Good Cruise on Mariner of the Seas, 1/6-1/11/2022

[Presbycruiser67]

Took a pleasant cruise on Mariner of the Seas with my youngest daughter.

 

Drove down from southwest Georgia to Port Canaveral on January 5.  Stayed overnight at Country Inn and Suites (they had a special going on).  For an extra $70 you can park there for the duration of your cruise and a shuttle to and from the cruise terminal is included.

 

Embarkation was easy, even with dear daughter needing an antigen test.  No crowds, which is a nice byproduct of sailing with 1,700 guests as opposed to full capacity.

 

Boarded around 1 pm, had a quick lunch in the Windjammer, did the "safety drill" which required watching a short video and reporting to one's muster station.  Amazingly, several passengers had to be reminded over and over again to complete the drill, which has never been easier.

 

Rooms were ready at 2 pm, and luggage was there waiting for us.  Food was excellent (I had a salad and a chicken curry which was nicely spicy).

 

Nice balcony cabin on deck 6, starboard.  Shower was underwhelming and the toiletries were Wal-Mart grade.  Best to bring your own.  And there were only two electrical outlets ... next time I will bring a power strip.  But the beds were comfy, there was a sofa as well.  Also a safe and cooler.  And sitting on the balcony with a cup of coffee in the morning was pleasant.

 

Wonderful room steward who was very attentive.

 

Windjammer and Main Dining Room had overall excellent food and service.  Our waiter and his assistant were very attentive to my daughter.  She spent most of her time in our cabin as her way of relaxing is to have a lot of private time.  Anyway, when she did not come to dinner a couple of nights, the waiter had room service take her the dinner she would have ordered!

 

Good snacks in the Cafe Promenade (including some delicious thin crust pizza), and we loved the Bratwursts from The Dog House.

 

Daughter and I were quite tired and slept a lot.  I was a little more active than she was, spending time in the adults-only Solarium, their pool and hot tubs.  Those hot tubs were a lifesaver for my aching back!!!

 

I had a few cocktails but at the outrageous prices they charged, not many!  I think I averaged one alcoholic beverage per day.  But I doubt I would have drunk enough to make the Deluxe Beverage Package worthwhile, even at the lowest sale price I saw before the cruise (over $60 per day, NOT including tax).   I did get my money's worth from the soda package, which I obtained on Black Friday for $5.99 per day.

 

I would say 99% of the people I saw wore masks inside.  Most of the crew were double-masked.

 

A handful of crew and passengers tested positive for Covid but the rest of us shrugged at the news.  We were just happy to be on board!!  Daughter was given an antigen test the day before our return.

 

I got off the ship briefly on Coco Cay but did not stay long since I wanted to look in on my daughter from time to time.  

 

Overall, the ship was in excellent condition, but there were a few signs of wear and tear.  The hallway carpet on Deck 6 was worn in a couple of places, and several chairs in the Windjammer had peeling seat backs.

 

And, the service was excellent as well, although the upselling by the dining room and windjammer staff was annoying.  

 

Disembarkation was easy.  Eat breakfast and then wait in your cabin until your group is called.  Of course, the relatively low number of passengers contributed to the swiftness of our departure.

 

Overall, it was a relaxing cruise on a beautiful ship.  Really glad I went and got to spend time with my daughter.

 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Presbycruiser67

[mafig]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.  Glad to hear Mariner is in over-all good condition.🙂

[sandebeach]

Thanks for the review, and what a nice way to spend time with your daughter. 

[Shamrock Girl]

We were on Mariner for the same 5-night sailing. It was a great cruise. The concierge told us there were 1,529 passengers on board.
 

We stayed on (in the same stateroom) for a 4-night B2B… This morning we were supposed to dock at CocoCay at 7:00 a.m., but it was too windy. We finally docked around 10:00. Unofficially, we were told that there are 1,100 passengers on this cruise.

[Presbycruiser67]

36 minutes ago, Shamrock Girl said:

We were on Mariner for the same 5-night sailing. It was a great cruise. The concierge told us there were 1,529 passengers on board.
 

We stayed on (in the same stateroom) for a 4-night B2B… This morning we were supposed to dock at CocoCay at 7:00 a.m., but it was too windy. We finally docked around 10:00. Unofficially, we were told that there are 1,100 passengers on this cruise.

Ghost town!

 

But great for the passengers who did show up.

 

I am just worried we have been spoiled by these low passenger cruises and will be unable to enjoy a full ship.