A Very Merry Mariner Christmas—Dec 23-28

[CruiseMrB]

I live in the same county as Port Canaveral - Brevard. And I watch the local & state Covid numbers carefully. 

• There is a HUGE difference in the Miami / Port Everglades Covid numbers and the Port Canaveral / Brevard County numbers. In fact, Miami/Dade county is almost an order of magnitude higher in cases per 100K than Brevard county.
• The Brevard numbers are breaking higher every day, in fact almost doubling in per 100K cases in 3 days. Not good.
• Port Canaveral is still better than the two ports down south in Florida, but it's gonna get pretty bad here very soon. Like in days.
• Orange County (Orlando) is spiking even higher than Brevard, but not as bad Miami/Dade yet

 

If you are driving to Port Canaveral, when you land back at PC, go to your car, get gas with a mask on, and get out of Dodge. Fast. This isn't a time to go see the sights (Kennedy Space Center, Orlando theme parks, etc, etc.)

 

If your flying, it's gonna be interesting no matter what. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by CruiseMrB

[ChristyLNDRN]

51 minutes ago, CruiseMrB said:

I live in the same county as Port Canaveral - Brevard. And I watch the local & state Covid numbers carefully. 

• There is a HUGE difference in the Miami / Port Everglades Covid numbers and the Port Canaveral / Brevard County numbers. In fact, Miami/Dade county is almost an order of magnitude higher in cases per 100K than Brevard county.
• The Brevard numbers are breaking higher every day, in fact almost doubling in per 100K cases in 3 days. Not good.
• Port Canaveral is still better than the two ports down south in Florida, but it's gonna get pretty bad here very soon. Like in days.
• Orange County (Orlando) is spiking even higher than Brevard, but not as bad Miami/Dade yet

 

If you are driving to Port Canaveral, when you land back at PC, go to your car, get gas with a mask on, and get out of Dodge. Fast. This isn't a time to go see the sights (Kennedy Space Center, Orlando theme parks, etc, etc.)

 

If your flying, it's gonna be interesting no matter what. 

Thanks!  We actually got off yesterday and drove straight home for 14 hours with minimal stops.  But good advice for upcoming cruisers.   

[wolfcathorse]

do you remember who the captain was?

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2 Coco Cay continued…

 

Windy and a little cool when we got off just after 8

 

 

We kept saying we couldn’t believe this was Christmas Eve!  

 

 

We took a quick walk over to Chill Island first 

 

 

 

You can have your pick of seats anywhere at this point!

 

Kids were anxious to test out the waterslides, so off we went.  Zach wanted to do the tallest one first of course. You can’t just get in line for that one—you have to stop at a desk and get a return time—like a Disney fast pass.  He got a 8:30-9:00 return card.  He went right at 8:30 and it was still about a half hour wait.  Suzy did some of the smaller slides on the tower with no waits at all.  
 

We got a few chairs by the wave pool—it was central enough that the kids could explore together on their own and come back and check in.  
 

 

 

 

They spent a lot of time in this little lilipad area as well

 

 

 

Here’s the other tower of slides.  It has a group raft slide, a tube slide where you can ride single or double, and a set of mat racer slides. Lines were surprisingly OK except for the group raft.  By the time we made our way over there, it was long and stayed long.  So we ended up skipping that one although they rode all the others except for one that dropped straight down I think.  I would def recommend hitting the raft slide early. There was a guard at the bottom of the stairs to this tower sending groups of riders up a few at a time. You also were given hand sanitizer each time you went up. 
 

 

Even with Symphony in port with us, I was happy with our experience, especially at the price point ($43 pp) we got on Black Friday.  
 

The snack shack is conveniently located right near the wave pool—it opened around 11, and we all grabbed chicken sandwiches, along with fries, mozzarella sticks, funnel cake and cookies. Free juice/water dispensers nearby as well right next to the shack.  There’s a few small bar stands around as well.  

 

 

 

[Crazy planning mom]

Really enjoying this thread.   Happy to read about someone who had a fun experience.

[ChristyLNDRN]

14 minutes ago, wolfcathorse said:

do you remember who the captain was?

I don’t, I apologize.  I swear we used to get a handout with the compass that would have a little pic and blurb about the officers/captain but didn’t see one this time.   I find the announcements a little hard to hear at times, but he always had little bits of “did you know” at the end of his daily updates. 

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2, Coco Cay continued…

 

Next up we decided to explore a bit. 
 

Oasis Lagoon is just beautiful…note that these pics were taken at 9:15 am. 
 

 

 

 

 

I think this is Breezy bay at Chill Island.  Those cabanas feel awful close to the rest of the beach for the premium they command, but that’s just me.

 

 

 

 

A sneak peek at the beach club

 

 

 

 

 

And then South Beach with the Crew beach in the background 

 

 

The water was just beautiful here. 
 

 

 

Warm enough to swim!

Too windy for the balloon today!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by ChristyLNDRN

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2 Coco Cay continued…

 

By 1:30, we decided that we had had enough fun ashore. Kids wanted to try and catch some of the activities with shorter lines. 
 

 

 

 

 

Later at sailaway Symphony and Mariner had a little horn battle back and forth. Lots of waving back and forth!

 

 

 

As we pulled away, we noticed another royal ship that we had seen off in the distance all day sail in.  
 

 

 

 

 

Looks like it was Vision.  I read reports in other threads of a crew transfer so now this makes sense. 

 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by ChristyLNDRN

[ChristyLNDRN]

Finishing up Day 2…

 

Cleaned up and ready for our first dinner in the MDR!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids loved the glass elevators 

 

We were on Deck 3 of the MDR at a 4 top near the middle.  Eka and Igusti were our waiters and they were beyond great.   Friendly, efficient service with a smile. Eka did tricks for the kids and one night gave Suzy a little origami bird.  By the 2nd night they brought the kids Shirley temples without asking and remembered our favorite wines.  Eka always brought an extra cheese plate for the wine without us asking and brought the kids fruit cups to start as well.  Eka insisted on cutting Zach’s meat a few nights and fed him his first bite with airplane noises…so funny😂.  Probably the best waiters (and the most fun) we have had in the MDR. 
 

There were always at least a few empty tables near us, I think more by chance than than design. 
 

Tonight for Christmas Eve there was a special menu rolled up in our plates with a ribbon. Wish I had taken a pic. 
 

Mike and I both had the Beef Wellington. Never had seen that on the MDR menus and it’s hands down my favorite entree I’ve had.  YUM!  Suz had the special Turkey entree, while Mr. predictable Zach ordered the New York strip from the everyday choices.  There were a few special desserts as well…we tried the spice cake as well as the Buche de Noel (sponge cake).  Kids went for the Royal chocolate cake.

 

 

 
 

 

 

Meals all week ranged from good to great. After dinner we found our first towel animal waiting for us…

 

Our cabin steward was Marilyn.  She was also very friendly and took good care of us. 

 

 

[ChristyLNDRN]

End of day 2…

 

Zach was thrilled that there was a teen only boogie board hour at the Flowrider tonight.  This was a lot of fun. Line was short, and the sports staff were laid back and playing and riding with the kids.  Wish they did this more than once!

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and Suzy caught the production show “Gallery of Dreams”.  They said it was good, and the plot was a little confusing.  I will say that we definitely noticed far fewer activities scheduled, both day and evening.  This was probably one of the only negatives for us this cruise, but it wasn’t a huge deal.  We just found ourselves with a little more downtime than usual.  

[Cruise a holic]

coco cay looks great!  Looks like you all had a nice time!  

[ChristyLNDRN]

4 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Really enjoying this thread.   Happy to read about someone who had a fun experience.

Thanks!  We really did have a great time. 

 

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

coco cay looks great!  Looks like you all had a nice time!  

Loved Coco Cay!

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 2 Compass

 

 

 

 

 

That’s all for today!  Will do Day 3 tomorrow—Christmas at sea🎄

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 3–Christmas at Sea

 

After the kiddos fell asleep last night I managed to sneak out a few small presents.  Sleepy kid pic below so you can see what the sofa bed looks like pulled out. 
 

 

 

 

It was looking like a beautiful sea day

 

 

 

There was gift giving with Santa in Studio B this morning.  Each kid got a gift based on their age range.   My kids got RCCL drawstring bags which was great, we use them all the time. Suzy said she saw younger kids running around with Pop-its.  The kids also each got a plate with a cookie and a hot chocolate on the way out the door.  I thought this event was a nice touch and the line was supervised for social distancing. 
 

 

We had breakfast in the dining room

this morning and also all agreed that we preferred the windjammer.  It felt fairly crowded and the food was just OK.  Kids both ordered chocolate chip pancakes.  What they got was Chocolate pancakes with chocolate chips covered in chocolate sauce.   It was too much chocolate even for them LOL.  

[Kathscof]

7 minutes ago, ChristyLNDRN said:

Day 3–Christmas at Sea

 

After the kiddos fell asleep last night I managed to sneak out a few small presents.  Sleepy kid pic below so you can see what the sofa bed looks like pulled out. 
 

 

 

 

It was looking like a beautiful sea day

 

 

 

There was gift giving with Santa in Studio B this morning.  Each kid got a gift based on their age range.   My kids got RCCL drawstring bags which was great, we use them all the time. Suzy said she saw younger kids running around with Pop-its.  The kids also each got a plate with a cookie and a hot chocolate on the way out the door.  I thought this event was a nice touch and the line was supervised for social distancing. 
 

 

We had breakfast in the dining room

this morning and also all agreed that we preferred the windjammer.  It felt fairly crowded and the food was just OK.  Kids both ordered chocolate chip pancakes.  What they got was Chocolate pancakes with chocolate chips covered in chocolate sauce.   It was too much chocolate even for them LOL.  

 

 

oooo neat Team USA hoodie!!

 

and yay penguins! 🙂

 

enjoying the review 🙂

[ChristyLNDRN]

1 hour ago, Kathscof said:

 

 

oooo neat Team USA hoodie!!

 

and yay penguins! 🙂

 

enjoying the review 🙂

Haha!  We are big soccer fans in this house.  Thanks for following😀

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 3 continued…

 

Today was a low-key day we spent here and there around the ship.  It started out a little overcast but soon cleared up. 
 

 

She’s getting more confident….

 

 

 

Personal hot tub

 

Typically a very short wait for the slides 

 

 

 

Boys tried out bingo (spoiler alert—they didn’t win😂)  this afternoon while girls spent some time at the pool.  Chairs were crowded but pool was not.   They bought paper cards for bingo—maybe 9 cards per game?  They should have spent $10 more to get the electronic set…that played way more cards per game.  They said every winner came from an electronic set.  Everyone was looking forward to dinner tonight—Hibachi!!!

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by ChristyLNDRN

[Presbycruiser67]

Amazing how small Mariner looks next to Symphony ...

[lola2013]

1 hour ago, ChristyLNDRN said:

Day 3 continued…

 

Today was a low-key day we spent here and there around the ship.  It started out a little overcast but soon cleared up. 
 

 

She’s getting more confident….

 

 

 

Personal hot tub

 

Typically a very short wait for the slides 

 

 

 

Boys tried out bingo (spoiler alert—they didn’t win😂)  this afternoon while girls spent some time at the pool.  Chairs were crowded but pool was not.   They bought paper cards for bingo—maybe 9 cards per game?  They should have spent $10 more to get the electronic set…that played way more cards per game.  They said every winner came from an electronic set.  Everyone was looking forward to dinner tonight—Hibachi!!!

 

 

 

I'm anxious to hear about Hibachi.  We are definitely planning that for our August cruise on Mariner.

[ChristyLNDRN]

2 hours ago, Presbycruiser67 said:

Amazing how small Mariner looks next to Symphony ...

 

Yeah there’s a *slight* difference!  We enjoyed the ease of getting around a smaller ship.  Harmony was probably our favorite overall cruise though.  
 

 

1 hour ago, lola2013 said:

I'm anxious to hear about Hibachi.  We are definitely planning that for our August cruise on Mariner.

Do it!  You won’t be disappointed!

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 3 continued…

 

Dinner tonight was at Hibachi.  I booked this pre cruise to make sure that we would have a reservation for Christmas dinner.  Kids have never been, even on land so I thought it would be a fun treat. 

 

Menu from the website:
 

 

 

 

We had a 6:15 reservation.  We were seated first along one end of the table, and were shortly joined by another family along the other end.  The restaurant is pretty small with only a few tables so be prepared to share unless you have a larger group. 
 

Included starters were Edamame and salad.  Kids (and mike) had no problem getting a salad without dressing. They all eat it plain, weirdos!  I have to smother it all in ranch😂 although the house dressing here was fine. 
 

 

 

Kids were better at chopsticks than me.   Luckily the also bring you a “Japanese fork” for less coordinated folks like me. 
 

We also ordered some sushi, as did our table mates.  Points to the kids for trying it for the first time, even though they weren’t wild about it. 
 

 

Next up, order your proteins and the show begins!  Suzy and I ordered chicken, Mike got scallops and lobster, Zach got  NY steak (of course) and chicken.  He said he wished he had gotten the beef tenderloin instead of the steak but everything was delicious.  The chef cooks fried rice for the table followed by all the various proteins. I won’t spoil the show (because I was having too much fun to take pics) but it was definitely an entertaining experience.  Kids actually rated it as their favorite meal of the trip.   This was definitely the one night I left dinner feeling stuffed silly. 
 

Oh, dessert, LOL.  We got the lava cake and mochi ice cream.  Also yummy!

 

Cruised around a bit after dinner to walk off some of the food.

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight we went to the 9:15 headliner showtime featuring GODDESS.  The lead singer Monique was a runner up on The Voice Philippines and X Factor Philippines.  She had an amazing voice!  We sat all the way off to the side section, front row.  No one sat anywhere near us. Seems like if you didn’t have to be front and center in the first few rows you could definitely space out. 
 

Called it a night after the show.  We all wake up early, so tend to crash early, and as previously mentioned there wasn’t a lot going on in the evening after the show.  Found another towel animal waiting for us…dog???

 

 

Tomorrow:  Cozumel—Paradise Beach!

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by ChristyLNDRN

[ChristyLNDRN]

Day 3 Compass

 

 

 

 

 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Looks like your son is a soccer player (recognize a kit bag anywhere).  Did he try out the Open Play Soccer at the Sports Court?  I'm just wondering if they had a decent turnout.  

 

We're on Mariner in July, so following along!

[ChristyLNDRN]

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Looks like your son is a soccer player (recognize a kit bag anywhere).  Did he try out the Open Play Soccer at the Sports Court?  I'm just wondering if they had a decent turnout.  

 

We're on Mariner in July, so following along!

Yes, he plays on a club team and for his school as well…and just started refereeing games for the younger age brackets as well…it’s #soccerallthetime around here, although winter brings a little break which is nice for a change.  
 

Looks like the open play soccer was from 2-3 on both our port days, where we were either just getting back on board (coco cay) or still ashore (Cozumel) so he missed it.  He said the nets were always out.  We did see the adult soccer shootout challenge—he was mad he couldn’t participate!  Looked like there were maybe 10ish people there for that.  

[S.A.M.J.R.]

23 minutes ago, ChristyLNDRN said:

Yes, he plays on a club team and for his school as well…and just started refereeing games for the younger age brackets as well…it’s #soccerallthetime around here, although winter brings a little break which is nice for a change.  
 

Looks like the open play soccer was from 2-3 on both our port days, where we were either just getting back on board (coco cay) or still ashore (Cozumel) so he missed it.  He said the nets were always out.  We did see the adult soccer shootout challenge—he was mad he couldn’t participate!  Looked like there were maybe 10ish people there for that.  

My son and daughter both play club & school.  Son is in the process of looking for a college team.  He played during our cruises (most recent in 2016) and seemed to have fun.  The July cruise is his "HS Graduation" trip.  We're bringing his GF (separate rooms), so not sure if he'll participate or not.