Weekend Mariner of the Seas AMA

[smplybcause]

Well, not anything....I don't really have photos of anything besides towel animals if you want them. I think the compasses are stashed in my luggage if anyone wants them!

 

So two of my friends and I booked Labor Day weekend like 10 days in advance. Thanks to sales and no solo supplement we were all in our own cabins. Due to last minute booking we got 2:30 boarding time. While the FB had several people that said they got their before their time and got on, we were driving and ended up getting there right when our time opened up. 

 

We had to show our vaccine card and test results 3 times. Set sail pass was needed 4 times. There were 4 "check points" and there were lines for each one. From getting in the first line to on board it was probably just under 30 mins. Rooms were open by the time we got on board. For all of us at separate musters there was no wait. Windjammer closes at 330 but the cafe was still open. 

 

Someone told me there was just under 1600 on the ship, which using double occupancy numbers means it was just under 50%. We had to wait in a short line at windjammer about half of the meals, but it was under 10 minutes. Everything else had a negligible or no line - though the marriage show was standing room only. 

 

Windjammer and cafe did have tables blocked off for distancing. None of the bars or lounges did. Neither did the theaters beyond the first 2 or 3 rows for vaccinated folks. They had signs on all the tables that said clean or not - though sometimes they weren't keeping up with cleaning the tables that quickly. Like we were standing waiting since the tables said not clean but crew members were walking around not cleaning the tables nor telling us it'll be a minute. We sat down and unclean tables once or twice in the bars not caring. 

 

I don't know about set dining times but MTD did not care about distancing. If you happened to go to dinner when it wasn't busy you had rooms between tables. But if it was a busy time they were sitting every table which some were about a foot apart. 

 

On ship there were less loungers but they weren't really bothering with making sure they were in groups. They tried a bit more in the main pool area than solarium. Upper deck was where I noticed the most spacing between groups of loungers. Solarium was pretty close to normal. Also in solarium I never saw the lifeguard limiting people in the pool and hot tubs. Not sure about main deck because it was hotter out there so we avoided. 

 

We did reservations for the show, but it didn't matter. In the vax area if you got there early there were announcements to leave 2 seats between the next group but no enforcement. It wasn't so crowded that you couldn't find space if you wanted though. 

 

We were at Coco Cay with Freedom. Someone on another thread said they had 2600 so there were a bit over 4000 on the island. One friend is an early riser and got off early to get us loungers. We were at the pool by like 10 and there was very limited loungers by the pool by then. Beach had a lot of space though. Once it got closer too noon the pool bar was pretty much at least 3 deep until the end of the day. You could find space if you wanted - but you had to be willing to move away from people to get it. If you're wanting 6 feet of space you'll either need to be far from the bar or in the ocean. We ate at the snack shack and the wait wasn't too long and there were plenty of picnic tables. 

 

If you go anytime soon the musicians in the pub and schooner were amazing. If Roel or Vincent are on your cruise be sure to check them out!

 

PS I don't have kids so sorry no knowledge on adventure ocean. 

Edited September 8, 2021 by smplybcause

[bucfan2]

Thank you for the review.

[TYMAN]

We were on the 4 night cruise right before this and only had around 880 passengers. Much different experience for us. No lines, easy to get food in Windjammer and staff was constantly cleaning tables in bars and restaurants. Freedom joined us at CoCoCay also, but since both ships had less passengers than weekend cruise, Island seemed empty. We also had two empty cabins on either side of us in our Aft JS, so that was very nice and quiet. I will say the staff was very excited about more passengers coming on board for the weekend cruise. I'm sure it's hard to make tips when they're only 2 folks in a bar. 

Anyway, if you get a chance to sail at lower capacity, do it. You'll thank yourself later....

[LEMJMcC]

What was the overall condition of the ship?  Notice anything that made you think, "gee, I wonder why they hadn't fixed that?"   DId it have an "old" or worn appearance or was it looking fresh?

 

We're planning to cruise over Christmas on Mariner.  I understand that it is similar to Freedom.

 

Thanks.

[ampurp85]

Mariner was amped in like 2018/ 2019, so I don't think she is suffering. This was a holiday sailing and it looks like the numbers for Labor day sailings are all higher, closer to 50%

 

Mariner was my first RCG ship, she is the perfect size. I will be on her in Jan as part of a S2S

[TYMAN]

2 hours ago, LEMJMcC said:

What was the overall condition of the ship?  Notice anything that made you think, "gee, I wonder why they hadn't fixed that?"   DId it have an "old" or worn appearance or was it looking fresh?

 

We're planning to cruise over Christmas on Mariner.  I understand that it is similar to Freedom.

 

Thanks.

No issues what so ever. Crew was constantly cleaning and the areas we went through looked good. I might be looking through rose colored glasses due to the family winning over $5k, but we truly enjoyed the casino. 🙂 Oh, and the food seemed a bit better and hotter too! The French Onion Soup and Aged Prime Rib were awesome!

[smplybcause]

2 hours ago, LEMJMcC said:

What was the overall condition of the ship?  Notice anything that made you think, "gee, I wonder why they hadn't fixed that?"   DId it have an "old" or worn appearance or was it looking fresh?

 

We're planning to cruise over Christmas on Mariner.  I understand that it is similar to Freedom.

 

Thanks.

 

No. She was amped somewhat recently. There was even day beds in the solarium that are white and from what I could see they all were white without stains. 

 

About the only old thing was that in my room it doesn't have as many outlets as the newer ships. The phone by the bed had a usb plug otherwise the only outlets I saw were up on the table. 

[smplybcause]

4 hours ago, TYMAN said:

Anyway, if you get a chance to sail at lower capacity, do it. You'll thank yourself later....

 

I honestly didn't think Royal was going to let capacity jump that much even though it was a holiday! I'm wondering if the capacity limit it around what was on my sailing they just aren't getting that many to book the others? 

 

We booked another trip before the no solo supplement disappeared, but that is also going to be a holiday sailing so probably won't be an empty ship either. 

[TYMAN]

1 minute ago, smplybcause said:

 

I honestly didn't think Royal was going to let capacity jump that much even though it was a holiday! I'm wondering if the capacity limit it around what was on my sailing they just aren't getting that many to book the others? 

 

We booked another trip before the no solo supplement disappeared, but that is also going to be a holiday sailing so probably won't be an empty ship either. 

The staff did mention that after your cruise they were only sailing with 900 again. I'm guessing the Holiday weekend spurned a lot of activity for cruising. We cruise again in about three weeks on the Allure then Nov on the Harmony. I'm kind of interested in how much capacity will go up by then. I'm still thinking around 50-60%. As for your weekend cruise, I really don't think the crew was prepared for 1700+ passengers. Lot's more work than with our 880.....on another note, we were supposed to have 999, but lots of no shows I guess. Saw a lot of room keys still outside the rooms late into the evening. 

[smplybcause]

22 minutes ago, TYMAN said:

The staff did mention that after your cruise they were only sailing with 900 again. I'm guessing the Holiday weekend spurned a lot of activity for cruising. We cruise again in about three weeks on the Allure then Nov on the Harmony. I'm kind of interested in how much capacity will go up by then. I'm still thinking around 50-60%. As for your weekend cruise, I really don't think the crew was prepared for 1700+ passengers. Lot's more work than with our 880.....on another note, we were supposed to have 999, but lots of no shows I guess. Saw a lot of room keys still outside the rooms late into the evening. 

 

The table cleaning was really the only unprepared thing I could see. They were using all the tables in windjammer even though only one side was open for food. Maybe they didn't put enough people up there?

 

But there were plenty of people other places. In the solarium we usually had at least one waiter ask us for drinks while we were waiting for the drinks we ordered to show up. Even though MTD was crowded service didn't really suffer because of that. (The bar guy couldn't get our order right for the life of him the second night.)

 

The crew was still great as always though. 

[flamingos]

How did Coco Beach Club look? This may be the only time we ever go - we got it for $61.  🙂

[smplybcause]

1 minute ago, flamingos said:

How did Coco Beach Club look? This may be the only time we ever go - we got it for $61.  🙂

 

We didn't pay for it so didn't go over there. Our friends on Freedom did and enjoyed it. They got there early enough to get one of the free daybeds. They also said the food was really good. Though they couldn't reserve a time to eat until they got there and the only time available was 1130. They also couldn't hear the pool music from where they were - which was very loud by noon and could be heard at the snack shake. 

[cruizzing]

18 minutes ago, flamingos said:

How did Coco Beach Club look? This may be the only time we ever go - we got it for $61.  🙂

We got it for a low price too so checked it out - really enjoyed it. At dinner the night before, they asked for our preferred dining time without even mentioning our plans to go there. We opted for an early time, but I confirmed when we arrived and they had the reservation which I was impressed with. Would go again. 

[lazydayz]

6 minutes ago, cruizzing said:

We got it for a low price too so checked it out - really enjoyed it. At dinner the night before, they asked for our preferred dining time without even mentioning our plans to go there. We opted for an early time, but I confirmed when we arrived and they had the reservation which I was impressed with. Would go again. 

 

That is great to hear.  We did the Beach Club once before (days before shutdown) and really enjoyed it.  So excited to be going back in just over a week!

[molly361]

1 hour ago, TYMAN said:

No issues what so ever. Crew was constantly cleaning and the areas we went through looked good. I might be looking through rose colored glasses due to the family winning over $5k, but we truly enjoyed the casino. 🙂 Oh, and the food seemed a bit better and hotter too! The French Onion Soup and Aged Prime Rib were awesome!

Did they have the seats back at the bars at Playmakers and Boleros since all adults have to be vaccinated?

[cruizzing]

Just now, lazydayz said:

So excited to be going back in just over a week!

Have a great cruise!

[lazydayz]

1 hour ago, smplybcause said:

 

I honestly didn't think Royal was going to let capacity jump that much even though it was a holiday! I'm wondering if the capacity limit it around what was on my sailing they just aren't getting that many to book the others? 

 

 

OP, thanks for your review.  We sail the Mariner on Sept. 17th, and hope that the capacity is at less than 50%.  Since it is not a holiday, I think we will be fine.  I agree - all the cruise lines are saying demand is high, but I really don't believe it.  There are just too many good deals out there for demand to be high.  

[TYMAN]

Just now, molly361 said:

Did they have the seats back at the bars at Playmakers and Boleros since all adults have to be vaccinated?

Let's see, I drank in Schooners & The Pub and all the chairs and Bar stools were in the right places. The tables had signs saying clean or not clean, but didn't look like it was every other table to use. From what I saw as I walked by, Playmakers was totally open with usually seating arrangements.

[lazydayz]

1 minute ago, cruizzing said:

Have a great cruise!

 

Thank you.  We are really looking forward to it.

 

Did you do anything in Nassau?  We usually either walk around downtown to shop, eat and drink, or go to Atlantis of Baha Mar to gamble.  If there are strict mask rules, we might just spend the day in the Solarium.  

[smplybcause]

3 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Did they have the seats back at the bars at Playmakers and Boleros since all adults have to be vaccinated?

 Playmakers didn't have any chairs at the bar. Though we walked up and got drinks from the bar several times. Also no chairs at Boleros bar when I went by. But both looked like the normal amount of tables/chairs in it otherwise and none of the tables were blocked off. 

[TYMAN]

12 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 Playmakers didn't have any chairs at the bar. Though we walked up and got drinks from the bar several times. Also no chairs at Boleros bar when I went by. But both looked like the normal amount of tables/chairs in it otherwise and none of the tables were blocked off. 

That's strange since The Pub and Schooners had stools at the bars. Oh, Boleros is in an open area, not designated as V only.....casino bar had stools also. 

[cruizzing]

7 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

Did you do anything in Nassau?  

We went to Margaritaville.  Got a room, but they're now offering day passes. Were strict about masks walking down pier (there would be someone reminding you that masks were mandatory in Nassau), and going in to resort, but not at/by the pool. Would go there again also. 

[TYMAN]

14 minutes ago, lazydayz said:

 

Thank you.  We are really looking forward to it.

 

Did you do anything in Nassau?  We usually either walk around downtown to shop, eat and drink, or go to Atlantis of Baha Mar to gamble.  If there are strict mask rules, we might just spend the day in the Solarium.  

We normally gamble at Atlantis also, but the Fam didn't want to cram in a van full of strangers. We just stayed on board, had lunch at Chops then hung by the pool drinking Pina Coladas....:-) 

[smplybcause]

1 minute ago, TYMAN said:

That's strange since The Pub and Schooners had stools at the bars. Oh, Boleros is in an open area, not designated as V only.....casino bar had stools also. 

 And playmakers isn't V only either. So I guess that's the difference?

 

I definitely could see where Playmakers would normally have chairs at the bar. The Boloeros on Mariner didn't seem odd to not have chairs there, but I guess they normally do. 

[TYMAN]

5 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 And playmakers isn't V only either. So I guess that's the difference?

 

I definitely could see where Playmakers would normally have chairs at the bar. The Boloeros on Mariner didn't seem odd to not have chairs there, but I guess they normally do. 

Agree....Boleros did have a good band and lots of chairs on the floor around them. Anyway, we had a great time and so looking forward to the next one. Hopefully all goes as smooth...