Mariner Questions- eastern itinerary

[SUNNY D]

How many formal nights are there and what days are they?

 

Is there any way to see what the menu is for each night before we go?

 

What is there to do for "nightlife" on the ship for younger 30's couples? Any danceclubs?

 

If we don't make coco cay, what is the alternative? extra sea day, or a port day somewhere else?

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions but that's all for now :) Thanks for any info.

[skyking]

Hey Sunny- You will LOVE the Mariner...We are actually about to book the same sailing you are on and also live in Orlando:) There is a GREAT night club on the Mariner...We will be there every night for sure:) We are also in the same age group as you...Email me if you want....skyking517@aol.com

 

 

Tim

[KingDoggie]

Just got off the Mariner last weekend on the Eastern route. We knew we didn't want to do the formal nights so we immediately booked the specialty restaurants. The 2 nights were Monday and Friday.

 

We missed Coco Cay but the decision to skip was not made until we were within visual site of the island. So we just had another sea day since there wasn't any chance to make alternative arrangements. However, I think if they know early enough - like the day before - that they wont make Coco Cay, they'll try to make arrangements to stop at some other port. That's not a guarantee though - it all depends on port availability and time available.

 

There is a 2-level danceclub called Dragon's Lair.

 

Hope this helps.

[cruiseram]

The dinner menu is posted outside the dining room after lunch.

[SUNNY D]

Thanks for the replies. What about menus? We would like to try Chops and/or Portifinos, but don't want to miss a good night in the dining room like Lobster. :)

 

Thanks again for your replies.

[KingDoggie]

Pretty sure that lobster night is one of the formal nights. If you want to eat in the specialty restaurants, I recommend that you make a beeline to the restaurant for reservations the very first thing after you board. Thats what we did and it was still tough to get the times we wanted. Its my understanding that most reservations are taken by the end of the first day.

 

Portofino has a seafood skewer consisting of a couple of shrimp, couple of scallops, a piece of salmon, and a small lobster tail. You can get this any night you dine in Portofino - I should know since I got it twice :) If you dont like something on the skewer, you can ask them to change it out for something else. I got extra shrimp instead of the salmon. And for desert in Portofino, I recommend the tiramisu - it comes with a shot of bailey's & kaluha for no extra charge.

 

I much prefer Portofino over Chops and we ate in both twice. The meat in chops was good, but not the best I've ever had.

[cruiseram]

On our Mariner Eastern April 15, Lobster Night:) was on Friday, 2nd formal night. The menu is posted daily outside the dining room.

[joetrizeo]

How many formal nights are there and what days are they?

 

Is there any way to see what the menu is for each night before we go?

 

What is there to do for "nightlife" on the ship for younger 30's couples? Any danceclubs?

 

If we don't make coco cay, what is the alternative? extra sea day, or a port day somewhere else?

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions but that's all for now :) Thanks for any info.

 

just went!

take a look at pics in my sig!

we're late 20's and hung out with 30's. nice table mates.

Dragons lair dance club is the place to be after 11!

we missed coco-cay and had and extra day at sea, and got into st thomas 2 hours earlier (6am vs 8am)

[debshomespun]

joetrizio--what is the difference between Mariner and Costa Magica? Or maybe I would ask the differences between Costa and RCCL? I have read the food on Costa is very Italian oriented, is this the case? Have thought about trying out Costa, but not to sure about it. We love RCCL. What is your opinion between the two, the food, the shows and entertainment, the nightlife, sea days and what to do on board? We like to watch the pool games, and the poolside bands. Don't care for bingo or shopping.

 

We are up at the other corner of Ohio! To bad we don't have a cruise port!

 

Your pictures are great!

[DonnaK]

The 7 day menus for all RCI ships are supposed to be the same, and here's a link to Freedom menus: http://www.thepreismans.com/Freedom_menus.htm

[joetrizeo]

joetrizio--what is the difference between Mariner and Costa Magica? Or maybe I would ask the differences between Costa and RCCL? I have read the food on Costa is very Italian oriented, is this the case? Have thought about trying out Costa, but not to sure about it. We love RCCL. What is your opinion between the two, the food, the shows and entertainment, the nightlife, sea days and what to do on board? We like to watch the pool games, and the poolside bands. Don't care for bingo or shopping.

 

We are up at the other corner of Ohio! To bad we don't have a cruise port!

 

Your pictures are great!

 

i found many similarities between RCL and Costa. I mainly found the two lines to be on the same scale, both 'classy'. the food on RCL was as good as Costa, however, costa had much more classic italian dishes where RCL was more traditional.

costa's food is true italian, NOT 'olive garden' italian or american italian. (aka lots of olives, veggies, seafood, pasta aldente, thin pizza)

 

we're not big entertainment folk so i can't compare on that

 

nightlife, well they both have some rockin' disco dance clubs so thats the same.

 

both lines had the same amount of pool games and daily activities.

 

there are some things RCL does better, not major things tho. costa's drink stations were only open during eating/buffet hours. their pools wern't 24hrs, they closed at night.

 

magica is a destiny class like ship, so if you remember the layout of destiny, you'll have no problem. if not, read my thread. however magica isn't coming back next season for a carib run, her sister Fortuna is. both are same layout so...

 

one major plus for costa is that they have pool side deck towels free to use (no charge) in addition to your big beach towel your steward gives you. this is a GREAT convienence that i wish all lines would adopt. want to get out of the pool, just grab a towel from the stack! no worry about your own 20-25$ towel!

[bsddsc]

Thanks for the replies. What about menus? We would like to try Chops and/or Portifinos, but don't want to miss a good night in the dining room like Lobster. :)

 

Thanks again for your replies.

 

Well, our lobster night (on the 15-Apr-2007 cruise) was the worst dinner all week. So bad, no one at our table asked for seconds, and I didn't even eat mine at all and I love lobster.

 

On the other hand, Portofino's lobster was excellent. That's where I'll go on lobster night if we sail again.