Mariner of the Seas Cruise Ship by Royal Caribbean

 

“Life is too short to not explore the world, hop on a cruise and set sail.”

Anonymous

We went on a five day cruise with our friends, Sue and Steve to Costa Maya, and Cozumel, Mexico on the lovely ship, Mariner of the Seas. We were so glad that we were able to go on this cruise with them when they invited us. This was our first cruise we ever went on in December and we were anxious to see how the ship was decorated for the holidays. Royal Caribbean offered a great deal to cruise with them on this ship, so we jumped on it.

This is a beautiful ship. When we arrived at the port, earlier than our scheduled time to board, we found a line. That is because they hadn’t even started letting the earliest group to board. Once they opened the doors for boarding, we found the process quick and easy. There were lines but it went smoothly and we got onto to ship within 15 minutes with our friends. That made a nice start to our vacation.

After getting on the ship and going directly to our safety briefing, we headed up to the buffet to grab some lunch with our friends. It was crowded but we managed to get a good seat to relax and eat before our rooms were ready. Walking into the Windjammer, we were greeted by the Washi Washi lady and then saw the Ginger bread town decorated to perfection with a train with real smoke going around the track. It was lovely. We sat and chatted till we were notified that our rooms were ready. It was one o’clock and we were heading up to see our rooms.

Both our friends and us were thrilled with our rooms. We both initially had inside rooms but we both put a bid in the Royal Up program and were both lucky enough to get the upgrade. We both were upgraded to the Spa level and got a spacious ocean view room. We opened up our door to the cabin and were shocked by how large this room was. The room was beautiful and we had with a window that went floor to ceiling. It was just lovely.

This grand ship was built in 2003 in Kvaerner Masa – Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland and was last refurbished in 2018. This ship is one of five Voyager – class cruise ships of Royal Caribbean and has 1674 guest rooms, 246 Ocean view rooms, 638 balconies, and 121 suites. It can accommodate 4,252 passengers. She sails under the a Bahama flag and her godmother is the American Paralympic athlete, Jean Driscoll.

We enjoyed the entertainment and shows onboard. We loved that Royal Caribbean cruises have a live orchestra and they play at the shows and in the theater for shows. They were excellent. The ice show was spectacular and fun to watch. I loved how they included children from the audience. The theater was beautiful and three stories high. The Love and Marriage Show is always fun to watch and is good entertainment.

On the first night, the lit the Menorah and lit the massive Christmas tree decorated with white lights and many different sized ornaments in silver and white. There were wrapped presents under the tree. It was a stunning tree and brightened up the whole Promenade. Many people hid plastic ducks in the lower portion for the kids to find. We saw many a child squeal with delight when they found a duck.

The staff was wonderful and they all went out of their way to make our vacation something special. It was nice seeing the staff smiling and the camaraderie among each other. They were polite, and happy to speak with us when we talked with them. Our room guy was superb. Our room always looked fantastic. This cruise offered some fun exercise classes such as water aerobics and line dancing. Since the weather didn’t cooperate with us, one of the line dancing classes was right in the Royal Promenade which was a little awkward and crowded. But we still had fun.

Now for a tour of the ship from the top to the bottom.

Deck 15 is where the escape room is located.

Deck 14 – Jazz club, Diamond Club, Viking Crown Lounge, and a Suite Lounge. The Crown Lounge is a great place to sit, relax, play games, read, gather with friends, or just watch the seas go by. It is also a great vantage point over the pool area.

Deck 13 – Mariner Dunes (miniature golf course), Rock Climbing wall, the perfect storm (all the crazy slides), sky climber, Flowrider, sky pad, and sports court. There was plenty to do for all ages.

Deck 12 – Vitality at Sea Spa, Sky Lounge, Running track, nursery, video arcade, the living room, Johnny Rockets (pay restaurant that looks like a dinner), Adventure Ocean, Fuel Teen Disco and the Back Deck. If you bring your children, there is plenty for them to do. Royal has a great staff that work to make your children have the best vacation ever. They offer activities, games, dances, and more.

Deck 11 - Vitality of Sea Fitness Center, hot tubs, solarium bar and pool for 18 and over, pool bar and main pools and hot tubs that are family friendly, Boardwalk Dog House, Chops Grille (pay restaurant), Jamie’s Italian Restaurant (pay restaurant that was named after Jamie Oliver a celebrity chef), Plaza Bar, and Windjammer. The Windjammer is the buffet that offers a great variety of food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They offered different nationality specialties every night. The Solarium area had loungers that were like a bed where people rested and read books or slept during the day. Since the weather wasn’t ideal, there were always seats to be found even near the pool.

Deck 6 – 10 – Staterooms.

Deck 5 - The Royal Promenade is the centerpiece of deck five and is lined with shops and bars. The Star Lounge, Library, Cafe Promenade, Playmakers Sports Bar and Arcade, Sports Bar and Arcade, Ice Cream Parlor (for extra money), English Pub, The Bamboo Room, Promenade Shops, Shore Excursions, Guest Services, and main dining room are all on that deck. The only disappointment for Joe is that the English pub didn’t have any beers on tap.

Deck 4 – Royal Theater, Schooner Bar which hosts piano music and singalongs at night and trivia during the day, Izumi Hibachi and Sushi (pay restaurant), Casino Royale, Boleros (pay restaurant), Starbucks (pay), the Centrum, and the main dining room. The main dining room is on three levels and is plenty big.

Deck 3 – Royal Theater, Studio B (ice skating ring), Photo Gallery, and the main dining Room. The skating ring is open for anyone to skate during certain hours of the day when no shows were being preformed.

Deck 2 – Conference Center and state rooms.

Deck 1 - Staff state rooms.

One fun thing that the ship did, was there was a traveling piano and player. You never knew where it would end up. Sometimes it was in the hallway and other times, it would be the elevator with passengers. Another nice thing about this cruise was the Captain of the ship, Tor Olsen was accessible. You would see him throughout the ship and was always friendly and would take the time to answer questions.

This ship was a beauty and well cared for. It has a great layout and we really enjoyed our time on her. I would recommend this ship and hope to sail on her again.

Till next time. Bye for now.