Mariner with 3 Kids-Review

[brazilgirl]

Got back Wednesday from a wonderful trip with my family on the Mariner of the Seas. We visited the Western Caribbean and spent a couple of days at Disneyworld.

 

 

I will write this review in installments , as with 3 kids in the house , it is tough to get a long period of free time!

 

Members of the cast-

My husband , Isabella (11) , Felipe (8) and Nicholas (4) and myself.

My sister , her husband and their little tike , Myles (21 months).

My mom and my Aunt Elaine.

Everyone except for my immediate family was cruising for the 1st time.

 

We left on Nov.27 -we had the unique adventure of having a flight leaving at 4:40 A.M!!!!We had a driver pick us up at our home (in Brazil) and drive us to the airport in Sao Paulo , which is about a 2 hour drive. We left at 11:30 P.M , arriving at the airport at 1:30 (with international flights , we have to arrive 3 hours prior to the flight).

 

Of course , the airport was completely empty ..kind of nice considering sometimes the line for security is over an hour long. We checked in and had a middle of the night meal at McDonalds (obs-the world´s tastiest McDonalds is in Brazil-way better than any other country.)

 

Destination-Orlando-we had a 2 hour layover in Panama City, Panama. The flight to Panama was 6 and a half hours.We got a great glimpse of the Panama Canal.The Panama airport was pretty small , but interesting.We got our plane to Orlando and had another 3 and a half flight.

 

The kids did great-slept a good part of the way and read and played and chatted the rest of the time.Very little whining!!!Yeah!We arrived on time in Orlando (2:30 p.m.)-good for you Copa Airlines!

 

OOps -gotta go pick up daughter !Write more later.

 

Kim

[crusinmama06]

Hey welcome back!!!! I was wondering how you were doing! I will be waiting for the next installments. Nice to see you back and glad you had a good time. :)

[wrp96]

Can't wait the read the review. Hope all the precruise issues weren't an issue on the ship.

[brazilgirl]

2nd installment-

 

We arrived safely in Orlando and went to pick up our rental at Hertz.Felipe wanted to rent the yellow Corvette on display out front!

 

However , we were quite content with our Toyota mini-van-very spacious.We got a GPS, which the kids got a real kick out of . They called the talking lady "sabichona" , which means "know it all".

 

We arrived at our hotel (Comfort Suites Maingate East).It is nice , with a great pool and huge rooms that comfortably sleep up to six. It is located right next to Old Town , which is fun for the kids , with lots of rides and the world´s biggest bungee jump.The kids really thought it was a kick and we discussing how much money would have to be offered in oreder to go up and jump. (I´d do it for $20, 000.....)

 

We reconnected with my family after not seeing them for over a year and we hung out and relaxed Friday and Saturday at the hotel.

 

 

Sunday was time to board. We had had gorgeous weather on Saturday (spent lots of time at the pool) , but Sunday was rainy with storm forecasts.

 

We got on the ship and were immediately very impressed-really beautiful!We went to the Windjammer and a leisurely lunch. There were REALLY strong winds , so strong in fact that the Disney ship docked right next to us had a bad scare and was "blown" from the moorings.The Captain made an announcement about it , saying that luckily nobody was hurt. We pulled out a bit late because of the weather.

 

Our first night was uneventful , getting settled.My poor mom had an incident-she went to get a hot rock massage and because of the rough seas , she ended up getting terribly seasick!

 

She said the masseuse was really sweet and helpful and they rescheduled for another day.

 

Our first day at sea was wonderful-the kids absolutely loved Adventure Ocean!!!!We were lucky -there were about 30 kids in each age group -perfect!The kids made great friends and still got lots of attention from the staff.

 

Nicholas had a bit of a hard time the first day in the morning-I think he didn´t know quite how to act and because of the language issue ( he is the only one who is still learning English) , he was a bit lost.

 

We negotiated-if he got good "reviews" every time I picked him up , he could "play" 5 minutes at the arcade (with no money...he just likes to pretend to play).

 

Worked like a charm-great "reviews " the rest of the cruise.

 

Dinner worked out , after problems pre-cruise getting main-dining.We were all seated together in the "Rhapsody in Blue "dining room and we had a fabulous waiter from Jamaica named Milton.

 

My mom , aunt , sister , BIL , nephew , DH and myself had lots of fun together-it helped that we got a wine package! My kids ended up not dining with us most evenings , as they had kids´club fever.....

 

 

Labadee-

We had a sunny day!Yeah!

We basically just laid like lizards in the sun.Felipe and Nicholas particpated half the day in the Aquanauts´program.Felipe had a dream come true making bottle rockets and Nichloas loved the Pirate play area.One little girl got stung by a wasp and was allergic , so was taken to medical center.Turned out ok.

 

 

Jamaica-

Another nice day-slightly overcast , but still sunny enough to tan and to not freeze.

We had arranged for the "James Bond" speedboat tour (sadly , Daniel Craig wasn´t the driver).

It accomodated all 10 of us , with a bathroom available.

We snorkeled at the coral reef.Nicholas , our 4 yr old , had never been completely geared up to snorkel.He about died and went to heaven when we put fins and a mask on him.He did remarkabley well-the water was quite agitated , with lots of waves.He fed the fish and loved it.

Then we stopped at Laughing Falls and played on the beach.Peaceful.

 

That night , Alvaro and I went to Choppes by ourselves and had a marvelous meal.The Portobello appetizer is amazing and the steaks , divine!

 

The food in the MDR is quite adequate , but when you go to the specialty restaurant....

 

YUM!

 

 

Next installment later!

Thanks for the comments so far!

Kim

[Kim4]

more more!!!

[crusinmama06]

Great so far! I hope you have pics to show us too.

 

Laughing falls in Jamaica? What's that? Have any pictures? :D

[brazilgirl]

Next installment-

 

Been busy today-Felipe and Isabella´s music recitals (violin and piano respectivally).So adorable!

 

Grand Cayman-

 

Only real disappointment on our trip....We had a 10:30 Sting Ray City Catamaran visit booked.We were running a bit late (coordinating 10 people is a bit of a challenge!!!!) , so we literally ran off the tender and sprinted down the street...must have burned at least 550 of our cruise calories.

After arriving at the Catamaran meeting point , we were told that Sting Ray City was closed to all operators and had been closed all week due to dangerous conditions.I was really sad , as I had totally prepared the kids for the experience and it was the trip I was most looking forward to.

I double checked with another operator and was told the same thing , so we decided to visit the Turtle Farm.It was nice and the kids loved holding the turtles.It was a bit similar to a turtle protection project we have visited in Brazil (although I know the turles there are not being protected!).

We then spent a lovely day at 7 Mile Beach. I really enjoyed our day there -lovely azure water and soft sand and almost nobody around.We had another slightly overcast day , with the sun appearing on and off.I thought the WEATHER WAS PERFECT.I don´t really care for overbearing heat and humidity , especially considering I deal with that a lot here.And I didn´t worry about the kids so much , as the temp was comfortable and not dangerously hot.

The island of Grand Cayman is nicely organized and pretty.

 

 

Cozumel- Dolphin and JELLYFISH encounter

 

Favorite Day!We spent the day at Chakanaab Park and did the Dolphin Encounter.Of course , everyone loved it passionately.

One glitch-I was holding Nicholas the hold time and the sea was a bit rough , so I leaned up against the fence to get my footing.A little later my whole backside statred to have a burning sensation.

When I got out of the water , I had red bumps all over my derriere (not a great look on an already problem area!).

The bumps then turned into little blisters and really started hurting.I went to talk to an attendant and he said it was a jellyfish...then he proceeded to ask if my throat felt like it is was going to close(it wasn´t) and he sprayed vinager and warm water all over the area ( a bit humilating...).He said people have gone into anaphlylatic shock because of these stings.

 

I was SOOO glad I was the one stung and not on of the children-it is much more dangerous for them and certainly would have put a damper on their day.But after giving birth to 3 kids with no drugs , what´s a little jellyfish sting.Ha.My butt still has molten purply bumps on it , to match the cellulite.

I do think , however , there should b warnings about this type of things , in order to take precautions.

After the dolphin encounter , we were beach bums again and went to see the marvelous native iguanas.My kids about flipped.Really neat creatures.The park is truly beautiful and very well run and professional.

 

Will try to finish up tomorrow.I have great photos , but will have to figure out how to put them here. (I am a computer dummy)

Kim

[brazilgirl]

Last installment-

 

Musings on Royal Caribbean-

 

The ship -truly beautiful.Some of the nicest artwork I have seen in a long time.Well-laid out , easy to get around.

 

Dining-MDR is stunning. Loved the bronze statue from "Sound Of Music".Our servers were very attentive and a lot of fun.I wasn´t blown away by the food.Best part of the meal was always the appetizers , by far.

 

Rooms-Rooms were nice.Very comfortable beds and soft linens.Our staterooms on Celebrity were roomier , as were the bathrooms.

 

Service-Outstanding in every aspect,

 

Specialty Restaurants-We dined at Portofino and Choppes-All I can say is I can´t wait to go back!!!Delicious , delicious!Fantastic service.Divine desserts.

 

Windjammer-Good variety of food.Tasty Japanese at Jade.Missed Celebrity´s waffles.

 

Shows-Really enjoyed the 80´s show (knew all of the words to the songs)and the Ice Show.

 

Kids´ Club-An A plus!

 

 

Last 2 cruise days-

 

Unfortunately , the day before leaving the ship was spent mostly packing and organizing.I dropped the ball by letting the mess get out of hand and missed an opportunity to have a last relaxing day.

 

Disembarking was easy and hassle-free. We were practically the last ones off .We got in our shuttle and went back to the Comfort Suites.We took a real power nap all afternoon and at 4:00 , we headed for Disney´s Very Merry Christmas Celebration.

 

The Celebration was awesome -thanks to all we had given me tips on the Orlando experience.We hit all of the best rides with no waits whatsoever(incredible).

Then , we got our places on Main Street to watch the delightful parade.The snow was such a nice touch , especially for my kids who don´t have snow at home.

 

Felipe cried (out of happiness) during the parade.

 

Only problem we had-it was really cold the night we were there and we were all underdressed.I ended up buying sweatshirts and throws(very soft) to try to heat us up.The hot chocolate and cookies were scrumptious and very welcome.We also loved the fireworks display.

 

Last day-

We opted to go to Hollywood Studios , as Felipe and Nicholas are major Star Wars and Indiana Jones fans.We loved the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.It was a sunny day and the park was not crowded , so again , almost no waits.Nicholas danced in the street parade and had lots of fun.

 

After arriving back to the hotel , all of the family (Representing Brazil , Iowa and California), went to Red Lobster nd ate lots of seafood.

 

Next morning , we had breakfast , said our goodbyes (always hard) and caught our flight back to Brazil (via Panama again).Kudos again to Copa Air -no delays and no lost lugagge.

 

A lovely trip overall-lots of wonderful memories.

Kim