The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
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 …
Comprehensive Guide to Mariner of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) So have you decided which deck to book your room? Get my booking tips here. :) Or are you planning to book an Ocean View Stateroom (regardless double, triple or quadruple room)? Know what to expect …
There are many types of room on the Mariner of the Seas, and if you are looking for a review of Ocean View Stateroom, you are at the right place.
Anyway, after our Check-In at Marina Bay Cruise Center and clearance at the immigration, we proceeded to board the Mariner of the Seas. As we stepped out of the building, the big ship loomed high above us. It was so big that I couldn’t capture the whole cruise in my non-wide lens camera.
I was impressed by the cruise’s humongous size up close. Then, I felt green with jealousy at those who managed to book a room with balcony. The balconies look so good. I can so imagine myself chilling out in the private space with a book and drink. So if you have the chance and money, get the rooms with balcony! :)
Accommodation Type: Ocean View Stateroom (twin bed) on Mariner of the Seas, Deck 2
Duration: 5 nights in December 2015
Price: S$804 per person (nett)
Website: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/sgp/en/cruise-ships/mariner-of-the-seas
We changed rooms within our travel party. And so instead of a double bed, they room was set up in a twin bed configuration. When we arrived at our room, our stateroom attendant came knocking to brief us on certain things and got to know that we’ve switched rooms.
Then after understanding our needs, he transformed our twin bed into a double bed!
Compare the 2 photos and you will see that there are 2 extra side tables in the double bed room! And the side lamps became in a much better position than it would have been in a twin bed room — at our side instead of above us.
There were 2 boards on the ceiling which looked like they could be dismantled/opened up. We wondered what they were for. There was a ladder in the cupboard, and we also wondered what it was for. Then we put the pieces together and got a revelation!
This room can also be transformed into a triple or quadruple room!! Pull the platforms from above to become bed frames, and attach the ladder to them. You can then sleep up to 4 people with 2 double-deckers. Amazing.
Even though the room is good and comfortable for 2 people, it might be a squeeze for 4. 4 people to fight for one toilet. There might also not be room space for luggage or space to lay out much personal belongings on the toilet or powder table. My guess is that they will remove the sofa and coffee table in the room to make space.
This is our corridor on the last night, when people put out their luggage for porter service. Read my other post for useful information about the Check-Out and Departure.
One particular room along our corridor caught our attention when we passed by it the first few times. We couldn’t help but wonder why this particular room had a special decoration on their door. Then one day, we happened to walk by the room while it was being made up by the stateroom attendant. The room door was open and we peeped in.
Woah! Special pillow case and lovey-dovey decoration.
We later learned from the stateroom attendant that it’s a purchased anniversary package. You can also purchase during or prior to your trip packages or decorations for other events like birthdays, honeymoons, etc. [Will be writing a separate post for people who like to celebrate or surprise their loved ones on board.]
✓ Ocean View: I yelped at the ocean view when I first entered the room. The big circle window somehow reminded me of the cruises in the movies or shows I watched. It was nice to have an ocean view, even though it was an inferior cousin of the balcony view. Beats better than having no view! :P
One thing to note, it could be troublesome to open and close the curtains all the time. For those who are not diligent enough, the curtains might remain close at all times. The curtains have to be closed, because near to each port destination, we were able to see other ships (what if they have binoculars!?). And at each port of call, we could see people walking away from the cruise to the terminal.
✓ A mini living room: A single seater sofa and a coffee table. This table proved to be useful for our room service orders. However, with me taking over the powder table, Mr S only had this space to put his things. :P
It’s not caught in a picture, but there’s a curtain separating the bed and this “living room”. A pseudo wall for night owls and early sleepers staying together in the same room.
✓ Awesome service: For each room, there will be a stateroom attendant assigned. And he will take care of your room needs for your whole journey. The one who was assigned to us was Mingbo. Mingbo is from China and we spoke Chinese to him and I think somehow that made for a better connection. But I could tell he is friendly and provided great service to everyone under his charge.
He had been in this line for 5+ years, and that’s not easy, considering his workload. He had to make up the rooms twice in a day, once in the morning and another turndown service in the evening. And not only that, if he meet any of the guests in the corridor, even in the midst of cleaning up the room, he had to smile and friendly small talk with them. *Phew*
“Turndown service refers to the practice of staff entering a guest’s room and “turning down” the bed linen of the bed in the room, preparing the bed for use. – Wiki“
✓ Towel Art: During the turndown service, there are sometimes towel art. I think this is a sweet gesture. The first time we had it in our room was the swan. Then the second time was the elephant and I burst out laughing! He took Mr S’s sunglasses and put it on the elephant! It was totally comical to me. :D
✘ Small Bathroom: Bathroom is important part of the room to me. So I was extra disappointed at the bathroom. The door, toilet bowl, basin, the whole toilet (excl the shower area) felt like the airplane’s. Small, compact and budget. Room for only one person to move around.
✘ NO Toiletries: I was reading up on some blogs prior to the trip and saw that toiletries were provided. Hence Mr S didn’t bring shower foam and I had enough for only one person. Alas, because of the room grade, there were none for us. Just a soap bar and one wall pump for the shampoo in our stateroom.
Thankfully, our helpful stateroom attendant went to get one tube of shower foam for us. He even topped up a more premium looking set for us when he saw that we were finishing our tube. He had to run up to the upper decks to get these stocks.
These different sets of toiletries gave me a distasteful sense of the stark upper-lower class divide.
✘ NO room slippers: I might be anal about this. After I shower at night, I want to slip into room slippers and not dirty outdoor slippers before I get on to the bed. The floor is definitely dirty from our shoes and that of the stateroom attendants.
We couldn’t find any room slippers. So we had to again ask the stateroom attendant for them. And he brought 2 pairs of Royal Caribbean room slippers, and they were of good quality!
✘ Inconvenient Deck: There are different facilities on the different side of the deck. And you should choose to be on the side near the dining for convenience, and on the opposite side, if you want quietness. Moreover, Deck 2 is not a connecting deck. That means, in order to go to the other side of the ship, we had to go up the “bridge deck” and then up and down to where we want to go. So it seems like we are always travelling up and down.
This review of the Ocean View Stateroom shouldn’t necessarily affect your decision of whether to book a cruise trip with Mariner of the Seas. It should instead help you decide if you would be comfortable in an Ocean View Stateroom or better off with other room types. :)
Here are a few tips for booking a room for your cruise trip.
Travelled in December 2015 | Trip is fully paid by us and in no way sponsored.
So it’s the end of our trip! It’s time to check out and depart from Mariner of the Seas. For passport collected during the check-in, it will be ready for collection at Deck 5 the day before the disembarkation at Singapore. Departure Information Here’s the …
Nowadays, there are more people booking cruise trips and becoming a popular holiday option. So what’s the check in process at Marina Bay Cruise Center (“MBCC”) like? Read on to find out: The time to check-in Check-in process How to get to MBCC What Time …
Comprehensive Guide to Mariner of the Seas (Royal Caribbean)
On the first day of cruise, your checked bags might not reach your stateroom before you arrive. So you might want to pack a small carry-on bag with your travel documents, a set of clothes, swimsuit or workout attire, and any medications. In this way, you can start using the facilities without your checked bags. :)
But this probably applies to people who check in really early. We reached our rooms at about 4+pm after our lunch, and found our bags outside of our rooms.
Note: Staterooms will be ready for occupancy at approx 1:00pm. Luggage delivery commences from 1:00pm to 9:00pm.
There are many activities to do on-board, so roughly know what you want to do and bring the appropriate clothing.
Swim Suit / Sport Wear / “Skater Pants”: If you are going to swim, play sports or hit the gym, it’s best you bring 2 sets of swim suit and/sports wear. This way, you can wear a new set while you air dry the wet or sweaty set. Unless you are planning to swim or exercise only once. If you want to rock climb, bring shorts/pants and socks. If you want to skate, bring a pair of long jeans or pants and socks. Otherwise you will be refused entry.
Casual clothes to be wet: If you are planning to walk everywhere with only your swim suit, then ignore this point. If not, prepare 1-2 sets of clothes to get wet.
Casual clothes: For wear around the cruise and/or day trips when you disembark at the various port of call.
Sweaters/Jackets/Scarf: If you are scared of the cold on the windy deck or the chill during the ice skating show, you might want to consider bringing something to keep you warm.
Formal Night: There’s at least one formal night for each cruise trip. Depending on whether you choose to attend the formal dinner, you need to bring a set of formal clothes. It’s nice to see people dressing up! Though the idea of formal differs from people to people. There’s no strict enforcement, just don’t come in slippers and shorts. Still don’t know what to wear? A rule of thumb: Wear what you will to a wedding dinner.
Shoes: Sports shoes, slippers, comfortable footwear, heels, up to you!
If you are travelling in a big group or foresee separating from your travel companions, walkie talkies will be extremely useful in communications. Sure, you can try contacting the other party with your mobile, but the signal might be weak and roaming charges do apply.
So the best way to communicate with one another on-board is with walkie talkies! NOT HAM Radios, they’re prohibited on the cruise. ;)
You have to carry your SeaPass Card everywhere you go — because it’s like your identity card / room key / credit card all in one. So instead of having to keep taking the card in and out of your pockets/bags, it’s best to hang it around your neck with a lanyard. Also, my card was spoiled because it was affected by other cards in my bag.
If you want to carry small bottles of water in your carry on bag while checking in, you may do so. They didn’t confiscate ours, but sometimes they might. So bring at your own risk.
Do note that there’s no complimentary drinking water in your room. The mini fridge is stocked with Evian bottles and soda drinks — all with a price tag. Just to give you a rough idea, their Evian water package is priced at US$47 for 12 1L bottles. They have other beverage packages such as the fountain soda. You can view this PDF for the prices of the different packages.
Also, we didn’t know any better and brought 2 1.5L bottles of mineral water with us. But that turned out to be good for us. Sometimes we forgot to refill our bottles or tired of the occasional long queues just to get some water. These bottles became our emergency pack.
When we left alight from the cruise on our last day, we walked past a table full of “confiscated” items waiting to be claimed. These items were not allowed on board and thus kept aside until the passengers arrived back in Singapore. That’s more compassionate than the items being thrown away in airports. We saw items such as hair-dryer, electric kettle and iron! *Gasp*
Other items prohibited will be electrical extension cords, candles, incense, coffee makers, steamers, hotplates, heating pads, Hookahs & water hookah pipes, flammable liquids and explosives. Basically any item that may create a fire hazard.
Curling irons, hair straighteners, matches and normal lighters (but not “torch lighters” or those that look like guns).
The room has a hair-dryer and electric kettle, so you wouldn’t need to bring your own anyway.
And if you need ironing service for your formal wear, there is full laundry services on board at a cost. Or you can consider the following options:
You want to party in your cabin with lots of booze, but don’t want to pay for the overpriced drinks onboard. So you decide to BYO. But your alcoholic beverages will be seized on the embarkation day and not be returned.
If you have to buy, alcoholic beverages purchased in ports-of-call or from shops onboard will be stored by the ship and delivered to you on the last day of the sailing.
A few final notes.
Be sure to leave some empty space in your luggage, in case you buy things at the ports of call.
After you have finished packing, print the luggage tag in the Guest Ticket Booklet. This tag is personalised with stateroom number. Print a tag for every piece of luggage you have and write your name on it. Print extra for back up. Fold the luggage tag and staple or tape it to your luggage. This will ensure a faster and smoother check in of luggage. More information and tips about the check in process in my next post! :)
If you have any alcohol or prohibited items in your luggage, plan to collect the luggage from Security on Deck 1, midship after 5:30pm. (Do check your cruise compass – boarding day edition for more info.)
Travelled in December 2015 | Trip is fully paid by us and in no way sponsored.
Comprehensive Guide to Mariner of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) Singapore built a fairly new cruise terminal (Marina Bay Cruise Centre) and received its first ship, the Voyager of the Seas, in 2012. This cruise terminal is expected to grow Singapore’s leisure cruise sector. The growth …
5 NIGHT SPICE OF SE ASIA CRUISE I’m going to do up a series of posts to share with you my first cruise experience with Royal Caribbean. Bookmark this page as I update the page with links to useful tips and navigation around the cruise. …