Cruise Critic Sailing Aboard Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas 2/12 - Ask Us Your Questions

[kvalenta]

Hi everybody. My name is Kyle Valenta and I'm the Senior SEO Editor here at Cruise Critic. While I've been covering travel for years, this is my first-ever cruise! I'll be heading out on Royal's Mariner of the Seas on Saturday, 2/12, for a five-night cruise from Port Canaveral with stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay and the newly reopened Labadee port. I'd love to hear any suggestions or tips for a solo cruiser's first sailing on Mariner, and will be answering any questions you might have about the ship, the Royal Caribbean experience as Omicron winds down, and what Labadee is like after its long hiatus. Looking forward to it!

[John&LaLa]

First off, you're sailing from Pt Canaveral. Orlando is about 40 miles inland. Have fun

[kvalenta]

17 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

First off, you're sailing from Pt Canaveral. Orlando is about 40 miles inland. Have fun

Rookie mistake and you are very correct. Thank you.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, kvalenta said:

Rookie mistake and you are very correct. Thank you.

 

No worries, Royal markets it that way 

 

BTW, never ever call Cocoa Beach just Cocoa😉

[LauraS]

18 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

First off, you're sailing from Pt Canaveral. Orlando is about 40 miles inland. Have fun

 

Oh you!

[S.A.M.J.R.]

We'll be on Mariner in July.  What are the shows like?

What's the cost for the Escape room?  How soon can you book that?

[ACruiseGuy]

I've sailed on Mariner of the Seas when she was brand new, so I don't have any specific questions about the ship itself -- since Royal keeps them like brandy new!!  But, if you wouldn't mind sharing your opinion (or even a picture or two) about the conditions of the stateroom, that would be helpful!

 

Have a great time. You'll catch the cruise bug I'm sure.  Do some "ship spotting" while you cruise; a fave pastime of mine.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, LauraS said:

 

Oh you!

 

If not me, someone else would have. 😉

 

Nice to see you checking in on us. Had a blast on Odyssey last week. Very well behaved thread.

[Milliegirl229]

Looking forward to your tips and review as we will be on this cruise in July. We are experienced cruisers but only did one RCCL and it was years ago. Traveling with 3 generations, youngest are 7 and 9. One junior suite and 2 connecting promenade rooms. Thank you.

 

[BuckeyeMan]

Enjoy all the decorations the morning of the 17th 🙂. You will know once you see.  

[kvalenta]

On 2/10/2022 at 1:25 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

No worries, Royal markets it that way 

 

BTW, never ever call Cocoa Beach just Cocoa😉

Noting that for the next time I make it down this way, but I believe I'll be back in Brooklyn without a stop at Cocoa Beach sadly.

[kvalenta]

On 2/10/2022 at 1:31 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

We'll be on Mariner in July.  What are the shows like?

What's the cost for the Escape room?  How soon can you book that?

I'll be back in a couple days with some more information for you!

[kvalenta]

On 2/10/2022 at 5:29 PM, Milliegirl229 said:

Looking forward to your tips and review as we will be on this cruise in July. We are experienced cruisers but only did one RCCL and it was years ago. Traveling with 3 generations, youngest are 7 and 9. One junior suite and 2 connecting promenade rooms. Thank you.

 

That sounds really fun. You should see a few articles coming in the next week or so—packing up and heading to the terminal now!

[billslowsky]

Let us know what contraband you were able to smuggle aboard!

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, kvalenta said:

That sounds really fun. You should see a few articles coming in the next week or so—packing up and heading to the terminal now!

 

I'll try and take a picture of your sail out.

At beach now, gorgeous day

 

[akcruz]

On 2/10/2022 at 1:38 PM, ACruiseGuy said:

I've sailed on Mariner of the Seas when she was brand new, so I don't have any specific questions about the ship itself -- since Royal keeps them like brandy new!!  But, if you wouldn't mind sharing your opinion (or even a picture or two) about the conditions of the stateroom, that would be helpful!

 

Have a great time. You'll catch the cruise bug I'm sure.  Do some "ship spotting" while you cruise; a fave pastime of mine.

 

We were on the Feb 3 cruise in 9620, was surprised how tired the cabin looked, especially in the bathroom.  Still had a great cruise and would be back onboard in a heartbeat, just surprised as had not seen that on Royal before.

[Cruiselover800]

What are the theme nights plz

thanks

[John&LaLa]

Sail away 

 

 

 

[trisha1165]

Hi Kyle! I sailed on Mariner 10/2018 and loved her - my DIL and I sail on her 4/28/22. I've become Vegan since that last cruise, and I'm interested to know what Vegan options will be available on Coco Cay as I haven't been able to find any info on that yet. You will have a blast on this cruise and I'm anxious to read all about it. 😄

[Presbycruiser67]

Kyle,

 

I would be curious to get your reviews of the specialty restaurants.

 

Thank you!

[kvalenta]

On 2/12/2022 at 5:48 PM, John&LaLa said:

Sail away 

 

 

 

This is so great! Thank you for sharing!

[kvalenta]

33 minutes ago, Presbycruiser67 said:

Kyle,

 

I would be curious to get your reviews of the specialty restaurants.

 

Thank you!

I've really enjoyed them. I've seen some less-than-stellar comments on Jaime's (the Italian spot with handmade pastas), but I don't agree with them. I worked in an Italian restaurant in NYC for a decade and have to say that they do a really great job (the arancini were awesome, and my tagliolini with truffle were great too). Izumi was also really fun (and delicious)—you'll have to be in the mood for a lively dinner spot (even with lower capacity numbers, as they are now), but it's definitely dinner and a show and really satisfying.

 

I have to say that the food in the main dining room is outstanding for dinner (and there's a vegan menu if you scroll all the way down in the app), and the breakfast buffet is really great as well.

[kvalenta]

On 2/13/2022 at 12:36 PM, trisha1165 said:

Hi Kyle! I sailed on Mariner 10/2018 and loved her - my DIL and I sail on her 4/28/22. I've become Vegan since that last cruise, and I'm interested to know what Vegan options will be available on Coco Cay as I haven't been able to find any info on that yet. You will have a blast on this cruise and I'm anxious to read all about it. 😄

Hi there. It's been a great cruise. Sadly my time on CocoCay was cut short by a rather intense downpour that cut into my lunchtime (I wound up eating on the ship instead). Let me dig into this for you. If you didn't already know, there's a really good vegan menu as part of the included Main Dining menu onboard, as well as options Izumi (they can make vegan sushi). Stay tuned for an update.

[kvalenta]

On 2/10/2022 at 5:29 PM, Milliegirl229 said:

Looking forward to your tips and review as we will be on this cruise in July. We are experienced cruisers but only did one RCCL and it was years ago. Traveling with 3 generations, youngest are 7 and 9. One junior suite and 2 connecting promenade rooms. Thank you.

 

You'll be happy. I'm not an expert (yet), but I've talked to some parents with kids and they've unanimously been happy. Perfect Day is a huge hit (the water park is a splurge and you'd have to gauge the kids' willpower to tackle some serious slides [there are some milder ones too, though], as well as the wave pool and obstacle pool (both were packed with children around the age you mentioned). There are some splash areas at perfect day that are free, and the main pool does have calmer areas away from the swim-up bar. 

 

Onboard, I saw an 11 year old sing karaoke last night—and he was awesome. There's also fun stuff at the back of the ship—Flowrider, waterslides appropriate for younger/shorter kids, climbing spots, and soft serve ice cream. Kids' menus are also available in most of the restaurants (if not all of them), including the main dining room and room service.

 

Overall I've seen a huge swatch of age demographics and can't say that I've heard one bad thing from anyone I've spoken too across the age spectrum. Royal is also really good with accessibility, if there are any mobility issues in your group (even at the private island destinations). 

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, kvalenta said:

This is so great! Thank you for sharing!

 

You are very welcome  🙏