Mariner with kids mini review

[nreilly]

We had a great time on the Mariner with our three kids nine, seven and five. We had two interior adjoining rooms. That was the way to go. We were able to have some privacy and there were two bathrooms! My brother met a family that did the Royal suite with six people but only had one bathroom!

 

Anyways, the Adventure Ocean program was great. We had a child in the three different programs and they all had a blast! It was a great week to go as there were only about 300 kids on board. The week before (Thanksgiving) there were over 800 kids. Too many IMHO. The kids menus at dinner were perfect and had a lot of choices. We thought dinner was good but not great. We have sailed Princess three times and thought there food was better. At least the entrees. The soups and appetizers on Mariner were great! Make sure you hit the Cafe Promenade for so yummy sandwiches and cookies! The kids had to have a cookie everynight before going to sleep (spoiled).

 

Most of the shows were pretty good. A couple were just okay. Make sure you go to the Quest but don't bring the kids. We had a lot of fun ice skating, inline skating and rockwall. You have to be six to rockwall so my son was a little disappointed.

 

All in all a great ship and a great time. Any questions, just let me know.

[romischi]

Thanks for the great review. We are leaving on the Mariner with our kids, 8, 5 and 5 in January. I have a few questions:

 

1) What shows were appropriate for the kids?

2) Were there Adventure Club activities that all the age groups did together?

3) Are there any items that you or your kids wish you'd have brought?

 

Thanks for all the info so far,

 

Silvia

[bpear1600]

We loved the ship when we were on her in January and the food is a non-issue. It wasn't the greatest we've had on land or sea but it was acceptable to us.

 

Please elaborate about the entertainment. Which shows did you like and which were "just okay"? I know about the Cruise Staff produced shows and am mainly interested in your opinions of the two production shows and whatever "headliner" was onboard. We liked what the CD and his staff put on a lot better than the professional shows.

[nreilly]

All the prime time shows were fine but mine wanted to be in the kids room by show time. They did go to the ice show and loved it! I tried to get my girls to go to some of the others but the activities at night in the Adventure Ocean by far were cooler.

 

The Adventure Ocean Club did not have the Aquanaunt (3-5) with any of the other groups at all except for the pirate parade. They were completely separate. The Explorers (6-8) and Navigators (9-11) were together when the numbers were low or for Late night party zone.

 

I can't think of anything we forgot but I'm sure glad we went to Wal-mart and bought lanyards for them. It was very nice to have them just slip them on and off. If your kids are swimmers have them bring there goggles the water is salt water in the pools.

 

I think that is all. Let me know if you think on anything else.

[nreilly]

Regarding the shows...the only ones we didn't care for were the ones with the Royal Carribian singers and dancers. They just were not good. We enjoyed the Rock-n-Roll one. Basically, that was 50' & 60's music and was well put together. The guy who sang the Happy Days theme song (can't remember his name) was really good. The welcome and farewell shows were good as well. So basically it was when it was just the RCCL singers and dancers. Hope that helps.

[pringle]

My son is 4 and we're sailing on the Navigator this Saturday! Yippeee!! It's our first cruise. Can you tell me the approximate staffing levels in the Aquanauts program -- like how many counselors were there, or if there is some kind of ratio? Thanks.

[zooma]

Thanks in advance -- we appreciate any help you can provide on the following issues:

 

My younger child will almost be 6 by the time we are on Mariner (but not quite). Is there any chance the Adventure Ocean staff will allow him to join his older sister in the 6-8 age group?

 

Were there any recent kids' movies showing in the theater onboard, and are kids only allowed to go see them through an AO outing?

 

Were helmets available for children at the ice skating rink?

 

Do you recommend bringing your own life vests for the kids (we are going during what will likely be one of those 800-kids onboard weeks!)? Thank you!

[nreilly]

There was always at least two and probably no more than 8 kids at one time. Your four year old will have a blast. The activities are really age appropriate!

[pringle]

Thanks nreilly for all the info!

[brn2crz]

Thanks in advance -- we appreciate any help you can provide on the following issues:

 

My younger child will almost be 6 by the time we are on Mariner (but not quite). Is there any chance the Adventure Ocean staff will allow him to join his older sister in the 6-8 age group?

 

Were there any recent kids' movies showing in the theater onboard, and are kids only allowed to go see them through an AO outing?

 

Were helmets available for children at the ice skating rink?

 

Do you recommend bringing your own life vests for the kids (we are going during what will likely be one of those 800-kids onboard weeks!)? Thank you!

My experience with others who have tried this is this:

I have known 4 people who have asked to switch,and none were honored.

Granted the closest in being of the age bracket they wanted to move to was 6 months.

I do know that they will have you try it out for 2 sessions,and go from there.

Things are somewhat planned in advanced,based on how many kids in each group they have,and they don't "like "to throw those numbers off.

I would guess that some have been able to switch,just because they tell you to try the two sessions first....Good Luck.

[nreilly]

My son was almost six as well. I asked for him to be moved up if they thought it was possible. They said they would watch him for two sessions and let me know. Basically they said they would prefer him to stay and I was glad they did. The activities were exactly what he needed and he was with a bunch of other five year old boys. It might be possible if majority of kids are 3 and 4 but don't get your hopes up.

 

Yes, they had helmets for ice skating and in-line skating.

 

The only kids movies were on the kid channel in the room (Finding Nemo) and the family channel there were a couple (Cheaper By the Dozen).

 

We didn't bring life vests but we didn't swim as much as we thought we would. The water was really cold!!

[zooma]

Thank you, nreilly and brn2crz! I'm sure it will all work out, and we will have a blast. I really appreciate the info.

[pringle]

We didn't bring life vests but we didn't swim as much as we thought we would. The water was really cold!!

Do you mean the water in the ship's pool, or the beaches in general? Thanks again.

[nreilly]

Water in the ships pool were freezing! Coki beach on St. Thomas was great. We rented snorkel equipment and had a blast.

[pringle]

Water in the ships pool were freezing! Coki beach on St. Thomas was great. We rented snorkel equipment and had a blast.

That's surprising and disappointing. I guess I expected that the pools would be heated. I hadn't even considered that possibility. Thanks for the heads up.

[christie629]

I'm so glad I found this thread!!

 

We are cruising next month with my 4 year old son (who is handful like most 4 year old boys) and my 10 year old daughter.

 

I'm not worried about the 10 year old but the 4 year old... I'm a little concerned. I'm concerned he will be odd about us leaving him. Did anyone have experience with the younger children's program?? I know he would be better if he was with his sister but there is such an age gap between them, I know that's not possible.

 

Anyone with the younger children: did you use the main dining room and use the children's menu or did you go to Windjammers. My son is soooo picky about food -- he'd eat chicken nuggets everyday if I let him -- no veggies, nothing spicy (that means pepper), etc.

 

I would appreciate any advice experienced cruisers could offer. (We've been on one cruise - Monarch but without the kids)

 

Thanks again.

[brn2crz]

Dealing with those at this age is a bit tricky..My DS was one month shy of 4 & 5 on our last 2 trips.He also had his cousin along,but they were not always (very seldom ) together,as far as going and coming.

The way the times work are. 9-12 closed from 12 till 2.Open from 2-4,then opened 4-7.You can pay 15 dollars,for 10-1 (which we did this year,and was great).So you can see that dining times were screwed no matter what you did.

We never arranged for them to eat in the kids club,that may have helped.

But for instance.The first year we had early seating.which is roughly 630.So we would either have to keep him with us,which we did mostly,and then take him to the club for about an hour or so OR someone leave the table, and take him up at 7.As far as eating,they have a pretty good kids menu.. hamburgers,nuggetts etc,or they will serve you anything off the menu.Mine adored the fruit plate,the desserts,and the fancy chocolate milk.The other problem was he was so tired,he took a power nap often,at the table.

Last year,we took late...which started at 830,which allowed us to take him up to the club earlier,but we had to get him almost as soon as we were done eating.We opted for the 15 dollar late night offer 3 nights.The food in the windjammer is hit or miss as far as what the kids will eat.But the burgers at the Solarium,were good..If you are on a ship with more venues,or a JR's you will have better luck.

I hope I don't sound too negative.My son had a great time,as did we..He is so excited to get on the "Really Really Big One " this time..You just kind of have to feel your way as to what works.

The thing I disliked the least,was the breaks in the club in the afternoon.

Granted,I would have never wanted him to stay all day,and he did not even go some days..But the time breaks are awkward..

Oh...times are a little different on port days,(longer) and you can leave them onboard..We always have taken him...or someone in our group has..

 

Have fun...He will love it.

[pringle]

christie629, I share your concern. We are sailing on the Navigator on 12/11 (yippee, this Saturday, only 3 more days!!) with our 4 year old. I too am concerned about how he would take to the kids program as he is rather clingy and not adaptable to change. We've decided to just stay flexible and adjust as needed. I will post here after our cruise to let you know how it worked out.

 

brn2crz, thanks for your comments. I did not even realize that the kids program times are awkward for dinner. We have early seating. What time roughly does early seating finish, and what time does the evening shows/activities begin? I hope we can do dinner and a show, given the the kids program hours.

[dappledumpling]

Your kids will love the cruise. I took my son for his first cruise when he was 6.

We opted for late seating and ordered room service for the kids. (They ate while we dressed for dinner) Kids had one dinner with us but preferred the play time...Worth the cost of the cruise for the romantic dinners with my DW.

[brn2crz]

I think we were done by 7...maybe a little earlier.There are a couple of days that start times were a little off.Like maybe first day was 630,instead of 615,and

one other night that had a different time.Seems like a port day,maybe Key West for us,that it was weird for dining because of the late time in port.

When we did early seating,we usually had to leave during a show.But try to take advantage of the late night service at least once.A lot of folks do it on formal night,and we did too...But we took him to dinner with us all dressedup,then to the club so we could spend the rest of the evening together.

[synewton]

I'm sorry but I'm having trouble following the hours that the center is open. My son will be 5 years old and in the aquanauts program. Would you please explain the hours to me.

 

Also, we have always sailed Princess and are familiar with their Fun Zone program. Would you mind comparing the two programs.

 

Thanks for the help !!! Sonia

[nreilly]

We took our children with us everynight but one to dinner. They were fine. If they started to get fidgety then one of us took them up to the kids room while our waiter was getting our desserts. Three nights they offered dinner at Johnny Rockets at 6 with the staff. We had early seating and the early seating shows started at 9. There was plenty of time. We even hit the casino before the shows sometimes.

 

On sea days the kids programs are open 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10. We normally got lunch and had them nap before going to the 2-5 time slot. On port days it is open from 7:30-8 to 5 or 6 depending on the length of stay in port. The staff will take them to breakfast and/or lunch if you want them to.

 

We had a great time and I think you'll be suprised how often you will hear "Can I go to the kids room"!

[christie629]

brn2crz, pringle dappledumpling, and nreilly:

 

Thank you so much for your advice. I printed everything to read it to my husband this evening. I wish I had thought about late seating. I was just so adamant about early seating since I know my 4 year old is ready to drop by 7:30 PM....

 

I PLAN on taking advantage of a couple of the paid night out babysitting hours... My DH and I rarely get a night out and as long as the kids are comfortable, I plan on using the evening babysitting as much as I can! They'll be with us all day so I don't feel bad about being without them for a couple hours in the evening.

 

We are sailing on the Mariner on January 30th and of course that is such a huge ship... We are really looking forward to it but now I'm starting to sweat the details!

 

Pringle: Have a wonderful trip!! I am Really looking forward to hearing how you made out with the early dinner seating with your 4 year old. It sounds like our two are alot alike.

 

Thanks,

Christie