Thoughts about the Mariner

[walkman4]

We have been back now for about a month and I am still thinking so fondly of our trip. It was our first cruise and who knows if it will be our last due to money situations (kids going to college...etc.) I am already dreaming of going again though. I was not even sure if I would like it, but it was a blast. We went with a large family group and we all had a great time. Let's see...things that I remember so happily.-

 

Seeing the ship for the first time. Unbelieveable. So huge.

Being in awe as we first walked inside and looked down the promenade on deck 5. Could we be in the middle of a SHIP?

 

The art work on the Mariner was fantastic!

They tell you what day it is on the elevator floor.

 

Laughing so hard at how goofy we looked doing the lifejacket drill. ha!:D

Going up to the helipad for sail away and waving to passing boats. We watched dolphins swimming by as we cleared the beach area. (Port Canaveral) It was enchanting! Also saw a flying fish.

 

The friendly room attendants. They always had a kind word every time we walked down our hallway ( a million times!)

The towel animals and chocolates. yum.

 

OUr wake up call each morning being a knock on the door with pastries and coffee. That was a treat my friend!

 

The jewlery sales at night in the middle of the promenade. We did not buy much, but it was fun to look.

 

The Cafe Promenade. What a super place to hang out! Coffee and tea and hot chocolate available 24 hours a day along with those wonderful little sandwiches and unbelieveable oatmeal cookies. yum.

 

Late night hot tub time.

 

The lounge that looks out over the swimming pools on deck 14. That is one awesome place to sit and watch the world go by.

The climbing wall and basketball court and mini golf area. Endless fun.

Johnny Rockets. The singing was fun and the burger good. The milk shakes and onion rings out of this world. Sit outside by the water. Cool.

 

The parades down the promenade. Especially the 70's dance party. Old and young out there just dancing away and having a great time doing the YMCA song, etc.

 

The guy that plays the piano and sings Disney songs on Deck 4 near the casino. He was great!

 

Deck 4. Peaceful. We had a shuffle board tournament out there and also walked the perimeter of the ship for exercise. It was a good workout. Beats the crowded jogging path on the pool deck.

 

Walking the stairs and trying to never take the elevator so we could eat more food than usual! It works!

 

We ate in the dining room every night. It was wonderful. We even had 7 teenage boys and one girl. They loved it too. They could eat all they wanted and they laughed alot.

We were seated by the baby grand piano on the third level. (Sound of Music) The first 4 nights they had someone playing the piano and accompanying two girls playing violins. The music was beautiful. What a delight and the food was out of this world for the most part. Our waiter Mel did magic tricks for both tables and amazed us. He was great. Dressing up was so fun too. We never have occasion to do dress up.

We also enjoyed having our picture taken so many times. Take a lot of pictures then pick which ones you want. It is fun.

 

CoCo Cay was fantastic. Gorgeous water, great lunch, fun snorkeling (be careful feeding the fish some of your lunch, my brother nearly lost a finger!)

 

St. Thomas... lovely water! Locals are a little overbearing, but it was a good day. We went to Coki Beach. Nice and snorkeling was good. Just don't rub up against the rocks out to the left of the beach. Some kind of urchin will sting you. ouch!

 

St. Martin...the most beautiful water I have ever seen. We went to Little Divi Bay. Calm beautiful water. Not good snorkeling but lovely. No nudity on that beach. (just our luck! said one of our 7 teenage boys with us!)

Shopping was great on St. Martin too. Mostly jewelry but found some good tshirt shops and a great little cafe on the end of the first row of shops. They sell the best frozen drinks. yum.

 

The belly flop contest. What a hoot!

 

Getting up early because you just can't wait for the day to start and heading out to deck 12 (pool deck) and watching the sun come up. (You have to do this when you are in an inside cabin! )

Breakfast in the windjammer. Knocking people out to get a seat! Just kidding. I loved sitting in the very back and watching the wake of the boat. That is a cool view.

 

I even loved our little inside cabin. There were four of us and we of course used the beds that come out of the celling. Our boys are 6 foot 6 and 6 foot 1. They did fine on the beds. My older son loved the piped in 24 hours a day jazz music in the room, and our youngest loved room service. It's FREE, he says! :p The little bathroom was fun too. Cool shower door.

We played games in the game room and skipped the casino. The shows were pretty good but missed the quest and love and marriage.

Our boys did some things with the teen group but most just hung around with a group of friends they met. Cafe Promenade was the hot spot for socializing for them. Karioke was fun too! (How in the world do you spell that word!? ha.)

Our boys loved the workout facilities and were in there twice a day. Pumping iron. Two of our boys play on college football teams in Texas and they had to keep working hard. The others joined them for fun, trying to keep up. They have at least 10 treadmills that look out over the front of the ship. It was great.

 

Bingo was fun. I nearly won!!! A couple from Pennsylvania won over $10,000 dollars! Can you believe that?

 

The ice show was unbelievable. Astonishing that they can do such a show on a ship. DON'T miss it! Awesome.

 

We spent a year planning that trip and I loved reading these boards and getting tips. It was so fun to look forward to.

 

My only complaint was that it all went way too fast and was over too soon. There was not a thing I could gripe about and will always rememer that trip with the fondest of thoughts and will cherish it always. We enjoyed God's awesome scenery, we were astonished by the vast ocean, we never lifted a finger to make a bed, fix a meal and were waited on by such charming and pleasant people. I thank them all. By the way, please tip. The people that work on this ship are special and deserve our sincere thanks.

Yes, cruising is the way to go! So...goodbye for now my cruise friends. It has been wonderful.

[shaggyofwv]

Glad you had a great time on our favorite ship.

 

That first time you are driving to port and you catch your first glimpse of your cruise ship is certainly something special.. Just the way the Mariner towers over the building that she docks next to is a memorable sight. (Just imagine what it will be like seeing the Oasis in port)

 

Ellington's lounge is also my favorite place to sip on a strawberry lavaflow and just relax and people watch.

 

Anyway.. Welcome to the cruising addiction.

[Aleciajoyful1]

I've done 9 cruises so far and two of my favorite moments of the cruise experience are:

1. the first glimpse of the ship in port as you arrive

2. the first glimpse as you step off the gangway onto the ship (I've sailed on Sovereign 4 times, going on 5, and I still get goosebumps the first time I see her)

 

I've also been on Mariner and know exactly how you feel. We had one of our best cruises, except for the Mediterranean and Hawaii, on Mariner. What a beautiful ship. I can only wait until Freedom replaces her at Port Canaveral next year!

[jensue1]

I'm so pleased you had a wonderful time on your cruise.

 

I can still remember the feeling of seeing the Mariner for the first time on our January 07 cruise - it was amazing!!! I'm looking forward to seeing her again this December.

[turquoisesea]

Thank you, walkman4. That is one of the best reviews I have ever read. I can actually feel how you felt. It makes me want to go right to the phone and book my next cruise!!:D :D

[Omishjoe]

Wow! Pretty much sums up the feelings of each of our four past cruises!

 

Will enjoy Mariner in 5 short weeks!

[hazeleyez3]

I am boarding her on Sunday and am itching to have the work week over with.

 

I keep saying to myself...just remember you are having drinks after work with your best friend on Wed, going to get a manicure after work on Thursday (beats the prices on the ship), and going to an evening play on Friday...somehow though, its not working - it still feels like a million years away.

 

And then it will go by in the wink of an eye, and I will be in your situation.

 

Thanks for the review..my hubby like to take pictures (of everything) but I'll make sure he has it for the helipad sailaway and lounge you talk about.

[gaylebd]

Thank you, walkman4. That is one of the best reviews I have ever read. I can actually feel how you felt. It makes me want to go right to the phone and book my next cruise!!:D :D

 

 

Totally agree - AWESOME REVIEW. Perfectly written to provoke "a feeling" - not just an opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I will be on her on Sunday - will take all your thoughts with me!!! :)

[B J]

What a wonderful review, you put into words what so many of us feel while on a cruise. You must be a delightful person, wish you were going on our Mariner cruise with us!!!

 

 

What teams?????

 

B J

[walkman4]

You guys are so nice. Thanks.

One nephew plays for the Texas Longhorns, (quarterback) and the other plays for Abilene Christian University (receiver).

[B J]

HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!!!

[Hombre59]

Out of curiosity, were you on the August 3rd cruise? Sounds like you had a great time.

[walkman4]

We were on the July 6-13th cruise.:)

[Clarea]

You probably won't believe me, but your second cruise will be even better than the first!

[corbettgirl21]

You probably won't believe me, but your second cruise will be even better than the first!

You are probally right on that but NOTHING can ever take away that wonderful experience and replace it. I was on Mariner the 10-17 for my first cruise ever and words can not explain how fun or wonderful it was.

[startwin]

What a fabulous review! We are booked on the Mariner for the first time for next April, with our teenaged grandsons, also sports nuts (hockey players) so I emailed your posting to them. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

Ann

[westcoastvecs]

walkman4,

awesome review-exactly how I feel about every cruise-it just oozes joy, kinda brought a tear to my eyes...

thank you!

:-)

Robin

[walkman4]

Have a great cruise!...to a few of you who are leaving in the next few weeks or so! Enjoy it for us!!:D

[BabySam99]

What a wonderful way to remember! It brought tear to my eyes too. We are so blessed to be able to even go on a cruise that I think some people forget that and can only focus on the bad. So kudos to you!

Wait 'till you get in a veradah stateroom...I hope I run across your post after that!;)

XXOO

Kim

[bambam2972]

Wow, what a wonderful review! I agree with everything you said (including the one negative aspect... having to leave! :p)

 

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise, and trust me... the only way to recover from the withdrawal is to book another cruise. Maybe a college graduation present? :cool:

 

Can't wait to be on the Mariner in December. I also emailed your review to some of the folks going with me. We can't wait!!!

[referee]

Hey walkman....You brought back some wonderful memories of our cruise Your writing style is really terrific. Still a long way off till our next cruise Voyager Med 9/09...Great sailing with you referee(jay and fran)

[jaxcrsr]

What a terrific review! This got me really pysched up about my Mariner cruise in 1 month. I emailed it to my brother to enjoy, too. He and his wife will traveling with us and I know we will all have a blast! :D Thank you!

 

Patty

[walkman4]

You are welcome Patty! I hope you guys have a wonderful time! There was so much more that I wanted to say, but thought it was getting too long. Here are a few more things I have thought about since:

 

We made door signs for our 5 rooms. It was my Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary and we blew up their wedding picture and put it on our doors. It made our rooms easy to find, and easier to find each other.

 

Also, we had flowers and choc. covered strawberries in their room and ordered the anniversary room decorations for them. They were so excited to see all of that when they opened their door! It was great fun.

 

Another pretty funny thing to do it to go and watch the late comers running in trying not to miss the ship at St. Martin. We were cheering them on!

 

 

We drove home to Texas from Florida and on our second night in a hotel somewhere in between my 14 year old said, " I am so homesick!" I told him it's ok, we will be home tomorrow. He said, "NO! for the ship!" He is hooked for good.

My Dad took us all and paid for everyone to go with them for their 50th Celebration. What a guy. It was incredible. Hope that when my husband and I hit our 50th that we can take our kids and their families. Won't that be fun? Have a blessed day!

[petesweet]

Yes, cruising is the way to go! So...goodbye for now my cruise friends. It has been wonderful.

 

How refreshing to read a post by someone who sees things through the eyes of a new cruiser. It IS wonderful, isn't it? For me, it never gets old. I hope you get to go many more times and don't get jaded.

 

We are going for the first time on the Serenade, but up to now, my favorite ship is the Explorer (same class as the Mariner). I'll see how the Serenade compares, but I love the Cafe Promenade and the ice show so much that I think I'll continue to prefer that class of ship.

[LovesAllTravel]

I felt like I was there with you, just reading your wonderful review. I know and have experienced just about everything you and your family did. The first cruise -- especially with a great cruise experience -- is the one we all fondly remember, but each one after that is special in its own way, and it is for that reason that we keep booking one right after another.

 

We, too, are from Texas and usually cruise 2 times a year -- one as a family vacay and the other just hubby and me. Consider the 7-day out of Galveston on the Voyager, sister ship to the Mariner!! We're on the Mariner in October 2008, then on the Voyager in April 2009, and already working on the ones after that. Its really hard to go back to a normal land vacation after the royal treatment on a cruise.