10/24 Mariner Cruise..Our View

[rosecitycruisers]

We just returned from a fun filled week on the Mariner. Seeing the Mariner for the first time kind of reminds me of the expression on a young child’s face when they enter the Magic Kingdom for the first time and then its gets better as you explore the ship. We are not writing this review with a critical eye as that is not why we cruise and we certainly feel we got our moneys worth.

 

Embarkation was only about a 15minute process, we always come in the day before then take a shuttle to the ship as it is so much more convenient then driving to the terminal, trying to get your bags off loaded then find a parking spot, plus it's $70 cheaper as you don’t have to pay a parking fee. The motel has a special package where we can leave the car in their lot at no cost. We were on the ship by 12:15. Since the cabins were not available until 1pm we went to the Windjammer for lunch which I guess starts the habit of eating every 4 hours LOL. While it was crowded it is the perfect way to make new friends by sharing a table. We found the food available in the Windjammer all week to be a good variety and well prepared, what you would get at any good buffet style restaurant. About the only thing we did not care for was the way they did the omelet station. You had to order, be given a number and told it would be 15 minutes. They never called your number, you just had to go back and check and by then someone else could have picked up your order. I am sure the cruise linhe feels it is more effecient.

 

Our cabin was 8320 which is located just off the lobby and internet café however we never heard any noise either in the hallway or lobby, we think it is a excellent location, in fact we booked that cabin for next year's cruise. This is an E1 category cabin and was certainly big enough for two, best thing they have improved on is replacing the shower curtain with a door.

 

Much has been written on this board about the promenade deck, we will second all that has been said about it and it is a wonderful place to people watch, They did a Oktoberfest there on Saturday with a band and German food, seemed like there was always something going on, which leads to the thought.. I don’t think it is possible to relax, enjoy and do everything on the ship in one week.

 

Some of the things that we noticed that have changed since we were last on a RCCL ship (2001) was the lesser number of people trying to serve the masses. For instance, we never met or saw our cabin attendant although our room was always made up by noon and I noticed that there seem to be less number of bartenders and waiters, even though they tried very hard, bar service really slowed down when the two most popular bars Schooner & Ellington were full. Another thing that has changed and we didn’t care for was on your bar receipt there is now a spot for an additional tip, we have always carried $2 bills for this purpose which I think identifies you to the bartenders/waiter.. also improves the quantity of the drinks. Food in the dinning room was good well prepared and served, it did seem that the variety was more limited then it used to be, but I don’t think anybody went away hungry. We had second seating and could have been done by 10pm if we hadn’t lingered over coffee with our tablemates.

 

Entertainment was good, seen better and seen worse, the first comedian was outstanding however he was a carry over from the previous cruise so only performed on the Sunday night welcome aboard show, the second comedian gave an late night adults only show on Saturday..more of a PG rating and not that funny. The Royal Caribbean singers and dancers gave satisfactory performances, I guess what I’m trying to say after many cruises, if you've seen one you have seen all. The main show group was a group calling themselves the Coasters while they had good voices and put on a good show, the Coasters they were not…. I don’t think theater entertainment is a big item on ships like it used to be when you would be entertained by big name entertainers.

 

One last thing we would like to comment about is this board. We joined CC last year and have learned much. The best thing that Cruise Critic provides is the Roll Call. We had 59 people signed up for our cruise and of that number probably 2/3rd were probably more interactive within the group, we had our own sail-a-way party on deck 5 forward and then did our official M&M get together on the 1st sea day in the Ellington Lounge. It was exciting to match the faces to screen names that we have been chatting with for the past several months. This I think is what made the cruise the best we have ever gone on. We now have new friends from all over the country and UK. While we will probably never meet again as a group, these are people we will continue to e-mail with and chat with on the roll call until it goes away..so thank you Cruise Critic for making our cruise unforgettable.

 

Jim&Pat (RoseCityCruisers):D

[Adventure Girl]

Thank you for posting such a wonderful review. I'm glad to read something positive and not full of negativity. I can never understand how people can go on a CRUISE and come back and write a negative review. Any vacation will have a few low points, but overall a cruise is the best vacation on earth.

 

I'm boarding the Mariner of the Seas on Sunday and I can't wait!

[mojo4trav]

Glad you had an enjoyable time, nice review, thanks!

[joyceyw]

Enjoyed your review. I'm getting excited about January.

 

 

Mojo4trav - Love your attachment. [/url]

[dolfan1949]

Hi Jim & Pat,

Loved your review and was thinking about you last week knowing that you were on the ship. Hope you took good care of my cabin and I will be awaiting pictures of it as promised.:)

Jill

[sherry7]

Thanks for the great review. Just a couple of months until it's my turn. :D

 

Did you do the Eastern or the Western route?

[rosecitycruisers]

Sherry7 we did the western side, Grand Cayman was still closed for our cruise but I heard they were going to reopen this week...You will really going to enjoy the Mariner and her crew, almost lives up to the Carnival rep to being a party ship....Jim

[mammallama]

Thanks for the enjoyable review!

[Jacquelyn11]

Our turn on the Mariner is in about 6 months! We are in the same cabin, one deck above, in 9320. It is across from the Concierge Club. Is there a partition in front of your cabin door that seperates you from the elevators, or does the door open into the hall directly into the area you get to the elevators? I'm hoping the traffic to this area will also be "light"!

 

Sorry you missed GC! I hope things will be back to normal in 6 months.

 

What night did they did the have the lobster? The first formal night? Which night was this? How did the food compare to the Carnival Pride cruise you went on? We did this one in May, 2003.

 

I think I asked this before, but where is Rose City?

 

Will your "05 cruise" be eastern or western?

 

Again, glad you had a great time!

 

Jacquelyn :D

[kruz]

Thanks for the great review! Do you stay at the Radisson pre-cruise?

[rosecitycruisers]

Jacquelyn Hi..when you step out of the cabin (8320) you are facing the cross deck hallway that leads to the internet cafe area which is in the middle between the port & starboard cabins, as you know 8320 is on the starboard side. To get to the aft elevators it is about 10ft straight out the door and then turn to the right to 4 banks of evlevators, 2 are the glass ones and the other 2 are the regular kind. These elevators will open to the Windjammer/Chops/Portofinos/Pool deck on deck 11 or the Promenade deck on 5. The elevators on the starboard side go from deck 1 to 12, the ones on the port side go on up to deck 14. Traffic was never heavy either in our hallway, the cross deck to the internet area or waiting for the elevators..hope this answered your questions on cabin location in relationship to the elevators.

-Grand Cayman was suppose to be back in business this week.

-1st formal night was monday night, 2nd formal night is thursday night

-Lobster night was friday night along with shrimp.

-I don't think there is much difference between RCCL & Carnival food, maybe Carnival has a little more variety..food is food to me and I guarantee I never left the table hungry on either ship.

-Thomasville is the 'Rose City' big rose show down here every april.

-Our 2005 cruise will be to the eastern.

 

kruz we always stay at the Best Western which is next to the Cocoa Beach pier, Durango's steak hours and Perkins for breakfast. Then we use Arts shuttle to & from the ship. I think we are about 4+ miles from the terminal.

 

Jim

 

PS One thing I forgot to mention it that it was very rough the 1st night, it was explained to me that from PC to south of the Bahamas is Atlantic Ocean, it was not pitching but rolling back and forth, many passengers and crew were sick that night..we were the only ones at a 8 person table that 1st night so be prepared.

[Jacquelyn11]

The cruise on DCL in October did the "pitch and roll" on the way out of PC. I was told it was crossing thru the Gulf Stream that did it. I don't remember getting that motion when we have cruised in May.

 

Have fun on your cruise next year!

 

Jacquelyn :D

[Nanatravel]

Thany you for taking the time to write your reveiw and answer questions. We too leave Sunday with Adventuregirl and can't wait. I just may go to the health food store for the ginger after reading that the seas are still rough in the Atlantic.

Bon Voyage

[rosecitycruisers]

Thank you Nanatravel, I would think that an experenced cruiser such as yourself would not affected by the rocking...The folks on our M&M group that got sick were the 1st time cruisers but I agree if you are acceptable to motion sickness then take something before you get on so you can stay ahead of it. Have a great cruise..we will be waiting to read your comments, if you use the Schooner bar say hello to Ashley for us, we are the $2.00 bill tippers.

 

Jim&Pat

[rosecitycruisers]

This is for review by our new and dear friends we met on the Mariner.

[T_Bird]

Thank you so much for your great review Jim and Pat! I am going on the Mariner Dec 5th. It's my first time cruising and you answered alot of my questions. I can't wait until I have the opportunity to submit a review of my own. Until then, I am counting the days (25).

 

Cheers,

Tracey :p

[rosecitycruisers]

Happy sailing, the Mariner is a beautiful ship, I lay odds you get addicted like the rest of us have, remember you can book your next cruise while enjoying this one, are you going east or west?

 

Jim&Pat

[T_Bird]

Hi there Jim and Pat,

 

It's funny that you say that because Clarence and I are already looking into booking another one 8 to 12 months after this one (assuming we love it, which we are already predicting we will). That way we can post info about it and have plenty of time to get our friends and family on the same cruise.

Our sailing on Dec 5, 2004, is to the Western. Have you been? Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Tracey

[kickbacknrelax]

Hi Jim

 

Agree wholeheartedly with the review.

Begining to feel human again and almost know what time of day it is!

 

Had good second week but v.windy due to the captain (Capt. Johnney) having to get to St Thomas in two days, full bore all the way and the same back to PC.

 

I see RCI have named the Ultra-Voyager, "Freedom of the Seas". Must have taken some thought because as of Friday we were told on board that no one knew. They are taking bookings from April 05. We'll give it some thought for 06.

 

Hope you are both keeping well.

[rosecitycruisers]

Hi Tracy welcome to the addicted world of cruising, I think we looked at every picture published and read every review, with that and our Meet & Mingle group we quickly aquired the 1st cruiser excitement and anticipation. We rebooked while we were on the Mariner for next november but then after getting home some of our M&M group decided to try the Jewel of the Seas for dec '05, however I'm pretty sure we will be back on the Mariner for 06. We were in cabin 8320 which is on the middle of the hump which was really a good location. Like I said in my review there is no way you will be able to do justice every thing offered on the ship..that's why we will be back.

Our cruise was to the western as we alternate every year but we had never been to Labadee or Ocho Rios really enjoyed both places, Grand Cayman was still closed from the hurricanes so we had another sea day..Cozumel is Cozumel and ok but then we are not big fans of Mexican ports. One thing I do want to mention is the Peat Taylor tours in Ocho Rios. This was a private booking and about40-50 dollars cheaper then the shipboard excursion and worth every penny, first to the rain forest then on to Dunn river falls and to private resturant for lunch and then shopping..all for $30 pp. I highly recommend, even though Pat & I didnot do the falls many in our group did and there are steps and walkway along the falls.

Here is his web site. http://www.peattaylor.com/

Here is a web site for Labadee.http://joephila.net/D4/

 

Lookiing forward to your reivew. Happy Sailing

 

Geoff you sound much more rested then you did on your first post on the roll call. lets keep the lines of communication open as you never know when our lives will cross again...Did your ring every turn up?

 

Jim&Pat

[thegrahams6]

My husband and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary on the 12/5 cruise on the Mariner. This is our first cruise and I am SOOOO excited. I love your review and can't believe how helpful these threads are...thanks, Leslie

[rosecitycruisers]

Leslie..thanks for your kind words...have you notice that a previous poster on this thread 'T Bird' (Tracy) will also be on the 12/5 cruise. Do you guys have a roll call going, I hope so, it's such a great way to meet new friends. Please let us know your impressions.

 

Happy sailing

Jim&Pat

[thegrahams6]

No clue what a "roll call" is??? Leslie

[rosecitycruisers]

Leslie when you first sign on to cruise critic your first screen is the Cruise Critic Message boards, down below the 2 cruise line sections is another one called 'Roll Call' and in that section you need to click on roll calls- royal caribbean "meet&Mingle" then find the Mariner 12/5/04 or just click on the thread listed below.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=65884&highlight=mariner+12%2F5%2F04

 

This is where you will find other cruisers on your cruise.

 

JIm:D

[thegrahams6]

Thanks for the information. Signed on the roll call. Makes the cruise seem more real:) Leslie