Mariner Review 6/26-7/3

[debsavas]

Just came back from an excellent cruise. We started by driving to Port Canaveral and staying at the Raddison.We did the package where you can park your car for the week and take their shuttle. I would do it again. Very easy.

 

Saturday evening we met two other families from this board. (hi Janis and Cheri) We all went to Grills together. had a great time. The kids got to know each other and wound up spending time together during the week. If you guys ever come to NC, look us up!!!!!!!It was fun to meet you all and all of your friends.

 

Day 1

We took the shuttle from the hotel and were on the ship by noon. The ship is beautiful and huge. You can not get into your room until 1:00, so be prepared to carry around whatever bags you carried on. The promenade is unbelievable. We spent alot of time there during the week. In the Wig and Gavel, everynight we closed it down listening to Tony Nicolsi. Excellent guitar player and singer. He always had a huge crowd.

 

Got into rooms at 1:00. We had the balcony. Lots of storage. Bed was a bit lumpy, but we were not in it all that much anyway. I liked having a balcony, but i did not use it as much as I would have liked because the people close to us smoked and every time I went out, that was all I could smell.

 

Ate dinner in the dining room. Felt the food all week was very good. Loved the breads. We had Sylvia and Lindberg as our servers. They did a good job. Myra was our head waiter. She was very friendly. Some how we wound up with a complimentary bottle of wine fromm RCCL, but did not know why. Myra said just enjoy it and we did!!!!!!!!!

 

That evening we went to see Rick Starr(comedy). Did not find him funny. He also had a show at 12:15 the next night, but we passed on it since we did not enjoy him the first time. Then we went to casino and lost money. The first of many nights losing money!!!

 

Day 2-Nassau

We did not get off at Nassau. This was a good day to sit and relax by the pool. plenty of seats. tried our luck at bingo. It was also formal night. Most people dressed properly. I would say more suits than tuxes for men. Women had on both long and short dresses.

 

That evening we went to see the Drifters. They were pretty good. Also left some more money in the casino and closed the Wig and Gavel.

 

Day 3-at sea

sat by pool. Missed the show that evening. Hung out in Wig and Gavel.

 

Day 4-St. Thomas

We signed up for the St John's Beach Tour. We got in line for customs at 7:30 and went through it very quickly. Outside we waited on the dock to be called for our 8:30 excursion. We boarded a ferry and once in St John's we taxied to Trunk Bay. It was a beautiful beach. they showed you how to use the snorkel equipment and you had about an hour and a half to explore. I was standing in thw water waist deep and a stingray came by. pretty neat.

After we were done we boarded the ferry to return. It started to rain pretty hard. The ferry was rockin and rollin. Luckily I wear the patch to keep from getting sick. A couple of people were not so lucky. Since it was raining, we never made it to town to shop. wejust got back on the ship, so i can not tell you about the best places to shop.

 

This evening we ate at Portofinos. the meal was excellent. Try the tirimisu. also the flourless chocolate cake was good. it all was good!!!!!!!

 

 

Time to take a rest. i will continue with day 4 later................

[debsavas]

Day 5-ST Maarten

 

We got up at our leisure and decided to go to Orient Beach on our own. We headed over to the taxi area. the price for four of us each way was 24.00

 

once on the beach, we rented chairs for the day. again this was $24.000. The water was beautiful, not to cold. there is parasailing, jet skiing, banana boats etc. Also there are alot of nude people. If you are uncomfortable with this, this beach is not for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My family found it all very interesting. we decided most people look better with their clothes on!!!!!!!!!!

 

Again, we never made it into town to shop. Just got back on the ship and relaxed there, We did buy some liquor on the way back to the ship. the prices were very good here.

 

Ate again in the dining room. after dinner we did some more gambling and waited for THE QUEST. Since I can not tell you about it, all i will say is that it was alot of fun. My husband and I participated in it. DO not miss this. It taked place in Studio B.

 

day 6-at sea

 

Pool day. Also went to the Ice show. it was great. it is amazing to see what they can do on such a small ice rink. After that show we headed over to the Pure Energy show. It was ok. kind of like something you would see in Atlantic city or Vegas.

 

This was also the Gala Buffet evening. You can stand in line and walk through to look at how they displayed the food. I walked through. It is amazing what they can do with food. I can not say how it tastes though, I was too full from dinner to eat anything else.

 

Day 7-atsea

Went to the spa. i did the special, mini facial, backand neck massage and hair treatment. Got suckered into buying the muscle relaxer oil. By the time I paid for that, the spa was no longer a deal!

sat again by the pool. Also started to pack up our stuff. we decided to carry all our luggage off ourselves so we do not have to wait. we have a long drive home.

 

This evening we ate at Chops. Again I recommend this. Anything we ordered was good. After dinner, my husband and I, for the first time, went back to the room and stayed there. we both fell asleep. The kids went off to the Dragon's Lair. One last night in the disco.

 

Port Canavaeral

 

We were off the ship by 7:30. Back at the Raddison by 7:40, and headed back to NC.

 

This was a great cruise. I never felt like it was too crowded. The kids and teenagers on board were well behaved. There was always seats at the pool, no one cutting in line and the crew were all friendly.

 

My only complaint was that i smelled like smoke all the time and by the end of the evening My throat would hurt as if I had been smoking. I know alot of you are smokers, and would say it your right to smoke, but it wa something that i did not like. Just my opinion. I wish there were smoke free cruises.

 

 

any questions?

[Skipgil]

Thanks!

 

Do you recall what time the Mariner docked in Port Canaveral on your return? I want to get a few photos of it coming in and wonder if it will sail in, in the morning or if it docks before sunrise?

[debsavas]

I had a wake up call at 6:00 am that morning and timed it perfectly. we were just rolling in and I was able to watch from my balcony.

[trucruz]

Thanks so much for your review. The Mariner is a really nice ship.

[Skipgil]

Thanks Deb! Thought my two kids would enjoy the experience of watching it sail into port before we board.

[Aysen]

What night was lobster?

[knothead]

What time did you dock in St thomas to be thru customs by 7:30am? Can you get off the ship as soon as you clear customs? What time could you start lining up for customs?

[debsavas]

Lobster was on Friday night, the second formal night. If you think you will want more than one lobster, let your server know brfore time and they will have it ready for you.

 

We lined up at 7:30 am. the line was quick. I am not sure what time we actually got there because I woke up at 7:00.