Greetings from Alaska! We arrived in our first port of the cruise today in Ketchikan. Mother Nature welcomed us with cloudy, foggy and rainy weather as we pulled into port.

With a time change on our side, Sydney and I were up early at 6:30 AM. Others clearly had the same idea of getting a specialty coffee at Latitudes because the line was at least 10 people long.

The warm latte was perfect to sip on as we watched us pull into port from the heated Solarium. 

Outside looked like cuddle-up-and-watch-a-movie kind of weather. Everyone was wandered around the ship in their cozy clothes.

Sydney and I made a few calls home before having breakfast in the Windjammer. We had purchased tickets for the Trolley and Lumberjack show last night since the forecast was looking bleak. The excursion was scheduled for 9:45 AM (this is an important detail for later!), so we enjoyed a nice breakfast and took our time getting ready.

We bundled up with jackets, hats and gloves because we had seen even a few snow flakes from the top deck as we pulled into Ketchikan.

When the excursion leaves you behind

Sydney and I got off the ship around 9:35 AM and made our way to the terminal meeting place. We took a few pictures with the ship and started looking around for our excursion.

After looking around a bit, Sydney asked one of RCL’s excursion staff members where we should meet for the Trolley. We showed them our tickets and the crew member looked concerned and responded, “Oh… the tour has already left”. 

We looked at our watches and it was 9:42 AM, so the trolley shouldn’t have even left the cruise port yet because it was scheduled to depart at 9:45 AM.

The crew member stated the meeting time was 9:30 AM and we told her we were in the terminal within probably 5 minutes of that time. We didn’t see the trolley or anyone holding the sign while we waited before asking for help. 

She said she would try to call the trolley back, but then the other crew members stated the trolley wouldn’t be able to return to pick us up. We asked if we could go meet the trolley somewhere, thinking it hadn't gone very far. That wasn't an option, unfortunately. 

Apparently, the tour only had 8 people booked for today. We bought tickets last night but she said 2 people must have bought tickets early this morning as well. The lists are printed the night before for excursion runs, so the total number of participants wasn’t updated from 8 to 10 people.

When 8 people showed up, the trolley tour decided to leave early because that matched the list total. Bummer for us.

At first, the crew members told us we could do one of the following: either take a later trolley only and miss the show or do a later lumberjack show and skip the trolley.

They said the later lumberjack show could include a crab feast, but it was $199. I think they could tell we were not pleased with either of these options and questioned how the excursion could have left without us when they had our names even on the list. 

Finally, they said we could do the lumberjack show at a discounted rate - first it was 30% and then they upped It to 50%. This felt reasonable, so we accepted that offer.

We had an extra hour to burn so we shopped in the terminal and walked to a coffee shop in the freezing drizzle.

At the end of the day, this was probably just a series of unfortunate events on both sides. We should have been off the ship sooner to be at the meeting place right at 9:30. The excursion certainly shouldn't have left early and without checking the list of passengers who were booked. With such a small group, once everyone showed up, we were already out of luck. 

I am glad Royal Caribbean gave us options and they wanted to make up for the unfortunate instance happened. Of course, we were bummed we couldn't do the trolley but at least we had options. 

Sydney and I joked that 'travel is back!' and all of the unexpected that comes along with it - that's part of the fun. Our semester abroad was filled with the unexpected and unplanned. It's best to just go with the flow, especially traveling in this post-pandemic phase.

Excursion round 2

We figured that there would be transportation included to the show since it was raining. But, at the designating meeting place and time, they instructed us to all walk 3 blocks for the show.

Here's us in the cold rain walking to the lumberjack show.

This was no big deal for us, but certainly took us by surprise because we figured the sticker price of $59 would include transportation. If we had older family members with us, I wouldn’t have been very pleased with walking in the rain. 

As we arrived at the show, I saw a ticket stand at the venue where tickets were being sold for only $37 - for the same show and time!

Had we known this, we would have just done that from the start. The excursion didn’t even include transportation so there was literally nothing that made the excursion worth $20+ more!

Luckily, the venue was covered and had heaters. It was still very chilly and I opted to purchase souvenir gloves to be more comfortable.

The show was fun and very interactive. It was cheesy, which would make it a great option for families with kids. I am glad we opted to do the show since there wasn’t much else that appealed to us in town, especially considering the weather.

I wouldn’t say the show was worth $60, but it would be a nice activity for the $37 tickets sold at the venue.

Creek Street

After the hour show, we briskly walked in the cold rain to Creek Street. I had visited this area with my husband last summer, and it was a beautiful spot to stroll and shop. We also had gorgeous weather last year, keep in mind.

Sydney and I walked into a few shops but after sitting in the rain at the lumberjack show for an hour, we were both pretty chilly and ready for lunch.

We did make one last stop to an art shop where the owner told us how her roommate in college did Semester at Sea 30 years ago, so that was a fun coincidence.

It was a quick walk back to the ship luckily. Ketchikan is very walkable right off the port area and it really is a lovely town. Last year, Luke and I grabbed lunch at a taphouse that had great food (cheese curds for us Midwesterners), craft beer and fun cocktails.

There’s also plenty of jewelry shopping and other local shops to enjoy. If you forget a coat for the cruise, you can find pretty nice coats for $10-$20 in the shops. We had to do this 12 years ago when we took an Alaska cruise and it was much colder than we anticipated.

Slow Afternoon

After the excursion debacle and the cold weather, Sydney and I grabbed lunch at the Windjammer. We made our way to the Solarium where I plopped myself down on a chair with 3 towels and napped.

We heard that people who did the Misty Fjords that they had rough seas today, so I was grateful we didn’t choose that excursion. It was nice to come back to the ship and take it slow.

I strongly believe the scenery that can be seen from the ship is equally as gorgeous and scenic as the excursions offered to the fjords and glaciers.

Of course, if you want to do something particular or see a glacier, you will have to venture to those places specifically. Overall though, the scenery from the cruise ship is captivating and stunning on its own.

We’ve seen whales and dolphins from the ship too! Even just sailing the Inside Passage is great for me and I don’t feel like I need to do any special excursions to see more scenery.

Dinner in the dining room

Our first night in the dining room felt a little disorganized and chaotic. The servers seemed to be a little frazzled, perhaps because they had a much larger crowd this sailing than the last one.

Last week was the first sailing on Radiance of the Seas since the pandemic restart and 800 passengers sailed from California to Canada. This week, we have 1,600 passengers, which is around 60% capacity. I am sure that was stressful the crew to transition to a busier ship. 

Tonight, we had great service in the dining room and the experience was much smoother.

We stopped at the Schooner Bar to grab a cocktail for dinner since the night before it took a while to get our drinks. One of the bartenders looked very familiar... and then it clicked - Luke and I had met her last summer on our cruise! She was from Colombia and gave Luke recommendations for an upcoming training he had in her home country. She remembered us, so that was another fun coincidence of the day. 

Sydney had the lavender daiquiri and I had a strawberry mojito - both were excellent. 

For dinner tonight, Sydney and I both started with French onion soup and had beef short rib for entree. Sydney’s short rib was fattier than mine, but it had great flavor and it was very tender.

We both polished off the meal with Mississippi Mud Pie, which was excellent.

Comedy Show and Solarium

We had finished dinner just in time to make the 7:00 PM comedian show. Since we had missed both showtimes for the Tango show, we were excited to experience the entertainment.

The theatre was pretty full and we both liked the comedian, who was decently funny. With an older crowd onboard, the jokes were definitely geared towards the greater audience.

The internet connection has been great in the Solarium, so Sydney and I made our way up to the top deck to relax as the sun begins to set. There’s virtually no one in here; as I blog, Sydney as the hot tub to herself.

Tomorrow’s Plans

We arrive tomorrow in Sitka for our second port. Sydney did a little research and found that there is a bear sanctuary just 5 miles from the town.

A free shuttle is provided from the ship to the city center, which is a nice option. We plan to look at either a taxi or see if they have Uber or Lyft available for us to get to the bear sanctuary.

The weather outlook seems to be a bit more promising with only a slight change of light rain showers tomorrow in the afternoon. Hoping we get lucky with some better weather than today!

That’s all for now! Good night from Alaska.

Hello from Radiance of the Seas! It's day two of our 7-night sailing to Alaska and today was a sea day. 

We lucked out with beautiful weather today for our day at sea! It was 60 degrees and sunny all day with not a cloud in the sky. The seas have been so calm both days. I can barely feel the ship moving. 

Breakfast with new friends

Sydney and I slept off our jet lag this morning thanks to our inside cabin being pitch black. I normally sleep with white noise but the ship has been so quiet, I didn't even need to. We woke up just in time to have breakfast in the main dining room, which was open until 9:30.

I started with a latte from Latitudes while Sydney waited to be seated. I'm low functioning without my coffee so this was a delicious way to start my day and use one of my drink vouchers.

We were seated with a really sweet couple from the UK who were on their very first cruise! I typically don’t love sitting with strangers but we really enjoyed our relaxing breakfast with new friends. We all started with yogurt parfaits and then I ordered the breakfast burrito while Sydney had the power bowl.

My burrito was delicious - filled with chorizo, hash browns and cheese. Sydney said the power bowl tasted healthy and definitely needed salt + pepper.

A morning stroll

As we were leaving breakfast, the atrium was filled with people doing a group Zumba class. I haven’t seen that many people in a workout class on a cruise in a long time! Everyone looked like they were having a lot of fun with the music and dance moves.

We bundled up and started to walk along the top deck. Sydney and I both love walks, so this was perfect after our breakfast.

The sea was perfectly calm with the water beautifully glistening in the sun. As we turned the corner, we even saw whales and dolphins off in the distance. The nature up here in Alaska is so untouched - it really does take your breath away.

Sydney and I couldn’t get over how nice the weather was. It was definitely nice to get on the top deck for a bit and take in the sunshine. The forecast for the next few days looks like it will be cloudy and rainy.

Apparently, there’s 100% chance of rain the next few days. The statistician in me questions that kind of certainty, so I am holding out hope we might have better weather than predicted.

I couldn’t believe the number of people who were walking and exercising. This is probably the most exercise I've seen happening on a cruise ship. Maybe it was just the weather, but we saw tons of people being active. Between everyone doing Zumba earlier and then lots of people doing their own workouts on the top deck, the ship seems to be full of active cruisers. The gym looked pretty busy as well.

This is a far cry from my spring break cruise on Mariner of the Seas the other week where the main activities were drinking, tanning and eating. 

Afternoon activities

After walking the top deck for about an hour, Sydney and I headed down to the Schooner Bar. There was a solo traveler meet-up at 12:00 PM and Alaska Trivia starting at 12:15 PM. We couldn’t really identify if there were any solo travelers meeting, so we opted just to wait for trivia to start.

Trivia was Alaska themed, but Sydney and I both warned one another that we were not good with trivia or knowing fun facts. To our surprise, we scored 7.5/15 questions! Nothing to write home about, but better than we expected.

I didn’t imagine we would be able to sit on the top deck during this cruise, but the weather was too gorgeous not to enjoy the pool deck today.

We bounced between the hot tub and pool chairs a few times. We also indulged in a pool-side cocktail. There weren't many people on the pool deck, as I think people assume it's cooler outside than it really is. The Solarium was much busier. The pool water was actually pretty comfortable; we even saw a few people in there while walking earlier.

Since we had a reservation for Samba Grill at 6:00 PM, we went back to our cabin to freshen up. We also treated ourselves to some downtime with face masks before getting ready for dinner.

If you are like us and love pampering yourself but don’t want to pay for the spa, consider bringing a few spa-like treatments onboard. We brought 2 kinds of face masks to enjoy each night and I packed some nail polish too. We also requested robes from our housekeeper to help us really bring the spa to our little inside cabin.

Samba Grill

Sydney and I made a reservation for 6:00 PM to dine at the specialty restaurant, Samba Grill. I’ve cruised a lot with Royal Caribbean and hadn’t even heard of this specialty option. Since I have a BOGO voucher to use on Day 1 or 2 for specialty dining, we thought it would be fun to try something new.

I was blown away by the experience!

We were greeted by servers from Brazil when we entered the restaurant. Sydney and I actually traveled to Brazil during our Semester at Sea, so we were excited to talk about the cities we visited and ask the servers about their hometowns.

Our waiter explained each part of the meal, which would start with a trip to the appetizer bar. This included a goat cheese and pineapple salad, Canja de galinha (chicken soup) and assorted meats and cheese.

The next course was a warm bread basket that had 3 different options. I have very fond memories of Brazilian Pau de Quejio, or small balls of cheesy bread goodness. We also enjoyed a warm, flaky empanada with cheese inside. It melted in your mouth as the cheese oozed from the pastry. There was also garlic bread in the basket, which was crispy and delicious.

Not to be dramatic, but the heavens opened when the bread basket was delivered. 

Next, we were served feijoada (pronounced like 'fish - wader'), which reminded me of a burrito bowl. The feijoada had a mixture of rice, beans, pork, bread crumbs, collard greens and oranges. Our server explained that Brazilians eat feijoada at least once a week so it was a must-try.

We were also served fried bananas, polenta and yuca fries. We loved the bananas and feijoada!

The main event was up next - THE MEATS! Served by a gaucho sporting a cowboy hat, we were given tongs to grab freshly carved meats as he made his way around the restaurant delivering the meats.

We started with bacon-wrapped chicken followed by sausage. The chicken was amazing. Next we had garlic marinated steak, which was so tender and flavorful. Then we were served parmesan crusted pork and lamb. These weren’t our favorites, as Sydney said the lamb was fatty and my pork was a bit dry.

The last one served was a filet mignon, which was a showstopper.

A few times we had to turn our green card back to red so we could have a break and make room for more food! Everything tasted really good but our tummies needed breaks once in a while.

We were lucky enough to start spotting whales during our dinner too! The seas have been so calm that it’s easy to spot any motion in the ocean. Sydney ran outside a few times to get pictures, even though they all look like splashing blobs in the distance.

At one point, there were 4 spouts that we could see at one time in the horizon. The whales were breaching and putting on quite the show for us.

It’s so funny when someone spots a whale or dolphin because everyone stands up and heads over to the windows at once. It’s a unifying moment onboard when wildlife is spotted!

Back at our table and after the whales swam off in the distance, we were served cinnamon spiced pineapple. The pineapple was warm and sweet, a perfect comfort food that hit the spot. This was Sydney’s favorite part of the meal.

As if we needed more food, we ended the meal with a dessert sampler, which included a domed, dense chocolate cake, a passion-fruit flavored parfait called mousse de maracuja, and a rum custard.

The mousse was our absolute favorite! 

The whole dining experience took about 2.5 hours between eating, talking with the servers and whale spotting. Apparently, it was our server’s second day of work on the ship! He said he had never worked on a cruise ship and we told him he did an excellent job. Alexander, who is from Brazil, took the time to explain everything in great detail, which made the experience more authentic.

We were planning to go to the 8:00 PM Tango production show, but we didn’t make it in time. We then planned to attend the Tango production show at 10 PM, but the seas were mesmerizing and we couldn't get ourselves down there in time. Also, 10 PM is a little late for us these days!

I am glad we took a long time to savor the meal and watch the wildlife, which you can’t predict! That's what this cruise is all about anyways - enjoying the Earth's beauty. 

Tomorrow's plans in Ketchikan

I am taking the time to write tonight’s blog from the Solarium, as it’s still light out at 10:00 PM. The ocean looks like a sheet of glass and I think our ship is moving at a snail’s pace as we work our way towards Ketchikan.

As I wrote earlier, we didn’t have any excursions planned for this cruise, but unfortunately the forecast looks bleak to just meander around town. We ended up booking an excursion tomorrow for $69 called Ketchikan Trolley and Lumberjack show. 

This seemed like a good option for seeing the city even if it’s raining most of the day. It would be a shame to come all this way and feel like we can’t do or see anything because we aren’t able to walk around.

We purchased tickets at the shore excursion desk because the app was giving us an error. The crew member who helped us was from Brazil and we told him how we just had an amazing meal at Samba Grill.

He said he actually worked with the head chef at Royal Caribbean, along with other Brazilian crew members, to develop the menu that is served to ensure it's authentic. He was happy to hear it was a great experience and I told him it was probably better than the steakhouse I tried when visiting Brazil!

Off to bed for us! Sydney was told the Alaskan pilot comes on the ship at 6am, which will be 5am with the time change. Lucky for me, she decided that was too early so we should be getting a restful night's sleep. 

Reporting live from Radiance of the Seas in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! 

Today, Sydney and I embarked on our 7-night sailing from Vancouver, Canada to Alaska. It was a gorgeous spring day with the perfect temperature. We really couldn’t have asked for a better send off on our first cruise day!

Our boarding slot today was for 1:30 PM this afternoon and we packed in a full morning before boarding the ship. Sydney and I stayed at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center in downtown. This was a great location in the city for exploring. It was also a quick 5 minute drive to the cruise port, which was perfect for us. We enjoyed our stay and would recommend the hotel for any cruisers because of its prime location.

Vancouver and Stanley Park’s Seawall

Downtown Vancouver is a super fun city to explore. I would highly recommend allowing some time to enjoy the downtown area if you're cruising from here in the near future! They have great walking and biking paths right along the waterfront that shouldn’t be missed. Stanley Park is also gorgeous and has a 6-mile looped called The Seawall. 

With jet-lag on our side, our morning started early at 5:30 AM. Sydney and I had coffee and a lovely breakfast at the hotel before making our way towards Stanley Park. Sydney is someone who loves to be active when traveling, so we decided to rent bikes for an hour. Our plan was to our bikes around the 6-mile loop and enjoy the views from Stanley Park. 

It was only $5 USD to rent the bikes and included a helmet - very affordable and a nice activity for all ages to enjoy. As my luck would have it, the gear of my bike collapsed within a few blocks of renting the bike so I had to walk it back and trade for a new one. I am so glad this happened before we had made any headway on the trail because it was a pain waling back my broken bike. 

With a new bike ready for round 2, we made our way back to the biking trail. Once we were finally on our way, the bike ride was absolutely stunning. The weather was a brisk 55 degrees and we were comfortable with pants and a light jacket on. We could even see the ship in the port! To my pleasant surprise, the path is flat and paved for the entire 6 miles. The route takes you along the waterfront and even goes under Lions Gate Bridge.

After we finished biking The Seawall, we stopped for a snack at Break Bakery and Cafe. This was recommended to us as a good local cafe to grab coffee or a pastry, so I opted for a brownie cookie which was perfectly gooey and chocolatey. 

Sydney and I did a little bit of shopping downtown to pick up a few things for the cruise before getting ready to pack out bags and head to the ship. We forgot to pack enough conditioner for the week - and this is a cruising must! The showers only provide a 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash so it's nice to have your own conditioner.

ArriveCan Chaos 

We opted to take a Lyft from the hotel to the cruise port right around 1:15 PM for our slated arrival time. The Lyft was super cheap, only costing us $8 USD. The conversion rate right now is amazing!

When we arrived, it seemed pretty quiet in the terminal drop off area. We dropped off luggage and began the boarding process.

Before entering the terminal, one of the port workers simply asked if we had all our necessary documents and we showed her our Set Sail Passes. I was surprised she didn't verify we had the right documents, she just took our word for it! We went through security and then we had to complete customs and immigration since we are leaving Canada to enter the United States.

The line moved quick enough as fellow cruisers shuffled through the customs kiosks. These are similar to what you find in the airports where a slip is printed after scanning your passport and declaring any goods you have. Sydney and I weren’t selected for any additional screening luckily, so we went on our way to the next boarding phase.

Also, I have Global Entry and I am pretty sure I would have been able to bypass the line and the kiosks. I didn’t want to separate from Sydney so I chose not to go in the Global Entry line, but it seemed to be an option.

NOTE: If you are cruising from Canada soon, you will want to read this section to save yourself major headache!

One of the port workers asked to see our ArriveCan forms and we showed her the emails we received for our flights. (This was also when I realized that masks were seemingly required in the terminal because I lowered my mask to use my FaceID on my iPhone - she immediately snapped at me to get my mask back on). 

Currently, if you fly into Canada, you will need to enter your travel plans and upload vaccination proof before entering the country. You receive a QR code after and can download the ArriveCAN app that will have your info and QR code. I only needed to show the gate agent for my flight into Vancouver in order to board the flight. 

The port worker snipped at us and said we needed another ArriveCAN form to board the ship. We were dumbfounded and had no idea this needed to be done.  

None of the communication from RCL mentioned that we would need to fill out ANOTHER form on ArriveCAN to board the cruise. Clearly, no one knew about this because it was utter chaos in the terminal.

Everyone was on their phone - and clogging the cell network - trying to get another ArriveCAN form submitted because you couldn’t board the ship without having the form completed.

We saw a lot of older guests who were struggling trying to fill out this information on their phones; that is, if they even had a phone to use because there were no computers available that I saw. 

We also received no direction on how to fill out the marine entry form, as it’s different than the airline one with just arrival date information. Sydney and I were frazzled as the app was slow to respond.

Finally, we were able to complete the marine travel form on the app and thought we had done them correctly. We got in line with our QR codes only to get told at the front of the line that we entered the wrong information.

Apparently you have to enter the entire duration of the cruise from start to end. I guess we had just entered today’s date for departure. 

By this point, we were super annoyed with how everything was being handled. People were sitting on the ground trying to upload proof of vaccination and complete the forms. Lots of older guests were receiving little to no assistance either for filling out the required document. 

Finally, our information was correctly entered and we were able to board the ship. This was also where our passport was scanned, negative test was verified and health questionnaire was complete. 

The port worker said that they had just heard of the requirement that morning. I am not sure if RCL dropped the ball on the ArriveCAN app or if the requirements were only made known to RCL right before the cruise. Either way, this was poorly executed and left many of us frustrated and frazzled.

Either way, if you sail on Radiance of the Seas from Vancouver, save yourself the headache and complete the marine travel form on the ArriveCAN app before arriving at the terminal. 

Sailaway

After boarding the ship (finally!), we dropped off our luggage at our stateroom. We are sailing in an inside cabin (3071) for the ship and it’s very comfortable with plenty of storage. We booked an inside guarantee and our cabin is located almost midship, so we can't complain!

Next, we made our way to the dining room to schedule our My Time Dining. I guess you can book your dinner time online prior to the cruise because they were barely able to accommodate us for dinner at 5:30 PM.

I used to just take it day by day with My Time Dining, but my cruises this year made me realize you need to apparently book your dinner time prior to boarding if you want to eat before 8 PM. I thought My Time Dining was meant to be a flexible option, but I guess not.

Eventually, we made our way to the top deck for lunch at the Windjammer. We ate outside on the back deck and the weather was perfect for spring. I had a hot dog and Sydney had a salad and small ice cream cone.

The trauma from boarding was only cured by the cocktails we enjoyed on the top deck as were admired the beautiful scenery. The Sailaway party started around 4:00 PM and the pool deck slowly filled with people wanting to watch us leave port. There was actually some lively energy on the pool deck and everyone was enjoying the scenery. We were looking for whales and seals from above but didn't have any luck.

At 5:00 PM, Radiance pushed back and we were on our way to Alaska! We sailed out of Vancouver and under Lion’s Gate Bridge, which was stunning!

Dinner in the Main Dining Room

It was well past 5:30 PM, so we made a pitstop at our cabin to change and made our way to deck 4 for dinner. There was a long line at the entrance, so I was glad we took care of our reservation right after we boarded. 

Our table for 2 was tucked between two other tables of 2 with less than a foot between the tables. It seemed that the waitstaff was very busy, essentially trying to accommodate multiple tables of 2 each ordering at different times. 

We are seated near a window and saw whales from afar, which was so fun!

Sydney started with the crab cake and I chose the wild mushroom soup. My mom dies for the crab cakes, so I was surprised when Sydney said it was a little mushy. My soup was pretty good but I could have used more truffle flavor. 

For dinner, I had the prime rib and Sydney the herb-crusted salmon. We both really enjoyed our meals, although the service was a bit slower than normal. We also didn’t have a beverage waiter stop by for a while, so we asked the main waiter if we could order cocktails. I think it added some more stress to his plate, so I will opt to get a drink before we head to dinner again. 

Dessert tonight was key lime pie, warm hazelnut chocolate cake and peach berry cobbler. Sydney didn’t know the cobbler was low sugar, so she said it was a little tart. The key lime pie and chocolate cake were fabulous. 

After dinner, we were pretty pooped so we came back to our room and unpacked. There was no headliner show tonight except for some movies playing, trivia in the pub and karaoke tonight. 

Tomorrow is a sea day so I am excited to relax a bit tomorrow. We also booked dinner at Samba Grill Brazilian Steakhouse tomorrow! I’ve never heard of this speciality dining restaurant onboard a Royal Caribbean ship! Our dinner table friends said they heard amazing things about it, so I have high hopes. 

There’s nothing I love more than snagging a great travel deal, especially on cruises. By booking a cheap cruise fare, I can splurge on things that matter most to me on vacation - like eating delicious food, drinking fun cocktails and exploring incredible cities.

Also, by booking cheap cruises, I can cruise more often. I'd rather travel more frequently on a budget than dump thousands of dollars into one single vacation.

There are some incredible cruise deals out there if you know what to look for. When you book a cheap cruise, you have so much that’s already included in your cruise fare - like food, lodging, entertainment and transportation. This means you can stick to your budget easier!

Originally, I had a super cheap cruise booked in January that I unfortunately had to cancel because I caught covid. With my future cruise credit in hand, I was on the hunt to find another cheap cruise. 

How I found my cheap cruise

Since I live in Florida, I was only interested in ports that were within driving distance. Currently, that includes Port Canaveral and Tampa, both of which are 6 hours away. 

I had a few weeks throughout April that I was available, so I filtered the cruise search to show me only cruises during that time frame. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find a great deal or not, as it was pretty last minute and my search was fairly limited. 

I sorted the results by 'Price Low to High' so I could find the cheapest fares first. Most of the time, the cheapest cruises are also the shortest ones. However, this sorting feature doesn’t show you the cheapest price per night, but rather the cheapest total cost.

This is an important distinction - as sometimes short cruises can have higher nightly costs compared to longer sailings. But, a higher daily cost on a shorter sailing can still provide an affordable vacation at the end of the day. 

I’ve seen transatlantic cruises cost as little as $42 per day, but these are often 12-14 nights. This is an incredible deal per night, but not everyone can afford being gone for 2 weeks; for me, that means paying a dog sitter for 2 weeks, which gets pricey.

Some of my options for a cheap cruise in April had affordable fares on a per day basis, but most of these were 7 night sailings. I prefer to drive to the port the night before, so that turns into an 8 night vacation. Again, leaving my dogs last minute for 8 nights would be pretty tough logistically and financially. 

Shorter Cruises = More Flexibility

For this last minute sailing, I decided to look for something on the shorter side. This also gave me more flexibility to choose a sailing that was between 3 to 5 nights. I was open to sailings over the weekend or during the work week since I can work remotely. 

One of the best options was a 4-night Bahamas Getaway Cruise out of Port Canaveral on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas. This fit my calendar nicely and my sister was already flying down to visit on April 17.

The total cost was $499, down from the advertised price of $571 because of my Florida resident discount. 

This fare was for an inside guarantee stateroom, meaning I would be assigned at least an inside cabin, likely right before the cruise departed. The stateroom could be located anywhere on the ship. I’ve always had good luck with inside cabins, so I was totally fine with this kind of stateroom for the price.

Last Minute Logistics

As a longtime cruiser, living in Florida was always a dream of mine. I couldn’t imagine how nice it would be to just drive to a cruise port and hop on a cruise ship. 

With my husband serving in the military, I have little to no say where we live; needless to say, I couldn’t be more thankful that he is stationed in Florida because it allows me to live my best cruising life and take advantage of these last minute opportunities. 

This doesn’t mean you can’t find cheap cruises that are in the future and not considered last minute. There are plenty of cruises with very cheap fares that are available through the rest of the year and even into next year. 

Last minute cruising deals can be great but do require some flexibility and logistics that need to be sorted out quickly to make it work. 

Being able to drive to the port negated any consideration for airfare prices. My aunt and uncle live near Orlando where we can stay the night before a cruise, which means we didn’t need to consider the cost of a hotel. We also have great friends who were able to help watch the dogs with only 2 weeks notice. 

With everything falling into place, we pulled the trigger and booked our cheap cruise! My sister would be sailing with me as my cruise buddy - our first sister cruise.

Cruise Expectations

Since the cruise was relatively cheap, I expected the ship to be sailing at a low capacity. I figured with basic economics that demand was low for this sailing, so Royal Caribbean was dropping the price to get more reservations booked. 

Most of my cruising in recent years has been on longer sailings and smaller ships. The other cruises I’ve done since the pandemic have been on ships sailing at 30% and 50% capacity. 

I also figured that most schools had already had their spring break. Since our sailing was Tuesday to Saturday, I assumed the low cost was because most families couldn’t sail during this time. In fact, I haven’t sailed during the spring break time frame since my own college spring break back in 2016!

Mariner of the Seas is a mid-sized cruise ship for Royal Caribbean and recently refurbished. I was excited that our cheap sailing was on a cruise ship with some really fun additions and amenities, as our canceled cheap cruise in January was on a smaller and older ship. 

I figured a shorter sailing would have a more party-like atmosphere than the other cruises I’ve done in recent years. 

Since we normally book inside cabins, I knew what to expect in the stateroom. However, I haven’t booked a guaranteed inside cabin, meaning our cabin location could be anywhere. I assumed we would be located either at the front or back of the ship and potentially in a bad location - like under the pool deck or night club. 

Cruising Day

Since our cruise left on a Tuesday, we drove to Debary, FL to stay with my aunt and uncle on Monday afternoon. 

The day of our cruise, we were slotted for a 1:30pm arrival. As we arrived at the port, Mariner looked like she was in great shape and felt even bigger than I remembered. 

Parking at the cruise port cost $85 for the duration of the cruise while gas to the port had cost right around $75. We did not get there early enough to snag a spot in the parking ramp, unfortunately. This was my first indication that the cruise would be busier than I expected. Back in February, we were able to park much closer to the terminal when sailing on a bigger ship at a lower capacity. 

Stateroom Impressions

After checking in, we went to our stateroom to drop off our luggage and check out the room for the first time. We had been assigned to cabin 8371, which was an interior stateroom almost at the back of the ship. 

This is what I had expected with our inside guarantee stateroom selection. Honestly, I was a little worried we would feel more of the ship’s motion that far back. I don’t think I’ve actually had a cabin that far back on a cruise ship before!

Although Mariner of the Seas had been refurbished in 2018, I’d argue that most of the renovation budget went to upgrading public spaces and very little went to upgrading cabins. 

The cabins looked exactly as I remembered from when I sailed on the same cruise ship in 2017. The decor was a little dated, but it did ooze with nostalgia since we had sailed on Voyager Class ships often growing up.

The cabin also had a couch, which was nice to have because newer ships don't always have sofas for inside cabins. Even if it just became a spot for us to pile our clothes and bags slowly throughout the cruise, it filled the space nicely and it was comfortable.

There was plenty of storage with a large closet that had shelving on the side. There were 4 sets of drawers on both sides of the vanity, along with a mini cooler under the TV. We had more than enough space to unpack and get comfortable in the room. The room also had a hair dryer in one of the drawers and a safe above the TV, which also had more shelving.

The bathroom was very standard for a cruise bathroom with a small shower and toilet. Certainly not spacious but everything you need in a bathroom. There was a shelf under the bathroom sink for more storage and mirror panels that opened to uncover even more shelving for cosmetics and bathroom toiletries. 

Our TV was playing the infamous “wash your hands” tune so we tried to change the channel. Either our remote didn’t work or the TV itself was struggling, so we ended up unplugging it entirely. 

Something that I’ve grown more accustomed to with traveling these days is having USB plugs in my room. On a recent trip to Europe, I didn’t even need to use my converter because all of our rooms had USB plugs on the nightstand and desk. 

Our cruise on Harmony of the Seas, which is one of Royal Caribbean’s newest ships, had USB plugs in the room. This is super nice because it allows for more charging and overall convenience. Honestly, it’s something I just expect to have these days when traveling. We had to constantly trade between charging our phones and laptops. 

Good thing my husband wasn’t there with all of his electronics because we would be struggling to get everything charged without some sort of USB extender. 

Our beds were very comfortable and we both slept well throughout the cruise. We had them separated, which is similar to a sleeping in a twin size bed.

Other than being slightly outdated with decor and electronics, our inside cabin felt spacious and had everything we needed for a place to sleep, change and shower each day. We were overall pleased with the cabin and felt comfortable staying there throughout the cruise.

Cruising Itinerary 

Our original cruise had stops in Nassau and CocoCay, Bahamas with one day at sea. Upon arrival in our stateroom, we found a letter that our sea day would be replaced with a maintenance stop in Freeport, Bahamas. 

This was a welcomed change for us since we could choose to stay onboard as scheduled or go ashore to a new port we’ve never visited. We opted to walk around the port area and enjoy most of our day onboard, as we had planned.

If you followed our live blog, you’ll know our visit to Freeport was eventful when Mariner of the Seas was struck by a cargo ship. Luckily, this did not impact our sailing further but certainly caused some commotion onboard. 

Our second port was Perfect Day at CocoCay, which we were excited to have a relaxing beach day at Royal Caribbean’s private island. We enjoyed chicken sandwiches at Snack Shack, drinks in Oasis Lagoon and a visit to the floating tiki bar on South Beach. 

CocoCay is a great stop because it feels like you’re at an all inclusive resort. Everything is conveniently located and there’s already so much included. Of course, you can spend extra to have a private cabana or ride the wild waterslides; but, those of us cruising on a budget can still have a great day without spending anything extra.

The final port of our cruise was Nassau, Bahamas. For this day, we opted to spend a little extra to spend the day at RIU Palace using Resort for a Day. (This link contains an affiliate link)

This gave us unlimited drinks and food with access to the resort’s main pool, infinity pool, swim-up bar and private beach. 

For $100 each, this was a relaxing way to spend our day. The resort was a short 10 minute drive from the port and located on Paradise Island next to Atlantis. The taxi’s cost was $30 roundtrip. 

The only thing I would consider in the future when doing another resort pass is the amount of time you have in port and how long you can use your pass for. Our pass was valid from 10am to 6pm but we were in port from 7am to 3pm. I don’t like to risk being back to the ship late, so we really only had from 10am to 2pm at the resort, only utilizing 4 of the 8 hours we paid for.  

Full Capacity Sailing

To my surprise, the cruise was sailing with 3,000 passengers which is nearly at 100% capacity. Because of the cruise’s cheap pricing, I was convinced the cruise would be sailing at a lower capacity. 

Again to my surprise, there were tons of families and spring breakers. I guess our cruise was at the tail-end of the spring break season. I also hadn’t considered that the Sunday before our sailing was Easter so it was a holiday weekend as well.  

Here's a picture of the pool deck during the belly flop contest - it was pretty packed!

With the ship sailing at full capacity, it was very busy. We didn’t have any lines at the Windjammer, but there were lines at places like Cafe Promenade and Playmakers. Most of the onboard thrills like SkyPad and FlowRider had lines too.

We had to sit behind a pole at the ice show on the first night because we didn’t get there early enough. 

I wouldn’t say this damped our cruise by any means, but I did feel the ship was slightly understaffed. For example, the servers at Playmakers said it would take 45 minutes to get the campfire cookie skillet (worth it!). The first night’s entertainment in the Royal Theater was just playing a movie (Sing 2). Of course, this is an issue plaguing all industries right now so I guess I should have expected there to be some staffing issues onboard. 

Another thing I didn’t miss was the chair hogging that took place at some of the coveted spots, like the daybeds in the Solarium. I normally love spending time in the Solarium, but we had the hardest time finding a good spot. The bar was also packed in the Solarium so we didn’t spend much time here at all. 

Dining Options

Since our cruise was so cheap, we did choose to splurge on specialty dining a few times. We’ve always enjoyed our meals in the main dining room when cruising, but have grown to appreciate the quality and experience of specialty dining in recent years. 

Before cruising, we purchased the Chops + 1 dining package. This was $75 each and included dinner at Chops plus a second specialty restaurant. Since Chops is $55 each, this meant we could dine at a second specialty restaurant for only $20. 

On the first night, we dined at Chops Grille for a delicious 4-course steak meal. We had excellent service and great food. 

For our second and third nights, we opted to dine in the main dining room. To our dismay, our original table was being seated with 2 other couples that we didn’t know. We were accommodated by the hostess to have a table where just the two of us could dine, which we appreciated. Our original table was with older cruises and didn't look very lively.

In the spirit of transparency, I didn’t love that we were assigned to sit with strangers. Since the cruise was sailing at full capacity, I suppose they didn’t have many options to accommodate everyone without seating strangers together. We did have great service both nights and enjoyed our experience, regardless.

In fact, we were in and out of the dining room in less than an hour both nights. This was actually perfect since we wanted to get to the shows earlier to snag seats. 

On our final night, we had an amazing dinner at Jamie’s Italian. The food was very fresh and we could tell the pasta was homemade. I did feel that the food was better onboard Harmony of the Seas back in February, but it was still delicious. We also had great service here. 

One of the best things we ate during our cruise was the campfire cookie at Playmakers. Although it cost $7, this was absolutely worth it to enjoy its ooey, gooey chocolatey goodness. 

The Bamboo Room was another spot that we loved and we went there 3 of the 4 nights of our cruise. The atmosphere was very tropical and we loved the tiki-themed cocktails. We also enjoyed getting to know the bartenders here!

We ate breakfast each morning at The Windjammer buffet and we were pleased with the food options and quality. Surprisingly, we didn’t have any issues finding a table each morning, but we were only looking for a table to accommodate the 2 of us. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, we had a phenomenal cruise vacation, especially considering the price we paid for the cruise. 

Because our cruise fare itself was so cheap, we did treat ourselves to specialty dining and the all-inclusive resort pass in Nassau. The resort pass was $130 each including tax and the taxi ride from the port to the resort. Our specialty dining was $75 each, making these extras around $205 for each of us. 

Gas round trip from my house was $130 and parking was an additional $85, which adds $107 to the total cruise cost.  

Gratuities for this cruise were $58 per person, although we did tip some servers and bartenders extra.  

With our base cruise costing $250 each, the total cost with gas, parking, gratuities, specialty dining and the all-inclusive resort was right around $620. 

It would have been easy to still have a great cruise on a budget without specialty dining and the all-inclusive resort. When booking a cheaper fare, you have more wiggle room to spend money on other things you enjoy. It’s always good to consider the extras that come with cruising that aren’t included in your cruise fare - for us, that was gas, gratuities and parking at the terminal. 

I wouldn’t hesitate to book another cheap last minute cruise. It was a great getaway and it’s convinced me that vacation really is a state of mind. 

This week, I’ll be heading up north for the very first Royal Caribbean Alaska cruise for the season! 

I’ll be sailing on a 7-night sailing onboard Radiance of the Seas from Vancouver to Alaska. Our itinerary includes port stops in Ketchikan, Sitka, and Skagway. The cruise will also sail through the Inside Passage and Tracy Arm Fjord, which I’m very excited about. 

Queue the song “North to Alaska” - one that my dad sang everyday of our first Alaskan cruise!

This week, I’ll be sailing with a very special friend, Sydney! We were roommates during our Semester at Sea and we haven’t sailed together since we disembarked from our ship in 2015. From sleeping in a remote Senegalese hut to hiking almost the entire island of Santorini, we have some incredible travel memories together. 

It’s been 4 years since we last saw each other at my wedding, so we have lots to catch up on during our week in Alaska. We've been wanting to take a trip together since our semester abroad, but life has been busy for us both. The pandemic didn't help, of course.

Travel Requirements

When we booked our Alaska cruise in February, it wasn’t entirely clear if Canada would allow cruise ship travel. Given the country’s overall cautiousness with the pandemic, I was hesitant to get too excited about the cruise. 

Luckily, Canada has allowed the entry of cruise ships and our cruise is a go! Sydney will be visiting Seattle and taking the train to Vancouver, while I will be flying from Florida directly into Vancouver. As fully vaccinated travelers, we don’t need a negative covid test to enter the country. 

Both of us were required to fill out the ArriveCAN form online, in which you receive a QR code to board your flight. The website says you can be randomly selected for COVID testing, but those recovered from COVID within 180 days are exempt with a positive PCR test. Sydney and I have both recovered from COVID in the last 180 days so we will be traveling with documentation to exempt us from the testing. 

Royal Caribbean still requires a negative COVID test within 2 days to board the ship and the United States still requires a negative test for airline travel. I’ve been holding out hope that the international testing requirement would be dropped for airline travel, but who knows if I will luck out by May 5. 

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I am planning to take the Abbott Home-Test (proctored) for both the cruise and the airline requirement since I am outside of the 90 day recovery window. I’ve had great luck using these tests and I will probably pack and extra just in case. 

Alaska Experiences

I’ve sailed twice to Alaska before, both on Royal Caribbean cruises. The first time I did an Alaska cruise was in 2010 with my family and grandparents. We sailed south from Seward to Vancouver onboard Radiance of the Seas as well. 

I will never forget showing up to the train in Anchorage; we were under the impression it was a quick 30 minute ride to the cruise port Seward. Someone told us to enjoy the train’s beautiful views during the 5 hour ride - and we all were shocked to hear it was a long haul ride to the port. Guess that’s what life was like before iPhones! 

Our cruise was incredible though, even with the weather being unexpectedly cold. I have vivid memories of doing the dog sled training excursion and whale watching from the sea. Our horse-drawn city tour excursion hit a car in Ketchikan, which was very memorable. We also cruised right up to an iceberg and could hear the cackling and crashing of ice chunks falling into the freezing sea. 

The worst part of the trip was when I got home and found out I had mono- which explains why I got sick on the flight home from Vancouver. Hoping for better health this time around in Vancouver!

The second time I sailed to Alaska was last summer in July 2021 when cruising had just restarted. My husband and I sailed for 7-nights roundtrip from Seattle on Serenade of the Seas. Luke and I desperately needed a vacation after he graduated from his rigorous pilot training program and I finished grad school, not to mention the pandemic wearing on all of us at that point. 

We just wanted to cruise and honestly didn’t care where it went. When Royal Caribbean announced that Alaskan cruises would be restarted, we booked right away. It was perfect for us because it didn’t require approval for Luke to leave the country. We were true Floridians escaping the summer heat to vacation somewhere cooler!

Overall, our exploring was quite minimal. We had no plans because we wanted to have ultimate relaxation filled with eating, drinking, sleeping and being literal vacation blobs with no schedule in mind. 

We accomplished just that and enjoyed a week of much needed cruising relaxation. We didn’t do much in the ports other than walking around. The scenery from our balcony each evening was spectacular - and we had been upgraded from an outside cabin for free. We also have excellent weather and were actually able to use the outdoor pools a few days. 

Radiance Class Ships

As I mentioned, I sailed on Radiance of the Seas nearly 12 years ago. The ship was refurbished in 2016, so I’m looking forward to seeing some of her upgrades. We had a New Zealand cruise scheduled for March 27, 2020 on Radiance of the Seas, but you all know how that ended! She's definitely a great ship to sail anywhere with gorgeous landscapes and natural beauty.

Radiance Class ships are some of my favorite. In fact, in the last 5 years, I’ve sailed almost exclusively on Radiance Class ships. I appreciate the more intimate size of these cruise ships and the glass atrium gives truly incredible scenic views. 

Being on the smaller side, these ships are usually placed on longer sailings with more interesting ports of call. Radiance Class ships might not have all the bells and whistles of the bigger cruise ships, but they’re so comfortable and have everything you need for a great cruise. 

This Cruise

For our week in Alaska, Sydney and I are going to take a freestyle approach. We weren't sure if excursion policies would change so we haven't booked any tours currently. We are open to doing a tour if the opportunity presents itself but we normally like traveling on our own and exploring the port cities.

This is the first sailing of the Alaska season for Royal Caribbean! I've never been on a ship’s first inaugural season sailing, so that will be fun. It’s looking like we won’t be having amazing weather, as the forecast is showing 40 to 50 degrees each day. Looks like it will be rainy and cloudy. This is expected for late April so I’ll be packing all the cozy sweaters.  

Apparently, Radiance of the Seas just returned to service in April as the 22nd Royal Caribbean ship to resume cruising. I'll be interested to see if the ship's recent return to service will affect the onboard operations.

Sydney and I got an incredible deal on our cruise. We booked an inside cabin guarantee for $450 each with $100 onboard credit included. With the price being so low and the sailing being the first of the Alaska season, I will be interested to see what capacity we will be sailing at. I assume most who sail to Alaska sail in the summer in hopes of better weather and kids are out of school. After my busy Mariner of the Seas sailing last week, I wouldn't complain about a quiet ship.

Last summer, our Alaskan cruise had boozy hot chocolate and coffee during one of the mornings sailing through the fjords. This was something I was so excited for because I saw pictures online before we sailed. I asked at every bar when the boozy cocktails would be served but most bartenders didn't know what I was talking about.

Apparently these amazing drinks were served one morning on the pool deck and there was no announcement, much to my disappointment. They didn’t serve these special boozy drinks again the rest of the cruise. I’m very much looking forward to seeing the different cozy cocktails that will be served and I’ll be darned if I miss the warm cocktails on the pool deck again! 

Sydney loved getting up early on Semester at Sea to see the sunrise as we pulled into new ports - and I never once joined her (haha). This time around, I don’t want to regret missing beautiful sunrises or sunsets if the weather looks like it will cooperate. 

Overall, we are very excited to be sailing through Alaska. I really think it's the best way to see the state and all of its natural beauty. Getting to sail through the Inside Passage and the fjords can't be matched with a land trip. Of course, Sydney and I are equally as excited to see each other again after we lived in a cabin together at sea for 104 days!

Bon voyage!

It’s the final day of our 4-night Bahamas getaway cruise, which means we are sadly packing up our bags and getting ready to drive back home tomorrow.

Why can’t every week go as quickly as it does when you’re on vacation?

Today, we arrived early in the morning to Nassau, Bahamas. Angie and I were responsible today and set our alarms for a gnarly 8:30 AM to ensure we wouldn’t sleep another morning away.

I was again surprised to see the ship was already noticeably quiet, meaning most people were up earlier than we were to start their Nassau day. We didn’t have any issues with getting a seat in the Windjammer and the coffee bar was wide open - all good ways to start our morning.

We allocated 30 minutes to have breakfast and another 30 minutes to get ready for the day. Our goal was to be off the ship by 9:30 and we were successfully off the ship right around that time. 

Good Morning, Nassau

As I mentioned yesterday, we had Resort for a Day passes to the RIU Palace in Nassau. This all-inclusive resort is located on Paradise Island right next to Atlantis. It looked to be about a 10 minute drive from the port to the resort.

Our passes for the day were around $100 each and included access to the pools (including chairs and towels), unlimited alcoholic drinks and unlimited food. The pass was valid from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, but Mariner’s gangway up time was 3:00 PM for all aboard.

I don’t like to play with fire when it comes to all aboard time. You won’t see me cutting it close.

During my Semester at Sea abroad program, we would be punished with ‘dock time’ if we were late to the ship. Dock time was the ultimate punishment because for every 15 minutes you were late for all aboard time, you’d lose an hour of port time at the next stop. Needless to say, it’s engrained in me to give at least 30-60 minutes of buffer time for returning to the ship.

As we walked off the ship in Nassau, we were docked next to Carnival Freedom and Disney Magic. I might be biased, but Mariner looked to be in the best shape of the 3 ships.

There was a ton of construction, apparently for a new cruise port terminal in Nassau that’s being built. We probably had a solid 10 minute walk as we zigzagged through the construction. Finally, we reached the main road outside of the current terminal, which is basically a few tents.

A lady wearing an official looking vest asked if we were going to Paradise Island and we told her we were headed to the RIU Palace. She had us join a large group of others heading to Paradise Island. I was actually fine with this - as two women traveling together, I prefer to be in a larger group just to be safe.

RIU Palace - Resort for a Day

The drive was a quick 10 minutes and I initially was very impressed with Paradise Island’s curb appeal. We walked into the RIU Palace right at 10:00 AM, as we had hoped, and waited in line to check in. The lobby was beautiful with plenty of views of the pool and ocean.

In alignment with our theme this entire cruise, it was quite windy as we walked outside to the pool area. There were 2 pools, one of which was an infinity pool overlooking the ocean. There was a swim-up bar and plenty of chairs to choose from.

The wind was a bit overwhelming when we first arrived, so we walked around the resort for a bit to see what it looked like. As you can guess, we are loyal cruisers so we haven’t really been to an all-inclusive resort before.

Angie ordered a vanilla milkshake from the snack bar inside - a wild start to our unlimited drinking! We noticed that people seemed to be enjoying the infinity pool without getting blown over, so I grabbed a drink and we snagged a spot on the corner near the infinity's edge.

The infinity pool had a gorgeous view of the ocean with some lounging chairs partially submerged in the water. The pool was super nice and the bar was blocking us from the majority of the wind. The temperature was perfect. We settled nicely into the infinity pool and had a mini photoshoot with the picturesque views.

The other pool appeared to be less protected from the wind, so we stayed comfortable in the infinity pool near the swim-up bar. The RIU Palace also has a private, direct access to the beach. The water was gorgeously blue, but the red flag and giant waves made us appreciate the infinity pool.

We also met some nice gals traveling from Las Vegas. This is one of my favorite parts of traveling - getting to meet and connect people from all over the world!

Between the views, pina coladas and new found friends, it seemed like the time really flew by.

Lunch was being served both poolside and in the buffet. Since cruising is essentially one big buffet, we opted to try the Caribbean-style buffet poolside. We tried the rice, jerk pork and jerk chicken. All of it was delicious and hit the spot.

Since we needed to return to the ship by 3:00 PM, we started to pack up around 1:30 PM. We had to check-out of the resort, in which the front desk would return my ID that they held and would cut off our wristbands.

The line, unfortunately, wasn’t moving quickly as many people had now arrived to check-in to their rooms at the resort. We waited probably 15 minutes before I approached the bellhop to ask if he could arrange a taxi for us to go back to the ship.

The bellhop went behind the front desk and returned my ID while also cutting off our wristbands. I wasn’t getting too worried about the time at this point, as we had an hour to get back on the ship.

Our taxi driver promptly returned us to the port where we walked and zigzagged through the construction again.

We made it back to the ship by 2:15 PM, which was still plenty of time.

Overall, we really enjoyed our time at RIU Resort. It had a party-vibe with lots of groups and friends traveling together, perhaps for bachelor and bachelorette parties. There was a wide array of people there though, so I think people of all ages would enjoy this. The unlimited food and drink is a great perk. The infinity pool and beach access are also great amenities.

I would check to see how long you have in port and how early you can check in for your resort pass. We could check in at 10:00 AM and needed to be back on the ship by 3:00PM, which only gave us about 4 solid hours of the 8 hour pass. If our ship was in port longer, or if the resort had let us in earlier, we would have gotten more of our money’s worth.

Three Strikes on the SkyPad

Back on the ship, I made one final attempt for the SkyPad. I dressed in workout gear and put on my closed toe shoes. I even tried to yank off my wedding ring to make sure I didn’t have any jewelry. To no one’s surprise, my fingers were swollen from the heat, eating and alcohol so I was not successful at removing all my jewelry.

As I trekked up to the SkyPad, I saw the long line coming around the stairs. Filled with determination, I made my way to the line where the employee would approve my outfit. I guess my ring was no problem but Angie’s shorts were too short and my top didn’t cover enough of my arms. We discretely traded shirts so Angie could capture me doing the SkyPad.

I think the universe was laughing when I wrote the SkyPad was on my top 3 things I wanted to do for this cruise. They only had 1 trampoline in use and there were probably 12 adolescents in front of me. A storm was brewing in the distance and the employees told everyone they could stay in line but the SkyPad would close if it started to rain.

At this point, I accepted that I wasn’t meant to do the SkyPad. Most of the people in line were significantly younger than I, so I also didn’t want to take a spot from one of the kids if the line happened to magically move fast and the rain stayed away.

We made our way to the Solarium to grab a cocktail and drown my sorrows of 3 failed attempts at the SkyPad. Angie said how she hoped maybe we could grab one of the daybeds in the Solarium to watch the sail away from port.

Well, fate just wasn’t on our side again because all of the daybeds were taken. What made me super frustrated was that all 3 daybeds on one side of the Solarium were ‘taken’ but no one was using them.

Cruising is officially back because the chair hogs are back in full swing!

As we sailed away from port, Angie and I waited at least 20 minutes and no one returned to the daybeds. One of the beds simply had a beach bag on the corner so we sat on the opposite side while watching the ship sail off.

We agreed if the person came back to the bed, we would just move to another spot. After sitting on the edge for some time, we hear a voice that says “uhm, can you not sit by my stuff?”

I responded that I was sorry, but no one was using it. She grabbed a towel from the adjacent daybed (that no one was currently using either) and draped it across the entire bed to claim her territory.

Essentially, she was hogging 2 of the coveted daybeds and walked away!

Angie and I were pretty surprised that she was blatantly hogging the beds and didn’t even use the daybed after telling us not to sit ‘by’ her stuff.

I wish people could be more considerate on these packed sailings. In the full hour that we were in the Solarium, not one person laid on the daybeds that they were saving.

Jamie's Italian for Dinner

All the chair hogging got me worked up, so we went back to our cabin and got ready for dinner. We had a reservation for Jamie’s Italian tonight and we were both very excited. Our reservation wasn’t until 6:00 PM but we arrived a little early and were accommodated without problem.

The first time we ate at Jamie’s was on Spectrum of the Seas during our China sailing. We had been craving a sense of cruise normalcy during that time, so Jamie’s really hit the spot and knocked it out of the park on our first impressions. We also dined back in February at Jamie’s with our parents on Harmony of the Seas.

Angie and I die for good Italian food, so we came hungry. We started with the black truffle arancini and ultimate garlic cheese bread. Both of these were delicious. We’ve also enjoyed the meat plank before, but we skipped this time around since it was just the two of us.

For pastas, we ordered the carbonara, truffle tagliatelle and bolognese in the smaller portions. We both agreed that the truffle pasta was the winner, which was also our favorite last time.

Angie ordered the lasagne for an entree and I ordered the beef short rib. Angie’s lasagne was delightful, rich in sauce and plenty of cheesy layers. My short rib was tender and very flavorful. We opted to polish off our meals with the pavlova and epic brownie. The pavlova is always a hit and Angie hoarded it mostly to herself; I wasn’t mad though, because the brownie was also rich, fudgy and decadent.

The service was excellent again and we commented how we’ve had such fast services during all of our meals.

The two of us got talking to the table next to us - an older couple from Chicago area. We were chatting away until we realized it was nearly 7:00 PM and we had to go to the Royal Theatre for the show. The final headliner tonight was a variety show featuring the previous night’s juggler and the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers. It was a lovely show to end the cruise.

And yes, the family-friendly juggler comedian mentioned flatulence (as I predicted) multiple times.

We finished our night with one final drink at The Bamboo Room. Angie and I both enjoyed a mojito. I also wanted to say goodbye to our Ukranian bartender we met, as he really tugged at my heartstrings the first day.

Here we all are on this cruise, a carefree vacation, while some of the crew members have families in an active war zone. The crew work so hard while sailing on these cruise ships and they receive very little time off. Most of the time, these crew members are working to support their families back in their home countries.

With a deployed spouse myself, I empathize greatly with the sacrifices they make being away from family. I know personally how hard that is to be separated from your family and miss milestones, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. 

I always keep this on my mind and in my heart when I finalize my gratuities on the last day. I want to recognize the crew members that really make cruising so special for us and reward those who go above and beyond to cater to our needs. 

After our last mojito and a farewell to The Bamboo Room, we came back to our stateroom and packed our bags. The saddest moment of the cruise - truly!

So that brings us to the end of our sister cruise! We had the best time sharing this experience together and capturing all the incredible (and unexpected!) moments. We still can’t believe our ship was hit by a cargo ship on the first day - nonetheless that our first day was meant to be a sea day.

Thanks for following along and hope to see you all back at sea soon!

Today we arrived at the beautiful island of CocoCay, Bahamas, which is Royal Caribbean’s private island.

Back in February, we had visited Perfect Day at CocoCay for the first time in nearly 13 years. We were super impressed with how the island had been transformed into a private island oasis.

Needless to say, Angie and I were super excited to return to CocoCay. It’s such a fun stop with great music, delicious food and tropical vibes around every corner. It’s an easy going day with everything all in one convenient spot.

Late Morning

I’m embarrassed to say we had a late start to our day - to the point that we missed breakfast in the Windjammer! I must have jinxed myself yesterday because I really didn’t sleep well last night, which is unusual for me on a cruise. I was awake throughout the night and finally fell back asleep in the early morning.

I could feel the ship swaying and waves were crashing against the ship’s hull, so I was in no rush to wake up. Angie had reported that we might arrive late into port today because of the wind, so I was convinced all morning that we simply hadn’t arrived to port yet because I could feel the ship moving.

Low and behold, when we finally awoke from our pitch-black slumber, we had no idea where we were or what time it was. We turned on the TV map to confirm that we had indeed arrived in CocoCay and it was 11:00 AM. I guess the wind must have been substantial enough to make the ship continue to sway even while docked.

That’s one of the downsides on an inside cabin I suppose, we really have no concept of time or location without a window.

Everyone must have been ashore by the time we left our cabin because the ship was virtually dead as we made our way to deck 1 and onto CocoCay.

It was certainly a bit windy as we walked along the shoreline, but it was very comfortable once we reached the island. The sun started to peak out and it really was a perfect day.

Allure of the Seas was supposed to dock with us today but was unable to make it due to reported medical emergencies. Therefore, the island felt pretty empty with only our ship docked.

Perfect Day at CocoCay

Since we had missed breakfast, we were very ready to grab some lunch. Snack Shack is a great spot for food, so we made our way across the island for a quick bite to eat.

Angie and I had the crispy chicken sandwich with basil mayo - it’s deliciousness reminded us both of Chick Fil A. Per recommendations, we also ordered the cheese sticks, which were equally as cheesy as they were crispy.

We polished off our meal with a funnel cake, which I have deemed an absolute must-have when visiting CocoCay. Deep fried sweet dough covered in powdered sugar. How often can you get a funnel cake these days anyway… unless you’re dragging yourself to your local state fair in the summer?! Just go for it and thank us later!

The party tunes were blasting from Oasis Lagoon, so we made our way over to the swim-up bar. This was our favorite spot when we visited in February - it’s such a fun atmosphere and everyone’s always having a good time drinking to the DJ’s remixes.

We also had it on our agenda to try out the floating tiki bar on South Beach. We weren’t entirely sure where the bar was located, so we started wandering around towards the hot air balloon (which wasn’t running today because of wind).

Eventually, we found rows of beach chairs and umbrellas on South Beach with the famous floating tiki bar off in the distance.

The water was turquoise blue and felt refreshing after walking in the sand and heat. South Beach was much quieter and felt very low key, so this would be a great place to relax if you prefer a more serene beach experience.

We did, indeed, have to swim a bit to get to the floating bar. As we hoisted ourselves up on the bar, it was pretty packed with other cruisers. We waited for a bit while the bartender left the bar and started to make a few calls.

Someone told us the bar had ran out of ice, which was bad luck timing for us. We didn’t feel like waiting for the logistics to play out regarding how exactly more ice would be transported to the floating tiki bar, so we swam back to the beach.

Since we love Oasis Lagoon so much, we went back for a few more drinks and to enjoy the DJ again. Angie opted for a Bahama mama while I tried out the watermelon margarita. It’s dangerously easy to access your Diamond + vouchers at the swim-up bar!

Drinks were flowing and the tunes were bopping as we soaked in the sun in the freshwater pool.

Back Onboard

By now, it was around 3:00 PM so we decided to return back to our ship and get ready for the evening. We could see the waterslides were running, so we thought that would be fun since we were already in our swimsuits.

Angie and I both took our turns on the waterslides, twisting and turning through the tunnels. We agreed that the slide didn’t go as fast as we were expecting. Angie said the slides on Harmony of the Seas were faster and a bit more thrilling. Perhaps the slides are meant for younger (and smaller) cruisers.  Still fun to try though!

It was nice that we didn’t have to wait in any lines - we actually saw some people going multiple times in a row. Long lines have been a recurring theme on this cruise, so it was nice to see this. This pre-departure timeframe seemed like the opportune time to try out the onboard thrills with minimal waiting required.

To my surprise, the SkyPad trampoline experience was open! I figured with the winds that it wouldn’t be open today. Drenched in both beach and pool water, I wasn’t equipped to seize the opportunity and jump in line (that was punny, eh?!). I am determined to do the SkyPad tomorrow and I’ll be angsty if it’s too windy when I try again.

Famished Tummies

Angie and I returned to our cabin for a quick change and grabbed our laptops. We were hoping to get on the internet to catch up on work emails while grabbing a snack at the Cafe Promenade.

Well, apparently everyone had the same idea because the line was wrapped around to Ben and Jerry’s again and the Internet virtually crashed simultaneously. Big bummer.

Angie had a great idea to head to the Diamond Lounge - it would probably be quieter and we could grab some hors d'oeuvres. Since it was about 45 minutes before these would be served, we sat in the lounge and caught up on our work emails.

The hors d'oeuvres were served promptly at 5:00 PM, consisting of more cheesy sticks, corn fritters and chicken wings. By this time, I was basically famished by cruising standards so the snacks were devoured.

I was a little nervous about how our dinner situation would play out again. Again, we didn’t feel like sitting with strangers so we asked the hostess if we could sit elsewhere just the two of us. He was a bit frazzled, but ended up accommodating us at an empty table of 8.

Angie and I both ordered the chicken parmesan and Mississippi mudslide pie for dessert. I started with some needed greenery by ordering Cesar salad. Angie ordered the mushroom risotto (which is funny, since she claims she doesn’t like mushrooms). This was actually and entree tonight but she requested it as an appetizer. Angie also splurged on a second dessert and tried the apple blossom. Everything was delicious!

It was probably the fastest meal we’ve ever eaten in the dining room; we were in and out within 30 minutes! Our waiters were hilarious - I wish we could have had them every night.

Our originally assigned table was around the corner and it didn’t seem to be the liveliest bunch. Cruising is certainly back if they’re sitting strangers together again!

Right after dinner, we had some RoyalCaribbeanBlog fans introduce themselves to us! This was our first time meeting blog fans in real life; it was such a special moment!

Evening Fun

After blushing in my new found stardom (joking!), we made our way to the Royal Theatre for the nightly show. Tonight’s entertainment was a dual show starting with a family-friendly comedian and followed by a juggler. We both loved the variety show and laughed many times!

If there’s one topic that’s going to come up during a family-friendly comedy show, I guarantee it will be flatulence! Mark my words, the next time you go to one of these shows, it’s not a matter of if, but when, the topic comes up.

When the show concluded, we took a spin at the casino to use our free Diamond + free spins. Last night, Angie won $20 on her free spins so she was anxious for me to use mine. As my luck would have it, I won absolutely nothing.

I forgot that smoking was back in the casino, which I really didn’t miss as one of the pandemic protocols.

We also picked out our free Diamond + photo from the gallery tonight with hopes of avoiding congestion tomorrow. We each get a free photo, so we selected the pictures that should be ready for pickup tomorrow evening. This seems to be way more sustainable than printing every single photo like Royal Caribbean used to!

Tomorrow we will be docked in Nassau on our final day. We have a resort day pass booked for the RIU Palace in Nassau - this is our first time doing a resort day pass while cruising! I just discovered our vouchers needed to be printed for tomorrow - which prompted us to panic about where we can print something onboard.

Mariner has a library located on deck 5 with computers and a printer. We were able to access my email by using the internet package login, so that worked nicely.

Today was a very eventful day onboard Mariner of the Seas!

To start, we were meant to have a sea day on the original itinerary. Yesterday, we found out we would instead be docking in Freeport, Bahamas for the ship to undergo routine maintenance.

As such, Angie and I were excited to visit a new port in the Bahamas. We’ve only visited Nassau and CocoCay, so we welcomed the unexpected opportunity to visit somewhere new. I think this scenario, receiving a bonus port, is probably the best case scenario when you see there’s been an itinerary change last minute.

Royal Caribbean offered excursions for Grand Bahama Island, including beach tours, dolphin encounters and city guides. We opted to just do our own thing in port rather than book anything last minute, although we did consider booking a resort day pass.

Easy Going Morning

I always sleep amazing when I am cruising. Between the ship slowly swaying and our inside cabin being pitch black, it’s so easy to get a good night’s rest.

Angie and I enjoyed a nice morning onboard the ship starting with breakfast at the Windjammer. It was fairly busy, but we didn’t have to wait in any lines. I was worried it would be packed with long lines given we are sailing almost at 100% capacity. Perhaps most people had an earlier start than we did at 10:30am, but we didn’t have any issues finding a table.

I discovered on our last cruise that I could order my morning latte (a necessity) at the Windjammer bar with one of my Diamond + drink vouchers. There is a Starbucks onboard, but I would rather take advantage of my vouchers than pay out of pocket for a latte at Starbucks.

Breakfast was great - we’re pretty much always pleased with the Windjammer breakfast. Angie indulged in a cinnamon roll and meat lovers omelet while I had a strawberry yogurt parfait. We both are obsessed with the cranberry strudel bread, which seems to be a Royal Caribbean staple over the years. Sometimes it’s topped with almonds and other times it’s sprinkled with coarse sugar. Either way, the bread is best enjoyed with a large slab of butter.

After finishing breakfast, we went back to our cabin on deck 8 and got ready for the day. I appreciate that our cabin is pretty centrally located - it’s never too far from any of the activities or dining options. Of course, it’s a bit of a long trek from Deck 1 when you return to the gangway.

Our cabin was already cleaned by the stateroom attendant and we found a tray of room service breakfast that we hadn’t ordered. I may (or may not) have enjoyed the mimosa that was accidentally delivered to our cabin after telling our stateroom attendant that the room service must have been delivered incorrectly. She encouraged me to enjoy the drink, so I didn’t hesitate!

We usually take the stairs when we cruise. One of the main reasons we choose to do so is because the elevators are always busy, especially this time around. The few times we’ve taken them, we stop at every deck and have to wait for a more empty one. A little bit of exercise isn’t the worst thing for us either!

Freeport Shopping

Angie and I walked right off the ship into the Freeport port, which appeared to have a really nice shopping area. We could see a bunch of little souvenir shops surrounding an outdoor Senior Frogs.

The weather was a comfortable 75 degrees with light gusts of wind and low humidity. I can imagine in the summer months that it gets much hotter, but today it was perfect.

We enjoyed souvenir shopping in the port area and even sampled some rum cakes that were made locally. Any day that includes rum cake and free samples is a great day in my book!

Because we were originally meant to be at sea today, Angie and I had a few things onboard that we were planning to try. After shopping and walking around the nice port, we decided to head back to the ship so we could make our way through the to-do list.

“We must have hit an iceberg!”

Upon returning to our stateroom, we found a fruit plate that was addressed to Allie Hubers from the Crown and Anchor Society. Angie jokingly questioned why she didn’t receive a fruit plate even though she’s the same status as I am.

Shortly after, we hear a knock on the door and we are gifted another fruit plate which is also addressed to me. Angie scowled, although we were both laughing at the abundant recognition that Royal Caribbean was giving me.

As we were eating said fruit, we felt the ship unexpectedly jerk back and forth. I immediately figured that must have been the scheduled maintenance that Mariner apparently was needing.

Angie joked “That was weird! We must have hit an iceberg!”

Of course, icebergs were nowhere to be found in the Caribbean and we were docked at the port…. so what could that jolt have been?

Well, not too long after, the captain announces that another ship has unfortunately bounced into us while we were docked. He assures everyone onboard Mariner that we are not to worry and everything is fine, although the ship would need to be inspected to ensure it's safe to continue sailing.

Our bonus port day suddenly got even more interesting!

Angie and I nearly ran to the top deck to check out the action - this was the moment that cruise blogging turned into investigative journalism! We saw a few people watching below from the top deck as a tug boat helped keep the cargo ship away from us.

I asked the gentleman next to me if he had seen the incident happen - he asked me what I was talking about. I informed him that the captain said we were struck by another ship - he seemed surprised and had no clue! There was a ship officer on the top deck who I also spoke with; he wasn’t concerned and joked that he has lived at sea so long, he has seen it all.

Click here to read more about the incident.

Overall, it was pretty obvious no one onboard was very concerned. The belly flop competition on the top deck was absolutely packed with people cheering and drinking. The FlowRider was also quite busy; by the way, I heard yesterday that there was a long line to surf, but I noticed today they had the divider up so two people could surf at once.

I told Angie we should check out the jogging trail on deck 4 since that would probably offer a better view of the cargo ship. The crew had blocked off the back of the ship by this point and told us we couldn’t be there, so unfortunately we didn’t get to see much. Aftermath photos show that this is where the ship ‘bounced’ into ours, so it makes sense why we couldn’t continue walking to see more.

Afternoon Activities

The original plan was to get back onboard so we could try out the SkyPad. Since I’ve heard a few grumblings of long lines, I thought it would be good to get there early.

The breaking news of our ship being struck by a cargo ship had derailed our afternoon plans. After realizing we wouldn’t get to see much more of the collision action, we opted to try out the SkyPad. We had dressed appropriately with closed toed shoes and removed our jewelry.

Sadly, the winds were too strong to do the SkyPad so we weren’t able to bounce today. I suppose that makes sense, as the wind seemed to be causing other problems today too (i.e. a cargo ship bouncing into us).

All the commotion and investigating made me hungry, so we opted for a quick lunch at the Windjammer. Given how busy the pool was, it was nice that the Windjammer was pretty quiet again. There was a little crowd of people who were watching as two tug boats attempted to safely move the cargo ship.

As I savored my go-to hot dog and fries, we could see more clearly that the cargo ship’s bridge had sustained some damage.

A small group of us watched as the tug boats safely moved the cargo ship while a pilot boat hovered nearby. That seemed to be the end of the commotion, although we couldn’t really see Mariner’s damage from anywhere public on the ship.

By this time, it was almost 3:00 PM and Angie wanted to check out the free massages. We found a small line outside of the spa forming but it moved fast. Really, this was more of a ‘free sample of a massage’ rather than a ‘free massage’. Angie opted for a 2 minute hot stone massage while I had just a normal mini massage.

Of course, they asked if we wanted to book any spa treatments. A quick glance at the treatment sheet showed plenty of lovely options, but most of them costed more than our cruise fare alone so we politely declined.

A Happy Hour Campfire Cookie

Other writers from RoyalCaribbeanBlog have raved about the campfire cookie at Playmakers, so this was at the top of my list of things I needed to try.

The promenade was busy with Cafe Promenade having a line that wrapped around the corner all the way back to Ben and Jerry’s. That was longer than the day prior, and we overheard a few other cruisers grumbling about the wait.

As a first-timer to Playmakers, I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to order at the bar and find a seat or if we would be seated and order at the table. I still am not sure the answer to that, but we ordered the campfire cookie from the bartender. He told us the kitchen was pretty busy and it could take up to 45 minutes.

I was a bit surprised by the wait time, but we told the bartender we would grab a drink at The Bamboo Room and return after to indulge in our cookie. We had really liked The Bamboo Room yesterday and the tiki bar was nearly empty when we walked inside.

This time around, I tried the Royal Zombie, which came in an adorable tiki cup and had hints of black licorice flavor. Angie was feeling less adventurous and opted for the same piña colada again. We sipped on our delicious drinks and once again enjoyed the ambiance.

We walked across the promenade back to Playmakers to hopefully indulge in our campfire cookie. After another 10 minute wait, our cookie was finally delivered to our table.

I think heaven opened and angels sang from above as we took our first bite into the ooey, gooey, chocolatey cookie goodness. It was insanely delicious and certainly lived up to the hype. Our cookie was served (we think) with Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream, which was the perfect accompaniment to the warm cookie.

Main Dining Room

Since we ate at Chops Grille last night, we went to the main dining room for the first time tonight. We had scoped out earlier that our table had 6 seats… meaning we would be seated with random people.

I was a bit surprised by this, as I haven’t been seated with strangers in the main dining room for years!

We were fashionably late to dinner since we didn’t realize it was formal night and we needed to change. We eyed our assigned table from afar and found it was filled with 4 older folks - totally fine but we weren’t feeling like sitting with strangers at dinner or making small talk.

We asked the hostess if we could be seated elsewhere. He said the dining room was full and he could seat us with other passengers who are closer to our age if we wanted. Luckily, he was able to find us a private table where the passengers were dining at a specialty restaurant.

Angie and I enjoyed a nice dinner overlooking the main dining room. As we were getting seated, the captain announced that the ship would be leaving port as scheduled. He explained only minor cosmetic damage was done from the cargo ship and Mariner was seaworthy and safe to sail. Great news!

Dinner was great tonight. Angie and I both enjoyed the beef tenderloin as the main entree. Angie said the pumpkin soup was a very good starter. My French onion soup tasted different than normal, but I still enjoyed it. For dessert, we both chose the Grand Mariner soufflé. This is our dad’s all-time favorite dessert, so we had to indulge for him!

I will say, I miss the more personalized service you receive on longer voyages. It’s been a while since I’ve done a short cruise, but I do feel like this is less intimate than other voyages. Normally, we get to know the crew members and they also get to know us - which is something I miss on this shorter cruise.

After dinner, Angie went to the Royal Theatre for the headliner show, which featured Royal Caribbean singers and dancers with a live band. This isn’t my favorite kind of show, so I relaxed in the cabin instead.

The show was called Production Showtime: Gallery of Dreams. Angie reported that it was an upbeat show with worldly themes from Austria, Morocco and the ‘Wild West’. The show was enjoyed by people of all ages, kids and elderly alike.

Angie also reported back that the cruise director told the audience we might be late getting into CocoCay tomorrow because of the wind. For how much wind has been impacting our cruise, I really don’t feel like it’s *that* windy outside! We will see what adventures tomorrow brings.

Reporting live from Mariner of the Seas! It’s the first day of our 4-night sailing from Port Canaveral to Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay. The first day is always filled with so much excitement and anticipation.

As we drove up to the port, we could see both Mariner and Anthem of the Seas in the distance. Busy day in port for a Tuesday!

Our boarding time was 1:30 this afternoon. Upon arrival, the parking lot appeared to be more full than our last cruise from Port Canaveral onboard Harmony of the Seas in late February.

We were prompted to park in an open lot that was a bit further than the parking ramp that we had previously parked in. It was $85 to park for the duration of the cruise.

Checking In

After showing our negative covid test and vaccine card, we walked inside the terminal to go through security.

I was curious to see if we could ditch our masks during the check-in process, as last night the news broke about the CDC’s mask mandate being overturned. As such, all of the airlines dropped their masking requirements but I had yet to read any news about cruise travel being impacted.

We were almost immediately prompted to put on our masks while showing our travel documents outside the terminal, so that question was quickly answered. 

Signs indoors also instructed cruise passengers that masks were required in the terminal. Masks are currently optional onboard, but the vast majority of passengers are not wearing them.

Check-in was a breeze, and we were on our way to board the ship!

Stateroom Impressions

By the time we boarded, it was almost 2:00 PM and the staterooms were ready. This was great news, as we opted to carry on our luggage for this short cruise rather than giving our bags to the porters.

Since we booked an inside guarantee cabin, our stateroom was assigned right before the cruise departed. We will be staying in cabin 8371, which is located at the very back of the ship. We found our stateroom, unloaded our luggage and spent some time getting settled.

This inside cabin oozes with nostalgia for us. As a family, we cruised many times onboard Voyager Class ships for nearly a decade, so this cabin truly feels like home. These ships brought our family everywhere from Canada to Greece and around the Caribbean multiple times. Recent cruises for us have been on newer ships, which certainly have more modern cabins with updated interior designs.

This cabin has everything we need to be comfortable though; in fact, it feels a bit roomier than our inside cabin onboard Harmony of the Seas a couple months ago.

Angie and I didn’t pack too much for this cruise since it’s only 4 nights, but there’s plenty of space and storage. We barely filled up the closet with our clothes, so I don’t think we would need a bigger stateroom for the two of us even if we were cruising on a longer voyage.

It was quite windy today when we boarded the ship, so we were worried about whether our cabin location would make us feel the swaying of the ship more intently. We usually prioritize a midship cabin to limit motion, but we didn't want to pay extra to choose our cabin. Luckily, we haven’t felt the seas being rough, but I will keep you updated if my opinions change on that.

Itinerary Change

For the first time in all my cruising years, our sailing has a last minute itinerary change! Of course, this has become more common with the pandemic, but we were surprised to find an updated itinerary in our cabin.

Instead of having a sea day tomorrow, we will be docking in Grand Bahama Island. The letter stated that Mariner of the Seas needs to have some “regularly scheduled ship maintenance,” so this is a logistical stop, but we are able to get off the ship or book excursions if we choose.  

This is interesting for a few reasons, as the change appears to be pretty last minute. Regularly scheduled ship maintenance is necessary I am sure, but I figured these logistical needs were built into the itinerary or performed on the ship’s turnover day in Port Canaveral. I’ve inquired about the maintenance to multiple crew members. They’ve all been surprised to learn of the itinerary change themselves, so I haven't uncovered the need for the maintenance. 

Needless to say, we are excited to explore a new port! Neither of us have visited Freeport, Bahamas so we plan to explore the port on our own.

Getting Acquainted

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After settling into our cabin, we finished our virtual muster drill safety requirements. I hope Royal Caribbean keeps the virtual muster drill forever, as it’s infinitely better than the traditional drill where everyone crams together on deck 4 and ‘learns’ how to put on the life jacket.

As with any cruise, we couldn’t go more than a few hours without eating so we grabbed a quick lunch at Cafe Promenade. Angie and I both enjoyed our sandwiches. She also tried the cheese pizza and felt it was equivalent to Sorrento’s pizza, which is her go-to lunch option when cruising.

I noticed immediately while sitting inside the cafe that the ship felt much busier than the last few times I’ve cruised. We didn’t have any issues finding a seat or waiting in a long line to get food, but the overall atmosphere felt more crowded.

The Bamboo Room

One of the things I was eager to try is The Bamboo Room, which is a tiki bar located in the promenade. Bright neon lights and greenery made this tropical venue easy to find. The bar had a very fun and inviting ambiance adorned with more neon lights, wicker lampshades, teal booths and floral wallpaper.

The bar was fairly busy, which was fine for us as we looked over the extensive cocktail menu. Specialty drinks seemed to included a multitude of rum and other liquors. There were so many quirky cocktails that we had a hard time choosing which ones to try!

I tried the ‘On the Run’ cocktail while Angie tried a classic piña colada. Mine was served in a Bamboo Room plastic bag, which was a fun twist on the traditional cocktail glass! The cocktail was priced at $14, so I had to pay the extra $1 since my Diamond + drink coupons only cover up to $13 per drink. The up-charge was well worth it! We both loved our drinks and definitely enjoyed the island vibes.

One of my favorite parts of cruising is getting to talk to the crew members and asking about their families or home country. The Bamboo Room bartender was very chatty with Angie and I while fixing our drinks. When I asked where he was from, he responded he was from Ukraine. I asked if he had family back in his home country, to which he said yes he did. He briefly mentioned that his family is in a safer area, but it certainly made my heart heavy for him. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for him to be so far from his family during this time. We told him we would be back to The Bamboo Room to try more drinks; but I also added I would be thinking of his family and sending prayers for their safety. He was genuinely grateful and said he looked forward to seeing us again.

Sail Away

Our ship was scheduled to depart Port Canaveral around 4:00 PM, so we had to check out the pool deck for the sail away party. Did you even cruise if you don’t wave goodbye to the port from the top deck?!

The pool deck was turnt-up with a DJ busting out some very classic, upbeat party tunes. There were lots of cruisers dancing with a drink in hand. The pools were pretty busy with kids swimming and also enjoying the fun atmosphere.

Again, it was much busier than the previous cruises I’ve done; granted, my last 2 cruises were sailing at 25% and 50% capacity. I noticed a small line coming from both the pool bar and Solarium bar. Because this cruise was so cheap and booked last minute, I assumed the ship would be sailing with a lower capacity as well.

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According to the crew, we are sailing with 3,500 passengers, which is just below sailing capacity.

We’re also sailing at the tail end of spring break following the Easter holiday, so there are tons of families and college kids onboard. Normally, I feel like Angie and I are some of the youngest cruisers onboard - especially as we’ve been sailing on longer voyages to more unique destinations in recent years. What a change of pace!

These short getaway cruises attract an entirely different cruising population and the atmosphere feels much more party-like. Even the Solarium felt more lively than normal during sail away.

Angie and I both commented on the Solarium’s noticeable upgrades to feel more trendy and modern. There were multiple canopy beds intertwined with the lounge chairs and a greenery backdrop. These canopy beds looked super comfortable, so we are hoping to snag one during this cruise if we can.

As the ship sailed out to sea, we realized it was almost time for dinner. Time flies when you're having tiki drinks and head bopping to The Electric Slide. 

Our normal routine while cruising includes a quick visit to the Diamond Lounge before heading to dinner, so we made our way up to Deck 14 to check it out.

The Diamond Lounge had a small selection of hors d'oeuvres with limited seating, but felt like it was pretty busy. We normally prefer when the lounge has a more intimate experience and you can get to know the staff and other cruisers.

Since we can use our Diamond Plus drinks at any bar now, Angie and I opted to just grab a cocktail before heading to Chops Grille.

Dinner at Chops Grille

Because this cruise was so cheap, we were able to treat ourselves and spend a little extra to enjoy a more upscale dinner at Chops Grille.

We took advantage of the pre-cruise deal for Chops + 1, which was on sale last week when planning our cruise. This dining package allows us to enjoy Chops and another specialty restaurant during our cruise.

Growing up, we never ate at the specialty restaurants onboard. Our parents always said we had already paid for food in the main dining room with our cruise fare, and we were very satisfied with the food and service we received when cruising. As cheap college students, my husband and I also found the main dining room to offer a very nice dinner experience each night and never felt we needed to spend extra for food.

Within the last 5 years, we’ve all grown to appreciate the specialty dining experience while cruising. We normally choose to go when the main dining room has a lackluster menu or we want to switch up the nightly routine. The BOGO deal for Diamond + cruisers is also a nice perk that makes specialty dining more affordable.

Tonight, our Chops Grille dinner started with a warm plate of bread, which included pretzel rolls and onion buns. We both ordered the bacon starter, which is a thick cut of pork with a light drizzle of sweet & spicy glaze. For the next course, I ordered the fried goat cheese salad and Angie tried the wild mushroom soup. Both were excellent.

For the main course, I ordered the petite filet mignon and Angie ordered the roasted chicken. A steakhouse isn’t exactly the best place for Angie since she doesn’t like beef, but she has always loved the chicken entree.

My steak was very tender and flavorful. We love most of the sides, so we ordered mashed potatoes, asparagus, giant guerre tots and Mac and cheese. The tots are our absolute favorite!

Dessert is also a highlight for us, so Angie and I ordered 3 different ones to try: key lime pie, warm chocolate cake and cheesecake. The warm chocolate cake was the winner, with its ooey gooey molten center, followed by the key lime pie. The cheesecake didn’t do it for me, which was the only disappointing part of the meal - but we certainly didn’t leave hungry.

Ice Show

We ended our evening with the ice show, which was called Ice Under the Big Top. We love the ice shows, and this one did not disappoint! We scurried our full bellies from Chops down to Studio B for the ice show and arrived with just a few minutes to spare; unfortunately, this means we got stuck behind a giant pole because the venue was packed.

There was no main headliner or welcome abroad show in the Royal Theatre tonight, which was interesting. Instead, they were playing a movie, Sing 2. This didn’t appeal to me or Angie, although I am sure some of the families enjoyed.

The ice show was circus themed with some elaborate, dazzling costumes. It was certainly a show that anyone would enjoy, with some segments catered more towards kids and others simply showcasing the incredible skating skills of the performers. The littlest cruisers were very interactive with the cast members, often cheering and dancing in their seat.

It’s that time again to pack my suitcase, find some sunscreen and swab my nose for a negative covid test! My next Royal Caribbean adventure begins on April 19 when I’ll be boarding Mariner of the Seas for a 4-night Bahamas sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida. 

Each day, I will be live blogging my cruise to share our experience onboard Mariner of the Seas! I am very excited to share my cruise experience with y'all.

Our itinerary includes one sea day and stops at both Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, Bahamas. Nothing like a short and sweet cruise to break up a normal work week!

This cruise was actually very cheap for an inside guarantee cabin, costing us just $62 a night. Since I live in northern Florida, the trek down to Port Canaveral is well worth the drive for this quick getaway cruise.

We've already been assigned our cabin, which is located near the back of the ship according to deck plans. Since it's a short cruise, I'm not too concerned about the cabin location.

We booked this cruise only 2 weeks ago, making this officially a ‘last minute cruise deal’ in my book. I've never booked a cruise this close to departure, but I love the feeling of being more spontaneous than I typically am in life.

My normal cruise buddy (my husband) is currently deployed, so I will be cruising with my sister. We are looking forward to having a sister cruise, something we’ve never actually done before in all of our years of cruising together as a family. 

Fond Memories

I am super excited to be sailing on Mariner of the Seas. The first time I sailed on Mariner of the Seas was 16 years ago in 2006 with my family; in fact, that was one of my first Royal Caribbean cruises. Mariner of the Seas was a shiny new ship back in 2006 and I remember being in awe of our cruise ship having an ice skating rink!

The most recent time I sailed onboard Mariner of the Seas was in January 2017 with my (now) husband back when we were in college. With a full month off during our J-term, we were so excited to sail around Asia and experience an entirely new part of the world together.

We took a wonderful 7-night Southeast Asia itinerary from Singapore to Thailand and Malaysia. We visited an elephant sanctuary, explore temples and visited floating villages. After exploring the culturally rich ports each day, Mariner of the Seas was so comfortable to return to each night. 

Needless to say, I have very fond memories of sailing on Mariner of the Seas. I’ve always been a big fan of Royal Caribbean’s Voyager Class ships. I personally think they are the perfect size with just enough bells and whistles.  

The Cruise

I haven’t taken a quick getaway cruise in probably 10 years! Since I've never lived that close to a port, we always did a 7-night cruise to make the trip worthwhile. In fact, it seems over the years we’ve been taking longer cruises rather than short ones, so I am interested to see how the atmosphere is different when the sailing is much shorter. 

My sister and I both work remotely - so we will be testing out the internet capabilities and VPN connectivity while sailing as well. I've had good experience with the internet speed on other Royal Caribbean ships, so I am hoping Mariner of the Seas will be no different.

Our first port after the sea day is Perfect Day at CocoCay, which has quickly become one of my favorite Caribbean ports because of its lively atmosphere and ultimate convenience.

I love all the swimming pools, the swim-up bar and all the fun amenities that are offered on the island. This time around, I want to try the floating bar off South Beach. We ran out of time during our last visit to CocoCay, so I definitely need to make my way out there. 

After our visit to CocoCay, we will sail to Nassau. I’ve visited Nassau, Bahamas a few times on previous cruises, but never done anything that memorable during our time in port.

This time around, we are looking forward to trying a resort day pass at RIU Palace! Our pass includes unlimited drinks and snacks, along with access to all the resort’s pools and hot tubs. It should be a fun and relaxing day in port. 

Three things I am excited to try onboard

During our 4-night sailing, we are planning to try some of the new additions made to Mariner of the Seas. Back in 2018, the ship was refurbished and refreshed, with some exciting new venues and activities added. It’s been 5 years since I sailed onboard this cruise ship, so I am excited to see the upgrades, additions and enhancements that were made. 

Playmakers

We’ve been hearing great things about Playmakers, which is one of the newer dining options onboard Royal Caribbean’s ships. I have yet to sail on a ship that features this new restaurant, and apparently they have a killer cookie skillet for dessert! I am a sucker for all things sweets and desserts, so I have high hopes for this dessert especially.

The Bamboo Room

I had no idea this new bar addition was even available onboard Mariner of the Seas until I did a little research. Royal Caribbean describes this Polynesian-themed bar in the ship’s promenade as having ‘throwback vibes and crazy good cocktails’. I love all things that incorporate throwback vibes AND crazy good cocktails, so I am excited to sample some of the tiki bar drinks. 

SkyPad

One of the coolest additions to Mariner of the Seas since my last sailing is the SkyPad, which is a virtual reality, bungee trampoline experience. Apparently this onboard thrill is considered ‘out of this world’. I’ve always loved bungee trampolines, so this will be a fun experience I think.

We'll see you later this week when I blog live from Mariner of the Seas!