Just returned from our Mariner of the Seas 4 day cruise - We had a blast

[mkrr1123]

We just returned from our 4 day Mariner cruise.  We had an incredible time.  We have decided that days at sea are probably not our thing.  The pools and hots tubs were very crowded but I was lucky to get chairs in the Solarium under the over hang so I could be out of the sun. My adult children and their friends greatly enjoyed the drink package and the night life.  They got back to the room every night between 2 and 3 am.  On the last night they were required to prove their age multiple times.  They are between 21 and 24 so I am not sure what that was all about since I was sound asleep.  On our first day at sea we were part of the Cuban refugee rescue that the Carnival boat was part of too.  I witnessed the crew bringing at least 2 people on board from the water.  The captain announced that I think 3 people were found and brought onboard.  We were stopped for a long time while the Coast Guard circled.  I hope all were ok because the one person did not look well.  It was heart breaking to think how desperate people are to get in a row boat like that.  I also wonder if the regularity of this happening will lead to cruise ships rethinking routes.  The wait staff and bar staff was awesome with my daughter's weird pineapple allergy.  We loved having breakfast in the main dining room every morning.  In fact I was only in the Windjammer for lunch on the first day. 

 

We did all test upon returning home before going to work today and 5 out of the 6 of us are positive.  We have cold like symptoms with my one daughter having a low grade fever.  She also has a terrible sunburn so I am sure that is a contributing factor to her not feeling the best.  I am being honest that we would not have tested at all if my daughter did not test first.  We did all test negative twice prior to boarding but we also did not wear masks in Florida at all and we did Disney for 2 days prior to boarding the ship.  This was our second short cruise and we think it works best for our family.  We plan to go again in 2 years for our youngest's 21st birthday (he was unable to come to this trip due to football) and will look for an itinerary with Coco Cay.  We really missed our perfect day at Coco Cay from the 1st cruise.  

 

I will be happy to answer questions if anyone has any.  My group took advantage of the drink package and the night life on board.  

[huntr104]

Glad you and your family had a great trip.  We are thinking of taking the 8 night Southern Caribbean itinerary next year on Mariner.  How did you like the ship?  Did it seem over crowded?  What category Stateroom did your family have?  Thanks.

[mkrr1123]

We had 2 interior cabins - They were on the same deck (10) but at opposite ends of the boat.  I don't know how it happened as our reservations were connected.  It was not a big deal as the kids (young adults) were all together.  We traveled with friends as well and their cabins were next to my kids.  On the sea days the boat was crowded at least the Solarium and pool decks were jammed packed.  My sun worshipping girls went up top to the 12th deck and had no problem finding a place to lay out.  The pool was in our opinion human soup.  I don't think you could even move around in it.   My group did hit the Windjammer but they waited until 1 or so it was much less crowded.  At night we never felt crowded anywhere but I did see my kids videos from Ellingtons and that place was hopping.  We walked up to the shows and there were always seats available.  I like the boat but I do not have anything else to compare it to since both of our cruises have been on Mariner.  

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Mariner, she's one of my favorite ships. 🙂 Wishing you a speedy recovery!

[DrProfessor]

Our last trip was on Mariner and we had a great time as well - until we got back.  It was the first time, they didn't park the boat at the same terminal in Port Canaveral and we never knew that you couldn't just walk from terminal to terminal.  We parked at the port, but were really confused when getting off the boat because it all looked really different.  Then we had to figure out where we were, wait in a huge line to get on a bus which didn't stay a line as soon as the bus pulled up.  It probably took us 1.5 hours from the time we got off the boat to get back to the terminal where our car was when every other time, it was 5 minutes and we were on the road.  I wonder how often that happens?

 

Anyway, we still had a great cruise and Mariner is a nice ship.  This was back when there was a huge gash in the back of the ship because another ship had crashed into her while she was docked.

[Crazy planning mom]

Glad you enjoyed even though you came back with covid.  Agree with you that breakfast in the MDR is much more relaxing than the Windjammer.

[yogimax]

1 hour ago, mkrr1123 said:

On our first day at sea we were part of the Cuban refugee rescue that the Carnival boat was part of too.  I witnessed the crew bringing at least 2 people on board from the water.  The captain announced that I think 3 people were found and brought onboard.  We were stopped for a long time while the Coast Guard circled.  I hope all were ok because the one person did not look well.  It was heart breaking to think how desperate people are to get in a row boat like that. 

 

 

Thank you for your comments regarding the rescue of the boat people.

 

We were on a cruise when a pontoon boat was breaking apart and ready to sink.  The amazing crew rescued all the folks.  The captain stated that if they had not been rescued, they all would have died within the hour. 

 

What was horrific was the attitude of some of the passengers on the ship who were angry that these folks had been rescued.  Yet, think about it.  These people put their lives at risk to attain freedom from communist Cuba.  They are the very people America should be welcoming.   

 

In any case, they were dropped off in Mexico where, I hope, they were able to start new lives in freedom. 

[mkrr1123]

11 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Glad you enjoyed even though you came back with covid.  Agree with you that breakfast in the MDR is much more relaxing than the Windjammer.

I found out about it here on the boards and when I told my friends cruising with us that we could go they thought we weren't eligible.  I assured them we were and it was so nice and everything was great.  Mariner has some very good crispy bacon and hash browns. 

[mkrr1123]

10 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Thank you for your comments regarding the rescue of the boat people.

 

We were on a cruise when a pontoon boat was breaking apart and ready to sink.  The amazing crew rescued all the folks.  The captain stated that if they had not been rescued, they all would have died within the hour. 

 

What was horrific was the attitude of some of the passengers on the ship who were angry that these folks had been rescued.  Yet, think about it.  These people put their lives at risk to attain freedom from communist Cuba.  They are the very people America should be welcoming.   

 

In any case, they were dropped off in Mexico where, I hope, they were able to start new lives in freedom. 

We were chatting with another guest and she said that during her cruise in July a boat approached the ship and asked for water.  Passengers were attempting to throw water bottles to them.  She said the crew handed the boat 5 cases of water and the boat motored off. It had 46 people on it.  The captain said the US Coast Guard took custody of the 3 people rescued.  I wondered if the Cubans try to plan a crossing when cruises could be coming through.  People on our boat were very concerned.  They threw flotation devices out to the struggling swimmers.  I did not hear anything except concern from everyone around me.