What to do on Mariner of the Seas – Day 1

After you’ve checked in and boarded the Mariner of the Seas, what to do on Mariner of the Seas now?

Time for lunch or to start exploring the ship! When everyone is busy lunching, this means that there are not many people in other parts of the ship. We saw a young couple using this time frame to soak in the empty swimming pool and take we-fies. Also, we missed some events by the time we finished our lunch at about 4pm. So try to board the cruise early for lunch!

The cruise is huge — after our trip, there’s still a nudging feeling that I left a corner of the ship unexplored. With so many activities and facilities, you can schedule a day packed of activities on the cruise ship if you want to. Or you can choose to chill, relax and enjoy the on-going sea breeze.

What to do on Mariner of the Seas 1 - travel.joogo.sg

Image: Behind the Cruise Compass (Boarding Day Edition)

A 4 to 5 nights trip (if you alight at ports of call) is a good length to fully enjoy what Mariner of the Seas has to offer. More than that, and the activities would start to be repetitive.

There are many things for you to do once you board. However, the Cruise Compass (activities schedule) is very cluttered and you might just glazed over some of the interesting stuff.

So, here are some highlights you might be interested in:


Explore The Ship on Your First Day


Open Houses

  • Mariner Mini Expo: An open house to show and sell you the services and amenities available on the cruise – Specialty Dining, Beverage Packages, Art Auctions, etc. | 12:30pm to 3:15pm, Deck 5 Royal Promenade
  • Adventure Ocean Open House: Explore the youth and children facilities and get a program overview of all they have lined up for the trip. | 12:00pm to 3:00pm, 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Deck 12 Adventure Cove

What to do on Mariner of the Seas - travel.joogostyle.com

Tours

  • Ship Tour & First Timer Cruisers Club: I would have gone for this, if not for the timing. Join the Cruise Director’s Staff on this informative walking tour of the ship. | 2:45pm, Deck 4 Schooner Bar
  • Exclusive Behind the Scenes with the All Access Tour: Wonder what goes on in the galley, engine control room and backstage? Spend more than 3 hours exploring a variety of “back-of-house” areas on-board. If you are interested, get 2 tickets for the price of 1 (at $150) on the first day. | Sign up at Deck 5 Guest Services (Tip: In a later post, I will show you the places you can take a peep into the galley and cock pit.)
  • Spa & Fitness Center Tours: Learn about their various treatments, detox programs, facial, teeth whitening and other salon services. You get a chance to enter their free raffle (lucky draw) to win up to $500 worth of treatments! | 1:00pm to 5:00pm, Deck 12 Mariner Day Spa

Timing and locations were as of my Dec’15 cruise trip. They might differ from yours. Check your cruise compass to confirm.


Logistics


Assembly Drill

Before the ship set sail at 5pm, there’s a compulsory Assembly Drill at 4.30pm. You have to gather at either Deck 4 or Deck 5 (where all the lifeboats are located). You will be assigned to a specific lifeboat. Starts at 4:30pm, Deck 4, 5.

Lifeboat - travel.joogo.sg

Waiver Signing

If you are planning to ice skate or rock climb, regardless an adult or a child, you need to sign a waiver form for each of the activity.

  • Option 1 (Day 1): Head down to Deck 3 Studio B (3pm-4pm) on Day 1 to sign the waiver forms.
  • Option 2: Or you can sign them when the ice skating rink or climbing wall are opened for operations. Signed them first and come back another time – to queue early or when it’s less crowded.
  • Option 3: Nevertheless, you can still sign them just before you ice skate or rock climb. This means you will first queue for the waiver form, then after you are done, join the queue for the activity. Or if you are in a group, you can try to fill up the waiver form while queuing for the activity and asked your friend to get your seapass and waiver form to the staff.

Option 1 and 2 are good if you don’t want to have a long queuing time. This is because people will start queuing for the ice skating rink before the doors are open. With a signed waiver, you can head straight to the rink and bypass those who still have to sign the forms once the doors are opened.

When you signed the forms, you will get a “hole” on your sea pass: The alphabet S is waiver for ice skating, and the star for rock climbing.

Mariner of The Seas (Check In) 5 - travel.joogo.sg


Welcome On-Board!


Get your welcome-aboard free work of art at Deck 5 Royal Promenade, from 1pm-4pm. And there’s also a Welcome WOW Party on Deck 5, 3.30pm to welcome you on-board. We missed this and went for the later show at 5pm, featuring Dreamworks characters.

Dreamworks Move It, Move It Parade

A dance parade by the Dreamworks family and entertainment staff, with the spotlight on Alex the lion, Kungfu Panda, Shrek and Fiona, and other familiar characters. Shall just let the pictures bring you into the Move it Move it mood.

What to do on Mariner of the Seas - Welcome 6 - travel.joogo.sg

Kungfu Panda

Welcome - travel.joogo.sg

Us and Alex the lion

Welcome 1 - travel.joogo.sg
Welcome 2 - travel.joogo.sg

YOOHOO~

Welcome 3 - travel.joogo.sg

Move it Move it!

Welcome 4 - travel.joogo.sg

Puss in the Boots

Welcome 5 - travel.joogo.sg

Events were as of my Dec’15 cruise trip. They might differ from yours. Check your cruise compass to confirm.


Deals to Grab on Your First Day


Exclusive Behind the Scenes with the All Access Tour: Get 2 tickets for the price of 1 (at $150) at Deck 5 Guest Services. (If I’m not wrong, the deal lasts for the first 2 days only.)

Photo Package: Get $50 off at Deck 3 Photo Gallery. Get free photo free with every purchase too!

Specialty Dining: 20% off on your first night at Chops Grill and Giovanni’s.

Shopping at Royal Promenade, Deck 5: There were a few shopping sales featured on the Cruise Compass for Day 1. But fret not if you can’t decide on the first day, because many items will be going on sale on the last evening. And if you purchase above a minimum (which you can easily hit), you qualify for their lucky draw. So it might be good to hold off your purchases till the last day. ;)

Promotions were valid as of my Dec’15 cruise trip. They might differ from yours. Check your cruise compass to confirm.

Hope this guide helps you to navigate your first day on-board! If you have other questions, do leave a comment and I’ll get back to you if I can. :)


Bookmark this page >> Comprehensive Guide to Mariner of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) as I update it with links of useful tips and navigation around the cruise.

Travelled in December 2015 | Trip is fully paid by us and in no way sponsored.



5 thoughts on “What to do on Mariner of the Seas – Day 1”

Let's Hear from You!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.