Mariner Review 8/26/07 – 9/02/07 Western Caribbean

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Donna, I can't thank you enough for all the great info and insights about the Western Itinerary. We sail next week, 9/23, and I am already feeling the "happy butterflies" just thinking about it.

I'm new to Cruise Critic Message Boards so I'm still learning lots about RCCL and the Mariner. We are a family of 6 adults ranging in age from 30 to 89 and all have cruised before, mostly on DCL. My father (89) and mother in law (85) aren't sure they want to disembark at the ports of call but we are encouraging them to do so. They're still blessed with good health, praise God! Do you have any suggestions for sightseeing that I can pass along to them - or for the rest of us for that matter. We haven't booked ANY excursions yet, and really don't know what we want to see. (Except for my husband who would be happy to sit on the beach or by the pool for the whole week and see the sea.)

 

One question about the ice show: In order to get six tickets do all six of us have to wait in line? Some day it would be nice to be on the concierge level and have things brought to us!

 

Guess I'll try to find the roll call for our cruise now. Thanks again for your (and so many other cruisers) great reviews.

P.S. How do I break this addiction I've developed for reading post after post after post???? :rolleyes:

 

Susan

[DonnaK]

Donna, I can't thank you enough for all the great info and insights about the Western Itinerary. We sail next week, 9/23, and I am already feeling the "happy butterflies" just thinking about it.

I'm new to Cruise Critic Message Boards so I'm still learning lots about RCCL and the Mariner. We are a family of 6 adults ranging in age from 30 to 89 and all have cruised before, mostly on DCL. My father (89) and mother in law (85) aren't sure they want to disembark at the ports of call but we are encouraging them to do so. They're still blessed with good health, praise God! Do you have any suggestions for sightseeing that I can pass along to them - or for the rest of us for that matter. We haven't booked ANY excursions yet, and really don't know what we want to see. (Except for my husband who would be happy to sit on the beach or by the pool for the whole week and see the sea.)

 

One question about the ice show: In order to get six tickets do all six of us have to wait in line? Some day it would be nice to be on the concierge level and have things brought to us!

 

Guess I'll try to find the roll call for our cruise now. Thanks again for your (and so many other cruisers) great reviews.

P.S. How do I break this addiction I've developed for reading post after post after post???? :rolleyes:

 

Susan

 

 

Susan,

 

Welcome to the boards! You are going to love Mariner - she's a gorgeous ship.

 

Regarding the ice show tickets, just send one member of your party down abotu 30 minutes or so prior to when they are supposed to be distributed. It's really easy.

 

For the best ideas on shore excursions, go over to the Ports of Call boards for each place you'll be visiting. They give excellent recommendations for private guides for all sorts of activities. It might be nice to pick two ports where you just relax on the beach (Labadee is a good choice for this) and then two ports where you might do something more active. When we got off the ship in Grand Cayman, there were guides at the tender dock offering Island Tours for $20pp that seemed very nice. Remember that it's very hot in the Caribbean - this may influence your choices. And, you don't have to make arrangements through the ship - all of these ports have reputable private guides. I wouldn't recommend venturing out on your own in Ocho Rios, though - make sure you have a guide and a plan for there.