***LIVE from the Mariner 7/13***

[SmileMom]

I am more secure about our decision not to take the kids on the Freedom next year (as you know the Mariner is going to Calif, and the Freedom replaces her and we booked it for next July just the 2 of us). My son has only met the 2 kids from our Roll Call, and so thankful for that. They hang all the time, but without them , he would be lost. He has NO problems meeting kids, but his age group is either non-existant here, or they are hiding. My daughter has not met a sole, but she hangs with us or does her own thing, but that can't be that much fun.

Denice, how old are your children? Are they going to Adventure Ocean?

[shazzz]

D...what a difference from last yr..Blake, Cori and Seth were inseperable !!!!

How r the slots treating u???

[FreewayFortune]

I'm glad your eyes are feeling better. Good luck tonight at the Love and Marriage Game Show:) :D

[Newsbuff16]

Denice, glad your eyes are feeling better...pink eye is no fun!

 

Did you get into the Love and Marriage game? It was so much fun watching you participate last year! How does Drew compare to Alan? I know in your eyes no one does!

[VAHockeymom]

Denise,

 

You sound like you are an absolute blast to hang with and judging from all your friends here, I have no doubt that I am correct in that assumption. I'm thrilled that you are enjoying Mariner. We were on her last November for Thanksgiving and so far she is my favorite ship. We loved Labadee too and our whole group (10) did the zipline, it was a great experience and one I'm looking forward to again.

 

I wonder if you might do me one small favor the next time you go for coffee on the promenade? Last year we had a wine in Vintages that you can only order there (or at least that's the only place we saw it printed on a menu). It was a Chardonnay blend of some sort, definitely a white and I believe it was from one of the Coppola cellars, but I haven't been able to find it here. If you can get the name of it for me or just take a picture of the menu that lists all the whites and post that later, that would be awesome!

 

Thoroughly enjoying your posts and wish I was there too! Sorry about the pink-eye, that really stinks. I'm sure it hasn't slowed you down too much though!:D

 

Enjoy!!!

[Mydnite]

Thanks for carrying on posting, hope your eyes are getting better.

[Markalana]

Oh boy, I'll never live that down. You never sleep past six thirty! And I'm never up before eight! Just so you know, I tried to sign on as Marmalade, but there's already someone using that name.

Bob's flying high. He was at the office and things are looking good!!!!

Good luck making the game show!

[Mark O]

Great report. Hope your pinkeye is better. Have had it before.

 

Is the ship still on a code red alert for norovirus? I know that they were last week and that there was an outbreak the week before that which required an extra cleaning of the ship (that week's passengers were delayed a bit getting on the ship.). Thanks

 

I contacted RCCL's customer service by telephone today and inquired about whether there had been any alerts and or viruses aboard the Mariner in the past few weeks. The Customer Service person put me on hold and checked with another "in the know" department and then came back and told me nothing had been reported. So I probed a bit more, and they finally put me on the phone with someone in the Resolution Department. Again, same answer. I asked what passengers should assume when they see crew members handing out anti-bacterial wipes, but all I could get out of her was that RCCL takes this virus stuff seriously, cleans constantly, and considers itself a leader in the industry in terms of being proactive. So, I don't know where the term "red alert" comes from, but my take on this is that there probably were some instances of illness but not enough to rise to the level of a reportable virus concern. Let's hope this stays under control.

[Kathy130]

Denice.......Dying of curiosity.........Did you or didn't do L& M??????????

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Denice, glad your eyes are feeling better...pink eye is no fun!

 

Did you get into the Love and Marriage game? It was so much fun watching you participate last year! How does Drew compare to Alan? I know in your eyes no one does!

No one compares to Allan (I so agree with Denice!!!) The very weird thing is......the CD who took Allans place on ExOS, Dave Chapman, well his words, actions etc are all carbon copied from Allan, it is almost creepy.....Especially watching Dave conduct the Love & Marriage game after seeing Allan's twice!! (once was DZ!!)

 

Denice..I hope you guys get on L&M.....let us know. I see Im not the only one excited to find out! Also, this past cruise Alexa met one person/guy her age towards the end of the cruise- so different from all our others!

[2drummerboys]

Denice, how old are your children? Are they going to Adventure Ocean?

 

I have enjoyed reading about your cruise as well. I was wondering about the Adventure Ocean daily schedule? Could you get them for each day and tell us about the youth activities?

 

We are going on a Western in October and have not found any recent schedules for the youth programs.

 

Thanking you in advance. Hope your pinkeye is better soon. Hopefully you will be back in contacts in a few days.

[SherriZ366]

I contacted RCCL's customer service by telephone today and inquired about whether there had been any alerts and or viruses aboard the Mariner in the past few weeks. The Customer Service person put me on hold and checked with another "in the know" department and then came back and told me nothing had been reported. So I probed a bit more, and they finally put me on the phone with someone in the Resolution Department. Again, same answer. I asked what passengers should assume when they see crew members handing out anti-bacterial wipes, but all I could get out of her was that RCCL takes this virus stuff seriously, cleans constantly, and considers itself a leader in the industry in terms of being proactive. So, I don't know where the term "red alert" comes from, but my take on this is that there probably were some instances of illness but not enough to rise to the level of a reportable virus concern. Let's hope this stays under control.

good info. Would rather RCCL be proactive. I think they have learned a great deal since these outbreaks began.

[dzboss1]

I just got in..it is after 1am!! What a fun night. I will give you all details tomorrow, LATE morning. But some brief comments.....

 

NO (sniff, sniff) we didn't get on L and M. They changed the line and we did not do well with it, so we got very little applause.

 

But I will tell you I was just at poolside for the big dance party, and when Cotton Eye Joe came on (Marlene, I thought of you!!), NOBODY knew how to do it that was dancing, so I walked to the front of the stage and started doing it, and was pulled on the stage by the crew to lead THEM and everyone else.:D I danced for over an hour..we did every line dance..it was AWESOME.

 

Ate at Portofino..details tomorrow.

Saw the ice show...details tomorrow

played cruise give away bingo, lost.

Lots to do tomorrow night, formal night, details tomorrow

 

Katie~~sorry, I forgot about Adventure Ocean...I will get info tomorrow.

VAHockey ~~ I will also get info tomorrow once we sail.

Smile~~19 and 22

 

EXHAUSTED (not a bad thing)..off to sleep..more late tomorrow morning.

[kaseyoz]

hope you get a good nights sleep.

You will be needing a holiday to catch up when you return.

 

Just loving every minute and feel I am right there with you

[celebrity]

Hi D!

So sorry abt the pink eye..get better soon!

Sounds like a great time. Too bad the Clippers weren't in the L&M audience, we would've gotten you on the stage with our cheers!

I can't sleep, I leave in 6 1/2 hours! I 'll read up on your adventures & we can compare notes when I return.

Cat..not Sue!!

[BirthdayCruise_08]

Hope you feel better soon. Sounds like it's not slowing you down though...can't wait to read more updates!!

[twinlges]

Ok, here's my question...it's going to seem really stuid but--here goes (we're packing today so I NEED the info!! LOL! :) ) Do the rooms have DVD players -- DH and I have a hard time sleeping without the TV on and I know how EXCELLENT the stations are on board! (I know we're like pathetic old ppl!! )

 

Katie (Pat room 6344 and tell her I'll see her Sunday!)

[cruizinmimi]

Thanks for carrying on posting, hope your eyes are getting better.

 

Terri - we miss you on our roll call...come back:D :)

[cruizinmimi]

Thanks for carrying on posting, hope your eyes are getting better.

 

Terri - we miss you over at the roll call thread. Please come and join us:D :)

[DGBG]

Good Morning Denice!

No L&M :( ...so sorry... I know how much you were looking forward to being a contestant!

Hope you'r having a great day... Another sunny, hot day here in CLT..Still no sea breeze!

Ya know, I'm really getting into this email stuff....(only because you're on this cruise--when you return to NC we're going back to the phone) The only way you can keep me emailing is if you can talk Harvey into staying on board for a B2B so you can continue this Live From The Mariner thread!

Miss ya! OOXOO

donna

[dzboss1]

Good morning everyone!!

 

I still am not allowed to dial out...I am not happy that I can't connect with my friends back home, and to email them individually will take forever, so I hope those reading this will share the info and stories with them.

 

Hi Donna!!

Twingles~~ no dvd player

Cat~~have a BALL!!!!

 

So we went to Portofino last night. It was nice, but I liked the energy better in Chops, and I do like the food better. But that is a personal choice only. Still a place you have to experience.

 

We went to the ICE SHOW. The costumes were INCREDIBLE!!! I was blown away by them. It started slow, but got much better, and we enjoyed it, but that said, we like the Explorer one better. Again, personal choice and the ICE SHOW on the Mariner is still great and not to be missed. Some of the acts were AMAZING (just that some were just ok).

 

Then we moved on to Bingo..it was a quick and someone from NJ won the 7 night cruise.

 

Then Love and Marriage Show. We didn't get picked, but we enjoyed it. It is always a show that does not dissapoint (whether we are in it or not;) )

 

Then we went up on deck for the party and buffet. They were dancing every line dance known to man and I did them all. It was awesome. When Cotton Eye Joe was played, for some reason crew and guests were just swinging each other. I LOVE the dance, so I made my way to the front of the pool stage to maybe get people to do it and all of a sudden one of the CD staff yelled "she knows it" and pulled me on stage. the other staff left the stage but her and I and I did it and she followed and the rest followed too. It was fun! Then this CD staff person and I danced together for the next 3 or 4 songs. I need to find her today and tell her how much I enjoyed it. I saw many of my ROLL CALL pals there also. I was up there till about 1. We went to sleep about 2am and slept till 8:30.atill not alot of sleep going on here, but who cares...I AM CRUISING!!

 

We are getting off the ship to go shopping around Grand Cayman in about an hour.

 

Tonight is an 80s production show (love that) and then Battle of the Sexes. It is also formal night.

[dzboss1]

The eyes, by the way, are not great. Better, but not so sure the drops he gave are exactly what I need. But will just wait till I get home, and continue wearing these glasses (yuck!!!!!!)

[FreewayFortune]

Denice, I'm sorry that your eyes aren't fixed yet. And I'm glad you had such a good time dancing and watching the Love and Marriage show.

[CruisingYiayia]

My daughter and son-in-law wanted to try out for the Love and Marriage game. Do you remember who the newlywed couple was?

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Good morning Denice!!

Hope your eyes start to feel better soon!

 

Enjoy Grand Cayman, it is one of our favorite places! We've snorkeled, swam with those stingrays twice (that was enough for us for a long while,lol) and last time we were there, we chartered a sail boat (im sure I had mentioned that on one of our other roll calls) and that was really relaxing and a spoiled time lol.

 

We have actually never shopped on GC, let me know how and what it was like. I think it is easier (cheaper!!) to find Lladro and jewelry and that sort of stuff elsewhere. Next time we land there I plan on just walking to the beach (7 mile). The first time we were there we almost missed the ship (but were not the last ones back! Not that kind of missed the ship, but close! lol)

 

Thanks for letting us enjoy cruising with you and for taking the time to post for all of us on land!

 

btw.....Im guessing you're using Wifi? From your Cabin? Or....???