Back from the Mariner of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean - Jan. 20-27

[Mrs. pscan5150]

My DH and I just got back from a wonderful cruising experience on Mariner of the Seas. We were in promenade room # 6605. Here's a recap of our experience:

Sun., Jan. 20 - While waiting for the Thrifty shuttle to take us to the port, we met 2 other Cruise Critic couples: Denise and her husband (sorry, I don't recall your board name) and Chris and Barbara (Chris' name is Lounge Lizard here). We went through a very smooth embarkation process at Port Canaveral and were on board around noon-ish. We met up with Chris and Barbara at Chops where they were making reservations for Thurday evening (we joined their reservation and sat together) and headed for the Windjammer for lunch since our room would not be available until 1pm. The food was good although it was extremely crowded. It took us 2 go arounds before actually finding a table (we lucked out - a couple had already claimed a table but were willing to give up 4 seats). After eating, we went to our stateroom which overlooked the promenade. Very cool. The rest of the day just sailed by (no pun intended), and we were on the helicopter pad as we left the port (the most excellent place to view sailing into or out of a port, btw - not many people knew about it so it wasn't crowded). We went to the welcome aboard show which was ok.

Mon., Jan. 21 - We went through a weather front which made the seas a bit rocky both Sun. night and all of today (and overnight). High winds! There was a CC meet and mingle in the morning which we went to and enjoyed meeting several of you. :) This day was spent basically walking around the ship trying to familiarize ourselves with where everything was at (we had done some of this on Sunday as well). All in all, this was just a relaxing day at sea.

Tues., Jan. 22 - During the late morning while the DH was in the shower, an announcement came over the speaker saying that there was a fire drill for the crew only. The emergency alarm went off, and apparently, they stopped the engines prior to making it to our port in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was also announced that we would be running 40 minutes late getting into San Juan, so to have a fire drill, cut the engines, and just free float in the water for an extra 25 minutes really made no sense to us. We talked to several other experienced cruisers, and they had never heard of anything like that before either. Some people were saying they heard, "bravo! Bravo!" yelled during the drill. We were thinking that either they really did have a fire or it was a person overboard or something. The boat started back up, and we did indeed arrive quite late into San Juan. I believe I heard there were 8 excursions cancelled because of time. My DH and I didn't book any excursions and opted to just walk around instead. One of the first things we noticed was the amount of beggars at the port. I mean, as soon as you stopped off the pier, there they were. There were actually a few who literally held out their wares in your face as you stepped past security getting on or off the boats (speaking of boats, there was a carnival ship there as well - the Glory, I think). We did a lot of window shopping here, especially in jewelry stores. We found that there were absolutely no bargains to be had. The streets were dirty and quite narrow. Yeah, I'm glad we went there to say that we experienced it, but it's not a port that I would recommend. Perhaps if you do an uber cool excursion, the place might hold a brighter light, but it's nothing to write home about.

Wed., Jan. 23 - Today we stopped in St. Maarten (Philipsburg - Dutch side). We took a water taxi (recommended) to the town pier, and again, we did not book any excursions - we just wanted to walk around and get a feel for the place (we are cruising on Adventure of the Seas in April for my DH's birthday, and we will be repeating the ports of San Juan, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas). This, by far, was our favorite port of call. Note: there is a public beach right at the town pier, so bring your bathing suits. There is plenty of shopping and food. The water was a beautiful turquoise, and the 1 place we would recommend for jewelry is a store at the end of Front St. called Bedazzled. It's a small shop, but the owner, Harry, is very down to earth and seemed honest. We ended up buying a 1 carat diamond wedding band in white gold. His prices are very good, especially for repeat customers (a couple we met at the meet and mingle were in there, Steve & Janice, and they had bought a new white and blue diamond wedding set for Janice in celebration of their 30th wedding anniversary - congrats! :D ). Harry had even made 3 signs welcoming Steve and Janice, lol. It was very cute. We just had a great experience in there and would highly, highly recommend it to anyone wanting a good deal on quality jewelry. The cruise is going to recommend places like Diamonds International and some others, but we found out that those stores pay for the advertising, and you do not necessarily find the best deals there. Anyways, after walking around a lot, we made our way back to the boat. There was also a Carnival Victory there as well as The Caribbean Princess. The weather was beautiful today all around. We were lucky enough to get tickets to watch the ice show, "Ice Under the Big Top" which was AWESOME! Hands down, that was the best entertainment we experienced while on board the Mariner. The regular shows with the singers and dancers were fine, but this was exceptional. Afterwards, we had dinner in the Windjammer (we never went to the formal dining room during the trip).

Thurs., Jan. 24 - Today's port of call was St. Thomas. A familiar sight, The Caribbean Princess, was there as well. Again, no excusions - we just walked around. My DH was told by some co-workers that we needed to go up to the sky ride and have a bushwhacker drink. With me being pregnant, I let him drink for both of us. :p Doing the sky ride was $19 round trip per person, but you get a great view of the island. There are some touristy shops up there, but the place we hung out at was the bar (which also served some tasty looking food as well). Lots of geccos around! We would recommend doing this - it's within walkable distance from the pier. If you want to venture into the downtown area, take a cab. It's $4 per person. Otherwise, it's a good 2.5 mile jog. Once back onboard, we ate at Chops with our new friends, Chris and Barbara. We all had a great time, and the food and service were outstanding. This was our favorite night! After dinner, we hit up the Quest game which was hilarious!

Fri., Jan. 25 - Reality was starting to creep in and remind us that we were on our trek home now, lol. Friday and Saturday were days at sea. My DH scheduled an appointment to book a future cruise onboard (recommended), and he said the lady there was very, very nice. The rest of the day was pretty much just spent relaxing. We took in the evening show, Pure Energy, a musical/dance tribute to the 80s (the previous night was a show dedicated to Motown and the 70s - we weren't interested in that and didn't go). This was ok. The singers and dancers were fine, but we both thought (being fans of 80s music having grown up during that time) that they picked some odd choices for music. For example, when I think of the 80s, I think Michael Jackson. They didn't do any MJ material (I was thinking they would surely put "Thriller" in there, but they didn't). They picked out some Duran Duran, Culture Club, Billy Joel, and something from a movie neither my DH nor I had heard of called "The Big Chill" <shrug>. Later on (12:15am), we went to a stand-up comedy show with our cruise director, Graham Seymour. Funny, funny stuff! He kept us in stitches throughout the cruise (excellent guy).

Sat., Jan. 26 - Ok, now reality was *really* setting in, lol. Friday night was rough sleeping because of choppy waters, and this night would be even worse (needless to say, we didn't sleep well on the cruise). Everyone had to report to customs and declare citizenship this morning. That went very quickly/smoothly. We spent the day relaxing as much as possible (sitting on the deck chairs, walking around, etc.). We opted to not go to the farewell show and instead enjoyed a great dinner with our new buddies, Chris and Barbara, in the Windjammer.

Sun., Jan. 27 - Debarkation went very, very smoothly. We were able to get right off the boat, got our luggage (which we had set out the night before), and customs at the port was very fast and pleasant. After renting a car, we went to the Kennedy Space Center and did an "up close" tour. This was basically a bus guided tour that got us closer to the launch pad (the shuttle Atlantis was on it ready to launch on Feb. 7) than any other tour. My DH enjoyed the shuttle similator ride (which I observed), and we enjoyed walking around seeing the sights.

Overall, we really had a great time. We felt the best entertainment of the cruise were our cruise director, Graham, and the ice show. My DH and I also passed our time this week playing in the arcade - fun stuff! One thing I forgot to mention (and I don't remember the day), but we went to the Love & Marriage show which we highly recommend! Meeting Chris and Barbara was so cool, and we may even be sailing with them on the Brilliance next January. You hear about people meeting other couples and crusing together, and we were very happy to make 2 great new friends. The one thing we noticed was that there were A LOT of elderly people on this cruise - moreso than any other cruise we'd been on. Also, apparently a number of people had caught the Norovirus and were sequestered in the medical facility on deck 1. The captain (great guy, very personable and very visible out and about talking to passengers) even put out a letter about it on the 23rd. Our cabin steward, Alfred, was ... ok. We always got the sense that he would smile for people when they saw him, but he really didn't come across as someone who was much of a people person. There was 1 night were our room was not made up, and we also didn't get a customer survey (my DH had to stand in line to get that at the front desk). That aside, we would recommend the Mariner to anyone who wanted a great cruising experience. There were roughly 3700 passengers, but it didn't feel like it (other than a few times there was overcrowding in the Windjammer - it really needs more seating). Chops was fantastic, and our friends had gone to Portofino's and said it was phenominal as well. We also went to Johnny Rockets, and we thought that was very good. So there you have it - hope the information is useful and interesting. :D

[ontheopenseas]

Thanks for a wonderful, detailed review! Sounds like you had a great time, what a nice bonus to meet some new friends along the way!

[Arizona Laura]

We had a fire drill on the Mariner during the Jan 13 sailing and the routine sounded like ours.

We did also talk about their choice of music being odd for the 80s.

The week goes fast doesn't it?

We enjoyed Capt Per and Graham.

Glad you had a good time.

Laura

[Meg n Randy]

We were also on this trip. We asked our waiter about the calls. Alpha Alpha Alpha is medical emergency. Beta beta beta is fire (he said it could be any fire, anywhere, no matter how small). Omega omega omega is man overboard.:eek:

[Conanc]

Thanks for your review. Glad you had such a great time. Love that class of ship and itinerary!

[Lionesss]

Can't wait to sail her Aug. 10th.

Beautiful review,

Thanks

[mark290]

Thanks for the review. You never heard of "The Big Chill" ?

Thanks for making me feel old.

[4 cruis'n]

Thanks for the review. We love the Mariner, too. Coureous as to why you decided not to eat in the dining room during your cruise. Did you have an unacceptable seating time?

[JJHNLC]

Great review- Thanks!! We will be sailing on her to the Western Caribbean in December. This will be the second time, she is a beautiful ship!!:)

[daisy7113]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing on her in May. Thanks for the tip on the jewelry store in St. Maarten. I will be sure and make a stop there. :D

[MAO]

Hello! Parden the interuption but I thought I'd add my 2 cents as we were also on this cruise and maybe could add alittle of our own opinion...

Have to agree that this was a great cruise, not our best but not our worst either. We are in our early 40's and related thru marriage (I married her brother) This is our 6th cruise together and 2nd time on the Mariner (other 4 on Carnival) We love the beach and love to party and laugh.

We both agree that each cruise line has pros and cons but We think that Carnival has better food. We ate in the dining room all but 2 nites, we felt that the food left something to be desired (not always cooked right, odd taste, bland or raw in the case of my cod). More specifically the windjammer didn't provide anything we found palatable, and at times wasn't open even for juice/tea. The burgers are pre cooked, the bread falls apart and the lettuce was wilted. We often got little deli sandwiches at the Cafe Promanade (very good) This really is our only complaint. I don't want ot drag on and on (I think I might have) If you need more specifics I"d be happy to answer.

Saw a few shows; the comedy was funny, Graham is a hoot. The ice show is unbeleiveable and the quest ....well I can't believe what some people will do! The song and dance shows...doesn't change much. These people (the performers) are talented just not my cup of tea. The wig and gavel had a very entertaining musician, he kept the audiance involved. The casinos gave us NO money (tight) but we did see a few winners. The Dragans Leir was fun (my SIL doesn't like that music hung out for me) I danced some, they don't like to venture off the "menu" of music they have chosen and tended to repeat alot night to night....still a fun time (I'd guess since we didn't see bed till the wee morning)

We found St Thomas was our favorite stop this time which surprised us as in the past we were partial to St Martin. St Martin has changed and we found it to be more commercialized and not as rustic (i think thats the word) Still the best shopping for your money...hands down. We met Steve and Janice also and they are a great couple. The jewlery store is definately a good one Steve and Janice have used them for years (I think they mentioned) and have had the jewlery appraised....great deals. Janices blue diamond was un-freaking believeably beautiful!!

St Thomas is breath taking, the views from up top the mountain are worth every penny of the $19 (and I'm cheap) I'd pay it again. Didn't drink the bushwacker but tryed it, very good and tasty. The little shops are alittle more expensive than some others but not unreasonable.

And...I've been slammed before on my opinion of San Juan, I still feel it is a wasted stop. Still don't feel safe and was glad we had another couple with us (Cheryl and Steve) We did buy Gasolina which can only be bought in San Juan and we were warned by the locals to only drink one. Apparently it is very potent stuff, it comes in a capri sun type package and is made with rum, tequiela and juices and I'm sure something else. SIL and I split one and that was enough:eek: Fort El Morro is beautiful and comeing into SJ is a gorgeous site.

The staff as usual were friendly and interactive, the bartenders were talented (swingn' and throwin' bottles as well as mixing good drinks) and they always remember your name....amazing! Room steward was good, no-one will ever replace our first Fu-Fu. Balconies are the best!

It's true what they say and as the OP said you meet people on cruises and sometime things just click, I hope we stay in touch with the people we met cuz they were truely a great bunch. Steve and Janice were a few doors down from us and just such a nice couple. They had dinner with others from our roll call and we regretted not setting that up with them. Cheryl and Steve were our party buddies and kept us laughing, again everyone was just so nice! There were alot of elderly on this cruise, and we met a few party along the way.

[birdylady]

Thank you for such great reviews. I've heard Graham was back and I am HOPING that he's still there for our March 2nd Eastern sailing.

 

Interesting about your views of San Juan. I've never been and always had been under the impression it was a beautiful city. Now I'm getting the impression it's more like Jamaica, dirty, unsafe feeling and pressure for 'buying' or donating to folks on the street. I hope that's not really the case.

 

We are talking about eating dinner in SJ. Did anyone do this and if so, would you recommend anywhere?

 

We're planning to do some 'wandering' for both of the other stops, along with doing the Atlantis sub in St. Thomas. Would anyone recommend renting a car or just stick with cabs?

 

Thanx again for all your input.

Erika

[bigasufan]

We're going to be on the Mariner in September for our third cruise. Sure looking forward to it.

[Cytoxan]

Great review, I’ve been checking this ship out since she’s heading to the west coast. Looking at RCI’s website, the ships highlights and virtual tour doesn’t show that there’s a Chops yet you had dinner there. That was the one thing I was looking for in a west coast ship and was a little bummed about that. Now I know that they just need to update their website.

[YoungDiamond]

wow great review!! my buddy and i are doing the cruise on march 3rd, i cant wait!! any one ever eat in san juan? please let me know i love food and especially when it is authentic! thanks

[YoungDiamond]

wow great review!! my buddy and i are doing the cruise on march 3rd, i cant wait!! any one ever eat in san juan? please let me know i love food and especially when it is authentic! thanks

[schack2]

My DH and I were also on this same cruise ....one of the "elderly couples" but we like to call ourselves "recylced teenagers"

 

Mariner is beautiful, but we agree with Mao that the food on Carnival was a lot better. This was our 21st cruise...second with RCCL. Because we sailed with Celebrity before on our 1st RCCL we joined Crown & Anchor and were given Platinum service. Quite a few perks. We had a JS on deck 9.

 

Our cabin steward was outwardly rude to me one night....we had asked him earlier in the day about emptying the ash tray out on our deck (yes, we are smokers). His response was that it was too windy.

 

Later as I was coming back from picking up some sushi to have before our 8:30 dinner he confronted me about closing the door when smoking. I said we did. He then said he smelled smoke and would have to report us if he smelled it again...I said,"Be my guest, we are not smoking in the room and do keep the door closed". I think this was in retaliation to our questioning him about emptying ashtrays. I happen to ask our head waiter if they get a reward, and he said no and asked why. He took our cabin number and said he would report it to head housekeeping since the steward was so rude. I also reported it the next day at guest relations. They wrote up a report to give to the supervisor, but we never heard anything, however, our steward was as friendly as can be after that.

 

Beware of extra charges on your bill. We received our bill Sun . morning and it was fine. When I checked AMEX yesterday there was a $10.67 difference. I did call Customer Service and they said it was the minibar on Sun. Never used it except to 2 bottles of water which were charged to our account. I mentioned our problem and she was appalled. Said they would issue a credit. He was the worse cabin steward we have had in all of our cruises with all kinds of cruise lines.

 

We were on Costa in Dec. and had better service and friendlier staff. Met many people on Mariner who we will keep in touch, both our age and even younger with young children who were left home.

 

We haven't been on Carnival in a few years so I think we will go back and try them on our next cruise.

 

By the way, on the Eastern route you go through customs in St. Thomas before you can get off the ship....very easy.

[maggieq]

The mariner seems to get that dreaded noro quite a bit...

 

We just got back from the Empress Monday and the waiters were handing out wipes and would not let you enter the wj or the dining rooms without taking one and using it.

[TravelingG]

[quote name=

We were lucky enough to get tickets to watch the ice show, "Ice Under the Big Top" which was AWESOME! Hands down, that was the best entertainment we experienced while on board the Mariner.

 

First of all, thank you for the great review, we have a group of 16 women sailing the Mariner in Oct. So am I to understand you that the ice show is an extra charge? If so how much?

[dwdwnurse]

wow great review!! my buddy and i are doing the cruise on march 3rd, i cant wait!! any one ever eat in san juan? please let me know i love food and especially when it is authentic! thanks

 

We were just in San Juan this past December and thoroughly enjoyed it! It was all decorated for Christmas and was very neat and clean (or at least the part we saw). We toured El Morro and couldn't believe the views from the top! We ate (and stored my parents' luggage) at Barrachinas. I had the best shrimp fajitas and black bean soup there that I have ever had! All six of us thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. If you get to eat there, don't forget to have a pina colada - that's where they were invented and they were excellent:D. Everyone we encountered were very friendly and helpful - couldn't ask for more!

[dwdwnurse]

[quote name=

We were lucky enough to get tickets to watch the ice show, "Ice Under the Big Top" which was AWESOME! Hands down, that was the best entertainment we experienced while on board the Mariner.

 

First of all, thank you for the great review, we have a group of 16 women sailing the Mariner in Oct. So am I to understand you that the ice show is an extra charge? If so how much?

 

No, there is no charge for this. You just need to get in line early on the morning that they are giving away the tickets. It's definitely a no miss!!!