Tuesday, May 18, 2010

My Vacation (Part 1 of 4)

We went on a 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise from May 2 to May 9. The ship’s name is Mariner of the Seas owned by Royal Caribbean. She (here I remember Insignia’s post on ships) is 1020 feet long and weighs 138,000 tons. She can take 3114 passengers. The ship has 1185 crew. There are 15 decks (floors). Our cabin was on the 10th deck.

This is our second cruise. Our first one was two years ago but only for 4 nights. We enjoyed it so much we decided to go again this year. On our first cruise, our friends advised us to take an outside cabin. They cost some extra money. But will have natural lighting and we can see the ocean from the cabin.

For this second cruise, we did not take an outside cabin. In our opinion, it is a waste of money. After all the activities, we come to the room only in the night to sleep. So, there is no need for natural light. At the same time, we are not going to be looking at the dark ocean all night. Here is a slide show of the ship.



There are plenty of foods available 24 hours. Everything is included in the ticket price except for alcohol. There is a main formal dining hall and an informal dining hall. You can choose where you want to eat. Formal dining hall does not mean you have to wear formal attire all the time. Formal attire required only on 2 nights. Waiters will serve food in the formal dining hall. There are 12 main courses to choose from each night. This includes 3 vegetarian courses including an Indian dish.

Informal dining hall has buffet system only. The cuisine includes American, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, and Indian dishes. There is a separate pizza parlor and a hamburger joint. Lots and lots of fruits, desserts, pastries, yogurt, and ice cream. If you are on a diet or a weight watcher, cruise vacation is not for you.

The ship has a swimming pool, a shopping mall, a gym, an auditorium (capacity 1200), a figure skating rink, video arcade, baby sitting facilities, children play station, a small hospital, and a chapel.

There are at least 6 professional entertainments each day and we can choose to attend any or some or all. They include music, dance, figure skating dance, and stand-up comedy.

As I said before everything is included in the ticket price. (Ticket price is also not that costly.) We have to pay onboard only for alcohol. If you don’t drink alcohol you won’t have to spend anything onboard.

Everyone should experience a cruise vacation on a luxury liner at least once in a lifetime. It is an unforgettable experience. With more than 4200 people on board, the ship looks like a small ultra modern town surrounded by water on all sides. Everybody is smiling and happy. Everyone leaves their worldly worries on the land before boarding the ship.

It used to be when relatives visit from India, they were taken to places like Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Niagara Falls. But the trend nowadays is to take the visitors on a cruise. Therefore, we saw lots of sarees and salwar kameez on board.

I have a few video clips about this ship. The quality of the video is not that good since it was taken in a digital camera (not meant for videos).

29 comments:

  1. Amazing. Glad you had a deserving break. The ship is enormous and yes, can visualize a town within it.

    Thanks for referring my post here :-) Yes, the ship is a SHE and there are valid reasons as to why.

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  2. sounds amazing..nice to know that you have had an amazing break..

    by the way, I cannot view the pictures at all..it's just a blank box..maybe because I recently got my pc formatted so the plug ins are missing!

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  3. WOW!!! must be an awesome experience. I've never been on a cruise before. pls share lots n lots of pics.. :)
    Glad ur family enjoyed the trip.

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  4. Liked all the photos SG. I am going on a vacation on 21st. shall come back and read the remaining part of the series.

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  5. Thanks for your comments Insignia. The ship is huge. Yes, it is a floating town.

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  6. Thanks for your comments Neha. The expereince is amazing.

    The pics were too big. I have shortened them now. You will be able to view now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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  7. awww now you are making me jealous :P ... and you have even put up the video... someday i too will have a break there :D

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  8. Thanks for your commens Mindfulmeanderer. This is our second cruise. It was an awesome experience. Will share more pics.

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  9. Thanks for your comments Chitra. I am glad you liked these pics. Have a nice vacation and pls write a post on that. Thanks.

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  10. Thanks for your comments Rajlakshmi. Please come to USA and take a cruise vacation. It is awesome.

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  11. sema kalakal mate!!! wow boy...wish i go on a cruise like that one day!

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  12. Thanks for your comments Hary. I am sure you will go on a cruise soon. There are lot of cruise originating from Europe.

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  13. Oh very nice!!:-)I have been waiting for this post. SO glad there's going to be 3 more. You're so right..the ship looks like a small self-sufficient town. Cruise is a must-have experience now for me. But I wish I could see you in one of the pics :)

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  14. This looks awesome...never had the experience to b on a cruise vacation but m looking forward to it... !!!
    Seems u've simply had a gala time :)!!

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  15. Thanks for your comments lostworld. I am glad you liked these pictures. I am sure you will go on a cruise one of these days. It will be an awesome experience.

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  16. Thanks for your comments Nazish. We had a great time. I am sure you will go on a cruise one of these days.

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  17. That sounds absolutely amazing. A dreamy vacation! Off I go now to see the pics :)

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  18. wow Sg i so envy you and your wife..this looks awesome.....

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  19. Thanks for your comments Titaxy. It was indeed a dreamy vacation.

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  20. Thanks for your comments Sulagna. This was a nice experience.

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  21. Truly wonderful!! I absolutely LOVE cruises- and only wish I could experience them more often. I so enjoyed your blog about it and look forward to the other 3 parts.

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  22. Welcome back. So you are ready for more blogs. Liked your posts on cruise.

    Personally I think it is better to go with few friends. I have been on cruise once two years back for 5 nights. It was nice and relaxing. I sat on the deck and kept reading my books and no one bothered me. Then I read anohter book in Hot tub and no one interuppted me. There is something for kids and wife to do ...so we can relax.

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  23. Thanks for your comments Anjuli. And, wecome to my blog. I am glad you love cruise vacations.

    Anjuli, please visit here as often as you can. Thanks.

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  24. Thanks for your comments A. I am glad you have the first hand experience of a cruise vacation. You like going on a cruise with friends. We prefer to go by ourselves so we can meet new people. (There is a post coming soon about going on vacation with friends.)

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  25. Hey Man... exactly the places i wanna roam with my giri :)... ll see the videos from home..office no no :)

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  26. Thanks for your comments HaRy. These are the perfect places to roam with your girl. You both will enjoy.

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  27. Amazing. Almost like a small town. Did you feel seasick? Will wait for Part 2-4.

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  28. Thanks for your comments Radha. No we did not get seasick. The ship is huge and the sea was calm. So, no one got sick.

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  29. This is unbelievable. I have read many stories based on ship and thought I am familiar with the ship's interiors. Have seen some glimpses in movies. But these photos show the true size of the ship. Thank you for sharing, SG.

    Sorry, I am a bit late,here.

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