Hi, all! My family just got off the Mariner of The Seas this morning and I thought I would share a little feedback from our trip. 

Since we are a family of five, the only room options for us are either the spacious staterooms or getting two connecting rooms. This trip we went with the two connecting rooms. Not only was this option $1200 cheaper, but the kids thought it was seriously cool that they had their “own room”. We left the conjoining room door open (see photos) the entire time, so it was really just like one large room. 

We had no idea at time of booking that the Pullman beds are meant for children six years of age and older. However, because our kids have bunk beds at home, we felt comfortable letting our five year old twins sleep on them. They are secure with side rails and if they somehow manage to roll over the side rail, they would land on a bed, so that took away any worries we had. 

I have attached a photo of the kids menu for the main dining room. This menu does not change nightly like the adults menu does, it just stays in rotation. However, kids can order off the adults menu and like the adults menu- the kids can pick as many items as they want. I would also recommend the adults try the dark chocolate brownie. It’s topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and is to die for! 

I’ve read (in Royal Caribbean Moms at Sea: The Family Cruising Guide) that a lot of you will grab extra milks, juices, etc from the Windjammer and keep them in the fridge of your room. We tried that, but didn’t feel it kept the milk cold. We then realized the “fridge” is actually just a cooler, not a fridge at all. (See photo) {From MOMS AT SEA: This is true. On many ships the “refrigerator” is more of a cooler. You can request a medical grade fridge for medications and breastmilk storage if needed}

Keep in mind if your ship has laser tag, it requires closed toe shoes, rock climbing requires socks, and ice skating requires pants. 

I used the over-the-door organizer and it was super helpful! We loaded it with snacks, medications, sunscreen, Clorox wipes, cups, toiletries, you name it! 

We hung wet bathing suits on magnetic hooks and hung them right on the wall (see photo). I purchased the magnetic hooks and the over the door hook both from dollar tree and they held up really well! This saved us a lot of space and allowed our items to dry better than they would have in the bathroom. 

Dinner is very long (2 hours) and our waiter always put the kids orders in first, which meant they were always done before us. We brought their tablets and allowed them to play on them for the last half hour or so. Also, if they have tablets and you have Netflix, you can get the app and download some of their favorite shows at home before you leave for your trip, this way they can watch on board. We found this to be helpful for us at night to help wind down and get them ready for bed. {From MOMS AT SEA: There are options for kiddos to be picked up by staff to go to Adventure Ocean kids clubs if you choose!}

Coco Cay was amazing!! We were docked with Navigator of the seas and got off the boat around 10am (we arrived at 7am) and it wasn’t busy at all! We didn’t purchase anything extra and my kids still had a blast! We found shaded beach chairs around the lagoon and were surprised by a fly board show! My kids favorite part was playing in the sand and water (we live in Florida, it’s practically a pass time activity ). 

My one and only complaint about the Mariner of the Seas is that there are no public family restrooms aside from the handicap stalls. The ship is newly renovated and should have added family restrooms. Would have helped us a bunch, so my husband didn’t have to take 3 girls into the men’s restroom with him or wait outside of the women’s for them.

I hope everyone has a great vacation!

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