Mariner of the Seas Review.........WITH PICS (YEA!!!)

[cruisn4bruisn]

Hello all! Although I am saddened to be back at work today, I shall live vicariously through my own review to whisk myself away to another wonderful cruise in the Caribbean. This time my wife and I (28 and 29) brought our 4yo son, my SIL and her husband (22 and 25), and my ILs (50 and 47). We sailed on the Voyager last December for a late (very late) honeymoon.

 

Although we had heard about the issues surrounding the Mariner and the Norovirus the past few months, we weren't going to let that be any hinderence to our vacation together. Luckily, we did not hear of any issues with any sickness on board so it looks like they finally got rid of it for good.

 

Our first experience, however, was one that you have to expect leaving from Galveston but you still are saddened when it happens. F-O-G. Saturday was fine, Monday was fine. How did it know when we were trying to leave our mondain lives behind and try to delay our wonderful week?

 

But I digress. The Mariner finally docked around noon so as we were already headed there from Houston, we turned around and hung out at home for a few hours. We finally got to port around 3:00pm. The lines were long, but they moved swiftly through the terminal once we started moving about 5:00pm. The absolute worst part of this entire trip happened before we even got on the boat. As the line was snaking its way under the terminal covering and out into the parking lot, we were only about 50 ft. from the front door to get to the security lines. When the doors opened, the snaking lines turned around and created a huge bottleneck trying to get through the door instead of following the lines. What should have taken us 5 minutes took us 30 because the Jack@$$ port authority security standing at the door just let everyone fight their way through. When someone called him on it, his words were, (paraphrased) "I'm not letting them through, everyone else is!" Sorry but then what exactly are you doing standing at the door, being a human doorstop? Clock out and go home then.

 

But I digress once again. Like I said that was the worst thing that happened the entire week so once we got through, it was smooth sailing from there. We were on the boat by 6:00pm without a care in the world.

 

As we were getting settled in, my SIL got a call from Portofino's saying that they had been offered a complimentary dinner for her and her husband since they were celebrating their honeymoon. They asked if they could accommadate the whole family of 7 and they said yes. Sweet!!! Now that is the way to start off a vacation! After the muster drill we headed straight there.

 

The food was delicious and the service was even better. Our waiter, Albert, was very entertaining and took a quick liking to our son. He entertained him with origami animals and lots of chocolate, cookies, and ice cream. We were his only table as the place was empty so he took great care of us.

 

It was a long first day so after dinner we all went to unpack and head to bed. Gotta get up and see that first sunrise!

[estoyer]

Sorry to here the "PORT" is still back in the 70's.. We wonder if they will ever spend the money to fix what looks like to be the unfixable! This mass confusion and standing in the parking lot in the early evening has been a problem for years! Come on "Galveston" spend some money before RCCL decides to move out!!

[kijjy]

I want to know what food is in those pics....

[cruisn4bruisn]

Oh yes forgive me.

 

The second pic is the bread assortment they give you before the meal. All of the breads were delicious.

 

The third pic is the carpaccio appetizer that my DW got.

 

The fourth pic is my surf and turf (filet and lobster).

 

The fifth pic is the desert my son got. An assortment of chocolates and cookies as well as a big bowl of ice cream.

[39august]

So, they are still offering surf and turf first night in Portofino on Mariner. We were offered that on Mariner in Dec., but declined. I think we'll try it on our Feb cruise. How was it? Was the lobster done properly? I know the filet was good!

[cruisn4bruisn]

I don't get to eat lobster very often so I may not be the best to say whether it was done properly but it was very good. And yes the filet cut like butter.

[crusingdave]

Who is the cruise director? Hopefully Kieron Buffery is back

 

Thanks.

[cruisn4bruisn]

Yes Kieron was the CD. He was 'brilliant'! I got used to listening to so many british accents that I spent the last half of the cruise talking like a brit. It was a 'jolly good time'. Great to listen to.

[crusingdave]

Yes Kieron was the CD. He was 'brilliant'! I got used to listening to so many british accents that I spent the last half of the cruise talking like a brit. It was a 'jolly good time'. Great to listen to.

 

Yes Kieron is great.

[JOHN 57]

Do you have any copies of the Compass to publish. Thank you, John

[larkwind]

Sorry to hear that the embarkation was such a hassle. We were disembarking then and it went very smoothly except for the hundreds of self assist passengers (of which we were part). By 7am we had the official announcement that the port was closed and we knew our flight plans were toast. They opened the internet and phone access so everyone could make alternate plans. By 8am they were announcing activities around the ship--dance lessons, etc. People were uniformly pleasant about the whole thing and many were sympathetic with those of us who had to rearrange our further travel plans.

 

We were off and in our transportation to a hotel by 1:30, checked in, taxi called and sitting at BWW watching the football game by 4. Flights were early the next morning with no long lines at security. DS didn't like getting dropped off at school for a half day on the way into town...the only bummer for him.

 

We found the Mariner to be a beautiful ship with a very congenial staff. Would sail on her again in a heartbeat, fog or not.

Glad your cruise was just as nice.

[melika091900]

what kind of room were you in?

 

how were the ports??

 

any more pics to share?

[cruisn4bruisn]

@John - Yes I have all of the compasses. Will get those scanned in as soon as I have a chance.

 

@larkwind - I'm glad to hear they kept you entertained while you waited to get into port. The entire process as a whole was really good, just that one security guy that let all hell break loose outside. Probably wouldn't have been a big deal except for the fact that we had been standing in line for 3 hours already. The last thing I wanted to do was fight my way through the front door.

 

@melika - Much more to come. Ports and excursions were great. I have many more pics too! We were in a E1 balcony 8568. Good room. No noise.

[CruiseDreaming]

What months does Galveston stop having fog? Is it year round the fog?

 

Kerrie :)

[crazy4themouse]

Loving the report -- can't wait to see more! Especially excited to see recent Compasses!! :)

 

 

-gina-

[JOHN 57]

thank you for your review

[cruisn4bruisn]

Day 2

 

I'll start off by saying that when we got to our room on Day 1, I was a bit worried as I then realized we were right across from the service elevator. However, we never heard anything from the area so it was no problem whatsoever.

 

We woke up to the sunrise as it glistened on the water as we headed away from reality and into a world of bliss. To our surprise, it was already getting warmer outside and we were able to enjoy the top decks. On our cruise last year, you could not go outside without a pants and a jacket and it was still cold then.

 

We got up and got tickets to the ice show. Last year we didn't have to get tickets. We could just walk in. I guess this was a better way to spread people out among the shows and control the crowds. We showed the family some of our favorite spots on the ship. I've never seen my in-laws with the looks they had. They were like kids waking up to Christmas morning. It was truly a site to see. We played a few rounds of putt-putt. My son had a blast with that even though you had to constantly chase the ball because the wind just kept it moving. Lots of fun! We then headed up to the Viking Crown Lounge and had a drink of the day, a Captain's Bahama Mama. TASTY!

 

After that we headed poolside to swim and watch the World's Sexiest Man contest. This is always hilarious. I would never get out there myself so I applaud the men who can let go like that.

 

We hung around the promenade before dinner. This was formal night so had to get the "formal" clothes together. For me it was a shirt and tie. Man I really need to go buy a suit.

 

Anyways, the wife had oxtail broth which she has been talking about for the past year and it did not disappoint. I had my regular ceasar salad. The BIL had the escargot and was pleasantly surprised. I had it last year and the sauce they use is absolutely delicious. Main course for me was the roasted duck. Delicious as always. Wife had the beef tenderloin I believe. Our son had cheese pizza and french fries. This would become his meal every dinner and he ate it up everytime. Dessert was a chocholate souffle. It was pretty bland until the put the espresso sauce in it. Then it was great. I also had a few bites of cheesecake which was ok. Wasn't too creamy.

 

I will say the biggest disappointment were the desserts in the MDR. There were some that were better than others but most just didn't have the best flavor. Didn't bother me though. I added ice cream to each dessert and that more than made up for it.

 

The headliner show for the night was Travis Ledoyt, who is an Elvis impersonator. I don't consider myself and Elvis fan but he was still very good and as far as I could tell, was pretty accurate in his portrayal. He had fun with the crowd and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

 

After that off to bed. We were a little behind schedule so we were to get in to Cozumel about an hour later but still wanted to be up and ready to head to the beach for our first shore day.

[cruisn4bruisn]

More Pics

 

1. Elevators

2. Promenade

3. Oxtail Broth

4. Escargot

5. Beef Tenderloin

[cruisn4bruisn]

And More Pics

 

1. Roasted Duck

2. Souffle

3. Cheesecake (some of it at least)

4. Stage Curtains

5. Rabbit Towel Animal

[wantocruisemore]

REALLY enjoying the review and photos. Can't wait for our turn on Mariner this summer.

 

Could you please explain about the tickets for the ice show? Is this something new? When we were on the Navigator this past summer we just needed to get in line.

[cruisn4bruisn]

[relaxatsea]

Thanks, Cruisn!

 

I am enjoying your review and photos!

[cruisn4bruisn]

Yeah I'm not sure when they started doing that or if it is different for each ship. When we were on the Voyager last year, we also just got in line or just walked in if there wasn't a line. My father-in-law and I went down about 9:10am after they opened at 9:00am and they had 2 lines. We were about 50 from the front and when we got to the front, they only had 2 tickets left for the show that day. We had 7 people with us so obviously that wasn't going to work. We chose the day 6 show as it was another sea day. They offered 2 shows on day 4 at 2:30 and 8:30 but didn't want to do a show on a shore day and didn't want to miss dinner. When we went to the show on day 6, they had a line of people without tickets waiting to fill empty seat. It was a bit different but seemed to work ok.

[gelo7]

Looking forward to the rest.

[LBumb]

i enjoyed kieron as cd