Mariner review 12/09 to 12/16, Eastern (LONG)

[Roboat]

Returned 12/9/2007 from our first RCI cruise, Mariner to Eastern Carib.

We are in our early 60's and have previously cruised Carib. with HAL, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess.

 

Overall, I would have to rate this cruise very high. In our experience all the cruise lines do a great job, and represent an excellent vacation value. But the service we received on RCI was just outstanding.

 

We arrived at the terminal around 12:30 and were on board about 2pm.

The Mariner is gorgeous, impressive ship. A couple of the bars have some gorgeous sculptures and artwork. I liked the abundance of the glasswork, (which looked like Murano, but I wouldn't really know.)

 

We had selected a forward port balcony, cabin 8558. Cabin was a little nicer than any others we have had. Nice decor, spotless, nice bedding, lots of convenient storage nooks. Well thought-out design.

 

I ride a scooter due to a recent heart hiccup, and the fact that I am circumferencially enhanced. I was pleased to find the scooter easily passed through the cabin door. (Scooter is 21" wide. RCI Accessibility sevices had assured me it would fit.)

BTW, the Mariner show venues do NOT currently have the IR headsets for the hard-of-hearing, as claimed in the website.

 

We found the forward elevators to be consistently more available than the aft. Kudos to RCI for having ALL the elevators on the ship operational.

 

We dined the first night in Portofino's, and was surprised to find it "ho-hum." Not bad, by any means, but the decor was plain, and the food was good, just not quite as good as the other specialty restaurants we have tried.

 

We had a 2-top, which was located in the lower dining room. Our table was right next to a waiter station, but was amazingly quiet. Food was very good but selections seemed more limited than on other lines; service was great; dining room decor was fairly plain.

 

The bread is terrific, especially the little peppery-poppy seeded rolls the size of donut holes, and the hard rolls. The duck entree was the best I've ever had. Lobster and shrimp were the best I have had on a cruise ship. How they cook 4000 lobsters and get them to come out perfectly done (I ordered seconds and both were perfect) , I don't know.

 

We selected the 5-bottle diamond wine package. The selections are very limited and I wouldn't do it again.

 

We stayed aboard at Coco Cay, reading in the Crow's Nest (Ellington's) which provides an expansive view of the pool deck, and drives home the immense size of the ship.

 

We sailed straight into a rare-for-December Tropical Storm, Otto, with 15-20 foot seas, according to the Captain. Suzanne took Bonine but was still queasy for a couple of days. We ordered room service that night and learned later that the dining room had a lot of no shows, due to queasy passengers.

 

The ice show was terrific. The production shows were the weakest we have seen on any cruise. Individual performers were fine, but the dancers were out of synch, the music and choreography bland. There were some seat-savers but I did not have my pepper-spray with me, so I did not challenge them. ;-)

 

Quest was a hoot. Let me say this about it: people are crazy. :-)

 

Not a lot of kids on this cruise, but I was very impressed at how well the kids behaved, in the dining room, at shows, etc.

 

The average age of the passengers was a little older than I had expected, which is fine with me. I estimated that 75-80% of pax were 60 and up on this cruise.

 

I liked the Windjammer layout, which provides many small stations. Good selection of food, and food was generally very good.

 

Chops had excellent steaks. I had the T-Bone, Suzanne had the Petit Filet. Decor was uninspiring. Service was excellent, for the most part. When our steaks were served I was informed that the kitchen was out of the side dish I'd ordered. It was mildly irritating, but forgotten as soon as I took a bite of the T-Bone. VERY flavorful.

 

The last night, my scooter wheel broke. Maintenance sent up a guy to fix it, and he was excellent! It broke again as we prepared to disembark, and Guest Services did an over-the-top job of taking care of the situation. Thank you RCI Guest Services!

 

Of the under-60 crowd, only about half followed the suggested dress code on formal nights.

 

Alas, the Mariner is relocating to the left coast next year, so this was probably our last cruise on her.

 

TIP: Guest Services will provide you with a handy small ship map IF YOU ASK FOR IT.

TIP: Room service chicken wings are great! Not spicy, but nice and crispy. 4 to a serving.

[Slam308]

Roboat,

Thanks for the review. Glad to hear you had a good time.

After 11 cruises, we've only used room service for coffee in the AM. Hubby will be thrilled to hear they have chicken wings!! And the fact that they're not hot will be even better.

[Arizona Laura]

Thanks for the review. Will be on her Jan 13th.

Laura

[mamaza]

Adding our thanks. Doing the same cruise next December.

[kittymom65]

Thanks for the review!

Only 54 more days to go for us....

[legaljen1969]

Laura,

 

I will be on the Mariner on the 13th as well. Maybe we will run into each other. LOL This will be our second Mariner cruise. So I guess you can tell that "I" like it.

[JandJ091902]

Returned 12/9/2007 from our first RCI cruise, Mariner to Eastern Carib.

We are in our early 60's and have previously cruised Carib. with HAL, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess.

 

Overall, I would have to rate this cruise very high. In our experience all the cruise lines do a great job, and represent an excellent vacation value. But the service we received on RCI was just outstanding.

 

We arrived at the terminal around 12:30 and were on board about 2pm.

The Mariner is gorgeous, impressive ship. A couple of the bars have some gorgeous sculptures and artwork. I liked the abundance of the glasswork, (which looked like Murano, but I wouldn't really know.)

 

We had selected a forward port balcony, cabin 8558. Cabin was a little nicer than any others we have had. Nice decor, spotless, nice bedding, lots of convenient storage nooks. Well thought-out design.

 

I ride a scooter due to a recent heart hiccup, and the fact that I am circumferencially enhanced. I was pleased to find the scooter easily passed through the cabin door. (Scooter is 21" wide. RCI Accessibility sevices had assured me it would fit.)

BTW, the Mariner show venues do NOT currently have the IR headsets for the hard-of-hearing, as claimed in the website.

 

We found the forward elevators to be consistently more available than the aft. Kudos to RCI for having ALL the elevators on the ship operational.

 

We dined the first night in Portofino's, and was surprised to find it "ho-hum." Not bad, by any means, but the decor was plain, and the food was good, just not quite as good as the other specialty restaurants we have tried.

 

We had a 2-top, which was located in the lower dining room. Our table was right next to a waiter station, but was amazingly quiet. Food was very good but selections seemed more limited than on other lines; service was great; dining room decor was fairly plain.

 

The bread is terrific, especially the little peppery-poppy seeded rolls the size of donut holes, and the hard rolls. The duck entree was the best I've ever had. Lobster and shrimp were the best I have had on a cruise ship. How they cook 4000 lobsters and get them to come out perfectly done (I ordered seconds and both were perfect) , I don't know.

 

We selected the 5-bottle diamond wine package. The selections are very limited and I wouldn't do it again.

 

We stayed aboard at Coco Cay, reading in the Crow's Nest (Ellington's) which provides an expansive view of the pool deck, and drives home the immense size of the ship.

 

We sailed straight into a rare-for-December Tropical Storm, Otto, with 15-20 foot seas, according to the Captain. Suzanne took Bonine but was still queasy for a couple of days. We ordered room service that night and learned later that the dining room had a lot of no shows, due to queasy passengers.

 

The ice show was terrific. The production shows were the weakest we have seen on any cruise. Individual performers were fine, but the dancers were out of synch, the music and choreography bland. There were some seat-savers but I did not have my pepper-spray with me, so I did not challenge them. ;-)

 

Quest was a hoot. Let me say this about it: people are crazy. :-)

 

Not a lot of kids on this cruise, but I was very impressed at how well the kids behaved, in the dining room, at shows, etc.

 

The average age of the passengers was a little older than I had expected, which is fine with me. I estimated that 75-80% of pax were 60 and up on this cruise.

 

I liked the Windjammer layout, which provides many small stations. Good selection of food, and food was generally very good.

 

Chops had excellent steaks. I had the T-Bone, Suzanne had the Petit Filet. Decor was uninspiring. Service was excellent, for the most part. When our steaks were served I was informed that the kitchen was out of the side dish I'd ordered. It was mildly irritating, but forgotten as soon as I took a bite of the T-Bone. VERY flavorful.

 

The last night, my scooter wheel broke. Maintenance sent up a guy to fix it, and he was excellent! It broke again as we prepared to disembark, and Guest Services did an over-the-top job of taking care of the situation. Thank you RCI Guest Services!

 

Of the under-60 crowd, only about half followed the suggested dress code on formal nights.

 

Alas, the Mariner is relocating to the left coast next year, so this was probably our last cruise on her.

 

TIP: Guest Services will provide you with a handy small ship map IF YOU ASK FOR IT.

TIP: Room service chicken wings are great! Not spicy, but nice and crispy. 4 to a serving.

 

 

We were on Mariner at the same time, Have to agree on all the highlights you posted. We were on Deck 2 mid-ship during the storm. Got to watch the whole Tropical Storm from the room.