The inaugural cruise of the Mariner of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's newest and largest boat set sail November 16th from Port Canaveral. This is currently the largest cruise boat in the world, at least until the QE2 comes out of dry dock.

The boat is very, very nice. The voyager class boat is very well laid out and the center promenade is quite elegant. The rock climbing wall keep many people busy as well as the full sized basketball court. The miniature golf course is nice, but being on the very top of the boat made it difficult to play due to the wind. The roller blade track is nice, but it is small (looks larger on the TV commercials). It was great to use all brand new equipment.

The whole Johnny Rockets concept is nice, but some fine tuning looks like it is needed. The food is good and it is fun to watch all the crew due the song and dance routines. The only problem is the service, it's not bad, but a little inconsistent, like they all are not really sure of what they should be doing. One warning, although the ice cream on the apple pie a'la mode is free (as well as the pie), milk shakes cost $3.60. Seems weird since the ice cream is free, the milk on the boat is free, so you are paying for a little bit of flavoring and/or malt and for them to mix it up for you (doesn't seem right). Plus another thing that is weird is if you get coffee or tea at Johnny Rockets that comes with a COST (but yet it is free everywhere else on the ship). Read more