Mariner of the Seas

It,s great to be able to tell you about all the wonderful places that we visited but I think that it is also important to mention about our temporary home on the Mariner of the Seas.

What a superb ship ! This was our first ever cruise so we were more than impressed.
It is one of five of the Voyager Class ships that belong to the Royal Caribbean International and it cost $650 million to build many years ago.

It is 138279 tonnes and can carry 3114 passengers as well as 1185 crew.
It is 311 mtrs in length and 39 mtrs in width… It has 14 decks and looks like a majestic lady just waiting to float away into paradise…She has a maximum speed of 24 knots…

Okay..that is the figures dealt with…now let me tell you what it was like…can you get better than a 5 star hotel…if so then this was it!
Our stateroom 6312 was absolutely spotless..It had a shower and a balcony and for us it was 10 days of sheer bliss.
Our Stateroom Attendant was Sudiasa Inyoman…a fantastic guy , who was so attentive and nothing was too much trouble. He was always around when you needed him with a lovely smiley face and he was very crafted in making animals out of bathroom towels..sort of like macrami but with towels…
Every day our room was cleaned twice…and every crinkle of the beautiful silky bedlinen was erased even after our afternoon nap..everything was perfect.

Our restaurant was Top Hat and Tails and we sat on a table with 3 other couples. Our waiters were Bernardo and Miarsh.
The menu, the food , the service , the quality and the quantity were absolutely fantastic. Never in all my years would I have ever believed that I could enjoy my food so much. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner were each an experience of a lifetime…day after day for 10 whole days.

Somebody did mention to me recently that they thought that cruising was too restrictive..being shut on a boat for hours at a time and no chance to get off. Well, I can only say that during those 10 days we were never bored. There is always something to do and something going on somewhere..even late into the night.

The entertainment in various bars and theatres was inspiring and good. there were a couple of nights when we left the theatre early but on the whole it was good entertaining all round stuff.

I think that I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say that this was one of the best holidays that I have ever had in my whole 74 years..so much so… I have already booked next years cruise when we shall be going to Norway, Denmark, Estonia and best of all St Peterburg in Russia.

If I were ever to make a ‘bucket list’ ( you know what I mean..a must do before you pass away from this life) then going to St Petersburg would be on the top of my list. So here I am ..time gets shorter with each passing year and so I am making sure that my list gets shorter so I am doing all the things that I could never do before.