Review Mariner of the Seas Eastern Caribbean August 19 – 26

[iswimlikearock]

Review Mariner of the Seas Eastern Caribbean August 19 – 26

Who we are: Me/Jenn (25), Mom/Andrea (50s), Dad/Art (celebrating his 60th onboard), Lauren/Sister (22), Jean/Sister’s Friend (23). This was my parent’s and sister’s first cruise, and Jean’s second (first on RCCL). My husband had recently changed jobs and was unable to make this cruise, so I knew that it would be a very different experience for me as all of our cruises have been together. It was also going to be strange to be married for a year and leave him behind for the first time. Right before final payment, I changed our cabins around, and I was going to be shackin up with my parents for the week.

Pre-cruise: We flew Southwest from Islip to Orlando on Saturday August 18. This was utter chaos and I will never fly Southwest again. Long story short, the airport was totally disorganized, and the express line for check in had one person behind the counter. Flight was uneventful and we landed a few minutes early in Orlando. We got our bags, and went to Avis… well I always have some bad luck pre-cruise, so I knew that something was bound to happen. We were in line for the rental cars, and the computers at Avis were down. The reps were handwriting each rental agreement. Needless to say, we were on line at Avis for about 1.5 hours to get our cars! We rented two cars, since there were five of us, and We decided that we were starving and went to TGI Friday’s right outside of the airport. We stuffed our faces, and then were off to Port Canaveral where we were spending the night. We arrived at the Marriott Residence Inn at about 2:00 and were able to check in right away. The Marriott is absolutely awesome!!! We paid $179 + tax for the night, for the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite with full kitchen and living room. I will tell you that this was worth every penny. Everything was brand new, spotless, the bedding was comfortable and the room was huge! We had more than enough room for all of us and our many suitcases. We explored a little, napped a little, tanned and swam in the free form pool for a while. My dad’s cousin and his wife live about an hour away, so they drove up, and met us for dinner. We went to the recommended A NY Pizza House, on the corner of 520 and Astronaut Blvd. We are all (including my dad’s cousin) from NY and we were very impressed with both the food and service. The food was more than enough and the bill was less than $100 for seven people. Definitely recommend to anyone staying in Pt. Canaveral. Since it was a beautiful night, we grabbed a bottle of wine, and after the wine was gone, we decided to take a late night swim. The pool was open until 10, and the water temp was about 100 degrees. Perfect for my parents, a little too warm for the rest of us, but it was nice to spend some time together. My mom was really cute, because she said that it was the first time in a long time that all of us were together. I moved out of the house about 2 years ago, and my sister has been living away while she was going to college. It was some good quality, family time.

Day 1: We woke up at about 8, as I was so excited, and could hardly contain myself. My parents and I went to breakfast, which was great and then packed up and woke up Lauren and Jean. They went to breakfast, and we were ready to go over to see the beautiful Mariner of the Seas! My dad and I dropped the rest of the group and the luggage at the port and returned the rental cars. Avis was very crowded this day, and it took a while to return the cars, but I didn’t mind, I was on vacation and had already got my first glance of the Mariner and was so excited to board. We arrived to the port at about noon. Jean had surgery on her leg and it is not quite healed, so she was in a wheelchair for part of our cruise. Lauren and Jean were escorted out of the security line and taken separately into the terminal and to a window to check in, we would meet back up with them in the Windjammer, once we boarded. Since I am platinum, my parents and I were taken to the Platinum / Diamond line to check in. This process was very quick and we were issued our seapasses, and ready to go!

Once we boarded, we met up with Lauren and Jean and had lunch. I said that I was going to the room to unpack, and told my parents to stay in the WJ, since it would be too tight for all of us to unpack at the same time. Lauren, Jean and I ran down to my parent’s and my cabin to decorate the door and the cabin with Happy Birthday decorations. My mom forgot that we were going to do this, so they came down just as we hung up the last of the stuff. My dad was very surprised, and it was very nice.

My mom, dad and I shared cabin 9620 – a D1 located right in the middle of the hump. The location is very convenient and we heard absolutely no noise from the elevators. Lauren and Jean shared a Promenade cabin 7281 over looking the Wig and Gavel. I liked the way that the PR cabin was set up. Although it was tight, I may have to try one for myself. They also heard no noise from the promenade.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the ship and then hit the pool deck to work on our tans. We attended the muster drill and I had to take the picture of my parents in their lifejackets! After muster, we dropped off our lifejackets and headed up to deck 12 for sail away. We were delayed a few minutes, and my mom and I saw a dolphin and a sea turtle in the water, but by the time my dad came over they were already gone.

We had the early seating for dinner, and when we arrived Lauren and Jean were already there with two of our tablemates. A few minutes later, the rest of our tablemates arrived it was KBT2 (Kim) and her family! As luck would have it, we had an amazing dinner and meshed so well with our new friends. I looked forward to dinner each evening. After dinner, my parents and I went to the Welcome Aboard Show, it was your typical show. After the show, I met up with my sister and Jean at the casino bar where they had already met Paulo – the most amazing bartender on the ship. After a while at the casino bar, we went over to the Dragon’s Lair where we met up with Kim and her husband Guy, and had a drink. Then off to bed.

Day 2 – CocoCay: The night brought some rough seas, due to the remnants of Hurricane Dean. The seas were pretty rough, and we were rockin’ and rollin’ all night. My parent’s took advantage of room service, and ordered a fruit plate and pot of coffee for an early morning wake up call. We went to the Windjammer for breakfast, where we had the wonderful make to order omelets that I look forward to each cruise. The girls decided to sleep in, so my parents and I took a tender over to the island. We were going to meet up with Lauren and Jean at 12:30 at the bbq lunch. Once we were at CocoCay, we grabbed a few chairs (one in the shade for my dad), and just enjoyed being on vacation. After about 30 minutes, I was hot and antsy, so I decided to take a walk. I walked for a while, with my toes in the water, and stared off into the gorgeous blue water. I needed a quick bathroom break, and I ran into Lauren and Jean! They came over to where our chairs were, and then we all headed over to the bbq lunch. The food was very good, but we were so stuffed from breakfast, that we only had a few “tastes”. It was too hot for my parents so they headed back to the ship after lunch. Lauren, Jean and I moved over to the snorkel beach. Jean and I brought our stuff from home, and had to rent a vest. The water was really, really rough and there were quite a few jellyfish, so we didn’t make it out very far. I will say that I am a very strong swimmer and I was struggling to fight the waves. I got stung by a jellyfish, and that was the end of snorkeling for me. We stayed in the sun, and just relaxed for a while. I went over to the fresh water shower, and happened to notice the line for the tenders…. It was huge!!! We were going to wait it out as long as possible. We stayed in the sun a little longer, headed over to the straw market, and then decided to get on line for the tender. The line was still pretty long, and it was hot! We were talking to one of the employees, and they said that they usually run 3 tenders, but the third was being used to bring provisions back and forth from the ship, which was causing the delay in getting people back. We were delayed about 45 minutes leaving CocoCay.

Once we got back onboard, we were starving! Jean and I went to the Café Promenade where we had a few small sandwiches. My sister wanted to take a shower, so she headed back to their cabin. We brought her back something to eat, and I headed over to the Solarium to meet up with my parents. Since it was formal night, I stayed for a little while and then went back to the cabin to get ready. It was very difficult for the three of us to get showered and ready at the same time, so I headed up to the showers in the gym which I would continue to do for the rest of the week. Formal night was nice, I will say that I did see a few people in ripped jeans and shorts, but it wasn’t going to ruin my dinner. I personally enjoy getting dressed for dinner, so I will leave it at that. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t finish my dinner. After dinner I went back to the cabin and went to sleep! Yeah I am a party pooper. My parents went to the show, which they enjoyed.

Day 3 – At Sea: Today my plan was to lay by the pool, and go to the meet and mingle. That’s it. As usual, my parents ordered room service coffee, and sat on the balcony to take in the scenery. I slept a little longer, and then we went to breakfast. On our way to the WJ, I happened to look outside, and it was nasty out. The winds were whipping, and it was not a nice day. Well there goes my plan… After breakfast, the weather was much better, but it was really close to the time for the meet and mingle, so my parents and I headed up there. Dennis, the cruise director spoke about RCCL, the future of the cruiseline and also the future of RCCL. He says the Liberty will replace the Mariner in Pt Canaveral, so I guess we will wait and see. His rationale was that the Mariner constantly sells out, so since the Freedom Class holds more passengers, there is more opportunity for revenue, so it makes sense. Only time will tell on that one. He also said that he reads Cruise Critic every day – so Dennis if you are out there – we had a great time! Dennis also said that he will be moving on to the Freedom, when Becky finishes her current run, and she will be taking a land job in the office in Miami training new cruise directors – the reason for this??? She is getting married. Congrats to Becky!

After the meet and mingle, we did a cabin crawl. Thanks to Merryl for making our maps, and thanks to all who opened up their cabins. This really was great, and if anyone has the chance to do it, it is a great experience! After the crawl, we headed up to the solarium… stayed in the sun for a while and then it was dinner time. We showered, changed and went to dinner for wonderful food and conversation. Did I mention we loved our tablemates? After dinner, we went to the show, and then of course to the casino bar. Had a few drinks and then off to bed.

Day 4 – St. Thomas: As usual, room service coffee, then to the WJ for breakfast. Today we needed to go through immigration. This procedure was extremely efficient. The line was long, but moved very quickly. After returning our passports to the cabin, we headed down to meet Sunny Liston for our 10:00 tour. This gave us just enough time (1.5 hours) for shopping, then followed by an island tour and then we were given the option of beach or back to the ship. My parents went back to the ship and Lauren, Jean and I went to Sapphire Beach. I was not too impressed with Sapphire, I think that I was expecting the sand to be really soft, but it wasn’t. There was a lot of coral, and seaweed in the water. It was fine for cooling off. Us girls were pretty tired, so we moved our blanket under a tree and I set my alarm and we took a nice nap in the shade. My cell phone worked on St Thomas, so I was able to speak with my husband who I was missing very much.

Tonight, we were celebrating my dad’s birthday onboard. I made reservations at Portofino for our group. I love Portofino, but this time I was a little annoyed. First, we never did get our confirmation. I had gone twice to make sure that they had noted that I would be bringing candles, and it was for a birthday. Both times, they said that it was on the reservation. When we got there, I went to the maitre d and handed him the candles. I had a “6” and “0”. Ok so everything seems fine. Dinner was delicious as always then it was time for dessert. Our wonderful tablemates were also dining at Portofino and they were planning on coming over for the happy b-day part of dinner. Well dessert comes out and no candles, no cake, no singing. I know it sounds cheesy, but hey it was a big birthday and sometimes you need to be a little cheesy. So I said I had a tummy ache and got up to talk to our waiter, well he said that he would go and check on what happened. A few minutes later, out comes a piece of flourless chocolate cake with the “6” and the “0”. Ok not like I planned, but it was still very nice. My dad was shocked, and very happy.

Tonight we had tickets for the ice show. We were done with dinner at 8, headed to Studio B, and by the time we were let in, there were no seats left…. Hmmmm this is strange. We were there early, and it was completely packed. So I was annoyed and said something to one of the employees. The employee said that they only give the number of tickets for seats that they have. Well there were people sitting in the aisles, on the floor everywhere, it was utter chaos. Now, if you only gave the number of tickets for the number of seats, then people would not be sitting on the floor…. My mom said that we are not sitting on the floor, and proceeded to guest relations. She told them what happened and they gave us tickets to Friday’s show. They were very apologetic, so I guess it was alright. Lauren and Jean headed up to the casino bar and my mom, dad and I went back to the cabin to change. We went to the Love and Marriage show, it was ok, but you could tell the older couple had been on a few cruises and their answers were rehearsed. Although their delivery of the answers was very funny. After the show, we headed up to the Casino for a drink and then off to bed.

Day 5 – St. Martin: As usual, room service coffee, then to the WJ for breakfast. Today we were up pretty early. I wanted to do all of my shopping here. We hopped on the water taxi and headed over to Front Street. We did our shopping and had the obligatory Guavaberry Colada, and then went back to the ship for some lunch. We met up with Lauren and Jean in the Windjammer, and stuffed our faces. Then my mom, Lauren and Jean went to the Solarium for some sun. My dad and I got back off and went back to Front Street for some more shopping. After some shopping, we headed up to the Windjammer, I made a plate of nachos to bring out for the girls, and we just relaxed in the Solarium.

We then changed, and got ready for dinner. Dinner was wonderful as usual, with fun conversation and much laughter. Again, we went to the show and then to the casino bar. My parents played the slots, and were up $91 by the end of the night. After a few drinks, we were off to bed.

Day 6 & Day 7 – At Sea: Our mornings were the same, and both days were spent at the pool. There were a lot of swimmie diapers so I was totally grossed out and used the showers to cool off. The first sea day was better than the second, with the deck patrol attempting to keep the babies out of the water. The second sea day, there was no enforcement at all. Day 7 my mom, dad and I went to the dining room for lunch. We had the pasta which was incredible. It was just the right amount of garlic and marinara sauce. Delicious! Both days we had dinner in the dining room, and hit the casino afterwards. My parents went to the shows, and I skipped out of them to chat with my husband.

Misc: I ordered two gift baskets from Shirley at The Perfect Gift. They were waiting for us in the stateroom when we arrived. They were very nice, and I highly recommend using Shirley. Her shop is located right in Pt. Canaveral.

I was told by Verizon that I would have cell service on the ship and on St. Thomas, and St. Martin. Well that was not the case. My phone did not work the first two days, I would receive a call, and in 14 seconds it would end. Well at $2.50 a minute, you can imagine how annoyed I was. I was able to use the internet to email my husband to stay in touch while I was away. The phone worked fine in St Thomas and St. Martin, and the last night as we got closer to land. If you need to stay in touch with someone at home keep this in mind. I did run into a few people on the ship that had service.

In previous reviews some have mentioned the AC on the ship… in our cabin 9620 it was severely lacking. Our stateroom attendant, Kendol, notified maintenance, and it helped a little, but to be honest it was never really cold. The upper decks seemed to get warmer the closer to an outside door. Once the door opened hot air came in, and it wasn’t cool in those areas. This was my observation, so maybe someone else would know a little better.

Service: From our stateroom attendant, Kendol, to our waitstaff, Liliana and Madan, we were extremely impressed. We were told that the Mariner currently ranks #1 in the fleet for service. I can see how this is true – and I agree!

If you have any questions, please let me know. I hope you enjoyed reading my review as much as I enjoyed reading each of the reviews before we left.

Jenn

[Frankiesmom]

Thanks for the review! I'll be on her on 9/30:D

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks for the review. We were on the Mariner in June and loved it so we booked for next June. We originally had 9620 booked for next June but recently changed for a corner aft, glad we did, DH would not deal well with a warm cabin. As far as Verizon goes, did you activate international dialing before you left? We had to program our phones using *228 to program for international dialing and also to update our roaming.

[skyking]

Great review...I really hope the Liberty replaces the Mariner...That would be AWESOME!

[debshomespun]

Jenn: Great review. Glad to hear you made it to Cococay. We will be boarding the Mariner this Sunday for the Eastern itinerary, and can't wait to get back to Cococay. Was only there once, and we love the private islands! Looking forward to sailing on the Mariner after all the great things I have read about her!

 

What was the C&A gift at the platinum level? TIA!

 

I see you got on the Jewel in 2/05, when we were getting off! She is a beautiful ship! We are going back on her for the Panama canal cruise next year!

[iswimlikearock]

As far as Verizon goes, did you activate international dialing before you left? We had to program our phones using *228 to program for international dialing and also to update our roaming.

 

I activated iDial, and also did the *228 I think it had something to do with the satellite on the ship, because the internet was a lot slower than usual.

 

What was the C&A gift at the platinum level? TIA!!

 

It was the blue bag with the tan strap. I gave it to my mom, since it was their first cruise. We have a few of the canvas bags, so I really didnt need another. She liked it and used it around the ship.

 

Thanks to all for the nice comments!!!

[kittymom65]

Great review...I really hope the Liberty replaces the Mariner...That would be AWESOME!

 

I agree!

 

Jenn--Thanks so much for the detailed review, I am glad your family enjoyed their cruise.

[cruzeluver]

Thanks for the great review.

 

We leave this Sunday for the Eastern route as well.

 

We are doing the tour with Sunny Liston as well. Have heard so many great things about his tour.

 

Wednesday is my birthday and we will be doing Portifinos that night too. Glad the food and service were up to par.

 

Sounds like Friday may be the better night for the ice show. We will probably do that.

[katiel53]

Thanks for the review. It brings back memories and also reminds me of things I have to look forward to.

[mom2bcr]

Review Mariner of the Seas Eastern Caribbean August 19 – 26

Misc: I ordered two gift baskets from Shirley at The Perfect Gift. They were waiting for us in the stateroom when we arrived. They were very nice, and I highly recommend using Shirley. Her shop is located right in Pt. Canaveral.

Jenn

 

Do you mind if I ask what you had in your baskets and about how much they cost??

Thanks!

Terri

[iswimlikearock]

Do you mind if I ask what you had in your baskets and about how much they cost??

Thanks!

Terri

 

Sure, three bottles of wine in one basket and a bottle of Tanqueray and Absolut in the other. Total cost including tax and delivery was approx $170

[DPurcell58]

Saw you guys pulling into St. Thomas while we were eating breakfast in the Windjammer on the Explorer. We also went to Shappire Beach that day, it was a nice day, we went under the trees too. Glad you had a good time too.

[Kruuzin]

We were also on this cruise,

 

I knew about the meet and mingle, but I couldn't find you people. We missed out.

 

We were on the Mariner in 2005 and found that trip to be much better than this one.

I didn't find the seas rough at all. The last 3 days, I didn't even find the need for the Bonine.

 

We were in a Suite and were escorted by "Kevin" to the Concierge Lounge because the room was not ready yet. It's amazing how different the check in people were when they saw we were in a suite. It was not crowded when we were checking in and we went through the regular line. She couldn't find our keys and then told us because we were in a Suite and would have to follow her to a special area. She become a lot more friendly once she saw "suite".

 

I didn't like the fact that for the muster drill I had to wear my lifejacket walking down the stairs. I couldn't see and I am surprised they haven't had more accidents with people falling. This is the first ship I've been on that you had to wear them to the drill and not put them on when you got to your station.

 

CocoCay was pretty, but very crowded. We stayed for about 2 hours and then went back to the ship. I understand that people that stayed to the end, were waiting for a tender for a very long time, in the hot sun. Next time, I think I'll just stay on the ship.

 

Day 3: sea day. I went to the scrapbooking workshop. There were so many people that they didn't have enough kits made up. It seemed to be a very poorly planned event.

Also, I had asked about the Mystery Dinner and the Compass said it was Tues. and Kevin also told us Tuesday. It was not on Tuesday, but on Monday. I went and said I was very disappointed that I missed it. The Portofino Management sent us a bottle of champagne.

We didn't do the formal night. We went to Johnny Rockets. YUMMY.

 

We did the Turtle Island tour in St. Thomas and the Tiki hut Tour in St. Maarten. Both were a lot of fun. The water was beautiful and we saw many forms of sea life in both places. Very relaxing.

 

The next 2 days were at sea days. The events that I went to were very crowded and it seemed like there wasn't a lot of activities to do.

 

We were also told that the activities manager had followed the compass from 2 weeks prior to our tour and didn't rewrite the changes that were made through the week. I felt that someone wasn't paying attention and things were disorganized.

 

We had use of the concierge lounge, because we were in a suite. We didn't end up using it very much. I was also surprised to find out that on the last night of the cruise my card no longer worked in the door and I didn't have access to that room anymore. I just wanted to get some coffee. I couldn't understand why they would stop you the night before. I could see Sunday morning in order to get ready for the new passengers. Also, my husband felt Princess took better care of their suite passengers than RCI.

 

We did have a great time. I guess this ended up longer than I thought it would. So sorry.

[mac_tlc]

We were also on this cruise, our 9th on RCCL and 4th on the Mariner. There were four of us (DW,DD,DS and I), boys in one cabin, girls in the other. A couple of notes based on the prior reviews.

 

1) Our room was comfortably cool (7258), the ladies room never got cool (7259 across the hall)

 

2) Line to return from CoCoCay at 2:00 was enormous, in the sun. Conditions on the island were very windy.

 

3) Internet was so slow as to be almost unusable. For all you Southwest "A" boarding group groupies (of which I am one), it was mayhem on Saturday at the internet room as everyone tried to get their "A" boarding pass exactly 24 hours before departure. This was my major comment on the comment form. At $0.50 per minute, they need to mprove the service or cut the price dramatically.

 

We always enjoy the Mariner and will probably go to LA in 2009.

 

mac_tlc

[LostAgain]

We were on this cruise, too, and had a fantastic time. We must have explored Cococay more than others because we didn't find the island crowded at all. We walked all around, found a quiet section of beach to relax and check out some really beautiful fish, and saw the iguanas. My daughter rode on the children's Jeeps for quite a while. Since there was no line, she was allowed to stay as long as she wanted. We really, really enjoyed it.

[Georgia Bulldog Cruiser 51]

After the meet and mingle, we did a cabin crawl. Thanks to Merryl for making our maps, and thanks to all who opened up their cabins. This really was great, and if anyone has the chance to do it, it is a great experience!

What is a cabin crawl?:confused: :)

[astrogirl19]

Sure, three bottles of wine in one basket and a bottle of Tanqueray and Absolut in the other. Total cost including tax and delivery was approx $170

 

I called them today and they said they couldn't deliver any alcohol to the pier. :( Looks like it's crack down time again...

[ginrom]

iswimlikearock- I was also in cabin 9620 last month. I thought it got to be too cold at times. We also had Kendol. He came and introduced himself the first day and I never saw him again for the rest of the cruise. He kept the cabin very clean and always filled our cooler but it was the first cruise we never ran into the stateroom attendant in the halls. It could have been because we were the first cabin in the hall and his others were in the next section.

 

I also ordered two beach bags filled with snacks for the kids from the Perfect Gift. The snacks included peanuts, potato chips, pretels, m&m's, and sugary type candies. I also had them include a six pack of coke.

 

We're going back in April and I can't wait!!!

[iswimlikearock]

iswimlikearock- I was also in cabin 9620 last month. I thought it got to be too cold at times. We also had Kendol. He came and introduced himself the first day and I never saw him again for the rest of the cruise. He kept the cabin very clean and always filled our cooler but it was the first cruise we never ran into the stateroom attendant in the halls. It could have been because we were the first cabin in the hall and his others were in the next section.

 

I also ordered two beach bags filled with snacks for the kids from the Perfect Gift. The snacks included peanuts, potato chips, pretels, m&m's, and sugary type candies. I also had them include a six pack of coke.

 

We're going back in April and I can't wait!!!

 

That's crazy about the a/c. It was hot in there! After we did the cabin crawl, one of our CC friends came in and she even said it was really hot in our cabin.

 

We thought Kendol was excellent! He would come running down the hall each morning when we were leaving to say good morning, and he would do the same thing in the evening to see how we enjoyed our day.

 

I am so jealous, I wish we were going back. We booked NextCruise, which we are planning on using for the Summer of 2009.

[iswimlikearock]

After the meet and mingle, we did a cabin crawl. Thanks to Merryl for making our maps, and thanks to all who opened up their cabins. This really was great, and if anyone has the chance to do it, it is a great experience!

 

What is a cabin crawl?:confused: :)

 

Some CC'ers opened up their cabins, and as a group we walked around the ship and go into the cabins in different categories. It put the different categories in perspective, and allowed us to see more than just what is shown on the website. Very cool!

[ravenjls]

Hi all I too was on this cruise. Nice review Jenn...I am so sorry I didnt get to meet you guys.

 

Its funny because how we all have different opinions - I didnt think the boat was all that rocky but my SIL and DH thought it was really rocky on some days.

 

I thought the new beds/bedding was wonderful. We would put the AC on full blast climb under the soft bedding and let the gentle rocking of the ship lull us to sleep ----it was heaven!!!!

 

In Coco cay we walked around and sat by the water park and it was not nearly as crowded as straight ahead when you first arrive. We saw the looong line for tendering around 3 and decided to wait for the last tender which was great as we basically walked right on.

 

DH went up to the customer service desk on Sunday and asked them to print off our boarding passes for southwest and they did! We got B group and were able to sit with each other even tho the plane was sold out.

 

For those of you who want wine...hint to your TA that you know quite a few passengers that their TA sends them wine to their stateroom...I did this and had 5 bottles of wine sent from mine. they purchase it from RC and you can either drink it in your room or take it to dinner. The house wines really are not too bad.

 

We were in room 6616 and the A/C worked perfectly (thank goodness).

 

I totally agree that the activities were poorly organized. I was very excited about them before the cruise and walked away disappointed because with just a little effort they could have been so much better!

[VampyBuff]

Misc: I ordered two gift baskets from Shirley at The Perfect Gift. They were waiting for us in the stateroom when we arrived. They were very nice, and I highly recommend using Shirley. Her shop is located right in Pt. Canaveral.

 

I'd thought that RCCL didn't allow packages to be delivered anymore? What sort of gift baskets were they? Did they include alcohol of any kind?

[Kruuzin]

We were in room 6616 and the A/C worked perfectly (thank goodness).

 

I totally agree that the activities were poorly organized. I was very excited about them before the cruise and walked away disappointed because with just a little effort they could have been so much better!

 

 

We were in 1630-our a/c work very well. As a matter of fact, my husband and daughter kept having to turn it down as they were a tad chilly.

 

Yes, activities seemed to be veryrushed and almost unfamiliar to some of the staff running them.

 

As I mention, they had been printing off the Eastern Carribean compasses from 2 weeks prior to our Aug. 19th cruise. Many of the events were correct. Some were held on different days and if you read your compass you missed them. They seemed somewhat short staffed maybe.

 

We still had a great time