It was school holidays and the Mariner of the seas was full of kids enjoying the school holidays. The kids were very well-behaved and seemed to be enjoying themselves, but as adults, we found that the cruise was centred mainly on kids activities. This was clearly Our fault as we didn't know that the school holidays in Singapore started in mid to late November.

Next time we will check carefully to make sure that no cruises we take are at school holiday time. The Mariner of the Seas is certainly showing signs of age and in need of renovation however the staff on the ship are excellent and do everything they can to ensure you enjoy your cruise. As an Australian couple we were one of only 38 Australians on board with the predominant demographic being Singaporeans and their families . There was certainly Asian influences to the cuisine but the food on board overall was a very good standard including in the dining room . Our stateroom was a superior balcony and was certainly comfortable and adequate on deck 7. Due to the number of kids on board it was very difficult to get into the entertainment shows given the large volume of families wanting to see the first show . We have sailed twice before with Celebrity in Europe and found this a very different experience. Celebrity is much more geared to adult enjoyment and activities but I would say this cruise was still a very good experience overall. I would say though that this is definitely geared to the Asian market and Australians and Europeans are in the minority by far . The tender process for Phutek which was a complete disgrace and the tickets were given away well before the allotted time and when you arrived at the scheduled time, you got one of the last tender tickets. I think communication around this could have been much better. We ate in the specialty restaurant for dinner and it was excellent with fantastic service.