We had a fun group of 7 aboard Mariner of the Seas, our second cruise together. We caravanned from Jacksonville to Port Canaveral - no easy task on I-95. No hotels were involved - just a Navy wedding - and we took the bride and groom's honeymoon for them, since they had to go back to work!
Our previous cruise was on Celebrity Zenith - and their stateroom, though old, was much nicer!! Including room to walk to the side of the bed to get in it. Mariner was so tiny, that we had to crawl over the foot of the bed to get in. One couple in our group was handicapped, so we all met in their room, the only one big enough to fit 7 of us...
The ship itself was huge! Was really glad that one of us had read the "Cruise Citric" and convinced us to try Chops Grill - an excellent and intimate experience - never ate so much yummy filet at one sitting in my life!