Absolutely Perfect!

Mariner of the Seas Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)

Mirrella

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 7

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

5 Night Spice Of Southeast Asia (Singapore Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 10, 2013

Ship: Mariner of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 10 years ago

Review summary

My cousing and I sailed on the "Spice of Asia" cruise in November. It was our first cruise and we were a little apprehensive because my cousin suffers from travel sickness. However, this cruise was perfect in every way. It sailed so smoothly that we sometimes had to look outside to see whether we were, in fact moving. Our cabin was spacious enough for the two of us and my fear that it might be noisy was unfounded. We were on Deck Two, in an outside cabin with a porthole, and we couldn't have been happier. The bathroom was small, yet big enough for us. However, I'm not sure how large people would fare.

The staff on the cruise is professional, charming and helpful. On returning to the ship after shore excursions, we felt as though we were returning "home", such was our feeling of comfort and safety.

The ship offers so many activities that it was impossible to try everything. We loved the variety shows and were impressed by their professionalism. In fact, we enjoyed our time on the ship more than we did the shore excursions, and if we ever had the opportunity, we'd take this cruise again and not participate in the shore excursions at all.

Every day we indulged in cocktails in one of the bars and were pleasantly surprised to find the cost of drinks to be so much cheaper than we'd been paying in Singapore. It is not necessary to buy water in advance, as I mistakenly did, on the advice of others. There is no problem having water or ice while on board the ship, although this is not the case when embarking on shore excursions into Malaysia or Thailand. However, the tour operators supplied water on he coaches and it's possible to buy water everywhere.

We took $US on the cruise. This is not necessary, either, as all charges are made to the Sea Pass card - a card that keeps accounts of all expenses on board.

Most of the passengers on our cruise were Australian and we were seated at a table with fellow Australians. This added to our sense of comfort and we felt a real sense of camaraderie within a very short time.

All in all, we just loved our time on Mariner of the Seas, and really would have loved to continue for a few more days. I would thoroughly recommend this cruise as a first-timer.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

The ship is wonderful. Finding out how self-sufficient it is, was a real eye-opener. From an environmental viewpoint, this ship is amazingly responsible.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Singapore

5 out of 5

Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia

3 out of 5

Penang (Pulau Pinang), Malaysia

3 out of 5

Phuket, Thailand

1 out of 5

1 Comment

Mirrella 10 years ago

In making the comments below, I realise that we had an agenda of our own for this trip. We wanted to see the culture of the people, but we also wanted to take advantage of shopping experiences in each port. Others will have found these excursions perfectly met their expectations. In every case, the local tourism operators, guides and coach drivers were wonderful. The guides were very informative, warm and friendly and we felt safe in their hands. All the excursions ran like clockwork. The organisation on the part of Royal Caribbean and the tour operators was impeccable. Kuala Lumpur Lite and Easy: A good tour but the shopping centre was well beyond our budget. Just like Orchard Road, the shops featured at this shopping centre were all brand names (Rolex, Armani, etc.), so we were disappointed that we couldn't afford to purchase anything there. We found ourselves sitting in the shade outside while awaiting the departure time. Penang Round Island Tour: Another good look at the district with a stop at a fruit stall precariously set up on the side of a hill. No shopping, despite passing the biggest shopping centre on the island. We knew that shopping wasn't featured, but we'd thought we might be able to wander a little before returning to the ship. Phuket sightseeing and shopping: The tour was reasonable, but, had we a choice, we wouldn't have chosen to visit a jewellery factory in which every tourist is allocated a staff member who shadows the tourist around the store. This high-pressured sales tactic put us off so much that we gave up trying to browse at all. The shopping centre at which we were dropped off featured mainly sports stores. We chose to walk back to the jetty, thus having more time to have a look at the shops. For us, this was a mistake. We found the area to be dirty and it felt sleazy. We couldn't get back on the ship fast enough. While I'm commenting on Phuket, I’ll take the opportunity to add that other guests who took the trip to the "James Bond" island were disappointed in their excursion. They told us that it took two hours to reach the island and they returned so late that they had no time to see the shops at all.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag