Mariner to Mexico - Our thoughts and impressions

[pierces]

Greetings fellow and future cruisers!

 

My wife and I have been cruising since the early ‘90s and soon settled on a steady diet of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships with Celebrity being our brand of choice in recent years. For our 27th outing, we returned to Royal Caribbean for a voyage on the Mariner of the Seas with two other couples and 3,100 Spring Breakers of various ages. Since we don’t qualify as “rich”, even by the current administration’s standards, we have always appreciated the value vs. cost that cruising in general and Royal Caribbean in particular has provided over the years. Recent changes in menus and amenities had us curious to see if things had changed for better or worse.

 

Getting There

 

Our trip to the Port of Los Angeles was brief and uneventful. Since we live less than 60 miles from the port, our daughters drove us down and dropped us off at around 11:15 am. Embarkation was painless and we were on the ship and sitting in the Windjammer sipping iced tea by 11:45 am.

 

The Mariner of the Seas

 

The Mariner was launched in 2003 and was the last of five Voyager class ships built for Royal Caribbean. Since the Voyager class ships are over 1000’ long and about 150’ wide, they are far too large for the Panama Canal and had never had a home port on the west coast of the USA. That ended earlier this year when the Mariner moved to the Port of Los Angeles to take over the seven-day Mexican Riviera itinerary from the older, smaller Vision of the Seas. The ship is no longer tied with its sisters for the largest cruise ship title but that doesn’t mean it isn’t huge. It carries over 3.100 passengers at double occupancy and over 3,800 at maximum occupancy. Add just under 1,200 crew members and you have a floating population larger than over 100 California cities! Maybe it’s just the places we frequent and the times that we wander about the ship, but even with a full load for Spring Break, the ship didn’t seem crowded with breakfast in the Windjammer being the exception. The Mariner is beautifully appointed with elegant furniture, wooden, metal and glass accents along with many pieces of artwork that range from classical to tastefully weird. The Royal Promenade is four stories tall, 500’ long and is lined with shops, bars and a café. The upper three stories are inside cabins with windows overlooking the promenade. Inside cabin with a view! All in all, it gives the impression of a well-appointed hotel that happens to have a cruising speed of 22 knots.

 

Our Cabin

 

Our stateroom on this trip was 6332, a Category D1 just aft of the central hump. At 206 ft2, it was a bit larger than average and the extra room was noticeable. The bathroom was typically closet-sized with an adequate sink, storage for personal effects behind a mirror and a shower stall with curved “Star Trek” doors. The shower had a detachable head and produced good pressure. The sink had a flow-limiting nozzle that gave a delicate, barely-adequate spray. The closet held all of our clothes easily with lots of hangers, wire shelves and a tidy cubby for life-jackets. Part of the difference in room size was evident in the couch that could comfortably seat three and there was enough room to walk around the little glass coffee table without having to jam it up against the couch or the vanity. The vanity was fairly spacious with a supplied hairdryer and plenty of drawers for vanity-type stuff as well as behind-the-mirror storage similar to the bathroom. It had the TV on the end towards the bed with the roomy safe and a good-sized cupboard above it. Below was the mini-bar/refrigerator. “Refrigerator” is a generous term for these appliances. We’ve never seen one that gets below about 55°. The TV was a 19” or 20” standard box with an ok picture. No comparison to the 32” flat screen in our standard cabin on the Solstice! The on-screen menu for account balances, excursions and room service was easy to use. The bed was pretty good and the bedclothes were clean, attractive and adequate. The balcony had room for two to relax in as much comfort as a decent lawn-chair can provide with a small table for your frosty beverage of choice.

 

Life On Board

 

By intent, our on-board activities were minimal since we cruise to relax and aren’t known to be “joiners”. We attended the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle party that was (as usual) scheduled directly opposite the Shopping Talk. Despite that, the turnout was good and it was well-organized for a change with nice pre-printed cards and a small gift for attendees. A surprising number of gifts were raffled off and though none would change your tax bracket, it was a nice gesture. I personally spent quite a bit of time walking the ship with a camera, usually in the early AM. Wonderful Wife donated some money to the one-armed orphan relief fund down in the Casino Royale, including a Slot-Pull group activity organized by one of the participants in our Cruise Critic Roll Call. If you’re hyperactive or a compulsive socializer, the ship’s activity staff has a vast array of things to do covering nearly all hours of the day as well as what seemed to be unending activities for kids. If you prefer to sweat rather than answer trivia questions or play bingo, there is mini-golf, a golf simulator, a roller-blade track, basketball court, deck checkers, shuffleboard, table tennis, jogging track, fitness center and, of course, the rock-climbing wall and ice skating rink.

They refer to the Voyager and Freedom class as “Destination Ships” and our impression after sailing on four of them it that they are well-named. Having sailed the Mexican Riviera several times and taking most of the tours, we could see spending the whole cruise on the ship without going ashore at all. Especially since the prices for souvenirs and jewelry are often lower on the ship than in the shoreside shops.

 

Dining

 

Ah, dining. Here, the bloom fades from the rose. Back in the days of the Viking Serenade, Royal Caribbean food was always great. Even as recently as our last trip on the Radiance of the Seas in 2007, the menu offered wide variety and was almost without exception, exceptional. The choices offered on the new dinner menu in the dining room were reduced and were often served at less than optimum temperatures. The quality was generally good, but not great. The breakfast and lunch menus in main dining were pretty good and with a few exceptions, the food and speed seemed better than at dinnertime. There weren’t many people at lunch or breakfast at any one time, so maybe the low volume helped. The lackluster performance when busy and little things like running out of lettuce and spinach at the lunchtime salad station with staff running through the dining room and taking a while to return with refills led us to believe that the kitchen staff has been reduced by cost-cutting or included a large number of personnel new to the ship that are struggling to nail down the routine. Pure conjecture, but something was out of balance. We ended up eating in Chops and Portofino’s on two nights and having sushi and pasta in the Windjammer on two others when the menu just had nothing that appealed. Chops and Portofino’s have not suffered any apparent effect of whatever caused the decline in main dining and continued to impress with a truly exceptional dining experience.

The Windjammer was generally very crowded at breakfast and lunch with what must have been cruise newbies trying their best to eat their way to the break-even point on the cost of the trip. In an effort to serve all who came, there were signs on the tables that basically said to “eat up and leave ASAP”. The exact wording was more polite, but that was the gist. There was an egg and omelet station, but the lines at peak times were prohibitively long. The breakfast buffet selection was the same every day as far as I could tell and while it presented a decent variety and was generally pretty good, it was not anything to write home about, or detail here for that matter. The lunch buffet had different main entrees daily with some repeats and the daily hot dogs and hamburgers were actually pretty good. At all three feeding times, the Jade section of the Windjammer served Asian-themed food and like the other areas offered good food, but was not ready to be featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Speaking of diners, the cover charge for the on-board Johnny Rocket’s was one of the few additional fees that we didn’t feel was a gouge. For $4.95 you get the run of the menu with the only up-charges being for sodas, a $5.00 shake (worth every penny) or the adult beverage of your choice.

The other significant source of nourishment besides room service is the Café Promenade with its selection of pastries, pizza, coffee and ice cream. Of the pastries, Royal’s white chocolate frosted donut gets our vote for King of Foods!

 

The Crew

 

The Mariner’s crew was what we have come to expect from Royal Caribbean. They were friendly, attentive and helpful to the extent that they were allowed. The only hiccup I encountered was when I took my internet credit coupons down to apply to my SeaPass account and the credit didn’t appear. When I asked the Service Desk staffer what was wrong, I was told that I was supposed to have it applied before running up any minutes so it wasn’t valid. I asked if this was new, since I had been instructed to turn it in at the end of the cruise on seven prior cruises. His response, to his credit, was, “I’ll take care of it.” Our cabin steward was almost invisible except for the required introduction and the occasional pleasant greeting in the hall. He never missed a beat and the cabin was always attended to and the ice was always full. He was pretty good with towel animals too! Our waiter and assistant waiter were competent and did a good job, but in a departure from all of our previous cruises, never once asked our names. Darn younger generation! :)

Since we are Diamond members in Crown & Anchor, we were given a card to access the Concierge Lounge or the overflow area on deck three in the Dragon’s Lair nightclub. With free drinks from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm, the lounge was packed solid the first night at sea. We decided to try the overflow and it was empty! Maybe people didn’t read all the way down the page but for whatever reason, the Dragon’s Lair remained nearly vacant for the entire trip and was a very pleasant place to have a couple of drinks before dinner or a show. Sadly, upon our return, Royal announced another cost cutting measure that will restrict access to the Concierge to suite guests and Diamond+ after July 1st (Diamond members will still have access on Freedom class ships). This was a major perk for us and along with the near elimination of stockholder benefits, we view it as a bit of a slap in the face to Royal’s loyal customers.

 

Ports and Tours

 

 

Cabo is a great walkabout port. So we did! We Walked around the marina and found a nice restaurant with a view and treated ourselves to beers, margaritas, chips, salsa and guacamole. That was it…drink, eat, laugh. It would he hard to ask more from a port-of-call. We also did a little shopping and found that most of the little items were made in the Phillipines or China and cost more than the same souvenir crap back home in Los Angeles despite the nearly 15:1 conversion rate. Cabo’s new tender service pushes two large platforms with ramps out to the Mariner and allows rapid access to the tender boats. Pretty efficient but when coming back to the ship, we experienced some delays when off-loading 200 people at a time through the metal detectors.

Mazatlan didn’t call out to us this time. In the past we’ve taken the Sierra Madre tour and once hired a local guide to drive us to points of interest and both were enjoyable. Mazatlan is an interesting town and has more to offer than a cab to the Gold Zone. On this visit, we just took the tram over to the port marketplace and browsed the collection of shops there. Same result as Cabo; prices were sky-high. The vanilla was always a bargain and it was time to re-stock the pantry, but the 16 oz bottle was $10 and they wouldn’t budge on it. We had to say, “no gracias” since the same size was $5.95 back home at Costco! So it was back to the ship for lunch and a relaxing afternoon with the e-book. Sailaway past El Faro in the late afternoon or at sunset is always a photo-op and I made good use of it.

Puerto Vallarta is perhaps our favorite of the three ports. We have taken several different tours over the years and all except the “El Eden Adventure” were great. This time we took the Town and Tequila tour. The big air-conditioned bus took us through the city and out through the little town of Ixtapa (not that Ixtapa) to a tequila distillery to see how the liquor was made. I doubt that they still use the crude methods we were shown, but it was interesting to see the process. We were given samples of six different tequilas, including coffee and peach flavored versions and turned loose to buy snacks or a beverage and shop at the suspiciously convenient and well-established flea market next to the hacienda. We had beers and some very good chicken tacos and browsed the shops. I was looking at a Steelers serape for Wonderful Wife’s cousin and was astounded when told that the price tag of 120 was not subject to conversion since it was US dollars! He was down to $85 by the time I was out of earshot but that was still twice what they cost at the flea market 10 miles from our house. They need give away a lot more tequila at the hacienda if they expect to sell anything at those prices! The tour ended after a stop at downtown and Our Lady of Guadalupe church. Not a bad tour and the guide was knowledgeable and entertaining.

 

Entertainment

 

We only went to a couple of the shows and enjoyed the ones we did attend. The production shows seem to run longer than a Broadway hit and we had seen enough of them over the last few years that nothing seemed new. The comedian and juggling act were both quite good. The ice show was well done and the skaters managed to pull off some impressive stuff in the area provided by the arena. The lounge players and the pool band were good, so I’d have to say that the entertainment was on the plus side for the trip.

 

Homeward Bound

 

What can I say? Painless. We vacated our cabin after breakfast at about 8:15 am and went down to the lounge to wait for our color to be called. Our daughters were scheduled for a 9:30 am pickup so we just sat comfortably past our disembarkation call until about 9:00 am and wandered down the crowdless ramps and through customs in about 20 minutes. The ride showed up on time and so ended the cruise. Home by 10:30 am!

 

Looking Back

 

Spring break cruise! Who picked that time of year? Actually, one of our travelling companions is a teacher and the timing was determined by her availability. Spring Break is not when we usually cruise since we are both in our early fifties. Hoards of children and the Tequila-For-Lunch Bunch are not our first choices for shipmates. With that said, the trip was surprisingly pleasant and we weren’t overrun with children and drunken college kids. Though it has declined in variety and a bit (in our opinion) in quality, the food was still good with the exception of Chops and Portofino’s where it remains excellent. The ship was clean, the crew friendly and the itinerary was…well, Mexico…again. It was rather relaxing with no pressure to go and see everything in one trip and we would consider another run if a deal pops up and the time is available.

If you are considering the Mexican Riviera for the first time, the Mariner is a good way to get there. If you’re considering a repeat trip, the Mariner is a venue in itself that adds a new dimension to the trip. In our opinion, the Mariner is a great new option for cruisers sailing from the West Coast.

 

If you want to see the Mariner and Mexico as I saw it, check out the photo gallery on my PBase site.

Here’s the link: http://www.pbase.com/pierce324/mexico2009 Enjoy!

 

Just a note regarding the state of affairs and violence in Mexico. With most of the violence concentrating in the border towns and some southern regions, the ports we visited seemed unaffected except for a somewhat more noticeable presence of armed police and military. We didn’t feel threatened or uneasy in the limited places we went but would highly recommend against taking tours not sanctioned by the ship or Mexican Tourism.

 

Dave

[caribbeanboy]

Thanks, great review.

[BabyDntGotBack]

Great review! It sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for posting.

[wolfganghowell]

Excellent review - thanks for taking the time. Are the formal nights on this itinerary the usual Monday and Friday?

[caribbeanboy]

is the captain with the beard the famous Jhonny?

[klfhngr]

GREAT PIX!!! You took some that I've never seen before... Also enjoyed your comments to the pix!

[slotaddict]

Thanks for the well put together review - I am leaving on the Mariner in about 32 days and welcomed all the information that you provided.:D

[slotaddict]

By the way the pictures were incredible.

[cruiserbryce]

thank you for the review and pictures. Hopefully we'll be able to get on Mariner soon, but enjoyed seeing her through your camera

[lahrbrat]

Wonderful review, and your photos are amazing!

[emen822]

Great review and great pictures. Thanks for sharing! :D

 

PS - loved the reference to the Star Trek shower door. LOL

[robmab]

Thanks so much for posting. Really enjoyed the pics.

[rclcruzer]

really good and thorough review. Can't wait until this Sunday!!!

Glad to hear from you and other posters, that Mariner is still a great ship with a great staff! Haven't been on her since 2005 :)

[JBert]

Great reviews and pics-

 

What camera do you use?

[pierces]

Thanks to all for the comments on the review and photos. We did have a great time. A lot of that was attributable to the great friends we traveled with.

 

Excellent review - thanks for taking the time. Are the formal nights on this itinerary the usual Monday and Friday?

 

Yes they were!

 

is the captain with the beard the famous Jhonny?

 

I don't believe so. I don't remember the name (Per Somethingnordic), but I remember hearing that the original captain left when the ship moved to Los Angeles.

 

Dave

[pierces]

Great reviews and pics-

 

What camera do you use?

 

Mostly a Sony Alpha DSLR. The model is A700.

 

Dave

[LTyler]

Your pictures are BEAUTIFUL some of the best cruise pictures I have ever seen GORGEOUS!

 

How was the temperature in Mexico then? I've been torn to do this ship or IOS in February

[hcat]

Thanks. Great review! Heading to look at your pics in a moment.

 

We have our 1st mex Riv cruise booked on Radiance & are unfamliar with the ports. (will be a nice change from the Carib where we have mostly been there & done that & bought the T shirts) !

 

In Cabo , do you recall the name of the restaurant you had lunch at? Can you see the famous arch from that point or would we need to go to the beach area via a water taxi. In other ports we will takes ship's tours to resorts or other sights, but just wanted to mosey a bit (but not too far) at the first port.

[critterchick]

That was a terrific review. You mentioned that you went through customs, though - the last time we sailed on RCI they had done away with the requirement to report to an immigration officer if you're a US citizen on a round trip cruise from a US port. Have they changed back to the old way?

[laedw]

Your pictures are stunning! I am looking forward to this cruise in 2010. What is the temperature like in March?

[pierces]

Your pictures are BEAUTIFUL some of the best cruise pictures I have ever seen GORGEOUS!

 

Thank you. I really enjoy taking them and I'm glad others enjoy them too.

 

How was the temperature in Mexico then? I've been torn to do this ship or IOS in February

 

Cool in the evening and high 70°s to low 80°s. Rather chilly on the last sea day northbound.

 

Thanks. Great review! Heading to look at your pics in a moment.

 

We have our 1st mex Riv cruise booked on Radiance & are unfamliar with the ports. (will be a nice change from the Carib where we have mostly been there & done that & bought the T shirts) !

 

In Cabo , do you recall the name of the restaurant you had lunch at? Can you see the famous arch from that point or would we need to go to the beach area via a water taxi. In other ports we will takes ship's tours to resorts or other sights, but just wanted to mosey a bit (but not too far) at the first port.

 

Don't remember the name, but here's where it is, courtesy of Google Earth:

 

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR A LARGER VIEW

 

 

You get a great view of the Marina but can't see the arch or even the ship from the restaurant. A water taxi is probably the best bet.

 

You can see the rocks at Land's End but can't really see the arch itself from

where the ship anchors. You do get a good view on the way in.

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Dave

[pierces]

That was a terrific review. You mentioned that you went through customs, though - the last time we sailed on RCI they had done away with the requirement to report to an immigration officer if you're a US citizen on a round trip cruise from a US port. Have they changed back to the old way?

 

Thanks!

 

"Through customs" was pretty descriptive...we just walked through and handed in the declaration form. :D

 

You are correct. They have done away with the passport scan since all the non-citizens are processed on-board before the ship is cleared.

 

Dave

[Suzy Q]

Great reading and awesome photos.

[MomtoCCC]

Great review and gorgeous pictures - you must be a professional!

[pierces]

Great review and gorgeous pictures - you must be a professional!

 

Yes I am! A Professional IT Consultant!

 

My photography, however, is just the result of a 40-year love affair with the art.:D

 

Thanks!

 

Dave