mrlevin

Ross is not on Mariner now; in fact, we don’t have any piano player on board except orchestra keyboardist and boogie. I much prefer Gino or Anthony to Ross.

Dinner was fantastic; now waiting for dance party. Massimo and Fabio did a great job now up to John and his team.

I agree 100% especially as they are not going to open the doors until 1830. There are around ten 6-tops set up on covered area of pool deck that we can sit at now. It will be interesting at dance party to see how many attend in shorts. Not my circus not my monkey; I will just be an observer.

Nothing is more civilized than roasting a pig over an open pit. I will be interested in seeing how well they pull off the bbq indoors along with dance party for entire ship in Horizon. We had this happen once before when Beatles night on deck got rained out and it was a bit of a disaster.

Jan, I think thin cabin walls was the biggest complaint I heard on Grandeur; followed by theater balcony design. Overall, the ship was wonderful.

Can I ask when bottom survey is due on Seven Seas Mariner? thanks, Marc

Yes, that was also wonderful! It was National Day and a large group of us went down to Tiananmen Square for all the festivities. Crowds were gigantic and we traversed the tunnels.

Yes we did; and a wonderful tour of ABC. marc

This is nothing new: Radisson used to do this regularly. Mariner 14 night October 2005 Hong Kong to Singapore. Overnights in Hong Kong, Ha Long Bay, and Saigon. Then overnight in Bangkok wherein Radisson put all passengers in hotel in Bangkok so we didn’t have four long bus rides. Finally, overnight in Singapore. Might be the best cruise ever.

Stephane is F&B on Grandeur and is excellent and easy to talk to; I would definitely bring your concerns directly to him. Afterwards, when you go in Compass Rose you will find that they print a small piece of paper after you give them your cabin number and give it to waiter. I would ask the waiter for the piece of paper after he has read it and see that the issues that you reported have been passed on to the dining room staff. marc

The credit comes right off of the booking cost. Just a cheaper cruise.

Tomorrow's stream is tape delayed; with all the video released really no reason to watch tomorrow.

In 2002 we were on the Mariner Caribbean right before the 2003 World Cruise. New Year's Day announcement was made that they needed to do repairs on one of the pods so our itinerary was being changed to allow 48 hours alongside in Key West for repairs. We were very well compensated and basically just lost a sea day. In 2010 we boarded Voyager in Athens, we were told that we would be leaving late due to German engineers en route to address a pod issue; the next morning we were still at the dock. At 9am Captain came on speaker and started out "I regret to inform you that this cruise has been canceled." Again, we were very well compensated. Tomorrow we board the Mariner for a bucket list Amazon cruise. My stomach is turning as I am fearful we will all be called into the theater after we have left Miami to be informed that the cruise has been changed to allow time in Key West (or some other port) for repairs prior to the World Cruise; again. I know infinitesimal chance that this will happen but I will be thinking about it until we are heading south. Marc

I just checked into the JW Marriott for three nights prior to Mariner cruise; hotel seems pretty good and lots of dining and shopping options within a few blocks.

Liberty

Four times at P7 for lunch and once at Chartreuse; most times we got there early. However, even when we arrived at 1215 we were seated promptly and got a table we enjoyed and a meal that was fantastic. Please do not go to P7 or Chartreuse at lunch and expect to get out in 45 minutes; it is sometimes slow but always fantastic. Grandeur has been absolutely wonderful!. Marc

I saw somebody walk off Grandeur today with their tote bag; why? Can you also take your cashmere blanket or binoculars or illy coffee maker home with you?

No Christmas decorations on Grandeur until 14 December; Miami doesn’t want any Christmas decorations in any of the “Christening” photos.

Jim, thanks for the clarification. When I exited the men’s route to jacuzzis I asked the spa employee standing there if the jacuzzis were clothing optional; he said yes. He probably thought I was asking about the saunas.

After four days some initial impressions. I think the major improvements are the automatic doors and removing of the lights on each of the tables in the theater; unfortunately the tables still are not movable. The major, to me, setbacks are in La Veranda. They have removed a number of two tops so hard for me to get an inside table unless I go right when they open. Also, it is almost impossible to get lettuce from the salad bar. Only other annoyance is that light above puzzles is tied into Meridian Lounge dimmer switch so impossible to work on puzzle at night; I think this should be fixed soon. As others have reported the infinity pool has been replaced by three clothing optional jacuzzis. Without the infinity pool I don’t know why they just couldn’t reinstall horizon lounge. overall trip is fantastic with wonderful food and a well trained crew. marc

Elevators identical to Splendor; 5-11 aft and 3-14 forward.

We are onboard now; although there are improvements from the Splendor there are also, to me, significant setbacks; given the CC editing policy (limited time to correct posts) I will refrain from posting any comments until I am sure of my feelings. Marc

Through baggage drop off, up the stairs, and through security only to be told checkin starts at 1130.

Jim, does it look like they are ready for embarkation or are past passengers still offloading? marc

At 0900?