Just Back Mariner Eastern 2/4-2/11/07

[kittymom65]

Hello all,

I am just back from a wonderful time on the Mariner. I am working on a (probably very long) review. Please ask any questions, and I will try to answer, and I will be posting my review here.

:D

[bbw187]

Great....looking forward to hearing your remarks. Sailing on 4/1 eastern caribbean with mom and teenage daughter. Any helpful hints would be appreciated!!

[kittymom65]

2/3/07 Pre-cruise

Left home at about 6:20 AM. Drove south from Dalton, GA on I-75. Got on I-16 East in Macon, GA. Got on I-95 South in Savannah, GA. We made a few stops for gas, food, etc. Got off I-95 South at the Flagler Beach exit, and drove down A1A thru Flagler Beach, Ormond By The Sea, Ormond Beach, and Daytona Beach. We stopped for a wonderful late lunch/early dinner at Shells in Daytona Beach (this is a chain of seafood restaurants scattered all over Florida-we love it). From Daytona Beach, we drove down US Hwy 1 thru several small Florida towns and into Port Canaveral. We arrived at our hotel, the Country Inn & Suites Port Canaveral around 6:30 PM. We had reserved our room at this hotel several months ago at a rate of $89. For the money, this hotel was great. It is pretty new, and is very nicely decorated. We had a large hotel room with king bed, and were very happy with our choice. We drove over to Ron Johns Surf Shop and to Walgreens to get a few things we had forgotten, and were in bed by 9:30.

[kittymom65]

Sorry, double post

[monoptn]

Looking forward to your review, we are sailing on the Mariner on April 1st, also the Eastern route. We are also staying at the Country Inn and Suites. So you were pleased with the room?

Lori in TN

[kittymom65]

2/4/07 Day 1

We tried to sleep in a little, but were just too excited to do so. We had the free breakfast at the hotel, and just killed time until we just could not stand it any longer. We drove over to the port about 10:30. The hotel offers a shuttle service, but we chose to just drive our own car so that when we got off the ship, we could just get in our car and go. We drove up to a porter, who took our luggage out of the car for us. I tipped him $5, but there are signs up that say that tipping is not necessary. We then drove back around to park, which is $12 per day, for a total of $84. We got a good space on the first level of the parking deck, got out carry-ons, and walked to the terminal. There was a line waiting to go thru security, but we waited only 10-15 minutes. We cleared security and went up to check in. We had to complete a form saying we had not been sick with any gastrointestinal illness in the past 3 days. There were only 2 families in line in front of us in the Set Sail pass line, so we only waited a few minutes. We checked in, got out Sea Pass, and waited for them to begin boarding at 11:30. We waited around 20-25 minutes and were on our way on to the ship. They made an announcement that due to bad weather in The Bahamas, we would not be going to CocoCay as scheduled, but instead would be going to San Juan, Puerto Rico. When we boarded the ship, we went immediately up to deck 11. We made our reservations for Chops and Portofino, and then had a nice lunch in the Windjammer. Cabins were ready at 1:00. We LOVED our cabin. We were in 7618, which is the center of the hump port side, category E2. It was small, but it was plenty big enough for the 2 of us, and best of all, we had a balcony. We were literally steps away from the aft elevators and stairs, it was a great location. When we entered our cabin, the first day’s compass, the invitation to the meet and mingle, and our C&A coupon books were on the bed waiting for us. Our cabin attendant, Setho, came in to introduce himself. He was very nice, I did not catch where he was from. Muster was at 4:00. We watched sail away from our balcony. There were 3 dolphins playing in the water alongside the ship. After sail away, we checked out the ship. Got the first of many (for the week) ham and cheese croissants from the Café Promenade. The Super Bowl was being shown in Studio B (the ice rink) and most of the bars, as well as the stateroom televisions. We watched the first half and half time, then had to go to dinner, second seating, which was at 8:45 the first night only. We met our wonderful waitress, Monika, from Hungary, and her assistant, Alpay, from Turkey. Monika was great, we enjoyed her so much throughout the week. Alpay was very nice, but we did not see much of him, he had 3 large tables to help, besides us. We were at table 4 in the Top Hat and Tails dining room, which is a table for 4, but it was just my DH and I all week. For dinner that night, DH had the Vidalia onion tart, tuscan tomato soup, prime rib with baked potato, and tropical fruit salad. I had the Vidalia onion tart, tuscan tomato soup, shrimp ravioli with lobster and spinach sauce, and white chocolate fondue. Neither of us cared much for the onion tart, but other than that, the meal was excellent. We did not go to the show this night. The weather this day was cool, around 60 degrees, and very windy.

[kittymom65]

Looking forward to your review, we are sailing on the Mariner on April 1st, also the Eastern route. We are also staying at the Country Inn and Suites. So you were pleased with the room?

Lori in TN

 

Hi Lori

Yes, we were very pleased with our room. It was quite spacious, and very clean. The bathroom even had granite like countertops. A nice fireplace in the lobby, and fresh baked cookies all day long. We have paid double this rate for one night at other similar hotel chains. Have a great time on your cruise, we loved it!

[bluecruisin]

Thanks for taking the time to write this review. I look forward to the future installments. Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[kittymom65]

2/5/07 Day 2 At Sea

We must have traveled thru the storms that were in the Bahamas overnight, because the ship was rocking quite a bit. It rocked me right off to sleep. We did not wake up until almost 10:00. DH went down to the promenade to get us ice show tickets, while I got ready for the day. Since it was so late, we decided to skip breakfast and go to Johnny Rockets when it opened at 11:30. Our server here, Manuel, was very good. DH had a double cheeseburger and peanut butter milkshake. I had a smoke house burger and cookies and cream milkshake. We shared the wonderful French fries and onion rings with ranch dressing that they bring to you. We used our C&A coupons, so the only charge was for the milkshakes. The meal was excellent, much better that our previous experience with JR on the Sovereign. The waiters all danced to “Staying Alive” while we were there. After lunch, we went up to the pool deck. The sun was out, and the temp was around 78 degrees, but it was still to cool for the pool, so we enjoyed some time in one of the hot tubs (there are 4 on the main pool deck). We also enjoyed a few cocolocos (we WERE supposed to be at CocoCay that day after all). We eventually moved into the solarium, out of the sun, so we would not get burned. We went back to the cabin and ordered room service, all of which was good. This was the first formal night. There were several different areas where you could have your picture made. For dinner this night, DH had lobster bisque (which he loves), roasted duck, and strawberry cheesecake. I had shrimp cocktail, ceaser salad, filet of beef with mashed potatoes, and strawberry cheesecake. DH really enjoyed his meal, but my main course was just okay. After dinner, we went to Ellington’s on deck 14 for a martini and some music. The band here was good, we enjoyed them. We decided to check out the helicopter pad, not a good idea since the wind was blowing around 50 mph, but we had our “king of the world” moment at the front of the ship. We did not see the show this night, either. Made it to bed around 12:30.

[kittymom65]

Double post again

[suezyq50]

Looking for more. I like seeing some of the menu options. We want to book Chops one night, but not sure which one.

[cruisldy]

Kittymom, thank you for the review. Am so looking forward to the rest of it. We have dear friends from England that sailed with you and are still on the ship as we speak, taking the Back to Back, so I had been looking for a review of this last week to see how it went. Sorry to hear that you missed CocoCay, due to weather.

[QTMichele]

Thanks for the review... keep it coming! :D I'll be on the Mariner in less than 2 weeks!!!!! :D

[jep617]

Kittymom-

 

Do you have any idea what the Country Inn & Suites was charging for their shuttle over to the port??

[MelAl45]

2/4/07 Day 1

We tried to sleep in a little, but were just too excited to do so. We had the free breakfast at the hotel, and just killed time until we just could not stand it any longer. We drove over to the port about 10:30. The hotel offers a shuttle service, but we chose to just drive our own car so that when we got off the ship, we could just get in our car and go. We drove up to a porter, who took our luggage out of the car for us. I tipped him $5, but there are signs up that say that tipping is not necessary. We then drove back around to park, which is $12 per day, for a total of $84. We got a good space on the first level of the parking deck, got out carry-ons, and walked to the terminal. There was a line waiting to go thru security, but we waited only 10-15 minutes. We cleared security and went up to check in. We had to complete a form saying we had not been sick with any gastrointestinal illness in the past 3 days. There were only 2 families in line in front of us in the Set Sail pass line, so we only waited a few minutes. We checked in, got out Sea Pass, and waited for them to begin boarding at 11:30. We waited around 20-25 minutes and were on our way on to the ship. They made an announcement that due to bad weather in The Bahamas, we would not be going to CocoCay as scheduled, but instead would be going to San Juan, Puerto Rico. When we boarded the ship, we went immediately up to deck 11. We made our reservations for Chops and Portofino, and then had a nice lunch in the Windjammer. Cabins were ready at 1:00. We LOVED our cabin. We were in 7618, which is the center of the hump port side, category E2. It was small, but it was plenty big enough for the 2 of us, and best of all, we had a balcony. We were literally steps away from the aft elevators and stairs, it was a great location. When we entered our cabin, the first day’s compass, the invitation to the meet and mingle, and our C&A coupon books were on the bed waiting for us. Our cabin attendant, Setho, came in to introduce himself. He was very nice, I did not catch where he was from. Muster was at 4:00. We watched sail away from our balcony. There were 3 dolphins playing in the water alongside the ship. After sail away, we checked out the ship. Got the first of many (for the week) ham and cheese croissants from the Café Promenade. The Super Bowl was being shown in Studio B (the ice rink) and most of the bars, as well as the stateroom televisions. We watched the first half and half time, then had to go to dinner, second seating, which was at 8:45 the first night only. We met our wonderful waitress, Monika, from Hungary, and her assistant, Alpay, from Turkey. Monika was great, we enjoyed her so much throughout the week. Alpay was very nice, but we did not see much of him, he had 3 large tables to help, besides us. We were at table 4 in the Top Hat and Tails dining room, which is a table for 4, but it was just my DH and I all week. For dinner that night, DH had the Vidalia onion tart, tuscan tomato soup, prime rib with baked potato, and tropical fruit salad. I had the Vidalia onion tart, tuscan tomato soup, shrimp ravioli with lobster and spinach sauce, and white chocolate fondue. Neither of us cared much for the onion tart, but other than that, the meal was excellent. We did not go to the show this night. The weather this day was cool, around 60 degrees, and very windy.

Hi

We are traveling on The Mariner June 24 and we are staying 1 floor below you in E2-6318 center hump. O.K. Do you have any photos??? Was the cabin or balcony larger because is was an E2 and how about the bathroom. I'm so excited and I've heard this is a very good cabin. Did you ever order breakfast like eggs or omelets from room service?? It's our first balcony and I would like to be able to enjoy breakfast on the balcony.

[MelAl45]

Hi

We are traveling on The Mariner June 24 and we are staying 1 floor below you in E2-6318 center hump. O.K. Do you have any photos??? Was the cabin or balcony larger because is was an E2 and how about the bathroom. I'm so excited and I've heard this is a very good cabin. Did you ever order breakfast like eggs or omelets from room service?? It's our first balcony and I would like to be able to enjoy breakfast on the balcony.

[kittymom65]

Looking for more. I like seeing some of the menu options. We want to book Chops one night, but not sure which one.

 

We went to Chops on Wednesday, which is Caribbean night in the dining room, at the suggestion of several of our fellow cruise critics. The food was good, I will get into more detail in my review.

[kittymom65]

Kittymom, thank you for the review. Am so looking forward to the rest of it. We have dear friends from England that sailed with you and are still on the ship as we speak, taking the Back to Back, so I had been looking for a review of this last week to see how it went. Sorry to hear that you missed CocoCay, due to weather.

 

I am so jealous of your friends--our next door cabin neighbors were also doing a back to back. We have been to CocoCay twice, and we love it there, but we were excited to see somewhere new with San Juan. :)

[kittymom65]

Kittymom-

 

Do you have any idea what the Country Inn & Suites was charging for their shuttle over to the port??

 

Sorry, I don't. We got what we felt was such a great rate on the room, we decided immediately to just drive ourselves to the terminal.

[kittymom65]

Hi

We are traveling on The Mariner June 24 and we are staying 1 floor below you in E2-6318 center hump. O.K. Do you have any photos??? Was the cabin or balcony larger because is was an E2 and how about the bathroom. I'm so excited and I've heard this is a very good cabin. Did you ever order breakfast like eggs or omelets from room service?? It's our first balcony and I would like to be able to enjoy breakfast on the balcony.

 

We ordered room service nearly every day, but not breakfast. I don't eat eggs, and most everything on the menu had eggs. So that left pastries, and that is just not breakfast to me, so we either skipped breakfast or went to the Windjammer.

The hump balconies on this class of ship are the same size as the other cabins (you get the larger balcony with Radiance class), but you absolutely cannot beat the location.

I do have photos, they are still in the camera, I have not had time to upload them yet. I will try to let you know when I have them, and I will email to you.

[kittymom65]

2/6/07 Day 3 San Juan

We slept until about 9:00, and went to the Windjammer for breakfast. There was a great selection for breakfast, almost anything you can want—including biscuits and gravy for you Southerners out there (even though the gravy was a little watery). We went down to the photo gallery to check out our pictures from formal night, and ended buying several of them, they all turned out very well. The Meet & Mingle was at 11:00 at Ellington’s. We had a very nice turn out. RC gave every one a gift of a note pad/pen that hangs around your neck, and provided finger foods. We had a visit from Cruise Director Becky (hello love!) and one of her assistants, Lee, who was leaving that night for the Explorer. It was very nice to put a face to all of the people I have been “talking” to for the last several months. We just roamed around the ship for awhile, waiting for Puerto Rico to come into view. Our waitress had told us that it was beautiful on the way into port. She was right. We went up to deck 13 forward around 1:45 or so, and were close enough to see the buildings. I probably took about 100 pictures of our arrival into San Juan, it really was very nice. As we were docking, we went to the Windjammer for lunch, and stayed there for a while to let the crowd go ahead and get off the ship. As we were pulling in to dock, the Norwegian Jewel and RCI Explorer of the Seas were already docked. The Costa Magica came in right behind us, and then a Carnival ship (Sorry, I didn’t see which one) came in just behind them. We had decided to just walk around Old San Juan and see the city. It really is a very pretty old city. Something you might want to note—the Visitor’s Information Center just to your left as you leave the pier hands our free Bacardi Rum Drinks. They made us orange juice with coconut rum, and I honestly think it was the best drink I had all week, and I had a lot of drinks J. The streets in town are very narrow, and the sidewalks are difficult to pass someone coming from the opposite direction. We saw several street vendors selling counterfit designer purses (Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Coach, Kate Spade, etc) and watches and sunglasses. The vendors were not pushy, and wanted to bargain with you. When I asked the price of one bag (souvenir for 13 year old niece), he told me one price, and then in the next breath came down $15. There were several nice jewelry stores, and several “tourist” stores. We did step into one jewelry store (Sorry, I do not remember the name) and found myself a gift from the island—a pair of small blue diamond stud earrings in white gold for $99. I adore blue diamonds, and I feel like I got a great buy. We spent several hours in town just walking down each street to see what we could see. On the way back to the ship, DH saw a Harley Davidson shop, and we had to stop in to get him a shirt for his collection. We went back to the ship just after dark and enjoyed the nearly empty Solarium pool and hot tubs for a few hours, before heading off to get ready for dinner. The dress for dinner was smart casual. Dinner was very good this night, the best meal we had on the ship up to that point. I had spinach salad, crab cake, cheese tortellini with blue cheese and sun dried tomato sauce (this was awesome), and baked Alaska—which wasn’t really baked Alaska, but it was very good. DH had the spinach salad, 2 bowls of clam chowder (he talked about how good this was all night), orange lime & tomato salmon (he loved this so much he made me by the cookbook they sell on the ship so I would have the recipe), and dulce de leche cheesecake. After dinner was The Quest. It was a riot, we had a great time, even though our team did not win. We went back to the cabin to see San Juan fading into the distance—we did not even know the ship was moving. In bed around 12 to rest up for an early morning in St. Thomas.

[kittymom65]

2/6/07 Day 3 San Juan

We slept until about 9:00, and went to the Windjammer for breakfast. There was a great selection for breakfast, almost anything you can want—including biscuits and gravy for you Southerners out there (even though the gravy was a little watery). We went down to the photo gallery to check out our pictures from formal night, and ended buying several of them, they all turned out very well. The Meet & Mingle was at 11:00 at Ellington’s. We had a very nice turn out. RC gave every one a gift of a note pad/pen that hangs around your neck, and provided finger foods. We had a visit from Cruise Director Becky (hello love!) and one of her assistants, Lee, who was leaving that night for the Explorer. It was very nice to put a face to all of the people I have been “talking” to for the last several months. We just roamed around the ship for awhile, waiting for Puerto Rico to come into view. Our waitress had told us that it was beautiful on the way into port. She was right. We went up to deck 13 forward around 1:45 or so, and were close enough to see the buildings. I probably took about 100 pictures of our arrival into San Juan, it really was very nice. As we were docking, we went to the Windjammer for lunch, and stayed there for a while to let the crowd go ahead and get off the ship. As we were pulling in to dock, the Norwegian Jewel and RCI Explorer of the Seas were already docked. The Costa Magica came in right behind us, and then a Carnival ship (Sorry, I didn’t see which one) came in just behind them. We had decided to just walk around Old San Juan and see the city. It really is a very pretty old city. Something you might want to note—the Visitor’s Information Center just to your left as you leave the pier hands our free Bacardi Rum Drinks. They made us orange juice with coconut rum, and I honestly think it was the best drink I had all week, and I had a lot of drinks J. The streets in town are very narrow, and the sidewalks are difficult to pass someone coming from the opposite direction. We saw several street vendors selling counterfit designer purses (Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Coach, Kate Spade, etc) and watches and sunglasses. The vendors were not pushy, and wanted to bargain with you. When I asked the price of one bag (souvenir for 13 year old niece), he told me one price, and then in the next breath came down $15. There were several nice jewelry stores, and several “tourist” stores. We did step into one jewelry store (Sorry, I do not remember the name) and found myself a gift from the island—a pair of small blue diamond stud earrings in white gold for $99. I adore blue diamonds, and I feel like I got a great buy. We spent several hours in town just walking down each street to see what we could see. On the way back to the ship, DH saw a Harley Davidson shop, and we had to stop in to get him a shirt for his collection. We went back to the ship just after dark and enjoyed the nearly empty Solarium pool and hot tubs for a few hours, before heading off to get ready for dinner. The dress for dinner was smart casual. Dinner was very good this night, the best meal we had on the ship up to that point. I had spinach salad, crab cake, cheese tortellini with blue cheese and sun dried tomato sauce (this was awesome), and baked Alaska—which wasn’t really baked Alaska, but it was very good. DH had the spinach salad, 2 bowls of clam chowder (he talked about how good this was all night), orange lime & tomato salmon (he loved this so much he made me by the cookbook they sell on the ship so I would have the recipe), and dulce de leche cheesecake. After dinner was The Quest. It was a riot, we had a great time, even though our team did not win. We went back to the cabin to see San Juan fading into the distance—we did not even know the ship was moving. In bed around 12 to rest up for an early morning in St. Thomas.

[diskris]

The shrimp ravioli with lobster sounds delicious!!! I am so excited it was offered the first night because I am definitely having it! I am a major foodie so reading what is offered is getting me very excited!

 

We are also considering staying at the Country Inn and Suites! Glad to see you really liked it! Was it close to the beach or to the pier (I have read to go eat at Grills on the pier I believe)?

[kittymom65]

2/7/07 Day 4 St. Thomas

Let me just say here that the whole reason we booked the Eastern route is because we could go to Trunk Bay in St. John. Going there was on my list of “things to do before I die”. So, we got up early, around 7:00, so we could be on our way. We had breakfast at the Windjammer, and got on our way. As soon as we walked out of the gates in St. Thomas, we told the first taxi driver we saw that we wanted to go to Red Hook to catch the ferry. The taxis in St. Thomas are all big pick up trucks with benches in the back. They also drive on the wrong side of the road. It was a very interesting 15 minute ride to Red Hook, and cost us $10 each. We arrived at Red Hook about 5 minutes before the ferry was to leave. The cost of the ferry is $5 each. It was about a 20 minute ride over to St. John, and there was gorgeous scenery every where you looked during the ferry ride. When we arrived at Cruz Bay, St. John, there were several taxi drivers waiting. We asked to be taken to Trunk Bay. It was about a 10 minute ride, at a cost of $6 each. Trunk Bay is a US National Park, and the beach and water there is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen my life. Admission to the park is $4 each. The park has showers and restrooms, a snack bar, a shop, and a place to rent beach stuff. We brought our own snorkel and mask with us, but needed fins and a vest, which we rented for $16 total. We also rented a couple of beach chairs at $7 each. There is an underwater snorkel trail off to the right of the beach entrance, and we spent most of the day snorkeling there. We did not see any sea creatures other than fish and coral, but it was still very good snorkeling, and the monuments on the ocean floor told you about the fish in the area. We dried out on the beach for a while and dug our toes into the soft white sand. We went for one more swim, and DH had to practically drag me out of the water to go back to St. Thomas. We showered in the showers there at the park. There were several taxi drivers at the park entrance, and one drove us back to the Cruz Bay ferry dock for $6 each, taking a bit of a scenic route by Hawksnest Beach, which also was very pretty. When we got back to the ferry dock, we decided to take another ferry directly back to Charlotte Amalie, instead of Red Hook. The cost of this ferry was $10 each, and was a 45 minute ride, and it was a rougher boat ride than the Red Hook ferry. That ferry let us off in the downtown shopping district. We walked around a bit, but did not buy anything. We really just wanted to take a shower to get ALL of the sand out of places that sand should not be, so we caught another taxi ($4 each) back to the West Indian dock to the ship to take a shower and get something to eat at the Café Promenade. We ended up taking a nap, and even though we intended to walk back out to Havensight, we just did not make it. Also docked at the West Indian dock were the Disney Magic and Costa Magica. Radiance of the Seas, and HAL’s Zuiderdam were docked at the other pier. We had reservations this night for Chops. It was very good, but I was a little disappointed. DH had the lobster bisque, T-Bone with baked potato, and triple berry mousse. I had the shrimp cocktail, caeser salad, filet mignon with baked potato, and Mississippi mud pie. The steak was great (comparable to one we get at a local restaurant here for around $30), and the mud pie was one of the best desserts I had all week. I was disappointed with the shrimp cocktail—the shrimp were bigger than the ones in the dining room, but tasted just the same, and the salad was also bigger that the one in the dining room—it was a whole head of romaine lettuce not chopped up with cheese and dressing on top, but was exactly the same as the dining room. So, I don’t know if it was worth the extra charge when half of my meal I could have gotten for free, but the steaks were wonderful…we might try it again in the future. After dinner, we went to the Love & Marriage show. Becky is such a great cruise director, we laughed the whole time we were at the show, it was lots of fun. Then, it was up to the pool deck for a pool party and buffet (we did NOT eat), then off to bed around 1:00.

[kittymom65]

The shrimp ravioli with lobster sounds delicious!!! I am so excited it was offered the first night because I am definitely having it! I am a major foodie so reading what is offered is getting me very excited!

 

We are also considering staying at the Country Inn and Suites! Glad to see you really liked it! Was it close to the beach or to the pier (I have read to go eat at Grills on the pier I believe)?

 

The hotel was very close to the pier, a short drive to the beach. A group from our roll call considered going to Grills, but ended up at Fishlips. I have heard both are good, but have not tried them personally.