ChristyLNDRN

2 minutes ago, phnett said:

So we have a Junior suite for Jan you can check in then on the suite line when it’s just a Jr? 

Sure can!   Your setsail pass just says “Suite”, doesn’t specify which kind.  No one questioned us at all. 

Boarding day continued

Explored the ship a bit then decided to hit the Windjammer before it got crowded.  
 

With the increase in capacity, looks like no tables were marked off for distancing.   Just a little laminated card that gets flipped over once each table is resanitized (basically just a quick wipe from what we saw).  
 

Saw one waiter walking around asking about specialty restaurant interest.  We already had 2 booked but my steak lover wanted to ask about Chops.  It was already fully booked for dinner…this was by 11:45!!  Spoiler alert—we went for lunch instead!  
 

A note on reservations—No reservations needed for any of the shows in the theater.  Just needed for ice show in Studio B.   For the life of me, I could not make reservations on the app. The ice show just wasn’t showing up for me.  I also was interested in the escape room but had the same issue.  I could click on the Escape room as an activity, but no link to make reservations.  I stopped by guest services to see if they could help, but they couldn’t figure it out later so I gave up not wanting to waste more time.
Eventually found the Escape room listed also as “the observatorium” or something like that, and there was a link there.  Too late though, all booked.  Although for $20/pp I’m not sad that we missed out on that.  We did get reservations for the 4:15 ice show on the last day…it did eventually pop up in the app later in the afternoon but at that point all the vaccinated only showings were full.  We did attend the “everyone” show on day 5 and it worked out fine…more on that later. 
 

After lunch we checked in at our muster station—easy peasy!  Next up, Zach’s obsession…the flowrider!!!

Glad he got a few runs in.  Lines ranged from moderate to obnoxious as the week went on.  I think he really missed the dual waves that he experienced on Harmony.  Advanced stand up hours never had more than a few riders—those peeps got plenty of time though.  I think he’ll hopefully try that our next cruise.  He’s gotten pretty decent at some boogie tricks—his proudest accomplishment was his 2nd place finish on Harmony’s King of 360’s competition….here’s a throwback to that happy moment.  Cracks me up how small he was compared to all the other guys!!

Grabbed a few tropical beverages on the pool deck, and before we could even finish them rooms were ready around 1:45…so excited to check out our Junior Suite!!

Here it is…9272.  So much more space than we were used to.  Loved the walk in closet.  Nice to have tub instead of torpedo tube shower.  Pull out sofa getting a little short for Zach and he’s only average height.  Couch/trundle bed on Harmony prob fit him a little better.  Still, loved the room❤️

4 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Love it! The family is so cute! Looking forward to more pictures and thoughts.

Thank you!  Just finished a shift driving so more to come😀
 

2 hours ago, aphrodite6528 said:

Loving your narrative and photos so far! Eager to see details on Mariner, hubby and I will be onboard for our 10 year anniversary fall of 22

Awesome!  Happy sails and congrats😀
 

1 hour ago, Diver2014 said:

We're on Mariner in June 2022.  I got a little teary eyed just reading your account......great photos.

It sure felt good to be back onboard!  
 

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

I'm getting a little teary just reading your post!

We are counting down to being on Enchantment in February.

Almost there!  Is that out of Baltimore?  That would be a much closer drive for me LOL!

We arrived at Terminal 1 around 10:15.  We had 11:30 check in scheduled.  Had seen previous comments that parking in garage could be an issue with other ships using the terminal other days but we had no problem.  In fact, though we were early I could see the garage from the ship and there were still available spots at sail away.  Parking was $102 for the length of the cruise.  I’m sure we could have paid less off site but with such a long drive we like to hop in the car and go after the cruise.  
 

That first view of the ship is always so magical.  
 

Grabbed our bags and headed to the terminal.   Check in was a breeze at this hour.   I made a beeline for the Suite/Pinnacle check-in line.  Kids tried to tell me I was in the wrong line.  SURPRISE!   I managed to keep the suite upgrade a surprise from them and hubby for 8 days.  Clearly no one pays attention to our travel docs but me.  No one noticed our deck changed on our luggage tags LOL.   They all followed me with their mouths agape.  I felt triumphant, Mom for the win!!  A few stops to verify vaccine status, quick trip thru security and we were at the check in station where we were processed via IPad.  Vaccine and testing documents thoroughly checked.  Vaccine bands (blue cloth) applied and we were on our way to the holding area.  There’s a beautiful area with couches for suites and pinnacles where we got to wait. Suzy was stopped several times walking to the holding area asking to see her vaccine band.  She is very tiny so she looks much younger than 12.  
 

All of a sudden, hubby says “Wait, we are really in a suite???”  Apparently he thought we snuck thru the suite line.  Doesn’t he know I’m way too much of a rule follower to do that?   You’d think after 19 years of marriage he would know that😂
 

Boarding started right at 11!  They called Suites and Pinnacles first so we were probably in the first 10 people onboard, amazing!!!   Got a little teary stepping onboard after so long.  
 

Clearly kids were thrilled to be back as well. 

BOARDING DAY

I can never sleep the night before a cruise.  Just too excited.   Awake to see Mariner sail in on the Port Canaveral webcam

Sunrise in Jacksonville

Is is there anything better than seeing this??

She’s waiting for us!!

After a quick free breakfast, we hopped back in the car.  It’s about a 2 hour drive from Jacksonville to Port Canaveral.  Next stop, Mariner of the Seas!!

Travel Day

The evening before our drive I booked rapid PCR’s through Curative.  We are fortunate in DE that there are Curative sites everywhere and they are free, fast and so easy.  We normally to regular PCR’s and results are typically available the next day, usually in the AM.  However, I wanted to make sure we had the results in hand before we started our long drive. Rapid PCRs are a little harder to find, but I made the appointment a week before.  I did have a set of the proctored Binax now tests for back up but didn’t need them. We were in and out of the test site in less than 10 mins.  Results were texted to me in about an hour…HOORAY!   All negative.  I will say it was a little harder to get excited for this cruise.  Given my level of potential exposure on a daily basis, and the kids both being in school, I had been holding my breath.  I warned them not to be surprised if one of us turned out to be asymptomatic and positive, and that if I was exposed in the lead up to the cruise we would reschedule for spring break.  But, apparently the odds were ever in our favor this time.  I may have teared up a little in relief…didn’t have much in the way of back up gifts for the kiddos if we got quarantined at home since this cruise was their Christmas present.  Big sigh of relief!!  All packed and alarms set for an early start.  It’s about a 14 hour drive.  We typically drive as far as we can and try to leave about 2 hours for boarding day.  Jacksonville was where I figured we would stop.  I hate flying, hate the chaos, hate the uncertainty of cancelled flights.  Kids are amazing in the car. 
 

Got a bright and early start Wednesday AM.  Said goodbye to our kitties, neighbors kindly care for them when we travel.  
 

Gratuitous cat pics!!

We made pretty good time.  Some minor traffic on and off.  
 

Kids had plenty of snacks and portable chargers 

Driving by South of the Border always cracks me up.  There’s a cool touristy reptile lagoon we have stopped at when the kids were younger. 
 

Always love seeing this!

We made it to Jacksonville around 8:30.  Found a Hampton Inn at a good price.  It was clean, not crowded, quiet and included breakfast.  

Next up…our ship is in!  BOARDING DAY!!

Just off a fabulous 5 night holiday sailing, our first Christmas at sea.  Currently facing a 14 hour drive home from PC to Delaware…what to do….it’s REVIEW TIME!!

Background

Like everyone else, we lost previous cruise plans thanks to Covid.  Had to cancel my 40th bday cruise in June 2020.  Ended up taking the full refund for that one and decided that I wouldn’t officially be 40 until we cruised again😀

On this trip:

Christy…narrator, over planner, and the driving force behind this family’s cruises. Preschool teacher who is constantly surrounded by hordes of 4 year olds who do not believe in social distancing and thus feels cruising may be safer than her daily life😂

Mike:  Good humored Dad, tolerates Christy’s crazy cruise and crazy cat lady tendencies, pretty much just along for the ride

Zach:  14 (in 3 weeks), flowrider junkie and steak enthusiast.  Likes to constantly have SOMETHING going on. 
Suzanna:  My 12 year old, laid back go with the flow beautiful girl.  Likes to try everything but just as happy to lounge with a good book. 
 

Adults have previously cruised on Explorer, Oasis, Liberty, Harmony, Anthem, Star Princess, Carnival Ecstasy and two Windjammer Barefoot Cruises.  
Kids were on the Carnival and Harmony. 
 

Originally had a Balcony on deck 7. Able to Royal up to a Junior Suite on deck 9. My royal up timeline:

Able to bid at 45 days

JS bid locked at 16 days out while other bids expired 

Upgrade confirmed at 8 days out. 
Minimum bid for JS was $25pp. I bid $150 pp.  At time of booking JS would have been about $1500+ to directly upgrade so to me it was a steal at $300.  This was our first ever better-than-balcony room.  Gonna be hard to go back!

Prebooked:

Soda packages for kids

Refreshment package for me 

Jamie’s for night 1

Hibachi for Christmas dinner 

Thrill Waterpark passes

(Thank you Black Friday sale!  Thrill Waterpark dropped from $150 pp to 79, to $43).  I had booked at $79, then cancelled and rebooked at $43.  Used the savings along with RCCL visa reward points to book the other stuff.  

Phew!  That’s a lot of background. Next up…travel day and boarding!   A few sneak peek pics to start though:

For me, as for there being too many people, it’s not as bad as I was expecting for a holiday sailing.  I was told 2800 expected when I asked at check in.   This feels less crowded to me than any of my pre-pandemic sailings.  
 

I will say that distancing has been enforced inconsistently.   I have observed the flowrider line being asked to space out, and being asked to wait at the bottom of the stairs to the rock wall while one group is brought up at a time.  But no distancing at the same time for stairs to sky pad or waterslides.   
 

Windjammer tables all seemed to be open with distancing not required.   We had several empty tables around us at the early seating (vaccinated deck 3) but that seemed more like chance than intention.  
 

We attended the 2nd showing of whatever was going on in the theater.  Plenty of seating available to space out if you didn’t want to be directly front and center.  We sat off to the side and no one anywhere near us the last 3 nights.   Had to attended the “everyone” ice show as we couldn’t get a reservation for the vaccinated shows, but there were separate sections for vaccinated and unvaxed. 
 

Pool deck pretty crowded.  Hot tubs crowded but I thought the pools were ok. All in all, I felt like you could find your space onboard.  I felt comfortable most of the time, and comfortable having my vaccinated kids here.   *Disclaimer—I’m a preschool teacher/childcare worker and have worked through most of the pandemic smothered in 4 year old children so I may have a higher tolerance level at this point. 

Also apologize if I posted my thoughts twice.  The internet ate my first attempt (I think). 

2 hours ago, phnett said:

CDC has ship as yellow? No coved issues known then

None that I have heard about.  Shows/activities all proceeding as scheduled.  Haven’t noticed anything amiss.  Ship was listed as yellow before we boarded last week.  

Onboard Mariner now, have had a great trip.  No issues that I’m aware of.  Top notch service.  Coco Cay and Cozumel were fabulous.  Getting off tomorrow, will be posting a full review.  

Currently onboard the Mariner and have had a great trip.  Was told at check-in about 2800 guests expected.   Have felt pretty safe and comfortable all week.  Happy to answer questions and will be posting a full review when we get off.   Fellow passengers following mask and elevator protocols (limited to 4 or your group) for the most part in my experience.  Dining room (early seating) service excellent.   Thoroughly enjoyed Coco Cay and Cozumel.  Have dined at Jamie’s and Hibachi, going to Chops for lunch today.  Kids have taken full advantage of flowrider, Rockwall, skypad, water slides.   Have been catching the 2nd show each evening and have no problem sitting off to the side with no one near us (vaccinated on deck 3).   So happy to return to cruising after so long.

Just received Royal up confirmation for our 12/23 Mariner!  Here’s our breakdown:

 
Original cabin:  Spacious Ocean view balcony deck 7

Bids:  Junior Suite— minimum bid $25, I bid $150 pp

Grand Suite—minimum $90, I bid $225/pp

Grand Suite 2BR—minimum $180, I bid $200pp

Owners suite—minimum 180, I bid $260pp

Royal Suite—minimum $400 pp (did not bid)

Received email to bid at 45 days out

17 days out GS, 2 BR GS and OS showed expired while JS showed pending 

Today, 8 days out received JS assignment deck 9😀😀😀

Happy…when we booked JS would have been $1500ish more to directly upgrade.  This will be our first ever JS, excited for the extra space!

Got Full day Thrill waterpark passes for $43.99 for 12/23 Mariner…ecstatic since it was originally $133😱 when I booked the cruise.  I had grabbed it for $79 about a month ago and figured that was as good as it was going to get for a holiday sailing.  
 

Showing as $53 for Harmony June 2022

I ordered a 6 pack from Emed this week and it arrived today.  Expiration 2-08-2022

Reporting back to add that I received the 6 pack that I ordered through Emed earlier this week, and that the expiration date with the extension is Feb 8 2022.  

43 minutes ago, beachbell said:

 

I have a question. I ordered the six pack with the intention of using 4 tests 4 people. The website only let me put in the names of 3 people. When I tried to put in the name and birthdate of my 12 year old, it said I wasn't eligible to purchase this. I replaced my 12 year old with my 18 year old and the order went through. My question is, will I be able to use one of these tests for my vaccinated 12 year old?

 

Thanks for any help!

Emed website says the test is authorized for persons 4+.  I also ordered the 6 pack for my family of 4.   I am planning on using one of the tests for my vaccinated 12 year old.

I just ordered a 6 pack…according to the emed website, it said the kits would be valid thru at least Feb 1, 2022. I had previously held off on ordering because the website said the kits could expire as soon as Dec. 21st, which is the day I need to test for our cruise which departs on Dec. 23.   I’ll try to report back when the kits arrive with the actual expiration date.  I *think* I attached a pic of the current wording on the website😀

Hmmmm….sailing on the Mariner 12/23.    Wanted to order these as a backup plan.  Would need to test on 12/21, which could potentially be the actual expiration date of the test kit.  Not sure if that would be ok or not.  

Applied for renewal for 2 children in person at post office 8/7

Not expedited.  Regular mail.  
 

Received one 9/7, 2nd came today 9/9. 
 

4 weeks door to door.  Not bad.  

37 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

First I’ve heard of that but it would be a guarantee in the same category. 
 

thanks for the update 

I wonder how this works if you have connecting rooms booked.  I’m interested but currently have connecting ocean view with large balconies, would be concerned to go into a guarantee pool since we need the connecting rooms for young-ish kids.  

102 days to Oasis for me and entertainment just opened.   

5 hours ago, cindivan said:

However, around 1pm half day tickets were being sold so the lines never decreased

 

 

Do you know how much the half day tickets were?

Oasis June 2020 just dropped:

Deluxe—$65 to $57

Refreshment—$28 to $19

Soda—$8.99 to 6.50

Sailed Anthem 5 night this past July—lobster night was night 4.  

31 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Unless you plan to wait for a large price drop inside final payment, not sure what waiting gets you (other than possible price increases).

Oh, believe me, if it was up to just me, I’d be booked already😀.   The other part of my fam, my dear in laws who will not set foot on a ship, are planning a land-based family reunion next summer as well.  I have to wait until that gets nailed down so I know for sure which week we can sail.  

22 minutes ago, TPCRUISER2 said:

Great Review!

Thank you!