Day At Sea

July 26:  VIP Bridge Tour

We had the entire day to relax and enjoy all the amenities of the Mariner of the Seas today as we sailed from Nassau (left late last night) to head back to the Port of Miami (early morning arrival tomorrow).  The highlight of the morning was a VIP tour of the bridge of the ship which was arranged by my former student (and one of my all time favorites) Kimmy.

For lunch we went to Johnny Rockets and enjoyed a good time.....until the US Department of Health and Safety showed up and stopped all production.  We were asked to "...wait five minutes...." for our milkshakes.  45 minutes later we asked for the bill and they asked us to wait "....five more minutes, we're making them to go at no charge....."  Fifteen minutes later we got them.  Not their fault, but still, put a damper on a great time at lunch.

Just before dinner ANOTHER plate of chocolate covered strawberries (the third) and another bottle of wine (the third) arrived courtesy of "Bon Voyage!"  We took the wine to dinner and had half of it and are bringing the other bottles home.

We picked up our professional photos before the last show and sailed off into the sunset, headed for Miami and the end of another great adventure!

Nassau: Day 3

Today we had separate excursions.  The girls had a snorkeling excursion and I originally had two land-based excursions....a wine making tour and a cave exploration.  But yesterday my cave tour was cancelled (not enough guests signed up).  However as it turned out, it was all good.  I exited the ship about 9:15 am and our guide greeted us about 9:35.  We walked to the other Royal Caribbean ship, picked up two more guests and then boarded the tour bus with seven guests on a "Chocolate Making" tour.  The five of us wine-making guests got off at the same spot and were escorted to the winery.  After a brief introduction we had five wines to blend to create our own wine.  As we started I asked about sweeter wines and two others agreed they too liked sweet white wine so the wine maker, Jay, went and got a bottle of their Moscato blend for us to use.  Each of us then created our own blend.  Then filled a bottle and created our own brandname.  We picked our own unique bottle, corked it ourselves and sealed it ourselves.  All very cool.  Got to take the bottle home with us.  Really enjoyed the excursion and to be honest even though we started at 9:45 am we all enjoyed multiple, MULTIPLE glasses of wine!  :)

The girls were having lunch as I returned and I got to meet them briefly and then they headed out for their snorkeling adventure.

What a great adventure they had....

For dinner tonight we made reservations at the specialty restaurant, "Chops Grille" and enjoyed a great meal......think Khloe was a little tired after two "hard days" of cruising?  :)

Coco Cay: Day 2

This morning we arrived at Coco Cay, a private island owned by Royal Caribbean, where guests can enjoy a day in the sun through a variety of activities.  After breakfast Kim and Khloe headed off to the beaches while I enjoyed the amazing view from our panoramic deck.

I spent the morning in the A/C working on future travel plans as well as doing some further exploring of the ship.  Found a cozy shaded deck which overlooked the island and posed for a photo :)

I took the opportunity while the gals were out in the sun to get a good shot of our room.  The photos just don't do it justice, but comparing it to our River and Ocean cruise staterooms we took with Viking does give a comparison.  Not "rating" any of the three as better/worse by any stretch of the imagination as they are completely different kinds of trips and the rooms are used in completely different capacities.....but still, the size of this room is - to us - amazing!

Quick Video Tour Of Our Suite

The girls had a wonderful morning....after taking the tender boat to the island they floated in the ocean and enjoyed a rum punch refreshment.

Then they joined in the volleyball tournament.  And to no one's surprise, these two former star players keyed their team's victories taking the tournament title and with it individual gold medals! Noteworthy that for the title, they beat an ALL BOYS team of young guys all in their 20's who were sure they were going to win!!!! YAY GIRLS!

Tonight at dinner it's Formal Night.....

Khloe's Graduation Cruise

Kim and I wanted to treat our recently high school graduated niece Khloe to her first cruise, so we booked a 4-night trip to the Caribbean on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas.  After looking at stateroom options we decided to get an aft-view suite and so we set out on our adventure on Monday July 23 to the Bahamas.  Click the links below to see photos from each of the four days on board!

Click HERE For July 23  /  Click HERE For July 24

Click HERE For July 25  /  Click HERE for July 26

Royal Caribbean "Mariner of the Seas" Adventure

Khloe's Graduation Cruise

Day 1:  Monday July 23

Typically, Kim and I have been on small ships - three decks and less than 200 passengers (last summer our Avalon cruise had a total guest number of 28 with a crew of 29!) for quite a while.  But just recently we "stepped up" to a Viking Ocean cruise with 900 passengers with 7 decks.  So when we boarded the 3,100 passenger Mariner of the Seas with some 13 decks it was quite a culture shock!  But nothing could prepare us for entering our suite, Stateroom 1694 which has an aft balcony.  The room itself is bigger than most hotel rooms we've stayed in (including some of the luxury rooms we've had on our cruises) and the deck is bigger than any we've ever had.  At least four times as big!

We were able to get into our room right away and after cooling off (so hot outside) we went to the Windjammer on Deck 11 for a quick bite for lunch.  Then we explored the ship.  So big, so much to see!  As I told Khloe as we waited for the dining room to open, for ME, it is all about what you're going to see and the excursions.....but for a girl her age, a ship like this - especially for a girls' spring break adventure - this is idea.....so many things to do on the ship alone!  As we rode the elevator up the "Main Street USA" shops laid out with staterooms overlooking them.....

We enjoyed a nice dinner with a couple about Kim and my age and their grandson who's going to be a junior in high school.  The food was great and we enjoyed their company.  We went to the theatre for the show, but as we approached I asked Kim if she was sure that the "Ice Show" was actually in the theater or at the ice rink....turns out it wasn't at the theater and we missed the early show.

Dinner With A View

We finished the day by going to the 10 pm show - an ICE SHOW....yes, there's an ice rink on board :)  A good first day!