Our Mariner 3/23- 3/30 family review

[teese]

Our Family Review of Mariner 3/23- 3/30

Cast of characters:

Myself (49)

DH (54)

DS (16)

DD (12)

Ds (Sister, 44)

FF (family friend 48)

This is mine and my DH’s 4th cruise, the kids 2nd, my Ds’s 2nd and our FF’s 1st. Last year our family minus my Ds and FF went on the Jewel over Easter break and had a blast.

We flew down 3/20 after picking the kids up from school. We wanted to have a couple days in Orlando at the parks before catching the ship. Ds owns a timeshare week in Orlando and her and our FF drove down to spend the week before the cruise sightseeing, so we joined them there for the 3 nights before our cruise.

We woke up early Sun am to be one of the first ones to board the ship. Arrived around 10:30am. Ds and FF parked their car and went ahead in to the terminal. The drive from Orlando took about 50mins, my DH dropped the kids and me with the luggage at the terminal, and he left to return the rental. It took him about 25 very long min to return. There were several families waiting for Dads to return from dropping off their rentals and we all stood together watching anxiously for the vans to bring them back. It was actually funny, each of us would call our DH’s every 5-10 min to get an update on where they were and what they were doing. It was almost painful watching people enter the terminal while we waited outside. (You couldn’t enter until your whole party had arrived).

Finally he arrived around 11am, we were processed and onboard around 11:40am. Each of us had our jobs once we boarded. My Ds had to make Portifino Ressies, my DH checked our dining room table to make sure we weren’t in the little side rooms on deck 3. My job was to make a beeline to guest relations to get the ever important DECT phones. We used them on the Jewel and they made all the difference in the world for me personally. They were $25 per phone for the week and we rented 3 (myself and the kids). Last year on the Jewel they were $50 apiece because it was an 8 day cruise. The Mariner’s phones were smaller than the Jewel’s, more the size of an older model cell. I also set the limit on the kids sea passes, picked up the pocket size maps of the ship for everyone and had my sea pass punched so I could use the pretty pearl and silver lanyard I bought on eBay for this trip.

We all met in the WJ and had lunch. (I’m not going to review the food unless it had an impact on the kids and their choices). Suffice it to say we were full and happy when done with lunch.

Now it was finally time to see our rooms. This was everyone’s first trip with a balcony and we were so excited (actually my DH wasn’t nearly as excited as I because he’s way more practical and hated paying for them :o).

We had booked 2 D1s adjoining for ourselves and the kids on deck 7, my Ds and our FF booked an E2 8 rooms forward. It was a slice of heaven. The rooms were plenty large with tons of space for all our things. The door between the rooms was at the foot of the bed. It didn’t impact on the lay out of the room at all, and looked just like the rooms on the RCCL site just with the extra door. I know people in other adjoining rooms on other ships have reported smaller sofas.

One disappointing note, the room steward told us right away the balcony divider couldn’t be opened any more. We did call guest relations and were told it was a brand new policy and they would no longer open them for anyone or for any reason due to safety concerns. They were extremely apologetic. Ok, no biggie, time to move on.

We then checked out the ship. Ran into my Ds and FF who were giddy with excitement. Ate a small snack in the Promenade Café (actually just my DH, they had little egg salad sandwiches which he adores). I could tell we would enjoy this little place often.

The kids wanted to watch sail away from our balcony, fine with me. So I used the time before sail away and after the muster to force everyone to unpack their suitcase, there was much whining, complaining and begging to do it later (actually my DH didn’t give me any trouble, just those kids), but it was done when we went off to our early seating at dinner. This was my main goal for our first day, as last year I stayed in the room and unpacked because I knew the kids were beside themselves to get out there and see everything on the ship. But it was a bummer and not to be repeated this time.

The dinners were no problem with my kids even though I have a very picky eater (DD). She likes beef only, so the poor thing ate prime rib, steak and filets. Not a peep out of her all week. My DS was in heaven with all the seafood choices and enjoyed the chicken on the alternate menu one night. They both enjoyed the starters because they knew they could leave it if they didn’t care for it. DS sometimes ate several of these, he’s 6ft and thin as a rail, so I said go for it. DS enjoyed the desserts he chose each night, DD stuck to the ice cream, even though our waitress tried to cajole her to try something else. Oh, she did love the Flourless Choc. Cake, but who doesn’t like that?

After dinner we went to the 7:45 Welcome Aboard Show. All except DD who went up to Living Rm for their first official get together at 8:00. I had to put up with a ton of misery from both kids, because I insisted DS accompany DD and make sure she got up there ok. Neither was happy because he thought it was stupid he had to take her up and she didn’t want to be escorted, but it worked for me as she is also tall and looks older, like 14-15 and she’s very pretty and I didn’t want any older boys hitting on her. So they were given their marching orders and two fuming kids left. AWW…………… quiet bliss at last.

DS must have dropped her like a hot potato because he was back in 5 mins flat to watch the show. With much rolling of eyes and huffing and puffing he assured me she was where she was supposed to be and there were staff there, plus security in sight.

Turns out 1,188 kids were onboard, RCCL had decided to up the number of visual security, plus the kids were told the first night at their meet and greet what would and would not be tolerated on board in no uncertain terms.

We have very strict rules of what is allowed with dire consequences if there is a transgression so we had no troubles with either.

The Welcome Aboard show was fun and even DS enjoyed it, then he went to his thing in the Living room at 9P. My DH and I headed to Ellingtons for a couple glasses of wine and to enjoy that wonderful feeling of knowing the whole week is ahead of you. We talked about all the things we were going to do this week, all the amenities we were going to take advantage of and all the new things we were going to try out.

We had planned to meet up with Ds and FF to watch the parade, but we were so comfy we called and cancelled. No problem they had changed their minds too. Turns out only DD went with her new friends she had just met, she liked it and then headed back to Fuel. We headed back to our rooms about 11:30pm, the kids had already checked in by phone and were told their curfew was midnight. We settled in, they showed up and we all fell instantly to sleep.

This review is so long I’m going to take a break and have breakfast. Will hopefully post Day 2 later today along with how the kids first night activities went.

[teese]

Recap of kids evening activities:

To begin with my DS is a typical 16 yr old boy and I only get the basics from him. My 12yr old DD is more forth coming, I get more of the nitty gritty from her.

My DD’s “Meet Up” was in the Living Room and she said it was jam packed. Then the Adventure Ocean staff began to scan their seapass cards. All the kids who were under or over age were tossed out :D and the remainder had an “N” written on their cards. This then signaled to the staffers they were teenagers and allowed access to Fuel, The Living Room and The Back Deck, but it was different from the older teens, and they weren’t allowed to mix with these older teens during scheduled activities. By this time they were moved to Fuel to play “Teen Quest”. She had a blast playing this, they divided themselves into teams, I quizzed her a little about it and it was all age appropriate, as opposed to the adult “Quest”.

She and her new friends then headed to the parade on the promenade and then back to the Living Room to play “Who Are You”, another ice breaker type of game. She had a midnight curfew and was back on time.

DS left us after the Welcome Aboard show and headed to the “Meet up” at 9PM in the Living Room. Same drill, checked seapasses and evicted any younger or older kids. They had something then written on their card, I don't remember what it was though. At 10pm they played their version of “Teen Quest” in the Fuel, a little older version than DD, but nothing like adult “Quest”. Then he hung out till his 12am curfew.

Both kids loved Quest, met several friends and had a great time.

Day 2

DH and I ordered fruit plates and a pot of coffee for 7am. At 6:50 we got the call they were on the way and 7am they were knocking on the door. I get chilly very easily so I’d packed my super comfy robe and sat out on the balcony with our snack feeling like a queen for the day. ;) We repeated this every morning except day 3, Labadee, we ordered a full breakfast that morning.

After our pre breakfast on the balcony, DH headed to the gym and I headed to the Promenade deck to walk. I walked each morning to ward off the guilt about all the deserts, cookies, ice cream, little sandwiches, cheese plates, not too mention those frozen drinks every evening.:o

I knew the kids were still sleeping, as they hadn’t called, so DH and I met for breakfast in the WJ. Met up with Ds and our FF, our DS finally woke and met us there too. The WJ was very crowded, more so than I ever noticed on the Jewel and the omelet station was soooooooo slooooooow. DH, Ds, FF and I decided to eat in the dining room for breakfast for the rest of the week.

When we finished DD was finally up and since she had ordered room service the night before for breakfast, I went down to check on her and be there when it arrived. Then we all headed to the first Bingo of the cruise.

This year the kids played free with a paying adult, meaning they got a pack of cards with one card per game. We thought this was great, DH and I played the free cards and the kids played a large pack each. If the small pack wins, it’s still eligible for the prize but the kids get the keychain and the money’s put on the adult seapass. Works for me! :o) The kids started negotiating immediately, could they have a percentage if they won, or an extra few dollars on their seapass, blah, blah, blah. In the end the point was moot as we didn’t win any $$. We did however win the raffle this day and received two passes to the Arawak Water Park on Labadee for the next day. Very nice. My Ds also won $350 on the last day in one of the games. Very very nice.

Oh I forgot, after breakfast DH went to pick up all the ice show tickets, no problems, just huge lines. But it moved fast and he was able to get the show we wanted. I did sit with people at lunch later in the week who said the tickets were all gone by the time they got there.

DH and I went to lunch in the dining room, DS had eaten too much at breakfast :p and decided to skip lunch, and DD wasn’t hungry because she ate such a late breakfast. So I checked that they had phone, watches and knew to be back by 5:15pm. Off they went not to be seen till right before dinner.

DH and I wandered the ship a bit, I spent some time reading on our balcony, and then we went to the C & A wine tasting. The best part was our table mates. Oddly enough, one couple lived 5 mins from our house. They had a son a year older than ours who went to the same school as our DS. They also had a daughter a year older than our DD who also attended the same school as her. Our daughters eventually met, became good friends on the trip and now call and email each other. Being in separate grades they actually rarely see each other at school. Our other table partners were also fun and made a rather ho hum event very interesting.

Now this is where adjoining rooms came in so handy. DH and I got ready for our first formal night first and then relaxed either on the balcony (me) or surfing the TV (him). The kids then came barreling in on time and showered and dressed each in one of the two bathrooms. We had bought a photo package and I had hoped to get pics taken before dinner, but we were out of time and did it after instead.

The formal dinner was very nice, we all enjoyed the food, and since we hadn’t spent that much time together, enjoyed catching up on what everyone was doing. Funny thing though, there were a lot of empty tables. Our wait team only had our table that night, the other 3 were empty. Also my kids like to order the frozen mocktails at dinner, so we ordered these for them most evenings.

After our pictures, my DD changed clothes and took off to meet her friends in the arcade as there was an air hockey tournament there for her age group. We didn’t see her again till bedtime. DS went to the show with us in the Savoy Theater, John Joseph and Johnny B. We all enjoyed them. My Ds and our FF passed on this and went to the casino for a while, they did quite well.

After the show DS went upstairs to check what was going on, we were all back in the room and bed around 11pm. It’d been a long day and tomorrow we were in Labadee.

[nccruiser24]

Great review so far! Keep it coming:)

[kruz gal]

Agree!! Tell us more! :)

[CRUISINGCPA]

Teese,

What were your cabin numbers? We have adjoining D1's on 7 in June. Did you make your reservations with one adult in each room? If so, how did that work with the room keys?

[TxStacey]

Please keep your review coming!! I am especially interested in what your kids did, as we have several teens in our group that are thier ages..they have all cruised, but on Carnival..we sail July 6th!!

[teese]

Day 3

Today we pulled into Labadee. We were on the port side and had a beautiful view of the little peninsula. We woke up early, my DH went to the gym and I stayed out on the balcony to watch Haiti pass by. I think this is the morning my DS went with my DH to the gym to work out also. I had to beat my DD with a stick before I could get her out of bed. :) Those two (DH and DS) decided to eat in the WJ afterwards and DD and I ate our breakfast in the room as we’d ordered the night before. What arrived was somewhat different then what we’d ordered, but it was all good.

We headed over about 9:15-9:30am, no problem with the tender. As I’ve been reading diligently on these boards I knew to pass the beaches as you get off and I’d decided on Hideaway Beach. My Ds and our FF had left early to take the walking tour excursion, so we met up with them shortly after settling in.

We walked the 7-8min to the beach, when we arrived an attendant was there by the chairs and we asked for a nice shady spot. He put us under the palm trees right by the hammocks we tipped him a few dollars and were all set. Both kids took over a hammock for awhile, my DH settled in a lounge (he grew roots to that thing) and I went exploring. I found where the restrooms, showers, picnic area and buffet were, picked up our mats I’d presented and then DD and I head out to float in the beautiful clear water. DH remained on his lounge and DS had moved to one also, (the water has to be 85 degrees before they'll put their toe in). Also this is the perfect place to be absolutely lazy.

By this time my Ds and our FF arrived, got their mats and joined us. DH and DS still held down the fort in their lounges. The sun had been shining and it was nice and warm out. About 45mins later the sun went behind the clouds, the wind picked up and the darkest black cloud formed over the mountain/hills. We began to get cold so we got out and decided to take this time to check out Dragon’s Breath Rock. It was a pretty walk, we saw those black sea urchins your warned about everywhere in the water over there. After taking some nice pictures we head back for lunch. Unfortunately the Arawak tickets we’d won were for 12pm, but the kids weren’t interested in walking back to do it. So we missed out. (Actually I had forgotten about them until it was too late anyway, so I was very glad they weren't disappointed). Bad thing was, if I'd paid more attention I could have given them to someone who may have enjoyed them.

Lunch was good and we enjoyed everything. We as in everyone but the picky eater (DD). She ate very little, but didn't complain. The tip I read several times on the boards to go around the left side of the buffet was right on the money. There was no one on that side and a longish line on the right.

When we’d finished eating we decided to head back to see if the parasail excursion we’d bought for 2pm could take us early, and Ds and FF had a kayak excursion to get to.

So we headed out, DH and DD decided to catch the tram, DS and I walked to see if we could get some nice pictures, which we did.

It turned out there was room for the 1pm trip. Now this is a little outside of my comfort zone, but the kids wanted to go and DH had done it years ago in Mexico and wanted to try it again. I hate to be the chicken, so I signed up too.

The boat ride out was the thrill ride for the day. There was enough wind and waves that we were having a blast. The parasail part was smooth and quiet, just like flying. We all loved it and would do it again in a heart beat. The two guides were hysterical, when the first 2 riders were up they pulled out a “Parasailing for Dummies” book and started arguing about what to do next. It was hysterical. They also pulled a few more tricks that made the trip fun.

Back to the ship, there was no line for the 2pm tender. After showering we adults relaxed until dinner, the kids took off to do what kids do.

After dinner my DH, Ds, FF and I just wandered the Promenade, shopped and bought a couple things, and ate some ice cream. My DH ran into a very rude woman in line at the logo store. Very annoying then, but funny now. He was in line to check out next, there was a longish line and he’d been in line a while watching the other shoppers. Just as the lady in front of him was finishing, this other lady comes out of nowhere and asks if he’s with the lady just finishing up. He said no, so she actually pushed her way in front of him. He said “Pardon me, I’ve been in line here a while and I saw you as you were shopping”, she then said “No, you must have seen my daughter.” He decided to be the gentleman and let it drop. I saw the whole thing and was glad he didn’t get into it with her, she was a nut. Also she was about my age, and I saw her walk out with her daughter who was about 12. I wouldn’t want to burst her bubble, but one could not pass for the other. Any whoo, the employee at the register thanked my DH for waiting patiently.

This and two other incidents were the only bad behavior on the ship and they were all involving adults. Not kids as you might think with such a large number on board.

The kids spent the evening with their group upstairs, my DD spent a bit of time in the arcade, when we hit our room about 10:30p, DS was already there watching a movie.

Tomorrow was Jamaica and we have the canopy tour booked. Now this is light-years out of both mine and my DH comfort zone.

[teese]

cruisingcpa - we had 7630 and 7632. We did make a ressie with an adult in each room. We had planned to just go to guest relations and have my DH and DD's cards switched, but we never got around to it. It wasn't that big a deal. But guest relations will swith the cards around so you can enter the room you want and also keep the charging privledges the same. The kids had a set amount and obviously my DH was linked to his CC.

 

TX Stacey - My DD spent a lot of time popping in and out of the activites in whatever area they were held, Fuel or The Living Room. She kept her kids compass in a pocket and she and her friends would pop in when it was something fun. Otherwise they ate pizza at the cafe promenade, ice cream at Ben and Jerry's, played in the arcade, watched movies in the screening room, looked over and bought the junk on sale in the Royal Promenade. She even bought a bracelet for me at the gold by the inch sale. She particually liked, and so did her friends, the scavenger hunts. She also spent some time with her friends using the pools and hot tubs in the main area. They had one hot tub marked for adults only, they may have been another, I didn't notice it though. All the kids were in the other ones, also the non adult hot tubs were significantly cooler, actually more to my liking. Again this was at the main pool, the solarium is only for 16 and older.

 

My DS joined in less activites, the older teens like to make their own fun just hanging out and talking. He spent some time in the arcade, watched movies in the screening room etc. This group is a little harder to engage in orgnaized activities. But he had a great time and always had something to do.

[cruzin princess]

Fabulous review Teese can't wait for more.:D

[Newsbuff16]

Wonderful review.... looking forward to reading more.

[DEBS@40]

Fab review keep posting feel like I'm reliving a dream:D

[teese]

Day 4

If it’s day 4 then it must be Jamaica:

I woke up this morning like before to sit on the balcony and enjoy my now predawn coffee, as we were moving west into a later time zone, but staying on ship time. So it was dark at 7am when our coffee and fruit plates arrived. We enjoyed watching the dawn sky, but not the sunrise as it was sort of behind us now. I guess the aft cabins got to see it.

Same routine, DH to gym, I walked, yada yada yada. Kids are decidedly moving slower in the morning. Had to beat both of them with a stick this morning. DS actually asked to be awakened early so he could go with his dad to the gym. I woke him, sort of, there was some muffled cries of ”please let me sleep”, so I did. My DH, retired military, can’t understand this sleeping in stuff, but he let it pass with a just a little grumbling.

Finally we’re off to our excursion. Since the kids are moving slow, there was a lot of last minute madness trying to meet the excursion at the appointed time. Again my DH hates to be even close to running late, so this adds to the tension in the air. We get to the tent at the end of the pier where all RCCL tours are to meet. Then wait around with our fingers in our ears for about 20-25min, until someone starts to call out for different excursions. My DD was knocked literally aside as a very uptight female passenger rushed to follow the crowd to her excursion. I have no clue how the atmosphere in the “don’t worry, be happy” capitol of the world became so electrically charged. Finally we made it to the bus, only to wait another 20min.

Now, have I mentioned this is the zip line Canopy Tour? What was I doing when I booked this and how did I talk my DH into doing it? Even my Ds and our FF thought we were nuts. We pull out of the lot and the guide passes the waver around for everyone to sign. Why didn’t I see all these warnings somewhere on the website when I signed us up? We had to sign off that we would be able to stand on a 3x3 platform 500 ft in the air, unaided and not throw up! :eek: We’ve left the station folks, I turn around to check out the other excursionees, and my DH and I are the oldest there! :( As I mentioned before I hate being the token chicken, so I signed on the dotted line that heck yeah, I won’t throw-up up there, no one said anything about not wetting myself. :p There were at least 6 other horrible, hair raising things I signed off that I could do without fainting. I’m a vain woman and I refused to stand up and appear puny in front of all those hearty looking people on the bus.

Well, let me tell you the ride up the side of the mountain was as harrowing a ride as I’ve ever taken. After a while I quit looking and decided I’ll just concentrate on what that wonderful tour guide was saying and put my life in God’s hands. There was nothing I could do. We were literally within inches of sliding off this sorry excuse for a road, down the side of a steep drop, to the valley far, far below.

Finally we arrive at the top of the mountain. My kids are having a blast, my DH is looking a little green. :o That ride up the side of hell and the horrible things we said we could do was taking its toll.

We get the safety talk, the guides appear serious and competent. They’ve already gotten us in the gear so we’re ready to go. Now guess what we do next? Walk (more like climb or scramble) halfway back down that mountain. I kid you not. I think we climbed for hours. (ok, maybe 30mins).

Now it becomes very obvious OSHA does not live here. We are on this path down the mountain, that has a drop off to nowhere and there’s a single rail or rope between you and oblivion. You scramble under and over fallen trees, some people are slipping on the wet wooden rails that are dug in to help form the earthen steps.

Finally we reach the first traverse. It’s truly hundreds of feet up, and you do stand on a small wooden 3x3 platform before you are told to just step off. :eek: Now to be fair, as soon as you get off the path and step onto the larger platform, a guide clips your safety onto a line and from then on you are always hooked to a safety. But let me tell you, it took me two seconds to realize that this would keep you from dying, but if you slipped off you were going to end up with a lot of stitches.

I’m sure your wondering how I took the kids on such a trip. Well first, off nothing scares these two. They are young, nimble, thin and physically fit and coordinated, none of which I am. Believe me I’m in far more danger of falling off than they are. They think this is the best thing they’ve ever done and they haven’t even done the first traverse yet.

So I watch carefully as the people in front take their turns. No one hesitates, heck they didn’t even squeal one little bit. My DH goes first, the kids next, and I went last. I’m sorry to report, I jumped, but I was not quiet. I screamed. LOUD!

And I loved it. Plus after my initial verbal outburst, many others joined in. I had sounded so silly, how could anyone do worse. Now I thought I can do this, no trouble.

The next traverse was at a steep downward angle, and this was a problem and it scarred me to death. If they didn’t stop you, you ran smack into a tree at 35mph. But the pressure was on so I dutifully stepped off after watching my family do it with no problems. I liked it, especially since I asked the guide and he said there were no more like that.

Another straight traverse and I’m having a really good time now. The kids are having the time of their lives, and DH is just as happy as I am.

The next traverse turns out to be a controlled repel about 30ft down. People are screaming this time. I look at the guide who told me we wouldn’t have anymore downward traverses, he tells me it’s not, it’s a repel. Ha Ha. My DH went first and I think he had a religious experience based on what he yelled on the way down. My DS was next, and he’s his usual stoic self. Now DD went, I knew it was bad because she let out the littlest peep, which is not her style. So I’m next, and let me tell you it is very hard to just step off and drop down, much harder that traversing. I know I screamed because all the people on the bottom yucked it up, but those still on top were very quiet and very still with huge wide open eyes.

Shortly after I jumped, a lady refused to go. Now I almost jumped up and pumped my arm in the air. I wouldn’t be the wimp on this trip, if I chickened out, I’d have company. They had her step aside and when everyone else was done, they talked to her a little and she finally went. But after this it was all easy horizontal traverses, one really long one, but it was nice because you got to look around a bit.

Okay the trip is over, I decide it was a ton of fun and would do it again, much to the kid’s relief, now I’m not sure about DH. He’s not actually said yes, but not no either. Like I said earlier, he’s the practical one and studied their equipment, and how they handled the safeties the whole time. So it wasn’t all fun and games to him, it was serious business.

I need to stop for sustenance. Will try to finish day 4 tonight.

[Bellatrix]

Cant wait to hear MORE!

[CRUISINGCPA]

Teese,

Those are our same cabins! Do you have any pictures? Was the view from the balconies good or was it partially blocked by the humps? Thanks for the great review.

[teese]

CRUISINGCPA- that is just too funny. Would you believe my main picture taker is my DS and on the way home he said he forgot to get pics. The view is great, yes the hump is there and you can't see forward, but it never bothered me, we were generally sitting and relaxing and looking out, not forward. Anyway we left it in good shape. Are you doing the eastern or western? We felt the port side was the best on the Western trip. Am now totally spoiled.

[teese]

Day 4 continued…….

Once back on ship, we all showered, checked in with my Ds and our FF who were just back also. We all headed to the WJ for lunch. Then the adults headed for naps and the kids chilled out in their room and rented a movie. We were exhausted and tonight was a big night. The ice show, Win a Cruise Bingo, The Love and Marriage show then the pool party up on deck.

Dinner was in the dining room, kids ate very well, so did the adults, we were all hungry. After dinner we changed into comfy clothes for the evening activities. Actually the kids and DH changed every night back into shorts. But this night I did too. DD ran up to do the inline skating at 8pm and then joined us for the ice show at 9pm.

DS decided he didn’t want to see the ice show and headed upstairs to play capture the flag. Only to find for the first time that something was cancelled due to low attendance, probably everyone was at the ice show or dinner. He met us in the Savoy after the show to play Win a Cruise Bingo. DD left to meet her friends upstairs and we didn’t see her again till after midnight, although she did check in by phone at the appointed time.

Didn’t win the cruise, but after an obscenely short period of play there was a stander, who then yelled BINGO the next number called. :eek: His wife jumps up and hugs and kisses him, they’re jumping up and down. Man do you feel cheated when they do that. :mad: Turns out it was a BONGO, he didn’t realize we were playing a certain pattern (I forget which, maybe the big X), he had a regular one line BINGO. I’m sure they were very disappointed. But I was very tickled to have another chance. :) Unfortunately we didn’t win or come close.

Next was the Love and Marriage show. Ds, FF, DH, DS and I thought it was a hoot. A few hysterical moments, actually felt sorry for the groom who named the brides grandma as the trouble maker in the family, only for him to find out this was to be broadcast on the TV for the rest of the cruise (Grandma was in her cabin resting). Got to feel sorry for the newbies. :D

Lastly we head up to the Deck Party. There was a buffet that we sampled, the soft tacos were very good and they had a couple of types of hard ice cream that my DH was happy with. The DJ was very good and teens and tweens were having a blast. They were doing all kinds of line dances, looked like fun.

Turns out my kids weren’t there. DS was with his friends hanging out on the fringes, eating and talking. DD was up at the putt putt, fooling around and just hanging out. We all met back sometime around 12:30-1am. Thankfully we had nothing planned for tomorrow, our day in Grand Cayman. Except a couple of spa ressies and Portifino’s. Yeah!!!!!!!

[will work to cruise]

:) Great trip report so far. Can't wait for our June Mariner Western!

[teese]

Day 5 Grand Cayman

My DH and I decided to take this day off, and didn’t book any excursions. Last year on the Jewel we did this and loved the quiet port day on board. Plus this had the added benefit of being anchored out and looking at a pretty island instead of in port looking at the old aluminum pier like in Jamaica.

The kids slept in, DH and I have very early daily schedules so we rarely sleep in, and once I wake on the ship I just have to jump up to check out the balcony. It was again very dark, today DH did his thing after coffee, I hung out on the balcony, was very lazy, showered late and read till the kids woke. They were so late getting up, we skipped breakfast and just waited a little and went to early lunch in the WJ. We had ressies at Portifino’s tonight and knew we needed to be very hungry, I remembered the portions we larger than the dining room when we went last year. So we had a large, early lunch.

After lunch we head up to the Putt Putt, and played a round. A nice course, in great shape, well maintained.

After lunch DH and DS went to watch “Spider Man 3” in the screening room and DD and I headed to the pool. At first the water seemed cooler than I’d like, but we got used to it, then DH joined us and we tried out the hot tubs for awhile. About 2:30pm we headed to the room to get ready for our spa appointments. I had booked a port special, 20min scalp and neck, 20min shoulder and back and 20min foot and ankle massage for $99. It was heaven and well worth the extravagant fee.

I had made an appointment for DD to do the teen pamper spa thing today at 4pm. It was a fruity facial, glow makeover, fabulous hand treatment (their names), and a spa gift. 60min for $50. She loved every minute. Another teen and DD with a youngish spa employee sat in the Salon in full view of everyone, so no worries with them being in a treatment room alone. There was also no sales pitch. The gift was a bronzing powder and very nice powder brush. Now my daughter isn’t allowed to wear makeup, but does fool around with it with her friends here at the house, so she’s had some fun with it since we’ve been home. They did go over proper skin care etc. which is a good thing for them to start thinking about if not doing.

While we were at the spa the guys worked out in the gym. We met in the room and leisurely got ready for our 6pm ressies at Portifino’s. We ate early so DD could join us as she’s 12.

We made reservations for Portifino’s on this night so as to miss a formal night in the dining room. We went to both formal nights last year, but just didn’t feel like it this year. Dinner was as delicious as last time. My DD (picky eater) had Caesar Salad, Penna Pasta with Marinara Sauce (instead of the beef ragu) as her starters, the Grilled Fillet Mignon for the entrée, and the Flourless Chocolate Cake for dessert. The rest of us had no trouble making our choices, and all was delicious. It took in excess of 2 hours to dine, but by this time DD was in the groove of these longer dinners. I was never worried, but others have posted questions on this so I thought I’d comment.

We didn’t want to watch the production show, I’m sorry to admit it, but it’s not our thing. So we went down to make our guess in the Spot the Fake Amber Contest. We had no plans to be there for the drawing but wanted to see if we could spot it, we did. Kids disappeared for a while only to show back up because the main teen activity was to meet up and go to the production show they didn’t want to see. They headed to the room to rent a movie, and order some room service munchies. DH and I went to the promenade for a little ice cream and to check out what junk was on display. Brought ice cream back to the kids, DH watched one of the movies, I read in bed till the movies ended about 12am, and we went to bed. They had used they’re C&A coupons for BOGO on the movies. They each picked a different one and watched it in separate rooms. At this point DS wouldn’t be caught dead watching what DD watches and DD thinks the movies he likes are stupid guy stuff. Glad we had the coupons.

I believe this was the night my Ds and FF went to casino and won $400 playing Black Jack. Between that and her BINGO winnings, they practically wiped out their seapass bill for the trip.

I forgot to mention that we bought the soda package for each of the kids. I had cautioned each of them repeatedly to never drink their drink if it was out of their site for even a minute. They were to forget it and get a new one. I don’t know if they used it very much, but I didn’t care, I don’t know all the kids on the ship and would rather be safe than sorry.

That’s it for today. Will finish tomorrow. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would run on this way.

[cruisegal58]

:) teese, thanks for a great review thru day 4!! haha alot of writing i know! we sail the mariner in may promanade cabin 7557. how much was bingo? we have never sailed rcl only carnival not sure how things work over here. cant wait to read more, i guess u have to rest your finers and brain!!! u r a brave woman teese, aint no way am i doing the zip line!!! whew!! cindy

[Bargeo]

Great review!!!! I certainly admire the way you kept tabs on your children. We are older, and prefer to cruise when there are not a lot of children on board. I would not hesitate to cruise with your family. Good job!!!!

[teese]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. This is my first trip report, I was nervous to start, but once the first segment was posted there was no turning back.

 

cruisegal58- the bingo packs were $29 for the large 6 card packs. If you bought their "special Bingo package" ($44) the first day or two, you got a T-shirt and an extra 3 card strip for the jackpot game each time. They put a sticker on the adult seapass to signify that you had bought in to this. So the kids each got the free one card pack, we bought a 6 card pack for each and had two three card strips for the jackpot game for $58. But we didn't hit evey BINGO. Also the Win a Cruise Bingo was $15 for a strip of three cards.

 

Bargeo - My DH and I did remark to ourselves several times that the cruise may have been dissapointing for anyone onboard who came childless. It was the perfect cruise for us though, as that's our lifestyle, being around kids.

[bbw187]

Teese,

 

I was on the same sailing traveling with two 17 yo girls. It was our second time sailing on the Mariner and it was just as much fun as the first time. The girls had a great time at Fuel and met some really nice kids. They hung out till all hours of the night/morning. I do have to say Deck Patrol was working overtime! They ended up mingling in other kids cabins but always called to check in with mom.

 

We took advantage of the inport spa packages also. They are very cost effective compared to a regular spa fee.

 

We all agreed we liked the eastern caribbean itinerary better than the western. In fact we only got off the ship in Jamaica to make a phone call. Really don't care if I ever visited there again.

 

The weather was great and the MOS was a great ship to sail on. Can't wait to sail again!

[kittymom65]

Teese,

This is an excellent review so far, and I am looking forward to your day in Cozumel!

[teese]

Day 6, Cozumel

Friday we arrived in Cozumel at 10:00am. All 6 of us had booked the Xcaret excursion through the ship. We were to arrive in front of the Savoy Theater on deck 3 I believe, I might have that wrong, any whoo we were where we were supposed to be at the appointed time and then headed out to the ferry for our 30 min trip to the mainland.

The ferry is a fairly large catamaran, with nice seating, relatively clean restrooms and a snack bar. It has huge windows all along its sides, but they’re plexiglass and seemed to be etched from the salt spray. Anyway they are nearly opaque. I had read on these boards about the rough ride over and that people do get sick. I have a feeling having no real way to see outside plays a huge part in this. Also our excursion tickets had printed on them “ROUGH SEAS, PILL ADVISED” So I decided on nondrowsy Dramamine as the nondrowsy Bonine completely knocks the socks off of the kids and I, even if we take only a quarter tablet. So I gave each of us (not DH, he’s a retired Naval Officer and has never experienced seasickness) a quarter of a pill. 5 min into the ride both kids are asleep and my head is nodding away, so much for nondrowsy. About 20min later I wake up to the sound of gagging, coughing and general throwing up. Turns out the seas were pretty rough and several people near by were truly suffering.

The crew of the ferry was trying to help those passengers and it looked like they had handed out small seasickness bags. No sooner had I finished looking around and the boat slowed and we pulled into the dock. I know those poor souls were relieved.

We exited, walked with our guide, (it was a fairly good hike, must have been hard on the ones who were just throwing up), to the bus. It was a short ride to the park and we were there.

Xcaret is an “Eco-archeological Park”. That’s from their website. It seemed to have a ton of things to do, snorkeling in a protected lagoon, rivers in caves to swim through, dolphins, a zoo type of arrangement, an aquarium etc. The excursion would return to the ship around 6:15pm. It seemed like a relaxing, fun day.

It didn’t turn out that way.

When we arrived the guide, very nice man, gave us an overview of the park, took us to the restrooms, and then another guide led us in to the starting point which are the river caves. Everyone starts here and it leads to the rest of the park near the beaches. They have an ingenious way of transporting all your beach gear, bags, towels etc. They give you a large duffle bag that you put everything in, then you securely lock it shut and they give you the key and you carry this attached to your neck. When you finish the river, everything’s there waiting for you.

Here is where I find out the water temp is 65 degrees! :eek: That is freezing cold people, and since your still reading this, you know DH and DS hate cold water (cold water is defined here as anything below 83 degrees). Now this unhappy state of affairs is possibly due to the fact that we have a heated pool and whenever the pool is in the 80 degree range we fire up the heater and bring it to the more comfortable 85 degree range. We also keep it covered with a thermal blanket so it stays warm once heated.

DH gets in because to do otherwise would be unmanly, ;) DS is speechless and looks at me with an incredulous expression. How could his mother, the consummate, obsessive/compulsive planner have missed this vital fact in her research. (Actually, I had heard the water was cold on the boards, but they said it was chilly, not a freezing 65 degrees cold). Since his mother, little sister and Aunt have gotten in DS has no other choice, to do other wise would appear wimpy. :rolleyes: DH will do ok as he just doesn’t like cold water. DS though, usually freezes into a stiff board, turning an unseemly blue. So the only course of action is to get through this river as fast as possible. So off we go at breakneck speed trying to reach the end of this thing. I did insist however that we stop for the two photographers (who by the way are in wet suits) and get pictures of us all. I love scrapbooking and have my priorities.

The pictures turned out the best of the cruise, everyones eyes were open, and had great smiles. All except DH, he has fairly poor eyesight and we’d just bought prescription goggles for him. He could finally see clearly while swimming, unfortunately they made him look like an unusual marine mammal in the pictures (I can’t name which one as he’s reading this report also:) ).

We finally reach the end and collect our stuff. Since we raced through the whole thing I kept fairly warm and liked it.

Now everyone’s hungry and we go to check out the restaurant both tour guides highly recommended for lunch. It’s a little bit of a hike, but in the direction of the snorkeling lagoons so no biggie. Guess what, it’s an all you can eat buffet, (not exactly what someone who’s had way too much food already needs), and the real kicker, it costs $29.99 per person. That’s dollars, not pesos. There is no way we are spending $180 total for lunch, so we get out the map and ask a few workers around where to get cheap food, like a sandwich. Turns out it’s practically all the way back where we exited the river. So trudge back, eat and head back out to pick up snorkel gear. This is where Ds and FF leave to explore on their own.

The time is now 2:30 and we have to be back at the front of the park by 4:00pm. So we still have time for some fun snorkeling.

DS is not going in again, and settles in a lounge chair to sleep off the remnants of the Dramamnine. DH gets in first as DD and I are struggling with the gear. We finally get in the water to find DH is getting out, he says he can’t find a single fish. Oh well, I tell DD lets just go out any way. He’s right though, the water is murky and we see nothing. But I notice other snorklers out farther in the more open ocean. So we paddle out, and begin to see some fish. Hurray! Maybe this won’t be a total bust.

We keep swimming out of the little inlet and see there is another inlet/lagoon right next to it. I also see some lines and a bouy type thing out here that we’d have to go through to get into the lagoon. I signal the lifeguard right nearby can we go through this, he signals go ahead. So we do, as I lift the lines to swim underneath I realize these are some kind of electrical cables. :eek: I instantly dropped thems and pulled DD with me as fast as those flippers could go. Then I looked behind and noticed all the men working on something in that area, I guess OSHA doesn’t live here either.

Well we finally found a lagoon with lots of pretty fish and some coral. By now we had only a few minutes to look around. We eventually got out and met up with DH and DS. Packed up, rinsed off and headed out. As we walked we passed by the animal enclosures which were small but not cages. You know how the newer zoos make everything look like the animals are right there and you don’t see the hidden barriers, it was like that, so very nice.

We take the Dramamine again and head back, I hated how it made us so sleepy, but after the trip over I didn’t want to risk getting sick like a few others did.

The trip back on the ferry was a carbon copy of the trip out. We slept and woke up to vomiting and then docked a couple minutes later.

I’m going to have stop here and finish Day 6 later this evening if possible.

[pmfan]

Such a detailed and informative review. Thanks for taking us along on your cruise. Can't wait to read the rest.