October 2019 by MLB Destinations

I sailed Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas on September 9, 2019 on a 4 night sailing. Our boarding the ship we learned that our sailing was going to be a Hurricane relief sailing which would change our itinerary Sea Day to a stop in Freeport for relief!

We ported out of our home port of Port Canaveral, FL and ventured off on a sailing that we would never forget. Being a Floridian, I could understand the destruction that hurricane’s cause. A Cat 5 storm is not one in my life time that I have experienced and one that I hope to never have to experience. I have been through Cat 1, 2 and 3 storms. Let me tell you something, it can be brutal! We had Cat 2 Hurricane Frances hit us back in 2004 that stalled on us for 2 days. The destruction was bad enough but I will not forget the lack of resources and food. Our power was out for weeks and businesses were not open. I can not imagine what the people of The Abaco Islands went through. It was a complete honor to be on a sailing that provided relief to some that were lucky to receive. I felt it was an amazing thing that the cruise line industry did during this time of need! Cruise Lines were stopping in to Freeport to offer up supplies, rides to Nassau, food and some of the local lines here in FL rescued animals too. It is nice to see people come together in time of need. Our first stop of our cruise was Freeport Bahama’s. We stayed for a few hours to drop off supplies and pick up passengers that needed to get to Nassau. We were then off to Nassau to have an overnight stay at the port. The port was not open all night for us, it was closed overnight. You could get off and walk around but could not go past the gate.

Mariner Stats!

Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas achieved her maiden voyage on November 16, 2003. She was Refurbished in 2018 with a $120 million dollar dry dock that took 6 weeks to complete. She is 138,279 GT and is 1,020.7 feet long. She has 15 decks and has a capacity of 3,114 passengers and 1,185 crew.

Whats on Board?

Mariner has enough to do on board to suit the entire family no matter what your likes are while on a cruise. You can find several adult areas, children’s areas, restaurants, casino, recreation etc. You can even find a lounge chair if you would rather have a nice book and sit and listen to the ocean.

Dining:

Mariner of the Seas has many options for dining on board. I can certainly tell you that the Main Dining Room on this ship is one of the most beautiful dining rooms I have ever seen on a ship! Actually out of my 16 sailings I have done so far, she is the most beautiful dining room! Her elegance is captured as soon as you walk in the room. She is a 3 level spacious dining room with a grand staircase, elegant lighting, columns and trims of black and gold with white linens and white and black chairs. She is truly beautiful and brings a charm to your fine dining experience. You will have breakfast, lunch and dinner served in the Main Dining every day with multiple choices on the menus!

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Boardwalk Dog House is also on board at Lido Pool deck for complimentary dogs with all the toppings! Cafe Promenade has Pizza and other complimentary items and drinks on Deck 5. You will also find specialty restaurants on board including Izumi Hibachi and Sushi, Full service Starbucks, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Johnny Rockets, Jamie’s Italian Kitchen, Chops Grille! Specialty dining has an extra charge and can be reserved prior to your cruise in your planning section of your online reservation! There is a discount for all dining booked prior to sailing so do not miss out and get those booked prior to sailing to get a table and savings! Johnny Rockets does not take reservations they are an uncharge first come first serve restaurant with limited seating!

“The Dining Room is one of the most beautiful dining rooms I have seen on a cruise ship” ~ Michelle

The Windjammer buffet area is a great option if you want quick, tasty and casual!

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Recreation and Entertainment:

Studio B Ice skating rink is on board and has some of the best shows! You must see one! Be sure to arrive early to the show at least 15 minutes early to get a seat, they book up fast and are first come first serve! Casino Royale offers up slots, tables, scratch off games and drawings. The Royal Theater is a two deck theater that has live broadway shows. You will find the Royal Theater on Deck 3 and 4 Fwd. You will find 2 main pools on Deck 11 along with 2 hot tubs and large Movie screen for movies under the stars. The adult Solarium area is also on Deck 11 and offers up the Solarium Pool and hot tubs with a full service bar. There is a video arcade on board, running track, full service fitness gym, Vitality Spa at Sea for all your spa needs. Tip: Be sure to book spa in advance online to save money on services. The ship also has Rock Climbing, Basketball, miniature golf, Ping Pong, Water slides, one Flow Rider surfing simulator, Sky Pad, Laser Tag. A children’s water area is available. Below I have included some photos of different recreational areas on board the ship.

There is also a Full service Starbucks!!

I loved that this ship had a full service Starbucks. It also allowed me to use my Starbucks rewards and gift cards. The seating behind the starbucks is really nice to sit and enjoy your coffee while enjoying some beautiful views through the large port hole windows. ~ Michelle

Our Balcony Stateroom Room 8570

Our stateroom on board the Mariner of the Seas was a nice, spacious balcony stateroom that slept up to 3 guests. It had two twin beds that would convert to a King if you choose, a sofa for seating only, it was not a sleeper. There was an upper birth sleeper that was over the beds. Your stateroom host or hostess will unlock it out of the ceiling at night for turn down service if you need the upper birth. There was a bathroom and a large closet, night stands, a desk with vanity chair and mirror, lots of drawers and space. A fridge is available too. The balcony has a table and two chairs with adequate room for moving around. Our stateroom host was really attentive and was sure to have what we needed available when we were in need.

To view my Mariner of the Seas room tour on Youtube, click the link below. Be sure to watch the entire vlog series for my trip in the playlist for the Mariner of the Seas. Consider becoming a subscriber to my Youtube channel by clicking the Subscribe button. If you hit the notification bell when subscribing it will notify you when I upload new material.

We had a great time on board the Mariner of the Seas! I highly suggest you book her! I hope that you have just as much fun and a pleasurable sailing as we did! For more information on a future Royal Caribbean cruise vacation visit the website at : https://www.royalcaribbean.com