Mariner of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas is one of five Voyager-class cruise ships of Royal Caribbean International and can accommodate 4,252 passengers.

Mariner of the Seas in June 2018
History
Bahamas
Name	Mariner of the Seas
Owner	Royal Caribbean Group
Operator	Royal Caribbean International
Port of registry	Nassau,  Bahamas
Builder	Kværner Masa-Yards Turku New Shipyard, Finland
Cost	US$650 million
Yard number	1348
Laid down	3 April 2002
Launched	28 February 2003
Christened	14 November 2003
Completed	31 October 2003
Maiden voyage	16 November 2003[1]
In service	16 November 2003
Identification	Call sign: C6FV9 DNV ID: 22760 IMO number: 9227510 MMSI number: 311493000
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class and type	Voyager-class cruise ship
Tonnage	139,863 GT[2]
Length	311.12 m (1,020 ft 9 in)[2]
Beam	38.6 m (126 ft 8 in) - Waterline[2] 48.0 m (157.5 ft) - Max[3]
Height	63 m (206 ft 8 in)
Draft	8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)[2]
Installed power	6 × Wärtsilä 12V46 (6 × 12,600 kW)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric Two ABB Azipods and one Fixipod Four bow thrusters
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) (service) 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) (maximum)
Capacity	3,114 passengers[3]
Crew	1,185[3]

Mariner of the Seas is a second generation Voyager-class vessel.

The ship's godmother is American paralympic athlete Jean Driscoll.^[4]

Description

The ship has a diesel-electric powertrain using three Azipod azimuth thrusters. Each propeller is driven by a double wound 3-phase synchronous motor of 14,000 kW (19,000 hp) with four-bladed fixed-pitch bronze propellers. She has a maximum speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph).^[5]

Mariner of the Seas has 1,674 passenger cabins.^[1]

Service history

In early 2018, after a month long refit costing US$120 million which included adding additional cabins, the ship's gross tonnage was increased to 139,863 from 138,279.^[6]

In 2018, Mariner of the Seas operated cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida to the Bahamas visiting Nassau and Coco Cay. To facilitate re-positioning to Miami, Florida the ship performed three cruises. Firstly from Singapore to Dubai, then Dubai to Barcelona via the Suez Canal and the final leg sailed from Barcelona to Miami.^[7]

COVID-19 pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Miami Herald reported that, after cruises were cancelled worldwide and they had disembarked all passengers, Royal Caribbean Cruises had refused the CDC rules to repatriate many of their crew members due to the associated costs, with many crew members turning to desperate measures, such as hunger strikes, as a result.^[8][9] On 10 May 2020, a male Chinese crew member of Mariner of the Seas was found dead aboard the ship.^[10][a]

Passenger rescue

In June 2023, a 42-year old passenger fell from the 10th deck of the boat while moving out of port in the Dominican Republic. Crew members were able to rescue the passenger from the water with minor injuries.^[12]

Notes

1. Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten reported that Cruise Law News had stated that the crew member was found dead in his cabin, although the article Cruise Law News published appeared to not include this detail.^[11][10]