It’s Tiki Time! Or so says the warm glow of the neon sign on the back wall of The Bamboo Room aboard Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas.
As you might guess, The Bamboo Room is a tiki-style bar that’s a fun mix of Polynesian atmosphere.
While The Bamboo Room is on a limited number of vessels, the cruise line is rolling it out to more ships in its fleet. That means it could be on your next cruise. To give you a complete idea of what you expect from this spot on Royal Caribbean, we recently checked out the bar…
The Bamboo Room Overview
Located on the Main Promenade of Mariner of the Seas, The Bamboo Room has a front and center location. More than just a bar, it’s a spot where you can hang out, sit with friends, have a bite to eat, and soak in the tiki vibes.
During our cruise the bar was always busy, but there was always room. Inside is relatively dark — a nice respite when sailing in the hot and bright Caribbean.
As you’d expect, the dark atmosphere and dim lighting give The Bamboo Room a cozy atmosphere. It features a number of sitting areas with wraparound booths. Meanwhile, it’s never too loud with music or people — but there are enough people there that it doesn’t feel dead. It makes a great spot to take your date; it has a decent energy without being too loud.
The decoration is straight from a 1960s tiki-bar, with mid-century furniture styles, pin-up pictures of Hawaii, and of course, tiki idols.
In short, it’s a fun and cozy spot to hang out or just grab a drink.
Beverage & Food Menu Offerings
Of course, the focus of The Bamboo Room is the bar. In this case it was staffed with four bartenders who worked non-stop and the lines for drinks when we visited were 2-3 people deep. So it did take a few minutes to grab something to drink, but the wait wasn’t terrible.
As you might expect the drink menu revolves around fruity, tropical cocktails including mojitos, pina coladas, and mai tais. Beyond that, there are a number of other homegrown concoctions.
Specialty cocktails run $12, plus Royal Caribbean’s 18% gratuity. Classic cocktails run $10 plus gratuity. You can also order bowls for sharing, as well as a limited number of beers and wine.
Specialty Cocktails ($12)
- On the Run!
- Bamboo Swizzle
- Bennie’s Mai Tai
- Saturn Landing
- Tiki Tea
- Island Old Fashioned
- Banana Colada
Classic Cocktails ($10)
- Hemingway Daiquiri
- Dark & Stormy
- Saturn
- The Bamboo Room Mojito
- Jet Pilot
- Penicillin
- Navy Grog
- The Bamboo Room Mai Tai
- Hand Shaken Pina Colada
- Gold Rush
Beer/Wine ($ Varies)
- Corona
- Stone IPA
- Kona Longboard Island Lager
- Kona Big Wave Golden Ale
- Cava Brut
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Albarino
- Zinfandel
- Pinot Noir
In addition to the drinks, The Bamboo Room also has a small tasting menu with Polynesian-inspired dishes. You can get Hawaiian BBQ pork sliders, ahi tuna poke, coconut crab bruschetta, or and Asian noodle salad. Food costs $5-10 per plate.
Our Experience at The Bamboo Room
Having sailed on a number of Royal Caribbean cruises, this was the first time we’ve seen The Bamboo Room on a ship. It quickly turned into one of our favorite spots.
We found the atmosphere to be comfortable and loved that the place was busy, but not too crowded. While we didn’t have any food from the bar, we can report that the drinks were plenty strong and tasty. In particular we enjoyed The Bamboo Room Mai Tai.
That said, we did have to wait for drinks as the cocktails take some time to order and pay for. While the bar staff worked non-stop, even four bartenders wasn’t enough to keep up during busy periods. If Royal Caribbean could figure out a way to make the process of ordering and getting drinks a little easier and quicker, it would make the place even more enjoyable.
If you’re lucky enough to be on a cruise ship with The Bamboo Room, then we definitely suggest stopping in.
