Our fourth Asian cruise (38 overall) took us aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. To say it was a different experience would be an understatement. We have been to Asia many times on our own, with tour groups, and on ship, and knew that we would be the minority.

Check in, at the Shanghai Wusong International Cruise Terminal was a little unorganized. Thankfully, we had arrived later in the afternoon, after the majority of the passengers were on board. I could not imagine what it would be like during peak hours. We had departed from this pier in the past and knew where it was, but we heard from more than a few guests that taxi drivers were unfamiliar with the pier, and some ended up in the wrong place...Shanghai has had as many as three piers used, currently and in the past. A suggestion would be to have the address included with the cruise documents written in Chinese so drivers would know where the pier is located.

We made our way to the Windjammer for a bite to eat since we had late seating. We met an officer that suggested that we wait about ten minutes after the proposed meal time at dinner because the Chinese are very punctual and ALL of them will be at the dining room doors at 8:00pm. This could not have been more accurate. Royal Caribbean has two dining times for their China departures, and within those dining times, is open seating. So, roughly 1500 people were seated individually each night instead of having assigned tables, this surprisingly went smoothly and efficiently. Food was average, with some Asian choices, however, I felt these choices were lack-luster. The Asian vegetable choices each night were excellent. During the days at sea, the dining room lunch was packed. They had the traditional Royal Caribbean lunch menu a few days and an Asian menu others. The Asian menu gave a few different choices, but again lack-luster. The Bondi Beach Caesar Salad on the Asian lunch menu was outstanding, probably the best application of Caesar salad I have ever had. We chose not to dine at the specialty restaurants, and only ate at the buffet one time after returning from port one day. Read more