Review and Tour of Our Balcony Cabin on Mariner of the Seas - Cruising For All (2024)

We have recently returned from a glorious Caribbean cruise, staying in a balcony cabin on Mariner of the Seas. So today wanted to share a tour and all the things we loved about the cabin. This was planned as a wind-down cruise following an incredible but super busy week in Orlando, staying at Sapphire Falls Resort in Universal. We booked this cruise with friends and had originally booked a double balcony cabin.

However, had to change this to a 3-berth balcony cabin when, much to our delight, our 18-year-old son announced he would like to come along after initially declining our offer. The cabin change and adding an additional passenger was easy to do thankfully.

About Mariner of the Seas, The 21 Year Old Floating City

Mariner of the Seas is a Voyager class ship, she launched in 2003 and renovated in 2018. She holds 4000 passengers and has a crew of 1200.

Review of Our 3 Berth Balcony Cabin

We chose cabin 8266, which was relatively mid-ship, but away from the lifts. As a rule when deciding on my cruise cabin location I follow these rules.

• Not to near a lift ( This is unavoidable with some suites).
• The cabin must not have an obstructed view.
• Not below the pool deck, you hear chairs scraping in the early morning.
• No bars, restaurant or clubs above or below.
• Cabins above and below is a safe bet.
• Not at the end of the ship near the theatre.
• Not near any large blank spaces or voids on the plan that could be a service area.

The 3rd Berth in Our Cabin on Mariner of the Seas

The 3rd berth in our cabin came down out of the roof. When I first saw it, I wasn’t too keen; we had always had our 3rd and 4th berths as a sofa bed before. However, this worked so much better, especially as turn-down is only once a day now. We would have had to put the sofa away every morning but the bunk was out of the way. As long as you didn’t sit up quick in the night it was ok.

There Was Ample Storage in Our Cruise Cabin

The cabin had lots of storage; the wardrobe had plenty of hangers and hanging space, plus shelves inside. The vanity unit also had drawers. There were three adults in our room, and we didn’t struggle for space. The side mirrors on the vanity unit had shelves behind them. Plus, there was a safe; this was not big enough for my laptop, but everything else, passports, phones, wallets etc fit in nicely.

How Many Plus Sockets and Outlets Are There?

This is where older ships fall down; despite the fact that we loved our cabin, there were only three power outlets in the cabin. That is nothing for 3 adults, all with iPhones and iPods, laptops. My advice is to take power banks and charge them when not in use as a backup. Although our cabin steward did unplug them when he cleaned our room. I am guessing its a safety thing.

The Cruise Cabin Bathroom

The bathroom on Mariner of the Seas was a traditional Royal Caribbean bathroom, but it was spotlessly clean and had plenty of storage space behind the side mirrors. It had everything we needed, including a corner shower with a shower door, so it wasn’t too small (I hate shower curtains).

Sofa Seating Area

The benefit of Royal Caribbean cabins is the seating area. You need to book a suite to get this on some cruise line. Its great to have an additional place to sit and a little more space.

Breakfast In The Cabin

Continental breakfast is free in the cabin; you fill out the cruise card and pop it on your door before 3 am the night before. However, if you fancy a cooked breakfast, you can order this for a tray charge of £7.95 per cabin. It’s also great that Royal Caribbean has added gluten-free toast to the menu, being gluten free this is a huge deal to me. We much prefer to have our breakfast in the cabin and enjoy a coffee on the balcony in the mornings.

Room Service Is Available From 11am Till 6am

Room service also has a tray charge of £7.95, which is great value if you want a chill day or movie night. We always say this is something we will do; however, we never do it as there are so many places to eat and so much to do on the ship.

Cabin Balconies Are For Chilling

Our cabin was a standard size and a space we loved. As there were three of us, we sometimes all wanted to sit out and chill, and managed this by bringing the vanity chair outside. For us having a balcony is a big deal. Sometimes it’s not always possible, but wherever it is, this is our cabin of choice.

Our Cabin Attendant and Special Touches

Turn down is now only once a day rather than two. But let’s face it, that is not an issue at all. The fabulous cabin attendants still make time for the little things, such as cute towel animals. Plus, I like to have the paper version of the Cruise Compass; I don’t want to have to scroll through my phone all day.

The Cruise Compass and Being in the Know

This is available on the app or as a paper version if requested. The cruise compass is like your cruise bible, it has all the activities, dining times and port tips. I would have missed things if I didn’t have the paper version. It’s the perfect way to plan your day and activities. Plus, all important notes, such as port requirements and time changes, are on the Cruise Compass.

Cruise Door Magnets

This isn’t the best picture; those corridors aren’t made for taking photos, and the old door style didn’t help. However, some people did put cruise door decorations on their doors. We used our own cruise door designs which are easy to print off and cut out.

Did This Balcony Cabin Work For Us

Yes, it worked for us; it was a little dated compared to the newer ships. That aside, it was clean and comfortable, and we would definitely book a cruise on Mariner of the Seas again.

Also, See Where We Stayed in Universal Resort

Check out what we loved about Sapphire Fall Resort in Universal Orlando.

And Check Out A Newer Royal Caribbean Ship

What’s great about Wonder of the Seas?