WHO WE ARE First time cruisers. I am in mid-30's, husband is pushing 50. DIWSK. We live in the San Francisco Peninsula, on the North End. My husband is a 4th Generation San Josean, I am Guatemalan and have spent most of my life in the San Francisco Peninsula area. We both love to travel; each of us has visited Europe, South America, North America, Central America, and the Far East. Our travel style is one where we like to spend time in a particular locale or city; we each do not like to 'city hop'. We tend to stay in 4 to 5 star properties and travel business class, but only if we can use existing points or mileage points to achieve. If need be, we can travel on a budget. We like luxury at a deal, and as many of you know, there are a lot of resources available to this end.

Other lines we considered for our first cruise were Celebrity and Silversea. We liked RSSC's value proposition: not having to pay gratuities, open seating at the restaurants, a smaller, all-suite, all-balcony ship, and fine dining in multiple venues with free wine.

Our expectations of the cruise were to provide us with quality couple time in an environment that was luxurious at the right price. We weren't necessarily going because we wanted to party or to see Broadway-level shows. Mexico wasn't even a big "must see" destination for us; if the Mariner had left Los Angeles and been out at sea all the time, that would have been just fine for us Read more