I went to the Bahamas, for a weekend cruise, on Mariner and I just got home on Monday. I can't tell you much about the ship because I only saw my cabin, the "Pub" on the Promenade, the Diamond Lounge and the main dining room (MDR). Seriously, I never went to any of the outside "things to do" on the ship. I can tell you there is a Starbucks on deck 4 and it wasn't covered by my drink package. The food in the main dining room was good. The Pub on the Promenade had "Sierra Nevada Pale Ale" but you can't get it in the MDR and the people who pretend to be "bar service" in the MDR, wouldn't go get me one. So, I had to haul my own beer from the pub, to the MDR.

The port of Nassau is under construction, as they're making the piers bigger for the mega-ships and I was told they're building a tram to take guests from their ships to the port entrance, which is already a very long hike. I got a free golf cart ride, this past weekend, both ways from and to the ship. I hiked to the British Colonial Hilton (see "Resort for A Day" website), which has a great pool / private beach, good burger for lunch, and extremely clean facilities.

Coco Cay is very nice. I have been going there for 20 years. Way back, my niece and I drank beers at a dried palm-branch shack, in the middle of Coco Cay, which were served to us out of ice chests! Primitive, you bet, did you feel like you were on a private, uninhabited, island in paradise? You bet! On today's Coco Cay, the infinity pool at the Coco Beach Club is cool, the burger for lunch is every bit as fresh as the one at the Hilton. RCI's bar/restaurant service, on Coco Cay is top notch.