Mariner of the Seas Review : 12/6 - 12/13

[PiperM]

Thanks for the great review, we leave in 7 days for our Mariner cruise. This will be our second cruise in 4 months!!!! You've answered many of our questions about this ship and cruise line. You have help build the excitment for next week... Thank you!!!

Piper

[Beth & Rob]

Trying to decided between MOS and Carnival Splendor for an April cruise. Which one is better? They seem to have the same ports

 

 

I was recently on the Splendor and will say I did not care for the ship at all. It seemed very "closed in"..nothing was easy to get to and it had no flow to it. Seemed frenetic. I didn't like the dining room. The tables were so close together and the service (at least our table) was just so-so. Not friendly and just competent.

 

The food was ok. No standouts at all with the exception of the sandwich bar at the back pool deck where I had toasted pastrami sandwiches all week...

 

The bed..OMG...I almost forgot. I don't know what the deal was, but it was so narrow. Now I'm not tiny but not too big and I had to keep my arms right by my side otherwise they were off the edge of the bed.

 

Of course that miserable shower curtain so the floor was soaked every shower.

 

I just much prefer Princess and Royal......

[bedfordmom]

Thanks for the helpful information. We loved the Explorer and understand the MOS is similar.

[Jasperdo]

Thanks for the helpful information. We loved the Explorer and understand the MOS is similar.

 

That is correct...the Explorer and Mariner are both Voyager Class ships. The layouts are very similar. So if you enjoyed the Explorer, I'm sure you'll like the Mariner just as much.

[green_paper]

Thanks for your review! I'm going on MOS in April with my wife, 2 year old son, and two baby-sitters (i.e. my parents). We're not new to cruising (my honeymoon was 6 years ago on MOS' sister ship, Navigator), but it will be the first time travelling with a toddler, so it will be a new experience.

 

I was wondering if a standard cabin had a hand-held shower, and looking at your pictures, it looks like they do!

 

Thanks again and I'm glad you enjoyed your vacation.

[firsttimeRCcruiserMay2010]

Just wondering about the Johnny Rocket cafe - is this included in the price as well?

[Jasperdo]

 

I was wondering if a standard cabin had a hand-held shower, and looking at your pictures, it looks like they do!

Yes, the shower can be hand held. And you can also slide it up and down for the proper height. I especially liked the solid round doors the shower had...in place of the shower curtain.

[Jasperdo]

Just wondering about the Johnny Rocket cafe - is this included in the price as well?

No, there is a $4.95 per person Service Charge for Johnny Rockets. That included fries, onion rings, burgers, sandwiches and dessert. Drinks are also extra. Shakes were $4.50.

[Jasperdo]

I just scanned the Cruise Compasses from this cruise if anyone is interested:

[hotlipss]

I just reading the compasses you posted..thank you so much...I had a question about changing the time/clocks....it said that you need to turn your clocks ahead 1 hour before you get to the first port..then 2 days later you arrive in PV and it says PV is still one hour ahead...why is this so?I know we always stay on ship time...so there is a time difference between los cabos and PV?:cool:

[Jasperdo]

I just reading the compasses you posted..thank you so much...I had a question about changing the time/clocks....it said that you need to turn your clocks ahead 1 hour before you get to the first port..then 2 days later you arrive in PV and it says PV is still one hour ahead...why is this so?I know we always stay on ship time...so there is a time difference between los cabos and PV?:cool:

Cabo and Mazatlan are both on Mountain time. So moving the ship's time ahead one hour puts you on local time as well. Puerto Vallarta, however, is on Central time, and RCCL had decided not to change ships time for just that one port. That is why Local time is one hour ahead in PV. It's a bit confusing. Just remember...in Cabo and Mazatlan will be the same time as the ship, Puerto Vallarta will be one hour ahead of ships time.

[Sarasa]

PART 3

 

We did take a Shore Excursion in Cabo, however. Every other time we've been there we just tendered in for a few hours, looked around town and went back to the ship. This time we wanted to see a bit more of the Baja Peninsula so we booked the Coastal Highlights excursion.

 

 

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed review! Were you in a big tour bus for the shore excursion?

[MDavis23]

I just scanned the Cruise Compasses from this cruise if anyone is interested:

 

 

I would love to print these, but can't seem to. Would you be able to e-mail them to me? AwesomeFab4@msn.com

 

Thank you!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I just scanned the Cruise Compasses from this cruise if anyone is interested:

 

Thanks so much for posting your compass. I noticed you are missing pages 1 & 2 from day 3.

[Jasperdo]

I would love to print these, but can't seem to. Would you be able to e-mail them to me? AwesomeFab4@msn.com

 

Thank you!

I believe if you right click on each individual page you will be able to print them out. Let me know if it works.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I would love to print these, but can't seem to. Would you be able to e-mail them to me? AwesomeFab4@msn.com

 

Thank you!

 

I was able to print them from his album. When you have a page open, there should be a little magnifying glass above the picture on the left side that you click on. That allows you to see the page in a larger format and you print from the "large" size which makes a std 8-1/2x11 size page.

[Jasperdo]

Thanks so much for posting your compass. I noticed you are missing pages 1 & 2 from day 3.

Yes, that's true. What happened there is ... I usually go down to the Purser's Desk each day and pick up a second copy of the Cruise Compass. That's the one I keep. The one we get in the cabin I tear off page 1 and 2 and keep the Daily Planner section (pages 3 and 4) in my pocket all day. Well, you guessed it, on Day 3 I forgot to pick up a second copy. So all I have for Day 3 is the Daily Planner section, pages 3 and 4.

[slk300]

Nice review

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

No problem. I appreciate what you got and for you taking the time to scan them in and post.

[hotlipss]

Thank you for making it clear from ship time to port time etc....very helpful:)

[Jasperdo]

Thank you for the wonderfully detailed review! Were you in a big tour bus for the shore excursion?

Yes, we were on a big, full sized tour bus for that Shore Excursion. It was brand new, air conditioned, with comfortable seats and big picture windows.

[Love-to-ride]

Cabo and Mazatlan are both on Mountain time. So moving the ship's time ahead one hour puts you on local time as well. Puerto Vallarta, however, is on Central time, and RCCL had decided not to change ships time for just that one port. That is why Local time is one hour ahead in PV. It's a bit confusing. Just remember...in Cabo and Mazatlan will be the same time as the ship, Puerto Vallarta will be one hour ahead of ships time.

 

One more ???? with the time change, Mariner gets into PV at 8:00 am, is this ship time (MST) Then in PV it will be 9:00am or PV time (CST) we have a whale watch that we need to make at 8:30am PV time... sorry to beat this to death....:)

[Jasperdo]

One more ???? with the time change, Mariner gets into PV at 8:00 am, is this ship time (MST) Then in PV it will be 9:00am or PV time (CST) we have a whale watch that we need to make at 8:30am PV time... sorry to beat this to death....:)

I just doubled checked my Cruise Compass for PV to be sure. It says right on the Cruise Compass that arrival in PV is 8:00AM (Ship's time). Which means it arrives at 9:00AM Puerto Vallarta time. It sounds to me that your 8:30 AM PV time whale watching is too early. Here's a link to the Cruise Compass for that day:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytravelphotos/4270406458/sizes/l/in/set-72157623074300727/

[Love-to-ride]

I just doubled checked my Cruise Compass for PV to be sure. It says right on the Cruise Compass that arrival in PV is 8:00AM (Ship's time). Which means it arrives at 9:00AM Puerto Vallarta time. It sounds to me that your 8:30 AM PV time whale watching is too early. Here's a link to the Cruise Compass for that day:

 

Thanks for the reply, thats what i thought..... Loved your review, we leave in 17 days!!!!:)

[Craving A Cruise]

Thanks for the detailed review! I always enjoy reading about other cruisers experiences.

 

Can you please confirm if the Wig & Gavel is now a non-smoking pub? I have seen some posts suggesting that it has been changed since we were onboard last August. Do you know if the rumors are true? Thank you!