First time cruiser EVER!!! Mariner 3/26/06 any advise?

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Mariner of the Seas is my absolute favorite ship..so far. Can't wait for Freedom of the Seas.

 

Definitely check out the 18-hole putt putt golf course. Even if you don't climb the rock wall, it is fun to watch others climb it. Others said see the ice show. Also know that you can skate too during the day. You can also play basketball and table tennis and shuffleboard. The gym is exceptionally well equipped and has a fabulous view.

 

At least once, check out the helicopter landing space in front of the ship. It is best to do it on a sea day because you can stand at the very bow of the ship, hold out your hands and shout, "I am the king of the world, " while forty knot winds whip your hair into a frenzy.

 

Get up in the morning to see the sunrise over the ocean on sea days. I also love to watch as the ship sails into and away from ports.

 

Mariner is very long. Hubby and I overdid the first couple of days and found we were exhausted. Walks to and from dining rooms, the spa, the gym, the theater can add up to a lot of walking if you aren't accustomed to it. We wore ourselves out climbing stairs.

 

I don't think anyone mentioned the theater, but there are some spectacular shows at night.

 

I love to hear the ship's loud horn when it prepares to pull away from the dock.

 

Definitely try Portofino, Chops and Johnny Rockets restaurants. For Port. and Chops, make reservations on the first day. Those restaurants close out fast.

 

Have a really great cruise. How can you not? It is Mariner of the Seas.

[brandylaw]

Wow!!! What great tips!!!

All of you have been gems in gearing me up for my cruise too!!

I head out of town in 55 days!:D

 

I do have a question....My party is interesting in doing either Chops or Portifino's (Maybe both...who knows?) and was wondering what night would be best for this?

In other words, what night should we miss the main dining room meal?

I have heard that "Caribbean Night" is not good. This was referenced before, but I was told to check the MDR schedule....which is fine but If I need to book a table ASAP and I need to ascertain the weekly menu then I will probably not get a table. Does this make sense?:rolleyes:

 

I am looking forward to any comments anyone has. :)

[hockeymom12]

I feel like I must be dreaming! All I have been doing is reading and taking notes from each of you! I can not thank all of you enough with your assistance! Keep the feedback coming... my notebook will be full by the time I board the ship! lol

[Inshape]

More thoughts:

 

Bring a highlighter to highlight what activities you really want to get to on the daily compass.

 

Bring sticky notes to leave your cabin mate a note on the mirror if you go your own way.

 

Instead of those plastic things to hang around your neck....(I personally hate them), bring a lanyard with a clip and ask purser to punch a hole in your card and theis way you can wear it on your belt loop of your shorts and tuck in the card in your pocket. They sell nice slim black ones at staples, and I am sure walmart has them too. I like this idea more than the bulky plastic packs.

 

Dressing up is fun--but you will wear less than half of what you pack. Airlines have now downsized weight regs. Must be 50 pounds or you pay for extra weight. This last cruise I cut my packing in half and still did not wear it all. On sea days I wore my swim suit and shorts and a tank. I wore the same shorts and tank each time to the pool for the 3 sea days since it got wet from the bathing suit and just did not feel good to wear to an activity. So that was one or two tanks and one pair of shorts for 3 days.

 

The nights are so much more casual now. I use to pack 7 day outfits and 7 night outfits with some extras just in case i did not want to wear that. UGH! Now nice jeans are acceptable to wear on casual night. I would pair that up with a nice top and my heeled sandals and still look good!

 

I enjoy formal nights so I do dress--but this time on of the nights i really was in no mood for my long gown so I chucked it and wore nice black pants with a very nice tank that was all sequins and very hip! Not old fashioned sparkly top at all.

 

Windjammer was nice but I love dining room service. With our family of 2 kids it was hard to get to the table with hot food after multiple lines.

 

Fill out the sea pass info on line and get right onto the ship faster. Bring some vodka in small bottles to mix with the free oj! Bring anything to mix with the lemonade and the ice tea....he he he!

 

No need to rush to the shows 45 minutes before it starts...there was always room within 10 minutes of the start of the shows.

 

Have steward remove stuff in refrigerator unless you are going to be eating it. I like a empty one so I can put my own stuff in it. I bring baggies with me and put some stuff in there for the kids for later on if they are hungry and I do not want to run to deck 5 to get them a snack.

 

Walk as much as you can--up and down the stairs--you will still beat the elevators! Eat on a regular basis and walk around a lot = weight loss! The body senses food and burns it up much faster. Limit the heavy duty carbs and enjoy all the salads they have. The pizza in the cafe is excellent...and do not forget that cream puff pie. And the top of the pie with the cream puff---oh like heaven! I think that was there on Tues.

 

Check out the exercise room--really nice stuff. The ship shape sign on the activities denotes getting ship shape "dollars" for participating in those activities. On the Sat the day before you leave you will turn in those dollars on the sports deck(where you get the inline skates). Next to that area is a little room--check out how many dollars you need for what prize you want...The first time on Explorer I came home with the T shirt, the towel and a key chain. The next time on Mariner, I did nothing--they were too early for me...LOL!

 

And again, you picked a great ship with so many things. Deck 4 the heliport to the bow of the ship is nice to see too.

 

There are so many nooks and crannies--go explore and enjoy.

[leafy]

:D glad i found this website! i'll be working on this ship in may! definately sounds like a great ship to be on for 6 months :D

[Ms Belvedere]

In the Bakery/Coffee Shop on the Promenade deck they serve free sandwiches and cookies everyday. They switch sandwiches occasionally and have different kinds. DH just said they serve pizza there, as well.

 

Try the whirlpool in the workout area. It's out of the sun and very relaxing, and the Steam Rooms are wonderful, too.

 

Don't miss out on watching the Captain in the observation area. You can stand behind the control area where the Captain is working, look for it at the front of the ship. Someone else may know the deck where this is located.

 

It's a beautiful ship, you'll have a great week on the Mariner! :)

 

Ms B

[Yvonne]

DH and I were on the 1/15 sailing of the Mariner. It was our 5th cruise, and the best we've ever had. The ship is gorgeous, wonderfully amazing, I just can't say enough good things about it. The food was plentiful and delicious. Don't miss the Gala Buffet. I think it was open from 11:30 - 12:15 (midnight) for viewing/picture taking (I was snapping pictures left and right!) and then at 12:30 they open the doors for eating. It was awesome!

 

My only complaint about the ship is the solarium is accessible to everyone. It's supposed to be "adults only" but doors open into the solarium so there are people constantly just "walking through" and with kids, babies too. It's not as quiet and peaceful as I thought it would be so we ended up spending very little time there. :(

 

I absolutely LOVED the Royal Promenade, it reminded me of what a quaint street in Paris might be like! :) Great for people watching, and the sandwiches and desserts at the cafe were wonderful!

 

Our BEST excursion was the Original Canopy Tour (zip-lining) in Jamaica. It was spectacular to say the least. And I'm not a very "adventurous" person but I LOVED every minute of it!!

 

I hope we can cruise on the Mariner again, it was awesome!!

[Mildred]

On the prior page you indicated that you were afraid that there will NOT be enough to keep the kids occoupied on board. DO NOT WORRY about that. RCL is probably the best line (other than maybe Disney) in having kid and teenager related activities. They even have a specially dedicated area for each age group. Yes, they charge for the video games, but set a limit on how much they can spend a day - make them budget. However, they have tons of activities for the younger set.

 

The standing rule for our boys (14 and 16 on their first cruise) was that they HAD to have dinner with us in the dining room - a few times a day they would swing by to check on the old folks, but other than that, they had a blast.

[LHP]

In the Bakery/Coffee Shop on the Promenade deck they serve free sandwiches and cookies everyday. They switch sandwiches occasionally and have different kinds. DH just said they serve pizza there, as well.

 

Try the whirlpool in the workout area. It's out of the sun and very relaxing, and the Steam Rooms are wonderful, too.

 

Don't miss out on watching the Captain in the observation area. You can stand behind the control area where the Captain is working, look for it at the front of the ship. Someone else may know the deck where this is located.

 

It's a beautiful ship, you'll have a great week on the Mariner! :)

 

Ms B

 

Would you please email me at joshuastevenwilliams@juno.com ??

I have some information that may be helpful from other posts.

[kidrn]

only 35 days till cruise and i was on the cruises. com website cheking for price drops since we got a 760.00 refund last week on a promenade room. well they just released js 1308 and interior 1305 . since we are a party of 5 and were booked in a pr and e1 on 8th floor, and could upgrade for less than 500.00 we did it. However these are handicapped rooms and i feel bad but they reassured me since so close to sailing thats why they were released to general public. Can someone direct me to a thread that tells what the perks are for js. I cannot remember even though i have read them on her hundreds of times. :)

[hockeymom12]

Wow! Can you believe only 19 short days until I get to board the Mariner! I am looking forward to this cruise and just want to thank everyone for their imput for my very first cruise! Looking forward to it! -Hockeymom12

[kimsbfl]

Just got back on Sunday:( :(

 

We had the best time. I just posted a review. Have a super time!!!!

 

Kim

[Minorhawk]

If one of your ports is Ocho Rios, Jamaica be sure to see Dunns River Falls. We went there Peat Taylor Tours and he was awesome!! He got us to the falls as they were opening which helped us beat the crowds. Then he took us for a gorgeous drive thru the Jamaican countryside and then for lunch. Part of the group then went to the beach, some went shopping and others went back to the ship. If I remember correctly, the tour was only 30 dollars and you didn't even pay till he dropped you off back at the pier. It was a great time and a great and very safe way to see Ocho Rios. The best souvineer we got was at the falls...It was a DVD of our climb. It was amazing because they "burned" the disc while we waited...I thought there'd be no way we would be on the DVD, but we were on several times and the disc itself was just of our group (about 20-30 people). It was the best 40 bucks I spent on the cruise!! Enjoy...You'll love it.

 

Oh BTW my son is a freshman and plays for his HS team in Indianapolis...He can't wait to go on the next (his 2nd) cruise next month. They have so much fun and make lots of friends quickly...I'm sure your son would love it too!!

 

Good luck and good sailing!!!

[Minorhawk]

Hey Hockeymom...I noticed the "12" at the end of your name...Is that your son's number?? My son wears number 12 as well....Just thought it kind of cool...