Just off Mariner of the Seas..is this normal?

[Paulette3028]

I am also recently off Mariner (March 19th) our cruise was the Singapore-Shanghai. And I do agree with you...the most disappointing cruise for many reasons we've had with RCI after 20+ cruises.

 

I knew and understood that this was going to be not the norm that we are used to...however...more than I imagined.

 

Wasn't happy either with the food. MTD or WJ. Really...no "yellow mustard" eventually someone sent some packets to our cabin and I had to take some with me everytime I would go to the WJ for lunch. One night I ordered a grilled cheese in JR's (no way they could mess that up) two pieces of barely toasted bread and one unmelted piece of cheese. Yes we complained and the chef refused and wouldn't understand when we tried to explain how to make a simple grilled cheese. After a trip to guest services they did take the charge off our SeaPass.

 

This is the first cruise we were totally bored while onboard. The lack of activities was :eek::eek: !!! And yes, the lack of a variety of movies was ridiculous...played "The Proposal" four nights in a row in the screening room..a bit better selection of movies played at the pool....but it was too cold at night on deck for anyone to be out there. Really Mariner you couldn't have opted to play some of those movies in the screening room:confused::confused:.

 

Luckily we found a Scrabble board game (three total) all dumped together in one box..the other boxes had been filled with a chinese tile game. So we took the time to sort through and organize one game...boxed it and left a note in it that it was a complete game....next night we went to play Scrabble again and found that our note was gone and it had been dumped back with the other games in one box. I would never have done this but by that time we sorted out another game and actually took it back to our cabin and kept it for the length of our cruise...playing it most every night out of sheer boredom !!!!

 

While we loved the ports on this itinerary it was hard not having the same cruise experience we have always had with RCI.

 

Sorry for the rant but this was our personal experience on this particular cruise...and may differ from other's.

 

You mention that you were totally bored on the cruise....and most of us know how the cruise compass is usually filled with things to do, at least on other itineraries.

 

Who was the CD and Activity Manager on your cruise? There was an Activity Manager named Linda (actually from China) that may no longer be on the ship. I am curious about what was on the cruise compass as far as activities went.

[critterchick]

My understanding is that the food served in the MDR is the same fleetwide.

 

Other than regional differences as already noted, the quality of the ingredients isn't be the same fleetwide - it all depends on where it's sourced. Also, the Executive Chef has a bit of leeway and that can result in either a surprisingly good culinary experience or the opposite - I've had both.

[WaveSplasher]

Thank you for confirming my suspicion about RCL Mariner Of the Seas in Asia. I knew it was going to be different, i knew the shops were changed to meet the market.I knew the casino was terrible.. But i never knew it was that bad..really bad.

 

This is why i will never sail RCL in this region, mind you, I'm from Asia. I will rather pay the extra to fly to the USA to experience something more close to RCL. I enjoyed my time there, wonderful service on the Indy and can't wait to go back

[jerseylily]

Thank you all for your feedback. This has spurred me to write to RCL on this matter and I have pages of notes on the experience. I thought I was booking the brochure experience and my time dining and I got neither and at no point did RCL make any attempt to tell me otherwise before I boarded.

 

The crew are not happy serving the food on this ship as they were embarrassed (one crew member was overjoyed when we complained to the more senior wait staff) The senior staff were noticeable by their absence around the ship, perhaps they are equally embarrassed.

 

I agree with the poster who mentioned the shambolic disembarkation on shore days. It was a frightening security disaster and will end up in a bad injury or worse at some point if they do not do something about it (we got out of line on one day as it was too scary and reminded me of stories of mass crushing, children were crying and scared, not a great start to a day sightseeing).

 

It is no excuse for RCL to say it is because it is an "asian cruise". That is disrespectful to all passengers onboard. They all deserve better.

 

I am not sure I will be repeating an RCL experience it will take a lot of convincing to try this cruise line again.

[rusty nut]

I never thought I would ever say I would prefer the food in the buffet restaurant, but I did this time.

I've been on seven RCI cruises and I have to agree with you here, on that one. The Windjammer get's its fair share of bashing and I don't know why. I find the food in the Windjammer to be, not just tolerable, but quite good. In most cases, the food is hotter and fresher than the MD.

[Langley Cruisers]

Other than regional differences as already noted, the quality of the ingredients isn't be the same fleetwide - it all depends on where it's sourced. Also, the Executive Chef has a bit of leeway and that can result in either a surprisingly good culinary experience or the opposite - I've had both.

 

Yes, absolutely agree with you here! Surprisingly (or not), the best food we ever had was our Med cruise on Brilliance. The cheesecake tasted like real cheesecake, and the food was just superior to anything we've ever had onboard before. We recognized everything as the menus are usually the same - but the taste was vastly different - better! - than what we'd had before. The Executive Chef was given a standing ovation in recognition; I think all the passengers knew this had been a fabulous cruise, culinary-wise. :)

 

.

[ryano]

Yes, absolutely agree with you here! Surprisingly (or not), the best food we ever had was our Med cruise on Brilliance. The cheesecake tasted like real cheesecake, and the food was just superior to anything we've ever had onboard before. We recognized everything as the menus are usually the same - but the taste was vastly different - better! - than what we'd had before. The Executive Chef was given a standing ovation in recognition; I think all the passengers knew this had been a fabulous cruise, culinary-wise. :)

 

.

 

Its a shame then that they cant keep it consistent fleet wide. I assumed that all the food was the same, was sourced from the same place and all the chefs were all trained the same way. At least for all the Caribbean cruises anyway. Shame on me for assuming :)

 

When I go to a land based chain type restaurant, I at least know what to expect and a majority of the time I find it very consistent.

 

With that said, I have never had a "awful" dinner on board any of my cruises and I generally eat in the MDR as much as I possibly can :)

[Paulette3028]

Thank you all for your feedback. This has spurred me to write to RCL on this matter and I have pages of notes on the experience. I thought I was booking the brochure experience and my time dining and I got neither and at no point did RCL make any attempt to tell me otherwise before I boarded.

 

The crew are not happy serving the food on this ship as they were embarrassed (one crew member was overjoyed when we complained to the more senior wait staff) The senior staff were noticeable by their absence around the ship, perhaps they are equally embarrassed.

 

I agree with the poster who mentioned the shambolic disembarkation on shore days. It was a frightening security disaster and will end up in a bad injury or worse at some point if they do not do something about it (we got out of line on one day as it was too scary and reminded me of stories of mass crushing, children were crying and scared, not a great start to a day sightseeing).

 

It is no excuse for RCL to say it is because it is an "asian cruise". That is disrespectful to all passengers onboard. They all deserve better.

 

I am not sure I will be repeating an RCL experience it will take a lot of convincing to try this cruise line again.

 

I am not sure where you are planning to send your communication. You can forward food issues to rcldining@rccl.com, attention VP of Food and Beverage Operations for the FLEET. This individual handles more than just the Royal ships, but the other cruise lines under the umbrella. So they would be very interested in hearing from you.

[BonTexasNY]

All of our cruises have been to the Caribbean/Bermuda. A few years ago we were on the Voyager out of Galveston, never had an issue in the MDR. Following year we were on the Mariner and the food, to us, anyway, was somehow different and less to our liking. I have no idea if the menu was the same since I don't recall what I ate the year before but it just was not as appealing and the other 3 in my party , all adults, felt the same way. I do agree that even with the same menu and ingredients the end result can be different based on how it's prepared, served.

 

I know a couple who were waitlisted for all dining options. Nothing was open, not even MTD. How is that possible?? Shouldn't the ship be able to accommodate all passengers in some dining venue before boarding?They finally wound up at late dining in MDR but were able to switch once they boarded to MTD.

Edited April 2, 2015 by BonTexasNY

[lalenalei]

You mention that you were totally bored on the cruise....and most of us know how the cruise compass is usually filled with things to do, at least on other itineraries.

 

Who was the CD and Activity Manager on your cruise? There was an Activity Manager named Linda (actually from China) that may no longer be on the ship. I am curious about what was on the cruise compass as far as activities went.

 

The CD was Gordon Whatman, who seemed nice enough, but the show I went to was just plain boring. It was the magic show, and I literally fell asleep. Our friends from Maryland went to a show another night and also said they fell asleep.

 

The Chinese were so disruptive and intrusive. For example, at the ice show, my sons were designated to sit in the front row right at the entry in order to get scooped up by the skaters and put into a train (perk of being in RS). When the cast came by and did that, the Chinese started lifting and shoving their kids in front of me and DH and over into the front row (we were sitting directly behind where the boys were sitting), thinking they could also go. Then some lady saw that one seat was empty (a crew member was sitting in the other one, as she was helping the skaters get the boys on/off the ice), so she tried to sit there. This is mid-show, mind you. We tell her "no", that the seat is taken. So she STANDS there -- right in front of us! ***??? (can I say that? haha)

 

The same thing happened in the magic show. Kids going on stage, even when they weren't asking for it. The lady next to me kept kicking my leg as she splayed herself out in her seat. I kept looking at her and she had no apologies. Finally I said "stop kicking me!", then we left.

 

I have no idea who the Activity Manager was, since there were no activities. Most things listed on the Cruise Compass were sales or drawings in the shops. There were maybe 10 English trivias throughout the whole cruise. No bingo. All the karaoke was Chinese (we went once and I wanted to poke myself in the eye with a fork).

[Paulette3028]

The CD was Gordon Whatman, who seemed nice enough, but the show I went to was just plain boring. It was the magic show, and I literally fell asleep. Our friends from Maryland went to a show another night and also said they fell asleep.

 

The Chinese were so disruptive and intrusive. For example, at the ice show, my sons were designated to sit in the front row right at the entry in order to get scooped up by the skaters and put into a train (perk of being in RS). When the cast came by and did that, the Chinese started lifting and shoving their kids in front of me and DH and over into the front row (we were sitting directly behind where the boys were sitting), thinking they could also go. Then some lady saw that one seat was empty (a crew member was sitting in the other one, as she was helping the skaters get the boys on/off the ice), so she tried to sit there. This is mid-show, mind you. We tell her "no", that the seat is taken. So she STANDS there -- right in front of us! ***??? (can I say that? haha)

 

The same thing happened in the magic show. Kids going on stage, even when they weren't asking for it. The lady next to me kept kicking my leg as she splayed herself out in her seat. I kept looking at her and she had no apologies. Finally I said "stop kicking me!", then we left.

 

I have no idea who the Activity Manager was, since there were no activities. Most things listed on the Cruise Compass were sales or drawings in the shops. There were maybe 10 English trivias throughout the whole cruise. No bingo. All the karaoke was Chinese (we went once and I wanted to poke myself in the eye with a fork).

 

Thank you for your reply.....sorry you had such an unhappy time with the entertainment on board; somehow the entertainment staff needs to fill more needs than just the Chinese passengers, which clearly are going to be in the majority.

 

I have never heard of a ship sailing without an Activity Manager on board as the CD's assistant. Perhaps someone else may know who it is.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Cindy]

OP, I'm sorry so many things happened on your cruise. Although I haven't been on RCI in Asia, I have had enough experiences with large groups of tourists whose social norms are very different than mine to know those aren't cruises I would enjoy.:rolleyes: It sounds like the passenger behavior on the Mariner is similar to what I have experienced in some popular tourist attractions (Versailles, the Hermitage, etc.) I fully understand why the crew would be unhappy with their current working conditions, especially if they have a lot of experience on other itineraries where the passengers' expectations and habits are different.

 

I think the most concerning thing I read in this thread is the pushing and shoving comment...IMO it is the responsibility of Royal Caribbean to get that under control, regardless of the norms of the predominant passenger group on board. It's simply not safe.

 

For many years, the Mariner was my favorite ship. Unlike some others, I always had excellent food and service on her, and thought the food on the Voyager was marginal at best. I was on Mariner's last US round-trip from Galveston, and even then you could tell how different the ship was going to be after she was moved to Asia.:(

 

I hope your next one is better!

[jerseylily]

Hi ,

 

Paulette thank you for your link to RCL dining staff. I have now written to RCL UK with a full report of expectation v actual experience and await their response.

 

Regards the safety issues, not only was shore disembarkation unsafe (using junior staff to try and contain the mob), but you could not properly hear the safety briefing on day one over the noise. I too think these issues are the most worrying part of this whole experience.

 

I am hoping RCL will in future make known the exceptional nature of these cruises and take heed of the the safety issues raised.

 

Thanks again.

[jsoenning]

I've been on seven RCI cruises and I have to agree with you here, on that one. The Windjammer get's its fair share of bashing and I don't know why. I find the food in the Windjammer to be, not just tolerable, but quite good. In most cases, the food is hotter and fresher than the MD.

 

It's a sad day when the buffet is better than the main dining room, which was the case on our March cruise on Navigator out of Galveston.

 

Only other time it was that bad was on Freedom, where we had convinced friends to come on their first and last cruise. Voyager convinced us to give Royal another try but the differences from 2011 to 2015 were stark.

Edited April 3, 2015 by jsoenning

[cruzsnooze]

Oh, no worries. I know very well the differences within the Asian culture...which range from extremely polite to extremely rude....and I know who is who. We're the same here. There are regions of Canada and the US that are very, very different...again, ranging from extremely polite to extremely rude. I hate that you had to jump on that grenade, but I thank you dearly for being honest about your experience.

So some states have rude people and others raise polite ones? Please clarify by going through all 50 states and tell us which ones are which? Oh, what about those that have moved from one state to another, how would you judge them:eek:

 

After reading this thread I'm so glad I'm sailing / cruise tour from Beijing to Shanghai on Viking River cruises later this month. It sounds like it was money well spent. I have over 30 cruises with RCL and this is my first Viking so I will make some comparisons. What attracted me to forego RCL for Viking was numerous. The price for two weeks were similar when factoring in Viking is all inclusive, beverages, excursions, hotels and meals on land too. It will be all/mostly English speaking passengers with Chinese tor guides. If anyone cares I will post a comparison when I get home.

Just as a point of reference, what did a balcony stateroom cost for the China trip and was it 2 weeks?

Edited April 3, 2015 by cruzsnooze

[joandian]

So some states have rude people and others raise polite ones? Please clarify by going through all 50 states and tell us which ones are which? Oh, what about those that have moved from one state to another, how would you judge them:eek:

 

After reading this thread I'm so glad I'm sailing / cruise tour from Beijing to Shanghai on Viking River cruises later this month. It sounds like it was money well spent. I have over 30 cruises with RCL and this is my first Viking so I will make some comparisons. What attracted me to forego RCL for Viking was numerous. The price for two weeks were similar when factoring in Viking is all inclusive, beverages, excursions, hotels and meals on land too. It will be all/mostly English speaking passengers with Chinese tor guides. If anyone cares I will post a comparison when I get home.

Just as a point of reference, what did a balcony stateroom cost for the China trip and was it 2 weeks?

 

Well I'm not the person who posted the message you refer to but as an Aussie who has lived in the US for nearly 11 years and having traveled through most of the US, I definitely agree with their comments. I am not going to point out the states with rude people but will make the comment that the Southern States are mostly very polite and that goes double for Texas.

 

We have also spent a lot of time in Asia prior to moving to the US and much of what has been posted is the norm. They don't queue, they take every opportunity to get where they want to be and you have to be prepared for that. It comes from living in a extremely crowded country. When in this situation you have to put all niceties aside. I remember once in Beijing, I was right in front ready to get on a train. By the time those doors opened I was pushed aside and barely made it on. I learnt from that experience. It's the 'When in Rome' scenario.

 

I'm sorry you all had a bad cruise and I have to say I'm disappointed with these reviews of Mariner. She was our favourite ship and we spent a lot of time on her and did the Galveston to Dubai part of her repositioning to Asia. We had hoped to cruise on her in Asia but after reading these posts, that probably won't be happening.

[DiJohn]

We were on the Mariner almost two years ago for the Dubai to Singapore leg of her repositioning from Galveston to Shanghai. We loved the ship and the crew members were all wonderful. I am sorry to read about the changes that have happened since then. Many of the crew members at that time were very concerned about the transition and what would happen to them once the ship was permanently based in China; it sounds like they were right to be concerned. On that 11-day leg, they began running out of food items such as lamb and certain bottles of wine. They must have really stocked up on lobster tails though as they were plentiful on the last formal night. Overall, the food was well prepared and ranged from good to excellent in taste and presentation.

Edited April 3, 2015 by DiJohn

[DiJohn]

[quote name=joandian;46146451

 

I'm sorry you all had a bad cruise and I have to say I'm disappointed with these reviews of Mariner. She was our favourite ship and we spent a lot of time on her and did the Galveston to Dubai part of her repositioning to Asia. We had hoped to cruise on her in Asia but after reading these posts' date=' that probably won't be happening.[/quote]

 

Just read this part of your post -- we were getting on the ship right after you departed. Was the debarkation at Dubai a huge mess? It sure was getting onto the ship!

[Ashland]

Thank you for your reply.....sorry you had such an unhappy time with the entertainment on board; somehow the entertainment staff needs to fill more needs than just the Chinese passengers, which clearly are going to be in the majority.

 

I have never heard of a ship sailing without an Activity Manager on board as the CD's assistant. Perhaps someone else may know who it is.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

It was Linda a beautiful young Asian girl that was actually from Canada.

 

Agree with the above the Cruise Compass consisted of mainly Jewelry "showings" unveiling....and siminars on beauty & detox etc etc. The only activity that we looked forward to each morning was the destination lecture by Iven Frangi...he was amazing !!!

 

Other than that...as I said and other's on my cruise felt the same...BORED !!!! Nothing like the many activities that RCI provides on other non-asian itineraries....regardless of where that may be.

 

In addition this cruise was not noted by RCI to be an immersion cruise, it was a repo that disregarded anyone on board other than the asians. Very sad experience on the Mariner...but enjoyed the ports except the too short time in HK and Xiamen was not worth the stop...not at all tourist friendly no english spoken at all..even the staff in the terminal didn't understand that we wanted to go to a tourist shopping area for souvenier's instead sent us to an upscale "mall" where no one spoke english....we managed after being dropped off there to get another taxi (hard to do they didn't want to pick up westerner's apparently) and then finally made our way to Ladies Street...we weren't the only ones that had this problem in Xiamen.

[Ashland]

Just read this part of your post -- we were getting on the ship right after you departed. Was the debarkation at Dubai a huge mess? It sure was getting onto the ship!

Sorry...but just because you have a much loved and favorite ship...please don't assume she will be the same once she has been "Asianized"....couldn't be farther from the truth.

 

We thought we would get the same basic cruise from RCI regardless of where that may be...not the case at all on our Asia Mariner...you wouldn't recognize her.

 

I don't see (JMHO) that the Asian market is all that RCI expected it to be...they don't spend money onboard...instead they are smoking, gambling (there's the $$$ RCI wants) and trashing the ship and doing a good job of it along with completely beating down the onboard crew.

[joandian]

Just read this part of your post -- we were getting on the ship right after you departed. Was the debarkation at Dubai a huge mess? It sure was getting onto the ship!

 

No it was easy but we did have a missing bag. We ended up finding it in another part of the terminal with someone else's tags on it. Luckily I had my United baggage tag on the bag and a couple of business cards in the zippered compartments to prove it was mine.

[Snobe]

Hi,

My two cents. We did B2B on Mariner. March 4-7 Singapore to Singapore and 7-15 Singapore to Shanghai. Our cabin, JS1544, the first 3 nights was kept perfect. The next 8 nights we got a new person who had a few problems: ie. toilet paper, towels, Kleenex, emptying trash.

The first 3 nights our dining room service was ok. The next 8 nights at a different table our service was done by a totally new waiter and he was fantastic. You would have that he had been doing this for years.

The food in the dining room was not very good. I could always find something to eat, but it was often the spaghetti and I asked for extra sauce. The Windjammer was great. The food varied and was cool or hot depending on what it should be.

Ate at the speciality restaurants. Good except for Johnny Rockets. The fries had a strange taste and what they called a hot dog wasn't. Had been excited about having a hot dog place on the pool deck. Shouldn't have been. No yellow mustard, no chili, no cut onions. Did not get one, but sat watching people who did. They selected what seemed to be the safest items to them, took a bite, spit it out into the hot dog and threw it away.

The CL & DL were excellent. The hot tubs were clean and warm. The stores were only high end merchandise and I purchased nothing for my grandchildren, a first for me.

The ports were fun. The excursions we took were wonderful, only complaint was not much shopping time.

Would I do it again, you bet!!! Meet many nice people on board, both employees and cruisers. It was different, but I had expected it to be. Just wish they could master hot dogs.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Snobe

[Sharon Sails]

The BEST stateroom attendant I ever had was on the Freedom, and after four years of exemplary service (he won the top award three years ago for service), he was transferred to the Quantum. He hates the ship - and it will be heading to Asia soon. I feel so sad for him. He said he never smiles anymore because he hates his job. He still does a great job for RCI--just no smiles and chatting like he used to on the Freedom. What will happen to him when he gets to the Asian cruises? Will he receive no tips? How awful the cruise on the Marner sounds. :(

[marci22]

I am not going to point out the states with rude people but will make the comment that the Southern States are mostly very polite and that goes double for Texas.

 

:rolleyes:

[Ashland]

Hi,

My two cents. We did B2B on Mariner. March 4-7 Singapore to Singapore and 7-15 Singapore to Shanghai. Our cabin, JS1544, the first 3 nights was kept perfect. The next 8 nights we got a new person who had a few problems: ie. toilet paper, towels, Kleenex, emptying trash.

The first 3 nights our dining room service was ok. The next 8 nights at a different table our service was done by a totally new waiter and he was fantastic. You would have that he had been doing this for years.

The food in the dining room was not very good. I could always find something to eat, but it was often the spaghetti and I asked for extra sauce. The Windjammer was great. The food varied and was cool or hot depending on what it should be.

Ate at the speciality restaurants. Good except for Johnny Rockets. The fries had a strange taste and what they called a hot dog wasn't. Had been excited about having a hot dog place on the pool deck. Shouldn't have been. No yellow mustard, no chili, no cut onions. Did not get one, but sat watching people who did. They selected what seemed to be the safest items to them, took a bite, spit it out into the hot dog and threw it away.

The CL & DL were excellent. The hot tubs were clean and warm. The stores were only high end merchandise and I purchased nothing for my grandchildren, a first for me.

The ports were fun. The excursions we took were wonderful, only complaint was not much shopping time.

Would I do it again, you bet!!! Meet many nice people on board, both employees and cruisers. It was different, but I had expected it to be. Just wish they could master hot dogs.

Happy to hear that someone else missed "yellow mustard" too...I also love a good hot dog....the ones on Mariner looked a bit white to me..I even asked the serving staff in the WJ "what's that" :confused: pointing to the hot dogs...."A hot dog" he said rather rudely...I said.."no it's not" he walked away and said something I couldn't understand to a fellow worker...very sarcastic attitude. I know a hot dog when I see one ;)