The Suite Life of Chris and Kellie Mariner of the Seas June 13-18, 2026 Galveston, TX (Western Caribbean)
This was a cruise for the memory books and it was... SUITE!
After 29 cruises... we are addicted and love this form of travel as we believe it holds the best overall value. This particular cruise was a chase for becoming DIAMOND on Royal Caribbean as it is our favorite cruise line. To become DIAMOND a cruiser must have 80 "cruise points" total. A cruise night is 1 point but sailing in a SUITE or HIGHER allows DOUBLE points which meant we needed to sail in a suite to become DIAMOND before Natalie's Graduation cruise in 2027. We chose this 5 night sailing out of Galveston which in turn gave us exactly 80 cruise points; a year ahead of our Graduation Cruise goal. Even sailing a Junior Suite in the middle of the summer was only $1125/ per person (which is on the lower end of "mid pricing" to be honest). This was a splurge to say the very least but we LOVED this experience and would sail in a Junior Suite again in a heartbeat. The perks, double cruise points, and the stateroom itself was HIGHLY worth this price point! I would recommend EVERY ONE sail in a suite at least once in their life!
We have cruised 13 previous times with Carnival, 12 times with Royal Caribbean, 2 times with Norwegian, 1 time with Princess and most recently 1 time withMSCCruise Line.
This blog will contain entries of our day-to-day life aboard the Mariner of the Seasas well as all of the unique and awesome perks of sailing in a Suite! You do not want to miss these posts!
Throughout the blog posts, we will also share the lots of tips, tricks and insiders knowledge about cruising out of Galveston, information about cruising to the Western Caribbean as well as great information about Mariner of the Seas.
Morning We were woken up bright at early at 6:40AM with a phone call letting us know our room service would be delivered shortly. TIP- We ordered the continental breakfast via the brochure and placed it on our door the night before for a 7AM delivery. The continental breakfast offerings are FREE and the American (hot) breakfast items have a $7.95/ per delivery fee. We opted for the free option! Our breakfast arrived and we enjoyed a lovely, albeit very carb heavy, breakfast on the balcony. This was a our favorite morning and we were a little upset we did not do this every morning... but we much prefer the "real breakfast" foods instead of toast and bagels.
I loved the serenity that was achieved with this breakfast.
The seas were once again absolutely PERFECT!
After breakfast on the balcony Chris took a nap while I explored more of the ship before the crowds arrived for a typical sea day aboard. I met Chris at the Vitality Spa around 8:50AM for his 2nd session of acupuncture.
It's Wednesday on a cruise ship... I love it!
Time to explore more but first, coffee!
The wake is the BEST VIEW!
Another perfect view of the open ocean.
This session was more intense with less needles but more electric wires and impulses. Dr. Ling also did a small acupuncture session on his left hand which also has some tendonitis. Overall I think the acupuncture was a great learning experience and it did in fact work and Chris was not an ANY pain for about 2 weeks; however, the pain did start to come back and I will say this is not a permanent healing. We will explore Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors in Houston and look for more acupuncture sessions in the near future. Knowing all I know now about acupuncture and his condition, I am not sure I would pay the $500 again... However, like I mentioned in a previous post this is not a lot compared to other medicines and practices.
Wow... this was TOTALLY worth it! Check out the relief:
After this acupuncture session we went to The Pub for some trivia and a few slices of Sorrento's pizza. We had lunch reservations at Jamie's Italian at 1:30PM but the lack of protein from our breakfast on the balcony meant we were a little hungry prior to 1:30PM.
Traditional Buoy picture... 5 days late!
Another Royal Tradition... The Ship logo on the Pool Deck!
This one was a little hard to find and seems it has been moved to a different location than our experience with sister ships in the past.
Gotta love the Sky Lounge- Check it out:
Afternoon At exactly noon, Lauren (the CD), started the Veteran's Tribute in the Royal Promenade.Royal Caribbean does such a remarkable job with this event and it brings me to tears every single time. The recognition of each branch of service, the historical poems and other ceremonial tributes are incredible but the Taps played live makes me bawl like a baby. Thank you Royal Caribbean for honoring our Veteran's and those who lost their lives while serving our country; like my cousin Jeffery. Thank you for your service!
These Veteran's Tribute services are so well done!
These Royal Singers (and Dancers) were some of the best we have seen! What a phenomenal job of singing our National Anthem!
We made our way to Jamie's Italian in the courtyard of the Windjammer for our lunch. With this late lunch time, there were hardly any customers in there and once again, the service was phenomenal. TIP- We booked this lunch experience in Jamie's Italian prior to embarkation and only paid $13.99/ person. Even with the require gratuity and the additional tip, we enjoyed the best meal of our cruise for only $45 total and it was worth every penny!
Jamie's Lunch Menu options
The Cedar Meat Plank Kellie- 4.0 & Chris- 4.5
The Garlic Sticky Buns 5.0... This is easily the best bread on the ship!
The Penne Vodka Kellie- 4.0 (It is listed as spicy but it was very mild)
Charred Broccoli Side Kellie- 4.0 and Chris-3.0 This would be PERFECT for a low-carb/ KETO diet... We need to learn how to make this at home!
Avocado Caesar Salad Kellie-4.5 Easily one of the best salads I have ever had.
Jamie's Dessert Menu (Lunch and Dinner)
Tiramisu Kellie- 4.5 *Be warned... it is RICH!
Banana Split Chris- 4.5
After lunch we walked around the Pool Deck on deck 11 and then made our way to the Viking Crown Lounge on Deck 14 to enjoy the pool deck views from an chair in the AC. We stayed here for about an hour before Chris went to take another nap and I went to get our traditional ship specific souvenirs.
This is one of my favorite features on Voyager and Freedom Class ships! This lounge is just perfect for a lazy and relaxing day spent at sea.
We met up at the Star Lounge on Deck 5 for Harry Potter trivia but unfortunately, we did not win. You would think after attending this trivia multiple times we would do better but never even come close.
We then went to Playmakers to try and watch the College World Series but they were not showing the OU game due to ESPN not being available. But we watched more of the World Cup and loved the vibes, yet again, of Playmakers.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Casino and I was quick to lose my money at the blackjack tables but Chris stayed in the game for a very long time and even came out EVEN after several hours. That in an of itself is a WIN!
Evening We went back to the room to quickly pack as much as we could before the 7PM Centerstage production show in the Royal Theater.I must say that this crew of singers and dancers were some of the absolute best we have ever seen on any cruise line and we loved this show.
We grabbed some pre-dinner drinks at The Schooner Bar and then enjoyed our last dinner in the Main Dining Room with easily the best service we have had in 30 cruises. Thank you Rommel and Anne for the best experience in the MDR.
The Taste of Italy Menu in the MDR
Arancini Balls Kellie- 4.5 and Chris- 4.0
Lasagna Kellie- 3.0
Mushroom Risotto 5.0 This is always one of our favorite dishes on board and this one did not disappoint.
Tiramisu Kellie- 3.0 & Chris- 4.0
After dinner we went to Playmakers in hopes of catching at least the ESPN scroll of the OU score but was not successful so we went to The Pub for our last sing-along of the cruise! It was great to see Raj, one of our favorite bartenders from the Jewel of the Seas 2025, one last time before getting off the ship! We called it a night around midnight and prepared for our disembarkation the next morning.
Mariner of the Seas... You've been good to us and hold a special place in our hearts!
This was a FANTASTIC experience being in a Suite for the first time and I will say this is something we are going to look into for our future cruises. We are excited to enjoy all of our perks and benefits of being DIAMOND on our upcoming Symphony of the Seas cruise in just a few weeks!
We've got 2 more Royal Caribbean cruises booked in 2026 and Natalie's Graduation European Cruise in 2027 but I have a feeling we will be booking a few more cruises in our upcoming breaks!
Morning Chris had a really tough night with his neuropathy and was in a lot of pain. We were awake as we pulled into to Cozumel and got dressed for the day quickly. We have been to Cozumel over 20 times and opted to stay on the ship for a empty ship experience.
Hello Tuesday!
We went to the MDR for breakfast just as soon as they opened at 8AM. The service was better than the first sea day but not by much.Royal Caribbeanlikes to completely fill up a section of tables and then start taking orders. Some people order "fruit and granola" appetizers that then come before all the main entree's even if tables like ours did not order anything. This whole process makes the service feel less personable and take much longer. Chris says the Breakfast Burrito was "worth the wait" but I am not really sure. Our breakfast experience on this day took over 45 minutes, which was longer than any night in the MDR thus far!
The Breakfast Burrito- 4.5+ (Not quite as good as a Whataburger Taquito but still really good)
After breakfast we went to the Mariner Dunes Mini-Golf on the 13th deck. We have a tradition of playing mini-golf on nearly all of our cruises and once again, Chris WON! And it was not even close this time as he won by 3 holes. (I have decided I need a warm-up round as I am always better on the back half.) This truly is one of my favorite traditions!
It is a tradition...
After 30 cruises, we have had 29 games I have only won a handful! (MSC did not have a mini-golf course)
This course was a lot of fun to play with lots of obstacles!
It was a HOT day!
Check out the Mariner Dunes Mini-Golf
We then went to the Solarium to enjoy a completely empty pool and hot tub. We had the MASSIVE hot tub to ourselves for nearly 30 minutes until a lovely couple from Whitehouse, TX joined us. Oddly enough the husband was a New Caney HS graduate and we talked New Caney for nearly an hour.
Port days in the Solarium are MY FAVORITE!
Afternoon Chris and I enjoyed the Solarium hot tub, pool and general ambiance for over 3 hours before showering and getting ready for an afternoon aboard the Mariner of the Seas. We went to Sorrento's and grabbed a few slices of pizza before going to Playmakers to watch more of the World Cup. I think Playmakers on a College Football weekend would be INCREIDBLE! We decided to order the Jalapeno Poppers and they turned out to be very good and worth the $8 in my opinion. Slowly, more and more passengers started getting back on the ship and it was time for us to enjoy a nap.
Check out the Royal Promenade on a Port Day (3PM)
The Jalapeno Poppers- 4.5 These were $7.99 and well worth it in our opinion!
After our brief nap we went to the Vitality Spa for Chris's acupuncture appointment. Dr. Ling started right away putting needles all over Chris's feet. She eventually placed over 40 needles into his feet, legs, hands and even his scalp. She also informed Chris that he has neuropathy as well as tendonitis in both of his feet as well as his left hand.This would actually explain why sometimes it is more of cramping feelings in addition to the nerve pain. She placed a few wires around the needles in his feet and set up an electric session for around 30 minutes. Chris said he could feel the pulses the whole time. Dr. Ling came back and took out all of the needles, except the two in his scalp that we noticed about 30 minutes later.
These needles and electric wires were CRAZY to watch!
Dr. Ling advised an additional session, but of course, but offered a discount (eye roll). The whole acupuncture process of 2 60 minute sessions were $497 with gratuity. This seemed outrageous but just 2 weeks prior we met with a chiropractic offering "full healing" with new soft-wave technology for only $10K. TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS... So to be honest, this $500 seemed like chump change. And even after this first session, Chris was walking better than I had seen him walk in 5-8 months. I had real hopes!
Check out the Vitality Spa on Mariner of the Seas
After the acupuncture session we went to the Schooner Bar for afternoon trivia but we did not win. We opted to watch sail-away from our balcony but it did not last long as we were fully in the sun and it was HOT!
Evening We got dressed for the evening and then went to Playmakers to watch more of the World Cup and hopefully The College World Series as Texas was playing and I love watching saxeT lose! We decided to try another appetizer from Playmakers, the nachos, and they were incredible! We will definitely be ordering these on our upcoming Symphony cruise with the kids!
The Playmakers Nachos- 5.0 We opted to add chili and it was $12.99 and we enjoyed these very much!
We spent the entire evening in Playmakers before it was time for our 8:30PM dinner in the Main Dining Room. Yet again, we were the only table in our waiter's section and the service was phenomenal! The Taste of Mexico menu... not so much! This was awful and the ONLY redeeming grace was the tres leche cake as a dessert. We will be booking a specialty restaurant during this menu in the future.
The Taste of Mexico Menu
Tortilla Soup Kellie- 4.5 This reminded me of the Chili's enchilada soup and was very flavorful!
Escargot Kellie- 5.0 This is a MUST ORDER at least once on every Royal cruise.
Pulled Pork Enchilada Kellie- 2.5
I wanted to like this but it was not the Tex-Mex style I enjoy!
Tres Leches Cake Chris-4.5 and Kellie-5.0 This is the redeeming factor for the entire menu!
