REVIEW-- MARINER OF THE SEAS-- 3/21-3/28

[RDeagazio]

I just returned from escorting a group of 35 people (ages 15-70) on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, Western Caribbean cruise, March 21-28, 2004.

 

 

Transfers/Embarkation:

 

As everyone in my group was from the Tampa area, we chartered a bus with Cruise Connection. They picked us up on-time at 8:45am and drove us non-stop to Port Canaveral, arriving at the ship at 11:20am. The bus was new and very comfortable for the 35 of us. They had TV monitors and showed movies to help pass the time. I had made arrangements prior to departure to bring refreshments onboard. I loaded an assortment of juices, coffee and muffins to serve while enroute to the ship.

Upon arrival, the terminal was not yet open for check in- we waited about 10 mins outside and the doors were opened at 11:30am. Once past security we headed upstairs for check in-- there must have been 30 lanes open and the wait was no more then a few minutes. I had pre-registered my group online which expedited the check in process. We were on the ship and in our cabins by 11:45am. Royal Caribbean now allows early boarding, however you are requested not to proceed to your cabin until 1pm as they may still be cleaning. We went right to our cabins to drop off the carry on luggage and most were clean and ready for occupancy. A lunch buffet was set up in the Windjammer/Jade Cafes and the food and service was excellent.

 

Ship:

 

The ship is the 4th and last ship in the Voyager Class. The ship sailed it's inaugural cruise in Nov. 2003 and being only 4 months old everything is still shiny and new. The Voyager class offers more options and amenities then you could possible do in a week. This ship is perfect for families and large groups as there's something that would appeal to everyone. You board the ship on Deck 5 which is the Royal Promenade-- here you'll find an assortment of bars, lounges, cafes and the duty free shops. Decks 3,4,5 house most of the bars and public rooms. Deck 11 is where you'll find the expansive Ship Shape Center and Spa, the Solarium Pool and Whirlpools (Adults Only), the Main Pools and Whirlpools as well as the casual Windjammer and Jade Cafes offering daily buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon snacks.

Deck 12 houses the Adventure Ocean kids area, Teen's areas and Johnny Rockets. FYI, RCI is now charging $3.95 to dine at Johnny Rockets--Crown and Anchor Diamond and Platinum members receive a coupon for 1 free meal. Deck 13 is the main sports deck and is where you'll find the Basketball court, In-line skating track and mini-golf course as well as the famous rock wall. Deck 14 contains the Viking Crown Lounge which is broken up into several smaller venues-- Ellington's Jazz Club, The 9th Hole Sports Bar, The Crow's Nest lounge and Cloud Nine card room which is also used for private functions.

 

On deck 5 in the Royal Promenade, there is Cafe Promenade which serves hot pizza, assorted sandwiches, cookies, cakes, coffee, and tea 24 hours a day. Adjacent to this area is the Seattle's Best Coffee bar and Ben and Jerry's ice cream (both provided at a fee). There's also a self serve frozen yogurt machine which is open most of the time.

 

Cabins:

 

The group chose to stay in a variety of cabin categories. Several had the Cat. TR - Inside Promenade rooms and loved them. They said these cabins were very quiet and while a bit on the small side they were comfortable for 2 people. Another couple had a Cat. D1- Superior Ocean View with Balcony and found both the cabin and balcony to be a nice size. I had this same category when I was on the Mariner's pre-inaugural cruise last Nov and would agree these cabins are very comfortable. Myself and a few others had a Cat. JS-- Junior Suite which was about double the size of the Cat. D1's with a nice sized bathroom complete with tub.

 

Entertainment/Activities:

 

There is no way you could possible do all that is offered in a 1 week cruise. I only got off the ship twice in 7 days and there were still some areas I never made it to. On 2 nights the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers perform in large production shows (both I avoided since I had already seen these on the pre-inaugural-- however they were very good for standard cruise entertainment). Twice during the week they had guest entertainers, one of which was Charo-- yes she's still alive!! Her show was one of the highlights of the week-- she was very interactive with the audience and was out and about during the week offering autographs and picture opportunities. The comedian onboard was horrible and I doubt he could tell a knock knock joke, however the comedy impressionist was outstanding and received a standing ovation. The one show that is not to be missed is the Ice Skating review-- Ice Under the Big Top. This is the 3rd time I've seen this show and it just keeps getting better. You do need to obtain tickets (free) as seating is limited. The show runs over the course of several nights which allows anyone interested a chance to see it. Supplementing the formal shows is a wide variety of live music and the standard cruise game shows as well as 3 parades down the Royal Promenade at midnight. Each of the public lounges had a different form of live music and all of the musicians I listened to were very talented. The most talented were the latin salsa band in Bolero's, Mega 4 the poolside reggae band and the Jazz band from Ellington's who also played poolside on 2 occasions.

 

Food:

 

Obviously it's impossible to produce 5 star cuisine when you're serving almost 4,000 people-- however the food in the main dining room was good to very good. We only ate dinner in the main dining room, opting for room service in the morning and eating lunch either in the Windjammer or at Johnny Rockets. One night the group dined in Chops Grille, and it was a bit disappointing in both the quality of food and the service we received. I've dined at Chops on other ships and the food was much better. I'm not sure if this is the norm on the Mariner or if it had something to do with them trying to feed all 35 of us at one time. Another night the group dined at Portofino and the food and service were over the top!! Both of these restaurants are well worth the extra $20 per person-- provided the experience we had in Chops is not the norm for this ship. The buffet items in the Windjammer and Jade cafe's changed daily and offered a nice selection of hot, fresh food. Self serve ice cream stations are located in the Windjammer, on the mail pool deck and in the Royal Promenade area and were very popular with all onboard.

 

Service:

 

I have found RCI to have the most friendly, accommodating crew of any of the mass market lines and the crew onboard the Mariner is no exception. I have a few friends that are bartenders onboard and the Bar Manager is a friend of one of my friends on the Nordic Empress so needless to say my bar tab was all but non-existent :-)

We had made arrangements with our cabin attendant to stay in our cabin until debarkation which was nice since I hate sitting in the hallways with all the other people pushing to get off the ship on the last day. Our waiter and assistant waiter were excellent as were most of the crew we encountered. The were however 2 exceptions-- The first one was the Concierge. As we are Diamond C&A members we were given access to the Concierge Lounge which is also available to Suite guests. The lounge is a nice quiet area where you can have continental breakfast each morning, and each evening they offer a variety of hot and cold snacks as well as a complimentary open bar. Normally we spend quite a bit of time in this area, however due to the horrible service and attitude of the Concierge, I found myself avoiding this area just to keep my frustration level down. He was totally unwilling to offer any assistance at all in arranging ice show tickets for my group, getting us debarkation luggage tags etc-- A quick trip to the Purser's office produced everything I needed. The other exception was our Head Waiter-- he was all but non-existent and did nothing to assist our waiter and his assistant. With 35 people, the poor guys were running non-stop and could have used a hand from the Head Waiter-- I finally had enough and went to the Maitre'd and requested he advise the Head Waiter that I did not want to see him in our section for the remainder of the cruise-- especially on tip night-- I advised the group to put whatever tip he would have gotten into the envelopes of the waiter and assistant or in the slot machines of the casino.

 

Extras:

 

I had made arrangements with the RCI Group Desk to have a private cocktail party onboard. For the cost of $16.00 per person this was a steal. We were set up in the Cloud Nine area of the Viking Crown and were provided with a nice selection of hot and cold food and an open bar for an hour and a half. The staff serving us could not have been nicer and received a generous tip from the group.

 

Ports:

 

Originally; we were scheduled to stop at Labadee, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Ocho Rios but due to the civil unrest in Haiti, Freeport Bahamas was substituted for Labadee. I had pre-sold my shore excursions for the group through local tour operators at each port.

Just after sailing the Captain announced that we would not be visiting Freeport and Nassau would be added instead-- great-- I now had less then 12 hours to make tour arrangements for Nassau and cancel the ones for Freeport. I spent all night in the Shore Excursions office and the Purser's office emailing, calling and faxing everyone to make last minute arrangements. The staff onboard were wonderful in allowing me use of their facilities while I made the necessary arrangements. I didn't make it to my cabin until 6am-- but all worked out fine. In Grand Cayman the water excursions were cancelled due to high seas, so again I needed to make some new arrangements. In Ocho Rios I booked a private tour with Ionie McBeam-- she and her husband offer 5 hour guided tours for $17.00 pp and will do anything you desire. They picked up my group in 2 large, modern, air conditioned vans and customized the trip to the groups needs. I highly recommend Ionie and she can be emailed at ionie@ocho-rios.com. Payment is made directly to Ionie at the conclusion of each tour. In Cozumel, just about everyone went to Chaakanaab Park to swim with the dolphins.

 

Unexpected:

 

I am now the poster boy for INSURANCE!! Something happened to me in Jamaica-- either something bit me or I rubbed against a plant or something and awoke the following morning to my left leg so swollen I could not put on a shoe. I needed to make a visit to the ship's doctor which cost me $350.00 for a 10 min visit, a shot of something and some pills.

 

Pictures:

 

I have about 100 pics of the Mariner including all of the cabin categories online at http://community.webshots.com/user/rdeagazio

 

This was a great cruise overall, and while I'm not a personal fan of the Voyager class vessels, they are truly amazing.

 

Bob

 

NCL Sunward II / Emerald Seas

HAL Veendam (old and new)

HAL Zaandam

HAL Volendam (old and new)

HAL Maasdam / HAL Statendam

RCI Song of Norway

RCI Nordic Prince

RCI Sun Viking

RCI Song of America

NCL Southward / NCL Norway

Home Lines Homeric

RCI Sovereign of the Seas

RCI Majesty of the Seas

RCI Monarch of the Seas (2x)

RCI Grandeur (2x)

RCI Enchantment (4x)

RCI Vision / RCI Splendour

Celebrity Galaxy

Carnival Tropicale

Carnival Paradise

Carnival Destiny

RCI Nordic Empress (2x)

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam

HAL Noordam / NCL Sky (2x)

NCL Sun / NCL Dawn

NCL Sea / NCL Majesty

Carnival Victory

Carnival Glory

RCI Voyager (2x)

RCI Explorer / RCI Adventure

RCI Navigator / RCI Brilliance

RCI Serenade (2x)

RCI Mariner 11/12/03

RCI Nordic Empress 12/20/03

RCI Radiance 12/28/03

Cunard QM2 1/30/04

RCI Mariner 3/21/04

HAL Oosterdam 5/2/04

RCI Serenade 7/18/04

And more to come.....

[Firefighter's wife]

Bob-Thanks for the great detailed reveiw.

We can't wait until our cruise in Sept.Also

great pics.Again thank you.........Vee

IS IT CRUISE TIME YET?????

Dee& Vee

INSPIRATION 7'02

PRIDE 5'03

CONQUEST 9'03

MARINER 9/12/04

GRANDEUR 12/18/04

DIAMOND PRINCES 5/5

 

Till I Stop Pulling Out My Hair Waiting!!!!!!!!

We'll be waiting for you GRANDEUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mafig]

Thank you for taking the time to write an excellent review.

 

Re the coupon for Johnny Rockets. Is it just available to Diamond and Platinum members, not gold?

[Merion_Mom]

mafig:

 

I haven't been on a cruise yet when they were charging for JR's, but from reading these boards, I can answer your question: every C&A member gets the coupon, regardless of level.

 

Carol

 

 

 

Jewel of the Seas 12/2004

Explorer of the Seas 12/2003

Explorer of the Seas 8/2002

 

<marquee>till we sail on the Jewel! New Year's Cruise.....12/26/04</marquee>

 

<marquee>..........................Oh, no! We have become New Year's Cruise Addicts!</marquee>

[newlywed04]

Thanks for the info!

 

Can't wait until our cruise!

 

May 16th here we come!!!

 

Kerri

[skyking]

Very colorful posting, especially like the part about stiffing your wait staff. Hope I dont cruise with you!

 

Tropicale 10-7-00

Sovereign Of The Seas 5-6-01

Triumph 9-1-01

Explorer Of The Seas 8-31-2002

Carnival Pride 4-12-2003

Mariner Of The Seas 11-16-2003 (Innagural Cruise)

Carnival Fantasy 1-29-2004

Mariner Of The Seas 3-28-2004

 

community.webshots.com/user/skyking518

[royalplatinum]

great review, looks like a good time was had by all. Just one small point

 

Mariner of the seas is the FIFTH and last Voyager class. (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator and Mariner)

[laurashelby]

Thanks for the review and the photos! Is your leg okay??

 

Laura

 

Roll Call: Mariner 7/11/04...Please Join Us!

 

 

Enchanted Seas 9/93

Atlantic 12/94

Majestic 4/95

Grandeur of the Seas 8/97

Paradise 8/99

Ocean Princess 8/00

Navigator of the Seas 10/03

 

 

 

Countdown 'till the Mariner 7/11/04!!

 

 

[yarlenna]

Great review. We were on Brilliance March 8th, and also preferred Portifinos to Chops. I just thought the food was prepared with more care and the service was wonderful.

Sorry to read about your concierge. Ours (Chris) was top notch! I went to the concierge lounge even when it wasn't supposed to be open we liked the space and the service so much.

That cocktail party sounds like you got a great deal and enjoyed a great time.

You didn't really write about your room steward. Did you experience any delays in having your room made up, or have they fixed that already? Were there towel animals some evenings, or are they on the endangered list?

 

Work like a dog. Live like a pauper. Save all your money. Then Cruise!

 

[RDeagazio]

Thanks All---

 

Yarlenna-- Our room steward was EXCELLENT! Yes we had towel animal every night. I would order him room service dinner from the dining room menu and he would sit in our cabin at night while we were out and watch TV and eat his dinner.

 

Laura- Yes thanks my leg is fine-- pretty scarry though when it first swelled.

 

Skyking-- We did NOT stiff our wait staff-- as a matter of fact they were tipped more then double the suggested amount. The person who was stiffed was the Head Waiter who did nothing to assist his staff (our waiter and assistant) his normal tip was added to the waiter and asst waiters envelopes.

 

RoyalPlatinum-- sorry typo-- yes Mariner is the 5th in the Voyager series-- I was trying to get this review posted among many interruptions. :-)

 

Bob

 

NCL Sunward II / Emerald Seas

HAL Veendam (old and new)

HAL Zaandam

HAL Volendam (old and new)

HAL Maasdam / HAL Statendam

RCI Song of Norway

RCI Nordic Prince

RCI Sun Viking

RCI Song of America

NCL Southward / NCL Norway

Home Lines Homeric

RCI Sovereign of the Seas

RCI Majesty of the Seas

RCI Monarch of the Seas (2x)

RCI Grandeur (2x)

RCI Enchantment (4x)

RCI Vision / RCI Splendour

Celebrity Galaxy

Carnival Tropicale

Carnival Paradise

Carnival Destiny

RCI Nordic Empress (2x)

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam

HAL Noordam / NCL Sky (2x)

NCL Sun / NCL Dawn

NCL Sea / NCL Majesty

Carnival Victory

Carnival Glory

RCI Voyager (2x)

RCI Explorer / RCI Adventure

RCI Navigator / RCI Brilliance

RCI Serenade (2x)

RCI Mariner 11/12/03

RCI Nordic Empress 12/20/03

RCI Radiance 12/28/03

Cunard QM2 1/30/04

RCI Mariner 3/21/04

HAL Oosterdam 5/2/04

RCI Serenade 7/18/04

And more to come.....

[CaptChris]

Bob,

 

I have a quick question about Adventure Ocean Youth Programs on the Mariner.

 

We are looking to go on the Mariner for our 2nd cruise, but this time we are planning on taking our kids, DD 5, DS 3.

 

How are the youth programs on the Mariner? We are not looking to leave our kids there all day, just a couple of hours here and there throughout the week. We plan on taking our kids into ports with us, etc. I know Disney really excells with this, but I can go on the Mariner with a significant overall savings in price!

 

We recently had a blast on the Nordic Empress, and really want to make cruising our vacation of choice, but we cannot leave our kids at the grandparents with a clear conscience! At the same time, I do not wish my kids to be bored!

 

You have provided me great advice in the past, and I am seeking your wise counsel once again.

 

Thanks

 

Nordic Empress 3/2004

 

[LLM]

Thank you so much for your review. I can't wait to see the Mariner for myself!

 

Lisa

 

Until Mariner of the Seas

 

 

Voyager of the Seas - Oct. 2003

[FnyFACEnAL]

Thanks for all of your info!!

Is the purser the only person with the ice show tickets?

Thanks again!

[FnyFACEnAL]

One more question please...

 

is the Solarium Pool adults only? Is it open into the evening?

THANKS!

[karen2cruz]

Hi,

I am on the Mariner right now and can agree about the concierge. He has an attitude. We didn't have problems with the ice show tickets but he locks the drinks up unless he is there. It is supposed to be an honor bar open 24 hours. Didn't seem too excited to help us with some other things either.

 

Sorry you had a problem with your head waiter. Ours is great. In fact have seen him more than the others on other cruises I have been on. He cuts our food and clears our plates.

 

The solarium is open 24 hours and is adults only, very beautiful.

 

I agree there is no way to experience everything on this ship in one cruise. Guess we'll have to go again

 

Sea Princess 2/02

DisneyWonder 6/03

Mariner of the Seas 4/04

So. Carib cruise ? 2/05

 

Mariner of the Seas

[Ocean Boy]

Actually, Mariner is the 5th and last of the Voyager class. Are you sure that you don't board the ship on deck 4? Unless she has some very big design changes from the previous ships it would be pretty impossible to board on the Royal Prominade.

[FnyFACEnAL]

A solarium pool that is open 24 hours a day would be wonderful!! Is there a lot of chair saving in this area also?

I am still wondering where the best place is to get the ice show tickets. I would like to go to both shows that week.

Thanks!

[Truluv]

Fantastic review -- thank you! Did you see any of the teen problems that others have mentioned? (I'll be bringing 4 of my own.) Did you chose to visit Johnny Rockets, and did the surcharge reduce the wait? What did you end up doing in Nassau?

 

For FnyFACEnAL, on Explorer they announced in the daily newsletter that tickets to the ice-skating would be handed out (I think it was 10:00 a.m.) in the lobby in front of the show area on two days. I don't remember whether it was the day of the show or the day before. The line for tickets moved very quickly -- no seat numbers are assigned, so it doesn't matter which tickets you get.

[ED MARY ANN]

What a excellent review July can't get here soon enough for us.

 

7/10/04 MARINER OF THE SEAS CRUISE