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Doc2725

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    Booze, No Snooze - Live From Mariner 8/10/18

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    424b7423fc9fe970f37d3e15795ad3cb.jpg

     

    Did you miss me? Did you think the liver must have finally gave out? Was there a funeral? Should I have sent flowers?

     

    Sorry to disappoint, but I’m still kicking and back in action.

     

    So it’s time to strap in or strap on as you are about to soar to new heights and experience a contact high like never before. We may laugh, we may cry, we may wet the bed, but when you only have three days to experience all that is the newly revitalized Mariner of the Seas, you have to throw caution to the wind and hope you come out alive on the other side.

     

    Welcome to a weekend virtual journey free of judgement, morals and, above all, sobriety. If all goes well it will be the best quickie of your life! So leave the clothes on, grab the hand rails and keep the noise to a minimum.

     

    Shall we...

     

    fa4962104f553dc6ab9d5574e7d516c7.jpg

     

    Nice! Can't wait! If you have a chance, can you get some photos of the Bamboo Room, Playmakers, the new night club and the Suite Lounger Sun Deck area? Have a great time!!

    Mariner question

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Totally crashing your posting to ask about your experience on anthem in the room 10562. Someone mentioned that it smelled like smoke cause smoke stop is down below on starboard. True? Thanks

     

    I can see that. Ever since they started eliminating the indoor cigar/smoker lounges, which had the high-tec smoke ventilation systems, the amount of people smoking on the deck has increased exponentially. Because it is not in a contained and sealed area like the lounges were, it drinks from the top deck down into rooms at times.

    Where do I start to research Rccl/Mariner?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    SouthFloridaLocal put together a nice photo Album recently. Link to the thread is below and the link to his album is in his first post.

     

    https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2648853&highlight=mariner

     

    Yes, I have seen that one, thank you for posting though, other people might not have seen it. As good as that album is, it's not as detailed as the ones Cruise Critic does. Better than nothing though you are right.

    Mariner Concierge

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Hey we are on October 5 also but in grand suite....all the 2 bedrooms were taken very early!!! Looking forward to s fun weekend.

     

     

     

    Truth! We got i think the 3rd to last one. Wanted it bc it can sleep 5 with each person having their own bed. The beds in each bedroom separate to make 2 beds, and then the pull out couch.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Where do I start to research Rccl/Mariner?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Keep checking back to this forum. Mariner was deployed in the Asian market for quite some time and there wasn't a whole lot of posting prior to her being refurbished and re-positioned to Florida.

     

     

     

    Hopefully! I’d love to see that photo album built out like the other royal ships. I plan on taking a lot of photos of the ship when we go in October, but I won’t do as good of a job as cruise critics professional photographers.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Review of Mariner 3 day cruise (8/3-8/6)

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We just got off a short 3 day cruise on Mariner of the Seas of out Miami. The first day we stopped in CocoCay and the second port day was Nassau. I'll do a quick (or maybe not so quick) review of what our thoughts were on the trip.

     

    Some quick background- I traveled with my husband and our 14 year old son. This was a quick getaway before my son starts high school water polo preseason. We have done a total of 5 cruises, 2 on DCL way in the past, and an Alaskan cruise on NCL last July and 7 nights on Oasis last Thanksgiving. We have 4 other RCCL cruises booked over the next 15 months.

     

    We arrived in Miami on Thursday and stayed at the JW Marriott on Brickell. I've stayed at nicer JW Marriott's- this was much more along the lines of a Residence Inn, honestly.

     

    We caught an Uber from the hotel (FYI- we discovered Uber is much better to use in Miami than Lyft...) at 10:00 and arrived at the port about 10:10. We gave our bags to a very enthusiastic porter and proceeded into the building. We were checked in and sitting in the lounge (we had a GS for this trip) by 10:20. This was our first time sailing out of Miami and it was definitely easy and quick.

     

    We boarded right about 11. The ship was gorgeous! We wandered down the Promenade section and then over to Guest service. We had booked Chops lunch for 12:30, but I had seen rumblings on here that Chops really wasn't open for lunch. We checked the Cruise Compass and noticed that only Jaime's was listed as open for lunch. We asked and were told that no, Chops doesn't do lunch on the Mariner and we were given an option of a refund or switching to Chops dinner that night (for no additional charge). We opted to do Chops for dinner and then add on Jaime's for lunch embarkation day.

     

    We then wandered a little bit all over the ship until our 1:00 lunch. My hubby and I had the deluxe drink package and my son ha the soda package. I kept asking my son if he wanted the refreshment package instead every time it was on sale in the cruise planner before the cruise, but he kept saying no. Well, we got on board, stopped for a drink at the pool bar, and he then decided he wanted the refreshment package. So... down we went to upgrade his package (as I cringed at not getting the sale price). We had to do this at the center of the promenade- we asked about getting a credit for the soda package and were told it would be done automatically. Well... it wasn't (more on this later).

     

    We wandered up to lunch at Jaime's about 12:45. The new Windjammer/Chops/Jaime's area is fantastic! I love that there are sinks to washy washy rather than the icky gel. There is a great bar after you washy washy and Chops off to the right and Jaime's to the left, with the Windjammer wrapping around the sides. WJ was busy, but didn't look insane, although about 2:00 we did hear the dreaded "please don't linger" announcement as we sat in Jaime's. I enjoyed lunch at Jaime's, but hubby thought the lasagna was just meh.

     

    After lunch we went down to our room on deck 10. We were in a GS (1282). The room was nice and had a ton of storage space. I liked that there were two sinks in the bathroom, but I didn't like there wasn't an outlet in there- I couldn't use my blowdryer in the bathroom. Also, climbing into the shower was like climbing a mountain- holy high bathtub walls! Also, the shower was missing some caulk in the corner, so every time someone showered we had Lake Mariner in the bathroom. Our stateroom attendant was fine, but not overly helpful or enthusiastic. My son slept on the pull out (which he said was quite comfy, FYI) and it never got made back into a couch after Friday night. It would have been nice to have a couch to sit on rather than the beds, and the coffee table was then in an awkward place every day. However, we never felt cramped in the GS.

     

    My son went and tried out the water slides and loved them. We did notice the Cruise Compass didn't always list the correct times though. In particular, on Sunday the time was listed as 12-7, but they didn't open until 2. The flowrider was busy all the time and split it's time between stand up and boogie boarding. My son did the Sky Pad once and said it was fun, but wouldn't be worth a huge wait. He also did the Laser Tag on Saturday and said it was a lot of fun- it's in Studio B where the ice skating is, so the venue alternates skating and Laser Tag.

     

    We ate at Chops on Friday night and were glad we didn't pay the full price. It was just ok. My son ordered his steak medium and it came out rare (like seriously bloody) the first time. He sent it back and then dealt with a medium rare steak. Hubby ordered his steak medium rare and his was more medium. I got the salmon and it had no seasoning or anything on it.

     

    Saturday we arrived at CocoCay. Hubby and son were booked on the 8 am scuba excursion, so we were on the first tender to the island. They enjoyed the diving, but the construction of the pier has made the water murky where the diving is done. The instructor said she has asked about changing the location of the diving due to all the silt that is being stirred up. We rented a deluxe ocean-view cabana and loved the location and the shade. Overall, we enjoyed CocoCay much more than Labadee- felt that it had nicer beaches and facilities.

     

    When we got back on board I stopped at Guest Services to make sure the refreshment package had been credited back. It wasn't. We waited about 20 min to be told it was being taken care of and would be refunded in about 20 minutes and to come back. Well, we gave them 24 hours and went back about 2pm on Sunday to check the bill. Still hadn't been refunded and had to wait another 20 minutes until we had actual proof of the refund.

     

    Dinner Saturday night was at Izumi Hibachi. It was fantastic! The food was your typical hibachi fare, but the chef and the atmosphere was the best of any hibachi we have done.

     

    That night we sat by the pool and watched part of Tomb Raider. It was a gorgeous night and we enjoyed just sitting there enjoying the surroundings. The movies by the pool included Sherlock Gnomes, Tomb Raider, and Ready Player One.

     

    Sunday we docked in Nassau. We have been there before and are going back 3 more times in the next year, so we didn't book an excursion. We just wandered around for a few hours and then went back on the ship for lunch at WJ. Lunch was fine- best part was the cold glass of wine I got from the bar. After lunch my son spent some time on the slides and in the pool.

     

    Sunday night dinner was at Jaime's. Again, it was good, but not great. We prefer Giovanni's on the Oasis, to be honest. After dinner we went to see the ice show. It was entertaining and enjoyable.

     

    Monday we had a quick breakfast in Chops (open for suite/Pinnacles) and then walked off with our bags. We were a little disappointed we did not get escorted off the ship by the concierge as we thought that was a suite perk, He walked us only to the sea pass card scanner on the ship and then we were on our own.

     

    Couple of other thoughts-

    • Suite lounge was never very busy- I think the busiest we saw it was 4 other couples.
    • Tao, the concierge, was very personable and energetic. My son adored him.
    • We did the escape room the first night- as a group of 3, they added us to another group of 3 and a group 2. We had a really good time and enjoyed it. There were definitely some tricky clues.
    • There is a ton to do on the ship- the biggest downside was with only 3 days, you always felt you had to be doing something in order to try it all in the short time
    • I wish there was some consistency between the bars- I found a wine I liked at one bar, but then another bar wouldn't have the same drinks available.

    Hope this helps!

     

    Thank you for your review! Do you have any photos you can share? And how were the new bars they added, mainly the Bamboo Room?

    Where do I start to research Rccl/Mariner?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Mariner is a tough one to research right now. It just came out of dry dock, where it received many upgrades/renovations. Additionally, the current Cruise Critic photo album on Mariner (https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/mariner-of-the-seas-274/) is woefully lacking when compared to the other RCI ships, example (https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/liberty-of-the-seas-389/.)

     

    There has been talk on here that Cruise Critic will be updating this album to bring it to parody with their other RCI albums. So my advice is sit tight and keep monitoring these forums for updates.

     

    I wouldn't hold my breath for this. Cruise Critic has not given any indication that they intend to fix the photo section on Mariner. Odd/sad- because all of their other albums are much more complete, but maybe they just don't deem it as important. Time will tell.

    Cococay, Beach Bungalows vs Ocean View Deluxe Cabana, what is the difference?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    We had a Cabana in May and LOVED it!!!- The Cabanas have a roped off beach area for swimming and have their own upgraded buffet lunch with bar. The upgraded lunch has steaks, shrimp and other grilled items as well as other upgraded sides and ice cream. The only people who eat at that buffet are from the cabana area so the area never gets crowded. The bar is just for that area as well. The restrooms are a short walk away but are not in the same roped off area. We received 4 bottles of Evian water in a cooler in our cabana. We also had 2 floating mats and 2 sets of snorkeling gear that was included in the cabana price.

     

    We have not had one, but have read many reviews about them so this information is second hand.- The Bungalows are back on what they call South Beach, a longer walk, but it is also kind of secluded. They are also in a roped off beach area but the swimming area can be accessed by everyone. There is not a buffet anywhere close but they do offer the bungalow guests a menu to order from and the food is delivered to you. There is also a bar on the beach and the swim up bar is located in that area as well. There is a restroom right behind the bungalow area. I am not sure if floating mats and snorkel gear are included with these.

     

    You can also be taken to each of these areas by a golf cart when you get off the ship so the long walk to South Beach isn't a factor if you do that.

     

    Thanks! We are a group of 6 guys, ages late 20's- early 30's. Trying to figure out which will be better.

    Mariner Concierge

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    Apologies in advance if this has been posted already. I looked for a thread, but could not find it. Does anyone know who the current concierge on Mariner is? And if so, how to contact him/her via e-mail? We are sailing on Oct 5, and will be staying in a 2 bedroom royal suite, and have a couple of questions.

     

    Thank you!

    Mariner of the Seas 3 Day Cruise Compass

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

     

    This link is broken. Can you post one that works, or can someone perhaps post a link to where we can find the most recent Mariner 3-night compasses? (not 4 night). Thank you!

    Now that Mariner is back in the U.S., will Cruise Critic update its photo album?

    in Royal Caribbean International

    Posted

    As we know, Cruise Critic has some of the BEST and most FANTASTIC photo albums of each ship. I would go as far as saying that CC albums are the most complete out there, covering every restaurant, bar, stateroom, and any other venue you can think of. For example.....

     

    Explorer- https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/explorer-of-the-seas-186/

     

    Adventure- https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=192

     

    Harmony- https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=983

     

    However, you will notice that the album on Mariner of the Seas is very much lacking compared to the other RCI ships.

     

    https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/mariner-of-the-seas-274/

     

     

    This is because Mariner was sailing out of Asia for many years. Now that it is back in the U.S., do we think CC will send a photographer on board so that it can update Mariner's photo album to be on par with the others? It would be a shame if such a nice and newly upgraded ship did not receive the same attention on here as her sisters!

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