Great cruise! Nice ship that was only 1/3 full of guests. My only disappointment was the premium dining. Don’t waste your money on that!

Mariner of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5
Mariner of the Seas

4 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 18, 2021

Ship: Mariner of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9692

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

Embarking/disembarking was pleasant and easy. We felt safe and that 90% of the ship was clean/sanitized. Due to covid, the ship was about 1/3 capacity and very enjoyable. The staff throughout the cruise were obviously very happy to be back and their positive attitudes were contagious. We hit up the “Hush party” at Ellenton bar and it was probably the best fun we’ve had since pre-Covid. The RC chat feature (for fee) is very lacking and needs updated, in fact the entire app is slow and outdated and at times reflected incorrect times for shows/ports (guest services is aware). Internet was also extremely slow, especially for the cost they charge! The specialty dining was a huge disappointment, especially Chops, and we won’t wast our money doing that again. Coco Cay is so beautiful so it’s a shame it has been turned so “commercial”, but the lunch was amazing and it was a very relaxing, perfect day just chilling. Loved the complimentary continental room service breakfast; it was great waking up to a 7am call and fresh coffee, pastries and fruit delivered to the door for enjoying on the balcony. Our room attendant, Mark, brought us a bucket of ice as soon as we asked and then brought us one each day after! He even made a towel cake for the birthday boy! We’ve taken a couple each Disney, Carnival, and one NCL—this was our second RCCL and I would say our second favorite of all.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Smooth, easy, fast! Staff throughout the embarkation were all happy, fun, helpful.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Not a lot of healthy options. Specialty dining completely not worth the extra money. Staff were always enjoyable! Food was just “meh” for those looking for pescatarian or vegetarian foods.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
We did a few shows, one hour in the casino (non-smoking area was insufficient), and one late night party. Mostly we just enjoyed the relaxation in the adult area. Chairs easy to find and cleaning was awesome (except for the casino…people jump from slot to slot/table to table and never once saw anything wiped down).

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Shows were “ok”. Marcelo is pretty funny and a goofball, we enjoyed him more than the skating /dancing.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Shout out to Jaimie “washy-washy” at the entrance to the windjammer. Always singing and dancing

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
All areas easy to access and well cleaned. Very nice boat!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cabin (and balcony) were a little in-need of renovation. Slept well on a comfy bed with no outside noise distractions. Shower is way too small.

Ship tip

Don’t waste your money on the specialty dining, and continental breakfast room service was free and amazing!

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

5 out of 5
Wish it was less commercialized and left more “tropical island”, like their port at Labadee Haiti. We asked at the dock for a less-kids, more-private area and was suggested “South Beach”. We hung there most of the day and it was so lovely!!

Nassau, Bahamas Did not visit port

We’ve been here years ago and really no reason to get off the boat if you’ve already “been there, done that”.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
They used facial recognition, so we checked out with the key card scan and the face scan, easily found out luggage and we’re done. Surprised there was no customs forms/checkout?!

Traveler Photos

South Beach! Water park at Coco Cay Mariner on the left, smaller Serenade on the right at Coco Cay. Continental breakfast (room service) at Coco Cay.
Was this review helpful? 35

8 Comments

GerryBCruisin    3 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to share your detailed review of the Mariner of the Seas. Great photos!

Curt34    3 years ago

Except for the premium dining, looks like you had a great cruise. Thanks for the review.

AuntPinkie    3 years ago

Appreciate your detailed review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

jameeh    3 years ago

Glad you had a great time, even if the food was a bit lacking. Appreciate the photo of the towel birthday cake, I hope you gave a little extra for the room steward.

izrgreen    3 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to write a detailed review

javawoody    3 years ago

Thank you for the review

WFTFan211    3 years ago

Thanks for your review!

cruising2004    3 years ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience

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