MotleyCruiser

Those are some fancy tender boats!

Report post   Posted March 30  
 
I have not tried the Coco loco but I'm definitely a fan of the labadoozie!!! FYI  same exact drink

Best bang for your buck is to tour NASA. 15-20 minutes away. You can see it from the port. It is a lot more awesome than it sounds. All the rockets and the Space Shuttle Atlantis is there.
If you  go with Disney... the drive one way is ONE HOUR+. Parking and getting into Magic Kingdom 30 to 60 MINUTES (depending on where they drop you off). The time of year can cripple your wait times....Sept & May you MIGHT go from ride to ride with ease....When school is out 30 to 90 minutes EACH ride.  AAAAND IF it is after Aug 29th 2019 do not even attempt to go near MK with the new Star Wars land opening. You'll be in tears at 10 AM. $$

But do all the room control features work?  That's how you know they have a different IT department than Royal. 

Following from the edge of my chair...

Maybe I am just old and tired but there is no way that I would book more than 1 excursion per day.  I say choose one...but that's just me.

I’ve never tied my wife to mine besides booking her with me in my room and she is at my level when she would be a level lower. 

+1 on this!  I enjoy the extra info from the shopping seminar, especially about the port itself, and freebies!

I know @Matt never EVER talks about it but attend the shopping seminar. You'd swear they don't exist with matt around...jk.   I think it is helpful and informative about each port and many times you get a little hook-up.  Free taxi to the downtown Cozumel area once. Cut the very long line and discounted ferry at St. Thomas another time..  Plus free swag! If it's free, it's for me!!

Chase Sapphire Reserve card - $450.00 Annual Fee!!!!!  HOLY SMOKES!!

Good thing Southwest doesn't fly to Cozumel and has no airline partners.

Towels with zero personal items....fare games. If someone was to call me on it, I would say "that must be your lonely towel over there"...and randomly point.

FYI on Monsters of rock
We were supposed to be on Navigator but changed right before booking open to Mariner because Nav's first cruise out of dry-dock is Feb 24th....embarkation day...too risky.
Last year the powers that be canceled our day in Falmouth Jamaica due to the 'unrest' and we ended up on CoCo Cay and Labadie as our two ports. My guess is they wanted to avoid the same situation this year hence the stop at Ocho Rio.
 
@twangster do you go on the MORC??

Cash is King

The MOR crowd is a little more seasoned with drinking. I'd be easily good for 10 drinks a day starting at 10AM.
 
The MSC Divina messed up my drink tickets sooo bad in 2014. They gave us 288 tickets instead of 72. Needless to say everybody drank well!

Day 3
Another great night of sleep brings us to Day 3.
Today we get to discover Ocho Rios Jamaica.  My wife joined me at Chops today for breakfast I did an all meat and cheese omelet and she had grits and some yogurt fruit bowl thing. After, we collected our things and made it down the gangway to exit the ship.  There was no wait, for I imagine most folks stayed on the ship for there where scheduled concerts while at port.
Luc Carl, a Sirius XM DJ, had a 5k run this morning. He does this on every MORC. I guess people take him up on it because this morning Steve Brown from Trixter and Danger Danger and Fill-in Guitarist for Def Leppard and Dennis DeYoung was exiting the same time as us asking if anyone saw Luc. I grabbed Steve as he went by and got him to take a picture with us with the Mariner of the Seas life-ring.  Best $19.95 I spent all trip.
Ocho Rios is a S!@# Hole. We walked past 101 different guys in white shirts offering everything imaginable.  After that, we got about 1 block down the road and said ok…not interested… turned around and went to Margaritaville for appetizers and drinks.
It is staring to look sad that I am on a rock cruise YET I’m not seeing many bands. I like the hanging out and talking with others part of the cruise, I guess.  Today, I saw EXTREME  and KIX …saw the STOWAWAY PIANO PLAYER. I checked out the Greek Games – The QUEST…It was NO different than the “normal QUEST” on traditional cruise BOOOO…I was hoping for an NA!& a=rated quest.  The CD, which you NEVER se on these charters ran the Quest.
. I finished the night with Metalachi. A heavy metal Mariachi band. Kind cool…kinda lame. I was my understanding that these guy were not very friendly and were jerks in the MDR to everybody.
Every night ends up in the Windjammer so far for a snack and I get Jell-O for the mrs.
 
 

Day 3
Another great night of sleep brings us to Day 3.
Today we get to discover Ocho Rios Jamaica.  My wife joined me at Chops today for breakfast I did an all meat and cheese omelet and she had grits and some yogurt fruit bowl thing. After, we collected our things and made it down the gangway to exit the ship.  There was no wait, for I imagine most folks stayed on the ship for there where scheduled concerts while at port.
Luc Carl, a Sirius XM DJ, had a 5k run this morning. He does this on every MORC. I guess people take him up on it because this morning Steve Brown from Trixter and Danger Danger and Fill-in Guitarist for Def Leppard and Dennis DeYoung was exiting the same time as us asking if anyone saw Luc. I grabbed Steve as he went by and got him to take a picture with us with the Mariner of the Seas life-ring.  Best $19.95 I spent all trip.
Ocho Rios is a S!@# Hole. We walked past 101 different guys in white shirts offering everything imaginable.  After that, we got about 1 block down the road and said ok…not interested… turned around and went to Margaritaville for appetizers and drinks.
It is staring to look sad that I am on a rock cruise YET I’m not seeing many bands. I like the hanging out and talking with others part of the cruise, I guess.  Today, I saw EXTREME  and KIX …saw the STOWAWAY PIANO PLAYER. I checked out the Greek Games – The QUEST…It was NO different than the “normal QUEST” on traditional cruise BOOOO…I was hoping for an NA!& a=rated quest.  The CD, which you NEVER se on these charters ran the Quest.
. I finished the night with Metalachi. A heavy metal Mariachi band. Kind cool…kinda lame. I was my understanding that these guy were not very friendly and were jerks in the MDR to everybody.
Every night ends up in the Windjammer so far for a snack and I get Jell-O for the mrs.
 
 

Little back up on the Day 1 check-in:  As with Harmony  and newer RC ships, on Mariner you do not get your Seapass card at the  check-in desk It is waiting for you in your stateroom.
 

Day 2
 
Surprisingly I was up about 8 AM and was feeling great. The Mrs on the other hand Not so great. She did not sleep at all the night before we left San Antonio but felt great yesterday but is wiped out today. I made my way to Chops for Breakfast though. It takes longer to eat BUT the food is fresher and  a few distinct exclusive options. For example, my wife longs for eggs benedict and was happy to see this as an option on the Chops breakfast menu....need I say made fresh and I was able to bring that to her, as she rested in the cabin, after I ate my eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns. Side Note: when food arrived I asked for salsa to put on my eggs. The  waitress claimed she'd have to go "down stairs" to retrieve that. I said never mind and choked it down with ketchup.
 
POOL STAGE FROM THE VC
 

POOL STATGE FROM THE POOL DECK EARLY A.M.
 

First Schedule performance (10:00am) I attended was the Photo Experience  with Danger Danger(From New Jersey), KILLER DWARFS (Canada) and Rose Tattoo(these guys were a little scary). I got here late because I hung with my wife a little while as she ate.

STEVE BROWN DANGER DANGER TRIXTER
 
Next was the Q&A with Skid Row. The Q&As last about an hour or until they no long have question whatever is longer
Lunch today was The Windjammer  Every lunch and dinner was eaten at either Café Prominade or the Windjammer. I considered Main Dining Room room service but there was no time.
Next up Eddie Trunk Sirius XM interviews in Playmaker’s and a donation to Casino Royale.

 
 

EDDIE TRUCK (RIGHT)
 
 

 
 

I was able to get my wife out of bed about now and we stopped by Studio B for a song or two of The Pat Traver’s Band.
Off to the Suite Lounge….word is out for free booze.  Very busy this night, but Daniel our server was on top of things!!

 
 

ME AND ROOMIE ROY (I'M ON THE RIGHT)
View is always great at the VC
We made our way to VIXEN and half way though my wife wanted to head back to the room. She made me promise to get her before the Skid Row show.

VIXEN
 

SKID ROW
Guess who forgot to get Sleeping Beauty up for Skid Row….ME. I then checked out a few songs from Nelson and made my way to the Def Lepard Beer premier on the Royal Promenade along with a balloon drop !! The Beer reminded me very much of Blue Moon. I did bring a can to my very German wife.

After checking in on my wife and getting yelled at for not waking her I headed off to the Viking Crown for Gong Show Karaoke. Yes, very self-explanatory. You suck you get gonged!
2am I was done

Wow, where do I begin? 
 
DAY 1
 
Typically the Rental car instead of the shuttle is the greatest idea….. Not today. Usually is goes seamless and stress free.  I was able to drop my wife and one roomie to the port and I was off to return the rental to SE 2nd st at Budget.                 What a mad house. Way too small of a location for the amount of traffic they get on the weekends. Only One person checking in cars and a new car pulled up every 20-30 seconds. Almost lost my cool.
 
  I opted for a LYFT (they’re not as good as they use to be) instead of the free shuttle. There shuttle was jam packed like  Gypsy cab in a third world country. After the mile drive back to the port I caught up with the wife and roomie and proceeded to check in and this is my only complaint about On The Blue (TA) and the Monsters of Rock Cruise. No one is directing people to the specific lines we need to be in Silver VIP, Gold VIP, Artists, Production, Steerage folks….Lines weren’t that bad it was twenty minutes and we were on board. Side note 2 bottles of wine in carry on.
 
We had a wonderful Champagne reception as we boarded and the drinking began.
 
First stop was VIP check-in where we met up with most of the other roomies. There was eight of us in total in A Royal Family Suite.  It was perfect timing because the VIP cocktail reception was going to start in twenty minutes.
 
After that concluded at 3:30ish it was time to make our was to the cabin and off to Muster. The cabin has two names. Now it is considered a Grand suite BUT it was called a Royal Family Suite. Deck 9 Port side center Aft Balcony. It has 2 bedrooms and sleeps a maximum of 8 people.  We were the only married couple in the cabin and got the master bedroom, another couple got the pull out bed and the four single folks camped out in the other bedroom with 2 singles that convert to A Royal King and two pull down bunks.
 
 
 





 
Muster was exciting…NOT. I was at least 9 drinks in and do not remember much but it did go quick ( I think we got there at the last moment) and we did take the only group photo we got of all eight of us at one time.
 

 
It was time to let the music begin.
 
Our first stop was  The VIP Photo Experience in the Star Lounge.  SOTO, Michael Grant & the Assassins Tony MacAlpine and Skid Row were featured her.  Basically they running you through a series of lines to get your photo taken with each band or singer.. No long conversations or autographs but there is plenty of time for that throughout the cruise. When these photos are ready online in 2-3 weeks I will post them here.
 
After some chit chat with others on board, we made our way to the Suite Lounge in the Viking Crown.  We made it a habit (good & bad) to come here every night. Tonight we missed Tesla’s acoustic performance because we drank !  At least 4 Mai Tai’s for me. My wife was Screwdriving CRAZMO!!
 
We saw some of Vixen (8:30) & Danger Danger (9:00) afterwards. My wife does not remember seeing DD at all.  She tries to go drink for drink with me and I have over 100 pounds on her.
 
She made her way to bed and I caught the 11:15 show of Canada’s KILLER DWARFS.  After that I was toast!
Wow, where do I begin? 
 
 

Day 3
Another great night of sleep brings us to Day 3.
Today we get to discover Ocho Rios Jamaica.  My wife joined me at Chops today for breakfast I did an all meat and cheese omelet and she had grits and some yogurt fruit bowl thing. After, we collected our things and made it down the gangway to exit the ship.  There was no wait, for I imagine most folks stayed on the ship for there where scheduled concerts while at port.
Luc Carl, a Sirius XM DJ, had a 5k run this morning. He does this on every MORC. I guess people take him up on it because this morning Steve Brown from Trixter and Danger Danger and Fill-in Guitarist for Def Leppard and Dennis DeYoung was exiting the same time as us asking if anyone saw Luc. I grabbed Steve as he went by and got him to take a picture with us with the Mariner of the Seas life-ring.  Best $19.95 I spent all trip.
Ocho Rios is a S!@# Hole. We walked past 101 different guys in white shirts offering everything imaginable.  After that, we got about 1 block down the road and said ok…not interested… turned around and went to Margaritaville for appetizers and drinks.
It is staring to look sad that I am on a rock cruise YET I’m not seeing many bands. I like the hanging out and talking with others part of the cruise, I guess.  Today, I saw EXTREME  and KIX …saw the STOWAWAY PIANO PLAYER. I checked out the Greek Games – The QUEST…It was NO different than the “normal QUEST” on traditional cruise BOOOO…I was hoping for an NA!& a=rated quest.  The CD, which you NEVER se on these charters ran the Quest.
. I finished the night with Metalachi. A heavy metal Mariachi band. Kind cool…kinda lame. I was my understanding that these guy were not very friendly and were jerks in the MDR to everybody.
Every night ends up in the Windjammer so far for a snack and I get Jell-O for the mrs.
 
 

Cash is King

Day 3
Another great night of sleep brings us to Day 3.
Today we get to discover Ocho Rios Jamaica.  My wife joined me at Chops today for breakfast I did an all meat and cheese omelet and she had grits and some yogurt fruit bowl thing. After, we collected our things and made it down the gangway to exit the ship.  There was no wait, for I imagine most folks stayed on the ship for there where scheduled concerts while at port.
Luc Carl, a Sirius XM DJ, had a 5k run this morning. He does this on every MORC. I guess people take him up on it because this morning Steve Brown from Trixter and Danger Danger and Fill-in Guitarist for Def Leppard and Dennis DeYoung was exiting the same time as us asking if anyone saw Luc. I grabbed Steve as he went by and got him to take a picture with us with the Mariner of the Seas life-ring.  Best $19.95 I spent all trip.
Ocho Rios is a S!@# Hole. We walked past 101 different guys in white shirts offering everything imaginable.  After that, we got about 1 block down the road and said ok…not interested… turned around and went to Margaritaville for appetizers and drinks.
It is staring to look sad that I am on a rock cruise YET I’m not seeing many bands. I like the hanging out and talking with others part of the cruise, I guess.  Today, I saw EXTREME  and KIX …saw the STOWAWAY PIANO PLAYER. I checked out the Greek Games – The QUEST…It was NO different than the “normal QUEST” on traditional cruise BOOOO…I was hoping for an NA!& a=rated quest.  The CD, which you NEVER se on these charters ran the Quest.
. I finished the night with Metalachi. A heavy metal Mariachi band. Kind cool…kinda lame. I was my understanding that these guy were not very friendly and were jerks in the MDR to everybody.
Every night ends up in the Windjammer so far for a snack and I get Jell-O for the mrs.
 
 

Day 3
Another great night of sleep brings us to Day 3.
Today we get to discover Ocho Rios Jamaica.  My wife joined me at Chops today for breakfast I did an all meat and cheese omelet and she had grits and some yogurt fruit bowl thing. After, we collected our things and made it down the gangway to exit the ship.  There was no wait, for I imagine most folks stayed on the ship for there where scheduled concerts while at port.
Luc Carl, a Sirius XM DJ, had a 5k run this morning. He does this on every MORC. I guess people take him up on it because this morning Steve Brown from Trixter and Danger Danger and Fill-in Guitarist for Def Leppard and Dennis DeYoung was exiting the same time as us asking if anyone saw Luc. I grabbed Steve as he went by and got him to take a picture with us with the Mariner of the Seas life-ring.  Best $19.95 I spent all trip.
Ocho Rios is a S!@# Hole. We walked past 101 different guys in white shirts offering everything imaginable.  After that, we got about 1 block down the road and said ok…not interested… turned around and went to Margaritaville for appetizers and drinks.
It is staring to look sad that I am on a rock cruise YET I’m not seeing many bands. I like the hanging out and talking with others part of the cruise, I guess.  Today, I saw EXTREME  and KIX …saw the STOWAWAY PIANO PLAYER. I checked out the Greek Games – The QUEST…It was NO different than the “normal QUEST” on traditional cruise BOOOO…I was hoping for an NA!& a=rated quest.  The CD, which you NEVER se on these charters ran the Quest.
. I finished the night with Metalachi. A heavy metal Mariachi band. Kind cool…kinda lame. I was my understanding that these guy were not very friendly and were jerks in the MDR to everybody.
Every night ends up in the Windjammer so far for a snack and I get Jell-O for the mrs.