Mariner of the Seas Around the Horn of South America

[travelgoddess1]

We are at an internet cafe in Barbados, and I may time out, but just wanted to drop by and say what a wonderful time we are having so far. Ship and staff are just terrific, we are having a wonderful time with all of our friends, both old and new, and are enjoying everything we have done so far. Tomorrow begins five days at sea, which will be filled with lots of special onboard activities, along with those the roll call group has thought to do. Take care, all, we are really having the time of our lives.

[MilliesMom]

Mary.............I'm surprised that you are asking the same questions that have been answered back to you on another thread!!

 

Just wondering why you are asking...........didin't like the answers you heard the first time!!:D:D

 

Rick

 

Rick,

 

The reason I repeated them here is because they weren't answered in the other thread (or at least I had never saw the answers posted and I am checking daily). The only responses I got were that the pools were salt water and a great recipe for the Austrian bread/that it had been served on other cruises in the past.

 

I still don't know if the pools are heated and whether or not the bread is still served at breakfast. So I thought I would try one more time in hopes of getting an answer for the people in our group that had asked me to find out.

[emmy]

We are at an internet cafe in Barbados, and I may time out, but just wanted to drop by and say what a wonderful time we are having so far. Ship and staff are just terrific, we are having a wonderful time with all of our friends, both old and new, and are enjoying everything we have done so far. Tomorrow begins five days at sea, which will be filled with lots of special onboard activities, along with those the roll call group has thought to do. Take care, all, we are really having the time of our lives.

 

 

Karen ~ give Rick and Diana a hug for me when they got on the ship :)

 

Nice to see your post:)

[rubrrick]

Good to see people still checking in!! Thanks Karen and Pete for your update from Barbados!

 

Glad to hear that they are moving the overflow to the Lotus Lounge!!

 

Gives me more to look forward to when I finally join the group.

 

Remind Bobbie to keep taking pictures!!:D:D

 

Rick

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

We are at an internet cafe in Barbados, and I may time out, but just wanted to drop by and say what a wonderful time we are having so far. Ship and staff are just terrific, we are having a wonderful time with all of our friends, both old and new, and are enjoying everything we have done so far. Tomorrow begins five days at sea, which will be filled with lots of special onboard activities, along with those the roll call group has thought to do. Take care, all, we are really having the time of our lives.

 

 

Hi Karen & Pete...I'm thrilled to see you posting! Glad you are having the time of your lives.....I can't wait to hear about it when we get on in Feb.

 

Enjoy your days at sea....and all that is yet to come!

 

 

 

***

[CruisinMommas]

I have been following your thread and loving what I read. I sailed on the Mariner once and it was the shipped that hooked us.

While you are in Bahia, Brazil and if not on a ship excursion you might want to visit the Church of St. Francis in the upper city and the Mecado Modelo in the lower city.

I had posted this info on the other thread too. Continue to enjoy your cruise.

[cruisinsince99]

Hey Karen and Pete... great to see/hear you are having the times of your lives! Take pictures... take notes... can't wait to hear/see all about your adventure!! :D

 

Did you hook up with Ellen and Dana yet? :)

[benbess]

We are at an internet cafe in Barbados, and I may time out, but just wanted to drop by and say what a wonderful time we are having so far. Ship and staff are just terrific, we are having a wonderful time with all of our friends, both old and new, and are enjoying everything we have done so far. Tomorrow begins five days at sea, which will be filled with lots of special onboard activities, along with those the roll call group has thought to do. Take care, all, we are really having the time of our lives.

 

Thanks for the great report.

 

100+ cruises. Amazing!

[truffles2]

Hey Karen,

Have you seen/purchased the Crown & Anchor yet? They had it on Mariner you know. That was where I saw it when I contacted you.

 

See you in about 10 days

Barb

[rubrrick]

I just heard from Bobbie.... she is not feeling very well, has a sore throat, and is afraid that she is catching her mothers cold. So she passed on Barbados to try to get better.

 

She had a nice chat with the HD.........and with the number of complaints......and people apparently have gone to Bobbie with the complaints...........the HD moved the D/D+ overflow to the Lotus Lounge......I believe starting last night.

 

Other than her cold, the weather has been excellent, and now they are getting ready for 5 days at sea before entering Brazil!

 

Rick

[rednancy1]

Nancy............how are you feeling?? Are you over the flu yet??

 

The internet onboard is terrible!! I'm sure that the IT guy knows about what is going on.............but I have heard from others.......and I have 3 unread messages to Bobbie..............since yesterday.

 

In our modern day and age........it's terrible when we can't instantly communicate.

 

Rick

 

Feeling much better today. Thanks Rick. :)

 

It must be very frustrating to not be able to communicate with Bobbie. :(

 

I'm frustrated not getting all the LIVE info. :D

[truffles2]

I just heard from Bobbie.... she is not feeling very well, has a sore throat, and is afraid that she is catching her mothers cold. So she passed on Barbados to try to get better.

 

She had a nice chat with the HD.........and with the number of complaints......and people apparently have gone to Bobbie with the complaints...........the HD moved the D/D+ overflow to the Lotus Lounge......I believe starting last night.

 

 

Rick

 

Hope your wife gets better quick! Good for her --getting the D/D+ moved. I think the other place is rather depressing; stuck our heads in once and never went back:eek:. Lotus Lounge is a much better choice!

[flames]

We are at an internet cafe in Barbados, and I may time out, but just wanted to drop by and say what a wonderful time we are having so far. Ship and staff are just terrific, we are having a wonderful time with all of our friends, both old and new, and are enjoying everything we have done so far. Tomorrow begins five days at sea, which will be filled with lots of special onboard activities, along with those the roll call group has thought to do. Take care, all, we are really having the time of our lives.

 

Hi Karen, glad to see you and Pete are have the time of your life, wish we where there:D

 

I am following you guys around the horn, say Hello to Rick and Diana when they get on, and let us know they made it Okay;)

 

Carol:)

[sea-cruise]

I just heard from Bobbie.... she is not feeling very well, has a sore throat, and is afraid that she is catching her mothers cold. So she passed on Barbados to try to get better.

 

/quote]

I hope your wife gets rid of the cold quickly. I started to get a bad sore throat & cold, and being I'm scheduled for minor surgery, the doctor gave me Zithromax (antibiotic) and it knocked it out of me in 2 days. I don't know what kind of symptoms she has, but it's worth asking the ship's doctor if that would help her. :confused:

Hope she gets to enjoy the week without being sick.

[Daphna101]

Hey Paul,

 

Thought I would check in on you. So glad you are relaxing..and of course, got to watch the awesome Gator Game. Tommorrow we are heading to the stadium to welcome back the team. We loved St. Kitts last month.

 

I send warm hugs to you and Judy.

Daph

[rednancy1]

I just heard from Bobbie.... she is not feeling very well, has a sore throat, and is afraid that she is catching her mothers cold. So she passed on Barbados to try to get better.

 

She had a nice chat with the HD.........and with the number of complaints......and people apparently have gone to Bobbie with the complaints...........the HD moved the D/D+ overflow to the Lotus Lounge......I believe starting last night.

 

Other than her cold, the weather has been excellent, and now they are getting ready for 5 days at sea before entering Brazil!

 

Rick

 

Hugs to Bobbie and hope she feels better soon. :):):)

[rednancy1]

We are at an internet cafe in Barbados, and I may time out, but just wanted to drop by and say what a wonderful time we are having so far. Ship and staff are just terrific, we are having a wonderful time with all of our friends, both old and new, and are enjoying everything we have done so far. Tomorrow begins five days at sea, which will be filled with lots of special onboard activities, along with those the roll call group has thought to do. Take care, all, we are really having the time of our lives.

 

Karen, I'm glad you are having such a great time. :) Love to hear it all about it.

[rednancy1]

 

9 January 2009

 

Slept late, breakfast in the Windjammer.

 

My back is being unfriendly today, not going to do much. We have been to St Kitts before and seen the fort and the gardens.

 

Judy got off and walked around town for a while. Made a big purchase of 6 postcards of the fort.

 

Played one of the trivia games and our team came in somewhere in the middle.

 

There have been a number of people upset about having the overflow Concierge Lounge in the Dragons Lair. The real lounge has been packed every night.

Word got to the hotel manager there was going to be a “mutiny” if the venue wasn’t changed. As of tonight the overflow will be in the Lotus Lounge.

Much nicer with room to sit and talk in comfort.

 

Dinner tonight was hot she crab soup and chilled banarama soup. Entrée was snapper and dessert was coffee crème brulee.

 

Quite a few new things on the menus. There’s been a curry dish every night. We haven’t counted, but we think there’s 7 or 8 entrees every night.

Pasta, chicken, fish, steak, vegetarian. There’s 2 choices of some of the entrees. A prime rib, shoulder steak, other steaks and always the sirloin that was listed separately. The chicken and fish that were listed separately are now also part of the main menu. You can have a choice of potatoes. There is no extra charge steak on any menu so far.

 

The kitchen is looking at this as a challenge to put new items on the menu and not have a set menu for each night. They will repeat things over the 46 days, but the same entrees will not be on the same menu the same day.

 

The menus are a very nice trifold leather instead of the cheap paper ones. The dessert menu is on a rectangular leather small board.

 

Not going to the entertainment tonight. A ventriloquist. Probably pretty good, but too antsy to sit through it with my legs and back.

 

Might go down later to the Schooner or the pub.

 

Was able to get on the internet in the cabin today but not yet tonight. Will try later.

 

Back on the net. Barbados tomorrow.

 

Enjoying your report live from the Mariner. :)

[negc]

I just heard from Bobbie.... she is not feeling very well, has a sore throat, and is afraid that she is catching her mothers cold. So she passed on Barbados to try to get better.

 

She had a nice chat with the HD.........and with the number of complaints......and people apparently have gone to Bobbie with the complaints...........the HD moved the D/D+ overflow to the Lotus Lounge......I believe starting last night.

 

Other than her cold, the weather has been excellent, and now they are getting ready for 5 days at sea before entering Brazil!

 

Rick

Rick - hope Bobbie will be feeling better well before the ship arrives in Brazil. The next few days at sea should help her rest and recuperate.

What kind of complaints are being voiced. Is it just the overcrowded CL or are there more serious situations? Has to be tough on her to have people coming to her with their problems instead of going directly to staff who can resolve them, especially if she is fighting the effects of a cold at the same time. :(

[rubrrick]

Rick - hope Bobbie will be feeling better well before the ship arrives in Brazil. The next few days at sea should help her rest and recuperate.

What kind of complaints are being voiced. Is it just the overcrowded CL or are there more serious situations? Has to be tough on her to have people coming to her with their problems instead of going directly to staff who can resolve them, especially if she is fighting the effects of a cold at the same time. :(

 

Hi Bill... The first lounge.......was way too small to be handling the overflow.........without much seating etc. I guess people were coming to Bobbie because she knows the HD (who just got off today in Barbados for his holiday), so Bobbie's talk with Gary may have been the final push needed to get the lounge changed to the Lotus Lounge. That's where it should have been from day 1.

 

Now that Gary is gone.......she does not know a soul, or won't admit who she knows.:cool::rolleyes:

 

She has antibiotics with her, and probably is already on them............and will be feeling better soon. Right now it's just a sore throat, but her mom has a full blown cold.

 

Also apparently, she had not been able to get on the internet for the past couple of days, and complained that it was very slow today!.

 

Now the ship is at sea for 5 days. A good time for her to recupe!!:)

 

Rick

[negc]

Hi Bill... The first lounge.......was way too small to be handling the overflow.........without much seating etc. I guess people were coming to Bobbie because she knows the HD (who just got off today in Barbados for his holiday), so Bobbie's talk with Gary may have been the final push needed to get the lounge changed to the Lotus Lounge. That's where it should have been from day 1.

 

Now that Gary is gone.......she does not know a soul, or won't admit who she knows.:cool::rolleyes:

 

She has antibiotics with her, and probably is already on them............and will be feeling better soon. Right now it's just a sore throat, but her mom has a full blown cold.

 

Also apparently, she had not been able to get on the internet for the past couple of days, and complained that it was very slow today!.

 

Now the ship is at sea for 5 days. A good time for her to recupe!!:)

 

Rick

Has anyone suggested to her that her illness may be psychosomatic and a result of her abandoning you to sail on this first leg of the cruise:D Her spirits will certainly improve once you join her.:)

[Spellbinder]

Hi Bill... The first lounge.......was way too small to be handling the overflow.........without much seating etc. I guess people were coming to Bobbie because she knows the HD (who just got off today in Barbados for his holiday), so Bobbie's talk with Gary may have been the final push needed to get the lounge changed to the Lotus Lounge. That's where it should have been from day 1.

 

Now that Gary is gone.......she does not know a soul, or won't admit who she knows.:cool::rolleyes:

 

She has antibiotics with her, and probably is already on them............and will be feeling better soon. Right now it's just a sore throat, but her mom has a full blown cold.

 

Also apparently, she had not been able to get on the internet for the past couple of days, and complained that it was very slow today!.

 

Now the ship is at sea for 5 days. A good time for her to recupe!!:)

 

Rick

 

Rick hope Bobbie is on the mend very quickly.

[BettyNL]

travelgoddess1: Hello Karen & Pete.......we 'ran' into you drinking margaritas at the pier in Mazatlan last month !! At that time, you told us about this upcoming "adventure" and it sure sounds like an unforgttable experience !!

 

Enjoy our upcoming "favorite" part of any cruise: FIVE sea days !!!

 

BettyNL & David

[TheMiz]

Rick hope Bobbie is on the mend very quickly.

 

I'll second that, and say I hope all will be in great health for the rest of the cruise.

[glgolfer]

10 January 2009

Docked next to the Thomson Destiny yesterday that was the Song of America before. It still has the Viking Crown Lounge as it is too integral to the ship to remove.

Grand Suite description: 4 areas, bedroom, living, “kitchen” and bathroom.

The bedroom has a large window, the vanity desk, large shelves on each side of the vanity and drawers below. 2 small bedside tables and lamps on the wall.

Rohan, our cabin steward took away the heavy duvet and brought us a blanket. There’s 2 plugs. We have a small 4 plug surge protector we use.

The living room has 2 chairs, a couch, a large coffee table, the TV and DVD player and another small chest of drawers.

The kitchen has the long bar area with various kind of glasses, the French press coffee maker, coffee and tea bags.

Large closet, not a walkin, but big enough for all our clothes and enough hangers. A set of shelves and the safe.

A large bathroom with a tub, 2 large sinks and plenty of storage.

We bought 2 Cobra walkie talkies with a 20 mile range to bring. They already paid for themselves on St Maarten when we were trying to find another couple.

They work very well as Judy and I talked to each other yesterday when she was in town and I was on the ship.

It feels like a ghost ship. Nobody around the pool, an elevator comes immediately and is empty, they closed the balcony in the theater and it’s still only half full,

Deck 5 dining room is closed for main seating and decks 4 and 5 are closed for late seating. We went to Johnny Rockets for lunch today and there were only 4 of us when we got there and 4 more showed up just before we left.

You could shoot a cannon down the Royal Promenade most anytime and not hit anyone.

Lost again at trivia.

Dinner was chilled cherry soup, potato and leek pie and a pecan thing (not the best) and a chocolate thing (good).

The Maitre D’ came by to get more information on the 2nd & 3rd leg seating. We will have our own area and be able to move from table to table both legs.

Ice show tonight. Ice under the Big Top. Excellent show.

First of 5 sea days tomorrow.