still!! Anyhow, we walked about 5 mins down the beach and found the Marriott. Jason went up the the desk and showed his Marriott reward card and scored us a chair 4 towels and umbrella if we wanted one for $16!! Good deal finally!!

Jason saw that there were wave runners to rent and paid for 60 mins ($160) for rental time. The kids and he had a blast while I relaxed in the sun--just what all of us wanted to do today. We stayed for about 2 and a half hours and decided to start making our way back to the ship. We decided that we would walk back to the pier. It was maybe 3 miles maybe less. But the road was right there and there was not a sidewalk the whole way. Besides those two things, the walk was easy! We did a very little shopping and got on the tender back to the ship.

 

RMA-130123-Gangway_2-4243019 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

IMG_6073 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

IMG_6086 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

The Marriott

 

IMG_6142 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

It was not until we got back on board that I realized how sunburned I was! I am pretty sure that a lobster was less red than I was. Holy cow, I had burned my feet so bad, I could not wear shoes!!!

 

RMA-130123-Vintage1_8x10-4243447 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

SUNBURN

 

I tried not to complain--since I did it to myself. But sleeping the rest of the cruise was a nightmare--my belly hurt every time I moved.

 

When we got back to our cabin, we all showered. The little guys told be that they wanted to do a family scavenger hunt with the Adventure Ocean at 5 pm. I got dressed early and headed upstairs with them. We got our list and started our hunt. We found everything we could in about 30 mins. We won first place--although, I do not think anyone else was participating! We won a lunch box, Medal and they gave me a DelSol canvas bag. It was nice that they gave away prizes for these events!

I met up with Jason and my parents in the Concierge lounge while the kids watch some cartoons and finished getting ready for dinner. We met up with the kids at 6:45 on deck 5 outside the dining room.

Dinner was forgetable. I have no idea what I ordered. I do remember my 8 y/o ordering beef stroganoff and getting the plate and looking at it like what am I going to do with this. It was on this day after, he ended up using the kids menu! That night we got another server to help out our servers. Her name was Choo Choo--she was so great with the little kids at the table. She knew that the beef dish was far too much for my little one. He did not want anything at that point. She brought out ice cream and cookies for him to snack on!! So very sweet!

 

After dinner we had tickets to the ice show. What a great show. We really enjoyed it a lot. We talked with the skaters on our last 2 sea days and they said this show has been on Mariner for 8 years. I thought they moved the shows from ship to ship, but they move the skaters. They have to learn the show of the ship. Only my little guy went to the ice show from my kids. My parent s came and my sister and her oldest boy came also. After the show we went to bed. The teens came to the cabin right a 1 am--that became a running theme the rest of the cruise.

 

Day 5 Jamaica Mon--and the wheels fell off--uhoh!!

[ckmommy]

Thanks for the review & pics! We just booked our first suite (RFS 9394) for Mariner's rep in may so couldn't have been more appropriate timing :)

You will love it!! I am jealous---I think that leg of the TA journey will be the best!!

[RicardoC]

You will love it!! I am jealous---I think that leg of the TA journey will be the best!!

 

Agreed! I wanted to do it as a b2b and keep going to visit India but the parents thought it was too much time at sea (come onn, I think I'm not their kid :p ). I'm still really excited :) did you use the "MDR room service" they offer?

[BonTexasNY]

Enjoying your review. We were on the 1/13 sailing just before yours. Reading it brings everything back.

 

I read that there was an outbreak of Noro virus on your cruise. :confused: Sounds like your group dodged the bullet. As least I sure hope so.

 

You have a lovely family.

 

Anxiously awaiting more.

[TexasAggieCruiser]

Thanks for continuing on with your extensive review! It is great! And thanks for posting the show times and dates!

 

I was also wondering what other places are available for Embarkation Lunch other than the buffet at the Windjammer Cafe? And is there a place to get pizza on MOS?

 

Looking forward to hearing about Jamaica.....uhoh...

[Clarea]

Thanks for continuing on with your extensive review! It is great! And thanks for posting the show times and dates!

 

I was also wondering what other places are available for Embarkation Lunch other than the buffet at the Windjammer Cafe? And is there a place to get pizza on MOS?

 

Looking forward to hearing about Jamaica.....uhoh...

Cafe Promenade has pizza and small sandwiches and is open on embarkation day. Boardwalk Dog House might also be open, but not sure about that.

[ckmommy]

Enjoying your review. We were on the 1/13 sailing just before yours. Reading it brings everything back.

 

I read that there was an outbreak of Noro virus on your cruise. :confused: Sounds like your group dodged the bullet. As least I sure hope so.

 

You have a lovely family.

 

Anxiously awaiting more.

 

Just wait...

[ckmommy]

Cafe Promenade has pizza and small sandwiches and is open on embarkation day. Boardwalk Dog House might also be open, but not sure about that.

 

Thanks for continuing on with your extensive review! It is great! And thanks for posting the show times and dates!

 

I was also wondering what other places are available for Embarkation Lunch other than the buffet at the Windjammer Cafe? And is there a place to get pizza on MOS?

 

Looking forward to hearing about Jamaica.....uhoh...

 

Clarea is correct--unless you have a suite--I believe they had lunch in the Concierge too. We ate in the WJ.

[TexasAggieCruiser]

Thanks for the information about the places to eat on embarkation day!

 

Do you know if Johnny Rockets is open on embarkation day? Or does it just open after we set sail?

 

Also what about Jade's? Did you go there? What did you think of it? I don't ever see anyone talking about that place.

[ckmommy]

Jade is just the first station the WJ buffet line. It has more asian type food. At dinner, that is where you can get sushi.

 

I do not think Johnny Rockets was open to later on that day. Sorry!

[katerkat]

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.;)

 

Er....I'm a little afraid just based on the pictures! Let's just say I never walk near the railings on the top decks.

 

How did your 8-year old like AO? My munchkin usually plays with younger kids around the neighborhood, so I'm not too worried about him being with the 6-8 year olds. But I don't want him to be bored with "baby" stuff. (Because 8 year olds are soooooooooooooooo mature.)

 

Thanks for the review! We're going in March - can't wait!

[ckmommy]

Er....I'm a little afraid just based on the pictures! Let's just say I never walk near the railings on the top decks.

 

How did your 8-year old like AO? My munchkin usually plays with younger kids around the neighborhood, so I'm not too worried about him being with the 6-8 year olds. But I don't want him to be bored with "baby" stuff. (Because 8 year olds are soooooooooooooooo mature.)

 

Thanks for the review! We're going in March - can't wait!

 

On our cruise, the kids 6-11 were all in the same room. It was not a cruise filled with lots of kids. That worked out great because my 8 yo wanted to be with his 10 yo twin brothers. As for being babyish--the events are the same for 6-11 year olds. I think he will enjoy it.

[TexasAggieCruiser]

Jade is just the first station the WJ buffet line. It has more asian type food. At dinner, that is where you can get sushi.

 

I do not think Johnny Rockets was open to later on that day. Sorry!

 

Thanks for the clarification about Jade. Also, no problem on Johnny Rockets...we will figure out something from the other choices! Hopefully we will get on the ship early enough that WJ won't be too crowded.

[ckmommy]

Day 5--Jamaica--or the day the of "really??""

 

We woke up really early today. We had booked an excursion with an outside vendor for a White Water Rafting day. This was not offered through RCL. We all got ready quickly and went to Chops to eat a quick breakfast. I noticed that one of my sisters kids was not at breakfast. I just thought he had slept in. Jason and I gathered most of our kids while my parents kept a few with them. We wandered around Falmouth for a little bit:

 

IMG_6147 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

IMG_6154 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

We had a little bit of trouble finding out where to pick up our excursion, but got someone to point us in the right direction. The shopping at the port was nice and in the craft area, we were able to barter with the vendors a little.

 

The excursion--

 

We met up with aur tour operators and climbed into a van. It was a cozy ride with the 13 of us. The ride to the river took about 30-40 minutes. And, now I can never complain about my husband's driving again. Scary drivers!! We turned up a dirt road and finally made it to the rafting center. We all got out of the car and got fitted with helmets and life preservers. The equipment seemed very new and clean.

 

DSC_0042 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

It was at this point that the wheel fell off the bus for me. My sister and her oldest used the bathrooms and took forever. It turns out my nephew was throwing up!! LOTS!! And, he had gotten sick before we left--but I did not know that--Really and you did not say anything--REALLY???! I was so mad at her that she brought him out of the cabin--more than mad!! Plus, we had now ridden in a cozy taxi for 40 mins. with him. I was not speaking to her by then. I made sure my family stayed as far away from hers as possible for the rest of the cruise. NOROVIRUS had hit. This still makes me super angry.

 

About the rafting tour---

We had to walk in the rainforest for about 1/2 a mile to get to the area we picked up our raft. Since I did not have water shoes, it was an interesting walk. They did have water shoes for rent ($5), but I had declined. Once we got aboard our raft, the fun began. It was a quick moving river, and our guide did a great job keeping us on course. My sister and her sick one were in a kayak, so they went on well before the rest of us. The other 11 of us went down the river in rafts. We did a lot of throwing water at each other. Fun times. The rapids were very easy. No one came close to falling out or getting hurt. I would have had no problem with a child as young as 5 on this tour.

 

DSC_0230 by ckmommy4, on Flickr

 

This was the most intense rapids we went over. It only lasted 5 seconds, but it was super fun. The rafting part of this excursion only lasted about 45 minutes. We were then transported by a boat to a beach and got to swim there for about 45 mins. They did have lunch you could purchase as well as shirts, gifts and pictures of the trip. I did buy the CD of the photos of the trip--for $40. Since I did not have a camera with me, I thought it was a good buy.

 

We then got in our cozy taxi/bus and had a long ride back to the pier--with a sick kid. Yuck! The tour operator really wanted us to go to Montego Bay to go shopping, but we declined. It took about 40 mins to get back to Falmouth. We got out the the taxi--and did a little bit of shopping in the port. We did not do any shopping outside the gates. I would have liked to, but no one else felt that would be a safe thing to do. FYI--there is a craft market right outside the gates of the pier. You can get really good deals if you want to deal with the pushy locals. They are not unfriendly, but just do not know how to sell things without high pressure.

 

We went back to the cabin and decided to just take a nap. No one was all that hungry. I know I was feeling sympathy sickness and was praying for none of my family to get Noro! The kids decided to go up to their club and hang out. This work for us! Being on the aft of the ship, I really did feel like I was able to enjoy watching the goings on of the port and the sunshine of the caribbean.

 

Day 6 sea day...Next

[greek princess]

Oh That's horrible for your nephew. I read other posts that many were sick with norovirus on that cruise. We will be on Mariner Feb 17th, bringing plenty of bleach and anti bacterial wipes. Hoping they did a huge cleaning after your cruise ended:(

[CruisingCamper]

Oh wow! I am so scared about the virus, not really for myself, but for my kids. I plan on bringing Cloroz wipes and cleaning the cabin really good before we let the kids loose in there:) But, I sure can't clean the whole ship! I have often wondered..how do folks know its a virus, rather than sea sickness?

[ckmommy]

Oh wow! I am so scared about the virus, not really for myself, but for my kids. I plan on bringing Cloroz wipes and cleaning the cabin really good before we let the kids loose in there:) But, I sure can't clean the whole ship! I have often wondered..how do folks know its a virus, rather than sea sickness?

 

I was pretty adament about cleaning my cabin when we got aboard. We used lots of Lysol spray.

 

This virus is awful--lot's of vomit. Seasickness is different. I will tell you that the ships crew took a far different roll in cleaning the ship starting on day 6. I'll get to that later today. i hope to finish my report by tomorrow--with helpful hints in the last post.

[hawk1972]

I remember seeing you on the ship -- out by the pool I think.

 

Thanks for such an extensive review. Gives me ideas about future excursions.

This was our first Caribbean cruise. We went to Passion Island at Cozumel; stingray, snorkel and Rum Point through Nativeway at Grand Cayman (it was great!); and Irie Mon Beach Break at Falmouth -- we are in our mid to late 50s and were looking to relax.

 

My wife and I didn't experience any illness -- norovirus or seasickness or otherwise, luckily I guess. Didn't even know it was going around the ship. We did use Purell all the time.

Every time the captain made an announcement he concluded with a reminder to wash our hands.

[TexasAggieCruiser]

. We went to Passion Island at Cozumel; stingray, snorkel and Rum Point through Nativeway at Grand Cayman (it was great!); and Irie Mon Beach Break at Falmouth -- we are in our mid to late 50s and were looking to relax.

 

 

Can you give me details about the excursion you did in Grand Cayman? I am looking for something with the stingrays, but also some good snorkeling. I am curious about the tendering and how well it works with the timing to meet private tours. Don't want to be stuck on the ship waiting for a tender and miss my excursion! Do you book and pay in advance? Thanks so much!!

[hawk1972]

Can you give me details about the excursion you did in Grand Cayman? I am looking for something with the stingrays, but also some good snorkeling. I am curious about the tendering and how well it works with the timing to meet private tours. Don't want to be stuck on the ship waiting for a tender and miss my excursion! Do you book and pay in advance? Thanks so much!!

 

Our excursion was arranged by a member of our roll call -- she had been on it last year. It was excellent.

 

It was through Nativeway Watersports in Grand Cayman. They have a website where I think you can make reservations. There were eleven of us from the Mariner and they combined us with some people from the MSC Poesia to make a big enough group (15) for us to get a $5/person discount. It was $57.50 per person. There were just 15 of us total on the boat, which was very nice.

Our captain was Chris and he was assisted by J.C.

The tendering worked out fine. I stood in line at 8:30 to get Tender #1 tickets (which were given out at 9:20 in the Lotus Lounge) and they gave me all eleven for our group. It turned out that another person in our group knew someone and she also got 11 tickets so I gave mine away to people who had later tender times.

 

We were on the tender at 10:10 am and it just took a few minutes to get to shore. We met Sharon from Nativeway at the dock. We waited a few minutes for her to go get the people from the Poesia and then we got on the shuttle bus with Eldon by about 11 am.

 

They took us to a Yacht Club where we got on our boat. It was called "Trippin' Out." Captain Chris and JC were both great.

 

It took about 30 minutes to get out to the stingray sandbar. There was punch and water for us on the boat. They took our lunch orders because lunch is included and JC phoned them ahead to Rum Point Beach.

There were several boats at the stingrays, some with what looked like a hundred people, but ours was small and very personal.

We got to hold, feed (calamari) and even kiss the stingrays.

 

Then we went to a reef nearby and snorkeled for about 30-45 mins. The water is clear and beautiful and we saw lots of fish and sea life. My wife saw a moray eel. They provide masks and fins but some people had their own. This was my first time to snorkel and I want to do it again. Some experienced snorkelers said this was the best water they had ever seen.

 

Then they took us to Rum Point Beach where lunch was waiting. The food was very good and plentiful. From the menu the meals we had were running $10-15 each. We got to swim and sunbathe at the beach for about 2 hours. It's a nice private beach across the bay from the port with a bar and restrooms/showers.

 

We got back to the Yacht Club at about 4:30 and got on the bus to go back to the port. They served us rum punch on the way back.

 

JC took photos of us with the stingrays and we bought a CD with 9 photos for $40, but there's no pressure to buy.

 

We were booked in advance but didn't have to pay until we were on our way back to the port at the end.

 

We were a bit concerned about the tender timing, but the tenders hold lots of people and if you get Tender #1 you shouldn't have a problem. Like I said, I started waiting at 8:30 and was 10th in line. There was quite a line by the time they started giving them out at 9:20 (advertised time was 9:30). Just let Sharon Ebanks of Nativeway know your plans and they will work with you. They won't leave without you!

 

As I said, this was a great tour at a great price and we would definitely do it again with Nativeway.

[Jimnbigd]

Thanks for the review. We are booked for March 31 (Easter). This will be my 4th time on the Mariner. We will have the new menu on this cruise, which I think has the lamb chops in addition to the lamb shank. And thanks for the tip about Blackhorse Limos. We might try them next time. We've used Supershuttle for our group of 10, and they are pretty good and cheap, but a limo would be so much more fun. I assume the limo driver's tip was not part of the $175 price. I ask because Supershuttle's price includes the tip.

[TexasAggieCruiser]

. There were eleven of us from the Mariner and they combined us with some people from the MSC Poesia to make a big enough group (15) for us to get a $5/person discount. It was $57.50 per person. There were just 15 of us total on the boat, which was very nice.

Such a small group sounds wonderful! Do you know if just two of us could contact them and have them add us to a tour with other people? I would assume so, but I guess I will check out their site. Also, about how long did you get to stay at Stingray City? Can you also tell me about how time changes work on the ship--is the ship time the same as the port's time so that you know when to get to the excursions?