Mariner of the Seas (Bahamas) and Disney World - Review - Sept 30, 2019 - Oct 11, 2019

[kenevenpar]

Quick question re: dress code.

 

Are T-Shirts appropriate in the MDR even on dress to impress etc nights.  No judgement, just asking for planning and setting expectations.  Shorts?

[MJSailors]

9 minutes ago, kenevenpar said:

Quick question re: dress code.

 

Are T-Shirts appropriate in the MDR even on dress to impress etc nights.  No judgement, just asking for planning and setting expectations.  Shorts?

      

        I was thinking the same thing. DH and I have sailed on Cunard, Princess and Celebrity. For MDR dinners my DH has worn button down dress shirt and slacks for “casual nights” and variations of dress for more formal evenings from shirt,tie and slacks to a dark suit and also a tux (on Cunard).

We are have been talking about going with friends taking an Oasis of the Seas cruise. Since we have never sailed with RCCL before, not too certain about packing clothes for DH for dinner. Although, knowing him, he would not be comfortable in anything less than a polo and slacks.

   Any advice from veteran RCCL,cruisers would be appreciated.

[keishashadow]

2 minutes ago, MJSailors said:

      

        I was thinking the same thing. DH and I have sailed on Cunard, Princess and Celebrity. For MDR dinners my DH has worn button down dress shirt and slacks for “casual nights” and variations of dress for more formal evenings from shirt,tie and slacks to a dark suit and also a tux (on Cunard).

We are have been talking about going with friends taking an Oasis of the Seas cruise. Since we have never sailed with RCCL before, not too certain about packing clothes for DH for dinner. Although, knowing him, he would not be comfortable in anything less than a polo and slacks.

   Any advice from veteran RCCL,cruisers would be appreciated.

IMO vs Celebrity, RCCL is more relaxed as to what you’ll see other guests wearing, except for in the fancier fee restaurants.  Formal nights on 7 night sailings have many in suits, even a few tuxes.  Seems any cruise out of SJU ups the overall dress code.:)

 

 I’m liking the idea of more casual outfits for this shorter cruise. It will be hot & sticky on deck anyway.  less stuff to pack, especially with a kiddo along, is a win. 

 

when we sailed oasis last april, majority of men in MDR were in dress pants/designer type jeans & polos or tommy bahama type shirts.  Even on formal night, few were in suits but more in shirts & ties.

 

Noreen - ok, need a knee update.  That is scary to read.  

 

 thanks for info, including ur take on homecoming in DS, haven’t been able to score a walk up yet.  Noted the flowrider times.  Not something popular here, GD really took to it tho her first time, she’s a gymnast must have the same sort of balance skill set.  Somebody told me you do have to be a certain height to  stand up vs belly board.  Note to self to share that little nugget with her before trip lol.

[MJSailors]

Thank you, keishashadow.

If we do go with our friends, DH will be comfortable with shirt,tie and slacks for formal night and polo and slacks for the other nights.

Don’t mean to hijack  OP’s thread . Just didn’t know what to expect on an RCCL cruise-so was reading her posts and others to check out the cruise style on RCCL ships.

[Noreen411]

3 hours ago, kenevenpar said:

Quick question re: dress code.

 

Are T-Shirts appropriate in the MDR even on dress to impress etc nights.  No judgement, just asking for planning and setting expectations.  Shorts?

Officially probably not.  The dress code description probably doesn’t say it.  However, we have been on several Royal cruises and have seen more and more T shirts/shorts at dinner than we used to.  

[Noreen411]

3 hours ago, MJSailors said:

      

        I was thinking the same thing. DH and I have sailed on Cunard, Princess and Celebrity. For MDR dinners my DH has worn button down dress shirt and slacks for “casual nights” and variations of dress for more formal evenings from shirt,tie and slacks to a dark suit and also a tux (on Cunard).

We are have been talking about going with friends taking an Oasis of the Seas cruise. Since we have never sailed with RCCL before, not too certain about packing clothes for DH for dinner. Although, knowing him, he would not be comfortable in anything less than a polo and slacks.

   Any advice from veteran RCCL,cruisers would be appreciated.

Maybe not a popular response but go with whatever you are comfortable in.  You will see people dressed all different ways - from Tshirt/shorts to much more dressy.

[Noreen411]

2 hours ago, keishashadow said:

IMO vs Celebrity, RCCL is more relaxed as to what you’ll see other guests wearing, except for in the fancier fee restaurants.  Formal nights on 7 night sailings have many in suits, even a few tuxes.  Seems any cruise out of SJU ups the overall dress code.:)

 

 I’m liking the idea of more casual outfits for this shorter cruise. It will be hot & sticky on deck anyway.  less stuff to pack, especially with a kiddo along, is a win. 

 

when we sailed oasis last april, majority of men in MDR were in dress pants/designer type jeans & polos or tommy bahama type shirts.  Even on formal night, few were in suits but more in shirts & ties.

 

Noreen - ok, need a knee update.  That is scary to read.  

 

 thanks for info, including ur take on homecoming in DS, haven’t been able to score a walk up yet.  Noted the flowrider times.  Not something popular here, GD really took to it tho her first time, she’s a gymnast must have the same sort of balance skill set.  Somebody told me you do have to be a certain height to  stand up vs belly board.  Note to self to share that little nugget with her before trip lol.

Hi

 

We have seen all sorts of dress in the various restaurants.  We started noticing the dress down trend in Coastal Kitchen on Anthem of the Seas.  We would normally dress; not super fancy, but nicer clothes than the day clothes, Scott would wear a button down shirt and pants; I would wear some sort of nicer top with nice pants.  But we would look around and saw many people in shorts and T shirts.    

 

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter to me what others wear.  People should be comfortable however they choose to dress.  As long as they are clean and don’t smell.

 

The knee got better.  It bothered me for a while when it was swollen/purple and sometimes would hurt if I walked too much.  But it wasn’t horrible.  More annoying than anything else.  Thank you for asking.

 

Homecoming is great.  Probably one of our favorite places on property now.  We’ve been lucky going at off times to eat.  I’ve noticed that trying to book it on the Disney App even 6 months in advance all that would be available is maybe 10pm for dinner which is too late.  I hear they are also on Open Table so I may give that a try.

 

The height requirement would be hard to get around for the flow rider.  Unlike at Disney where if a child is slightly too short, I’ve seen/heard parents put something in their shoes to give them an extra inch or so.

[Noreen411]

2 hours ago, MJSailors said:

Thank you, keishashadow.

If we do go with our friends, DH will be comfortable with shirt,tie and slacks for formal night and polo and slacks for the other nights.

Don’t mean to hijack  OP’s thread . Just didn’t know what to expect on an RCCL cruise-so was reading her posts and others to check out the cruise style on RCCL ships.

Don’t feel like you are hijacking - it’s a good question.  Different people will give you different opinions.  And sometimes if there is a dress code thread it goes off the rails.  Here the question is kind of hidden in the review and you will get some answers and hopefully not the arguing that a dress code thread brings.

[keishashadow]

7 hours ago, Noreen411 said:

People should be comfortable however they choose to dress.  As long as they are clean and don’t smell.

Lol 100%  & good to hear you were able to continue on with the trip after the accident 
 

Hadn’t thot to check to see if homecoming was on - duh   Have used it and the Landry’s reward card when ADRs are non existent 

  
I’ve heard some wild stories of the length people go to so their kids can ride an attraction in parks. Just surprised RCCL has a height requirement different than what we’ve encountered at resort Waterparks but better to be safe. 

 

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 10/9/19

 

Scott went to the gym at 5; I went about 6:15.  We both really like the gym here; it’s big and open 24 hours.  We are debating coming back to Vistana Villages next year rather than Vistana Resort mainly because of the gym.

 

We went in the jacuzzi, showered, and got dressed.  I don’t know what was wrong with me but I felt light headed in the shower.

 

I sat on the couch for a little while.  Scott wanted to stay with me but I sent him to Hollywood Studios to try the new Star Wars ride (Millenium Falcon) if he could get on.  I wasn’t sick sick where I needed to be taken care of.  I think I just needed to rest a bit.  Scott went on the single rider line in about an hour for Millenium Falcon.  He said it is kind of like Star Tours but more advanced. He surprisingly said he prefers the regular star tours ride.

 

He was going to head back after the ride but I told him he should stay and use the fast passes.  I did some internet shopping and laundry while I was in the villa.  I was starting to feel much better.   He said he felt weird being at the park without me.

 

He went on Tower of Terror and Star Tours with the fast passes.  He also did the single rider line at Rock N Roller Coaster and said it didn’t take long at all.  He said the park in general was less crowded than it’s been and he was able to get on the rides quickly.

 

He wanted to build a droid but will wait until we are both there to do that.

 

Scott got back around 12:30 and we did some packing.

 

We drove around the resort to see some of the other sections.  The Key West section looked pretty and quiet but the gym is very small and doesn’t open until 6 and closes at 10.

 

We drove to Disney Springs.  We had a late lunch/early dinner at Homecoming.  We didn’t have a reservation but were able to be seated right away.  We sat at the bar.

 

 

 

 

We shared the chicken biscuits appetizer and a burger.  We ordered the burger with fries instead of chips since the chips came with a sauce on it that we didn’t think we would like.  They brought the chips out accidentally then brought the fries we wanted.   I had Sprite and Scott had the bourbon he liked.

 

We shared a piece of hummingbird cake.  

 

We really like Homecoming.  It’s probably one of our favorite Disney restaurants.  I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad meal here.

 

We walked around Disney Springs after eating.

 

At the Coach store I found a cute Mickey shaped head to hang off my purse.  My normal purse (not for Disney or Vacation but what I use at home) is a Coach bag. I liked it because it’s cute but it’s not over the top.  This picture is after were were home and I ended up disappointed with this.  The little chain that attached it to the purse kept opening and the Mickey tag kept falling off.  The little chain is missing.  Luckily I found the Mickey head each time but after it fell off a few times I gave up.  Scott said he’ll put something better on it if I want to put it back on my bag.  I like the item but not having to constantly worry about it falling off.

 

We started talking about possibly leaving a day early to head home.  I know it sounds so weird to want to leave vacation early.  We were having a great time but started tossing around the idea.

 

Back at Vistana Villages we did more laundry and packing.  We watched The Good Witch and fell asleep early.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Thursday 10/10/19

 

Scott went to the gym at 3:30am; I went at 5:30am. 

 

We used the jacuzzi, showered and got dressed.

 

We finished packing since we decided we are going to head home a day early.

 

I know that sounds crazy but we have a long drive ahead of us and wanted to get back a little sooner and have the weekend before going back to work.

 

We left about 10am to head home.

 

In Georgia we stopped at one of the Peach Worlds (there are more than one) but they are out of peaches; it’s not in season.  We bought peach jam, peach preserves and some candied nuts.

 

We were in North Carolina by about 6 and walked around a bit.  There was a pond with turtles in it at the rest area.

 

 

 

In Maryland we napped in the car for about 30 minutes

 

We got home around 6am.  It took us about 20 hours including stops.

 

We think we may break up the trip next time.  Drive about 10 hours or so the first day, stop for dinner and a hotel to sleep, then drive the rest of the way the next day.

 

We played with the cats.  They all inspected the Minnie Mouse bed but they didn’t go in it.  Eventually one of the cats, Princess, decided it looked safe and she went in.

 

 

 

We brought the rest of the stuff into the house.  We did some unpacking and more laundry.

 

Scott went to get a haircut and brought home bagels and Starbucks.

 

Keeping the vacation theme going, we went to a local casino that night.  We were tired but ended up having a lot of fun.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Noreen411

[Noreen411]

Friday 10/11/19

 

We should have been starting our drive home today but since we left Thursday instead we were already home.

 

We tried keeping the vacation theme going all weekend.  Instead of just doing regular stuff around the house, we went out and did fun things all weekend like the casino, going out to dinner,  and basically just enjoying spending time together.

[Noreen411]

Final Thoughts

 

The trip was a lot of fun.  We always enjoy our trips whether it’s Cruising, Disney, or something else.

 

I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the combination trip with both a cruise and Disney.  There was a lot of checking in, checking out, and logistics.  Maybe if we did Disney first it would have been easier eliminating the pre-cruise hotel stay.  We felt like we didn’t have enough time to do everything we wanted to since each part of the trip wasn’t as long as we normally would do.  I’m not ruling out another combination trip in the future but don’t think it would be my first choice.  We will probably do more of our usual types of trip of either a longer cruise or longer Disney trip.  I don’t mean this to be negative; we had a great time.  I just think our preference is to get settled in one place for the duration of the trip.

 

We really liked the Mariner.  This is a great class of ship.  It’s a great size - not too big and not too small.  We enjoyed spending time on the ship.  The water slides were a lot of fun.  We liked the ice show.  The cabin had plenty of room and a great layout.  Our room steward was probably one of the best ones we’ve had.  There were a lot of things we didn’t even get to try with the shorter cruise.  

 

I thought we would miss not having Coastal Kitchen since our last cruises had that option, but we were pleasantly surprised with the dining room.  The food we had was very good.  Our waiter and assistant waiter were very good.  They got to know us pretty quickly and our preferences.  We liked that personalized touch.  

 

Coco Cay is beautiful.  The amenities of the island are wonderful.  I know they are still doing some building which may have led to the water being turned up a bit and not that beautiful crystal clear blue.

 

Disney is always great.  We love going there.  It was hotter and more crowded than we expected.  We had some really good dinners; better than we expected.  We did more park hopping than we normally would and that takes a lot of time.  We enjoyed Vistana Villages and appreciate the villa experience over a small hotel room.

 

Driving to Florida was still fun for us.  It’s definitely a long drive.  We’re still experimenting and trying to figure out the best way to do it and what time to leave.  We may break it up next time rather than driving straight through.

 

Thank you for sticking with me since it took me a long time to get this finished.  If you have any questions feel free to ask.  I love talking about vacations.

 

Noreen

 

 

[keishashadow]

Thanks for the great TR noreen. 
 

sweet bag tag, nice subtle nod. I have theIr Snow White poison Apple Credit card holder. Do love my Dooney Disney bags but have gotten more than few double takes in the real world lol. 

[Noreen411]

1 hour ago, keishashadow said:

Thanks for the great TR noreen. 
 

sweet bag tag, nice subtle nod. I have theIr Snow White poison Apple Credit card holder. Do love my Dooney Disney bags but have gotten more than few double takes in the real world lol. 

Thank you.

 

I love the Dooney Bags too.  But not quite as subtle.  I had one that was sort of subtle - black with colorful small Mickey Heads.  You had to look closely to realize it was Mickey Mouse.  Whenever I see someone with a Disney Dooney in the real world I’m always complimenting them on it since I like them a lot also.

[keishashadow]

Lol, yes some of those are really out there but fun