Mariner of the Seas w 2 Toddlers-Review

[lindaana]

We just got back from the 7 day Mexican riviera cruise on Mariner of the Seas. These boards helpped me out so much preparing for that cruise I thought I'd post a review in the hopes of helping another planning family. :)

 

We have a 3 yr old and an 18 month old. We got 2 adjoining balcony rooms. Requested a pack and play which we got. Girls slept in one room, we were in the other with the door always adjar.

 

Packing: We overpacked the warm weather gear as we were in sun dresses or bathing suits half the time, but under packed the cold weather stuff for evenings and sea days. Our sea days got pretty chilly and while we did have some sweatshirts/long pants, we could have done with a few more.

 

PLEASE buy an over the door shoe organizer. This helped tremendously in organizing all toiletries, medicines, bandaids, hair stuff, we brought for the family. We bought 2 and used both!

 

We also went to the dollar store before we left and bought crayons, coloring books, activities for them to do while we were in the cabin or even just during the day. We also bought a bunch of sand toys that we wouldnt care about losing...those were lifesavers.

We brought our small blow up pool for our little one which we put on deck and filled up since she wasn't allowed in the pool with diapers.

 

They had kids club for our 3 yr old and that was nice but since we still had our 18 month old, she didn't spend a lot of time there.

 

RUN to the ice skating show. An hour of 2 toddlers sitting completely still. Ifyou have older kids (our 3 yr old did it) get there early and look for the reserved for children seats and they'll get to be part of the show! Our daughter LOVED IT)

 

If you are going with a group or just might want to separate a while, we found the deck phones you can rent on board indespensible. for $25/week we were able to reach each other anywhere on the ship. REALLY nice option.

 

We ended up eating at the buffet for most of the meals...our youngest is just at that age where she will not sit still for more than 20 min so the dining room was not an option for us. However, I must say for a buffet, the food was pretty good and they had lots of healthy options.

 

Ports- Cabo was great. We took a water taxi to Mango Deck and snagged some chairs/umbrella beachside and spent the day in the sun and sand. We didnt want to leave.

 

Mazatlan- Did some walking in the historic district, took a cab to the golden area, and then headed back to the ship. This town was icky in our opinion..no nice beaches, no nice boardwalk...we enjoyed an empty ship pool and great weather on board with no crowds.

 

Puerto Vallarta- We walked about 10 min to Krstyal resort and hung out at thier pool/beach for the day. They have a playgroud and toddler pool and a pretty relaxed atmosphere. Would do that again in a minute. We didn't hit downtown but we've been there before and the boardwalk is lovely with lots of space to walk and shop.

 

2 Days at Sea-- These were tough...not a ton to do. They did have a mommy and me type program for the little one which was a nice distraction but the hours were not conducive to our nap schedule for the most part.

 

Babysitting- VERY nice babysitters. They charged us $12/hr w a 2 hour min. We booked AS SOON as we walked on board as they don't always have availablity. We waited till the girls were down each night then had them just come and watch TV while we had some time out.

 

Getting on and off the ship was a breeze....no issues...if you can, wait until after 2pm to get on ....the crowds die down and you can get on without a wait.

[Desert Cruizers]

Lindaana, welcome to cruise critic and thank you for your review on the Mariner, my husband & I will be sailing on her for our 1st Voyager Class in 15 months and looking forward to it.

[alpal1993]

Lindaana, welcome to cruise critic and thank you for your review on the Mariner, my husband & I will be sailing on her for our 1st Voyager Class in 15 months and looking forward to it.

 

Looking into booking for June 2012,How far in advance were you able to book?

[livingis2me]

Thank you so much..we are going on Indy with our 18 month old, and even after scouring these boards for months I have learned several things from your review I did not know that will be invaluable for us (kids & ice show seating, rent phones, etc.)

 

Our daughter has separation/stranger anxiety right now (its just that phase they all go through) so I don't think using the babysitting will work-but maybe we will try it like you did- after she is asleep. (<edited- reread for answer!>)

 

Thanks again, this review was very helpful for us!!! :)

[Desert Cruizers]

alpal our particular cruise for April 10, 2011 opened up this past April 2009. Royal Caribbean had it listed on their web site by 12 Noon. Our Roll Call is in full swing already, just hope we get more from outside Calif joining us. I would look for it around Spring or summer.