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!
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
Playmakers Sports Bar (Deck 5 Forward)
Check it out...
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!
Junior Suite 1590- THE BEST ROOM EVER!
We LOVED this 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!
