Asian Adventure Part 2

Mariner Of The Seas is an older ship and to be honest could do with a makeover, but it had the feel of a Royal Caribbean Ship and had all the facilities you would expect, with the Cruise been 95% Chinese on board some differences you did notice, they didn’t have a sail way party as you would expect and no need to reserve sunbeds as us brits do, the pool area was empty. Also food was a mixture of local and western food, most of the guests seemed to eat in the windjammer so the main dining room was quiet also the speciality restaurants there was no need to queue, The food in the main dining room was good and plenty of choice for everyone you had an option for Asian food or the traditional menu you would expect also you could pay extra for Lobster which we did sample and was super,

Also the guests didn’t comply with any of the  dress codes and was very casual on board even on formal nights they wore shorts and t shirts in the main dining room, the bars and nightclub where empty yet the only place I would say was packed all the time was the casino after taking to the bar staff  they said the Chinese like to gamble which is why they come on board, we went to Jonny rockets which is one of my favourites on Royal as it is upbeat and I love all the singing and dancing and music, but again this wasn’t the case no atmosphere and none of the above they did.

We went to see a couple of shows in the main theatre which where ok but not fantastic and again these are changed for the Chinese market so not the big productions you would expect, the best show was the ice skating which was just fantastic.

The destinations the Cruise visited where fantastic, we arrived In Penang and the Cruise docks central to George Town so the transfer into the centre is not far, they have some amazing temples which we visited, and we had time to wonder round the town which was very vibrant and lots of street markets.

My favourite stop of the Cruise has to be Langkawi it was just beautiful we had the afternoon to ourselves so we took a local taxi who took us to a natural waterfall which was just beautiful, lots of local kids swimming and jumping off the rocks, monkeys where everywhere which was lovely to see,

After visiting the waterfall we headed to the beach for some sun and sea and a few beers, the beach was stunning that we visited and had lots of bars on the front a couple of beers would set you back no more than £2.00 water sports where available and very very cheap compared to anywhere else I have been,

The staff on board where fantastic and we met an amazing Jamaican Guy in Schooners Bar who was just first class and made our Cruise he was so friendly and nothing was too much trouble for him, we opted to take the premium drinks package which was 57US per day and we didn’t know if we should as we had lots of things planned, but it was worth while the quality of wine and beers and cocktails was very good, one thing I would say it is slight cheaper to purchase the package before you go,

See next blog for my final thoughts and last days in asia