Hola Amigos! I hope February of 2018 has been kind to you.

This week’s post is all about our (mine & R’s) experience at the Royal Caribbean – Mariner of the Seas Cruise.

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Deets

Mariner of the Seas is one of five voyager class cruise ships from Royal Caribbean. It holds the capacity of over 4000 passengers with total staterooms of 1557 out of which only 939 have an ocean view (and ONLY 765 with a balcony view to die for )! From having musical shows, basketball court & fancy restaurants to game arcades, skating rink & pubs, Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas has it all! It’s impossible to not find an activity of your choice on this ship!

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The BIG Question

So, the most common question for all (with regards to any cruise) is –

Is this something I’d enjoy?

Well, the answer is-

You need to figure out your preferred style of travel.

Let’s delve deep into this in the following sections.

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So, why should I cruise around?

Travelling is the new synonym for self exploration. It allows you to understand self and your preferences better.

Cruising infact is a way of experiencing multiple countries without having to move hotels and change flights.  If you are a water baby who loves the idea of sleeping in a luxurious room in the middle of an ocean and waking upto a new country everyday then Cruising is your kinda jam! It’s also a cooler mode of travel as you don’t have to move from one airport to the other, pack and unpack a gazillion times; and to top it up, experience a plethora of activities while sailing!

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Who is it (Cruising) really for?

Cruising is fabulous option for people who don’t wish to walk around and stress about catching flights. It’s for families with younger children who can’t move hotels and cities every 2 days. It’s for couples who want to chill like absolute villains. It’s basically a very very spoilt way of travelling.

How?

Imagine being able to gamble, hog at fancy restaurants, attend pool parties, hit the dance floor at night clubs, play sports, swim away to glory, lounge around or simply gawk at the majestic artwork and moreover experience different countries, while at one place!

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Pros and Cons!

To be very upfront with you all, first few hours of being in the cruise was quite awful for us.

Why?

Well, we had just checked out of Ritz Carlton Millenia, Singapore ( + our last meal was at a fabulous celebrity chef restaurant) and from this to suddenly being in a cruise buzzing with too many people wasn’t the best thing to experience! Straight up!!!

…But the majesty of the artwork (at the cruise) played its magic on us & everything else took a backseat.

Also, our room had the coolest view ever…

Slowly and gradually, once we started understanding what we liked ( long walks around the ship indulging in the insane view; going from deck 1 to deck 15 every night just to check out all the artwork; taking short one-day excursions at all our stops, enjoying a decent meal here and there ), we actually had a really lovely time, especially in Penang, Malaysia. It’s funny how when you expect the least, you discover the most!

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Self-discovery

Cruising around Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand brought R and I closer to each other and to self. Really! Sometimes, knowing what you don’t like also helps you better understand what you actually do like. We discovered our never-ending love and passion for ‘art’ at the cruise. ️

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PS…Perks of having a husband who’s cuckoo-cuckoo after cars…

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Where should I travel first?

If you are someone who hasn’t been abroad, then cruise shouldn’t be your first choice.

Why?

Simply because the countries/cities you can discover and experience are limited and wouldn’t give you the satisfaction of complete exploration of a location!

However, it’s a great option to rediscover a place.

R and I, both had been to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand about a decade ago so exploring these on a cruise was a different experience altogether. But, to each their own!

I must say that cruising is an experience in itself and must be done at least once in a lifetime. There will be absolutely no regrets- I promise!

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Things we loved

Here are a bunch of things R and I couldn’t stop singing highly about in the cruise:

1. Royal Caribbean has left no stone unturned to collect insanely fabulous artwork. Each deck has artwork installations with a common theme and every staircase stop has humungous installations with all the information about the artist. R and I must have easily spent 10 hours just ogling at the artwork.
2. RC’s all day diner!!! A 24 hour (free flowing) cafe that served some lip smacking (but awfully unhealthy) stuff. Gosh, by the final day our tummies had given up … but our hearts, not one bit!
3. Excursion options in Penang and Thailand. RC has gorgeously arranged some really interesting (short) day trips for one and all. It’s got something fun for everyone! With RC, you will explore each city in a different way altogether.
   

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4. I still can’t get over how lively the entire cruise was! Every single person was not just happy but also dancing away to glory. Non-stop day and night parties, musicals and shopping made every single heart on the cruise flutter!
5. I can’t end this post without mentioning how BIG of an effort RC had made to keep the entire vessel squeaky clean!!! Every single corner not just had sanitisers but boards on doors that said ‘Use paper towel to open’. Need I say more?

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Would you fancy taking a cruise on your next holiday?

Comment below!

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