Not For Families With Small Children

Item: Mariner of the Seas
Rating: 3.6
Author: jasonmccollough

Mariner of the Seas Cruise Review to Bermuda

jasonmccollough

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 13

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

8 Night Bermuda & Perfect Day (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 28, 2022

Ship: Mariner of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9653

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Not great for kids, might be great for adults. Fist time cruisers could get a good taste of the cruise life here.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Arrived at scheduled time, but very long line.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Main dining food was mostly great, Windjammer was meh. I love eggs Benedict, but it was only available in main dining breakfast, not in the Windjammer.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Would have liked to try the skypad, but it was closed the day we wanted to do it due to high winds even though I would barely call it breezy. Next day it was open during 25mph gusts, and rough seas. Didn’t make sense. Wanted to try the water slides, but the wouldn’t let my 8 year old because she was 1/4 inch too short, which means I couldn’t as well without upsetting her. Yet she could do the harnessed rock climbing, which she had no interest in. Again, not much sense there.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Ice show was great. There was not much in the way of productions, which was disappointing. One bar and pool band was absolutely awful. Musicians were great, but vocalist couldn’t stay on key to save her life. I am not overly critical of singing, but peopl we’re holding their ears.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

This is where they really fall short. If you have children younger than 8, especially toddlers, they is not much for them to do. The slides have a 48inch height requirement, which is a little extreme considering there size. My 18month old son had absolutely nothing until the fifth day. He was not allowed to touch the pool water. The toddler area did not open until the 5th day because of “safety concerns”, which we found out meant they needed to wipe down the toys with disinfectant wipes, and did not do it until day 5. There was nothing else for him except paid drop off daycare, which we could not enjoy with him. My daughter did kids club only once, it was mostly coloring with crayons.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Best thing about ship. Room steward and main dining waiters were excellent. Our dining waiter in the the my time dining area, Ilijah was absolutely outstanding, very personable and accommodating. He made my kids feel extra special at every seating.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

I personally like the design, modern with an old school feel. I would say all areas were very tidy, and the public restrooms were always clean. Only mark off would be the toddler play area, because it apparently wasn’t clean enough for use until day 5.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Really liked cabin overall. It was an inside cabin, which we prefer, because we like to nap in the afternoon, and you can get it pitch black. It also had a love seat, which was nice. Steward kept very clean. Location was 9, port, aft, just two decks below Windjammer and pool area. Only real knock was the shower being pretty small, but it’s a cruise ship, they all are.

Ship tip

An absolute no for small children. For those without kids, it might be pretty nice. I would say a great ship for first time cruisers. You get the modern touches with the classic cruise kind of feel, as long as you are not cruising with kids.

Thumbs up