the wandering two

Don't wait for dining to open on the app, opens earlier on cruise planner via website. Just been able to book times last week for our August 28 2023 sailing.

We normally walk around the old town perimeter, next to the sea, some nice linear parks & gardens, then head into the old town towards Central market, nice tapas style kiosks on the outside of the market. For fresh sherry tasting straight from the barrel Taberna La Manzanilla is nearby.

I feel your pain, we where on Mariner April 22, dining waits in MDR for my time were bad. Fit and finish poor, lots of rust around windows, water stained awnings and flaking woodwork in solarium, mis matched fittings in public restrooms. I feel that the America based lines (no offence, I'll include NCL in this too) don't keep up the maintenance schedule that we have experienced on other european lines such as Costa or MSC on ships of a similar age or older. We are pretty easily pleased and Mariner was only our second diamond tier sailing, previous being Jewel pre covid transatlantic, which we loved. The four "happy hour" drinks do go someway towards levelling the field. We're on Jewel again this September, in Europe, hoping for the best.

Have used virtual queues with an app on P&O in the UK, works really well. At least if there is a long wait you can join it whilst getting ready or enjoying another venue on the ship.

As I have just posted, we were on Mariner April `22. For whatever reason when booking we couldn't pick MTD only early or late options. Went for late, but even prior to dining on the first night realised that was too late for us. Changed to MTD onboard but by then no pre 8pm tables available, so joined the no reservations line. We waited 30 mins most nights but the queue for folks with reserved times was as long. We're back on Royal in Sept, have booked MTD for 7pm every evening, so if we turn up at the dining room at say 6.55 & there are another 40 people already in the "with reservations" queue, what do we do, join it, walk past everyone else? They can't check what time you've booked until you're at the podium?

6pm? On our last Royal cruise, Mariner April '22, earliest MTD was 6.45 because they now use MTD dining room for a 5.30 first sitting too. That's what's causing the problems.

I collected glasses of ice at bars & buffet to place in the "cooler"

Yes, did the very same in April. Tested on a Thurs morning at Randox in Dublin before a flight, at that point of course we needed it to get into the USA, so the one test covered us for our cruise on the Saturday.