This cruise was to celebrate our 19th anniversary. Our two boys (17 and 13), and some of our friends joined us. This was my 8th cruise and 7 of them were with Royal Caribbean.

PRE-CRUISE STAY: We rented a car from the airport and spent one night at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes hotel which was gorgeous. We would have picked a hotel closer to the cruise pier but I got a great travel agent discount at this hotel, and we really enjoyed our stay there. The beds were the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in and our kids really enjoyed the pool and lazy river. On Sunday, we drove to Port Canaveral and after dropping our luggage off at the ship, it was a short drive to the Hertz location where we returned the car and took the shuttle back to the ship.

SHIP/SERVICE: We were on the Navigator in December and the Mariner was pretty much identical so my kids had an easy time finding their way around. We thought that the ship was in excellent condition and never saw any signs of wear and tear. The crew on this ship was the best of any ship we've been on. We tipped more than the standard gratuities because of this. Throughout the ship, we were constantly being greeted by crew members. Read more