We went for a 4D3N cruise with Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas and really enjoyed the time we had together as a family away from school, work and our electronic gadgets.
We share our experience here for those who are considering or have a cruise vacation planned.
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| Royal Carribean's Mariner of the Seas |
Boarding
The cruise departs from the
Marina Bay Cruise Centre. If you plan to drive and leave your vehicle at the cruise centre, overnight parking is available. We decided to take a cab instead. Although the ship only departs at 5pm, we were able to check-in and board at about 11am. Buffet lunch was served at the Windjammer restaurant on board.
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| Going on our first cruise vacation |
Things to Bring
If you decide to check-in your luggage, know that it takes a while for your luggage to arrive at your rooms due to the sheer volume of luggage there is to handle. You might not receive it until late evening of the first day, so it is a good idea to hand carry a small trolley bag with some essentials. We decided not to check in our luggage, mainly because there is so much that I need to have with me since I am travelling with two young ones.
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| Waiting to Board |
Travelling with two kids, my list of essentials is pretty long...
They include:
1) Milk powder & bottles
2) Bolster and favourite soft toy for afternoon nap
3) Diapers
4) Change of clothes
5) Camera
6) Swimming / sports gear (in case you decide to check out the pool / sports facilities before your luggage arrives)
Other things I packed...
1) Medication (just in case)
2) Soap & shampoo (though this is available in the rooms)
3) Slippers / Sandals
4) Sunscreen
Rooms
Space is premium on a cruise ship so most of the staterooms are pretty small. We stayed in a balcony class cabin with a queen bed and a sofa bed. There was a seating area at the balcony where you can laze or have breakfast in the comfort of your room. Room service breakfast is available at no additional charge! This room configuration was perfect for our family. Dean and Nathan shared the bed, while Noah and I slept in the sofa bed. No fear of kids falling off bunk beds. :) Rooms are equipped with basic necessities like an electric kettle.
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| Balcony Class Stateroom |
Entertainment
There were nightly shows ranging from acrobatics/ballet to comedy and songs.
I enjoyed the first night's show the most. Titled Ballet on Shoulders, it featured a lady and a man who were able to execute amazing moves effortlessly. Nathan was so inspired, he attempted ballet on daddy's head...
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| Ballet on Shoulders |
Noah was able to sit through all the shows with his eyes glued to the stage. I was pleasantly surprised and glad that he enjoyed the performances even though they weren't exactly kids' stuff.
In addition to the nightly shows, there was an ice-skating spectacular. We were wowed by the figure skaters' flawless execution of spins, back-flips, lifts, spirals and group sequences. At certain times of the day, the ice-skating rink is open for anyone who'd like to have a go at ice-skating. Skates are made available for loan. Dress in long pants/jeans if you'd like to try out.
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| Ice-skating spectacular |
Food
Room service breakfast is available thru'out the duration of our stay but we decided to dine at the restaurants instead. The breakfast crowd peaks at 9am, so do expect a short queue if you decide to dine at that time. We are early birds, so we did not encounter much problems.
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| More please! |
Lunch is served at selected restaurants. Expect a short queue during peak periods. The menu at the dining rooms changes everyday. In general, the food was palatable. The boys were delighted as they got to have dessert after every meal. Nathan's choice - chocolate ice-cream, Noah's choice - strawberry ice-cream WITH biscuit. A real treat!
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| Noah's enjoying his favourite strawberry ice-cream |
Dinner is served in two seatings, 5.45pm and 8pm. The dinner seatings are pre-allocated (you make your choice when you book your cruise holiday). I like this arrangement as we did not have to waste time waiting in line. We just had to show up at our allocated table at the right time, and the waiter will be there to hand us the menus and take our orders.
Kids' Club
The kids' club offered a multitude of activities to engage kids aged 3 to 12. It is a drop of service, so parents can drop the kids off during opening hours and head off to the spa or solarium to relax. Nathan participated in a science experiment where they created a 'volcano' using baking soda and a mixture of several liquids. The kids are split into groups according to their ages, and I like how the activities are age appropriate, and group size kept rather small.
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| Ahoy! |
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| At the kids' club |
Noah was too young to join the kids club, but there was a nursery where we could drop him off. Unlike the kids' club which was free, the drop off service for kids under 3 is $8 an hour. The nursery is equipped with fisherprice toys to keep the toddlers busy. Baby cots are available for babies who need a shut eye, and a diaper changing area was also available in the same area. We did not use this service but it is nice to know that there is also a drop-off option for kids under 3.
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| A wide variety of Fisher Price toys for the little ones |
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| Baby cots & diaper changing area |
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Nursery for kids under 3
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Activities
In addition, there are facilities such as the rock wall, in-line skating, mini golf, basketball court, swimming pool and gym which you can use at your own time.
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| Rock wall |
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| Basketball Court |
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| Mini Golf |
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| Swimming |
And if you really just want to sit back and unwind, deck chairs are aplenty. We enjoyed just strolling on the top deck, hearing the crash of waves and feeling the sea breeze against our faces.
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| Taking a stroll on the open deck |
The highlight for us on Mariner of the Seas was the Dreamworks experience. Nathan and Noah were thrilled to see many of the characters that they have seen in books/movies like Alex & gang from Madagascar, Kungfu Panda and Puss in Boots. There were meet & greet sessions scheduled throughout the duration of the cruise. On the last night, there was a Dreamworks parade were we got to see all the Dreamworks charcters moving to the music. It was scheduled at 10.30pm though, way past the kids' bedtime. They were watching the parade in their pyjamas! It'd probably be better if there were two sessions, with one held earlier for families with young kids. Nonetheless, the kids stayed up for the parade and fell asleep promptly once we returned to our stateroom.
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| Shrek & Princess Fiona |
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| King Julien |
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| Kungfu Panda |
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| Gloria the hippo |
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| Puss in Boots |
All in all, we enjoyed our cruise vacation. It is a perfect 'getaway' when you are pressed for time. Mariner of the Seas will be sailing from Singapore this November / December 2013. Book you tickets for your cruise vacation today!
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| Sail-Away party on the deck |
Disclaimer: We received a stateroom upgrade in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are my own.
