Mariner of the Seas

Port Canaveral

We’ve been on some great trips this year, but none of them could be described as relaxing. And after spending months gutting and remodeling our two bathrooms, we really needed some relaxing! When we booked this cruise, I was dreaming of doing nothing but lounging in the sunshine for three days. Then the night before the cruise, the National Hurricane Center posted the “cone of uncertainty” for what was to become Hurricane Humberto. Noooo! The forecast track showed the storm north of Nassau by the time we were to arrive on Saturday, but we would have to cross its path to get there. I hoped for the best but added an umbrella and extra Bonine to my carry-on bag, just in case.

When we got to Port Canaveral Friday morning, cloudy skies and a breeze were the only signs of Humberto. So far, so good! We were onboard by 11 and took the opportunity to explore the ship before the masses arrived. Mariner of the Seas reminded me a lot of Independence of the Seas, but on a slightly smaller scale. Like Independence, it had a Royal Promenade which ran the length of the ship and was lined with shops and bars. We stopped in one of the bars so I could order my Welcome Aboard mojito, then headed up to the pool deck. The sports area looked so fun!  Besides the signature rock climbing wall, there were two spiraling water slides, a FlowRider, and a large dome called the Skypad which housed the bungee trampolines. There were even a few hammocks.

Royal Promenade

FlowRider

Skypad

Cabins were available at 1 o’clock. When we got to our cabin, our luggage was already waiting in the hallway. We’d booked a guarantee balcony cabin, and I was happy with our assignment. We were midship on Deck 8 with cabins above and below us, so it was nice and quiet. And unlike our cabin on Grandeur of the Seas, there wasn’t a pole at the foot of the bed. :-) Sadly, there was a message on our phone from the Excursion Desk letting me know that the helium balloon ride I’d reserved for Coco Cay was cancelled. That wasn’t a big surprise. The balloon had been deflated to keep it safe during Hurricane Dorian and it would be weeks before it could be refilled.

After a mercifully short muster drill, Ron and I went to the helicopter pad to watch the sailaway. Not many people had discovered the helicopter pad yet so there were plenty of spots along the railing to get a great view. As we sailed down the channel, people took turns taking “King of the World” pictures at the prow.

At around 6:30 we went to dinner in the main dining room, a beautiful three-deck restaurant. The dining room was decorated with artwork from different Broadway musicals, including a statue of Maria and Captain Von Trapp from The Sound of Music. Sometime during dinner, the dreaded barf bags appeared along the stairways and the captain made an announcement that the seas would be rough that night, but conditions would improve after midnight once we passed Grand Bahama Island. Fortunately, I was tanked up on Bonine so I was fine. I didn’t think the rocking was as bad as our Bermuda cruise had been, although there was definitely a lot of motion.

Main Dining Room

After we finished eating, we had some time to kill before the 9 o’clock ice skating show so we decided to take a walk around the upper decks. While we waited for an elevator, Ron spotted a tiny toy duck sitting on the wall nearby. Rubber duckies are a new phenomenon on cruise ships. People hide the ducks around their ships and if you’re lucky enough to find one, you take a picture with it and post it on the “Cruising Ducks” Facebook page. Then you can keep the duck or re-hide it for someone else to find. I had hidden a few ducks on our Grandeur cruise, but I’d never found one myself. Fortunately, Ron has sharper eyes than I do. When our elevator finally arrived, the doors opened and inside the elevator was a man playing a piano! We rode up to Deck 12, listening to him play and singing along. A duck and an elevator piano man in one night!  I was really enjoying this ship.

The ice-skating show turned out to be even better than the one we’d seen on Independence of the Seas. It was called “Ice under the Big Top” and had a circus theme. The skating was incredible! There were lifts and spins and jumps and even some aerial acrobatics. There were a couple of falls too, but it was amazing what the skaters could do with the ship rocking as much as it was. I was having trouble just walking up the stairs. :-)  My favorite part of the show was the scene with the clowns - so cute, funny and colorful. Our cruise was off to a great start and it was only the first day.

Nassau

I woke up around 3. The seas were much calmer, and the cabin was lit up from the bright light of a beautiful full moon. I went back to bed and the next thing I knew, it was 7 o’clock and we were docking in Nassau. The Disney Dream pulled in next to us and announced its presence by playing “When You Wish upon a Star” on its horn.

Disney Dream docking in Nassau

We had booked day passes at Breezes Resort so after breakfast in the Windjammer we went into town and caught the #10 bus to Cable Beach. We hadn’t been to Breezes for a couple of years. The resort hadn’t been updated at all since our last visit and things were looking a bit tired, but we had a nice day anyway. We settled in by the pool and made friends with the bartenders, who knew how to make a great Sky Juice, our favorite Bahamian cocktail. The activity staff was leading games by the pool – beach Olympics, water balloon toss and Caribbean dance lessons. The dance lessons looked like fun, but you know, too much work. :-)  We were in relax mode. By mid-afternoon, we’d had enough sun and took the bus back to town. Before getting back on the ship, we walked to Graycliff to buy cigars for Ron and chocolates for me.

Breezes Resort

view from a hammock

mural in Nassau

That night was “Dress Your Best Night”, formerly known as formal night. At dinner, we were seated at the same table as the night before, near the Captain’s Table where we got to see the captain hosting dinner. I’ve always wondered how someone gets invited to the Captain’s Table. I think I would be too nervous about spilling my food on my lap to enjoy it. :-)  For my entrée, I had trouble deciding between the garlic tiger shrimp and rack of lamb, so our sweet waitress, Guo, brought both. As is often the case on formal night, the food took forever to come out of the kitchen, but we didn’t mind because we started talking to the two women at the table next to us, Jody and Elaine. It turned out they didn’t even know each other before the cruise! Jody was traveling solo while Elaine was on the cruise for a conference. They’d met at the sailaway party and started hanging out. I could tell that Jody could make friends wherever she went. We were laughing the whole meal.

Ron and I went to the casino after dinner to play Black Jack, but it was so smoky that I could only play a few hands before I started getting queasy. I kept a $1 chip for my collection, and we went out on deck for some fresh air where we could see the lights of the Disney Dream sailing along next to us.

Coco Cay

I didn’t sleep well so I got up at 6 and went down to the Royal Promenade to grab a cup of coffee and re-hide my duck. Then I went up to the pool deck to watch the sunrise. It was too cloudy for a pretty sunrise, but I did get to see our arrival at Coco Cay. I was excited! We hadn’t been to the island since it had been renovated and renamed “Perfect Day at Coco Cay”. I couldn’t wait to check out all the new additions.

After breakfast in the Windjammer, we packed up our beach bag and headed ashore. Immediately, we could see the biggest improvement to the island – the new pier! It was great to be able to walk right off the ship instead of having to take a tender.

Once we’d picked out a couple of lounge chairs by the Oasis Lagoon and dropped off our things, we explored the island. We could hardly recognize it! The original beach area, now called “Chill Island”, was the only part that was familiar, although it had new lounge chairs with umbrellas and cabanas that could be rented for the day. In addition to the gigantic Oasis Lagoon pool, there was a water park with a wave pool and eight water slides, a zip line, and several new eateries. We stopped for a bit at Captain Jack’s to sit on the swing chairs and listen to a singer/comedian playing at the bar. I found the spot where the helium balloon is normally located…bummer. Oh well, now I have an excuse to take another cruise to Coco Cay. Besides the out-of-commission balloon and some seaweed washed up on the beaches, you would never know that a major hurricane had passed close by just two weeks earlier. Everything looked amazing. Royal Caribbean had done a fabulous job remodeling the island.

As the day went on, the skies cleared and it was sunny and hot. We spent most of the day lounging by the pool, which turned out to be the party zone, especially around the swim-up bar. There was a group of guys sitting near us, all wearing Speedos in colorful patterns. I asked one of the guys what was up with the Speedos and he said, “Speedo Sunday!” Well, that explained everything. :-)

Thrill Waterpark

Oasis Lagoon

Captain Jack's Bar

Chill Island

At around 3 o’clock, we went back to the ship and took a nap in the cabin until it was time get ready for dinner. They were serving my favorite menu in the main dining room, and my beef carpaccio, duck a l’orange and Grand Marnier soufflé were all delicious. We were hoping Jody and Elaine would be at dinner again but another couple was seated at their table. Fortunately, we saw them as we were leaving the dining room and were able to say goodbye and tell them how much we’d enjoyed meeting them.

It was too smoky for the casino so after dinner we went out on the promenade deck and watched the distant lightning flashing all around us. The cruise was exactly what we needed – three days of relaxing. I hope we can cruise on Mariner of the Seas again soon. Next time I’d love to try out the FlowRider and take that balloon ride on Coco Cay.