Mariner - Western - 6/3/07 Very Long Review

[StlGal]

We just returned from our wedding/honeymoon cruise aboard The Mariner of the Seas, western route which departed Port Canaveral on Sunday, June 3rd. We were married on Wednesday, June 6th on a private beach in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We spent approximately 18 months planning the cruise, the pre-wedding reception, the wedding, the beach reception and all of the other details that go along with a destination wedding. In addition to the two of us, we had our collective three children and 19 others sailing along with us, for a total of 24.

Overall the Mariner is a beautiful & very large ship. The ship is so large in fact, at times it’s overwhelming... even after a full week we still didn’t manage to see the entire ship. The ship was very clean, no detail was over looked by the RCCI designers. There was beautiful artwork was everywhere… tucked into unexpected areas including the stairwells, in the hallways. I tried to take the stairs as often as I could just so I could enjoy the artwork.

Per Kristoffersen was our Captain and Becky Thomson was our Cruise Director. We personally had never been on a cruise with Becky before. We had read many reviews about her bubbly personality & high energy. Since this was Becky’s first week back from vacation, I imagine what we experienced was an even more energized Becky than usual. As expected, she did not disappoint, she was very personable and extremely funny. From what we understand Captain Johnny will be returning to The Mariner next week, and Becky will be leaving to go to the Freedom OTS on July 14th.

My fiancé and I had booked a Jr. Suite on the 9th deck – 9568. Our three children and our nanny had the Jr. Suite next to ours – 9570. Our cabins were great! There was a very spacious walk-in closet with lots of storage that included a wire shelving unit. We had plenty of space for all of our clothing. So much room in fact, that we didn’t need to use all of the shelves in the closet, or all of the drawers or shelves in the main cabin & bathroom. Due to the wedding we had a total of 6 suitcases between the two of us and still had room to spare. The bathroom was good size and had a full bath tub unfortunately with a shower curtain… had hoped for a shower door, but we managed to weigh the curtain down with some chip clips so it wouldn’t blow in on us. The bathroom amenities included cotton balls, q-tips, hand & bath bar soaps, as well as small bottles of shampoo, conditioner & body lotion. Although we didn’t use any of these, as we had already packed our own. The bedding and mattresses were new. The mattresses were extremely firm, no give whatsoever… which I guess given the choice between lumpy, too soft mattresses we would take the extra firm ones any day. :rolleyes:

Our room steward was Rubi & she was AWESOME!!! Anything we asked for from removing the items in our cooler, a bathrobe, extra towels, a vase to put my wedding bouquet in, whatever it was she was always happy to help us out. It seemed that we were always bumping into her in the hallway day and night. She never failed to have a smile on her face and a few kind words for us.:D

Day One – Sunday, Embarkation

We chartered a private air-conditioned bus to pick us and all of our cruising guests up at the Hilton at 8:30 am. We arrived at the port around 10:00 am. By the time the porters unloaded our luggage, our group queued up in the line that had already started outside of the terminal. It was 10:30 by this time, and RCCI was not allowing any cruising guests into the terminal. Unfortunately, all of the women and most of the men in our group needed to use the restroom facilities. There was only one co-ed facility located all the way back at the other end of the terminal near the porters. The facility was less than clean, and needless to say a bit inconvenient due to the location, and the fact that there was only one facility. Some of the men spotted a port-a-potty at the end of the parking lot & made a beeline for it instead of waiting in the long line. I guess there are some drawbacks to arriving that early at the port.

Around 11:30 am RCCI allowed us to enter the terminal. Thanks to our TA, getting our group checked in went fairly quickly. Prior to the cruise our TA was able to get all of us checked in online & print out Sign and Sail Passes for all of us. I would highly recommend that everyone check-in online and print out their Sign & Sail Pass prior to getting to the port.

Two weeks prior to our cruise, we started working with Jolene on of the 2nd Purser’s onboard The Mariner to help us obtain dinner reservations for our 18 adult guests for wedding night at Chop’s, as well as the following night at Portofino’s. As soon as we boarded, my fiancé and I went directly to Chop’s & then to Portofino’s to confirm our dinner reservations. The manager at Chop’s made it very clear to us that they normally do not accommodate large groups, but because it was our wedding night, they would make an exception. Portofino’s did the same for the following evening.

Once we had confirmed the reservations, we met the rest of our group up at the Windjammer and enjoyed some lunch. The food at the Windjammer was okay. They were serving the typical buffet fare including, octagonal hamburgers (I’m sorry, but if a hamburger is any other shape besides a circle, be afraid, be very afraid), hot dogs, salad bar, small sub sandwiches, a carving station, salad bar, fresh fruit and a few other dishes along with some generic looking desserts. They were also serving water, lemonade & iced tea.

We started to explore the ship and around 1:30 we headed to our cabins. To our surprise our TA had champagne delivered to all of our cabins. It was a very nice surprise!

Our cabin was directly across the hallway from the service entrance/stairway. They had the doors open and to our horror & dismay we saw hundreds of suitcases carelessly thrown on top of one another, and they just kept throwing them in, piling them higher and higher. I have seen the baggage handlers at the airports manhandle suitcases from time to time, but had never seen anything like this. :( Thankfully we had carefully packed all of our delicate belongings in bubble wrap and Ziploc bags. Eventually all of our bags safely made their way to our cabin by 6pm that evening.

At 4:15 we attended the mandatory muster drill. We grabbed our life vests, made sure our children and the nanny had theirs and we all headed down together to our muster station on deck four. Everything was going well, until we met the crew member in charge of our muster station – Alexey from Russia (found out later that he was the star of the ice show). To be perfectly frank with you, he had a bad attitude and was a smart ass. When he asked me how many were in our party, I stammered a little before I answered… wondering if I should include the nanny & the kids… I paused, and then started to say “6”. Then my fiancé understood what Alexey was saying, and answered “2”. Alexey then said “finally someone who has a brain”. I felt that his verbal abuse was unnecessary and extremely rude on his part.:mad:

After the muster drill we made our way back up to our cabins to stow our life vests & then up to the pool area for the sail away party. Which to be honest, IMHO the sail away party was a bit of a disappointment…. You couldn’t see the ocean or the port when sailing away and the “celebration” consisted of a few of the asst. cruise directors trying to get people to line dance.

Our group met up for pre-dinner cocktails in The Champagne Bar. The bartender there, we called her “Dee” is from India and has the cutest, bubbly personality. She also makes some very yummy martinis! My personal favorite was the Appletini, but the Chocolatetini ran a close second. They say the place to get a good martini on the Mariner is Ellington’s… but I would have disagree, and instead recommend the martinis that Dee makes at The Champagne Bar.:D

We had late seating for dinner at 8:30pm, in Rhapsody in Blue on the 3rd deck. Our TA was able to arrange three tables for our group – one 10 top, one 8 top and one 6 top for the five children & the nanny. The 8 & 6 top were serviced by a different head waiter & asst waiter than the 10 top. My fiancé & I sat at the 10 top each night, and our adult guests rotated between the 10 top & the 8 top so that we could all get a chance to eat at least one meal with each of our guests.

The service was extremely faster for the guests seated at the 8 & 6 tops… we learned later that our waiter at the 10 top was only filling in for someone on vacation, and normally would have been serving in one of the specialty restaurants…. And it was obvious that he did not have the “rhythm” that the other servers had. Now don’t get me wrong, he was very nice & personable, just verrrrry slow. In fact, we were always the last table to leave the dining room each night. We typically were there until past 11pm, in fact there were many nights when we were there when the dining room lights were turned up and the maître d' would get on the microphone giving the servers instructions on how to set the tables for the following morning’s meal. We knew that we would never make any of the evening shows due to the slow service, which was bit of a disappointment. We missed both late night parades and a couple of other shows that we really wanted to see.

With that said, we thought that our maître d' was terrific! He was very friendly and extremely helpful. We also loved our beverage waiter, Morris from Jamaica. We thought it was a bit weird though, how Morris wasn’t able to bring us wine or beer, only hard alcohol & after dinner drinks. I personally prefer the way that Carnival & Disney do this, one head waiter & one asst waiter that also takes care of all beverages alcoholic & non-alcoholic… just seems to flow a little smoother.

After dinner we were all beat… turned in around midnight.

 

Day Two – Monday, First Day At Sea

We had room service breakfast delivered to our room around 8:30am. At 11am we headed to the CC Meet & Mingle which had originally been scheduled for 1pm @ Ellington’s had been changed at the last minute to 11am. Although we had over 100 signed up, only around 30-40 showed up, I believe this was due to the last minute change. Despite that it was fun meeting everyone, and putting names to faces. We also got to meet Becky, which was probably the highlight of the M&M. After the M&M went exploring on the ship & had some lunch in the Windjammer.

Our wedding cruise mates met at The Sky Bar at 2:00 for scavenger hunt that we had put together for our wedding. I chose the teams so that they were composed of people who didn’t really know each other all that well. It was a great ice breaker and everyone ended up having a great time.

After the scavenger hunt we went to the café in the Promenade for some small sandwiches, desserts & coffee. The ham & cheese croissants and the desserts were very good.

After our afternoon snack, I met my parents at 5pm for the ice show. We did not have tickets, but that didn’t matter. We went down to Studio B and were able to get three tickets for the show with no problem. The ice show was excellent & should not to be missed!

We met again for pre-dinner drinks at the Champagne Bar and had another yummy martini. We were all impressed, Dee even remembered all of our names from the previous night!

Dinner service again tonight was extremely slow. We managed to get out of the dining room around 11:30. We missed The Pure Energy show, which we were looking forward to. Thankfully though, we had time to go back to our cabins and change into jeans and go the late night adult comedy show starring Tony Daro. This was supposed to be an adult only comedy show, under 18 not permitted, but the theatre was filled with many teenagers that were obviously not supposed to be there. RCCI should have a better way of keeping underage teens out of the theatre. Nonetheless Tony was still hilarious and we had a good time.

After the show some of our group went to the casino and others went to The Dragon’s Lair. I personally went back to our cabin. But from what I understand everyone had good time that night gambling & dancing.

[StlGal]

Day Three – Tuesday, Labadee, Haiti

Today we all met at café in the Promenade & headed towards the tenders. The tendering process went very smoothly, and before we knew it we were walking through the entrance to Labadee. A couple of the Haiti beach workers helped us set up chairs on Barefoot beach for our group – some in the shade & some in the sun. We tipped them a couple of dollars for each chair. Soon after getting settled into our beach chairs, Morris from Jamaica came by and introduced us to the Labadoozie. Wow! What a GREAT drink on such a hot day!!!

The smaller kids (ages 6-10) went to the children’s water park/beach area with the nanny. Some of the adults in our group decided to enter the adult beach volleyball tournament. They had a great time & ended up winning second place.

We didn’t try the lunch buffet since we had a late breakfast that morning & weren’t that hungry. A few of us decided to take a walk to the Haitian Straw Market to see what they had to offer. I had read reviews about how pushy the vendors could be, and I thought I had experienced pushy vendors before in Cozumel & St. Maarten, but nothing compares to how pushy & rude the Labadee vendors were. We started to walk on the inside part of the market, and the strong stench of body odor immediately hit us. Each of the small stalls had essentially the same items in them. We made it to the end of one side we didn’t dare try to walk down the other side. My son wanted a shell necklace… so I we started bartering with a couple of vendors & ended up getting a necklace for $12 which I thought was a total rip off, but he really like the necklace, it was his money & frankly I was tired of being around the very pushy vendors so we bought it & quickly left.:mad:

Had also intended to take a walk to Dragon’s Breath, but by the time we left the market it was a little past 3pm and so we decided to just get in line for the tender. The line for the tender was very long and there was very little shade while waiting. We were happy to finally make it onto a tender & back onto the ship.

One onboard the ship we grabbed a small bite to eat in The Windjammer and laid out at the pool for a couple of hours and then headed back to our cabins to grab a shower & get ready for dinner.

We had hoped to go to the 10:30 70’s Disco Inferno Street Party on the Royal Promenade, but once again, we were the last table to get out of the dining room & missed yet another evening show. The girls in the group wanted to take me out for an after drink to celebrate my last day as a single woman. We went to where else, but The Champagne Bar. Dee made us some yummy martinis and brought some yummy chocolate covered strawberries, cookies & petit fours to our table. We all thought that the extra little treats were such a nice touch, and very thoughtful of Dee.

The men took my fiancé out to the casino to celebrate his last evening as a bachelor. Not sure what they did, but my fiancé ended up beating me back to the cabin that night. J

Day Four – Wednesday, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

This was our wedding day. When we awoke the ship was still in route to Ocho Rios. We docked right on time at 9:00 am. The wedding party had no issues with leaving the ship at 9:30, and neither did my parents and I when we left 15 minutes later.

The wedding was beautiful, everything we expected and more! If you would like to know more about the wedding and the private wedding coordinator we used (Tropical Weddings Jamaica), I am writing a review which I will post to the Honeymoon & Wedding Cruises under the Special Interest Cruising board.

After the wedding we had a couple of hours left to spend in Ocho Rios. So we went back to the ship to change into our suits, and walked to Margaritaville for some lunch. The kids (and some of the adults) had a blast sliding down the slide. I had the jerk chicken and it was pretty good. Another person in our group had the jerked pork, and it was delicious. After lunch we headed back to the ship to get ready for our 7pm dinner reservations at Chop’s.

As I stated earlier in the review, the specialty restaurants onboard The Mariner normally do not serve larger groups at one time, but because of the special occasion they made an exception.

Chop’s had us set up in the back part of the restaurant on three tables of 6. I ordered the tuna tartar appetizer, and it was delicious. My husband and I both had the cheesy onion soup. I don’t know what we were expecting, but we certainly weren’t expecting the traditional onion soup with the French bread and melted cheese. The soup was good, but nothing too special about it. I had the Caesar salad. The salad was two large uncut hearts of romaine lettuce covered with a large portion of Caesar dressing, some croutons & shaved parmesan cheese. It was good, but again, nothing spectacular. My husband had the 10 oz filet cooked medium, and I had the veal chop cooked medium rare and I also ordered a baked potato. All of the sides were served family style down the middle of the table. The sides included creamed spinach (which I heard was good), sautéed mushrooms (which were very good), mashed potatoes (they were okay, lumpy), I can’t seem to remember the rest of the sides…. They forgot to bring my baked potato, not a big deal, since there were plenty of other sides to go around. The veal was okay, I found it to be a little dry and bland. My husband said his filet was good, but nothing that he couldn’t get from a chain restaurant at home. We ordered a Mud Pie to share… and this was the crowning glory of the entire meal… it was absolutely DELICIOUS… it was so rich though that between the two of us, we could not finish it.

After dinner when we arrived back at our cabin we were surprised by red rose petals scattered everywhere, on the bed, on the floor, a bottle of chilled champagne, chocolate covered strawberries and two dozen long stemmed roses… all courtesy of our wonderful cruise mates!

We had planned on auditioning for The Love & Marriage Game Show at 10:15pm in The Savoy. Even with our large party, Chop’s was able to serve us and get us out of the restaurant by 9:30pm. The first time we had finished our meal prior to 11pm. But unfortunately something that I ate for dinner did not sit well with my stomach. Thought it may have been the tuna tartar, but two others in our group also had this dish, and neither of them had issues. However, no one else in our group had the veal, so this is the only thing that I could point to as the possible cause of my stomach issues. So needless to say, we didn’t make it to The Love & Marriage Game Show, and didn’t have much of a romantic wedding night. L

Day Five – Georgetown, Grand Caymans

Fortunately for me, I had packed a small drug store with us, and so I was feeling much better when we got up Thursday morning. We met many of our cruise mates for breakfast that morning in The Windjammer. I was glad to learn that I was able to order an egg white omelet cooked with cooking spray. The rest of the breakfast fare was the standard buffet food – bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, dry cereal, pastries, bread, fruit, etc. They also served orange juice, apple juice, tea, coffee & water.

We left the ship around 10am that morning and had no problems catching a tender to the island. We did some shopping and then headed over to Margaritaville for a drink, which turned into lunch. Around 2:30pm we caught a tender back to the ship, changed into our suits and lounged at the pool for an hour or so.

We had 6pm dinner reservations this evening at Portofino’s. They had us set up in the front of the restaurant with one table of 10 and one of 8. Our server was Peter and he was absolutely FABULOUS!!! As was the food and the presentation. If we had to do it all over again, we would have booked Portofino’s for our wedding night instead of Chop’s.

For starters I had the shrimp appetizer, and my husband had the shrimp risotto & the crab cake. All of them were incredible! We both passed on the Caesar salad thinking it would be much like Chop’s… and we were sad that we did, because it was completely different and those that did have it said it was very good. My husband and I both had the bean soup, which was so very delicious. Not to mention the presentation, superb. I had fish (can’t remember what kind) with the shrimp risotto and it was amazing. My husband and several others had the filet, and said that it was the best steak and blew Chop’s out of the water. My husband also had the seafood skewer and it was phenomenal, the presentation outstanding… he and I typically do not like scallops, absolutely LOVED these scallops, not to mention the lobster, salmon & shrimp… YUM!!! For dessert most of us got the dessert sampler – which again, was absolutely INCREDIBLE!! We have some health nuts that cruised with us, and even they could not stop eating the desserts. The tiramisu was the best I have ever had! The flourless chocolate cake was more like fudge than cake, and the white chocolate mouse was fabulous. We LOVED absolutely EVERYTHING about Portofino’s!!! :D :D

After dinner needless to say we were stuffed! We had intended on going to the 80’s Dance Party, but had learned earlier that the NBA finals were on TV, and we had quite a few Spurs fans among us (including my husband), so instead we quickly changed into our jeans and went up to the 19th hole and cheered on the Spurs. After the game, we went down to take pictures of the Gala Buffet. Although, we were so stuffed from dinner, there was no way we were going to be able to eat any of it. After viewing the buffet, some went gambling, others went dancing, and others (like me) chose to turn in.

Day Six – Cozumel, Mexico

We ate breakfast in The Windjammer again this morning with some of our cruise mates. We had booked a beach excursion through a non-RCCI provider. We took cabs (about $13 per cab holding 4 people) to The Reef Club. The cost for the excursion was $40/adult & $20/17 yrs and younger. The cost included beach towel, chairs, all you could eat & all you could drink from 10am – 5pm. The beach was okay, very rocky & very painful to walk out into if you didn’t have swim shoes (which none of us did). It had a small trampoline & iceberg anchored out in the swimming area. The drinks were weak, the beer warm, and the bartender seemed to be a very disgruntled employee. The food wasn’t much better… we had expected/hoped for some authentic Mexican food, but instead were treated to burgers, fries, chicken (???) nuggets, french fries, onion rings along with some greasy tortilla chips w/okay tasting guacamole. The resort rented jet skis for ~$45 for 30 minutes and 1 hour snorkeling for $20/person. The kids had fun on the jet skis, and 11 of us went snorkeling. We had a really great time snorkeling. Besides the fresh water pool that the resort offered, the snorkeling was one of the only redeeming qualities that the resort offered.

We took cabs back to the terminal, where we did a little shopping before we got onto the ship. Once you are inside the doors of the terminal, there are few bargains to be found when buying silver. The shop keepers will bargain with you, but still the prices are very high. Example, I buy souvenir spoons for my grandmother at each port. The maximum that I paid for a spoon was $6 at every other port. The vendor in Mexico wanted to charge me $20. He would only go down to $15. So I passed on the spoon… sorry Grandma!

After we returned to the ship and started to get ready for dinner… after all it was lobster night! J I can’t remember what I had, but it was good. My husband and several others had the lobster and said that it was very good. Not to break with tradition, I mean why start now, we were once again the last table in the dining room.

After dinner we went back to our cabin to change into jeans and run to Studio B for The Quest show. Unfortunately by the time we arrived there was standing room only. So we grabbed a few adult beverages from the bar and settled in. When Becky came out driving a small child’s electric car the crowd went wild. She made everyone stand up, no one was to sit down during the entire show, so after that we didn’t feel so bad about not having seats. Hah! As it happened, my husband of 48 hours, decided that it was a great idea to volunteer to be a team leader of Team 7. I won’t ruin it for anyone who has never witnessed Quest, but let’s just say, I have plenty of blackmail photos! Hah! :p After Quest we decided to go to get some additional adult beverages in the Royal Promenade and eventually headed to The Dragon’s Lair. We turned in around 3am that night/morning.

Day Seven – Second Day At Sea

We slept in this morning and ordered some late morning room service breakfast… unfortunately all that was available at this time was continental breakfast. So we settled on some fresh fruit, muffins and coffee. After our breakfast we put on our suits and went down to the pool. Later that afternoon we went to Windjammer for some lunch. I had a curry dish and some tandori chicken, both were very good.

After spending a lazy day at the pool, we went back to the room and started packing. We met most of our cruise mates at Johnny Rockets for dinner that night at 7pm. We were pleasantly surprised, the restaurant was practically empty and the 14 of us found booths immediately. The fries and onion rings started flowing almost immediately. I ordered a chocolate shake and a grilled chicken sandwich, my husband ordered a vanilla shake, chili and a St. Louis burger (maybe getting a little homesick? Hah!). The shakes and onion rings were great. My chicken sandwich was good & my husband said the burger was good, but he didn’t care for the chili. We shared the Oreo cookie sundae… which was very good.

After dinner we went to find our head waiter, asst waiter, maitre de, and room attendant to hand them our tips and thank them for everything. We also stopped by with a thank you card and extra tip for Dee at The Champagne Bar. We also stopped by the Purser’s Desk again to thank Jolene for everything. Lastly, we stopped by the photo gallery to purchase some pictures, and of course the cruise dvd since my husband was so prominently “displayed” in it. Hah! Then we spent the rest of the evening packing.

Day Eight – Going Home

The ship pulled in sometime around 5:30am that morning and started allowing self-service passengers off of the ship around 7am. It was around this time that some of us headed to the dining room for breakfast. The group coordinator had worked with us so that all of our cruising guests had the same color tag/time to leave the ship which was between 8:30 – 9:30am.

Our breakfast was good, it was nice to be waited on instead of standing in line at the Windjammer. Wish we would have done this sooner. After breakfast all of us decided to go to Studio B until our tags were called. We breezed through Customs and onto the awaiting bus that we had chartered to take everyone to Orlando International airport.

Overall we had a wonderful experience on The Mariner and our beautiful wedding in Jamaica. The food was good but not great. The only major issues that we had were with the rude and obnoxious teenagers that essentially took over the ship each evening. There were several occasions that we experienced their obnoxious behavior on the elevators, pool areas, etc. We started to wonder where the parents were and why/how they could allow their children to run wild and torment the other passengers on the ship?? But again, despite this we had a great time and will definitely cruise again, but maybe during a month that the children are still in school. :rolleyes:

[MilliesMom]

What a great review ... thank you for posting.

 

Best Wishes to you and your husband too.

[veryhotred]

Thanks for the review and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! I am considering the Mariner...

[kittymom65]

Congratulations on your wedding!

Thank you for posting your review, I am glad you enjoyed the Mariner.

DH and I feel the same way as you about the differences between Chops and Portofino on Mariner, it truly is a daylight/dark situation in our eyes.

[DHADEN]

Hello again, Les and Angie!!

 

I loved your review. Thanks for all the memories. Wish we could have shared more moments together.

 

I have to tell you about a conversation that Donna and I had specifically about Chops and Portofinos on the Mariner. We were originally going to book reservations for your Wednesday night, but when we saw the interior and the location on the Mariner, we declined.

I would highly recommend to anyone who liked the Mariner to try the Radiance Class ships next. The Chops and Potofinos Restaurants are VERY ELEGANT. They are set on Deck 6 and have an air of Fomallity and Extravagance.

 

Also, We felt like the Mariner was crowded in several places (Dining Room, Windjammer, Elevators, etc.) - - there are 1500 more people on board the Mariner than on the Radiance.

 

Keep In Touch!

[cruisinrb]

hey do you have any pictures from the ship we are going on it in alittle bit and would love to look at pictures

[ED MARY ANN]

Thanks for your great review and congratulations on your wedding

[StlGal]

hey do you have any pictures from the ship we are going on it in alittle bit and would love to look at pictures

 

Hi~

We do have some pics of the ship & some of the ports of call. Please provide me with your email address & I will send you a link.

 

thanks,

angie

[cruisinrb]

hi it'a eeyorelover1325@aol.com

[airnvo]

Great review! I am boarding the Mariner to the Western Carribeans in less than two weeks with my two daughters, 14 and 18, and hopefully, my parents. Sorry to hear about the behavior of those teenagers, but I trust that my daughters know better than that. But if not, I could always head over to those adult-only areas. My youngest daughter is especially worried about the lack of children her own age to hang out with. :p

[StlGal]

Great review! I am boarding the Mariner to the Western Carribeans in less than two weeks with my two daughters, 14 and 18, and hopefully, my parents. Sorry to hear about the behavior of those teenagers, but I trust that my daughters know better than that. But if not, I could always head over to those adult-only areas. My youngest daughter is especially worried about the lack of children her own age to hang out with. :p

 

I have a 17 yo son & my husband has a 16 yo daughter that went along with us on the cruise. As far as I know, they too were well behaved. We had them on short leashes the entire time. More of a safety thing than a trust thing. :rolleyes: Trust me neither one of your daughters will not have any problems finding kids their own age to hang out with. The Mariner is full of teens! They will have a great time!! :D

[StlGal]

hi it'a eeyorelover1325@aol.com

 

Hello ~

I have sent a link to the Mariner pics.

Enjoy.

[KillaFee]

It was so nice reading your review because I'll be getting married in Aruba while on the Adventure of the Seas in January and I could relate to alot of things that you did - I can't wait! It's good to hear that the wedding worked out. We also booked w/a private, island based company.

 

Question for ya - were there any first timers on in your group, and if so, did they enjoy the overall cruise experience? We have 23 people total and 9 first timers and I'm just hoping that they all enjoy it. Any input would be great!

Laura

[ken_nyc]

Angie, congrats to the both of you and thanks for the great review. We cannot wait until our cruise in August!!

[BILL-WI]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a great review!

 

Congrats to you both, may you have many happy years together!

 

BILL

[StlGal]

It was so nice reading your review because I'll be getting married in Aruba while on the Adventure of the Seas in January and I could relate to alot of things that you did - I can't wait! It's good to hear that the wedding worked out. We also booked w/a private, island based company.

 

Question for ya - were there any first timers on in your group, and if so, did they enjoy the overall cruise experience? We have 23 people total and 9 first timers and I'm just hoping that they all enjoy it. Any input would be great!

Laura

 

Hi Laura.

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. You're a smart girl going with private island coordinator instead of RR/TWE (they are a nightmare to deal with).

 

We had a similar size group with us - 24... all of whom were first time cruisers, except for us & one other couple. Here is a link to another thread that I answered a lot of your questions/concerns:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=575557

 

If you have any other questions or concerns, please email me at a_denzer@yahoo.com

 

Again, congrats & good luck with your planning.

angie