Mariner 3/11-3/18 (Longest Review Ever!!)

[OliverTheCat]

This is a really long and detailed review. I will divide it up in separate posts day by day on this thread to make it easier to read, and then at end I will give a summary of my thoughts.

I had the pleasure of sailing Mariner of the Seas March 11, 2007 through March 18, 2007. I (29) sailed with my husband (33). We were going on this cruise to celebrate my husband’s law school graduation, so we were really looking forward to the relaxation. Also, I have wanted to sail this particular ship since it pulled into Port Canaveral for its first cruise years ago. There was just something magical about it…

DAY 1: EMBARKATION

On March 11th, we arrived to Port Canaveral at 11:00 AM and were on board by 11:50 AM. The check in area was jam packed with people and the process was somewhat confusing as to which line was for what. I think it was more the fault of the disgruntled workers in this terminal that really didn’t seem like they loved their jobs, which was a huge difference from sailing out of easy breezy Tampa on Legend last year. The folks there were the friendliest ever!!! In any case, we walked right on the gorgeous ship after the welcome photo and were instantly in love with the art décor of Mariner. Just beautiful. Immediately, after taking it all in, we found out our table for 2 request for dining room was already granted (requested it upon booking cruise a year ago) so we got to skip the line for the dining changes and headed up to Chops and Portofino for our reservations. I chose the Captain’s Gala formal (Monday) dinner to sub for Chops and the other formal night (Thursday) for Portofino. We then headed to Windjammer where I had my first encounter with poor lunch choices, which unfortunately lasted duration of cruise. I was NOT a fan of Windjammer for lunch. I had an ok hot dog and a watery lettuce salad and then headed to our cabin at 1:00 PM for first view. We had a D1 cat. Balcony cabin on the very end of the hump near aft. Cabin 7628. A PERFECT cabin. The balcony was slightly angled and it SEEMED bigger although I don’t think it was. We then went to Solarium and laid out for awhile before the muster drill at 4:00 PM. The muster was smoothest and most organized I have ever had on Royal cruises, and was over quickly. We then ran the life vests back up stairs, and came back down for what Royal calls their “Bon Voyage Festivities” which I thought may actually be a sail away party on deck, which I have complained of a lack of on my last 2 Royal cruises, and it disappointed me again when all their ‘festivities’ included was the activities staff teaching the same tired line dances to songs “Hot Hot Hot” and “Who Let the Dogs Out.” Both songs played by a pool band and not recorded original songs. I found it boring to be honest. Barely anyone did the line dancing. The staff couldn’t pump up the crowds as they mostly ignored pool side “entertainment”, be alone, and watch the ship leave port. There was no “togetherness feeling.” Maybe I am totally spoiled because Disney makes sailaway a HUGE event where everyone gets together on top deck, and dances and totally pumps up the crowd for week. Parents and their kids dancing and having fun together. Feels like a family. It makes a difference to me as a first impression and for me and my husband it is a great way to get pumped about not having to work for a whole week. After this we walked around the ship a bit, did King of the World on helicopter pad, which is a must, and then got ready for our Welcome Aboard Show and our 830 late seating dinner.

As all theaters on Royal ships have been, the Savoy Theater was just stunning. Our show featured the Comedy of Max Docelli (very funny) and a balancing act of Dany and Edina. WOW. This duo was super entertaining. I then was introduced to the one and only Becky Thomson!! She is everything people say and MORE. I adored her and thought she was by far the best cruise director I have had on any cruise, Royal or Disney. I am a huge Ken Rush fan and I shocked my husband when I said I loved her more than him after cruise concluded. I think she is the perfect spunky talented personality that a cruise director needs to be! I got to personally speak with her and will touch on that later on.

After show we had our first dining room experience. We were on the top floor of the three deck dining room, Sound of Music. I went into the dining room hoping for major improvement over our Navigator of Seas experience where we had just a horrid dining night after night. I overall think the dining room was drastically better on this cruise, but lacked in areas of overall efficient and fast service and food quality still. We waited way too long between courses and our assistant kept forgetting to fill our water and server did it…eventually. Good start with yummy Vidalia tart appetizer. But, for entree I had the veggie quesadilla because I didn’t care for other choices, and it was just really bad. Husband had the Prime Rib, which he also did not like due to it having more than the normal fat prime rib has. We didn’t have time to switch out entrees for other choices because we wanted to get out of the dining room at a reasonable time. Ah, hoping it improves the rest of the week in dining room when it comes to the food….

After dinner we went to the Dragons Lair for a bit for some dancing. Loved this club. Drank much and were merry, and then time for bed.

[OliverTheCat]

DAY 2: AT SEA

Awoke early for some breakfast in Windjammer. I was pleasantly surprised that there was a ton of choices!! Yay!! I went to egg station each morning for a fresh made egg white omelet and they had plenty of choices for omelets, both meats and veggies. Every day the omelet was perfect and HOT. They also had corned beef hash on this cruise and I love that stuff so it made it to my plate each morning. Plenty of cereals to choose from and I got plain soy milk in a glass for my cereal whenever I requested it to a Windjammer server. Easy. After breakfast we got our ice tickets in the long long long line at 9:00 AM. The show times are Wednesday (7pm and 9pm) and Thursday (5pm and 7pm) for western tour. We then hit the gym for a workout. Little did we realize our cruise critic meet and mingle had changed times from 1pm to 11am, so we ended up missing it because we were both finishing a circuit on treadmills. That stunk after all the great conversation we all had on boards.

My husband then decided to do some ice skating in one of the many sessions they offered that day. I watched, as I don’t skate well. After this we went to pool for some sun, and found chair easily on upper deck. None at pool area though. Chair hogs were rampant there! The day was also really windy and a bit chilly.

After this we got ready for formal night festivities, including photo op with Captain Johnny. I had utilized dry cleaning that morning for our attire and it was back in room by 5pm same day. It is 50% more if you do same day, so keep that in mind. Laundry closes at 4pm on arrival day on ship, so get orders in ASAP when you get to room if you don’t want extra charge.

I must say that I was really impressed with the way the passengers dressed on formal nights for this cruise. Everyone was dressed beautifully and appropriately for the most party. Walking down the promenade in formal attire really felt like an event all of its own as people stop and stare at beautiful gowns and handsome couples. I really thought that was something special I haven’t felt on any Royal cruise before. I think that it had a lot to do with the great group of passengers we had on this cruise. A wonderful mix of all ages, and the Spring breakers were very well behaved.

Captain Johnny was just super. I understand completely why everyone wants him on their cruise and like to sail around his schedule. The man is hilarious, personable, handsome, and really knowledgeable about Mariner. He loves his job, his staff, Mariner and the passengers and that shows EVERY TIME you see him.

Formal dinner for us was in Chops at 830 pm. Greeted by a very nice man at host desk and he took us to our table. He had chosen for us a great table in corner in a circular booth. Perfect for a couple. Appetizers, I had the Portobello Caps, (very tasty), husband had Shrimp Cocktail (great), I had NY Strip (don’t get it cooked over medium and it’s a huge piece!!) and husband’s filet was perfect cooked at Medium. I sampled his and liked it better than mine. It is just superb with fantastic tenderness. The service at Chops was very good. I think or assistant server needed improvement in keeping our glasses filled and he forgot to bring me a coke I wanted, but that is my only single complaint in the whole night. The price of $20 each is well worth it for the food.

Mariner is now doing this new thing called ‘Project Cruise Director’ Personally I think the whole thing was a huge letdown. All week they have people compete in activities to be Becky’s sidekick, but the winner only gets to say about 2 scripted lines in the farewell show and the whole audition process took the whole cruise to do just those 2 little lines. I think they should pick the person by mid cruise and then have them assist Becky in a few things here and there until end. If I were auditioning I would want to be more active after doing drills all week long….just my two cents. Overall, I don’t think the contest was very popular on my cruise, as I heard more people making fun of it then praising it. Does Becky really need a co-host? No way!!!! I think this is what took the place of Karaoke Idol they used to have, and while I didn’t like that either, it was at least more entertaining.

We changed into our casual clothes. After this we did the late night adult comedy with Max Docelli again. I think the more adult comedy put him in his element and we laughed more in this show than the opening family show. I know a few people in crowd did not care for him, but I don’t get that. He was funny and touched on some great topics that I related to. After this it was time for Dragons Lair again for some people watching and dancing, some decaf coffee and pizza in Promenade, and then to bed. Oh yeah, quick note, on our cruise, the lids for coffee were not available at coffee station and you had to ask for them. By mid cruise they were laying out by the fruit area in Promenade, but never right by coffee. When we asked them about this they claimed everyone stole the lids so they had to do this change. Stole the lids? Hmm. Okie dokie!

[OliverTheCat]

DAY 3: LABADEE

Today was Labadee. Now I loved Labadee on my Navigator cruise so I was really looking forward to our stop here once again. I was scared about the tender line being long, but we actually walked right onto the tender at 10:00 AM (they started at 8:30 AM) and had no waits getting to the island. I was sad to see the Labadee welcome photos were done for the day so I didn’t get one of those, but we took some of our own instead. We headed directly to Dragon Tail Beach ( I think anyway). The beach was pretty with palm trees and chairs all around. There was barely anyone on this beach and so we decided it was for us. I got a coco loco and enjoyed that and then decided I wanted to go in the water. Oops I forgot my water shoes and the beach here was very rocky. I decided to skip the water until later where we would go to Barefoot Beach for a swim. No rocks. We had lunch and they had a good variety of yummy things. I chose the chicken drummettes, watermelon, banana bread (4 pieces of yummy goodness) and a banana. I skipped the ribs, but my husband said they were meaty. There was also a good variety of salads, burgers, hot dogs, vegetables, and desserts like cookies and cakes. Free drinks were water, tea and fruit punch and they also had colas for sale as on ship. You can use your sea pass card for all purchases except in marketplaces. After lunch and some more sun, we did walk over to Barefoot Beach for a swim. Very calm beach right bear where Mariner is anchored. Got some great pics of us with it in background. The last time we went to Labadee we went to Columbus Beach and that was a nice spot as well. Never did Dragons Breath Point, but no biggie. For those that asked me about the zipline. Yes, I did see it being built the locals could not give me a time frame expected to be done. The one line goes right over water, amazing!!! At 3:00 we decided to head back to get on one of the last tenders back to ship and wow was the line super long!!!! We waited a full 30 minutes and were on one of the very last tenders. The line in the hot hot sun was annoying because it did not move very fast….but we eventually ended up back on the ship and the ship left on time at 4:00 PM.

We were so exhausted after all the sun. We both took a nap upon return to the room, and missed the family rock and roll night scheduled at 7:45 PM. Tonight was also the Headliner Show with Impressionist Roger Behr, but our nap lasted through his performance too lol. I really wanted to see that one too. This is the night we discovered JADE for pre dinner snack. Oh yummy. Jade hands down was the best food on the cruise that was not in a specialty restaurant. Every single thing I ate there was fabulous. My husband and I would go here a few nights for sushi (they had salmon, salmon roll, California roll, and 3 veggie varieties each night) and some asian fusion foods. Boy was this a nice change from the Windjammer quality although it was same buffet style. After our nightly sampling in Jade, we headed to our real dinner. Unfortunately, in dining room, I was met with a menu I did not care for any of the entrees. So I was kinda glad I filled up a bit in Jade. Menu was a pork chop, Risotto, Salmon, Lamb, or Cheese Tortellini (which my husband liked a lot). I chose Penne Marinara off the alternative menu. The sauce was so “tin can” tasting, but I ate most of it. I was getting worried that I was not going to like any entrees again on my cruise in dining room though. The good thing about dinner was they served up a spinach salad with balsamic dressing that was served family style in the middle of table like Olive Garden does. This salad was very tasty!!! I had 2 helpings. After dinner we headed straight over to Quest. Quest did not disappoint. This was by far the funniest Quest I have ever attended. The audience was just mad crazy. Becky is truly a genius host for this. Very unique and having a female cruise director for it really gave it a different spin. My husband and I both agreed it was way better with Becky. For those of you on past Mariner cruises that said you thought Quest was offensive, Becky said if you are easily offended to leave about 80 times during the game. I cant have sympathy for those that didn’t head those warnings. I only saw a few people look disgruntled and those people had that look on their face the whole cruise…so. After Quest we did the 80s party in the Dragon’s Lair and this is when I got to meet Becky in person. I caught her on her break up on top floor getting a Martini and when she said hi to me I decided to strike up a conversation. What a wonderful woman. I actually found out in our 15 minute chat she and I had a lot in common as we both have danced on a professional level, have had major injuries to the same bones in our feet, and she gave me some insight on the professional industry from her view and we swopped a few stories. I then asked her about cruise critic and if she ever views our boards. She told me she was afraid to read the posts because she doesn’t want to read anything negative. She thinks we all don’t like her!!! I told her about how she beat out Ken Rush in the latest Cruise Director poll and she then connected a phone call she got from Ken Rush about the same topic, of which at the time she had no idea what he was talking about, but now she gets it!! I assume that means Ken reads the boards on here, so HI KEN!!!! Anyway, Becky also advised me she will be on vacation from April 1 and returns May 27. She said she did not have any plans to be anywhere but on Mariner, so rumors about her moving to Liberty are news to her, but she stated things change all the time in the industry. I was just so glad I got to personally talk to her. It sealed my views that she was very cut out for the job. She is just super personable!!!!!! After I let her get back to Phil and the group, I went down to enjoy the 80s tunes playing. After about an hour, they went on to play some hip hop, so we left and went to bed.

[OliverTheCat]

DAY 4: OCHO RIOS:

Ok, so I am not a huge fan of Jamaica. Been there and done that. We like to use this day to take advantage of the amenities on the ship because it is pretty darn empty. We went to pool to overcast skies around 10am, but they were gone by noon. We did a dip in the pool and it felt wonderful. Maybe 10 people at pool all day until 1pm. SO NICE!!! At 1:00 PM I did the Baggo Toss at poolside. I won the contest and got 10 ship shape dollars. This is the beanbag toss game. Fun 15 minutes J After this we decided it was time to go eat at Johnny Rockets. Got a booth easily outside with view of Jamaica. I love Johnny Rockets here in Orlando, so this was going to be a treat. We both got onion rings, fries and a burger. Husband got a shake and loved it, I just got a coke. The servers were all funny and did a dance to Stayin Alive. Very good too!!! The $3.95 charge was not an issue, and you do have to pay for your sodas and shakes. Our total bill was $6.00 after we used our 2 gold member surcharge waiver coupons. We evened bill out at 10 bucks and left happy and FULL.

After this we decided to walk around decks and have some fun. We played some pingpong, hopscotch, and took some pictures all round deck. We also went through the arcade, which was huge, with air hockey tables, dance dance revolution, tons of video games, and interactive games. Something for everyone!!

Once done here my husband wanted to take a nap and I watched sail off from Jamaica out on balcony with my Seattle’s Best coffee, which by the way was always delicious and perfectly blended. I only drink decaf, and it was never weak.

At 7:00 pm was our ice show ticket time. I do not like the ticket system at all, and I talk about that at very end of my review where I speak of things I didn’t like on Mariner. The ice show theme was Ice Under the Big Top…circus theme. This show just changed over the cast to all new performers, and our show was the very first to see them perform together. Wow is all I can say. This show’s choreography was just amazing. I have performed in dance my whole life and am usually very critical when it comes to choreography, but this was just outstanding. They really made use of the small rink and the creativity really shined. There was also a featured guest star, Dimitry, on our cruise and he was top notch. The cast gets some children involved on the ice, so try to sit close to see that if you have kids, and maybe get to be a part of it! The areas close to the ice around stairs where access to the ice is visible are ideal. The audience gave the cast a standing ovation once it was through, and it was well deserved. Proves choreography makes all the difference, as I did not see what the hype of ice show was all about when I sailed Navigator of Seas. I thought while the performers of that show were so talented, they were given a boring show to present. So I wasn’t crazy to walk into Mariner’s, but I am so glad I did. Such a great show with so much variety. DO NOT miss it.

After this, we went to dinner. This is the night the Caribbean menu used to be served, but they have done away with that on Mariner now (western) and have a whole new menu. The dress is still colorful Caribbean or smart casual, so you can still dress up cute. My husband had the turkey tenderloin which he loved, and I had the pasta with marinara, mussels, shrimp, lobster and scallops. While these were not huge sea scallops, more like bay scallops, they were plentiful. The pasta was the best entrée in dining room I had all week. The sauce didn’t taste canned and the flavors of seafood ran through the dish. Loved it. Best menu of dining room to me. I had the jalapeño spiced potato soup for the appetizer and loved that too. I actually wanted two. After dinner, we went to the Love and Marriage game and for the first time in history of cruising, I witnessed a couple blatantly cheat right up on stage. The girl was giving the answers to the husband after he walked back on stage while trying to act coy by stretching, hugging him, looking up at ceiling, things like that. Even on the reruns they show in stateroom it is so obvious. In any case, Becky and the audience caught on to it quick, and Becky embarrassed them a bit. Honestly this Love and Marriage game could have been funnier if a different newlywed couple would have been picked. These two were just boring and were the cheaters. The other two couples were hilarious though. In the end they gave all three couples prizes and we then headed up to the top deck for the midnight Mexican buffet and deck party.

The party started out ok because they played Electric Slide, which I had not heard the whole cruise. A lot of the crowd got out and started dancing, very crowded. We all had our pina coladas in the pineapples which are famous at the deck party. But then when Electric Slide stopped and the line dancing lessons began again, people cleared the dance floor. They brought those Project Cruise Director contestants out again to learn a dance to stay in the final round, and many people then walked away and went to eat. I just don’t think people care to learn the line dances and watch this Project Cruise Director contest. After that they had the pool bar staff do a flare show. Where they throw the bottles around and do tricks. I was impressed with this, but I always am in bars. They messed up a few times, but big deal…they were entertaining. The buffet had a roasted whole pig sitting there, tacos with fixings, a lot of fruits, cakes, chips and salsas, things like that. I was too stuffed to eat anything, so we just walked around on deck and then headed to the 19th hole to see if any west coast hockey was on. Found out it was closed, so that stunk. We didn’t get to make it back there the rest of cruise. It was hard not watching hockey all week!!! J After this husband said he was beat and so we decided to call it a night, as we needed to get up early for Grand Cayman. Oh yeah, this is the night they gave us the crown and anchor gifts I believe. We are gold, so we got the frames. After what I read on here I expected really bad frames, but I actually like them alot. I didnt realize they said Mariner of the Seas on them. So, i dont see why so many complaints. I will get more use out of these frames than the tiny tote bags I got before.

[OliverTheCat]

DAY 5: GRAND CAYMAN:

I have been to Grand Cayman so many times, this time we did not book an excursion and decided to walk around the island to shop. I love Grand Cayman, but we have decided that if we are ever in Grand Cayman again with 5 other ships or more, we are definitely not shopping. WHAT MESS!!! We got on the tender fine, got over to the island, but by 11am it was so jammed packed on tiny streets you could not walk! Lines in stores (especially Margaritaville) were super long and slow, and the people were just rude and pushy walking around from other ships. It was just too much for me. We got the items we wanted on the island, including my Cayman Island salt water taffy, and headed over to Senor Frogs for our 3 taco meal we must have every time we go to Grand Cayman. We got a table with no problem in the restaurant, but the bar area was jam packed with people. It was spring break time, so I knew it would be crowded, but I guess I didn’t expect THAT many college kids. Lunch was delicious and drinks were expensive as always in Caymans, so we got back on the ship around 3pm since we were out of cash J Just remember that the menus are in cayman dollars, so have them convert it for you. A yard drink with a daiquiri in Cayman’s Senor Frogs was $30 US my last trip there. A beer is around $4.00, so that is a better buy there. In Cozumel the same yard at Senor Frogs was $13 for me…so that is where I waited to get the “must have” yard drink. We were watching the pirate ship tour go by us while we walked next to ocean and that sure looks fun! We want to do that for sure next trip. We did one similar in St. Thomas and kids have a blast.

Once we were back on the ship, we went to promenade to get some much needed coffee and tea. We then had some time before our dinner plans at Portofino, so I think I watched a movie on the tv in room and we got some photos done before our 9pm dinner. The tv in the room had CNN, ESPN, a music video channel, Boomerang cartoons, MTV when we reached Mexico, but signal was in and out, sitcom repeats from CBS, an oldies rerun show channel, 2 channels that showed DVD release movies, a few royal Caribbean shows, and not much else. I really liked that on Mariner you can view your seapass card on RCTV channel as well as order room service, view shows and gym classes for week, etc. I don’t recall all that on my last 2 royal cruises.

Just to note, this is the day that the headliner is the Ice Show and also Pure Energy Big 80s show in theater. I have seen this 2x already so I skipped it this time. It’s a good show for one time.

Portofino is just AMAAAZING. I am so glad I was starving when we arrived because the meal was 6 courses and plentiful. We had Devvy and Peter as our servers and both were just phenomenal. Devvy is so sweet and talkative and very informed about menu, Peter the assistant was hilarious. Always joking. Loved him. The breads that come out have an artichoke spread, mushroom paste, and a salsa looking one. You also are given whole cloves of garlic to marinate in the olive oil and balsamic they give you for bread. Then for appetizer I chose the eggplant dish that was simply fresh and delicious. Tomato sauce in Portofino is the best I have had in life, as it is soooo fresh. You can taste the freshness here and ripeness of tomatoes. For salad/soup round I had the bean soup which was so tasty, and my husband had the Caesar salad which Devvy prepared right at table for him. For our next course we got the penne pasta each and again best tomato sauce. The next course was the main course, and I decided to go with Devvy’s recommendation for the beef tenderloin and husband had a shrimp dish I believe. My tenderloin was so tender and scrumptious. It was a very thick cut and seasoned perfectly to my liking. Just when I was starting to get very full, the dessert menu arrived. I had to get the tiramisu and my husband had the flourless chocolate cake, which I also sampled. Talk about heaven? Wow. Both were just so good. The manager also gave us chocolate covered strawberries to take back to our room because we had told server how my husband had graduated law school and were celebrating it. He also provided us with a nice bottle of Merlot at the door on the way out. I was very surprised and grateful for that nice gesture. I made sure that the waiters knew how much I enjoyed my meal here and honestly, I think next voyager class cruise I am going to book Portofino many times. There were so many other entrees I wanted to try!!! $20 a person is again well worth it, and we tipped well over that. These servers are top notch. After dinner we dropped our stuff back at room and then went up to view the Gala dessert buffet. They do the viewing at 1130pm, and it was just a masterful work of art. So many ice carvings and other artistic designs. I took a bunch of pictures, but we were way too full to eat anything else….and after our desserts in Portofino, I didn’t want to go back to dining room food. Plus, the people outside waiting for this dessert buffet to start being served looked as though they had not eaten all week long. Everyone was very agitated they had to wait to get in to eat. I believe we stopped over at the pub this night to see Jimmy Blakemore do his act, but I wasn’t wowed by it ,so we didn’t stay long. We walked to the casino and made our $40 donation. Slots were tight!!! On way out we listened to Dan Davies at Piano Bar outside. I really wish we would have had Matt Yee or whatever his name was on our cruise. Dan Davies was just OK. Time for bed!!!

[OliverTheCat]

DAY 6: COZUMEL, MEXICO

I am a huge fan of this port of call. So many great excursions, and personally I think it’s the funniest port on the western Caribbean itinerary. We pull in the International Pier at 10:00 AM ship time which I am not used to since I normally have pulled in at 7 or 8am on past cruises. We only got to stay until 7:00pm ship time as well, so we had to get done what we wanted to get done. The hurricane damage is still evident. I was shocked it was still so torn up. I honestly didn’t see much improvement in the International Pier area from my last cruise in 2005 except the shopping area is up and running. For this port, we chose to do the Passion Island excursion, which was booked through Royal. This is the same beach they film Corona commercials, and it included an open bar and buffet lunch. 5 hours long. We were to meet at end of gangway, so we got off ship promptly at 10:30am to get there by 11:00 am meet time. Getting off the ship was a breeze, walked right off, but since the International Pier is still going through major building from the hurricane damage, it is a crowded walk. There are building supplies all over the dock still, making walkway thinner. We were docked right next to Royal’s Rhapsody of the Seas. Wow, does THAT ship need refurbishment!! Paint faded off everywhere and it looked very dated and old. I think I may be disappointed if I boarded a shop that looked that unkept after paying a lot of money. That is one thing about Mariner, it looks beautiful for not yet being in drydock. Only things that were noticeably worn to me are the carpets and the bedding and the deck lounge chairs I guess. The physical features of Mariner all look beautiful still. So once we were down the crowded gangway, which didn’t make for a nice professional picture with all the people in background, we met our Passion Island gang. Luckily, even though I missed the meet and mingle earlier in week, I knew 2 of my crew were on this excursion, it was just a matter of finding them. They actually flagged me down and I was so happy to finally meet them. We talked for awhile until it was time to head off to paradise. Then our tour guide told us that his “boss” overbooked our excursion by a few people and that 4 of us needed to ride in a taxi and meet up with the excursion bus at the ferry pier. He would pay for the taxi and the bus would be no more than 5 minutes behind us. Ok, so originally it was me and my husband and another couple that really looked ticked off at the whole idea, and it IS Mexico, and Passion Island is about 25 minutes away via taxi, so I was almost ready to say I want a refund and forget it. But then my two cruise critic girls chimed in they would go with us so the other couple could have the bus, so I felt a lot safer and less awkward taking the taxi, the 4 of us adults, and said alright lets go. It all ended up working out fine. On the trip over I got to see more of how Cozumel looks now since hurricanes. The downtown area was a huge improvement. Looks like its old self with some rebuilding going on still. There is a long dirt road that has no structures on it that leads to the Passion Island crossover where you get on the ferry to take you to the beach. It was very bumpy and I got a bit nervous that it looked like we were going to the middle of nowhere and I wondered if we had made the right decision to take the taxi. But then we saw the ocean and the bus was behind us, so all was ok. Once everyone was there, we all boarded the ferry and took a 10 minute ride to the other side where the island is. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ISLAND! This is a hidden gem as far as I am concerned. I never really knew Cozumel had this sort of beach there, and I am so glad I chose it. White sand beach, hammocks galore, friendly staff, private, clear calm waters and really nice vendors. It really did resemble the commercials. Only one other cruise ship was going to be sharing the beach, so a total of about 80 of us were on the beach, a heck of a difference from Paradise Beach last time I was in Cozumel. We ate the lunch with choices of fish, chicken, beans and rice (so good) and probably the best handmade salsa and chips I have ever eaten. Mingle mates said the guacamole was outstanding. They also had free bottles of Corona and some margaritas I think. I only drank purified water. We did get a light rain shower an hour in, but it cleared after about 30 minutes and we were out in the sun again. The water is was so relaxing and calm. Nice to have a shallow area to swim in and sand smooth enough to walk in without water shoes. The staff did a fun water balloon toss with the families/kids. This brought both cruise lines together and it was a hoot to watch. Unfortunately, it was time for us to go after that, but we got plenty of sun this day. Due to time issues, we had to skip our annual trip to Carlos and Charlies this trip and so I didn’t get to shop downtown either. We just went back to the International Pier, via taxi again, and shopped there and decided on Senor Frogs right next to dock as our substitute for C&C. Of course every 18 year old was drinking their hearts out here, basking in the drinking age in Mexico. Many were wasted, and some behavior was a bit disturbing, but this is nothing I haven’t seen before in my trips to Mexico. After some Sex on the Beach (drinks haha) we headed back to the ship at 6:00pm. All on board at 6:30 PM. I really wish we could have more time again in Cozumel. I recall staying until 11pm when I sailed Disney and we could have done 2 excursions, ate 2 meals, and shopping in that time. Miss that. A really dark storm cloud rolled over as we sailed off, and we sat on balcony and read as we did so. Erie feeling leading us up to knowing tomorrow was the last day on Mariner of the Seas.

Tonight we skipped the Latin sailaway because I knew I wasn’t going to like it, as I didn’t the other “sailaways.” We just relaxed and then got ready for dinner. Wow, where are all the people? Its lobster night for goodness sake!! The dining room had so many empty seats tonight, which I have assumed was due to mass alcohol intake in Cozumel. For Lobster night, I was able to get 2 lobsters, but they do make you wait until everyone in dining room is served before they could request it. My server actually asked me if I wanted the extra, so I didn’t have to awkwardly ask. The timing didn’t matter because my second came out right after my first. Husband had same thing, 2 lobsters. 4 shrimp are also served on plate with the lobster, hence Fishmerman’s Plate. So then my server asked me if I wanted a third tail and I said “are you kidding me?” and declined. 2 is plenty!! After dinner we headed to the Savoy Theater to watch Celebrity Showtime with John Davidson, the guy from Hollywood Squares and his own show way back. He did a variety act. Ok, so we were on the top level of theater for this due to the bottom being completely full. As Davidson went on, we watched in horror as a mass exodus began of people leaving during his act. Most of the top level near me was emptied by the end. As a performer myself in the past, I really felt bad for Mr. Davidson due to the crowd’s rudeness. Yelling out “you suck old dude” and “youre horrible” is not only wrong but flat out disrespectful. My husband loved his act, I thought I was a bit young for some of the jokes, but I thought he performed a fine variety show, and he still sings well. The fans in the bottom level didn’t seem to walk out of and leave on the guy so hopefully he didn’t see the rudeness of the top half. In any case, I enjoyed his show. After this, my husband told me he was just exhausted and didn’t think he could be able to make it to the clubs tonight, so we just turned in for bed early. The week was wearing on us both physically I think. We are both just so used to turning in early and getting up at 5am for work. So I think we were getting a tad tired, but didn’t want the party to end, ya know?

[OliverTheCat]

DAY 7: AT SEA

Today we just wanted to relax. It was also St. Patrick’s Day on board! As an Irish lady, I always love to sail the high seas during St. Pattys. I watched the Captain’s Corner at 10am and I HIGHLY recommend you go to this. It’s a question/answer session with him and his staff, including Becky, so here is your chance to ask him whatever you want! They will repeat it on the tv later in day. After this, we headed to lunch at 1130 and I had my final lovely Windjammer fare. I was truly disappointed that there was no corned beef on the lunch buffet today for us Irish, and the reason I was shocked is every other cruise I have sailed 3/17 has had it!! Oh well. Today I tried the Thousand Island dressing at salad bar. SKIP THIS. It was just horrible. The best one I thought was the basic Ranch and the Creamy Italian. After lunch, we headed to the pool for the sexy legs contest. This was absolutely hilarious. They then did a Ms. Biceps contest for the ladies, and I didn’t like this as much. Wasn’t as wild, but the right lady won. Just a warning, today seemed to be the day everyone on the ship wanted to try Johnny Rockets, so unless you want to wait in a long line, don’t wait til last sea day. We were glad we did it in Jamaica. There was an Irish Pub Trivia game scheduled in afternoon, but we opted to skip it. We just wanted to relax. I went out and fell asleep on my balcony as sun was setting, which was nice, and then we got ready just in time to go see the Farewell Show at 7pm. Tonight the comedian was Billy Garan (who I recognized the name) and also featured the singers and dancers from before. Becky did her farewell speech as did Captain Johnny. Billy Garan was HILARIOUS!! We really enjoyed his act. He did a lot of impersonations that were dead on. They also show the Cruise in Review dvd snippet here, and we actually were in it twice. First time ever. We forgot to buy it so if anyone knows if I can still get a copy of it after the cruise, and how to do it, let me know.

Final dinner featured the NY strip steak, so we both got that. I also got the yummy onion soup to start, which was fabulous. The steak was cooked just right and was good, but it was amazing that the server assistant took 15 minutes to find me worstershire sauce they said they had on hand. I settled on A1. 15 minutes was too long to wait. This is the night the servers do their walk around dining room and sing you the song. Most of them acted like they hated this, so I wish they would just do away with it completely. Just delayed my key lime pie from arriving. The pie was very very good, and did not disappoint. I only wish I could have had 2 slices, but I was very full. We said our goodbyes, and handed everyone their tips, including our head server who didnt deserve his, and went back to room for final packing. Stuff had to be outside room by midnight. Honestly both me and husband began to not feel good, I think too much sun, and we decided to turn in early and skip out on the last night’s events after dinner. I regret this now, and only wonder how fun the clubs were for St. Patrick’s Day. But when you don’t feel well, you don’t feel well.

DISEMBARKATION:

I was up and ready to go at 6am, so I went out on balcony to watch the ship pull into Port Canaveral, something I have never gotten to do before. I was really surprised to see that the Disney Wonder was already there!!! Wow, it must pull in really darn early. It was really sad to leave the room and know in just a few hours a new family would be there starting their vacation, but my husband had to be somewhere by 1pm, so we needed to get off the ship by 8am. We all congregated in the Boleros area to wait to get off the ship. Right at 8am they called our tag color and off we went. It was pretty easy to get off and go through customs, but Royal really needs to look at these unfriendly folks that are the last people you see leaving your vacation. The people directing you til’ you get to Customs just obviously hate their jobs. The lady at escalator snapped at multiple people, including me, and so did the lady putting us in customs lines. The Customs took maybe one minute and then we went to get luggage. I don’t think I like the luggage carousal to retrieve luggage. It was hard to see yours coming down the belt because nobody would let you in view luggage, so we missed ours when it came out, and caught it at end of belt. I really like the other method where they separate your luggage by deck, color code, etc. Disney and Legend did this when we sailed and I found my luggage immediately. And that is among many black suitcases. The porters looked downright scary, so we opted to take our luggage all the way to the car. We managed, although we took some breaks to rest. Then we were off back to Orlando with the Mariner and Wonder getting further and further away from me as I watched us drive away. Vacation over. L

[OliverTheCat]

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Things I loved most about the Mariner:

1) The Staff. The staff was like a family on this ship. All the servers in Windjammer seemed very tight nit and were very interactive with the passengers. There was one that always put a straw antenna in 2 bananas and made phones out of them and would give one to someone at a table and they would have a conversation with them on the banana phones. Then he would do with another, guest and another. Then with a staff member. He was hilarious. Always made me smile early in the morning, which is hard EARLY sometimes. Also, Becky and Phil need to be together at all times, whatever ship they are on. What a duo. Their timing off one another is perfect. Plus, the dancers would come into Dragons Lair late at night and dance on their free time together and you could tell they were very close. I love seeing a group of people that love their job and love to entertain. Mariner is full of these types of people. If only all ships were this friendly. Captain Johnny was by far the most personable Captain ever. I hope to sail with him again one day.

2) The ease of getting off the ship at ports. This ship NEVER felt like 3000+ passengers! I never waited to get off the ship in a line (like Legend) and they really have a smooth operation to get onto tenders (unlike other ships). I really enjoyed that I didn't have to be the first one off to avoid the line. It was very positive experience.

3) The Gym!!! WOW WHAT A GYM! Best equipment and layout on the high seas. Has many machines from treads, ellipticals, cycles, weight machine galore, free weights galore, a cardio class room with many mirrors and my favorite part a huge jacuzzi right smack in the middle when you walk in!! This was a real treat after a workout for many. The spa is also connected right with the gym and I loved the convenience of that. My only complaint was that the Pilates class says $10 each time you take it in compass, but then I got there and the trainer told me I had to sign up for 3 days in a package for $30, which I could not commit to. I was very disappointed I had to miss Pilates. They need to make compass match the true price. Also, offer cardio kickboxing on Mariner.

4) Easiness of Muster drill. Way better than any Royal cruise I have sailed.

5) Jade. Jade was very good on Mariner compared to Jade on Navigator of Seas. Plenty of goodies each night to munch on before late seating dinner, including sushi with all fixings. Great quality for this part of buffet.

6) The deck staff was really good at keeping pool decks free of glasses, garbage and chair hogs. Better than past cruises

7) The staff does not tolerate kids elevator hopping. I saw this put to an end several times by staff immediately after it began. Bravo!!!

Things that need improvement:

1) Get rid of the towel policy. I DESPISE this policy that you have to pay $20 if you lose the pool towel. Also, no longer are there pool towels available at the pool area unless you exchange one with a deck attendant for a new one in a little room by the main pool. Just ridiculous. Towels blow away in wind, people like to have more than 1 towel (one to cover deck chair for comfort and one for use) and just one pool towel per person is wrong. I dont care if stateroom attendant replaces them each night. Sometimes on deck I may decide spur of the moment to take a dip in pool and I dont want to go all the way back to my room to grab a towel. I want towels available at the pool to use and return in the return bins when I am done. If people are really stealing these dingy towels so much that they have to enforce such a lame policy, then that is a darn shame. I compare my experience on Disney to this, in that Disney gives you towels at all pools for use, and they dont have any policy for towels. They even give you extra towels to take at gangways when you get off ship so you have as many as you want. They encourage them to be brought back of course but never have they said that you will get charged if you lose one. Come on. These arent like $50 superior cotton towels. I made it clear on all 3 Royal cruises I hate this policy, and I am not the only one. I usually dont have the packing room to pack my own towels so I wont be doing that either, nor should I have to.

2) The Ice Show is by far the best entertainment on the ship, so do not understand why they do a ticket system for this event. I realize the theater is small. BUT, so many people got turned away on my cruise and were complaining loudly outside door as we entered the show. So, offer more ice shows!!! It is a in demand show!!! I am sure people will be willing to go to one in the day on a sea day, and add one more at night. Make it a first come first serve policy and forget the tickets. Nobody should be shut out from seeing this fantastic show. We pay a lot to come on a cruise and it shouldn't be some sort of privilege to see the best show on the ship. It almost feels like Royal makes the ice show "some secret" so you have to have a ticket. Also, it should be able to be viewed on the stateroom tv after they are done. This way, people can see it that had circumstances that prevented them from seeing it live, such as unforeseen events with an infant, etc.

3) Windjammer lunch needs vast improvement. Offer a sandwich station. Not just premade sandwiches. I am allergic to a few cheeses and could never just get a sandwich premade. I need to make it myself from scratch. Also, I found that unless you ate salad, all the choices for lunch were very heavy on stomach. I dont want Chicken Marsala or Salisbury Steak for LUNCH. That is dinner. I want a light lunch like more soup choices, sandwich choices, and vegetarian entree choices. Why not put some tofu choices out for those of us that enjoy that? Also, add diced chicken to the salad bar. My other Royal cruises both had it. I can make a meal out of the salad if it had the diced chicken breast, otherwise nope. Hotdogs and Hamburgers and Pizza get old after 2 days for lunch. We need lighter fare!! I know I could eat in the dining room and get better choices, but I dont have time to do that on a cruise. Lunch time is very busy on deck and I dont have 2 hours for lunch. Just my two cents.

4) Fresh brewed iced tea. That fountain drink type tea was just bad.

5) When an employee messes up, dont yell at him in front of the guests eating. Its awkward. I saw this two times in dining room. Professionalism is key.

Overall, Mariner was by far my favorite Royal ship I have sailed. Ran rings around the other 2, Legend and Navigator. I am anxious to sail her again one day. Hopefully, the same experience will apply then. I really think the staff is tops on Mariner. I know this question is asked a lot so I will answer it here as well. Which is better - Royal or Disney?? I still think after Mariner, and 2 other Royal cruises, that Disney is the better cruise line of the two overall. I just walk off of it with a better roundtrip experience. I really think that people should sail Mariner first if they choose Royal though. Its too bad all the ships cant be as good as Mariner was for us. ITS A FANTASTIC VOYAGE, YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!!!!

Thanks for taking time to read my lengthy but informative review. If you have any questions for me, please ask here. Keep in mind I have a full time job so I cant always get back to you right away. I will try my best to answer all questions, I promise

Sincerely,

Marissa

"Oliver The Cat"

PS- For those that personally asked me questions before I sailed:

Scooter90 – Room service menu does not list Eggs Benedict on it.

Cathomas - for Love & Marriage the auditon was a Me Tarzan You Jane skit. Find a really creative and hilarious way to say this and do an act with it. You will have to yell it out and most people end up kissing at some point in the audition. Audience picks the best one by applause. Originality is key and you have to be funny.

DETKZV: Hump balcony view at end of hump was very private and nobody could see in our room from the others unless we were all leaning on railings. I liked it better than a center hump cabin personally.

My best nights to skip dining room were ones I chose, the 2 formal nights.

SueB – I never once heard any chatter in rooms next to us! I heard a drawer open and shut one time, but that is it. We did not have connecting rooms, but we never met anyone that did, so sorry I couldn’t get more for you on this.

SkiCruiser44 – I don’t recall which day it was, but I heard from a few people the show was very cheesy and overpriced. Just go to dine there not for the show was general concensus.

SEUZYQ50 – I only did the one excursion, Passion Island in Cozumel. See review for details. I loved it!!!

4Ever – See my review for the days of the headliner and ice shows. Hopefully this will help you figure out your specialty dining. Just don’t miss the ice show!!!!!!

As said above, Becky is on vacation from April 1 – May 27.

Hope this helps!!!!

[QTMichele]

Thanks so much for your review, Marissa! :) I know how excited you were to hear all the details of my Mariner trip and I was really excited to read all about yours! :D It sounds like you had a great cruise, overall. So sorry you didn't have the dining room experience that we had... it's interesting to me how service can be so different from one place to another. We loved the ice show too and were so fortunate to get tickets. I agree with the ticket system - they need at least one more show AND at least one more ticket distribution.

 

Thanks again for all your comments! After reading your review (and reliving my own cruise), I'm really feeling another cruise needs to be booked... SOON! :D

[SkiCruiser44]

Marissa-

 

GREAT review - we are boarding Sunday - can't wait!!! YOu really did a wonderful job and I hope you get to sail again soon. Looking forward to Cpt Johnny & Becky!!

 

 

Kathy

[OliverTheCat]

Somehow this part of my review got cut off:

 

Things I packed and never needed:

 

1) My hair dryer. The 1250 watt one in my room was plenty power to get my thick unruly red hair blown dry and in reasonable time.

 

2) an exercise outfit for every day on the cruise. This took up lots of room in my bag, and my husband and I both only went to the gym the first sea day, and that is it. We then wore our swim attire with a coverup any time we did the walking around decks. We never had time to actually change into exercise gear, and were too lazy to do so on our cruise. I will only pack 2 outfits next cruise. Not 8.

 

3) My strength resistance bands (pilates). I figured I would do this in my room while watching tv like I do at home, but I forgot on vacation you just want to be lazy...and we were :)

 

4) My Curling Iron. I never had time to curl my hair!! Mariner is jam packed with fun stuff. I left my hair natural for even formal nights. I would probably bring this again though on next cruise just in case.

5) Hand Sanitizer. I would say bring a small bottle, but I had 2 small bottles and a larger one to refill the small ones. The big one never got touched. There are so many sanitizing stations on board that I never needed the one I carried around. Only times I did, after getting food in buffet line, on islands, and in arcade. Any other place I could easily use Mariner's stations or wash my hands at a nearby bathroom. I will not go overboard with sanitizer next time.

 

Things I am glad I packed, and were used a lot:

1) Air freshener and renuzit freshener for bathroom. Very needed in such a small space.

2) Ipod to drown out deck noise while laying out

3) Over door hanger for bathroom. CAME IN HANDY!!! I carry tons of "just in case" meds with me on cruises and this thing held all that + our normal everyday needs perfectly. Held on hooks of door with duct tape.

4) Duct tape. I used it to hold down the button on the hair dryer because you have to manually hold it otherwise. Used it also to hold the bathroom hanger up all week. No other tape would have stuck to the door when it got steamed from shower.

5) Water shoes. These are needed in Labadee!! We also needed them last cruise when we went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. That place was mad rocky.

6) Blanket from home. If you are sailing before the dry dock (next few cruises) bring your own unless you dont mind very old blankets and bedspreads. Also, the sheets are very worn out, but they still did their job. I just didn't like that I could see the swirl design of mattress beneath the sheet it was so thin and worn out. It was nice to have our own blanket anyway. Bed more comfy.

7) Highlighter and my own pen for the compasses. The pen came in handy many times on trip actually

8) BIG beach bag. You need a very roomy one because you have to lug your Royal Caribbean towels everywhere with you. Plus its nice to not have stuff in both hands when shopping. Just add it all to the big beach bag.

9) Waterproof watch

10) Water wallet

11) Passport organizer. First time I bought one for a cruise and boy did it help. I got the zip closure planner looking one with all the inner pockets/compartments. Upon check in this thing had everything ready to show the check in people. I felt a lot more organized with that thing. And at disembarkation for customs I had all that stuff in there too. I saw people trying to juggle luggage, souvenirs, and their documents and they were having a tough time, so this thing was helpful for me personally.

12) A pair of jeans for the night time after dinner. Mostly everyone changed into jeans or casual attire after dinner for the clubs/night events.

13) Mouthwash. Those garlic dishes are potent!!!!

[CHAMPDDS]

Have you posted this on the MEMBER"S REVIEW section also, I would hate for it to get lost in the shuffle of the forum boards...

 

Thanks

David:D

[cruiseorbust]

thanks so much for taking the time to do such a detailed review!!

[akcruz]

Thanks very much for the detailed review. I am down to less than 3 months to go and 'eat up' each of these lovely reviews. Also, thanks for finding out about Becky and Captain Johnny, loks like they will be both be there for my cruise.

 

I do have one question for you, do you know if you can get on the tenders in Grand Cayman before the ship tours depart? We have an early private tour booked and are hoping to get off pretty early. Just looking to make sure this is do-able. The tour operator told us it should be fine.

 

Thanks again, and so happy you enjoyed the cruise.

[Jaycue52]

Marissa,

 

Thank you so much for your most interesting and informative review. I enjoyed reading it very much. My only question is this. What is "did King of the World on helicopter pad"?

[katiel53]

Thanks so much for your review. We go on Mariner again in May and can hardly wait. I liked the way you posted the foods at dinner. We know which nights we will go to Portofino & Chops. I think we might hit Portofino a couple of nights.

 

Thanks again.

 

Katie

[captjaneway]

Loved the wonderful, detailed review of the Mariner. DH and I sail her in 28 days. It will be his first cruise and my 2nd (I sailed the Wonder last Oct.) Your reveiw has helped to increase my anticipation and highlight some must see and do activities. I regret that Capt. Johnny and CD Becky will not be on board. Your description of them makes them sound so wonderful however I am betting that since I have never sailed with them that I will not know what I missed and that Capt. Per and Becky's replacement will also be wonderful.

 

Question: Was 9pm a good time slot for the specialty restaurant on Day 5.

 

Thanks again,

 

Jane

[pearlie]

We were getting off as you were getting on, and you were sooooo lucky to have BECKY, they brought in Allen Brooks, for the week due to a reality show being filmed, and he was not soooo hot, Becky would have been much better.

We loved the mariner, would sail on her again!

[DonnaK]

Marissa,

 

Thank you so much for your most interesting and informative review. I enjoyed reading it very much. My only question is this. What is "did King of the World on helicopter pad"?

 

 

Re-enacting the scene from Titanic when Jack and Rose stood at the bow of the ship and he yelled "I'm the King of the World".

 

To get to the helipad, you take the outer promenade on deck 4 all the way to the front of the ship. There's a narrow staircase that almost looks "off-limits" - take it up to the 5th deck and you can walk out to the bow. There are benches to sit on out there too. Just beware that it it very windy. (Sometimes the staircase is roped off, like at nighttime or rough seas. Just come back later or another day)

[Salbythec]

Thank you so much for the review! It will be our first time sailing RCCL. We have sailed DCL many times and love it. We just decided to branch out a bit due to the cost.

[daisy7113]

What a very detailed review. Do you happen to have room pictures that you could provide? Your balcony room pictures I mean. Thanks!

[Jaycue52]

Thank you, Donna. As you can tell, I'm not much of a movie watcher.

[Renocruisers]

Thank-You so much for your review. We sail July 22, 2007 and I can hardly wait.:)

[kruzerci]

I felt the same way after Mariner. It was definitely my favorite cruise. Can't wait to do it all again!

[spammie]

Wow what a great review! I love all the details, can't get enough, especially all the food and port details. Unfortunately, it looks like Becky will be on vacation while we are onboard. :( I will be taking my 21 year old dd and 19 year old ds for their first 7-night cruise. What was your impression of the dance club? I know they will want to spend some time there. Did the deck partrol remove the chair hogs towels? Please post this on the member reviews section - GREAT review! Wanda