Deen on Deck. It's a travel blog.

In my cruising life so far, I’ve not been one to seek out the very biggest or newest ships. Mostly due to price and laziness. My factors in cruising are usually: Is it cheap? Is it going someplace I like? (or that I’ve never been before?) and will my friends be there? Also, does it leave out of Tampa? (close to my house, because, again — lazy) Get those boxes checked, and I’m usually happy. So, judging on ship design alone, I can honestly say that Mariner of the Seas is THE best cruise ship I’ve been on to date.

Why did I love it so much? Gosh, where do I start? First of all, let me tell you what works on Mariner:

The GOOD:

1. I found the promenade design INCREDIBLE. I love that open, public space for gathering in the middle of the ship.  It really gives the feeling of being part of a little city. I had an interior promenade-view cabin, and this enabled me to creepily stare out at the people and goings-on below. I’m a people-watcher, so this was heaven. 
2. I absolutely loved the ship’s aesthetic. Many parts of it had a nautical, brass portholes, steampunk-explorer type of vibe, and I was living for it. The main dining room, like so many on Royal, had the gigantic crystal chandelier and soaring ceiling and truly felt just a little bit old-world luxurious. 
3. The 80’s Flashback party on the Promenade was probably THE most fun I’ve ever had on a cruise ship, and I thank our zany and energetic cruise director, Mark, for that one.
4. Coco Cay was as great as everyone says — pretty much a perfect day, as advertised. Although, doing it over again, I’ll stay on Chill Beach and not bother with the over-crowded icy-cold pool.
5. The art all over the ship. Just… everywhere they could stick it. Much of it a little bit fun and quirky. Barbies flying on an airplane with their hair getting messed up — who thinks of these genius things? Artists, I guess…
6. THE ESCAPE ROOM. Or, sorry, the Observatorium. I lied, THIS may be the most fun I’ve ever had on a ship! Ok, maybe it’s a tie with the 80’s party. But this was seriously so fun and cool and very unique. At the time of publication, RC is the only line to offer escape rooms, and it was so worth the $20 pp. Cannot recommend enough.

The… NOT as Good:

1. The food, shockingly. The variety and presentation were amazing. The actual taste? A bit of a letdown, sadly. Steaks in the MDR were invariably undercooked (medium rare meant bloody red raw) and EVERYTHING needed salt. Or… additional seasoning. Of literally any kind. Any kind of seasoning. Exceptions: The promenade pizza and hot dog stand were on point. You can trust those with your life.

2. The frigid waters of the Caribbean… Now, I know Royal Caribbean doesn’t control the temperature of the actual Caribbean Sea. But EVERY body of water in and surrounding Coco Cay was QUITE cold. Would it kill ya to give us a hot tub or two, Royal? Us cold-wimps would certainly appreciate that, lemme tell ya. 

3. Supply-chain issues. This is very likely not Royal’s fault, but we ran into a few occasions when something on the menu was not available due to an ingredient being unavailable. It was banana puree. The Tiki Bar couldn’t make Banana Coladas. There, I said it. I’m still smarting from this.

4. Some organizational… issues. There was an incident where some members of our group were moved to another table because the MDR staff somehow didn’t realize we were all part of the same group. Although our reservations were linked. We were moved twice to correct this error and ended up eating at three different tables in the main dining room and that was just stress we didn’t need. To be fair, our head waiter Francisco was very apologetic and worked hard to make it right, even thoughtfully sending us a bottle of wine and chocolate-covered strawberries.

5. Enough with the Disco. Or at least this MUCH Disco. I know they need to focus on songs that are well-known to a wide range of people. I know many cruisers are older than I am. I know Disco songs can be energetic and widely considered “party” music. But, having attended both the 70’s and 80’s parties on Mariner, I can tell you, people were a LOT more enthusiastic about the 80’s party, and many more were up and dancing.  And these afro wigs, guys. Mmmm… I dunno about these wigs. If I were in charge, I’d still keep maybe 25% of the 70’s stuff, but I’d seriously be looking at moving into other decades.