Just back - Mariner 7/9 - 7/16 review

[capnlars]

Just off Mariner and wanted to share our experiences. We are a mid 40's couple, 15th cruse, 7th on RCI, second cruise on Mariner. We were on the Mariner last summer for the same cruise, and liked it so much we booked again for this summer - same cruise, same stateroom. Two other families from last year's cruise-critic group also went again. When we went last year, we diverted because of hurricane Emily - they substituted Labadee and Cozumel for St Thomas and St Martin. This year we made the scheduled itinerary.

 

Pre-Cruise: Even though we live in Florida (moved a week before the cruise), we decided to spend the night before the cruise at the Radisson at Port Canaveral. We met up with some people from last year's cruise for drinks. Nice, but crowded, pool area. If you go there, look for the flock of parrots that live in the palm trees near the pool tiki bar. Had dinner at a Chinese restaurant called YenYen, about 5 miles from the hotel in Cocoa - this was based on a recommendation on cc somewhere. Had some very unique dishes, and a list of restaurant rules in the menu - kinda entertaining. Although hotel includes cruise parking, we did not want to deal with their shuttle service so we parked at the port.

 

Sunday - Parked at the port. There's covered and outside parking. Pay in advance, I think it was $12/day. We arrived at the port at 11:45 and were on board by 12:15. There were pretty much no lines for checkin or boarding. Went to Windjammer for lunch as our room was not available until 1pm. After lunch, we went to our room - we had an OS - room 1320 - on the center of the "hump", starboard side. We had this same room last year, and loved its location and size. Met the cc group after muster at the pool bar for a couple of drinks, then watched sailaway from our balcony. We had early seating (6pm vs 8:30 for late). Went to the dining room for dinner. We had table 431, a table for 2 on the second level of the dining room. Met our wait staff - which turned out to be the best we had ever experienced on any cruise.

 

Monday - Cocoa Cay. Arrived at Cocoa Cay in the morning. Similar in idea to Labadee. We thought Labadee was prettier, especially in the cove where the ships moor. We rented a Hobie Cat for an hour, and the sailing there was very nice. There are pay lockers available on the far end near the jet-skis, but I think we could have left our stuff on a beach chair and it would have been safe. The snorkeling there was fun. There's a sunken aircraft and part of a ship. Not sure if they were "placed" there or not, but it was kind of cool. On the ship wreckage, you can see a couple of cannons. Food on shore was very good, but seating was hard to find. We had minimum waiting time for tenders in either direction. We did notice that no one else used the sailboats that day. The jet skis seemed very popular. Monday night we ate at Chops. The meal was wonderful, and the service spectacular until a group of about 15 arrived just before dessert was served. After this group arrived, we were pretty much forgotten about. Had to ask for a check, and waited some time after asking to receive it. We normally tip extra in Chops, but they blew it with the service at the end. Went to the casino. I did fairly well at blackjack, Nancy did real well with the slots. That luck continued throughout the cruise.

 

Tuesday - Sea Day. We LOVE sea days. Spent most of the day on the balcony and just decompressing. After school ending, moving to Florida, a hectic work travel schedule, etc - we needed the decompress time.

 

Wednesday - St Thomas. We scheduled a sailboat charter with Captain Sharon on the Winifred. Turns out we were the only people who reserved. There's a 4 person minimum, but I had earlier told Capt. Sharon that we would pay for 4 if no one else reserved. They take a maximum of 6. We did the half-day sail and snorkel. We took a taxi to Redhook, which is on the eastern part of the island. Fare was $8/person. From Redhook you can also catch the ferries to St John. As we walked down the dock towards our designated meeting place, I spotted a woman walking towards us. From the pictures on Winifred web site, I knew this had to be Sharon. Took the dinghy out to Winifred. What a beautiful boat. Winifred is a 50 year old wooden ketch, maintained perfectly. The mate was Billy. Sharon sailed us for an hour to a snorkel spot at a Marine Preserve. There was the best snorkeling we'd ever experienced. Saw starfish, cowfish, angel fish, trigger fish, sergent majors, parrotfish, on and on. After we snorkeled for about an hour and got back aboard for the trip back. They served crackers, cheese, fruit, and beverages. We layed out alone on the front deck for the one hour sail back to Redhook. It was just like the commercials. I HIGHLY recommend Sharon and Winifred to any St Thomas visitors. They have a full-day sail which includes multiple snorkel stops and a full lunch. Did some shopping in St Thomas. Shopping there was mostly jewelry, liquor, and electronics - none of which we were looking for. Picked up a linen tablecloth. Went to Portofinos with our friends from last year's cruise. Portofinos was excellent - food and service. If you have to make a choice between Chops and Portofinos, I would choose the latter.

 

Thursday - St Martin. We signed up for the Land and Sea Tour through RCI. Took a bus ride around the island with a couple of stops for sightseeing and shopping. There was a shopping area in Marigot where we got some art and knick-knacks. After Marigot, we stopped for a 45 minutes semi-submersible boat ride. You board what looks like a normal boat, but then go down a ladder into the hull. Once you are down, the sides have large glass windows to look out. The boat goes out to a reef where there were a lot of fish, squid, starfish, etc. A diver goes out with an open can of tuna, and is just surrounded by fish. It was a great tour. Stopped back at the ship to drop off our purchases, and then took the water taxi to town. It is $5/person for the round trip ride - they leave every few minutes.

 

Friday/Saturday - Days at sea. What a great way to finish out the vacation. Again we spent most of the time out on the balcony, and tooling around the ship. Mariner is a great ship to just explore. I am not an art person, but I could spend hours looking around at their collections. Earlier in the week I had requested a bridge tour through the Concierge. Saturday morning, an invitation was slipped under the door to near the bridge. There were 10 of us altogether that had been invited. Captain Petersen personally escorted the tour, and was very amiable and informative. We spent almost an hour touring the bridge and asking questions.

 

Sunday - Departure. Arrived in port about 1/2 hour after scheduled, and we were off the ship by 7:30. Easiest customs/immigration we've done - and we were on our way.

 

Overall impressions:

 

Ship - Magnificent as last time. I am always amazed on the Mariner when I know there are SO many people aboard, yet almost all of the time there are no crowds.

 

Stateroom - If you can do the suite, go for it! My father was a travel agent and had a sign in his office that read "If you can travel first class and don't - your heirs will". How true. Lots of nice perks and special attention.

 

Concierge - Was helpful for getting the bridge tour and early-debarkation tags. He remembered us from last year. I have the worst memory for names and am always impressed when someone has the ability to remember people from so far ago.

 

Food - Dining room menu was slightly modified from last time. A couple of things added here and there, but mostly the same. Food was very well done in the dining room, and we have no complaints about the Windjammer food.

 

Service - Top notch. Our dining room team was the best we ever experienced. We didn't see our stateroom attendant very much, but he did an excellent job. Only place we had bad service was Chops. One of the couples we had traveled with last year had a similar experience then in Chops, we found out later.

 

Embarkation/Debarkation - Everything under the control of RCI was great. Everything under control of the US Government went smoothly.

Tours - I HIGHLY recommend Winifred sailing in St Thomas. This was one of the highlights of our vacation.

 

Shows - Didn't do any. Heard really good things about the ice show.

That's it. Glad to answer any questions posted here.

 

Larry

[carolemom3]

Thanks for the awesome review! We sail the same itinerary/ship in November and we're counting the days! It will be our first cruise ever!

[cruzobsessed]

going on the mariner (1st time) in december and going to st. thomas (1st time). we were going to go to sapphire beach but after your review i am considering the excursion you mentioned. there will be 8 of us. how much does this cost?

[meripour]

Larry - who is the concierge on Mariner right now? We are going on her in October - first time Mariner, two times last year on her sister the Navigator however. I agree with going Suite. We were in a Grand on NOS and will be again on MOS. Dont think I could ever go back without some regret. Love that big balcony and the concierge lounge. The whole experience makes me feel like queen for a week - 'Mrs. Got-rocks'

[capnlars]

Meripour - Concierge was Ricardo, I believe - don't remember his last name. I agree with you on the suite thing. We could do 2 or 3 cruises for what 1 suite costs, but it would kill us to take another type of cabin.

 

Cruzobsessed - The Winifred was 90/person for half day. It is customary to tip the mate also - he was great, as he escorts you during snorkling and points things out. Her usual capacity is 6. I would think if 2 or more are kids, she might make an exception. There's not a whole lot of room on a 45 sailboat for 8 adults. There's another charter also called Rumbaba charters - can't say from experience but heard good things about them.

 

Carolemom and Cruzobsessed - Have a great time on your first cruise! For you first cruisers, here's a couple of tips for Mariner....1) If you go all the way forward on Deck 4 outside, you'll see a stairway going up. Take that to the helicopter deck and the very front of the ship. Neat place to watch sailaway from. 2) On Deck 11 at the front is the "Peekaboo Bridge" - you can look into the bridge from above. Some of the displays and instruments are explained on placards. 3) Ask for a Bridge or Engine Room Tour. I haven't done that latter, but have been granted the request on my last two cruises (Mariner and Monarch). You can ask at Guest Relations, or if you have access to concierge lounge you should ask there.

[#1TravelMom]

Can you tell me where you were docked in St. Thomas? RCCL is saying WICO Pier in Charlotte Amalie, but I think WICO is in Havensight?? Thanks

[katiel53]

Thanks for the review. I can't wait until we get to go in November. We haven't ever been on Mariner, although we have been on other RCCL cruises. We are Diamond members so we will be able to go to the Concierge Lounge. It should be fun as we have aft cabins on this cruise. First time for all of us to have them.

 

We really like St. Thomas and St. Martin. On a thread a few weeks ago, the OP said that Sapphire Beach had no real bar and restaurant any longer. Guess there was some problem with the owners not paying bills etc. He/she also mentioned there weren't any bathrooms, so we are doing a tour with Godfrey and going to Coki Beach.

 

We are also doing a tour in St. Martin with Bernard Austin. Both end up at beaches and back to the ship. We did Godfrey last year and loved the tour, so it was worth repeating. We got info on both tours from the ports of call board.

 

It's not so long until we go-----especially since we booked in early December. Hopefully, time will fly. Thanks again.

[jlifeisgoodfaye]

Larry & Nancy....thanks for the info. I'm headed to the Mariner on 9/3. First time on a Voyager class and am excited, even though I have experienced the Freedom for a 2 nighter. That's just not enough.

 

Thanks for the tip on getting to the helicopter pad. I didn't know that. I'm going to ask to get the bridge tour as well. sounds exciting.

 

BTW.....You're going to LOVE the Empress Southern Carib cruise. It's so port intensive, but that's the fun of it. Something new everyday. It's my favorite ship because of the crew. They're wonderful. It's a small ship though....so be prepared. Very intimate, you get to know lots of folks. Another reason I like it so much.

 

I had amazing life experiences from the 11 night 9 port cruise that I will remember always.

 

I'm very excited to experience the Mariner. Thanks again for posting!

[SC_Cruising]

Glad you had a good time on the Mariner.

 

For all of you that are about to cruise on her for the 1st time, I think you will walk away with a good experience. I've only been on her twice, but both times were delightful experiences....Top notch all the way.

 

Have fun!:)

[droseball]

Thanks for the great review. We are doing the same route on Mariner leaving this Sunday! Your information was very helpful and made us more excited reading it!

 

Denise

[BillOh]

What happens regarding excursions when the cruise is diverted due to weather? Did you have any excursions pre-paid and was getting a refund difficult? Glad that didn't happen this year. We did/are cruising around our May 2nd anniversary. Not that many storms then.

 

Enjoyable review.

[dagadget]

Glad you had a good time on the Mariner.

 

For all of you that are about to cruise on her for the 1st time, I think you will walk away with a good experience. I've only been on her twice, but both times were delightful experiences....Top notch all the way.

 

Have fun!:)

 

My DW and I are booked on Mariner March 18th 2007 for the eastern cruise. This April we took an eastern Cruise on Celebrity Millennium and loved it. Mariner is bigger (we saw her in St Martin across the pier from us). Anyone here able to make a comparison between the Millennium Class and the Mariner (Voyager Class)? Anyway we are looking forward to it. The Millie Cruise was the best thing for my wife's stress. I am sure Mariner will be the same.:D

[bpear1600]

Been on two MOTS cruises exactly a year apart. Both were full but second cruise had 300 more people, mostly children, with a lot of rooms having more than two pax. The cruises were in January 2004 and 2005.

 

Cruise One was great and Cruise Two was a nightmare. Half the ship got the Norwalk Virus on Cruise Two and the extra 300 pax created crowds everywhere, at least before and after the quarantine.

 

We thought the food was no better than "OK" on both cruises and the production shows amateurish and totally forgettable.

 

It's a beautiful ship and we'll be on her again in December using up our Norwalk credit but that will probably be the end of RCI or any other mass market line for us.

[jetlady]

the excursion we ha in grand cayman was credited back to our seapass by that evening I believe, there were no issues getting it back

[katiel53]

What happens regarding excursions when the cruise is diverted due to weather? Did you have any excursions pre-paid and was getting a refund difficult? Glad that didn't happen this year. We did/are cruising around our May 2nd anniversary. Not that many storms then.

 

Enjoyable review.

 

Our excursions aren't prepaid, so if the ship doesn't get to the ports, we don't lose anything. So far we have been lucky with the excursions we have booked in that we were able to get there, but there is always the possibility that we wouldn't. That's one of the reasons we only book where we know we don't pay until we get there.

[collegekid]

Thank you so much for the detailed review! I enjoyed reading it!