Mariner 6/13-6/20 review--what a great week!

[Tess4]

I've actually been avoiding posting my review because I know that officially signals the end of our cruise. Oh well...to the review.

 

Our family consists of my husband and me, plus our son (15) and daughter (12). We flew to Orlando from Denver on June 10 and hung out there for a couple days before the cruise. In hindsight, I'm really glad we did this before the cruise and not after. We were so tired/relaxed (depending on which one of us you asked) after the cruise that we were ready to get home and sleep in our own beds by that time.

 

We'd rented a car from Budget in Orlando and dropped it off at the Pt. Canaveral office then they shuttled us to the ship. Upon return they picked us up at the ship and we rented a car to take to the Orlando airport. For $50, this was the cheapest and easiest solution to getting 4 people and a mountain of luggage to the airport.

 

We boarded the ship at 11:30 and were able to get into our rooms by 1. We ate lunch in the Windjammer (super crowded, of course, but that was the only time during the week that we felt crowded) then unpacked. We had two balcony rooms on deck 6--a quick trip to the purser's desk and the kids were in their own room. We also rented the Internet hookup for $100 but couldn't get it to work on our laptop so--no live postings from us on the Mariner! We found guest relations to be very helpful and friendly anytime we had a question.

 

The room: E2 balcony (both rooms). Plenty of storage and the suitcases fit fine under the bed. This was our first balcony room and I'd never go back to an interior--sitting on the balcony with a glass of wine and a book was absolutely bliss-inducing. Both our rooms were on the starboard side and we faced the port (vs. the dock) in Nassau and St. Thomas. We faced the dock in St. Maarten but it was a pretty, uncrowded pier so it wasn't too bad. We didn't have to tender in at any of the three piers. Our room attendent was great--it seemed like he was always out in the hall just waiting to get into the rooms--we never had to 'wait' to get our cabins cleaned. A few times when our kids slept in I did tell Byron to just skip cleaning their room in the morning--I hated to have him waiting on my sleepyheads and the kids sure didn't care. Royal Caribbean has a $20 replacement policy per pool towel if you lost one--Byron told us right off the bat that he wouldn't charge us, though, if we didn't bring them back to the room and in fact left extra pool towels in the cabin each day. He really was great--very friendly and professional. We had turn down service (with chocolates) from the first night on and always looked forward to the towel animals. LOVED the hanging monkey!!!!!!

 

The ship: Absolutely gorgeous!! I was leery about being on such a large ship but it was easy to navigate and find your way around. Very customer friendly. The promenade was so much fun, especially during the parades. We enjoyed sitting in the champagne bar several nights before dinner. We bought several pieces of Royal Caribbean logo clothing--my advice is to buy early in the week. Most of the 'good stuff' doesn't go on sale (except polos, I'm thinking) and some sizes were running low later in the week.

 

The one area I think they could have improved on the design was the pool area. A swim up bar and a slide would have been great. Pretty minor criticism, though. There were plenty of chairs around but of course the chair savers were out in force in the solarium and right around the pool. Didn't notice attendents doing anything about it but hey, it's vacation, so why sweat it?

 

We ate at Johnny Rockets twice--I can see now why they instituted the $3.95 charge--even with it there was sometimes a small line. As Crown and Anchor members, we used our coupons. The staff working in J.R. seemed to love their jobs--they really hammed it up when singing "YMCA" and "Saturday Night Fever."

 

The Savoy theater was beautiful and well laid out. I don't know that there is a 'bad spot' to sit even though it's large. We enjoyed the shows, especially the comedian John Pinette. He had us crying with laughter for one solid hour. Overall we thought the shows were varied and very much worth going to--a cut above from the Las Vegas style reviews on cruise ships 10 years ago. The ice show was probably our least favorite but know most people would disagree with us. It was a Baltic/Russian circus theme, which really didn’t do much for me—the skaters and costumes were wonderful, though.

 

The dining room: We were seated by the window in the Top Hat and Tails dining room (middle level of the three). The prettiest cruise ship dining room I've seen. Our waiter (Ali) and asst. waiter (Mary) were excellent, especially Mary. My son was in heaven--no sooner than he downed a Coke (and that's often since he's 6 ft. tall and 15 years old--parents of boys, you know what I'm talking about--this child can eat--and never gain a pound!) than Mary would replace it. The first night I asked Mary if she'd mind diluting my ice tea with a little water since it looked strong--no problem and for the rest of the week my tea was noticably weaker than the rest. It was fun being pampered! We thought the food was above average and the desserts were excellent (contrary to what I'd read on the boards). We sat at a table for 6 with a wonderful couple from Pennsylvania--we always looked forward to seeing them at dinner and miss them both! They particularly bonded with our kids and vice-versa. On the night when my husband and I celebrated our anniversary at Portifino, I thought the kids would do the Windjammer--no, they wanted to eat in the dining room with our new friends!

 

Portifino was worth every extra penny. Excellent service and food. They say to allow two hours for dinner--we were in there over two hours. As a prelude to dessert, we were served a plate of chocolate covered strawberries--then came dessert. I don't know that I've ever been that full in my life but it was too good NOT to eat!

 

Ports: Truthfully, St. Maarten was the only port we really would go back to. We originally were booked on the western Caribbean trip but had to reschedule due to my daughter's dance recital (and her dingy mother not remembering the date of the recital until after I'd booked the cruise...). We went to Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas--great for snorkeling, just okay for swimming. Small semi-rocky beach but the water was warm and calm and we had a nice day. Orient Beach in St. Maarten was our favorite--go left when you get there and nudity is at a bare minimum (sorry, couldn't help it :-). Wide beach, soft sand, warm water--ahhh. My daughter had her hair braided on the beach here--very cute. She and I were going to parasail (we've done it in Jamaica) but picked the wrong compay. FYI--don't go with Cap Caraibe!! They took us out to the parasailing boat via wave runner then we sat there for 45 minutes while the two guys tried to a.) get the boat running and b.) tried to get the pulley system working for the sail. Once I got a good luck at the 'cable' that was to hold us up in the air I knew we weren't going up in that thing--it was a frayed piece of thin rope! After telling the operators a couple of times to please take us back to shore (and being ignored) I stood up and waved at my husband on the shore. Finally he realized that I wasn't just saying hi and sent the wave runner out to get us. Not a well-run operation! We did get our money back.

 

Kids' activities: Both kids went to the first night's activities--my daughter immediately found a buddy or two and they were together all week. She really enjoyed the activities, especially the scavenger hunts. My son didn't do much in the way of organized activities and seemed happy to either hang with us or on his own. For a kid who's Mr. Sociable at home and busy all of the time, this surprised us. Actually, maybe he just needed a break from all of that, like the rest of us. He and I got hooked on bingo and bonded with that several days. The last day of Bingo a woman from Ohio won $11,000. We, of course, won nothing but it was fun anyhow. We all enjoyed shuffleboard on deck 4--try it at night. Miniature golf was also fun.

 

Tess's tips: Let's see--things I wished I would have known. You really don't need to pack many clothes to wear during the day. We lived in swimsuits and coverups. The spa is fun but they are hard sell and pressure you to buy their products. I had the reflexology/massage combo and a hot oil scalp massage...loved the scalp massage. Room service is a treat--we loved a fresh fruit and a cheese plate late afternoon along with a glass of wine to hold us till late seating. Sushi at the Jade is yummy--don't miss it. If you want to get a book from the library, go the first day or so--the bestsellers are checked out quickly. Coke cards for the kids are a great investment--it more than paid for itself. We brought some bottled water on the ship--they do sell it as you leave the ship on port days but it's expensive. We also bubble-wrapped 3 bottles of wine and brought it onboard in our suitcases. By the looks of our cruise-card bill, though, we didn't short Royal Caribbean on the alcohol purchasing! Love those pina coladas...

 

We took our walkie-talkies but didn't use them. Instead we left messages on the cabins' voice-mail system every time one of us 'moved location.'

 

I know I'm forgetting things but this is long enough for now! I would go back on the Mariner in a minute--it was a wonderful week and our family has so many happy memories of the cruise. I'll be happy to answer any questions that you have.

[TBRay]

Excellent descriptive review. About the only thing different for us this past Feb. was Chops instead of Portofinos (my DW doesn't do pasta) but it was equally great.

Shuffleboard is still one of those "to do" items I guess. I've always seen people there but just never gave it a thought (the ping-pong tables are fun though).

Less than 90 days to count down to our next Mariner cruise. Seems like every six months we climb aboard :D .

Fine by me.

 

09/19/04 *** Invasion of the Royal Hounds ***

Mariner of the Seas

[laurashelby]

Great Review! Sounds wonderful....we're 2 weeks away and can't wait!!

 

Laura :)

[cruiseky]

Tess,

What a wonderfuls review. It is great to hear that you had such a wonderful cruise. We will be sailing on the Mariner in October.

 

Troy

[dad son team]

I was on the Mariner in April and I too loved the ship. We had a balcony on deck10 and I am having a hard time going to any other type of cabin. I always enjoyed some dessert and a cup of decaf from the Promenade Cafe in the evening on the way back to my cabin, then sat out there and listened to the ocean go by. Totally a nice way to end the day on a ship.

[sailor moon]

We will be on the Mariner in September. I can't wait to try the voyager class. Your review was so good that now I am having an even harder time being patient!

[njreindeer]

Tess4, thanks for the wonderful review! It sounds like everyone had a great vacation on Mariner. I don't know how we're going to make it these next couple of months, waiting to board Mariner! Loved hearing every detail, thanks!

 

Couple of questions: What didja have at Portofino's for dinner, was the hair dryer in your cabin strong enough, where did you have breakfast every day?

 

Thanks again!

[World Traveler 81]

What did you think of your cruise director, Becky?

[Family of 14]

We had two balcony rooms on deck 6--a quick trip to the purser's desk and the kids were in their own room.

What did you mean by this statement? Did the kids not have a stateroom at first?

[Tess4]

njreindeer, my husband and I both had fillets at Portifino on the recommendation of the people sitting next to us. They didn't steer us wrong--delicious. If they offer it, try the shrimp risotto as an appetizer--it's one of those dishes that I'll be craving for months. It's a good thing we're not on the Atkin's plan because I would have blown it when they set the bread basket down--the long breadsticks are great. The hairdryer was strong enough but it was a pain holding down the 'on' button as I dried my hair so ended up using my own most of the time. As for breakfast--we were really really lazy and usually didn't get up till 8:30 or so. Our cabins were both close to the stairway and the Promenade Cafe so one of us would bring back coffee and pastry from there and my husband and I would eat on the balcony. I think our kids ordered room service breakfast once or twice (said it was good, except for the eggs) and we did eat in the Windjammer twice for breakfast. Here's a Windjammer breakfast tip--don't eat the already-prepared scrambled eggs--they're kind of nasty. Instead, go around the corner to the omelet station--they'll custom prepare any kind of eggs that you want and toss in any of the extras like mushrooms, cheese, etc.

 

About Becky, the cruise director--she was very energetic and must not ever sleep because she was everywhere, night and day! I guess she was a little too 'cute' for me but I heard other people talking about how much they liked her. Her "Hello Luv!" got a bit old (well, don't I sound like the crabby old lady!!).

 

Family of 14 (by the way, I hope you're feeling better--I haven't checked your thread this afternoon--have certainly been thinking about you, though), I didn't really explain the cabin thing very well, did I? What I meant to say is that we originally (per the booking rules) had my daughter and I booked in one cabin and my husband and son in the other. From this forum I knew that we could easily switch the cabins around once we boarded and that was the case. I suppose we could have just not 'officially' switched but it just seemed easier. I also asked for an extra key to the kids' room at Guest Relations and got one easily. In hindsight I should have also gotten our kids an extra key of our room--sometimes they'd knock at our door but we were on the balcony and couldn't hear them.

[dolfan1949]

Tess,

What a wonderful review...We are booked on the Mariner Jan 9, 2005, we also have a balcony starboard deck 8 on the bump out. This will be our first RCI cruise and after being docked next to the Mariner this past February can't wait to get on this ship.

[luv2fly]

We were on the Mariner trip with Tess and I will second her comments. We booked our parasailing through RCI and had a fantastic experience. My husband and son rented a motorcycle in St. Thomas and had a blast cruising the island while my daughter and I parasailed.

 

We booked a balcony cabin for us (lovely) and an inside Promenade view cabin fo rthe kids across the hall (fun for watching parades as well as people watching).

 

Overall, it was a wonderful experience - we loved the shows (except for the RCI dancers - they were just average in comparison to the other shows).

[AtlWired]

We were on this cruise, also and totally loved it! Becky was "cutesy", but I thought she was a lot of fun. The shows were good, especially John Pinnette. I was laughing so hard, I was crying. After reading so many negative comments, I can honestly say I had no complaints. I would go back in a minute!

[Truluv]

Thank you for the review! We're leaving in a week, and can't wait. We cruised on Explorer of the Seas two years ago, and loved it.

 

A few questions -- the glass of wine with fruit/cheese sounds great. Did you get the wine from room service, or did you carry it from a bar? Did your kids ever play basketball, and was the Court heavily utilized? (We're traveling with three 16 & 17 yr old boys who will want to play basketball 24-7, and a 12 yr old girl.) If your kids ever hung out at the teen center, what did they think of it? Any suggestions from your kids for ours?

 

Do you tip extra at Portofino? Any problems with getting reservations? Did you choose Portofino over Chops for a particular reason? We'll be renewing our vows on the ship, and are debating trying one of the specialty restaurants that night.

 

Thank you!

[Tess4]

Truluv,

Some of the time we drank wine from our pirated stash that we brought on board. Other times we played nice and brought up a drink from the Wig and Gavel or another Promenade bar.

 

Our son is a basketball player but he didn't play on the courts--think he would have it he'd had a buddy on board. Yes, the courts were busy whenever I noticed but it looked like the guys and girls playing adapted well to 'drop ins' and there wasn't much court-hogging.

 

As for the teen center, my 15 year old wasn't thrilled--he just didn't have that bonding experience on the first night that others have had. My 12 year old daughter, on the other hand, had a blast the first night and found friends right away. Two very sociable kids with two very different experiences. I definitely recommend sending your children to the first night's activities--after that time, it's difficult to bond, from what I've noticed first hand and heard from other cruisers.

 

We did tip extra at Portifino. The service was way above average and it just seemed like the thing to do. I think my husband made reservations the day after we boarded (Monday) and we dined there on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Getting the reservations for the time we wanted wasn't a problem. They do confirm all reservations with a typed note that's placed in your door the day before your reservation--a nice touch.

 

You asked why we chose Portifino over Chops--I'm really not sure why--I guess the idea of a steakhouse atmosphere wasn't that appealing to us since we're from Nebraska and have access to prime beef 12 months out of the year. Italian is a little more exotic to us! Both restaurants look out over the water (Portifino is on the port side, Chops on the starboard) so the locations are equally beautiful. We peeked into Chops and the decor was lovely, as was Portifino--I suppose what I'm saying is that you probably can't go wrong with either restaurant. Service, atmosphere and food was excellent at Portifino--and I'm picky.

[uptheboro]

Great review. Your kids sound great. I was very impressed that they chose to eat with your new dining companions on the night they were by themselves. One question: when you registered them in the kids' programme on the first night, how did that fit in with late seating dinner? My girls are 13, 11 and 10. What activities are on offer for their ages?

Thanks

[Tess4]

uptheboro,

I'm not sure what first-night activities and times are would be for the 10 and 11 year olds since they'll be in a different group than the 13 year old. We took our daughter to the Living Room about 10 the first night (after dinner) and they jumped right in with a scavenger hunt. Next thing we knew, a group of giggling girls (and one boy) were in our kids' room dressing the boy up in my daughter's clothes as part of the scavenger hunt. She also enjoyed the pool party, movie night and game night.

 

I'm really of mixed mind about which dinner seating is the best. We liked late seating because we had time to relax and shower before dinner every night. On the other hand, the kids' activities sometimes started while we were at dinner. On those nights my daughter would either miss the start of the activities or our waiters would kindly bring her food quickly so she could eat and leave. A few nights, though, she actually wanted to hang out with her family :-) and didn't do the activities at all.

 

Oh, and thank you for the nice compliment about our children--they ARE pretty neat kids--99% of the time!!

[Tra4]

Hi Tess;

 

Great review! We were also on the sailing with you. I had a 9 & 11 year old. My son (11) spent many hours in Adventure ocean and loved it. My daughter, not as much, but still went often. We did the family quest, family bingo, and I have too many arcade charges to count. But I did come home with about 60 superballs!!

 

I was very impressed with our CD, Becky. We've had Kurt D. (twice) and Clo, and also Gordan Whatman. I would rank her right up there with Gordan. She was very energetic, very visable, and made everyone feel welcome. At the C&A plat.& diam. party, my daughter didn't really want to go to adventure ocean, so she went with us. Walking in, my DH mentioned to Becky that our daughter was a competitive dancer and dancing in Disney the following week. Well, about 5 minutes later, she was over at our table talking to our daughter for at least 20 minutes. The loyalty ambassador reminded her about opening the show, which she did, and then back to our table to invite our daughter to meet some of the other dancers. She was so excited! Becky could have simply acknowledged her with small talk and left, but she seemed genuinely sincere.

 

Our waitstaff was excellent, bar staff excellent, room stewards were good, but never introduced themselves. They seemed like ghosts. The passengers were very friendly!! I don't know about after hours as we were all in bed by 11, (I should re-phrase), we were all in the cabin by 11, mom & daughter asleep, father and son watched tv and ate! We had a wonderful aft cabin (1688).

 

We did a daysail catamaran (all day) in St. Thomas which was daydreamers. Very good crew, lunch, snorkel, waterslide and a good time. In St. Maarten we did the golden eagle (1/2 day sail) and always and excellent time, and in the Bahamas we rented a room at the comfort inn and Atlantis is amazing and well worth the 50pp price!! We had plenty of time to enjoy everything!

 

Please email me if you have questions, and thanks Tess for your review also!!

 

Tracey

mt10@mchsi.com

[GioPal]

Thanks for the review Tess. Di you find the Mariner rough when sailing, more than other ships of it's size?

[Tess4]

Giopal, no we didn't find the Mariner rough at all, even the last night when we ran into a windstorm. It rocked a little bit the first day we hit open sea but that was about it. That was the day that both of my children felt a little queasy but my son took some Bonine and he was fine. My daughter got busy swimming with a friend and forgot all about her tummy so it couldn't have been too bad :-). After hearing reports of Mariner rockiness, I was worried but we didn't have a problem on our cruise.

[KENLORJUS]

Tess, thanks for taking the time to post your review. It sounded wonderful and I can't wait until our cruise on the Mariner on 11/28. Just one question, did you shop at all in St. Maarten? My wife likes to take in the shops later in the day and I know she would be interested in hearing what the Island specilizes in when it comes to shops. Thanks.

[brianandtanya]

Great Review! Hope we have as much fun.

[TBRay]

Tess, thanks for taking the time to post your review. It sounded wonderful and I can't wait until our cruise on the Mariner on 11/28. Just one question, did you shop at all in St. Maarten? My wife likes to take in the shops later in the day and I know she would be interested in hearing what the Island specilizes in when it comes to shops. Thanks.

I'd like to answer that:

 

Some of the best shopping IMHO. Not only do many of the stores have pier side locations but St. Marteen seemed to be some of the best shopping of the entire Eastern trip.

 

The French capital (Marigot) had an excellent flea market located right near the bus stop. We had about 90 minutes during our excursion there (LOTS of jewerly and electronic stores). And although we were warned that you needed to exchange Dollars for Euros on the French side, almost all of the shops and market sites took our $$$ cash or credit (one store did a calculator conversion).

 

They also stopped on the Dutch side for some island trinkets and such. It was just a 15 minute break but we got some nice refrigerator magnets (I collect these every trip).

[Tess4]

kenlorjus,

We really didn't shop in St. Maarten this trip--I guess with the kids along, beach time was our top priority. My husband did stop in at a store by the pier (Diamonds International?) and bought a couple of small Swiss army knives (the really tiny ones that you can carry in your pocket) but that's about it. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[KENLORJUS]

Thanks TBRay and Tess.

 

If anyone else has feedback on the type of shopping in St. Maarten I would love to hear about it.

 

kenlorjus