Advice needed!

[u/Electrical_Focus9179]

Hi,

We are thinking of booking this cruise for our upcoming honeymoon. Has anyone been on this cruise?

It would also be our first cruise, is there anything we should know? Do we need to book excursions or can explore on our own? Any advice on the deck we should choose?

Thanks!

Edit: more details - Mariner of the seas; Barcelona, Mallorca, Malaga, Tangier, Casablanca, Madeira, Porto, Lisbon

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u/Electrical_Focus9179

Hi,

We are thinking of booking this cruise for our upcoming honeymoon. Has anyone been on this cruise?

It would also be our first cruise, is there anything we should know? Do we need to book excursions or can explore on our own? Any advice on the deck we should choose?

Thanks!

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[u/Neilkd21]

Might need to actually include the cruise details.

[u/Electrical_Focus9179 → u/Neilkd21]

Just did!

[u/Neilkd21 → u/Electrical_Focus9179]

Good itinerary, apart from Casablanca which is a shit hole. Older ship so watch some YouTube tours and see if it suits what you like.

[u/DontCallMeArmy]

Great destinations, I might try to find a nicer cruise line, just a step up to celebrity or princess and it’s worth it. Royal is good but not amazing.

[u/compunctionfunction]

I am doing this cruise next June so I think it's gonna be great!

[u/Ornery-Education-745]

We've been to Barcelona and Mallorca.  Barcelona we did a specialized private tour but take a look at the hop on hop off bus.  Barcelona is known for Gaudi architecture such as the Sagrada familia church and Parc Guell.  Also, google Las Ramblas. We had our teenage son with us so in Mallorca, we took a cruise line excursion to the aquarium.since he loves aquariums.  It was across the street from the beach.  Mallorca has beautiful beaches. Porto and Lisbon are extremely popular now.  You should be able to find alot of info on those ports online and on Youtube.  I also recommend Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports Book.

[u/squirrelcop3305]

We’ve been to all of those spots, some of them a couple times while cruising. Definitely would go back to all of them again. That’s a great cruise

[u/PilotoPlayero]

Looks like a fantastic itinerary. As someone mentioned, Mariner is a bit older ship, but Royal does a good job keeping their older ships updated and in good shape. Mariner is still a good sized ship with tons of activities and amenities.

This is one of those cruises that is primarily about the itinerary than the actual ship. Should you book shore excursions? That’s completely up to you and your sense of adventure. Some people will do nothing but book shore excursions. Some people will do a combination, shore excursions on some and exploration on their own at others.

When we did our Mediterranean cruise, I researched to death each port, figured out what we wanted to see, and did it all on our own. We didn’t book any excursions and figured out how to get where we wanted to go either by using taxis, Ubers or public transportation. We used Trip Advisor to research top attractions at each port. We also used Google Earth to “virtually walk” each port. By the time we actually went on the cruise, it felt as if we’d already been there. It was a pretty neat tool.

[u/Ok_Shame_5382]

Your pic is to a dead image and no, no one has been on a cruise in the future and past cruises can vary a good bit. Ship + Itinerary combinations change all the time

Edit: oh. It loaded.

Anyway mariner is an older RC boat. It'll be slower paced and calmer

[u/Ornery-Education-745]

You should arrive in Barcelona  2 days early to see the City and get over a jetlag and you may want to book 1-2 nights in a hotel in Lisbon post cruise.