Mariner 7/17-7/24

[kmb0907]

First some backround. My husband, 20 year old daughter, her friend and I choose to take this cruise after my DH and I took the same one in Sept. for our 25th Anniversary. We loved the ship and itinerary so much that we decided to do it again. We were not disappointed!!!

 

Arrival and embarkation...arrived in Orlando around noon Sunday morning we were met at the bottom of the elevator, near baggage pick-up, by a very nice RCL representative. We claimed our luggage, met the rep. and were led to the bus. Loaded up and were off to see the exquisite Mariner. There was a short wait to clear security at the dock...maybe 20 minutes. After clearing security however, we were through the check in process very quickly and in our rooms by 2:00.

We had booked on our previous cruise and were lucky enough to get Stateroom #9392, one of the treasured aft cabins with a 10X10 balcony. The girls were right across the hall in an inside stateroom but didn't mind since they just used our balcony. It was less expensive and gave us an extra bathroom...definitely needed when traveling with two twenty year old girls.

We went up to get some lunch and then watched as the girls explored the ship. They didn't want us to tell them what we knew, they wanted to find out for themselves. Even at 20 years old it was fun to watch their expressions as they walked around and were impressed by everything they saw.

 

Monday was a sea day and spent exploring and sunning...oh of course and eating.

 

Tuesday, Labadee....DH and the girls decided to try the aqua park...they were a little disappointed since all of the inflatables were really hard to get up on to but they still enjoyed it. Wave running was the highlight for everyone. The Sea Trek Staff was phenomenal.

 

Wednesday was Jamaica... we booked Peat Taylor (again) and were not disappointed. He got us to Dunns River before the crowd. We would highly recommend him as a guide. Went to the Quest that night. It was HILARIOUS the girls loved it.

 

Thursday DD and DH went scuba diving at Grand Cayman. DD was being scuba certified on board. What a great place to do your training dives!!! That is especially when compared to diving in quarries in Ohio where DH got his certification. We were extremely impressed with the Dive shop personnel particularly Diver Dave, Andrew and Pieter. They went WAY above the call of duty to make sure the scuba experience was great for both husband and daughter. My daughter's friend and I did the ship's excursion to Sting Ray City. We had been told not to miss it and everyone was right. We were both very glad we went. A storm rolled in just as we were getting out of the water but since we were already wet it really did't bother us. Despite the pouring rain we met up with DD and DH for some quick shopping and then a very soggy ride back to the ship. Went to the ice show and Love and Marriage game that night. Both were great. We laughed so much at the Love and Marriage. They sure know how to pick couples and how to ask the right questions to keep it fun.

 

Friday it rained all day on Cozumel. We were on a snorkle and sail excursion though and didn't let it stop us from having a great time. The staff on the boat was friendly, the snorkeling was wonderful and the beach very soggy but beautiful. The headliner, that night, was El Gaucho. He did a performance using BOLO ropes and comedy and we found him extremely entertaining.

 

Saturday was really kind of a sad day...none of us were ready to leave. We walked around, sat in the sun, said our final goodbyes and prepared to reenter the real world.

 

So much to do, so little time.

 

Briefly, dinner in the Rhapsody in Blue dining room. Service from Serafino and Juan was outstanding and the food was very good.

Staterooms were beautifully taken care of by Althea. Anything we needed was attended to with extreme efficiency. The location was perfect for us. The walk did us good and it was very quiet...very little hall traffic.

Captain Gerry was very visible and friendly. CD James Andrew was witty and attentive.

Met some great people that we would have liked to spend more time with particularly Jennifer and Mark from Virginia and a lovely older lady named Betty who was traveling with her family.

 

No complaints here other than IT"S OVER!!!!!

 

I know I didn't come even close to covering everything I wanted to so fire away if you have any questions.

[kenandlaura06]

Glad to hear you had a good trip!

[Peggy13]

We were on the Mariner the week before you - I guess Captain Johnny did leave after our sail - was he on helping the new captain? Glad you had a great time - we did too.

[tinag]

We leave for the exact same cruise in just 5 days...can't wait. Did you have any trouble with seasickness? I bought some bonine just in case but would rather not medicate unless necessary. Thanks for the review!

[kmb0907]

We leave for the exact same cruise in just 5 days...can't wait. Did you have any trouble with seasickness? I bought some bonine just in case but would rather not medicate unless necessary. Thanks for the review!

As I mentioned we were in an aft cabin. I never have experienced seasickness but we thought we could feel more motion in those cabins. I don't know if it qualifies as seasickness, but one evening the additional motion was particularly evident and my daughter and I did feel a tiny bit queasy. It might have been eating richer foods than we are used too or the "ocean motion" but it didn't last long and a Pepcid seemed to take care of it.

[skygator9]

We were on this cruise also. Four adults and 2 children (7 years and 15 months). Everyone had a great time. My 15 month old daughter had as much fun as everyone else. She loved dancing everywhere there was music on the ship.

[paktwins@aol.com]

:confused: Did Captain Johnny leave for good or just vacation?