Live from Mariner of the Seas b2b 9/13-9/20

[jam19872016]

42 minutes ago, chuck/debbie said:

Can you find out how many passengers on this cruise and next? 

I'll find out. I'll probably wait on next cruise total until after it sails because I think that number will be smaller than what they are expecting.

[jam19872016]

6 hours ago, TYMAN said:

If you eat at Jamie's, get the burger! The best on board! Ask for YaYa if he's working......

There was a waiter at the check in desk while the host was off doing something. I asked for Yaya and he kind of looked at me funny. I think he is Yaya his name tag said yanan I think. If it is him it was a good call he's very good.

Edited September 14, 2021 by jam19872016

[jam19872016]

At Jamie's now for dinner trying not to overdo it too badly lol.

 

I laid down with the TV on because I knew the sound would keep me awake. Well the TV stopped working and I fell asleep in a nacho induced coma. I hope it fixes itself I don't want to have to be the guy at guest services complaining about his TV not working on a cruise lol.

[jam19872016]

Dinner was amazing. I was still way too full to enjoy it but I have reservations again on night 4. 

 

Black truffle arancini.

 

 

Pan roasted salmon.

 

 

Half portion of the prawn linguine.

 

 

For dessert I got the lemon meragne cheesecake.

 

 

I love cheesecake I get it all the time and that was one of the best I've ever had.

[jam19872016]

After dinner the sun was setting outside.

 

 

Watching tom & Jerry on the big screen. I've seen it so probably won't stay for long. Plus the clouds look like they are going to open up anytime now. I'm thinking piano bar tonight but gonna play my night by ear.

 

 

[jam19872016]

The rain stayed just off to the side of the ship.

 

 

 

I watched the movie for most of it then went to see Who wants to be a caribbeanaire. It was amateurish but it was fun to watch.

 

Next I spent a little time in the piano bar and I learned I do no like goombay smash. Yuck.

 

And finally I grabbed a small bite from Cafe Promenade.

 

Now I'm back in the room for the night. See yall tomorrow from Nassau.

 

 

 

[keyboardjunkie]

9 hours ago, jam19872016 said:

 

Agree he seems very engaging and like a good cd.

 

Lol small world. Thanks for not using my real name 🙂

 

Did you end up doing the sushi & saki lunch? I thought about it but I couldn't justify the cost after the cost of the dining package. 

 

Nope.  Like you, we could not justify the cost even with the discount.  We had Johnny Rockets for lunch and went to Chops for dinner.

[keyboardjunkie]

We did the King Kong Vs Godzilla movie on deck after Chops.  The speakers by the big screen were not working so it was a bit hard to hear (even after calling Guest Services twice).  Next time we will sit further back. 

 

Not getting off in Nassau.  On the weekend cruise mostly everything was closed.  No Senor Frogs, No straw market, etc.  Only a few jewelry shops were open.  Going to stay on board.

 

Will add - Cocoa Cay was amazing.  The large pool and the food was great.  If you want burgers head to Snack Shack.  If you want tacos, steak sandwiches, salads head to Chill Grill.  The music at the pool was great.  The first time we were there (last 4 day) we shared the dock with Freedom.  On the weekend, we were the only ship there which made it super uncrowded.

Edited September 15, 2021 by keyboardjunkie

[flamingos]

Covid not detected!   We will be joining you on Friday!

 

Question: I have heard that the crew cannot get off ship to go shopping for basics, and they are need of toiletries. Can you ask your room steward and see if this is true, and if so, what would be useful?  Is it just bigger tips, or is there something we can buy and bring that would be helpful?  

[jam19872016]

Good morning. Heading to the buffet for a small bite to hold me over until my dining plan kicks in. 

 

Today we are in Nassau but I don't plan to get off the ship.

[jam19872016]

8 hours ago, keyboardjunkie said:

We did the King Kong Vs Godzilla movie on deck after Chops.  The speakers by the big screen were not working so it was a bit hard to hear (even after calling Guest Services twice).  Next time we will sit further back. 

 

Not getting off in Nassau.  On the weekend cruise mostly everything was closed.  No Senor Frogs, No straw market, etc.  Only a few jewelry shops were open.  Going to stay on board.

 

Will add - Cocoa Cay was amazing.  The large pool and the food was great.  If you want burgers head to Snack Shack.  If you want tacos, steak sandwiches, salads head to Chill Grill.  The music at the pool was great.  The first time we were there (last 4 day) we shared the dock with Freedom.  On the weekend, we were the only ship there which made it super uncrowded.

I rarely get off the ship when I'm sailing solo. Last week I was with a friend and her family so I joined them. I agree it was a ghost town compared to what Nassau used to look like. We took an island tour and outside the tourist areas it was still bustling.

 

I probably won't get off in coco cay either. I'm tempted but I see we are sharing the island with freedom. I'd like to go when it is extra empty lol. Its interesting how the cruise lines are mostly adhering to the now voluntary cdc guidelines but the one ship at a time at a private island is not being followed.

[jam19872016]

1 hour ago, flamingos said:

Covid not detected!   We will be joining you on Friday!

 

Question: I have heard that the crew cannot get off ship to go shopping for basics, and they are need of toiletries. Can you ask your room steward and see if this is true, and if so, what would be useful?  Is it just bigger tips, or is there something we can buy and bring that would be helpful?  

Congrats! I have my next test tomorrow morning.

 

I'll be honest, I'd be a little uncomfortable asking such a personal question especially when I don't have a bag of goodies to leave him if he says yes lol.

 

I'm not sure of royals policies, but I would imagine they are similar to Carnival's. What I was told was they were allowed off on turnaround day and certain ports that the cruise line owned or had exclusive rights to.

 

So for this itinerary that would be coco cay and port Canaveral. I'm sure they don't have supplies at coco cay. Certain positions, like room steward, would probably not be able to take advantage of turnaround day because of the extra work load that day.

 

My personal thought is cash is king. If you do bring stuff make it practical items. Stuff they can use like supplies you mentioned. No crew will act anything less than gracious but they do not need fancy chocolates or other food stuffs. They need money.

 

Another tip I read somewhere on here that I thought was a great idea was to go to guest services and donate to the crew welfare fund. 

[flamingos]

9 minutes ago, jam19872016 said:

 

 

Another tip I read somewhere on here that I thought was a great idea was to go to guest services and donate to the crew welfare fund. 

Thank you, I did not know such a thing existed. 

[jam19872016]

On 9/13/2021 at 4:59 AM, SheSailsFL said:

Enjoy your B2B!  Will look forward to details on where the B2Bs meet on turnaround day, whether you have to leave the ship and any other bits of wisdom about the process and logistics. .  Have 2 B2Bs booked (same cabin on both legs) & can’t wait!

I had to schedule a test that will be provided complimentary onboard the last morning of the cruise. It said 8-10 am which is not ideal since I would prefer to not set an alarm while on vacation. I understand turnover day because they still have to clear the ship but now the last day too.

 

Add to it that today is crew drill day, and cruise next called the room at 9am yesterday to sell me another cruise and this cruise has not been conducive to sleeping in. (I did fall back asleep after the call until noon so I can't complain to much about sleep that day lol).

 

They had appointment times until 11 but I decided to not push my luck because if they tell me it had to be completed by 10 (like the instructions said) to board again I would not be happy. So I picked 9:50 for my test. I have to go to the conference center for testing.

 

After that it seems pretty normal. I meet at 9am at I think star lounge but I will verify where once I'm back in the room and can check the instructions again.

 

Then they walk you off the ship to clear customs and right back on. If there is anything else out of the ordinary about the process I will report back.

[jam19872016]

1 minute ago, flamingos said:

Thank you, I did not know such a thing existed. 

Neither did I. Chengkp, our resident chief engineer was the one who mentioned in a thread somewhere where someone was asking about ways to help out  i thought it was a great idea especially since it will reach the behind the scenes crew.

[jam19872016]

The library is now the pinnacle lounge. I wanted a quiet place to sit and the outside Promenade was being used for lifeboat drills.

 

Viking lounge has trivia.

 

So I came into the star lounge.

 

The crew just came in and are now conducting a meeting. They didn't ask me to leave so I thought it was just a casual get together but nope this is full on training session. How ironic the topic right now is active listening, while I'm tap tap tapping away on my phone.

[TYMAN]

Are you doing MTD on Deck 3? If so, and you see Ritish (Head Waiter), please tell him Mr. William (Bill) says hi and we'll see him again soon!

 

Oops, you're doing the specialty restaurants, never mind. , 

Edited September 15, 2021 by TYMAN

[SECdawg]

We have never done a B2B before. When you get back on the ship, will anything be open for drinks? Do you have to wait until all cabins are ready to go back to your stateroom?

[jam19872016]

I left my afternoon training for lunch. Izumi is open for lunch so that's where my stomach led me.

[jam19872016]

13 minutes ago, SECdawg said:

We have never done a B2B before. When you get back on the ship, will anything be open for drinks? Do you have to wait until all cabins are ready to go back to your stateroom?

This is my first b2b on royal. I'm going to presume it is the same as Carnival but I could be wrong. On carnival the lobby bar was open for drinks for sure but I'm not sure about anything else. Staterooms were available for us when I got back on around 10am. Food did not open until around 11. It did not make any mention of my room being ready immediately but I hope so.

[jam19872016]

19 hours ago, chuck/debbie said:

Can you find out how many passengers on this cruise and next? 

About 900 something. That was the best answer I could get. I would interpret that as between 900-1000. If I was a guessing man I would say closer to 1k. So about 30% which is where freedom was but freedom definitely felt emptier than this.

[SheSailsFL]

Thanks so much for the 411! !  You should do a YouTube channel! 

[jam19872016]

Oh sweet mother of internet. The wifi has been down since lunch. I am pretty easily entertained with some TV in the room, but the TV selection is worse than Carnival and no on demand movies. 

[jam19872016]

Lunch at Izumi was good again.

 

Spicy crispy shrimp roll.

 

 

This was good but not spicy.

 

Crisly rice spicy tuna.

 

 

This was spicy. I have a high tolerance for spicy and this was indeed spicy. Very delicious but don't order if you are not a fan of hot foods because this wasn't messing around.

 

Chocolate lava cake. 

 

[jam19872016]

3 hours ago, SheSailsFL said:

Thanks so much for the 411! !  You should do a YouTube channel! 

Lol thank you. I will leave that to the professionals 🙂