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JC

Age: 30
Occupation: CPA
Number of Cruises: 4
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
Ship: Mariner of the Seas
Sailing Date: November 7th, 2004
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

We are a married couple with no kids yet (want to have some day). We sailed on the Mariner of the Seas (Nov 7-14) to the Western Caribbean (Labadee, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel). Previous cruises include Majesty, Adventure (AOS), and Voyager (VOS) of the Seas. Bottom line - we had a great time, and like every vacation, it was not perfect (no one is perfect and nothing is ever perfect), but you are away from the office and surrounded by wonderful people!! This would rank second to our VOS trip. Please excuse me if I make too many comparisons between the two.

Sunday - Port Canaveral is a very nice port. Other ships there were the Disney Wonder and Carnival Fantasy.

After check in, we had lunch in the Windjammer Cafe. There are really two parts to the buffet, Jade and Windjammer. Jade specializes in Asian fusion food and Windjammer in regular food. In addition to the buffets, on Deck 11, there is Chops and Portofino's. I will explain these two fabulous restaurants in a second. After lunch we headed to our balcony cabin on the starboard side. It was very nice. The bathroom is slighter bigger than on AOS and VOS. There is a safe and lots of drawer space. There is a fridge/mini-bar. If you brought your own computer, you can get Internet access in your cabin for $100.00 for the entire cruise. See Guest Relations. After settling in, we explored the ship. Being that this was our third Eagle/Voyager class ship we were familiar with the setup. Even though they are in the same class, each has a unique personality which makes it fun to compare!

We got back and made reservations for Chops Grille that evening. It is one of 2 specialty restaurants on the ship (the other is Portofino's). We have eaten at Portofino's on AOS and VOS, so we decided to skip it since the menu was the same as VOS. Chops was a new experience. It was fabulous. It is well worth the $20 per person. New York Strip is spectacular, many side dishes, like fried potatoes, asparagus, onion rings and the desserts are so good. Bread pudding and Apple Pie cobbler are not to be missed. It was a 2 hour dinner and it was a lot of fun. Must eat at Chops. Ruby and Augusto were great wait staff. We also liked Portofino's on the other ships. At least do one, but do both if you can. Cancellation with 24 hours results in a penalty, so keep appointment!

Monday - Day at sea - This was fun! We played bingo ($35 for Bingo pack), watched the Belly Flop contest and relaxed on the top deck and also enjoyed our balcony. Also we picked up our tickets to the Ice Under the Big Top show. The tickets are free, but are required to enter Studio B to watch the show. You have 4 choices for what show to watch. We chose the Thursday show. Depending on day, it can be a pre or post dinner show. On the days with the ice show, there is no show in the Savoy Theater.

This was the first formal night - Captain's Dinner. My advice is have the ship's photographers take your picture with all backgrounds you like. There are a variety of stations. You do not have to pay for it at the time of taking photo. Only after you have reviewed it in the photo shop the next day is when you decide if you want to purchase it. It can be expensive, but they provide memories of a lifetime. Backgrounds include the aft atrium on different levels and a variety of murals.

Tuesday - Labadee Haiti. I woke up early as saw we approached a lush land. It was Labadee. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!! We have to tender to get there. Once you get to Labadee, to the left is a beach, straight ahead are the markets, to the right are the kayaks, Aqua Park and Waverunners. RCI provides a BBQ lunch. Ribs, salad, corn, hot dogs, burgers. The food was OK at best. There is no lunch in the Windjammer Buffet on the ship since the staff has to work at Labadee. There are clean bathrooms and sanitizing stations on the island. This is a wonderful beach day to relax and see the palm trees, walk on sand and admire the beauty of this island. We liked this better than CoCoCay - RCI's other private island.

Wednesday - Ocho Rios Jamaica - We took the Runaway Caves and Dunns River Falls excursion through the ship and it was great. There is a lot of walking in the caves. The tour was very good and informative. After that the tour went to a packed Dunns River Falls. They are beautiful. We did not walk them, but looking at all that did, it looked like fun. There is a beach at the bottom of the falls, which is nice. When you leave Dunns River, you have to exit through a market. They are very aggressive. We just ignored the sellers and went our way. The dinner that evening was Caribbean themed with jerk chicken and other Caribbean dishes. The suggested attire for this evening was Caribbean clothes!
This evening was also the first of two midnight buffets. This midnight buffet was on the top deck, poolside. Fabulous fruit carvings, suckling pig, cold cuts, breads, desserts and other food items surrounded the area. The food is the same on both sides of the pool.

Thursday - Georgetown, Grand Cayman - We were here on our last VOS cruise, before Hurricane Ivan. When I saw the port as we arrived, it was different. The trees are down, and did not look as lush from afar, but when you get to the city via tender boat, it is a great city and the businesses are getting back to normal. This was the ship's first trip back there since the hurricane. Other ships there were the Carnival Conquest, Carnival Victory and the Star Princess. The stingray excursions were cancelled that day, but if you get a chance to do, DO IT! We did the Stingray city tour last time and it was so good. Must do when you are in Grand Cayman. This time, all we did was walk around and shop. Grand Cayman is a great place and their recovery will be great.

This evening the second formal night - Italian Night. We saw the Ice Under the Big Top show and it was the best ice show we have seen compared to VOS and AOS. Must see!!

This evening was also the second midnight buffet - the Gala one in the dining room. Cannot miss this one. Ice carvings, wax figures, and food, food, food. Desserts were displayed perfectly and looked too good to eat.

Friday - Cozumel. We chose this time to do the Atlantis Submarine tour through the ship. We were docked at the International Pier. This is a cab ride away from Downtown. The tour picked us up from the pier. Next to our pier is the Carnival pier. The Atlantis tour was wonderful. Got to go 100 ft below sea level to watch beautiful fish and coral. Our tour was mixed with people from the Carnival Conquest. This is a must do tour in Cozumel, along with the Tulum Ruins tour, which we did last time. After the submarine tour we had lunch at Pancho's Backyard. The food is wonderful there. Must try in Cozumel.

Saturday - Day at Sea - Packing Day. Also this is the day you get the envelopes to tip your waiters and stateroom attendants. These people work a long day, everyday and are away from their homes for 6 months straight. Of course, tipping is a personal matter, based on service. We have just had great people serving us on our cruises. We had a wonderful waitress, Paola from Chile and a delightful assistant waitress Niculina from Romania. They spoke to us and made us feel at home and gave us what we asked for. From our VOS trip, Sylvia, "G" and Serap were awesome as well. The wait staff from these two cruises was an absolute delight to know.

They work from 6AM at the Windjammer Buffet or Breakfast dining room hours, work during lunch at the same places and 2 dinners in the Dining room. You have the choice of giving cash or charging it to your sea pass account and giving the vouchers in the envelope. Our stateroom attendant was very good.
In addition, you get color tags for your luggage that you leave out of your cabin before midnight. You also get the customs form. Last day of cruise is always sad, but all good things must end.

Sunday - last day of cruise. Wake up early to have one last meal! Dining room is open and the buffet is open as well. Your color tags are called over the PA system. You go through customs and go to the carousel where you color tag is.

A few other thoughts:
a) Capt Johnny is the BEST captain we had. When we entered a port, he would explain the weather, how long we were there, what time to be back and have funny one liners from his Chinese friend. He explained the history of the ports and especially Labadee, RCI's private island, the first port of call. Even on the last evening, he addressed the crowd at the Farewell Show in the Savoy Theatre. RCI should be proud to have a wonderful captain.

b) Enjoy the Royal Promenade. Shops, bars, Cafe Promenade, Ben and Jerry's ice cream are all here. Cafe Promenade food is free - pizza, sandwiches, desserts coffee tea. There is a parade the first and last nights of the cruise in the promenade. Ben and Jerry's ice cream has a fee, depending on size/scoops of ice cream.

c) Sports - You can choose from mini golf, Ice skating, rock climbing, basketball court, golf simulator.

d) Johnny Rockets charges $3.95 to eat there and $3.95 (around this price range) for malts or shakes. Burgers, sandwiches and fries are free. The staff sings YMCA. There is seating on the outside and inside. Wonderful food and wonderful service. We were able to eat there once.

e) Do the activities and watch shows - if you miss them you will get to see them on TV: The Quest is a lot of fun to watch and participate in. Dancing through the decades is fun. If you miss a show, they show it on the TV the next day. They also had a Love and Marriage Game show - like the Newlywed Game with host Bob Eubanks. Pure Energy is a good show, if you are into 80's music

f) Cruise Compass - must have to see what activities are available...You get this when your room is tended to during your dinner.

g) Miscellaneous: sometimes the RCTV to review your SeaPass account did not work. Also, the food was good for the most part. Some days it was hit or miss, but you know what, it beats fast food or microwave dinners! The cruise director was OK, but not as entertaining as the Voyager one. As mentioned, nothing is perfect, but you are on vacation in a happy mode and you are away from stress and the office. We had a relaxing vacation. Enjoy this marvelous ship!