Rogueperson's **Live** Mariner of the Seas 9/24/21

[Rogueperson]

I zonked out with another nap after i got back onto the ship.  i still got like an hour and a half until dinner.  I’m going to try and find a tshirt and maybe get a snack.  My lunch was that funnel cake.  

[Rogueperson]

I bought a souvenir for myself.  I have these shirts for every ship I sail on or something similar.

 

 

While out wandering, I also got these shots.

 

I wandered into the arcade and notice maybe 1/2 the games were unavailable/closed.  These are the same signs they put on tables they don’t want you to sit at.

 

 

My snack didn’t manifest.  My wife said she was treating herself with sushi and i thought, sushi, that would be a good snack.  But when i got to Izumi’s, I saw that the cheapest appetizer that was “sushi” like was 13 bucks.  That’s not an snack price.  Plus, i remembered that I’ve never been truly wowed by Izumi’s so i begged off.  At this point, I have 30

minutes to dinner so i can make it.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Rogueperson

[Rogueperson]

Dinner was good.  I had my prequisite Escargot.  Will not post another picture as that’s not needed.

 

Followed by the Beet and Orange Salad

 

Smoked Salmon Gravix.  Yeah, its repurposed lox from breakfast, but i don’t care.

 

 

Braised Lamb was wonderful

 

 

finished off with creme brûlée 

 

 

and Profiteroles 

 

 

Dinner took longer than expected so i

missed the Elton John Tribute show.  No big deal.  I caught the Ice show at least.

 

I’m now siting at the 80s “party” at the club.  Nothing like last night.  The hush party took off like immediately. 

 

 

not so much tonight.  I missed the 70s party, but i suspect it was the same.  This crowd doesn’t strike me as a 70s fan.  

 

I didn’t get a schedule for tomorrow.  Not even sure if they do express breakfast like they used to.   We shall see.

[Rogueperson]

Okay.  I’m still up here set Ellington’s club.  It started to pick up.  I got impressed because the ship is at 50-66 percent capacity.  And this was the club scene.

 

 

I thought that was impressive,  But then realize the the bulk of the women were part of a bachelorette party.  When they left, everyone else followed suit

 

 

Literally a minute later.

 

I was about to say this is the best I’ve seen at any Royal Caribbean night club.  Especially at reduced capacity.  I never see it like that at full capacity.  But i suspect 3 and 4 nights on Royal are more like this.  I lean towards 8 or 9 nights. 

 

Overall, the night club scene is better still on shorter cruises.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Rogueperson

[Rogueperson]

MDR breakfast is open until 8.  I wasn’t sure with the new covid protocols.  

 

Once I’m done here, we’re just gonna roll out.  I looked down at deck 4 and it is dead.  I’m sure there will be more people in the terminal.  We parked here at the port.  68 bucks for 3 days.  I will also time from ship to door.

 

This journey is almost over.

[jam19872016]

9 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

MDR breakfast is open until 8.  I wasn’t sure with the new covid protocols.  

 

Once I’m done here, we’re just gonna roll out.  I looked down at deck 4 and it is dead.  I’m sure there will be more people in the terminal.  We parked here at the port.  68 bucks for 3 days.  I will also time from ship to door.

 

This journey is almost over.

Terminal is a straight shot too 🙂

 

[lisabbscott]

I enjoyed your trip post!  Question, is the funnel cake at all the snak shacks or just one specific one? Thanks!

[Rogueperson]

Back in the real world.  Ship to door time is impressive.

 

 

This is a new record but with lower capacity, the don’t think this should count.  But with the facial recognition system, there’s no talking to a immigration agent.  Vancouver did this as well.  

[Rogueperson]

Back in the real world.  Ship to door time is impressive.

 

 

This is a new record but with lower capacity, the don’t think this should count.  But with the facial recognition system, there’s no talking to a immigration agent.  Vancouver did this as well.  

[CruisingNole]

21 hours ago, JessyCruises said:

 

Wow, we were there a few weeks ago on Odyssey and it was no where near that crowded. No social distancing anymore I guess?

I was on this cruise and if distancing is important to you, you might want to reconsider cruising right now. They were sitting people very close to one another in the dining room. So much so that I had to request to be moved, something I’ve never done before. I can’t understand why they are cramming people in when the ship is at half capacity? No distancing at any bars either, all seats available.

[Rogueperson]

3 hours ago, lisabbscott said:

I enjoyed your trip post!  Question, is the funnel cake at all the snak shacks or just one specific one? Thanks!

 

Its the snack shack next to the oasis lagoon.  I don’t know of another one

[Rogueperson]

My friend had to bail on me early.  I have a 6:50

flight.  So what to do.  I decided to rent a car.  It cost 14 bucks?!?!  for a midsize.  I added the surcharge of $10.00 that includes tolls which i figured i will need.  Economy rent a car.  They are seriously slow and you get what you pay for.  It took me almost 2 hours after prebooking it on Travelocity. I got a Hyundai Elantra.  Its got dings and scratches on it which they know about.  The car has 78K miles.  But its cheap.

 

So i’m wandering around.  Then i realize i wanted something i can’t get at home.

 

Yup White Castle!!!

[Rogueperson]

50 minutes ago, CruisingNole said:

I was on this cruise and if distancing is important to you, you might want to reconsider cruising right now. They were sitting people very close to one another in the dining room. So much so that I had to request to be moved, something I’ve never done before. I can’t understand why they are cramming people in when the ship is at half capacity? No distancing at any bars either, all seats available.

 

My guess is that in vaccinated venues, they are more relaxed.  They separate vaccinated and non vaccinated.  Like the entire 3rd deck of the dining room was vaccinated only (adults only) and the theater was the same way.

[Rogueperson]

Made it down to Cocoa Beach.  Found this

 

Of course i got Key Lime Pie

 

 

And this gem

 

 

Its actually not bad despite the name

[Rogueperson]

I have made it home.  It was quite an adventure visiting Halloween Haunted Nights and the cruise on the Mariner of the Seas.

 

I will take the night and return with my final thoughts as I’m exhausted from the travel.

 

I am deeply humbled by 6000+ views on a simple 3 night to Nassau and Cococay.  Thank you for tuning in.

[Rogueperson]

Final Thoughts and review of September 24th's 3 night cruise on Mariner of the Seas visiting Nassau and Cococay, Bahamas.

 

Universal's Halloween Haunted Nights.

 

I count this as my major excursion pre-cruise.  If you don't like crowds, avoid this.  If you don't like getting scared, or scary movies and theme.  Avoid this.  But if you like them, this IS the premier event.  It is not cheap.  But it is worth the expense.  This blows every event I've ever been to out of the water in terms of production value and quality.  The planning that must go into these houses every year is insane.  Its WAY more than just some guy in a costume scaring the heck out of you.

 

Safety.  Meh.  It may not have been full capacity for the Park and ride times showed it, but that's due to the amazing crew here that process people, not the lack of people.  Its still crowded.  Masks are "strongly encouraged" but they take no enforcement of it.  Kids running around unmasked worry me, but its not my kids.  I masked up going into the houses and in line, but a lot of people didn't. 

 

Embarkation:  45 minutes is a longer time than I'm used to.  However, given the new protocols, I will not fault the port for this.  Given what they are doing, its downright amazing.  The line was moving, but everyone had to double and triple check more documentation before you even get to check in.  This primarily made me feel safe for the entire cruise.

 

Food:  This is always subjective.  But my impressions.  I did not like being dumped into My Time Dining.   I'm glad this happened now, but now having tried it, i can definitely say...I do not like it.  I don't like messing with reservations.  I don't like not having the same guys, even though we requested it and got it.  It just seems too much for me.  I get that if you have kids or have unpredictability, it might work for you.  But for me.  I don't like it.  Give me a set dining time and the same guys each time without thinking.  MDR.  There is nothing new about this.  Its the same menu they've had for years.  Some of it is good, and some of it is okay.  By this point in my cruise career, I know what i like and I know what i avoid.  What I got was great.  Other than Chef's Table, no other specialty restaurants were tried.  I kind of wanted to try Jamie's but my friend's never been on a Royal before, so i didn't want to spoil her totally.  We did Chef's Table.

 

Chef's Table.  Still the amazing experience as always.  My *only* issue with it is that it was the same menu as I had in 2019, and probably the same wine pairing as well (i will have to look it up).  I remember Conundrum, but i'm not a big wine person, so that's a blank.  If you're on the fence about doing it.  DOOOOOOO ITTTT!!!  I've had some highs and lows with Chef's Table, but i have NEVER been disappointed with the food.  See my Allure review for the issues as that's when it happened.  Also, attitude helps.  This crew made the dinner an amazing exeperience.

 

Activities:  I'm a little dismayed here.  Not as much as I would like, but granted, we had no sea days, so usually on port days, the ship has a paired down schedule.  This is why i like sea days.  Sea days is when you connect with people.  I met some great people on the first day, but with two port days, i never got to see them again.  I didn't try the water slide, but I looked at it, and it looked kind of tame to me.  I told this funny story to my friend while we were at Universal.  You can plop me on a roller coaster that has a 300-400 foot drop, 90mph, multiple inversions and high g turns with airtime, I'll be like LETS GO!!!  Then we come to Jurrassic Park, maybe a 45 foot drop but you will probably get wet...I'm like ...eeeeh, let me think about it...  For the record, I did do the Jurrasic Park Ride.  Same here.  I didn't get the drive to try it.  If i was on this ship for 7 nights, I probably would have found time.  But with so little time, i skipped it.

 

Internet:  This was pretty good, but i suspect its good because we're at 1/2 capacity.  Usually, I complain like hell about it, but despite it being slow, it was actually consistent.  But oddly enough, each cruise is unique as @jam19872016 reported the week before that it was inconsistent.

 

Entertainment:  I saw the ice show and the welcome aboard show.  I saw Marcello, the cruise director that one time at the welcome aboard show. ..and then never again.  I don't think i saw him at the Ice show.  Granted, it was a whirlwind of action with ports and stuff, so that's understandable.  I would not have been able to pick him out in a line-up.

 

Ports:  Nassau.  I was about to go out Nassau and explore...and then that storm rolled in at about noon after lunch.  Then i took a nap and next thing i know, it was time for dinner.  I've been to Nassau before, so I'm not fussed I missed it.

 

Cococay.  I'm not a fan.  I'm not big on their private island stuff.  I don't care much for the activities.  I *might* be interested in the waterslides, but at 90 bucks they wanted to charge, i'm not that interested.  As I noted before.  Funnel Cake is available complimentary at Snack Shack!!!  

 

Debarkation.  7 and a 1/2 minutes ship to door?  Thanks facial recognition.  With this, i'm now thinking what did those Immigrations guys do before?

 

So, what do i think.  3 days is too short.  Its not even 72 hours  (you're on at 1:00 and your off at 9:00).  That's closer to 68 hours of cruising.  And the parking charges you for 4 days...and then does the same thing with the next guy.  I don't think i will ever do another short cruise like this again unless special circumstances provide.  Here, 3 reasons.  I was already in FL.  The price was amazing and I got 12 points. (pending).  However, the cruise itself was great.  1600 people onboard.  Amazing service everywhere.  Low capacity.  Never really waited for an elevator.  It felt longer, and rushed at the same time.  Does that make sense?

 

Couple of other things.

 

Economy Car Rental.  USE AT YOUR OWN PERIL.  Yeah, i paid 14 bucks for the car.  But if they can tag you somehow, they will.  I was there for 2 hours.  If i had read the reviews before booking, I would not have booked with them.  There was 3 people in front of me in line.  There was sooooo much administrative things and they were so slow about it.  I rented a car from the legacy agencies and was in the car in 15 minutes at most.  Here, they just drag everything out.  At least when i turned the car in, the shuttle was already there.  If you can rent from the airport, do that.  It costs more, but your time maybe more valuable.

 

Live threads.  I couldn't find my live threads from 2018 with the search.  So my future ones like this one will tag my live threads so i can find them later.  This is how i relive my own cruises.

 

So that's it.  Thank you everyone for riding along with me.  Next trip is the first Brilliance revenue cruise fate willing.  December 16th.  79 days and counting...

[Rogueperson]

One more major thing to add.

 

Onboard Safety

 

I felt totally safe onboard.  Even though every one 12 and older had to be vaccinated, there is still a separation of vaccinated and everyone events.  MDR seating is separated.  If you are a fully vaccinated party, you ate on deck 3.  If you had any children who were unvaccinated, you ate on deck 4.

 

Same thing with the main theater.  Vaccinated on deck 3.  Unvaccinated on deck 4.  The events and activities throughout the ship were marked *E* for everyone or *V* for vaccinated.  Because of this, I feel more safe here than I am at home.  I live in Maryland.  My county as of today is 67% fully vaccinated, on board, at least 95% fully vaccinated.

 

The mask thing is a little annoying, but ya know, its what we have to live with these days.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Rogueperson

[SummerBeee]

@Rogueperson checking in with you post HHN and cruise. I’m attending HHN this weekend and cruise on Mariner for Halloween. Nervous about the mass of humanity at HHN, especially this busy weekend. We do the RIP tours for the evening event and just the daytime tours. No park rides, my daughter is over waiting on me to ride a ride.

I 100% get you about the Jurassic Park ride. I wish you could get off before the possibility of getting drenched. I’d happily ride a coaster for hours but can’t stand the idea of walking around in wet shoes (or worse wet bra)

 

I did a 3 day on Mariner over Labor Day, never again anything so short. Our Halloween cruise is 4 night followed by 3 more 4-5 day segments, 18 nights total.

Thanks again for the trip report and for including your Universal segment.