Our “Free” Caribbean Cruise

 We decided to take a quick trip using one of the free cruises Charlie won.  He added a little $$ to arrange a balcony cabin for us, and of course we added the specialty dining, so technically it’s not free.  We’re on Mariner of the Seas again, for a five-day cruise to Costa Maya and Cozumel.  

We drove to Galveston yesterday morning, and it was raining when we arrived at the terminal.  We dropped our two suitcases with the baggage guys, and I took our carry-ons while Charlie parked our car. We rode an escalator up to check in (no line) and go through Security (a short line), then were able to board immediately!  After checking in at our muster station, we stopped by the pool bar and headed up to the Crown to relax before lunch. We had the place mostly to ourselves!


Lunch was at Jamie’s Italian, where they almost immediately brought us their yummy garlic buns.


We failed to get photos of our appetizers and entrees. Charlie had the mini charcuterie board, and I had heirloom tomatoes and burrata.  We both ordered their avocado Caesar salad for our entree, and Charlie insisted on getting dessert. He knew I would “help” him with it. The lemon cheesecake topped with lots of meringue is very tasty!(I didn’t know I was in the photo or I’d have smiled!)


After lunch our cabin was ready, so we unpacked and settled in.  We enjoyed sitting on the balcony for sailaway, which was about 3:30. For Happy Hour we went to the Crown Lounge, which was surprisingly uncrowded, for snacks and drinks.  Dinner was at Chops Grille, where we both had the shrimp cocktail appetizer. It’s always excellent!  Charlie ordered the lamb, and I had the petit filet, both very good.

Charlie again wanted some dessert, so we had the key lime pie (but failed again to capture a photo!).

This morning we walked around and around the outside deck for exercise, which was very pleasant, and we were the only walkers at 7:00 a.m.

We attended the Top Tier event this morning (for the free champagne!), and here’s the breakdown by tier:


This was our first time to be included with the Diamond Plus group. 

We’re now back from lunch at Chops, where we both opted for the Gruyère burger with fries. Very yummy!  We’re now friends with Albert, our server last night and today. 

That’s it for now!

Comments

  1. RachelSeptember 2, 2025 at 11:28 AM

    Yay diamond plus!! Report back on whether the ship itself feels less crowded too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EleanorSeptember 2, 2025 at 11:42 AM

    YAY! Thank you for posting!!

    ReplyDelete

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