If you’ve ever thought about taking a cruise, but not really sure if it’s something you’d be interested in, or you’re not quite sure which cruise line to go with, check out this review!

I recently cruised with Royal Caribbean on their Mariner of the Seas ship. It was my first cruising experience, and I have to saw, I was blown away! The cruise was everything I expected and more! Here are some of my thoughts on my experience:

Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International

Ship: Mariner of the Seas

Sail Date: March 14th

Itinerary: Western Mexico Rivera: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta

Overall Experience:

I heard that cruises were a lot of fun, and I knew I’d have a great time, but what I did not expect was the excellent service, the immaculate cleanliness of the ship, the friendliness of the staff, and the wonderful entertainment. I would highly reccomend this cruise.

Service

The service was one of the things that I was very impressed by. The staff was always so willing to accommodate your every whim and need, I had fun every night at dinner. The staff was not only professional, but fun and cheery—always asking how our day was and making jokes and laughing with us. Whenever you sit in the dining room, you are greeted by several people and the name of your waiter is on a little card at the table (what a concept!). I wanted to sit and chat with each of our waiters (we were on ‘My Time Dining’ so we had different waiters each night).

The housekeeping staff was also extremely friendly. Our first night, we received a knock at our door, it was our stateroom attendant Rachel introducing herself and greeting us by name. She asked how we were settling in and if we needed anything. I told her one of my bags wasn’t delivered and she helped me retrieve it (the tag had fallen off—totally my fault for not putting a permanent one on). Each morning when we left our rooms, if she was out in the hallway, she always greeted us with “Good Morning Sarah!” and remembered our names everyday! WOW! I felt so welcomed and that if I needed anything at all, she would take care of it—awesome. Plus bonus—what cute towel animals I found every night.

Cleanliness

This is another area in which Royal Caribbean excels. My husband and I thought the ship was brand new, when in fact, it’s over 7 years old! (refurbished in 2007) Everyday I saw staff cleaning little nooks and crannies on the ship—I even saw one man cleaning out a glass case which appeared to be spotless already! I really expected the ship to be a little dirty, rusty, outdated in some areas, but this was not the case at all. Our staterooms were cleaned everyday very thoroughly, one of the pools was drained on a nightly basis (maybe more were too, I just didn’t see). You couldn’t walk around the ship without seeing someone, somewhere doing something to make sure that you did not see any dirt!

Another great thing about the ship were the “Purell” hand sanitizing stations placed all over ‘eating’ areas of the ship. You just stuck your hand underneath and you would get a squirt of sanitizer, a great way to prevent germs from spreading around!

Food

I hate to sound like a broken record, but again AWESOME. You can chose to eat your meals in the Windjammer Cafe or Jade—both buffets, Portofino or Chops Grill—fine dining restarants (extra cost), or in one of the dining rooms. We ate our breakfasts and lunches mostly in the buffets, and my expetations weren’t so high only because it’s a buffet, but by far the best buffet food I’ve ever had. Then dinners were absolutely exquisit. I loved dressing up and getting ready for dinner every night (not necessary, but you can’t show up in beach wear, and men have to have long pants on for the dining room). You were handed a menu which was different every night, and each time the dishes were so fun and fancy! Presentation was beautiful and I didn’t have one thing I didn’t like!

On the menu were the options for each course (dessert was a separate menu, or else no one would order entrees!), and a Chef Recommendations, and then they had a ‘healthy options’ section where it gave a recommendation on an appetizer, entree and dessert that were a “healthier” option (healthier compared to the other dishes—I wouldn’t consider it diet food). They also had vegetarian options every night.

Here are some of the beautiful foods:

Shrimp Tempura

Mozzarella Caprese

Chocolate Cheesecake (or something like that)

Some sort of Chocoalte Cake…is your mouth watering yet?

This was my favorite thing I ate all week…and yet, I can’t even remember what it was…which chocolate fondue I think they called it. Pure euphoria.

Safety

Whether you admit it or not, if you’ve never been on a cruise before, and you’ve seen the movie Titanic, you’re a little nervous about being out in the middle of the ocean—I was. Your first day on the ship, you have a safety briefing in which they demonstate how to put on your lifejackets and what to do in an emergency. I felt very safe on the ship and confident in the staff to handle any emergencies approrpiately. Also, there is a full medical staff on board. Read more about Healthy, Safety & Security onboard RC ships here.

Entertainment

I regret not being more optimistic about the entertainment on the ship from the start. I honestly was expecting it to be really cheesy and lame. My husband finally got me to go to a show by the second night and I was again very impressed. The first show I saw was Dominic Allen of Foreigner. He was fantastic.

Another night, they had comedic magician, Ed Alonzo. What a hilarious show.

They also have an aerialist on staff, Jimmy. He was spectacular.

Then there was the Quest. Ahh the Quest. If you’ve been on an RC cruise, you know what I’m talking about. It is a crazy crazy interactive game show and just TONS of fun, be sure not to miss this!

There are multiple parades and party’s in the ‘street’ on the Royal Promenade. They’re full of energy and lots of fun to participate in. This photo is from the ‘Enchanted Parade’.

There was dancing, jazz clubs, dance clubs, and even a ‘dancing under the stars’ party with a midnight buffet—a total blast. They had belly flop, men’s sexy legs, miss biceps, and karaoke contests. A rock climbing wall, family games, so much that I didn’t even know about!

Things to Expect:

• Not everything is included in your initial cruise purchase.

• • Drinks: I didn’t know that we had to pay extra for soda (we don’t drink alcohol), you can purchase soda for $2.99 a glass OR you can purchase a ‘soda pass’ at the beginning of your cruise for $48 which allows you to have unlimited soda throughout the week. Alcohol is not included, so if you’re a drinker, budget about $5-$7 per drink.  Water, ice tea, lemonade, teas, coffee and hot chocolate are all complimentary.

• • Excursions: If you want to do anything other than shop at each port, it’s going to cost you extra. Most ports of call, you have to take a taxi to go anywhere exciting. You can also book excursions through RC (expect to pay anywhere from $30-$300 per person for excursions). I would also try and get some currency for the country that you are visiting. Although most vendors in Mexico would accept dollars, I would have had less of a headache dealing in pesos.

• • Wireless Internet: This was probably the biggest con for me being on the cruise ship. As you know I am a slave to my computer and I feel like I’m missing a limb without my laptop by my side. But what good is a laptop without wireless internet? Maybe this was actually a blessing in disguise as I probably would have been Facebooking, Blogging, and Webcamming my entire trip instead of enjoying the moment. Although wireless internet (and an internet cafe) are available in certain spots on the ship, it came at a pretty penny–$0.55 per minute OUCH! You can buy a package of minutes which makes it a tiny bit cheaper–$0.37 per minute when you buy 150 minutes ($55). I spent over $70 in wireless internet, see how much I love you all? I would love to cruise with unlimited wireless, even if I had to pay a little extra, I would feel a little more at ease, especially since I left my little boy at home with my sister.

• • Phone calls: Don’t even think about making a ship-to-shore call from your stateroom—you thought wireless internet was bad, how about $8 a minute for a phone call? I was glad I didn’t have any emergencies back home that required me to use a phone. Depending on your cell phone carrier, you might have a reasonable international rate, but we have iPhones with AT&T and without buying an international calling plan, it was too expensive, so we turned our phones off. MAKE SURE TO TURN YOUR CELL PHONE OFF! Otherwise, you will be charged for any call coming in, data, and text messages whether you answer/reply or not.

• • Spa services: These are fairly pricey, although you may be able to get a discount or package deal if you want to have a treatment done on an ‘at port’ day.

• • Laundry: This one is a biggy! There are no public washers/dryers onboard the ship. If you need laundry done, you must send it out for a fee. Note: if you need the item the same day, it’s 50% more—so plan ahead. Also there are no irons available, and you are not permitted to bring one from home (fire hazard). This means that you either need to bring wrinkle-free clothing (sometimes that doesn’t even work) OR you need to pay for pressing services. I had to have my formal dress pressed, as well as my hubby’s dress shirt. Next cruise, I will be sure to bring freshly pressed clothing in a hanging bag.

• • Additional Entertainment: Although I didn’t participate in any of these, they were also additional costs: bingo, casino, and the arcade.

• At the cruise terminal:

• • Make sure your travel plans put you into the cruise terminal at least 2 hours before your departure time. I would even recommend that you be there as soon as they allow you to board. Our ship departed at 5pm, and we arrived at 1pm, they started boarding at noon. I did not know this when we originally made plans to drive to LA the morning of the cruise. When I learned that you are required to be at the pier NO LATER than 3pm, I quickly changed our plans to arrive the night before and stay in a hotel. This is especially important if you are flying, make SURE to make your flight plans in plenty of time to arrive at the cruise terminal early. (LAX is about 45 minutes away from the cruise terminal, so you also have to make transportation arrangements—available through the cruise line if you wish). As far as I know, if you miss the cruise ship, you will not be refunded, ouch!
  • Don’t bring beverages in your checked luggage. They’ll make you throw them out. And you thought you were smart enough to get past the $5 per drink charge…sorry.
  • Be patient, you’ll have to wait in lines to check in and get everything straightened out.
  • Bring items you’ll need for the evening with you.  You will check your luggage at the terminal and they will deliver them to your stateroom. So make sure to have medications, toiletries, or anything else you may need or want for a few hours (they have until 8:30pm to deliver your bags—you never know how long it may take, although ours got there within a few hours). I even saw people in their bathing suits as soon as we boarded, they must have brought them in their carry-on luggage.
  • Have all your travel documents WITH YOU. You’ll need them to check in. I put everything we needed in a folder so I wasn’t scattering with papers everywhere.

• Your Daily Compass:

• • Each day, you will have a “Daily Compass” delivered to your room (the night before actually) this is your KEY to the ship! It outlines what is going on each day when and where—we often forgot where we were going, so this was helpful! The cool thing is, it tears off into a little foldable schedule that you can carry around with you. I liked to circle or star the things I wanted to do that day so I didn’t miss anything I wanted to do.

• Pools & Decks

• • Make sure to check out the age limits and restrictions on your ship before you book your cruise. We were glad we didn’t bring our toddler, as he would not have been able to get in the pools (you had to be potty trained). There was also an ‘adults only’ pool and sun deck. I LOVED this, sometimes I just wanted peace and quiet.
  • One thing that really frustrated me was the inability to find a lounge chair if I wasn’t one of the first ones out in the mornings. Especially on ‘at sea’ days, the pool decks got crowded fast. Although RC has a policy that states that you may not reserve seats (and is clearly marked all over the ship) people still feel the need to ignore this. So get there early if you want a good spot for the day!

• Weather
  • You may be sailing to a warm, sunny climate but did you take into account that you’d be moving on the ocean some days? I did NOT expect this at all (guess I just didn’t think it through). Some ‘at sea’ days were actually quite cold and windy! This was probably my least favorite part of the cruise. But don’t be fooled! Even if it’s windy and cool out, you can still get a sunburn! (Just ask my hubby!). So make sure to lather up each day before you head out. I would recommend bringing a light jacket or sweater to wear on cooler days.
  • Sunscreen, SUNscreen, SUNSCREEN!!! This is essential. Don’t forget it. Make sure to wear at least SPF 15. So unfun to get burned the first or second day and then have to spend the rest of your cruise indoors. Plus skin cancer is so extremely harmful. Protect yourself! OH and bring it from home, mark-up prices can really be a bummer on the wallet.

• Things to (and not to) pack:

• • Do pack:
    • Medications: I brought a ziplock bag full of commonly used medications. Of course the ship has medications, but you’re going to pay for it. And who wants to pay $15 for a bottle of Tums? (that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point) Also make sure to get prescriptions that you may need. I am prone to swimmers ear, so before I left, I made a trip to my doctor to get a prescription for medication for it (I had a bad experience with swimmers ear on my honeymoon…a story for another time). As murphy’s law would have it, we didn’t need any of these medications, but I bet you if I didn’t pack them, we would have needed a few of them. Never hurts to be prepared.
    • Dresses and/or nice clothes: This is totally optional, but I love to dress up. Luckily I brought a few dresses with me (be sure to check how many formal dresses you will need), but next time, I’d bring even more. It’s fun! Again, this is totally optional, but just make sure your guy has long pants for dinner. You can always opt to eat in the casual buffet for dinners.
    • Swim gear: Even if you don’t plan on getting in the pool, it’s nice to be in cooler clothes.
    • Sweater and/or jackets: For cool nights and windy days.
    • A hat (or two): Sun=wrinkles. Protect your head and face!
    • Extra underwear: hey, don’t laugh! You’ll be glad I told you to! Multiple wardrobe changes may warrant multiple ‘full clothing’ changes. No washers on board ship means be prepared!
    • Workout clothes: there was a great gym on board that I used a few times, with all the food you’re packin’ away, you’ll be glad to get a little cardio in. There is also a track on the top deck.
    • Walkie talkies: these would come in handy if you’re in a big group. Since you can’t use your cell phones, it’s a good way to communicate—especially if your rooms are not next to eachother. Since it was just my hubby and I, we didn’t do this, but I saw lots of people using them.
  • Don’t pack:
    • Beverages: You’ll just end up throwing it out, or it getting thrown out by terminal security (they scan each checked bag).
    • Irons and hair dryers: Irons are not allowed. I believe hair dryers are allowed, but the room has hair dryers, so it’s not necessary (unless you are a hair dryer snob and can’t use cheapy ones).
    • Candles: duh. Trust me, you won’t need them
    • Hot plates & coffee makers: seriously? Please don’t even begin to think about cooking in your stateroom! There is plenty of food and drink available 24 hours a day. I did bring my mug with tea steeper and brought hot water back to my room to steep my own herbal tea.
    • Beach towels: You can bring them if you want, but the ship ‘rents’ out towels (no charge unless you don’t return them) that you can take to shore.
      

There are about a MILLION more things about the ship that I failed to mention, simply because there is just so much! It was truly an awesome experience, and the prices are very reasonable! Last time I checked, for the same cruise that I went on, prices started at $479 per person—for 7 days, that isn’t too bad! (Oh by the way, if you can afford it, definitely go for the ocean view room with a balcony, we peeked into some of them and they looked soooo nice! Next time, we’re going to try for one of those. How awesome to wake up and sit outside on a balcony basically on the ocean! Wow!)

Book your Royal Caribbean cruise today! You won’t be disappointed, I promise!

Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment with questions or additional things you want to add!

*Note: This is all based on my own personal experience and in no way represents Royal Caribbean or its affiliates*

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