Tell me about Royal Caribbean Mariner

[marcyjane]

Hello everyone,

 

In the process of booking a cruise on R C for this cruise.

 

From some of the post I have read or talking with people here at home that have cruised RC is that somethings are not included in the cruise fare.

 

For example if you eat at Johnny Rockets you pay extra (right!) and other things, etc., for those of you that have cruised RC please comment on what's included and what's extra cost once on board.

 

Also info on the spa, I know any personal treatments you pay for, but are the spa hot tubs, steam room etc free to use anytime?

 

Just any information on the overall cruise experience you had on RC Mariner will be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Cariboo]

Just back from MOS today. Yes, Johnny Rockets has a fee and you will also pay for soda, beer, etc there. The spa hot tubs, sauna, steamroom were free of charge and lots of fun. Alternative dining also has a fee - Portofino's was excellent. I got the soda card for the week - I think it was $42. Some in-room movies were pay-per-view as well I think. We had a blast, though 15-18 foot waves and 40-50 mph winds on first 1-2 nights were interesting!

[Adventure Girl]

I was on the Mariner week of 11/7 Western itinerary.

 

The surcharge for Johnny Rockets is $3.95 per person per visit. We are crown & anchor members so we received a coupon for one free visit. Any beverages are extra.

 

I used the salon on the ship twice, but I cannot comment on the hot tubs or sauna.

 

There are plenty of food options included in the cruise rate. Windjammer and Jade buffets have food all of the time....even late afternoon snacks such as nachos, egg rolls, waffles, fruits, desserts galore, etc. The Cafe Promenade always has free pizza, cookies, empanadas, three varieties of sandwiches, tons of dessert items, etc. There is a Ben & Jerry's ice cream stand, but you need to pay for that as well. Free frozen yogurt at all times on the pool deck. I find the food in the dining room to be very good. In fact, of all of the R.C. cruises I have taken, the food in the dining room on the Mariner I thought was the best.

 

Items from room service are also included in the cruise rate. Room service is free 24 hours. Variety of items are on the room service menu.

 

My overall cruise experience on the Mariner was by far the best I've had yet. The crew was extremely accommodating, I enjoyed the food, the entertainment, the decor of the ship, the ports of call, etc. I don't have anything bad to say about the Mariner of the Seas...except I wish the Mariner did a 12 day cruise itinerary!

[solsticebride]

Cariboo, did you find purchasing the soda card worth it? I've heard that the quality of the soda isn't so good on the ship. Did you use it alot?

 

Also, is the Windjammer open 24 hours? If not, is there any place on the ship that serves food 24 hours a day, besides room service? We love getting snacks before we go to bed (only on a cruise of course:) )

[Ocean Boy]

The windjammer closes around 10-11pm. The Cafe Prominade located on the Royal Prominade closes for about three hours early in the morning for cleaning. Aside from that is is always available for snacks. Johnny Rocket's closes at 1am.

[Cariboo]

The soda card was worth it to me and the people i cruised with. It did taste a little different and you can't get cans with it, but if you drink 5-6/day like one person i was with, it adds up after a while. The Cafe Promenade was great. We'd stop and grab a bite on the way to the Casino, or take something back up to the cabin in the afternoon. We had early dinner, which I'm not used to - we usually take late seating but were overruled this time.

It worked out fine. We ate at Johnny Rockets twice for lunch. It closes for about 1-1/2 hrs in the evening for the kids program to eat dinner. The 20 oz

beers were nice - took the glasses back to the cabin to refill from our own stock later on. You can use the soda card at Johnny Rockets as well.

The dining room food was fantastic. Only ate in the dining room for breakfast once - had room service one morning and did Wndjammer other days. The

Windjammer buffet was very good, too. Loved the sticky rice and spicy noodles. I'll try and check back tomorrow if any other questions!! We had a great balcony - I think an E category on deck 6. It had plenty of storage, but shower stall was a little cramped!

[vancom]

we loved the Mariner--it was our 4th RCCL cruise. I used the steam room, sauna and the wonderful huge hot tub in the spa/work out area. Didn't get a massage or use any spa services---too expensive and hard sell for what you get, in my opinion. we snacked alot at the cafe promenade and went once to J..R..'s--our last night just to say that we did it! we had a certificate that made it free otherwise I am not sure we would have bothered. But it was a good burger...

 

Vanessa

[marcyjane]

Thank you all so much:) for all the info. I think will be try RC this time to St Thomas.

 

All the info was so helpful, I forgot ask about the best deck for a cabin with balcony.

Thanks;)

[tanker47]

Just got back from the Mariner today. We were on deck 9, forward of the hump and had a great view from our balcony.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Tanker

[maryr65]

For any of the recent Mariner cruisers: Did you have any delays on embarkation or debarkation? Were the seas calm?

[Chelsea17]

Hi,

 

We were on the Mariner in May and had quite a bit of trouble leaving the ship. We were told to get early colored tickets off the ship but were assigned some of the latest. Unfortunately, customs was having some issues and we didn't leave the ship until 11:45. Still had a 6 hour drive home.

 

Chelsea

[tanker47]

Hi Mary65,

 

We were on the Mariner last week. Embarkation was supposed to begin at 11:30 but was delayed almost an hour as the previous passengers debarking included a large contingent (950) of foreign nationals causing US Customs to take longer than normal. An RCI representative apologized for the delay but said that they had no control over Customs and they could not let anyone board until all of the previous passengers had cleared the ship. As to rough seas, yes, it was a little rough for the first 3 days as we had 35/40 kt. winds and 12/15 foot seas. We just took a Bonine pill twice a day and never noticed it.

 

Happy cruising......

 

Tanker

[mkh]

We were on Mariner 2 weeks ago...deck 10 balcony aft of the bump out...gorgeous view..that is the uppermost deck for staterooms...

Embarkation SLOW due to lots of non-citizens/immigration fingerprinting laws etc..just depends upon how many getting off prior to your cruise...

Debarkation is never a big deal for us cause we are FL residents..so no hurry...we tip our room steward extra to let us stay in our stateroom almost til our color is called...avoids the crowds in the theatres where they make you congregate..no one follows directions and people are generally very rude and surly on the last day...just more pleasant not to participate in that scene.

Our seas were calm but we are deep sea fishing people so it has to be pretty nasty for us to notice..

Weather is always nice the closer you get to the equator..usually at least 80 and sunny..

Some areas of ship are chilly so bring a sweater or light jacket for evenings..or go outside to get warm!

Johnny Rockets has the $3.95 cover + drinks and DH and I are dead set against "specialty restaurants" but did JR's... anyway and loved it...worth the $$ for the performances by the wait staff..be sure to sit inside...and be HUNGRY..the endless f-fries and onion rings will fill you up like nothing else...totally decadent!

I'm ready to go again...

DH says I have to wait til at least next year..I'm pushing for April...

[Cariboo]

We had a balcony on deck 6 last week- I think an E category. Nice size. No real problems with embarkation except for HUGE line of cars waiting to drop off. We parked there for the week- $70 I think. Also- no real bathroom until you get through security inside - kind of a problem as we didn't stop on the way there- one of us was doing a dance all the way through the line!! We were on the boat by around 12:30 or so and had our cabin all ready for us.

[Docdan48]

I was on the Mariner week of 11/7 Western itinerary.

 

The surcharge for Johnny Rockets is $3.95 per person per visit. We are crown & anchor members so we received a coupon for one free visit. Any beverages are extra.

 

I used the salon on the ship twice, but I cannot comment on the hot tubs or sauna.

 

There are plenty of food options included in the cruise rate. Windjammer and Jade buffets have food all of the time....even late afternoon snacks such as nachos, egg rolls, waffles, fruits, desserts galore, etc. The Cafe Promenade always has free pizza, cookies, empanadas, three varieties of sandwiches, tons of dessert items, etc. There is a Ben & Jerry's ice cream stand, but you need to pay for that as well. Free frozen yogurt at all times on the pool deck. I find the food in the dining room to be very good. In fact, of all of the R.C. cruises I have taken, the food in the dining room on the Mariner I thought was the best.

 

Items from room service are also included in the cruise rate. Room service is free 24 hours. Variety of items are on the room service menu.

 

My overall cruise experience on the Mariner was by far the best I've had yet. The crew was extremely accommodating, I enjoyed the food, the entertainment, the decor of the ship, the ports of call, etc. I don't have anything bad to say about the Mariner of the Seas...except I wish the Mariner did a 12 day cruise itinerary!

 

The hot tubs were great especially the one located in the Shipshape fitness center and spa. That is also were the Steam Room and the Hot sauna. Really great if you had pain from the previous nights Quest LOL

[TomCat32174]

Then of course, there are all those great CC friends you meet while on board.. can't forget about them!