Fourth Time’s the Charm, Mariner 5/8-5/12 RS Semi Live Review

[Kteacher]

So we just stumbled upon the Women in Wine wine pairing event on the app, and are so glad we did. I will do a full review later, but this was a pleasant surprise on a 4 night cruise. Royal has only been doing this event for about a year, but I would highly recommend 👍

[Kteacher]

The Women of Wine event was 35.00 pp, and took place in the main dining room at 2. There ended up being only 5 of us at the event, which made it much more personalized. There was a video screen with a brief presentation from female vintners prior to each tasting(very well produced), then the sommelier gave us some more information about the wine. The pours were generous, and paired with cheese or fruit, depending on the wine. Highly recommend. Btw, there was one wine that was recommended to pair if you were dining in Izumi, which we were. Izumi staff tracked down a bottle from the dining for us so we could have it with dinner👍.

[Kteacher]

Last day onboard, but first a quick recap of our only port stop, Labadee. It was as hot as I remembered it, so we chose a shady spot on Barefoot Beach. We were the only ship yesterday, and it was pretty quiet. Water was warm, which I like, but when it’s that hot it’s not refreshing.

   Barefoot Beach lunch has changed since we were here last, which was pre-Covid. It’s now hamburgers, hot dogs, jerk chicken, corn on the cob, a few salad choices, and a few dessert choices. 
   There was a medical evacuation from the ship while we were in Labadee. Hoping the individual and their family are okay.

  Dinner was in Chops, which was as good as I remember. The service everywhere on the ship has been excellent. 
    Today is a lot of wine tasting, but luckily I have almost finished packing👍

[Marie51]

Just curious…for medical evacuation in Labadee where do they take the person?

[S.A.M.J.R.]

9 minutes ago, Marie51 said:

Just curious…for medical evacuation in Labadee where do they take the person?

On our first cruise in 2013, before we left, they brought the helicopter and landed it on the dock.

 

I'm assuming they went to a hospital in Haiti.  

[molly361]

@Kteacher  Great review so far.  Can I ask what level in Terminal C you end up on when you fly in?  I'm flying Jet Blue out of there tomorrow  Thanks

[Kteacher]

1 hour ago, molly361 said:

@Kteacher  Great review so far.  Can I ask what level in Terminal C you end up on when you fly in?  I'm flying Jet Blue out of there tomorrow  Thanks

I found this link really helpful

 

I know it wasn’t as long a distance as I thought it would be from the gate to baggage claim. Everything is really well signed. The shuttle service we used gave great descriptions of where we would meet them.

[Kteacher]

Taste of Royal was a new experience for us. It was only offered on the last sea day on this 4 night sailing, so unfortunately it is the same day as Chef’s Table dinner. That’s a lot of wine 😳. Fortunately I’m a little type A, so we are already packed with bags tagged for departure tomorrow. 
   On the Mariner it is done in Chops. You start with an elderflower spritz, very nice and light, not overly sweet. Then the truffle butter rolls, a plate of small bites and the first course. Other than the menu there was no description of the offerings and the wine pairings, which was a little disappointing. It was also a lot more food than I was expecting. The surf and turf course was 3 good size shrimp with a petite filet, mashed potatoes and vegetables. The only other criticism I would give is the second course, the crab risotto, had a really over powering fishy smell to the point that it was off putting, and the dessert course had been pre-plated and sitting. The fried cheesecake bites and the caramel corn were both soggy by the time they were served. I’m not sure I would do this again.

    Current situation, balcony time watching the ocean and listening to poolside music one deck above us. Bags are packed in an orderly fashion so we don’t need to dig through them when we move over to the Riviera Resort in Disney tomorrow.

This has been a great cruise. I’ll do a complete review when we get home.

[Kteacher]

Some photos from the Taste of Royal lunch, and my obligatory wine glass skirt for the occasion 👍. 

[Kteacher]

We’re officially off the ship, quickest ever. Jennifer, the suite concierge stayed with us all the way through and didn’t leave us until  she was sure we had all our luggage. Facial recognition is so much easier!

    Quick recap of Chef’s Table from last night: On the Mariner Chef’s Table takes place in the main dining room. I was a little concerned that it would be too noisy to hear the chef speaking to us, but it was fine. We’ve done Chef’s Table on other ships, so are familiar with the menu. Everything we tasted was wonderful. We would definitely do this again.

[Kteacher]

Some final thoughts:

   The ship and our stateroom, RS (1620), exceeded our expectations. The cabin is gorgeous, and yes, we hated to leave. Would I book the RS again on an older ship/shorter itinerary? Absolutely. We were completely spoiled the entire time.

    The crew were outstanding everywhere we went. The suite concierge, Jennifer, made sure we had everything we needed. Chops staff were incredible (we miss Schubert already). 
     The food was some of the best we’ve had on ships. We ate breakfast every morning in Chops, and dined in Jamie’s twice, Chops, Izumi hibachi, Chef’s Table, and Playmakers for onion rings and wings on embarkation day. The only weak meal was the Taste of Royal.

    We are spending a few days in Disney before we go home, but I will post copies of the Cruise Compass soon as I can.

[rolloman]

You went aboard after I departed. We were supposed to have the same itinerary as you but we had 4 medical emergencies. We turned around two separate times to drop a total of 3 people off in Fort Lauderdale and when we returned there were 3 ambulances and a firetruck and one person leaving in handcuffs. So it sounds like you had a little better luck. But to recap-that is 5 medical emergencies in a 8 night span...unreal!!  By the way good thing you didn't eat in the MDR...it would have changed your mind on the "best food" you've had on a ship. 

[Kteacher]

26 minutes ago, rolloman said:

You went aboard after I departed. We were supposed to have the same itinerary as you but we had 4 medical emergencies. We turned around two separate times to drop a total of 3 people off in Fort Lauderdale and when we returned there were 3 ambulances and a firetruck and one person leaving in handcuffs. So it sounds like you had a little better luck. But to recap-that is 5 medical emergencies in a 8 night span...unreal!!  By the way good thing you didn't eat in the MDR...it would have changed your mind on the "best food" you've had on a ship. 

Yes, we haven’t used the main dining room for meals for a long time. Specialty dining works best for us, so that’s where we go.