The first (and only) full day of our cruise started with docking at Coco Cay. Because this was my first visit to Royal Caribbean's private destination, I wanted to see it all. Starting with complimentary in-room breakfast was a good way to save time and not oversleep so we could have a perfect day. Of course we had plenty to do both on and off the island... read more
Today we boarded Mariner of the Seas for a two night simulated voyage from Port Canaveral. We were fortunate to be one of the few invited, and we mean few. With only around 515 guests on the 4,000 passenger ship it's wonderful to be onboard, and a bit like having the ship to ourselves. read more
Royal Caribbean is bringing more and more ships back into service. Before each ship can sail with paying guests, they complete what the CDC calls a Simulated Voyage with volunteers, where the line demonstrates proper protocols can be followed onboard. We got an surprise in our inbox recently, as we’ve been invited to sail the Simulated Voyage for Mariner of the Seas this week... read more
Some Royal Caribbean ships feature PADI dive shops. On those ships, the cruise line gives passengers the opportunity to see if scuba diving is for them under the watch of a certified diving instructor. On my Mariner of the Seas cruise, I tried my hand (and lungs) at scuba... read more
Every time I’ve cruised to Nassau, the ship has left port before sundown. When booking my cruise, I noticed Mariner of the Seas would be staying in port until midnight... I took a Sunset Harbour Cruise and got some beautiful views of Nassau. read more
This week CruiseHabit Ric is sailing on Mariner of the Seas and you can follow along, read about his adventures, and even ask him questions. Mariner has received a ton of attention lately after undergoing loads of improvements that make her a real stand-out experience in the Royal Caribbean Fleet. Just head over to his posts on the Royal Caribbean Blog message boards to find out more and be sure to ask him to bring something nice back for Billy! Or just wish him a great cruise - whatever. read more