Mariner Eastern Itinerary: I have some questions concerning the three days at sea and Nassau

[Sailfish]

I have a cruise booked for February 2005 aboard the Mariner. I noticed that its first port of call is Nassau. I have been all over the Bahamas, including Nassau, but I don't have much recollection of Nassau. The ship is there only until 2pm - not a lot of time to plan a shore excursion independent of the ship. Anyway, I was hoping someone could comment on how they spent their time while at the port. I already know about shore excursions, so I'm curious to hear what others did independent of the cruise line.

 

Regarding the three days at sea: did you find enough to do? We were aboard the Navigator last December, which had two days at sea - the first and last days of the cruise. It was a perfect beginning and end to our vacation. Several friends who are thinking of going with us are a little concerned that they will be bored. It would be nice to hear from others their opinion of having three days at sea.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Suzi

 

 

05 July 2004 Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas

 

21 November 2004 Cruise Aboard Carnival's Pride

 

20 February 2005 Cruise Critic Group Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

 

 

 

[skigirl]

The sea day versus port day thing is really personal. For us, this three sea days plus only 1/2 day in Nassau would be way too much sea time, but we really love port intensive cruises.

[kml2000]

I agree the number of sea days is a personal preference issue.

 

I love Sea Days. I go on vacation to relax and there is so much to do on the ship. I would just assume stay on the ship than go into Nassau. I don't care for the straw market or shopping. If there were more time, a trip to Atlantis would be nice, but we wouldn't get up and away in enough time to do that.

 

In fact, I was excited to see the sea days when I booked the Mariner for April!

 

04/03/05 Mariner of the Seas

Can NOT wait!

 

 

Grandeur of the Seas 04/2003

Disney Wonder 07/2002

Carnival ??? 05/1994

Nordic Empress - 1992ish

 

Karen

 

 

[PrincessUA]

Sailfish,

 

I was just on the Mariner Eastern Itinerary last week. Everyone is right, sea days vs port days are a personal preference. I prefer more ports myself, so the three sea days was a bit much, especially 2 in a row. There is so much to do on the boat though, so I was never bored. I just wish I could have had 1 more port to explore.

 

Let your friends know that there are activities for all interests, so they should not have a problem finding things to do.

[bobbie0253]

We have been to Nassau three times in the past year.

 

The first time we did a half day snorkel with www.stuartcove.com

it was AWESOME! We got to swim with sharks in the ocean.

 

The second time we had the kids with us, and all they wanted to do was shop, and then get back on the ship.

 

Tha third time we were there with my parents and their friends. We did a private island tour (the guide was named Henry). It was good, but not great. We got to see the fort, the Queens staircase, and a tour of Atlantis. (I think we paid $15pp) Well worth the money and the time, but nothing exceptional.

 

Bobbie

 

Voyager of the Seas in....

 

 

Adventure of the Seas 2-03

Enchantment of the Seas 3-03

Majesty of the Seas 5-03

Adventure of the Seas 9-03

Sovereign of the Seas 11-03

Sovereign of the Seas 1-04

Grandeur of the Seas 3-04

 

My albums can be viewed with this link...

http://public.fotki.com/bobbie0253/

 

[crewsn]

Sailfish,

 

We will be on the Mariner next week on the Eastern run. We booked the Yellowbird Cat excursion through RCI do to the limited time in port. Certainly don't want to miss the ship after the first day. I agree with the previous posters about days at see. We enjoy a good mix of port days + sea days. Find sea days to be very relaxing. Wake up later, eat a casual breakfast not rushing to get off the ship. Take an afternoon nap, etc.

 

Steve

 

Until Cruising on The Mariner

 

 

<marquee>RCL MOS 4/25/04, CCL Glory 8/16/03, NCL Majesty 10/27/02, CCL Celebration 2/94

</marquee>

[lnm]

We're renting a room at Comfort Suites in Nassau to use the amenities at the Atlantis. Room was like $175, figure less that $50 each for a 1/2 day excursion. We thought it would be worth it.

 

 

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[WeirdEyes]

We have decided to just walk around Nassau on our own since we do not have much time there. We were going to the British Colonial Hilton Hotel, but decided we would have a limited time there. We've never been to Nassau so we want to see some of it instead of lying on the beach for a couple of hours. We'll head back to the ship around noon to eat and enjoy some pool time.

 

<font color="#0000CC" face="Lydian Csv BT" size="4">~~Shelia~~</font></p>

Sailing the Mariner in.......

<font color="#003399" face="Benguiat Bk BT">Carnival Destiny 2002</font>

 

[ruttie]

you might walk over to the PIRATE MUSEUM it is a great little hour thing to do and very interesting history.. it is cheap and worth it if you get a guide to go with you.

[kimmie32]

There are four of us - and we did not plan to book an excursion. With some time for shopping, what else are the must sees in Nassau? We'll probably save beach time for another island.

 

Also, in terms of shipboard activities - are there ongoing activites every day - things not to miss?

[TBRay]

Another Eastern traveler who has been there multiple times (Nassau). We were there this past February and rented a horse & buggy ride through the downtown (government buildings). It was $20 per couple and lasted about 30 minutes. We both really enjoyed it and then just shopped at some local stores. The information booth at the port hooked us right up.

 

AT SEA DAYS: Purely my personal opinion, but the Eastern route does not 'feel' like three 'at sea' days. Maybe because they are spaced so far apart. The first one if to get you to the Islands (23 knots, FAST) and the last two are a leisurely (19 knots) return to Port Canaveral. After two very ambitious shore trips (St. Thomas, St. John, & St. Marteen/Martin) that included everything from snorkeling, shopping, sightseeing, etc. back to back we enjoyed the pair of 'at sea' days.

 

And don't take this the wrong way but: If you're bored on a Voyager class ship than you really need a different type of vacation. At any given time there must be numerous activities happening all over the ship. Not to mention the things that run almost constantly (shopping, casino, sports activites, pool time).

 

And different strokes for different folks: Art Auctions, Wine Tasting, Library time just to name some of the indoor stuff. Heck, I did the slot tournament at 10 AM on a Tuesday (First 'at sea' day) and walked away $300 richer.

 

An active ship for active people. Just do it. Or, "get out there", or something like that

[kimmie32]

Thanks,

 

I'm very much looking forward to some lazy days at sea, as well as trying out the "stuff" on the ship. Rock-wall, here I come! I've always enjoyed resort vacations where there's been an ongoing list of activities to join in with as I feel I want.

 

KIM

[Sailfish]

Thanks for everyone's quick response. I'm beginning to think (for us anyway), the best option might be to book a shore excursion, given we have such a short amount of time in Nassau. I'd much prefer to make good use of my time in port, and we're definitely not into shopping.

 

I too am looking forward to our itinerary's three days at sea, but I know of friends who have not cruised before, and they are a little concerned. Your honest answers help a lot.

 

Suzi

 

 

05 July 2004 Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas

 

21 November 2004 Cruise Aboard Carnival's Pride

 

20 February 2005 Cruise Critic Group Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

 

 

 

[TBRay]

SAILFISH: You might want to download a sample "Compass" of daily activities to show your friends. They are always about two pages long and chock full of things to do. If anything, they 'step up' the activities on the 'at sea' days.

 

I don't have a direct link, but a few of the regulars here have them listed on Webshots, etc.

 

I know one activity not on the shore excursion list in Nassau: Our friends traveled with us last fall and witnessed a 'street brawl' among locals. It started as a fist fight and ended up as a Royal Rumble (no pun towards RCI). They were not involved but said it was as interesting as any tour

 

BTW: We will be aboard the Mariner the week of Jan. 30th - Feb. 6th, 2005 (Western Caribbean). We'll take good care of her for you

[cmason]

Sailfish, something to consider: right now, RCCL ships are not stopping in Labadee, Haiti, so many of the itenararies show an extra day at sea, rather than the normal stop at Labadee. By the time your ship sails, it may have a stop there rather than the extra sea day, assuming Haiti cools off.

 

...left until Navigator of the Seas 11/13/04

 

[Estelle]

We also just returned from the Mariner Eastern cruise and actually booked it in part because of the sea days. We love to actually be on the ship and want to do a transatlantic crossing one day.

 

The days at sea were wonderful - the first one gives you a chance to explore the ship. We spent the 2 port days at St. Thomas and St. Martin off the ship all day - biking, swimming, snorkeling, shopping, taking boat rides and were exhausted both nights - in bed by 11:30. The sea days were the days when we could actually get some down time (which we needed - both of us have busy stressful jobs) and stayed out much later at night enjoying the bands and shows.

 

The ship is so big (not too big in our opinion but it is big ) that it took us the whole week to check everything out. I wanted to do a wine tasting and finally made it to the last one on Sat at 4.

 

I second the opinion that if the sea days are really unappealing and you are afraid you will be bored than cruising is probably not the best vacation choice. This ship is definitely a destination in and of itself and not merely a way to get to see islands.

 

Mariner of the Seas April 2004

Celebrity Infinity September 2001

Disney Wonder June 2000

[pfleer]

Don't forget - the casino opens earlier on sea days!!!

 

Thanks!

Peggy

 

Mariner,Here we come!! (Subtract 2 for my wedding)

[TBRay]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cmason:

Sailfish, something to consider: right now, RCCL ships are not stopping in Labadee, Haiti, so many of the itenararies show an extra day at sea, rather than the normal stop at Labadee. By the time your ship sails, it may have a stop there rather than the extra sea day, assuming Haiti cools off.

 

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;11;13;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500

...left until Navigator of the Seas 11/13/04

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

The cruise Sailfish is referring to is Eastern Itinerary (2/20/05 - 2/27/05) which has never included Labadee. To my knowledge only the Western cruises were using that port. The lone exception to that rule I know of was a cruise earlier this spring where St. Martin had too many ships scheduled in port. Not sure which port filled in for the missing one.

[Sailfish]

That's right...our Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard the Mariner was never scheduled to go to Labadee. It always had three days at sea with port visits to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

 

Suzi

 

 

05 July 2004 Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas

 

21 November 2004 Cruise Aboard Carnival's Pride

 

20 February 2005 Cruise Critic Group Cruise Aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas

 

 

 

[cmason]

Oops, my bad, assumed it was a similar itenerary to what EOS used to take, which did include Labadee.

 

...left until Navigator of the Seas 11/13/04

 

[yarlenna]

My all time favorite cruise was a trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise. We had 8 wonderful sea days. We really got to enjoy the ship. If I really want to see an island (or any place else) I fly THERE and enjoy it. If I cruise, it is because I love being on the ship.

 

Work like a dog. Live like a pauper. Save all your money. Then Cruise!

[cruiseky]

I booked the Eastern Itinerary on the Mariner in October, just because of the 3 sea days. We love the sea days because they are so relaxing. There is so much to do on boardd the ship that we never get board. In fact we probably won't even get off of the ship in Nassau, so that will feel like another sea day for us, but the ship won't be near as crowded.

 

Troy