Mariner of the Seas From Singapore 10/22/15- Complete Picture Review!

[Maverick911]

Great revue Kim

 

Loved the report on Langkawi we are there in Jan 2016 you've really helped plan our day there. Waiting on what you have to say about Phuket as we stop there also.

 

As we board at Singapore and were hoping to take two bottles of wine on-board can you confirm that RCI had weren't allowing this ?? :eek:

[gapearl]

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed responses and sorry it's taking me a bit longer to get to Phuket. I've been back at work the last couple of days since getting braces last week and it's been a struggle. I've had a little pain and A LOT of discomfort, and all I've been wanting to do is lay down at the end of the day. Getting braces at 35- brilliant idea. :rolleyes: I'm hoping to get the first day of Phuket done tonight, but if I don't I'll have both days in Phuket done tomorrow.

 

Amazing photos! if I ever get there I will know just what to do.

 

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying them all.

 

Love reading! Glad you had such a memorable time in Langkawi. It definitely does look beautiful. We are doing a private Mangrove kayak tour (I was too scared to do the sky bridge with the boys -- and me haha).

 

2 Legit...2 Legit to Quit! Hey, haaaaaaaaaay! hahahahahaha

 

Langkawi was awesome. I would love to go back there one day if/when I make it to SE Asia again. The kayaks sound like fun. You can just do the cable cars even if you don't want to do the bridge.

[gapearl]

Hi all!

 

gapearl ~ following!:D I was so glad to see on ckrobyn's thread that you are reviewing your latest cruise too. Lots of virtual cruising going on with you, her & Trainman-2 reviewing! I'm only up to page 8 but enjoying your review so much as it's bringing back memories of my solo cruises on Freedom of the Sea in promenade cabins & one with DH from Shanghai to Singapore. People wanted their pictures taken with me too on the Great Wall, I guess because I'm a silver haired, old caucasian lady.;)

 

That was an amazing hotel you stayed at the 1st night! We stayed at the one in the airport which was the nicest airport we've ever been to with a Butterfly Garden & other attractions.

 

Looking forward to more of your trip later on. Thanks for taking the time to

write.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

I'm not familiar with ckrobyn so I'll have to go search for that review. That makes me feel special that someone thought to mention my review while writing theirs! :) I do know of Trainman, so I'll have to go check that one out also. Lots of good reviews happening lately, huh? :D I read about the butterfly garden at the Singapore airport but never got a chance to see it. Thanks so much for reading.

 

Funny, I found out about this review the same way! So glad I did.

 

Kimberly, I love your reviews. Can't wait for more.

 

I have so much more to come! Thank you!

[gapearl]

Great pictures. Thanks for taking us along.

 

You're so welcome. I'm glad you and everyone are enjoying.

 

I'm so enjoying your review! Wow, Langkawi looks great - it's definitely not a place I've heard much about but it looks like you had an amazing day there.

 

I never would have thought to ever go to Langkawi, Malaysia, if not for this cruise. They have more European and Australian tourists than American visitors. It's definitely a hidden gem.

[gapearl]

Yay, I found your review ... fabulous as always and looking forward to more! I see you're doing the Pride to Bermuda, me too, got a fabulous deal on it, booked early and taking my mother!

 

That bridge ... NO. just. NO. No way, no how, not gonna happen. I know that I wouldn't even be able to take more than 2 steps before I would have to turn around and leave. It's not even just about me, but anyone near the edge would give me heart palpitations! Some heights exhilarate me, but that would just terrify me.

 

I travel on my own sometimes, but never quite that exotic or adventurous, mainly road trips thru Canada / US. I've yet to sail solo ... maybe one day.

 

Just so you know, we'll be on the Pride together. I also booked early and got a great deal on a balcony. It was only about $250 more total than the inside with French doors I otherwise would have booked. We'll have to hang out at some point. :) I'm an adventerous person, and that bridge had even me scared. It was definitely a thrill thoughl! Solo cruises are awesome. You should try it one day.

 

I just caught up with Sean's Trip Report and he dealt with Monkeys and now you too lol.

 

Love the idea about casing IG for photos, DUH. Ive done that on google, and tripadvisor, but didnt think about using hashtags for what they are intended on... not to #expressmyself LOL.

 

Im amazed at how pretty the beachs are there. For some reason I had thoughts they wouldnt be ... so beautiful I guess.

 

I haven't even had a chance to start reading Sean's yet. :( The beaches are beautiful. I saw more palm trees here than I have in some Caribbean places. Girl you're crazy. lol

[joand452]

So glad someone posted that you had done another review! I've got the old "I should be working" excuse today, but I've made it through all 10 pages!!

 

I think that I'd never want to do an Asian cruise, then read someone's review and see how beautiful it is! It's a shame about Singapore being so expensive, but it looks like a must-see place.

 

Looking forward to Phuket!!

[gapearl]

This is a fantastic review! Thank you for this. We sailed on Mariner for her Christmas cruise last year. At the time, the English pub didn't exist - it was being used as a duty free liquor store. It looked like it had changed back to the pub, is that right? Is the logo shop still a makeshift stall on the starboard side, midship?

 

There was only a very small duty free area now by the logo store. The pub was nice and had tables out front for people watching along the promenade.

 

Great revue Kim

 

Loved the report on Langkawi we are there in Jan 2016 you've really helped plan our day there. Waiting on what you have to say about Phuket as we stop there also.

 

As we board at Singapore and were hoping to take two bottles of wine on-board can you confirm that RCI had weren't allowing this ?? :eek:

 

Thank you! Even though the sign said no wine, someone posted earlier that they were recently able to bring on bottles from a different ship from Singapore. I'm sorry that I can't confirm for sure that they were confiscating bottles of wine.

[theriac]

This review is wonderful. I've read(and enjoyed) many of your reviews on the Carnival boards and had to come experience this one. I'm glad to see you're open mindedness about exploring and learning about different cultures/religions. Far too many people travel just for the pictures where it seems you want to immerse yourself with knowledge and understanding. Kudos to you and keep up the great work as I look forward to finishing this review and then reading your Mediterranean one.

[seannyice81]

Looks beautiful! I'll have to check this place out if I make it over there one day!

 

You can take a picture with Donald Duck on the way out. Someone tell him to stay off the drugs because he's looking a little rough these days.

 

 

LOL! That duck has seen better days!

 

I haven't even had a chance to start reading Sean's yet. :(

 

No rush! I'm still trying to crank-out mine too. Two more posts and I'll be done, woohoo!

[malcsmom]

I came all the way over from Carnival Land!!! Loving your review.

XOXO

[gapearl]

Cruise Day 5- Phuket, Thailand

 

 

 

[gapearl]

I had a FULL day planned for today and needed to get off the ship as soon as possible. Phuket is a tender port and I was hoping to be on one of the first tenders. There's open tendering from 8-8:30 am, and after that you'll need a ticket. I got to the tender line at 8:10 and stood there for 20 minutes without moving at all, and the line continued to get longer and longer. There was a ship excursion that went ahead of us but that was it, no movement. When we finally started to move, I was one of the last people to be let down the stairs, and then we had to wait some more while held up in the staircase. At that time an announcement was made that early tendering was over and you now had to go get a tender ticket. Keep in mind that not one tender has left yet and people have been waiting up to 30 minutes. A few frustrated people got out of line and ran to beat the crowds for an early ticket number, but I swear a riot was about to break out with everyone else and the Mariner was about to be turned upside down like Poseidon by angry passengers. From what I could tell, there was only one tender operating and it had taken the excursion people. Perhaps the single tender wasn't their fault, but the tender process was a hot mess. It's not right to penalize hundreds of people for doing what you told them to do. We all showed up at the designated time and shouldn't have to now go get a tender ticket. Because enough people were screaming bloody murder, they were allowed to continue to wait, as they should have been. If you have any intention on leaving the ship before 10-11 am, I would highly suggest getting off during the open tender process, because I can almost guarantee there will be a back up once the numbers start getting called. When all was said and done, it was 50 minutes from ship to shore and I was on the first tender. It was chaotic and you would have thought this was their first time doing this.

 

 

 

The tender fiasco caused me to miss my morning excursion. I had a driver meeting me and to take me to Siam Safari for a half day tour. It starts at 9 am so I had to be off the ship by 8:30 am to make it. My driver, Lek, called and canceled for me. I found him also on Trip Advisor and booked him in advance to take me around today. He was howling with laughter when he realized I knew some conversational phrases in Thai and taught me to say a few more. My top priority for Phuket was to ride the elephants, and he knew of a place not too far away where I could still do that, so that's where we were off to.

 

 

My driver, Lek, a really charming and funny guy.

 

 

 

The Big Buddha up on the hill.

 

[gapearl]

It's time to go ride an elephant!

 

 

I chose the 45 minutes ride for 1100 baht. The exchange rate is about 36 baht for $1, so the ride was about $31.

 

 

Here comes my ride.

 

 

 

My elephant and I are both waving hey y'all!

 

 

How cute is my guide?

 

[gapearl]

He told me to sit on her neck, where the guides sit. I was about to fall off. lol

 

 

Well....when you gotta go....

 

 

 

View from the top.

 

 

For 100 baht extra, I bought some bananas to feed the elephants. The onsite photographer got a great picture of me on my elephant with my guide and framed it. They wanted 300 baht but Lek talked them down to 200.

 

 

[gapearl]

Right across the street from the elephant ride was Tiger Kingdom. I saw a friend of mine post Tiger Kingdom pictures from her trip here this summer, and knew I had to add it to my list. Tiger Kingdom is a controversial place where you can come be photographed with them. The reviews and reports about this place are very mixed. There are some people that speculate the tigers are drugged, which is why they're so calm around so many people. Then others say there's no way the tigers are drugged and that they just sleep a lot like every other cat. Despite my hesitation, I decided to come anyways. Now I honestly don't know if the tigers were drugged or not. However I will say that I don't like the way the animals were treated at all. I thought Tiger Kingdom was along the lines of a mini zoo where the tigers had space and freedom. These poor animals were kept two in a cage, a very small cage. They had little room to move around. The handlers had a stick with leaves they would lightly tap on the tiger's head to get them to look at the camera. I hated seeing them in this condition. I guess you could say that I'm part of the problem by supporting a business like this, but I had already paid before I knew of their treatment. I guess it's really no different than getting your picture taken with the dolphins in the Bahamas. You animal activists of CC can spare me the lecture, as I am now aware of how animals in captivity are treated in Thailand and yes, I felt bad for them. The price was more expensive for the smaller tigers and less expensive for the larger ones. I paid 800 baht for pictures with the largest one, which was the cheapest option available, and it was an extra 400 to use one of their photographers with a CD of all your pictures, about 40. He also took a few shots with my iphone.

 

 

I wish I had gotten some shots by the pool too.

 

 

 

 

Caution tiger spray. haha

 

 

How cute!

 

Edited November 20, 2015 by gapearl

[Gingee]

I would never have taken the cable car that you did. Yikes

 

I do like the elephant ride. Did they tell you to take off your shoes when riding it?

[gapearl]

 

How many of you can say you've given a tiger a high five?

 

 

 

 

I didn't have a single drop of fear or worry. Being this close to a huge adult tiger was exciting!

 

 

[gapearl]

It was still early in the day and I wanted something else fun to do, so Lek suggested the Phuket Kathu Shooting Range. They had a variety of different guns at different prices. I've only been to a shooting range once, years ago with my cop ex-boyfriend, and it was quite an intimidating experience shooting a gun for the first time. They were trying to get me to shoot a little pellet gun. LOL Ok if I'm gonna do this I'm doing it big, so I paid 1000 baht for 10 bullets to shoot the biggest one, a shotgun. I also had to pay an extra 200 baht to be allowed to take pictures inside. I was scared at first but it was awesome.

 

 

 

 

 

Better not mess with me.

 

 

[gapearl]

Lek and I went to a Buddhist temple next. As I was leaning on one of the Buddha statues for a picture, a nosy tour guide close by said I should not do that. He went on to give me a not-asked-for explanation that Buddha is a virgin and a woman leaning on him is disrespectful because it can cause him to become aroused. The last thing I ever want to do is disrespect the local people and their customs so I appreciated him telling me because I didn't know, but it was just his approach that had me giving the side eye. I guess you just had to be there.

 

 

 

 

 

You take your shoes off here at the entrance before going in.

 

 

[gapearl]

More from inside the temple. You learn something new every day. I didn't know this.

 

 

 

 

 

Sleeping Buddha or lying Buddha, can't remember what this one is called.

 

 

They have covers for ladies if you come in with bare shoulders.

 

 

I originally had planned to go up the hill to see the big Buddha, but changed my mind and decided to skip it since it was quite a drive to get up there. Ziplining was a thought but I didn't want to spend the money on it, so we headed back to the ship. Lek was a fun guide and if you need a driver for Phuket, I'll be happy to pass along his information.

[theriac]

From the fun times or whatever it is royal calls them I see that you were in Phuket for two days. Do they have tenders running all night long? I've been to ports overnight but it wasn't a tender so I'm curious how that works if you want to experience the roaring Thai nightlife. Can you go back and forth all night or does one need to get a hotel in port?

[gapearl]

Once back on the ship, I went to the Windjammer for lunch and packed an overnight bag as I would be staying in town tonight. I had read somewhere on CC that the tenders in Phuket stop running around midnight. I knew that I was going to be out late and didn't want to run the risk of not being able to get back on the ship, so I booked a room. This was actually incorrect as the tenders run a limited service throughout the night. There were lots of cheap little boutique hotels in the $20-30 range, but I decided to go with something familiar and splurged $43 on the Holiday Inn Express, and that included tax and an extra 1,000 IHG points. When I was heading back out on the tender around 2 something, there was no wait and not a lot of people. Of those onboard with me, most had overnight bags as well so I wasn't the only one that had that idea.

 

There are tour stands everywhere to book some of the nightlife Phuket has to offer. If you want to see any of the shows at night, book through one of them for convenience. I didn't realize how far away the Holiday Inn Express was from the ship. I should have taken a tuk tuk but I walked, and it took me almost 30 minutes to get there. I got checked in and immediately got on the free wifi before I could even leave the front desk as I hadn't had any since Kuala Lumpur 2 days ago. I took a shower and quickly got ready as a van to my first stop for the night would be picking me up at 5:20 to take me to Simon Cabaret for the 6:30 pm show. The cost was 700 baht and included pick up. There was a water bottle at each seat and the show lasted an hour. The show was wonderfully terrible. Bad lip syncing, bad costumes, bad music. You still have to come see it, seriously! lol Most of the performers looked bored and like they'd rather be somewhere else. The most fun part was trying to figure out which ladies in the show were really ladies and which were ladies with a lil something extra.

 

 

You're not supposed to take pictures during the show, but I did get just this one at the end before they left the stage.

 

 

After the show, the performers are all outside lined up to take picture with you. However they don't tell you that you have to pay each one, including the photographer, 100 baht.

 

 

 

Point this out to me at the beginning, not the end.

 

 

A huge downpour came when the show let out and the streets were flooded in a matter of minutes. It was pretty chaotic trying to find our van back to take us back to our hotels. There were so many vans that all looked alike and you really couldn't walk anywhere because of the huge puddles. It took maybe 20 minutes for me and my group to find our driver.

 

[theriac]

I should have had patience before asking my question. Thanks for the amazing review thus far.

[gapearl]

Once back at my hotel, I had another ride that would soon be picking me up to take me to a Muay Thai fight. The Patong Boxing Stadium has fights on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday nights at 9 pm. The cost for a VIP seat (nothing really VIP about it, just a good seat) was 1,500 baht and included a free t-shirt. There was a bar and small concession table with popcorn and fries. Yes, fries, there was a deep fryer next to the popcorn machine. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were 7 fights, 5 rounds for each fight, and each round was 3 minutes. The first fight had some very young fighters, maybe 12 year olds. They were ripped and everyone was talking about how we were all jealous of a tween's abs.

 

[gapearl]

All of the fighters had their own ritual of warming up and praying before they began.

 

 

There was one fight with two women that never went to round two. You know women fighting are crazy! Sadly, the girl who lost the fight also has lost the battle with a razor, as her under arms appeared to haven't seen one in years, maybe NEVER.

 

 

 

 

MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!

 

 

 

The fight was a cool experience. Be prepared to see blood. The music and the crowd really set the atmosphere.

 

[YOUTUBE]wv3lXPqXz18[/YOUTUBE]

 

The fight was over close to midnight. On the way back, the driver hit the car in front of us. Neither of them cared and both just kept going. LOL Apparently fender benders are common place.