Disappointment in Mariner of Seas

[smilenan]

:( just got off cruise on "mariner of Seas" 11/14-21 eastern caribbean. i have traveled 7 times with RCCL this is the first disappointment. the food choices in the main dining room were terrible.(poor selection, taste, amount) only one place available to get coffee at odd hours - the promenade - however, staff,crew, service was excellent. i would not repeat a cruise on this particular ship. :mad:

[tanker47]

Guess opinions vary. We were also on the Mariner 11-14/21-04 and had a great time. We also enjoyed the dining room food, (Ate there every night) and everyone we talked to had similar comments. As for "off hours" coffee, room service is available 24/7. Guess you can't always please everyone thought.

[sherry7]

Yikes! :eek: I'm going on the Mariner in a month (our very first cruise), so I certainly hope this is just a difference in opinions. If the food really THAT bad? Please define bad, give descriptions please. Was the food undercooked, overcooked, etc?

[FaithsAngel]

I went on the mariner for the eastern and western in november and found the food amazing!! It was always hot when we recieved it, cooked to perfection and tasted lovely!

 

Gem

[Apex Cruiser]

sherry7,

 

Do not worry about the food. If you get something you do not like send it back and ask for a different item. On our Mariner cruise in September we were constantly asked by the wait staff if the food was good and if they could get us anything else.Of course we never sent anything back as the food was very good. Also remember if you want two deserts, more lobster, etc. ask and it will be provided. Only you know what you like so enjoy your cruise and do not worry about the small stuff. ;)

[Ocean Boy]

We had no problem witht he food aboard Mariner. The service in the dining room was good though it was not up to the level that we had aboard Explorer.

 

As for coffee at odd hours, at least it was available. How many stations would you expect to be open aboard ship in the middle of the night? I think the 24 hr. Cafe Prominade is very convenient and it is one of the things I'll miss having booked Serenade for next year.

[WeirdEyes]

I thought the Mariner was wonderful. The food was very good and the service excellent. I'm sorry you were so disappointed.

[CruiseMark]

Yikes! :eek: I'm going on the Mariner in a month (our very first cruise), so I certainly hope this is just a difference in opinions. If the food really THAT bad? Please define bad, give descriptions please. Was the food undercooked, overcooked, etc?

 

Sherry, take a deep breath, relax. Some advice, for what it's worth: Never obsess over one post on this place. When researching a ship, I go to the Member Reviews section and look at the overall ratings. If the majority of them are positive, chances are you'll have a great time. Cruising is all about what you make it. I've seen people rate an entire cruise the lowest possible score because they didn't get the salad dressing they asked for (not this post). If you look at the Mariner overall score in the Member review section, it's one of the highest rated of all the mainstream line ships!

 

I'm not dispariging any post here. Quite the opposite, I encourage any and all constructive posts, especially opinions on ships. Just keep everything in perspective when you read them.

 

You'll have a great time!

 

My 2 cents,

[xpcdoojk]

Especially chill, when reading a poster with 4 posts since October, that doesn't use capitalization. ;) :D

 

 

jc

[Dave4120]

Hello...My wife and I have been on Mariner, Navigator, and just came back from the Adventure.

 

Whenever we post any type of review, I alway's start off by telling everyone that my comments are just my opinon and my overview. I mention that someone else might have an entirely different viewpoint than me. This way, I'm not making a blanket statement that could give another person the impression that my word is gospel.

 

All of things that you mentioned about the food, the selection choice and other things never bothered us a bit. We thought everything was very good. But I have always had the mindset before we even leave that the food on the ship is like a big glorified banquet hall, with average food. With that attitude ahead of time we are never disappointed. Yes, there are instances where the food might not be up to par, but again, what you dislike, someone else might think differently.

 

I understand your frustration and experience, and we are all entitled to our opinions. I am sorry to hear that you had a somewhat disappointing experience in a couple of ship categories.

 

I feel the main point that cruisers need to remember when posting comments, is that everyone has a different opinion about everything and no one is correct or incorrect with their comments.

 

Dave

[dfgf]

My wife and I were on the Mariner just a few weeks ago. I thought the dining room food was good, and we ate there all 5 nights. (Hurricane-shortened cruise.) I'm not going to say that it was 'excellent', but it was certainly good food in my humble opinion. We didn't receive anything that we disliked, nor did anyone at our table. There WAS one appetizer that I ordered that I remember thinking "wow - what a tiny appetizer" - don't recall what it was. Besides that, the portions always seemed to be about what you would expect in a typical American restaurant.

 

The two gripes (perhaps "constructive criticisms" would be a better phrase) that I had were both with the sushi. For one, it was available in only in Jade only during dinner hours. So, to have sushi, I had to eat dinner twice each night - once in Jade and once in the dining room. I managed to do that a few times. :o The other thing that I didn't enjoy about the sushi was that it wasn't really raw. The salmon rolls that they had, for example, contained smoked salmon not raw. Same with the sushima. However, to me bad sushi is still great, so I certainly didn't complain about it!

[critterchick]

dfgf, bad sushi will kill you!:eek:

[PortugueseLady]

I loved each and every cruise (not perfect) but I made it perfect..each person to their own....

 

Coffee....I believe the promenade offers coffee 24hrs...I have been there at 7am, 12noon, 4pm and as later as 4in the morning and never ran into this situation....I'm sorry to read that you were dissappointed...hope your next is better. :D

 

The food was never an issue, like someone posted....send it back and get what you want...not every single thing can be bad...if your taste buds doesn't agree with the first choice...they are more then accomodated with this...

 

To the upcoming MOS cruisers..nothing to worry about....have a blast...

[skiiergirl]

On the Mariner now. So far I have only gained 63.5 pounds this week so the food must not be very good. LOL As far as choices, the menu is the same on all RCI ships. We were told this by the executive chef on Jewel and I can confirm that the menus this week on Mariner are exactly the same as the menu last week on Jewel (except for the special T'giving dinner last week). The quality was better last week but as far as size and presentation....that comes from Miami. The E.C. even showed us the pix that Miami sends them and said they can't even change the amount of brocolli, etc. Yes, we all have different tastes but there are so many choices how can anyone possibly go hungry on a cruise? If you don't like what you are served in the dining room just ask for something different. If you want two appetizers (two of the same or two different...just ask). If you want two desserts...just ask. If you didn't enjoy your meal in the d.r. then more than likely there is somewhere else you can get something else...J.R. or Cafe Prom, or Seaview, or 24/7 room service. Food just can't be an issue on a cruise. Too many different options!

[Nessa1dc]

I went on the Mariner in October. Wonderful time. Coffee is served 24 hours in the promenade cafe, or in your room. I thought the food was excellent. Sorry some didn't have a good experience.

[irishrose58]

I was on the Mariner mid-April and had a *wonderful* time! The food was tasty, hot, and plentiful. Beautiful ship, very pleasant crew, and save for a few waves and wind, a *very* delightful trip. I would return on the Mariner in a heartbeat!!! Not all opinions are the same, but I would never be afraid because of one or two negatives, Sherry7. You will love it!!!

 

Disclaimer:

Okay, maybe I should not say "in a heartbeat" (GRIN) since my husband and I are traveling on Adventures of the Sea 1/2/05! However, I loved our vacation on the Mariner!!!

[tmt9367]

We were also on the Mariner this past April with OceanBoy and found the food not all that good. We ate in both Chops and Portafinos. We dined with three other couples and everybody thought the food was just so-so. In Chops, the meat was tender and cooked to perfection, but had little taste. All the side dishes were good. All the choices are served family style. Portafino wasn't what we call Italian food. Our family is from Italy and we're just not used to eating that type of Italian. Again cooked right, but had little taste. The Windjammer Cafe and Island grill was the best buffet we've seen on a cruise ship. So many selections and everything was fresh and hot.

 

Service on the Mariner is another thing. At that time, I felt the ship was understaffed. RCCL has eliminated a few employee positions. In the dining room, the bar waiter now takes the wine orders and also serves it. Around the pool, there was minimal staff also. Just my observations.

 

S

[Adventure Girl]

I was on the Mariner of the Seas western itinerary week of Nov 7-14. I thought the food was fantastic...the best of all of the Voyager class ships that I have been on. Service was fantastic. Entertainment was great. We had the time of our lives.

 

Irishrose: I've sailed twice on the Adventure....I thought the Adventure of the Seas was the best ship on earth...I was totally in love with the Adventure of the Seas...until I found the Mariner of the Seas. I still love the AOS....but I enjoy the Mariner of the Seas more. You'll have to report back on what you think after you sail in January.

[MrsPete]

I agree with CruiseMark -- ignore the "extreme" reviews and instead look for what the majority of the posters are saying. After all, there are those people who can never be pleased and those people who would be pleased with dog food.

 

What I like to see in a review is a post with PLENTY OF DETAILS. For example, if someone writes that he disliked the food because it was really spicy, I can decide whether that will appeal to me or not. People who write that type of response also tend to give both good and bad details, which is a good thing. On the other hand, I tend to discount posts (like the one that began this thread) that just say terrible food. My own husband and I don't always agree on what constitutes terrible, so why would I take that vague advice from a perfect stranger? Give me details and I'll take you seriously!

[CallagDeb]

No one is mentioning the coffee available on the promende is Seattle's Best - OMG, How good was that. We went on the Mariner a year ago, we are taking our family of 10 in 9 days, (12 Dec) and renewing our vows (35 years) with everyone present. The Mariner is to great of a ship to good to get caught up in the FOOD....there is so much more to this ship don't judge solely on food, although food was GREAT, art, atompshere, crew, beauty, of this ship surpasses all. Keep the food in prespective, you have room service, alternative choices, food in the dining room is NOT the only choice. Judge the cruise in as a whole ..... AMAZING....so amazing we have to have our whole family experience this, even our two grandbabies of 3 and 5. The Mariner will set thier standards for the rest of their life....ice capades, roller rink, miniature golf......absolutley unbelievable!

[ashtravel]

I was on the Mariner Nov.21-28. I thought the food was good. It was always hot and served promptly. My husband is lactose -intolerent and our server went out of her way to make sure he had a great meal every night. She made sure he could have dessert every night too, which was a real treat for him. My only complaint was the terrible scrambled eggs in the Windjammer. I tried a few times to eat them but couldn't stand them. Other than that, I think the food was good. I believe coffee was available 24 hours from the cafe on deck 5.

This was my first RCL and it was the best by far of all the cruises I've been on (6 total). My kids had a blast on the sports deck. There is so much to do. Also, the ship did beautifully with 40mph winds. I truly only felt the ship move 2 evenings . For most of the cruise, there was very little movement.....amazing! I don't see how you can have a bad time on that ship.