Opinions Please - Mariner v Navigator

[emen822]

Hi. I took my first cruise on the Mariner on March 20 (sniff, sniff). I'm looking to book another cruise next year doing the Western Caribbean. My husband wants to take the Mariner again. I wouldn't mind doing this...but was wondering if the Navigator is the same quality. Has anyone been on both and have any pros/cons on either of them. I loved the size of the Mariner and I know the Navigator is the same size (15 decks). Am I nuts to take the same ship just the other way? Will I be disappointed with the Navigator? Are the balconies different on the Navigator (I think I read that somewhere...not all plexiglass like the Mariner). Getting on and off the ship at Port Canaveral was a breeze...is it as easy in Miami? Please help a confused girl who needs a new positive countdown clock quickly!! :confused: I NEED something to look forward to. ;) Thanks in advance.

[emmy]

I have sailed on both the Navigator (May 2003) and Mariner (May 2004) and they are virtually the same. I actually enjoyed Navigator's decor a bit more..I found her a bit more elegant than Mariner. We did western itinerary on 'gator and eastern on Mariner.

 

Emmy

[PhoenixCruiser]

We too were looking at both ships, the date of departure was our deciding factor. We like to be back home on Saturday so that we have all day Sunday to recover and do laundry.

 

Have fun planning :D

 

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[ciship]

I have sailed on both the Navigator (May 2003) and Mariner (May 2004) and they are virtually the same. I actually enjoyed Navigator's decor a bit more..I found her a bit more elegant than Mariner. We did western itinerary on 'gator and eastern on Mariner.

 

Emmy

 

I know I'm not supposed to get "off topic", but I was wondering if you enjoyed the Eastern itenerary? I keep hearing negatives about it, but we have already done Western and wanted to try something else. We are considering the Mariner for our next cruise.

[emen822]

Bear in mind, this was our first cruise but I think we really picked the right ship. The weather was perfect, the ship was beautiful, the food was plentiful...what more can you ask for! ;)

[emen822]

We too were looking at both ships, the date of departure was our deciding factor. We like to be back home on Saturday so that we have all day Sunday to recover and do laundry.

Have fun planning :D

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..was also a deciding factor for us. I took my girls out of school for 2 days this year for the cruise. Next year during the week of Easter, the Mariner is doing the Eastern route. That is what made me look at the Navigator. In any event, I just want to be on a ship around this time next year. I miss my countdown clock! Now all I see is the negative clock. And I'm not changing that until I can put a positive clock there! :p

[ciship]

Bear in mind, this was our first cruise but I think we really picked the right ship. The weather was perfect, the ship was beautiful, the food was plentiful...what more can you ask for! ;)

 

 

What cabin did you have? What did you do in port? If you feel more comfortable not talking about it on this topic, please email me at ciship@aol.com........or do you have a review somewhere???

[emen822]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=158140&highlight=newbie+mariner

 

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[laurashelby]

I've also sailed on both and found them to be basically identical except for the decor. The Mariner's decor is a bit more modern, but I liked both ships equally. I don't think you could go wrong with either choice!

 

Laura :)

[ciship]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=158140&highlight=newbie+mariner

 

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

Thanks for the review....that helps me a lot!

[emmy]

ciship ~

 

The Mariner's eastern itinerary was okay.... the islands of St. Thomas and St. Martin are great and I love these islands. Our stop at Nassau was short from 8 am - 2 pm so in essence we had 3 1/2 sea days. I like sea days so I enjoyed it.

 

You may want to search out a different eastern with less sea days. Sint Maarten/St. Martin is my fav island with great shopping, beautiful beaches and they have really cleaned up and remodelled the downtown area as well as the pier area.

 

We are sailing on Jewel April 23 and they have a very nice 8 day Eastern itinerary

 

Emmy

[ciship]

Do you still find the waters just as beautiful and warm as they are on the Western side? I have heard the water is rougher on the Eastern itenerary. Did you find that to be true? We love sea days, so 3 ports is just perfect for us.

 

I would love to do "Jewel" but we are limited to going out of Port Canaveral because we are doing the "Disney thing" in Orlando before the cruise. That just leaves us the Mariner, Carnival Glory and a Disney ship. I'd like to try RCCL even though we loved our last cruise with Carnival to the Mexican Riviera.....so, that is why I am getting as much research as possible on the Mariner.

[elleluv]

DH and I did the Western on Mariner last year and the Eastern on Navigator this year. We loved both ships and itineraries. We didn't find the Eastern to be any rougher seas than the Western (and DH is very prone to motion sickness).

 

The balconies on Mariner and Navigator are the same. The balconies on Voyager, Explorer and Adventurer are different, they appear to be carved out of the ship instead of jutting out of it...

 

I do think embarkation/disembarkation is easier/quicker in Port Canaveral than in Miami. I also prefer the Orlando airport to the airport in Miami. Neither of these things though would stop me from cruising out of Miami if the ship & itinerary I wanted were sailing from there.

 

If you enjoyed Mariner, I'm sure you'd have a great experience on Navigator! :)