This Cruise Will be SUITE
Embarkation Day- Galveston, TX
June 13, 2026
Let the SUITE LIFE begin!
Morning
This was a busy week for our family as Natalie was headed to Leader's Retreat and both kids were headed to LeTourneau University for FBC Youth Camp and there was lots of last minute items to check off before our departure. I am so grateful for my parents, who now live just 45 minutes away, who came to get Natalie to the church and help close up our house for the week! Thank you Gigi and Poppy!
We left the house just before 8am and made our traditional stop at Kolache Factory for our Cruise Day Breakfast- it's a tradition. We stopped for gas at Buc-ee's in Texas City before arriving at the North Parking Lot at Terminal 10 shortly before 10AM. TIP- We paid $113 for 5 days of parking in the North Parking Lot but we were literally 4 parking rows away from the entrance to Terminal 10. The best $113 spent of the trip in this Texas Summer Heat!
BOOK HERE
IYKYK...
This is the moment I get SUPER EXCITED!
Our official check-in time was 11:30AM AND we received a notice about a delay the night before, but we were able to get right in thanks to early arrival and our suite perks. In fact, porters were waiting for us just steps from our vehicle to get our luggage. We walked right into the terminal at 10:15AM and completely bypassed the 50+ people standing in line as we took the "Suite & Pinnacle" escalator to the private Suite Lounge for check in.
This is the life... THE SUITE LIFE! I could bypass this line EVERY CRUISE!
I am on the SUITE Express... and it feels GOOD!
Is this really for us?
Where has this been my whole cruising life?!
To say we were completely blown would be an understatement. Galveston is our home port and we sail Royal Caribbean and Terminal 10 ALL the time and I didn't even know this Suite Lounge existed! We were able to have a completely PRIVATE check in with a terminal worker in our lounge chairs! Once checked in the worker said "we will begin boarding at 10:28 but until then enjoy" and we did just that. They offered cookies, coffee & tea as well as a much less chaotic start to our cruise. At 10:25AM the announcements started but we couldn't even hear them. Instead, a worker came and casually told us to go get on the ship! In 30 cruises, this was something I have never experienced. Buyer beware... This alone is worth the Suite costs!
I could SERIOUSLY get used to this!
We were on the ship at 10:36AM and headed to our muster station to get checked in. After finalizing our muster station and safety check-in, we went straight to the Royal Promenade on Deck 5 to Cafe Promenade and Playmakers. TIP- Playmakers is "new" on the Mariner and was part of her upgrade in 2025. This sports bar is large and offers a variety of sports throughout the cruise. (Although we learned they do not carry the traditional ESPN but ESPN Caribbean rather; which did not program some sporting events like the Men's College World Series).
This was a the "menu" for the upcoming sporting events.
That first drink feeling...There's nothing like it!
Chris enjoyed a few slices of pizza from Cafe Promenade and we enjoyed Playmakers pretty much all to ourselves for about 15 minutes before people started piling in. We opted to forgo the Embarkation buffet for lunch and ordered food from Playmakers. TIP- They offer a variety of Sports Bar food but the food hours vary by the day. Embarkation day offerings begin at 12pm). The wings and burger were GREAT and we would order again. This lunch cost $29 with tip and is an additional charge, unless you have the unlimited dining package.
Cafe Promenade on The Royal Promenade
6 Wings ($8.99)- 4.5
Truffle Burger ($11.99)- 4.0
I enjoyed the sauce on the burger and it was a very large portion!
Afternoon
We enjoyed lunch and hung out in Playmakers until about 1pm when we made our way to our stateroom before the official announcement was made at 1:30pm. As I mentioned before, BUYER BEWARE. This "junior suite" was a TERRIBLE idea. I may never go back to a regular room, let alone an INTERIOR which is our most frequent stateroom. The closet was a WALK IN CLOSET and the additional space in the room was probably the exact size of an actual interior! The bathroom was "larger" but not HUGE and offered a bathtub (VERY slippery). The balcony was larger than a normal balcony and deeper as well but did not offer "lounge" chairs but large chairs and a small table instead.
This... THIS is our room for the next 5 days? How did we get so lucky!
Another view of this MASSIVE room!
Our luggage was in the hallway as we arrived to the stateroom so I took the next 30 minutes or so to unpack for the week while Chris took a nap on the full sized couch. Y'all... I did not even use all the closet space or drawers. Not even 60-70% of the space. Chris and I joked that this suite was "wasted on a 5 night cruise". This stateroom was made for a LONG HAUL cruise! Again... I may NEVER go back! (Not true... we sail in 10 days and in an interior room, of course.)
We tried to use the in-room coffee maker and we seemed to trip a breaker as the coffee machine would not work and the lights in the bathroom would not come on. We called the stateroom attendant- Adrian- and he called maintenance. We decided to go to Schooner Bar for afternoon trivia and a few drinks. We actually WON the first trivia of the cruise and then WON the movie theme trivia that followed too! We even won an EFFY jewelry gift bag full of goodies and coupons! I think we made up for not winning at all on our MSC Seascape 2026 cruise.
Two trivia wins BACK TO BACK, an Effy giftbag and a perfect mojito!
Life is good!
Before we even realized it, we were sailing away from Galveston at 3:12pm so we hurried back to the suite to watch the sail away. We were able to see the pilot boat pick up the pilot and watch us get into the bay of Galveston before heading back out to enjoy the ship.
We headed to the Bamboo Room which is a new bar that took the location of Vintages. One of our favorite bartenders on the Harmony of the Seas 2026, Ursula, suggested the Bamboo Room as an alternative to Vintages but we did not enjoy this venue at all. The vibes were not at all "quiet" and "low key" but rather kind of 70s and odd. The unique drinks featured in this bar were also not at all for us. I ordered something that came in a "hospital bag" that mimicked a blood bag! It was an experience but we did not return to the Bamboo Room on this sailing! The most upsetting thing about the entire cruise was the lack of Vintages and this as the replacement.
The specialty drink menu from The Bamboo Room and my "On the Run" drink.
(Drink Rating of 2.5... not for me).
Evening
We enjoyed the balcony for a while as we were in the shade for the trip south. This balcony allowed a lot of space and the chairs, while they could not recline, were comfortable for time spent on the balcony. We then went back to the Schooner Bar to enjoy live music from the pianist.
I am loving the SUITE LIFE!
We LOVE listening to live music and Schooner Bar is our favorite venue on Royal Caribbean ships!
Our dinner was at 8:30pm on Deck 5 of the Dining Room. TIP- Once on board, I went to the Maitre'd within an hour and requested a table for ONLY 2 (not seated with others) and "isolated" or not as close to others. Most cruise lines pack you in like cattle and the tables are just too close for comfort so I have learned the trick is to request isolation from the Maitre'd on night #1. Oddly enough, we were literally in a back corner and were the ONLY table in our waiter's section EVERY NIGHT. I do not know if the other passengers did not ever come to dinner or were never assigned but this "isolation" provided the absolute BEST and fastest service we have EVER HAD on ANY CRUISE LINE!
The Welcome Aboard Menu in the Main Dining Room
Crab Cake
Kellie- 4.0 (Light and full of flavor) & Chris- 4.0
Tomato Soup
Kellie- 4.0
Southern Fried Chicken
Kellie- 3.0
This was really good but not "southern" as I had hoped!
Prime Rib
Chris- 4.0
Boston Cream Pie
Kellie- 3.5 & Chris- 4.0
After dinner we went to the Welcome Aboard show in the Main Theater for the Mariner of the Seas Orchestra as well as a comedian. Both were very entertaining and reminded us how great Royal Caribbean musicians really are.
This was a great Welcome Aboard Show and we enjoyed this comedian!
We made our way to the Pub after the show and saw one of our favorite bartenders from the Jewel of the Seas B2B 2025- Raj! We sat down in the pub and he shouts out "Sir David and Ms. Kellie- how are you?" He actually remembered us! Oddly enough we saw his bartending partner, Yash from the Jewel of the Seas, on the Harmony in February! We actually ended up seeing 6 different bartenders from previous cruises on this sailing- 2 of which recognized US and even remembered my order! (Not really sure I should be bragging about that but... That is why I am loyal to ROYAL. They truly are the best.)
We enjoyed the 70s Disco Inferno from the Pub and it is always one of our favorite nightly events onboard Royal Caribbean. We called it a night shortly after midnight!
It was a GREAT embarkation day aboard the Mariner of the Seas and we were ready for more! This cruise will be SUITE!
Up Next... Sea Day #1!
God is Good... ALL THE TIME!
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- March 2019
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
