Mariner of the Seas - July 23-27 (with kids)!!

[RDDAILY]

Hello fellow cruisers! We just returned from our vacation on the Mariner of the Seas. I wanted to do a review, and hopefully answer any questions you guys have about the cruise. I will include information regarding restrictions for age/height for the on-board activities, since I did not find many answers to these questions before our cruise.

 

About us: Me (the mom, and planner of all family vacations!) My husband, (the dad, and the one that does not want to know a thing about the vacation until it's time to pack!) We have two sons - our oldest, who I will call RS, is 9 years old, and our youngest, who I will call DS, is 4.

 

We got the refreshment package during one of the sales, and I thought it was totally worth it.

 

We had an inside cabin, #6223, which we loved. It was quiet, and was just a staircase away from the Royal Promenade. We loved having the pizza and specialty coffee just a floor away. FYI for parents sharing the room with their kids, they must be 6 years old to use the Pullman bed (and yes, there's a sticker on it that tells you that!) RS slept on the Pullman, and DS slept on the king bed with my husband and I.

 

We live in Miami, so my mom dropped us off at the port on Monday. We arrived at the port at 11:15, and were on the ship around 11:35. Super easy check in and boarding process. Once on board, we headed straight to the Windjammer for lunch. It was not crowded at all, and we had no problem finding a table.

 

Sky Pad - RS was really excited to try this, so we headed straight there after lunch. Age restriction: must be at least 5 years old to use the Sky Pad (needless to say we had a very disappointed 4 year old)! We waited around 40 minutes since only two of the trampolines were in use. RS used the VR glasses and really enjoyed it.

 

Laser Tag - Must be at least 5 years old and 40 inches in height. RS and my husband said it was really fun to do.

 

Slides - Must be 48 inches to use the slides. They would close the slides at 7 PM. RS went on the slides on the day we were in Nassau, from about 5:45 to 7:00. This was a great time to do it. The most he had in line in front of him was 2 people. He literally would exit the slide, go back up the stairs, and ride it again! He also rode them again on sea day around 6:15, and again there was hardly a line to use them.

 

Ice skating - This was the one activity DS was really looking forward to, since it was one of the few things he could do. No age/height restriction. He lasted about five minutes on the ice, then told me he was too tired to continue. Gotta love four year olds!! We did not get to see the ice skating show, as they only did it the first and second day of the cruise. The ice skating and laser tag share the same venue, so in order to have one set up, they cannot do the other.

 

Pools - We tended to use the pools in the late afternoon, after 5 PM, when they weren't so crowded. They are small, and pretty deep (5'3"). RS is pretty tall and he couldn't reach the bottom. They provide life vests, which DS loved to use because he could swim around the pool without having to hold on to me.

 

Kids club - Both of the kids used the kids club for about an hour a day. They both really enjoyed it. For those of you wondering, yes, you can step down in age group if that's what your child would like. RS just turned 9 on the 4th of July, and he was a little worried about being in the 9-11 age group. They allowed him to be in the 6-8 group, with no problems. They leave a kids club cruise compass every day in the room, with the hours and activities scheduled.

 

Cocoa Cay - It was a lazy beach day. We got to the island around 11:30, and stayed until about 3:30.

 

Nassau - We did not have any excursions planned, so we got off the ship around 3:00. We walked to Junkanoo Beach. It's about a 15 minute walk, and is very safe because you are walking down streets crowded with tourists. The water was absolutely beautiful, crystal clear and warm. The sand, not so much! There were a lot of rocks, but they were spaced out. So, it's not as if you were constantly stepping on rocks when you were in the water. The water was so clear, that it was easy to see if you were going to step on one.

 

Food - We ate at the buffet for all meals. Food was pretty good, although a bit repetitive. They did have themes (Mexican, Caribbean, etc.), but that was just one small section of the buffet. Breakfast did get very crowded on Nassau day and sea day. On Nassau day, we could not get a table and they ended up opening Jamie's Restaurant for people to sit. Otherwise, we never had a problem finding a table to sit at. We ate A LOT of pizza!!! Since it was literally just a staircase away, it was an easy mid-day/late night snack. I thought it was pretty good, and it was always fresh and hot out of the oven.

 

I hope anyone going on Mariner finds the review helpful. She is a beautiful ship, and they did a great job with the refurbishment. I'm happy to answer any questions my fellow cruisers may have!

[LuCruise]

Thanks so much for the review. We are coming with our kids 13 and 9 end of August. Can't wait!

 

That is my worry of the pools...that they get very crowded. Funny about the ice skating.

 

Question about Skypad...do you go bare feet? Trying to figure out shoes for that area of the ship (waterslides too do not sure if bare feet).

 

Also..do you recommend water shoes for Junkanoo beach? We may stay on ship for Nassau but that beach is an option too.

 

Did you see ant shows? If so how were they?

 

Looks like a great ship for kids.

 

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[RDDAILY]

Thanks so much for the review. We are coming with our kids 13 and 9 end of August. Can't wait!

 

That is my worry of the pools...that they get very crowded. Funny about the ice skating.

 

Question about Skypad...do you go bare feet? Trying to figure out shoes for that area of the ship (waterslides too do not sure if bare feet).

 

Also..do you recommend water shoes for Junkanoo beach? We may stay on ship for Nassau but that beach is an option too.

 

Did you see ant shows? If so how were they?

 

Looks like a great ship for kids.

 

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You will love the ship! Yes, Skypad is bare feet. Same for the water slides. You will need socks for the rock climbing wall and ice skating.

 

I didn't think our four year old would enjoy the shows, so we did not make it to any of them. Plus, since we tried to use the pool later in the day, by the time we showered and ate dinner, it was pretty late!

 

I think water shoes would definitely be a good idea for Junkanoo. Some of the rocks were pretty sharp. You just had to watch where you walked, but as I'm sure you know, kids are not the greatest at doing that! We also thought about just spending the entire day on the ship, but we really enjoyed the couple of hours we spent on the beach.

 

Hope you have a great trip!

[LuCruise]

Thanks for the quick reply. I should comment that you describe you and yourself same as me and my DH. [emoji3]

 

Good to know it's pretty much bare feet for activities (if doesn't get too hot). Wonder too if they usually run more SkyPad trampolines.

 

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Thanks for sharing.

 

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[jerseyjjs]

Thanks for the review. Did you happen to stop by Playmakers sports bar?

[fla33023]

Thank you so much for this review! I hear many people say you can't go back to the smaller ship after you've been on a bigger ship but this review makes me reconsider! I have an 8-year-old and live in Broward County and the idea of hopping on the ship for a long weekend is great! I'm happy to hear you all had a great time.

[RDDAILY]

Thanks for the review. Did you happen to stop by Playmakers sports bar?

 

Hi! Yes, we did. My boys loved the pool table in there! We did order some drinks, but did not look at the food menu as we were not hungry at the time.

[RDDAILY]

Thank you so much for this review! I hear many people say you can't go back to the smaller ship after you've been on a bigger ship but this review makes me reconsider! I have an 8-year-old and live in Broward County and the idea of hopping on the ship for a long weekend is great! I'm happy to hear you all had a great time.

 

 

Thanks! To be honest, she did feel like a big ship! And that’s a great age to take them, because they’re old enough to do all of the activities. You should definitely try it out!

[tourismtessy]

Thanks for this review. Hubby and I are sailing her on Sept 3rd and we can't wait! Where do you get the pizza onboard?

 

 

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[RDDAILY]

Thanks for this review. Hubby and I are sailing her on Sept 3rd and we can't wait! Where do you get the pizza onboard?

 

 

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You will love it! She's a beautiful ship! Pizza was on deck 5, at the Café Promenade. They also had a small selection of sandwiches and desserts.

[tourismtessy]

You will love it! She's a beautiful ship! Pizza was on deck 5, at the Café Promenade. They also had a small selection of sandwiches and desserts.

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

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[helene109]

Did you take any pictures? Thanks have you been on Carnival how does it compare?

 

 

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[kewpie]

Thanks for all of this information. I am taking my granddaughter on September 14 and this info helps a lot.

[KeepinUpWithTheJones]

Thanks for the info! We head out in 2 days!!! It's my DH first cruise! I asked the kids what they wanted to do first and it was a "Laser tag" from both of them!! Hoping to be able to enjoy the escape room with the DH. I"m not sure that my 6 year old daughter will go into the camp with out her 10 year old brother. Hoping they would let her go up a level! Been trying to find a good excursion, maybe we will just head to Junkanoo!

[anricat]

Thanks for the great review! We just booked Mariner for next summer (June). We are seasoned cruisers on Disney and we're looking to try something new. I also have a July 4th kiddo. Mine just turned 10. :)

[Mkripke]

question please

 

Do they use SeaPass cards or bracelets?

[RDDAILY]

question please

 

Do they use SeaPass cards or bracelets?

 

Hi. They use SeaPass cards.

[RDDAILY]

Thanks for the great review! We just booked Mariner for next summer (June). We are seasoned cruisers on Disney and we're looking to try something new. I also have a July 4th kiddo. Mine just turned 10. :)

 

Hi! You will have a great time. She's a great ship! Does your child say that the fireworks are to celebrate his/her birthday like mine does? ;)

 

One think I forgot to mention in my review, which I thought was great for families with kids: on embarkation day, from 8:00 - 9:00 PM, they had free arcade games. Not all of the games were free, but a lot of them were. It was a great way for the kids to play in the arcade, without the parents having to pay for it!!