Mariner of the Seas At Christmas

With two teenage boys, the Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas was the ideal Christmas vacation for us. They enjoyed rock climbing, ice skating, and their teenagers-only clubs, Fuel and The Living Room. There was plenty to do and the food was first rate. It is more adult-oriented than the Disney Magic with its casino and drinking venues. However, the smell of smoking rarely penetrated the more public areas. I also appreciated its well-stocked library.





I thought their food was equal to if not better than Disney. However, there is no availability of food on the swim decks and they charge for colas. I enjoyed the buffet on Windjammers and the more Asian food in Jade. We had wonderful dinner partners at our dinner table in Rhadsody in Blue.

Entertainment was inconsistent as compared to Disney. The singing and dancing was polished and the ice skaters were terrific. However, the comedy stylings sometimes fell short. The exception was Yakov Smirnoff, who was touched me in his love for the ideals of America. Later, we with 24 other couples took a seminar directed by Smirnoff "The DNA of Happily Ever Laughter". It was his effort to salvage from the wreckage of his own divorce how to build an enduring relationship. DNA stands for discovering how we are sometimes performers or audience, notice each other's needs ("Happiness is when our needs are met"), and agree on a way forward. It was a rare combination of both of insight and and humor.






Another special moment was when we danced on stage with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Coasters ("Yakyty Yak" , "Charlie Brown").

We enjoyed the European spa and I had "frangipani scalp treatment", that I had won in a raffle.

A much apprecated moment of pure sentiment is when we joined the staff and officers in singing Christmas carols on the Grand Promenade with an enormous Christmas tree in the background. That next morning in a nearby lounge, we opened our presents.

We had a tiny cabin on the second deck. It took some creativity to squeeze our luggage into that room, but we were able to do so.

Crowd control was generally efficient. This was true in getting on and off the ship, and in the use of a conveyer of tenders at Cabo San Lucas. Things got hectic at Windjammers in midday and we were were sometimes displaced to a later seating for the ice shows.

We enjoyed visting Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallerta. Cabo is the most Americanized and touristy, and the people who live there are not embarrassed to hustle for our dollars. Mazatalan, a city of 400,000, is a combination of squalor and affluence. Our boys played at the El Cid resort. But my favorite Puerto Vallerta. We took a bus trip into the hills away from the beach to see a different side of Mexico and its people. The mountains and gorges were lush and verdant and the people who lived their were friendly. Strung over those gorges were fourteen ziplines. I and the boys enjoyed zipping hundreds of yards through the air from platform to platform.





On the 1,000 mile return trip, the ship headed into a stiff wind. However, I sensed little movement in the ship because of its size.

Upon leaving the ship, we found we left a pillow behind. Although we didn't have success in retrieving the pillow while we were at the terminal, we subsequently got a call from Royal Caribbean saying they had found the pillow and promising that they would mail it to us. When it comes to customer service, they did walk the walk.

All in all, I thought this was a wonderful vacation and I think the Mariner of the Seas is an excellent choice for other families.