Lovetocruise2002

Bamboo Room when cruising with children ??

Some additional menus from wandering around today... Schooner Bar: Pub:

This is putting me in an even worse mood...

The Boleros menu looks pretty standard to me. I like their peach Margarita there. And keep an eye on airfare. We paid less than $1000 for all 4 of us. About $232pp RT. from DTW.

I was in a good mood, but now not so much....

WJ runs until 12:30am and after that it's just Cafe promenade.

The pub was quiet the first two nights but last night is was quite busy. Playmakers has been about 1/2 full each night that we have passed by.

Yea...I mentioned that to Hubby in passing last night (about the location of them). I'm only making speculations too but I do know that there is a lot of soliciting this sailing. I don't mind that. It leads to fun conversations with crew members. But some people might.

If it's any comfort...we only eat like this when we cruise. Will be back to our normal breakfast of yogurt really soon....

I missed the scope but Summer GC 2020 that leaves from anywhere in North America and I am likely in for sure!!!! I need to go home tomorrow and watch this scope now lol.

Day 4 Sea Day and last day ? We are sailing ever so slowly back to Miami today. The ship is moving along at about 5 knots. That pretty much describes our morning too today. D10 is still in bed. This is my view as I write this: We have no set plans today other than rock climbing for D10. Billy Pando is playing again tonight in the Schooner Bar so hopefully we will be able to catch a bit more of him than Tuesday night. Last night we finally got around to checking out the WJ late night snacks. They open at 10:30pm every night and we wandered in around 11pm. Only a portion of the WJ was opened (that was expected) but it was crowded that there was no where to sit! That was unexpected. We did not stay to eat but I tried to grab a few pics. They are not great ones (it was crowded and the food was picked through), but it gives you an idea of what is offered. It was typical late night snacks. Nothing out of the ordinary. Burgers, tacos, hot dogs, fried chicken, and some desserts. Hubby and I were talking last night about whether or not the late night snacks take away from business at Playmakers and Bamboo Room. Also, they have put Jamie's and Chops right next to the WJ, and I wonder if that also takes business away from those restaurants. It could be the sailing but those restaurants have not looked busy at all the times that we have walked by. In addition, there have been more people walking around trying to drum up sales for specialty restaurants here than on any other cruise. We have been offered a discount of 20-30% off every day so far!

I too was surprised by the low crowds in Playmakers and Bamboo Room last night. However, it was only around 9:45pm when I went by so maybe the crowds are later? Both venues open till midnight. What I wonder is if the late night WJ offerings have anything to do with the low crowds at other venues? We went by the WJ last night around 11pm and it was packed! You couldn't even get a seat! So maybe people figure that included food is better than food that costs extra?? Or maybe it is dependant on the sailing as I know which review you are referring to ? Thank you! Trying to make it up to you for being a traitor ? Very much so. They have done a great job! I'll try to include a wine list from the MDR tonight too. I don't have drink package this cruise and I'm with my kids, so I have not paid much attention to the beverage offerings.

Deck 4 areas: Boleros & Menu: Izumi: 5 Hibachi tables here. 2 more than OA class. Deck 4 scope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/bkTa2zF4TlFhYVJPT2V3UWJ8MUJkeFlvdldQTGdHWFEcO0ZYsosVZ7GQuXpYy9CuGt1rhJE5dAsJyed-RwQX

Deck 5 Promenade photos: Today Hubby and D10 stayed at Coco Cay until 4:30pm (I thought I was going to have to do a tender boat runner scope featuring Hubby and D10) and D12 and I returned early. I noticed that the public areas were still quite empty so I took the opportunity to take some photos and do a few scopes. Be forewarned...I was totally on my own for these photos with my iPhone so it's not going to be pretty ? Entrance to MDR from Deck 5: Bamboo Room & Menu: Side note: We walked into Bamboo Room around 9:45pm tonight and it was completely empty. Not sure if that's a one time thing, or if it has been quiet all along. On another side note: I mentioned in a scope earlier that the Pub has been quiet so far but tonight is was packed! Deck 5 scope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/bkTYgzF4TlFhYVJPT2V3UWJ8MU9kSnJweW9ia1FLWD9xdCV0FuIa3PkAdZrH0d6THp4C1s8aSQFU1VbVhNMm

Solarium Photos: RC did an awesome job with this area. Loungers have been replaced and they have added in sun beds and other areas to lay around in. It has a very modern Miami type feel to it. I tried to capture what I could. Look for better pics to do this area more justice by @twangster in a few weeks ?. It really is a beautiful area. Solarium scope for those not on Periscope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/bkTGiDF4TlFhYVJPT2V3UWJ8MU1ZeE5xQVhEQnZKd2L3HVhFS_TfNLsCp9ejeQ6_QFliG6jbiulMOMpCMA0N

Dinner Night 3: Eggplant Tartare: Beef Stroganoff: Lasagna: Jerk Chicken: Chocolate Soufflé: Kid's Brownie: It was "Wear Your Best"' tonight. Attire ranged from T-shirts and shorts to suits for men and just about everything for ladies except swimwear. So really, it's totally up to you on this one.

What?! I didn't even know. Last day is tommrrow. I'll let you play with it in a few weeks ?

@Boston Babe get it. That price is good.

Pondering life in Coco Cay and whether or not I really need to go back to work....but I do...I need to work to cruise ?

Great day in Coco Cay today. It paid off for us to leave later. It started pouring rain around 10:30am and by the time we were ready to leave at 11am, the rain had stopped. Most of the time we spent walking around and laying in the sun. There were plenty of beach chairs available even though we got there late. The lunch was your typical BBQ offerings, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, ribs. It was from 11:30-1:30pm. Construction was clearly visible but did not interfere with our day at all. Here are some construction photos. It's going to be a photo dump because I have no clue which ones are good and which ones are not ?

Sure thing. We already took some this morning. Just trying to filter through before posting ?

Day 3: Coco Cay Good morning all! Sitting here on my balcony looking out at Coco Cay. It is 9:50am and my kids are still half in bed. I did a scope earlier if you want to see what the island looks like. Photos to come later after Hubby gets out of bed. The plan for today is not a whole lot. We are not really beach people so we'll head over to the island and walk around. Hubby's one request is that we check out the BBQ lunch there. ?

It is way more contemporary and modern looking. I think that is one of the reasons why I like the ship so much. It's a superficial reason, but that is why I prefer new ships over the older, smaller ones. Personally, decor does matter. They have done a superb job revamping the decor here on Mariner. The only surprise was the lack of revitalization to the staterooms. I did not even realize the lack of seating at the pool bar until you brought it up. There is a bit of congestion (that I have seen) but nothing complain worthy. Overall this ship does not seem crowded. The Sky bar is right above the pool bar, so perhaps that disperses the crowd a bit too? They use Studio B for nightlife after midnight. It's called RED-The Ultimate Nightclub Experience. There is smoking on Deck 11 port side by the pools. I don't know where it is on other Voyager class ships as it has been a while since I've sailed one.

Another random stray thought before I head to bed...prior to sailing we checked out the cruise compasses and made note of the showtimes. I noticed that the times varied each week for the main activities like shows, skating sessions, the Quest, etc. Sure enough our times have not matched up exactly with past Comapsses in recent weeks either. Keep this in mind when planning your dinner schedules and be flexible that you might need to move a few things around.

We were surprised too when we stumbled across the archery thing. We never knew that RC had that on any of their ships.