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REVIEW: Mariner of the Seas - 2/19/09 - West Coast Premier 1-Nighter

suziehmkr

By suziehmkr,
in Royal Caribbean International

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

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Mariner of the Seas – Pre-Inaugural West Coast Premier Event – Feb. 19, 2009

 

 

Pete & I were invited to sail aboard the Mariner of the Seas for a special one-night West Coast Premier sailing. Mariner arrived from her ‘Round the Horn sailing on the morning of 2/19/09. We would be boarding the very same day for our special one-night event.

 

We had some vouchers to use up with United, so we decided to fly down. Knowing that we probably wouldn’t get much sleep during our voyage, we felt this was a better option than attempting to drive home on little sleep!

 

We arrived at LAX in the evening and took SuperShuttle (pre-booked) to our hotel. If you are going to use an airport shuttle, it’s a good idea to Google them for discount codes. It took a while to get to the hotel because he had to circle the airport to pick up people and we were the last to be dropped off. But I was going for economy, not speed. I had secured a room at the Crowne Plaza in San Pedro on Priceline with a $65 bid. The hotel has gone thru a renovation since our last visit in December 2005, so it was a nice change from our previous visit. Staff was nice, room was clean & comfortable. We would have no problem staying here again when sailing out of San Pedro.

 

On the morning of our sailing, we walked to Grinders and had a quick breakfast and then returned to the hotel to take the shuttle to the ship. The shuttle driver was trying to put too many people in this shuttle so we opted to walk. It was actually a pleasant walk because the weather was perfect and we only had one rolling bag each. Had we had more luggage, we would not have attempted this. :)

 

We arrived at the port and were greeting so warmly by ALL of the Royal Caribbean shoreside staff. There certainly was a buzz in the air and you could tell this port was excited to have this ship here! We were checked in quickly and were given our SeaPass cards. These were merely door keys as no onboard accounts would be needed. Because this was a special event, the only charges we would incur would be spa visits, souvenirs or casino charges. There was no charge for bar service, Ben & Jerry’s, specialty coffees, etc.

 

We waited probably about ½ hour to board and then we were on the ship. While waiting to board, we could tell that MANY MANY MANY of the passengers today were going to be travel agents that had never sailed on a ship before. It just proves that these are great events to ask travel agents to sail on. I mean, how can you be enthusiastic about selling a product, if you don’t even know what it is? Unfortunately, we heard several conversations among travel agents that were full of misinformation about the cruising experience. Hopefully, these types of voyages will educate travel agents about what they are selling… so kudos to RCCL for that.

 

Upon board, we learned that our staterooms would not be ready until 1:00 so we just tooled around the ship taking pictures. We weren’t quite hungry yet. So our first stop was Bolero’s for a margarita. No blended drinks on this cruise. The reason for this, I have not yet learned. And no fruit to be used, even for garnish until the inspector was done… so no mojitos. Paolo in Bolero’s quickly became one of our favorite bartenders. Wonderful!!

 

We learned there would be NO muster drill! Woo Hoo! We spent the afternoon exploring the ship, trying things out. I actually played basketball with my husband. As many times as we have cruise, I don’t think we have ever done this! About 1:00, we headed to our stateroom to drop our bags and make it a little easier to explore. We were in cabin 7518, which is a forward balcony cabin. We were nearly underneath the bridge. We wouldn’t be cruising much on this trip, so I can’t tell you much about the motion. But we did sleep soundly for the very small amount of time that we could. :) The bed was extremely comfortable.

 

After enjoying more drinks, more exploring, & more photos… we headed up to the Viking Crown Lounge for our Cruise Critic get together. What a treat to meet so many people and see others again!! Special thanks to Rancher Dave for arranging to have Bennie the Bear AND Adam Goldstein visit us during our meeting. Adam was nice enough to visit and chat with all of us during his very busy day. He was only onboard for the one day, so for him to take time out for us was very nice of him to do. He didn’t pull any punches. He told us personally that RCCL would NOT be bringing another ship to fill the 3/4 night slots that Monarch vacated. He would state this again later at Common Ground, I am told. But this was the first definite indication that I had heard from Adam himself. I came right out and asked him why, since it was rumored that Monarch was a “cash cow”. Others mentioned that each time they sailed on her, she was sold out. His answer, was at what price? Monarch was in no uncertain terms, not making raking in the money that others claimed that she was. His exact words, “If she was, she would still be here.” End of discussion.

 

After enjoying our meeting, we originally headed to the 4:00 ice show. However, it was quite crowded and I wanted to try the rock wall before it closed. YES, I know I am afraid of heights. But I guess an open bar gets you to try things you don’t normally want to do. (I would mention that I am deathly afraid of snakes and one visit in Mexico ALMOST had me wanting to pet one! But what happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico…)

 

Anyway – I signed my life away at the Rock Wall. I figured, if I have ziplined with the best in Mexico not once, but three times (really not scary at all) and if I could ride the Flowrider, then certainly I can climb a silly wall, right? SURE! Got my card punched, just in case I was crazy enough to want to subject myself to this terror TWICE! Ummm, that would be a no. You see, I was very brave standing there in my harness. I even cheered with glee when he told me to just follow “the pink ones.” I love pink!!! Then I headed up the wall. It was tough going, but I was doing it. Until I got to an impasse! Where was I supposed to go next? I kept thinking…. pink, pink, pink. But which pink? I looked up. The bell was just out of my reach. I could feel my liquid courage draining from me. Which pink? Then I made a mistake… I turned around to look at the guy and my husband. That probably was not the best thing to do. You see, I was nearly at the top of a rock wall, on a ship that is about 14 decks high and I am afraid of heights. My husband later told me that at that point, he told the guy that I was probably done. Once I stopped and looked down, he figured that was it. But I turned around and just looked up at the pinks… which one? I can do this! Deep breath…. then the guy tells me which one to grab and I feel him helping me lift with the harness and I DID IT!! I RANG THE BELL! It was cool… but I was cool with just doing it once. Now I can cross that off my list and move on to the next challenge.

 

The Mariner is a beautiful ship. Ken Rush & his staff did their best to cram as much in as they possibly could!! Ice shows, production shows, dance parties and even a parade. It was fantastic!! I wasn’t sure what they would be able to do to show what this shop had to offer in less than 24 hours, but Ken & his staff did a GREAT job!

 

Chops & Portofino were both open for samplings. You could stand in line and get little mini tastings of the menu items that they serve in these two restaurants. The food in the Windjammer was delicious. Honey Stung Chicken was as good as ever and I couldn’t get enough of the TINY little pickles.

 

We had beautiful weather! I live in California, so I know storms had been hitting us left & right with a lot of rain. So it was nice to have a nice sunny day to explore the ship. You will see in some of my pictures that there was recent snow activity in the mountains. We got the luck of the draw between rainstorms. On a side note… I would love to be a tug boat operator!! I am fascinated watching them and want to BE them!

 

The rest of our day was stellar. The ice show was wonderful. Very talented to do what they do on such a small ice surface on a moving ship. This one was Ice Under the Big Top and we really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the humor of the clown segment and clowns scare me. So, it was definitely a fun show. We also saw a production show much later that was after dinner. One of the better production shows we have seen on a ship, in regards to singing talent. They were quite good! The parade wasn’t until 12:30 am and was just all around great fun! All of the performers must have been very tired after this long day of entertainment.

 

Dinner in the dining room was a real treat. Even though late dining got off to a rocky start, we had a great time. The late seating got delayed because the first seating took so long. I am not sure if it was because so many people were new and didn’t know they were supposed to be there on time for a reason, or what. But when we were let into the dining room at nearly 9:00, many tables were still not finished. Those of us that were on Deck 4 were let in to go to Deck 3 and find tables. Since we came in that way, they really couldn’t seat us properly. Pete & I found a table for 2, asked of we could sit there and we were in for a great evening of service & food. Rock (from India) and his assistant, Werner were on the ball! I was QUITE surprised to find that we were going to be offered an extra special menu that included both escargot AND surf & turf! The food was PERFECT. Pete started off with the shrimp cocktail and I had both the escargot and the shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were quite large compared to what we are used to receiving on cruises. Delish!! The surf & turf was excellent and the dessert was wonderful. But, best of all was the service we got from the staff. You would expect that they would be a bit tired from the long 46-nighter that they did which was out of the ordinary for them. Well, they were full of energy and ready to make us smile! No matter how many lines we try to sail on, the crew on Royal Caribbean is what makes it our favorite! They are always top notch and we love them!

 

After getting a few hours of sleep, we were up for breakfast and off the ship by 8:30am. Royal Caribbean has transfer busses waiting for those of us flying out of LAX, which were complimentary. Those that drove had free parking for the event.

 

What a special treat to be invited on this sailing!! We had a wonderful time! I will have NO problems recommending this ship to anyone that wants to learn more about cruising and Royal Caribbean. Heartfelt thanks to Royal Caribbean!!!

 

Photos: http://travel.webshots.com/myphotos?action=refreshPhotos&albumID=570226970&security=NZmmVE

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Rancher Dave

Rancher Dave

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Great reveiw!!!

 

We got home a few hours ago...literally to the house about 4.5 hours ago, enough time to sort email for work and personal, participate in an ARES Net, ead dinner and just now catch up on CC stuff.

 

Glad so many were able to make it to the M&M. Probably about the first with an open bar for the participants...ok folks don't think RCCL will do that again, well maybe on Friday if the 2 night group did a M&M.

 

It was very nice of Adam Goldstein to stop by. I saw him early Friday chatting with Richard Fain, probably just before hitting the dock to fly home for his son's soccer game. I am glad he is able to balance work and family, as I think that helps keep in touch with reality. I will share later Thursday evening we saw him again and spoke for a moment about how kid friendly RCCL is and he indicted he has had a chance to see how the line is with kids first hand so he does understand the need for family activites to make the ship good for all.

 

We enjoyed a long weekend seeing from Malibu to San Diego. Snow and beaches. (We didn't drive up into the snow, no reason to push my luck with a rental car that I really didn't like.)

 

Hope to cruise with the CC faithful again maybe on Mariner or any other RCCL ship. I don't know excatly whan will be my next, I am under strict orders to go have a weekend cruise and likely will do so in a few weeks. I need to go do business in Miami anyhow so will add a weekend cruise to the end of a Friday morning business meeting near to the port.

 

We are also working on a Radiance June cruise instead of August, have to work it so DD can visit her cousins alone for a week or two in Anchorage before the cruise so she can fly to Anchorage with them after they visit Houston in June.

 

Great to meet all of you aboard the Mariner!!!

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CruiseDude_83

CruiseDude_83

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It sounds like you had a great time to bad it was only for one night. I have one question for you. How long of a walk was it from the Crowne Plaza to the port terminal? We will be staying there next weekend and just wanted to know what we may have been in for if we decided to walk it. We have never been to this port so we do not know. Any in for time...distance...would bet great thanks.

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

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I am glad that the review is being enjoyed. We really did have a good time. One night was very tough, but worth it. :D

 

Dave - it sure was nice meeting you! I can't wait to see one of the group shots that were taken. I haven't seen any yet. :(

 

Walk from the Crowne Plaza was not too bad. But we don't mind walking. I think it took maybe 20-25 minutes at the most. Honestly, the people in the shuttle didn't get there much sooner that we did by the time he got everyone loaded, etc. But, we only had smaller carry on rolling bag each. If I had my other normaly cruising suitcase with me, it would have slowed us down. It wouldn't be my choice to do it with more luggage. But it certainly can be done.

 

2255577130032405699S425x425Q85.jpg

 

In this picture, the Crowne plaza is the shorter of the 3 buildings in the middle... so you would walk down to the main street (Harbor) and then toward the ship. But you have to walk to the main entrance to the port and then in to the parking lot at the aft of the ship. There is an entrance that is closer, but it is for busses, etc and they won't let you in that one.

 

The Mariner really is a beautiful ship. We would love to sail on her for a full week!

 

If the photo link in my first post doesn't work, you can use the link that I put in my signature. It will work.

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kaseyoz

kaseyoz

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We are going on the Rhapsody of the seas one day cruise on 1st April. I too worry about getting off again so quickly.

This a fundraiser by the Royal Flying doctor service here in Australia. I won't be a full ship but we have lots of CC poster going so should be a fun night

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Rancher Dave

Rancher Dave

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Dave - it sure was nice meeting you! I can't wait to see one of the group shots that were taken. I haven't seen any yet. :(

 

2255577130032405699S425x425Q85.jpg

 

In this picture, the Crowne plaza is the shorter of the 3 buildings in the middle... so you would walk down to the main street (Harbor) and then toward the ship. But you have to walk to the main entrance to the port and then in to the parking lot at the aft of the ship. There is an entrance that is closer, but it is for busses, etc and they won't let you in that one.

 

 

Perhaps tomorrow I will get some up. I (technically under strong advice of a spyware program, killed a computer by corrupting Windows XP...just recently got the website software set up on another computer so I can go add pics to one of my websites. I may even start another site specific to cruising.

 

We are going on the Rhapsody of the seas one day cruise on 1st April. I too worry about getting off again so quickly.

This a fundraiser by the Royal Flying doctor service here in Australia. I won't be a full ship but we have lots of CC poster going so should be a fun night

 

 

Wow...now that is a great cause and will be a fun cruise. I think it was in Alice Springs where we went thru the exhibit all on RFDs...I even have the lapel pin with flashing nav lights as a souvenir. One of my favorite docs was trained in OZ, in fact he is from Down Under and I believe he did some time on RFD service.

 

One night will blow right by, but it should be a ton of fun!!! It would be fun to sail under the bridge and lay down on a lounger as you go under the bridge to watch...we saw it from not far above the water on a day tour boat...

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cruisldy

cruisldy

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Thanks for the review and the pictures. As hubby and I will be sailing June 14th, it is always nice to see pictures from someone on the ship, rather than just the advertising pictures on the web sight or in the broschure. I'm almost afraid, since we are so used to medium size to large size ships, that Mariner may be a little overwhelming in size. Were you able to walk from one end to the other, exploring without needing oxygen intake? :D

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

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Walking isn't an issue for us - so we had no issue with the amount of walking needed for this ship. We could feel the size difference between her & Liberty which is larger. However, she IS large and if walking is difficult for anyone in your party then a cabin mid-ship would definitely be recommended. We didn't spend much time in our cabin, which was far forward... so that wasn't too bad. Plenty of places to rest if needed. :)

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klfhngr

klfhngr

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Just curious....We're planning on taking the Mexico cruise on the Mariner in the middle of this coming August. I've heard it could be a bit rainy in Mexico. What exactly is the weather like?

Thanks for any info.

 

RC

 

Hot n muggy! You might get some showers, but I wouldn't worry about it, they come quickly then disappear pretty quick!

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Alexis

Alexis

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Thank you very much for the info. We may walk who knows...We will more than likely decide that morning.

 

I just did the 2 night pre-inaugural on the Mariner and stayed at the Crowne Plaza. I could see her out of my hotel window and she looked rather small compared to what I know her size to be. :D

The hotel has a shuttle that leaves at 10:30 on and takes you to the ship. We took the first one to leave the hotel and were one of the first groups to board the ship. The hotels are not that crowded right now and there are not large amounts of people in the lobbies according to the bell man.

You do not want to walk that far with luggage in hand when the shuttles are free. ;)

We left the ship before 8. The hotel shuttle was dropping off a few of the employees of the ship who had to be on board early. It picked us up then and we returned to the hotel at that hour and got our car.

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