Mariner LIVE Review 4nt Bahamas Jan 6-10th

[Kteacher]

Thank you for this great review! We’re on the Mariner, and also in a GS with the UDP. Glad to hear we can go to Chops for lunch on the first day. So you had no problems getting your dining reservations taken care of ahead of time?

[johnstoc13]

Here is a map numbered with the cabana and beach bed locations. We were at south beach, bed #65. It was right next to the attendant but didn’t bother us one bit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[johnstoc13]

7 minutes ago, Kteacher said:

Thank you for this great review! We’re on the Mariner, and also in a GS with the UDP. Glad to hear we can go to Chops for lunch on the first day. So you had no problems getting your dining reservations taken care of ahead of time?

Nope not at all! Please note the concierge can’t really make or confirm reservations for you until embarkation day when your folio is active. At least that’s how it went for us. So I emailed him the week before to make sure we didn’t get lost in the masses of cruises and emails prior to ours. But first day onboard and first meeting with Tao, he happily confirmed our reservations before we boarded and had a printout waiting for us in Suite Lounge!

Edited January 8, 2020 by johnstoc13

[johnstoc13]

Day 3 - Compass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kteacher]

Thank you- could you share the email address of the suite concierge?

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Thanks for the beach bed location pics.  Loving the pics so far & jealous of your weather.

[3ITTravelers]

Thank you so much for taking time out to do this review!  My mom and her husband are going on this same ship and itinerary on the 20th. This is her first cruise in 15 years, and she’s a bit nervous and overwhelmed. I’ll be sharing all your insights with her. 

[MLP12]

On 1/7/2020 at 3:26 PM, johnstoc13 said:

DAY #2 - Perfect Day at CocoCay!

 

 

After a late night, we decided to sleep in a little till about 9am. Got ready for a beach day then headed up to the Windjammer for a quick breakfast. It was as expected in the windjammer, nothing special, but fast and easy. Then we headed down to deck 1 to get off the ship. About 20 yards down the pier, I realized I forgot my cash, so I ran back up real quick to get it. (Turns out we didn’t need it as we didn’t buy anything from the straw market, but hey you never know!)

 

Off the ship for a 2nd time, we made our way to South Beach for our day bed we purchased. It was $199 online and same on the ship I believe. We purchased in advance and thoroughly enjoyed it. We have booked cabanas at Labadee before and we actually enjoyed these beds much more. It was nice to lay down and the beds are very comfortable. You get the bed, 2 loungers, 2 floating mats, and a cooler with 4 waters. Curtains for privacy or shade worked great too! What do you think?!

 

 

This was our view. We had cabana #65.

 

DW enjoyed her Coco Loco as well!

 

So far a great day!!

Was the water warm enough to swim?  When you got out, did it feel cold?  We sail on the 13th!

 

[MLP12]

Who is the cruise director?  Also, was it warm enough at CocoCay to swim?  

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by MLP12

[johnstoc13]

49 minutes ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

Thanks for the beach bed location pics.  Loving the pics so far & jealous of your weather.

You’re welcome! Years ago at Labadee we were able to request a specific cabana location when in a suite, but that’s not the case at CocoCay as of today. They are assigned as they are booked and we shared with Grandeur of the Seas, so no changing, relocating, or special requests. But honestly, they are all beautiful!

[johnstoc13]

49 minutes ago, 3ITTravelers said:

Thank you so much for taking time out to do this review!  My mom and her husband are going on this same ship and itinerary on the 20th. This is her first cruise in 15 years, and she’s a bit nervous and overwhelmed. I’ll be sharing all your insights with her. 

Aww she’ll love it! Lots to do on and off the ship and the food...the food!!! 

[johnstoc13]

27 minutes ago, MLP12 said:

Was the water warm enough to swim?  When you got out, did it feel cold?  We sail on the 13th!

 

Ok so I forgot this in my Day #2 posting...the water in front of south beach was cool as expected for the time of year, but most definitely swimmable and enjoyable!

 

However, while planning this cruise, DW and I were quite excited about visiting the Oasis Lagoon and the swim up bar. After lunch, we did indeed head over there and the water was frigid! Now, everyone has their own opinion and I will say that plenty of people were swimming in it, but I also saw several wincing, with arms up and grimacing at the cold. 
 

I can’t speak for any other pools or thrill park because we didn’t partake. I would have thought the pool would have been warmer than the ocean, but after the Oasis Lagoon ice bath, we went back to our day beds and hopped into the warm ocean, haha! Kids will swim anywhere and those who’ve had a few to drink might like it, but otherwise be warned. 🤣

Edited January 9, 2020 by johnstoc13

[johnstoc13]

27 minutes ago, MLP12 said:

Who is the cruise director?  Also, was it warm enough at CocoCay to swim?  

 

See above post regarding water temps.

Cruise Director is Marcelo! He is fantastic, funny, energetic, and everything we’d want in a cruise director.

[johnstoc13]

1 hour ago, Kteacher said:

Thank you- could you share the email address of the suite concierge?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pz4Im5qh4cqd1zE5A9srLm3wGd0_SNZwTdbLTa59EF4/htmlview#gid=0

[johnstoc13]

Ok phew! Back from dinner and we are stuffed! Dinner was at Jamie’s tonight and it was great. We’ve had it once before on Anthem, but I don’t remember it being this good. Our server, Franc, was excellent! Highly recommended.

 

Here’s the dinner and drinks menu...

 

 

 

 

We had the meat plank and garlic bread for appetizers! 

 

 

Next was the main course. DW ordered the Truffle Tagliatelle and I ordered the Tagliatelle Bolognese.

 

 

Both were great! Now Franc, our waiter, recommended the Chianti Braised Short Rib. Although we didn’t ask, he brought a plate out for us anyway, and wow we should have listened! I ate more of the short rib than I did of my pasta. Thanks again Franc!

[Evilgrin72]

This is truly an awesome live review. Bookmarking this for my sailing later this year. 

[johnstoc13]

Sorry the food pics didn’t come out great! Lighting was a bit dim in Jamie’s, but oh well! For dessert, Franc recommended everything and we wanted to try! We settled on 3! 
 

MENU:

 

We had the Classic Tiramisu

 

Next was Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

 

And finally the Pavlova

 

All were delicious! I also had an espresso to help give me a boost for tonight after a long hot day in the Bahama sun! Now we’re taking a brief break in our room as we push off from Nassau! Here’s the view right now!

 

All the other ships departed between 4 and 6ish if I remember correctly. Tonight we plan on going to the Crazy Quest! One of our favorites and always fun to watch and participate in! Otherwise, we will see where the night takes us!

[johnstoc13]

9 minutes ago, Evilgrin72 said:

This is truly an awesome live review. Bookmarking this for my sailing later this year. 

Thank you so much! I love reading the photo reviews myself. It’s like I’m on vacation again for each one!

[johnstoc13]

2 hours ago, Kteacher said:

Thank you for this great review! We’re on the Mariner, and also in a GS with the UDP. Glad to hear we can go to Chops for lunch on the first day. So you had no problems getting your dining reservations taken care of ahead of time?

Glad to see you booked UDP! It is totally worth it if you’re over the MDR food. I have zero complaints about MDR food, but specialty is our way of life when it comes to cruising now. And the UDP has been a huge success thus far! Looking forward to another Chops Grille visit tomorrow night and probably hit up Playmakers and Johnny Rockets for lunch/snacks!

[Evilgrin72]

16 minutes ago, johnstoc13 said:

Thank you so much! I love reading the photo reviews myself. It’s like I’m on vacation again for each one!

No, thank YOU for taking the time to write this on vacation! 😁

[#55worktoplay]

This is a great review.  It seems like a great ship and I personally like the shorter cruises so I will have to consider this one.

 

thanks for sharing, great job!

[johnstoc13]

Just had a quick casino run while DW took a nap! Craps table was nice to me, so I took my winnings and ran. Nothing crazy but it’s a start towards Day 1’s losses haha! Never could get into slots but played for a few minutes and left. Think we’ll grab a snack of some kind next and then head to Quest!

[Dancingnurse79]

Great live review. I’m on Mariner this May. I see laser tag on the cruise compass you posted but didn’t see it on a cruise compass for the 3 day sailing. Is it only available on the 4 day?

[kruzerci]

3 hours ago, johnstoc13 said:

Ok so I forgot this in my Day #2 posting...the water in front of south beach was cool as expected for the time of year, but most definitely swimmable and enjoyable!

 

However, while planning this cruise, DW and I were quite excited about visiting the Oasis Lagoon and the swim up bar. After lunch, we did indeed head over there and the water was frigid! Now, everyone has their own opinion and I will say that plenty of people were swimming in it, but I also saw several wincing, with arms up and grimacing at the cold. 
 

I can’t speak for any other pools or thrill park because we didn’t partake. I would have thought the pool would have been warmer than the ocean, but after the Oasis Lagoon ice bath, we went back to our day beds and hopped into the warm ocean, haha! Kids will swim anywhere and those who’ve had a few to drink might like it, but otherwise be warned. 🤣

That’s so funny. We were there in June and Oasis Lagoon was seriously the temperature of a hot-tub. It was horrible. I guess the weather really impacts the water temp. 

[johnstoc13]

41 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

That’s so funny. We were there in June and Oasis Lagoon was seriously the temperature of a hot-tub. It was horrible. I guess the weather really impacts the water temp. 

Haha ok so by process of elimination, Mar/Apr and Sep/Oct must be the preferred sailings!