AMPLIFIED MARINER: Quick Hits and Misses

[mooseman52b]

Always feels warm to me. Never been in a cold MDR in nearly 30 years. Of course it is a factor of so many people being in there are same time, I am sure they are pumping cold air in continuously.

Everybody's internal thermometer is different. I tend to run on the hot side, but have never felt uncomfortably warm in any MDR wearing a suit. Nancy on the other hand almost always brings a sweater or wrap as she sometimes feels chilly.

[JLTx2]

This sounds like the missing shrimp cocktail or escargot from the dinner menu - if you ask, they'll eventually get it for you.

 

 

 

The shrimp cocktail was on the menu. My granddaughter had it every night. Don’t hold me to it but I think escargot was on there as well.

 

 

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[luvabargain]

Thanks for posting your experience. I've been hoping to see some trip reports of the Mariner. We'll be going on a 4 night cruise on Mariner in August, it will be our first RCI cruise. I'm excited to see the updated ship, and we love the Bahamas, so the ports of call are just fine for us for a 4 night. I'm with you in that it will be a little disappointing not to have a formal night.

[island lady]

Last I knew, the MDR is air conditioned

 

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Most times Bucky is very happy to have a suit coat on since sometimes it gets rather chilly on the ship...and he freezes his skinny butt. :cool:

Edited July 7, 2018 by island lady

[KmomChicago]

Carnivale January 1989 [emoji6]

 

Currently in US Navy

 

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Guessing a completely different "dress code" was in play for that. ;)

 

Anyway back to the formal night thing, the whole world is more casual than it used to be. My company just went jeans every day this past January, and even though I am a pretty frumpy type, I still think everyone looks terrible, but on the other hand now I know what it feels like to be the old person stuck in the past. ;p

 

Then there is the issue of airline luggage.

 

Back in the day when flights were cheapish and often not full, there was space in the overheads, and if not, everyone could check all the bags they wanted. Bringing along a full wardrobe including garment bags and shoes to match every outfit was part of the ritual.

 

Now we are crammed into little, expensive seats with backpacks wedged in front of our feet, trying to keep suitcases under 40 pounds and x by y by z dimensions, planning to use the $35 laundry special to wash our underwear halfway through so we don't run out, and bringing one pair of decent black sandals, one pair of flip flops, one pair of sneakers to get through a week. I can't imagine dealing with suits and wrinkled gowns anymore. The capris and sundresses I bring will likely have to do double duty as day and evening attire.

[Jarmo]

The shrimp cocktail was on the menu. My granddaughter had it every night. Don’t hold me to it but I think escargot was on there as well.

It was.

[SamFritz]

Guessing a completely different "dress code" was in play for that. ;)

 

 

 

Anyway back to the formal night thing, the whole world is more casual than it used to be. My company just went jeans every day this past January, and even though I am a pretty frumpy type, I still think everyone looks terrible, but on the other hand now I know what it feels like to be the old person stuck in the past. ;p

 

 

 

Then there is the issue of airline luggage.

 

 

 

Back in the day when flights were cheapish and often not full, there was space in the overheads, and if not, everyone could check all the bags they wanted. Bringing along a full wardrobe including garment bags and shoes to match every outfit was part of the ritual.

 

 

 

Now we are crammed into little, expensive seats with backpacks wedged in front of our feet, trying to keep suitcases under 40 pounds and x by y by z dimensions, planning to use the $35 laundry special to wash our underwear halfway through so we don't run out, and bringing one pair of decent black sandals, one pair of flip flops, one pair of sneakers to get through a week. I can't imagine dealing with suits and wrinkled gowns anymore. The capris and sundresses I bring will likely have to do double duty as day and evening attire.

 

 

 

🤣

 

 

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[jslev9]

I'm glad I saw the post about the Mariner not having a formal night anymore. My girlfriend and I are sailing in August and I was planning on having us get dressed up and then proposing in front of the photographers before we entered the MDR. Does anyone have suggestions of other ideas?

[Clarea]

I'm glad I saw the post about the Mariner not having a formal night anymore. My girlfriend and I are sailing in August and I was planning on having us get dressed up and then proposing in front of the photographers before we entered the MDR. Does anyone have suggestions of other ideas?

 

You are not prevented from dressing formally on Mariner. I'll bet there will still be photographers. I'd keep to the original plan.

[jslev9]

You are not prevented from dressing formally on Mariner. I'll bet there will still be photographers. I'd keep to the original plan.

 

Thank you :D

[JLTx2]

I'm glad I saw the post about the Mariner not having a formal night anymore. My girlfriend and I are sailing in August and I was planning on having us get dressed up and then proposing in front of the photographers before we entered the MDR. Does anyone have suggestions of other ideas?

 

 

 

Propose on the bridge on the Promenade! Have the roaming piano player there and play your favorite songs!!

The photographers are everywhere every night!

 

 

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[Jarmo]

You are not prevented from dressing formally on Mariner. I'll bet there will still be photographers. I'd keep to the original plan.

They had a 'wear your best' night or something like that. Photographers were set up as they would be on a formal night.

[jslev9]

They had a 'wear your best' night or something like that. Photographers were set up as they would be on a formal night.

 

Awesome! Thank you :)

[Shacky316]

How are the new specialty restaurants?

[Kenny1130]

Will be cruising on the Mariner out of Miami Sept 17-21! Our first cruise

[scott2165]

We sailed last week and loved it. Ship is clean and everything in the public spaces looks new. Cabins not updated but very clean.

 

Food in the windjammer was pretty bad in my opinion. Especially breakfast.

 

Food in MDR was great as was the service.

 

Room attendant was also great.

 

The cruise director was pretty good but his assistant was not compared to our last cruise.

 

Shows were good as were comedians. Bands were decent. I would like to see a cover band on board that’s a little more frequent. I can only handle so much island music by the pool.

 

Kids club was pretty good for our 12 year old but be warned, it’s 12-17 so we randomly went inside and observed the first two nights. No issues really but that’s a bad mix in my opinion. They did offer to keep kids busy from 8 pm to 1 am at no cost if that’s your needs.

 

I enjoyed the cruise but look forward to a longer itenerery in a different ship.

 

I wish this ship was a seven day cruise.

[CruisingNole]

I enjoyed the cruise but look forward to a longer itenerery in a different ship.

 

I wish this ship was a seven day cruise.

 

The short duration is part of the reason why I haven't pulled the trigger on the reservation. I priced it out and the sailing I was looking at in May will cost me close to $1,400 for 2 adults, 3 nights in an interior. This includes parking, gratuities and drink package. No specialty dining or any other on-board spend. I'm having trouble finding the value in $230+ pp/pd for an interior to Nassau.

[JLTx2]

Will be cruising on the Mariner out of Miami Sept 17-21! Our first cruise

 

 

 

Have fun! You will enjoy it!

 

 

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[SamFritz]

You are not prevented from dressing formally on Mariner. I'll bet there will still be photographers. I'd keep to the original plan.

 

 

 

I did not see anyone in even a sport coat or cocktail dress throughout my four day cruise.

 

 

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[big al]

Nice to hear about the formal night being gone from Mariner. I hope they extend to the rest of the fleet for anything less than 5 nights or less. I even do not like getting dressed up on the short cruises.

 

Agree 100%...after 36 cruises AND wearing a suit & tie for work in heat & humidity for 40 years, I am done with dressing up on my cruise vacation...now retired, I only wear a suit for weddings or funerals...hate having to schlep that stupid thing around...BTW, I feel dressing up to eat on my vacation is like the postman on his day off, he takes a walk- pretty dumb :D

 

P.S.- I know some people like to dress up for dinner, but I am NOT one of those...TG it's Tommy Bahama & kaki's now :D

[KmomChicago]

Agree 100%...after 36 cruises AND wearing a suit & tie for work in heat & humidity for 40 years, I am done with dressing up on my cruise vacation...now retired, I only wear a suit for weddings or funerals...hate having to schlep that stupid thing around...BTW, I feel dressing up to eat on my vacation is like the postman on his day off, he takes a walk- pretty dumb :D

 

P.S.- I know some people like to dress up for dinner, but I am NOT one of those...TG it's Tommy Bahama & kaki's now :D

 

Agree. If they really want me to enjoy my meal they should let me put on a toga and recline while they bring me grapes and wave those big fans on me. Now that would be memorable dining.

[poncho1973]

My days of dressing up on cruises is LONG gone. I certainly dress nice, but I'm not taking a coat for 2 hours of use. Luggage space is at a premium.

[JLTx2]

My days of dressing up on cruises is LONG gone. I certainly dress nice, but I'm not taking a coat for 2 hours of use. Luggage space is at a premium.

 

 

 

Same here. I put on nice slacks and button up shirt and right after dinner, I’m off to the cabin to change back in to my shorts!! Don’t want to mess the pants up because I only take two pair for 7 day cruise. One pair for anything shorter.

 

 

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[JLTx2]

Agree. If they really want me to enjoy my meal they should let me put on a toga and recline while they bring me grapes and wave those big fans on me. Now that would be memorable dining.

 

 

 

Amen!

 

 

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[TwoGuysPBC]

We were on Mariner’s first 4 day Bahamas sailing out of Miami. Just wanted to give some quick first impressions:

 

The hits:

1. The ship is in great condition. Almost everything looks like new.

 

2. The water slides, flow rider, hammocks, new mini-golf course etc. all provide a lot of action and fun for families.

 

3. Less space devoted to retail sales on the promenade. The sports bar replaced one upscale shop.

 

4.Great entertainment line up. If you ever have a chance to see Resurrection: A Journey Tribute you must. DW and I went back for the second show.

 

5. Very friendly and good service.

 

6. Quick and easy embarkation and debarkation.

 

The Misses:

1.No Eggs Benedict in the MDR for breakfast. (Please tell me this isn’t fleet wide.)

 

2. The interactive TV was not working, so you could not use it for ordering room service, reserving excursions, checking stateroom balances, watch PPV movies etc.

 

3. When Coco Cay is fully upgraded it will be an amazing family experience. Until the the ports of call are nothing to write home about.

 

We missed not having a formal night. I know some will be glad to hear that it is off the agenda, but we like to get dressed up at least once on a cruise.

 

 

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I just got off the July 6-9 and had Eggs Benedict for breakfast in the MDR each morning of the cruise (2 of the 3 days). They have all the traditional side options and a fruit / cereal / muffin buffet to supplement anything not on the menu. Each Benedict came with hash browns and grilled tomato. We added bacon / sausage / corn beef hash / etc as desired.

 

There is not a formal night though many dressed for night 2 in the MDR. If you are looking for photos, the new digital photo stations blur the pictures and overlay a RCI logo on them so you can not view them very well.

 

I will agree that the public spaces of the ship are well refurbished and look fantastic as well as the fun additions to the pool and sports decks. The additions to the Royal Promenade are uninspiring in my opinion though it looks fantastic.

 

The food in the MDR is below average and the service was also below average all over the entire ship. This is either a brand new crew who are not comfortable or confident in their roles or a tired crew who just wants their contract to be over. We were highly disappointed in the level of service we expect from RCI.