Mariner of the Seas Review
2 NIght Test Cruise- Overall Impressions and What to Expect.
Rating by category
Additional details
Just got back from the 2 night test cruise on board Mariner of the Seas sailing from Port Canaveral to Coco Cay. I thought I would write this review while it is fresh in my mind to let people know what to expect when they cruise with Royal Caribbean in the Covid era (at least with today's protocols). My wife and I have been on 30+ cruises, but our Diamond status is reciprocal from Celebrity. We have been on approximately 15 Royal cruises, the majority of which have been of the 3 day variety since we live 20 minutes from Port Canaveral.
Embarkation:
1) COVID negative test required within 3 days of sailing. We had to jump through some hoops to get a Covid test since we were only informed we were selected for this cruise on Saturday evening and the cruise left on Wednesday. We were able to find a place to do the fast antigen test, but it wasn't free. Recommend anyone with enough lead time to make an appointment with a free testing site a couple weeks in advance. Recommend getting the antigen test since those results are fast whereas the PCR test can take 24-48 hours (or more) for results depending on test site.
Cabin Review
Spacious Ocean View Balcony
Cabin was fine. As usual, bed was too hard but we got used to it. This is a bed by the balcony setup. We normally prefer bed by the bathroom. The safe didn't work so we ended up locking our valuables in my lockable suitcase. Everything else worked fine. This is a hump cabin but we could still feel engine vibrations.