Questions for "Family"-Mariner cruise on 9/10/06

[Chill&Will]

DH and I are going to be taking our first cruise and out of country trip this September on Mariner of the Seas - :D :confused: . I have been scanning the boards on this site a lot recently and decided to ask a few questions here first.

 

First, I have read some items in posts that have shocked us, and others that have just made us laugh and smile. We have definitely traveled a lot in the six years we have been together, and have researched all trips extensively prior to booking any itinerary.

 

We are looking forward to traveling out of the country for the first time together on Mariner this fall for the husband's 40th birthday. We booked the itinerary that offered us the greatest number of ports that each of us wanted to visit, and was during the week of this momentus occasion.

 

RCCL has been highly recommended by both straight and gay friends who have cruised. They recommended them to us. We decided to go with a Voyager class ship that offered a variety of onboard entertainment and activities, and the chance to just relax, since we work constantly throughout the year.

 

Ok... sorry for being long-winded. Here come the questions.

 

1. What would the "climate" be onboard for a couple who is often mistaken for brothers, but who do not hide the fact that they are a couple.

 

2. Which island is a better place to spend more time on the ship during a port day? Grand Cayman or Jamaica? Leaning toward the Island Tour and Turtle farm in GC and the Party boat cruise and Dunn's River falls in Jamaica.

 

3. FOD's offered onboard as of late? Noticed in a post that RCCL has been starting to implement them on their ships. I know they are still up to the discretion of the CD, but was wondering if they have been offered on any recent sailings.

 

Also, before I end this long first post, what has been some feedback with Meet&Mingles on cruises you have taken?

 

Hope to have the chance to meet a few new friends on this cruise. Hope some of you are going!!!

 

Only 190 days to go!

[island04]

Chill&Will...just IM'd you on Yahoo. IM me back @ "tanchaser"

[Schplinky]

We cruised Navigator, which is Mariner's twin. You will love the ship. We were never at a loss for something to do and we thought the ship was really quite nice. We used to go to the photo gallery the first day or two to look at the embarkation photos (they take souvenir pictures of you as you board) and we enjoyed spotting the other couples. We especially liked the Viking Crown lounge for drinks before dinner and we thought their disco was pretty good, too. We danced as a couple and had no "what the heck" looks.

 

As you said, FOD seem to be up to the discretion of the CD but ours scheduled 4 once we asked for the first one. We made a point of thanking him. You might want to drop him a note via the purser's desk (Guest Relations) when you board, saying you would appreciate a party.

 

We were as out on the ship as we are at home. We spoke freely about each other as partners, we posed for pictures together during formal nights and we went for moonlight strolls on the deck. I can honestly say that we were never treated any differently by anyone, staff or passengers, than a straight couple might be. When I would get to a bar before Mike, the waitress (after a couple of days) would ask if I knew what my partner wanted to drink. It's insane to me how these people remember their custmers! There was never any awkward questions about my "friend" and we never felt any different than what we were: welcomed guests.

 

Mike didn't come to our Meet and Mingle becase he thought/thinks it's odd to chat with strangers on the internet. That said, many people asked about him at the M&M and said they hoped they got to meet him.

 

I have never been to Jamaica or Grand Caymen but I asked the same question as you, since we had heard some begative things about both. I think our plan will be to stay on the ship in Jamaica and to visit GC. That thread is lcated here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=299155

 

Mike has wandered through as I typed this and I asked him if there is anything I should add. He says to be prepared to become addicted to this type of holiday. It's true, we had such a nice time on RCCL that we already have plans for two more cruises with them (Freedom in Sept 06 and Europe in Sept 07). We tried Celebrity after this great Navigator trip and we just find we are more confortable on RCCL.

[NashDB]

Chill&Will, Hi I'll be on the Mariner 9/10/06 as well. Cruising with a friend I met on a cruise last year. I'm gay, he's straight. I'm 46, he's turning 30 on the cruise. Maybe we should have a joing 40/30 Birthday party!

 

Last year I cruised with a gay friend. Since we weren't a couple, it didn't mean we needed to be "out" much. Our table mates were bores so we ate at the upcharge restaurant most of the time.

 

I think you should be as "out" as you want to be. Have a great time.

 

I don't think we're doing the Meet and Greet but look forward to meeting you guys at a FOD or other occation.

 

David

[huntedbear]

I agree with the others about life on RCCL...My husband and I were on Seranade of the Seas in 2004 and had a blast.

 

Our table mates were great, one of them even trying to get us to move to Canada so we caould get married...hehehe

 

As for the fact that you are often mistaken for brothers...just act like you normally do on land, and pose for photos like you're a couple and the crew will treat you like that for the rest of the cruise...by the end of ours the photographers, as well as the rest of the staff, were posing us just like everyone else.

 

In addition, if by chance your tablemates are ot to your likeing, there are several other options for dining, as has been mentioned.

 

All in all...have fun!!!!!!!!!