Just off the Mariner (4/12-19)

[ERTHDOG]

I need to get to work...I'll write more later.

 

Angela

 

yeah, get to work lady :D:D:p

 

talk to ya soon:cool:

 

dave

[Bruinboy]

FWIW, I think all of you on the cruise should write a review!!!

 

Thanks for taking the time to write. We go in October and I love hearing what awaits us.

 

How did you find out about the Mystery Dinner? Was it an incentive to go to Portofino's on the first night?

[emen822]

Thanks for the great review!!

 

How did you get to Finisterra from the dock?

Did you have to check in with anyone when you got there and tell them you were from the cruise ship?

Are their swimming pools heated?

 

Thanks!!!

 

We walked through the marketplace to the street and you will see lots of construction. It's sort of hard to explain because there was no sign for the resort. You will come out and see a huge resort and I *think* there was an italian restaurant attached to it. Keep walking past and you will then see a hill with gates that will be opened. We asked one of the people on the street and they said it was the Finisterra. Once we walked up, we went into the lobby and told them we were from the cruise and would like to use their facilities for the day. They said no problem. I would advise you to get their towels so you do not stick out like a sore thumb. :p We did that and fit right in. There were 3 pools and I believe one was heated. The place was great and also had 2 for 1 happy hour while we were there. :D

[emen822]

Hi Mary...glad to see you folks made it home safely....you beat me on writing a review..Great job.....

 

.. As the ship set sail from San Pedro we saw hundreds of dolphins swimming towards the ship fromt he port side...This was an amazing sight to see.

 

Hi Angela. I had no idea you saw dolphins! I did see one whale in Cabo but kept my eyes out for the dolphins. How lucky for you to see them AND swim with them. :D

 

hi mary:)

 

nice review, i havent decided if i will write one....prolly will:rolleyes:

 

had a blast with all of you, glad y'all made it home safe;)

 

dave

Hi Dave. We had a great time too. I hope you cherish that hat with all our autographs. ;)

[39august]

emen822-How is the beach and the view at Finisterra? Any shade or umbrellas to rent? We prefer beach access over pools.I'd guess the resort's beach would be less crowded than the strech of beach bars on the beach that you access by taxi or water taxi..Medano I think it is called.

[emen822]

emen822-How is the beach and the view at Finisterra? Any shade or umbrellas to rent? We prefer beach access over pools.I'd guess the resort's beach would be less crowded than the strech of beach bars on the beach that you access by taxi or water taxi..Medano I think it is called.

 

Since we were there during Spring Break, I had heard from another cruiser that Medano beach was packed with spring breakers. I really didn't want to be anywhere THAT crowded which is why we opted for the Finisterra. It is actually on the beach but there was no one on it. There is a sign saying that swimming is not allowed and that the rip tide is very strong. In fact, someone told us that a lady went out swimming near Lover Beach (I believe) and they had to save her. She got lucky. Another man on our ship went in and got tossed around and got a large scrape on his forearm. The view is beautiful. You can see the ocean and hear the waves crashing. I will post pictures of the resort either tonight or tomorrow. We had a great day there. And yes, there was shade near the pools. Hope that makes sense and helps somewhat. ;)

[pvbsis]

Thanks for the info on the hotels and rental cars. Look forward to reading more details.

[emen822]

The C&A gift was two baseball hats for me and my husband and my daughters got navy blue messenger type bags. I know I have heard gripes about the baseball hats but this was the first time we got them and was glad we got 2 of one gift, and 2 of the other.

The coupon book was ok...I guess it varies for different categories. I noticed I actually got a free drink rather than the buy one, get one coupon in the gold book. I wish the kids book would be better. All that Del Sol stuff is garbage (IMO). I gave my kids books to two year old twin boys that we met on the ship so they could do the coloring.

I knew of a few smugglers who used the good old rum runners and did not have any issues.

We had towel animals every night except the first night...but no chocolates.

The loyalty ambassador was a sweetheart and let me tell you, some people really try her patience. I watched one woman get totally nasty with her and then decided to cancel her cruise over a crown & anchor number that was wrong!!! I went to book my cruise with her and she was still so irritated about it. She said the worst part about it was that she knew the woman was going down to guest relations to complain about her. :mad:

Also, right before we left we received a resident discount but I needed to put an adult in each room in order to qualify twice. So I put me and one daughter on one reservation, my husband and other daughter on the other reservation. I was told that I could change this once I got onboard. Not this time. They told me I had to keep it that way in case of an emergency. :confused: So I was able to get an extra key to their room and they had one to ours :o. (They were told to make sure they called or knocked! lol) And when I went to book the cruise for next year, I was told I had to do the same thing (one adult/one child per stateroom for anyone under 18).

[kerrydee]

were there any theme nites on the ship?:confused:

i don't think i'll like not having tix for the ice show. i would imagine the wednesday 7pm show was really crowded.:D

[emen822]

were there any theme nites on the ship?:confused:

i don't think i'll like not having tix for the ice show. i would imagine the wednesday 7pm show was really crowded.:D

Other than the two formal nights, there was one Caribbean night.

(I think it was called Caribbean?) :confused: I will have to check my compasses.

[Daycare Provider]

were there any theme nites on the ship?:confused:

i don't think i'll like not having tix for the ice show. i would imagine the wednesday 7pm show was really crowded.:D

 

 

The 70's night dancing onthe Promenade was really fun..We had a great time. The 9p.m. show on Wednesday was the more crowded show...the staff had to turn people away.

Angela

[fastscot]

This is Barbara

 

I am lame and dont know how to log in on my own. Dennis passed away a week ago.

 

 

Barbara,

We cruised with you and Dennis in 2002 on the Vision of the Seas with our sons Colin and Ross. We are so sorry for your loss.

 

Neil & Ellen

[slotaddict]

This is Barbara

 

I am lame and dont know how to log in on my own. Dennis passed away a week ago.

 

My questions are:

 

For MTD, can you ask for the same table when using this feature or are you placed

wherever? Can you also choose the time to eat?

 

For MDR, you still have assigned tables and specific times, right?

 

For Chops, do you make a specific reservation time. What was the fee? Do you tip

the waiter there separately?

 

If you use MTD and also the MDR, how do you do the tips on last night?

 

I have never been on the Mariner. Dennis and I were supposed to on it now (April 19)

and August 30th. I have cancelled both of those. However, we were also booked for

October 4th and December 13th which I am going to keep. Dennis made me promise

not to stop cruising.

 

Also, on some of the posting they were talking about the MDR where if you wanted a

steak, you had to pay $15 for it. True or not. What kind of steak? Unless it is a

good filet it would not be worth it.

 

Please take time to answer because I want to be up to date about the Mariner.

 

Barbara

 

Barbara, so sorry for your loss. If you do MTD you have to prepay the tips. Thats all I know.

[debi56]

Hi, I have only cruised with Princess, they have anytime dinning when you are ready to eat you go and get seated. Do I understand with Royal that MTD you have to pick a time and do that everynight or am

I miss understanding you?:o I am hoping that I can just go when I am ready to eat, I understand there might be a wait, but I don't want to have to go at 7:00 everynight, I thought that was the whole concept of MTD?

I enjoyed reading your review, thanks for posting!

I am wondering if the waters are going to bother me, I have never been on this side of Mexico, love that Caribbean, but wanted to do something different. I guess all we can do is hope for the best.

Did you book your zipline with the cruise line or on your own? If you did your own who did you go through?

Thanks.

[emen822]

Hi, I have only cruised with Princess, they have anytime dinning when you are ready to eat you go and get seated. Do I understand with Royal that MTD you have to pick a time and do that everynight or am

I miss understanding you?:o I am hoping that I can just go when I am ready to eat, I understand there might be a wait, but I don't want to have to go at 7:00 everynight, I thought that was the whole concept of MTD?

I enjoyed reading your review, thanks for posting!

I am wondering if the waters are going to bother me, I have never been on this side of Mexico, love that Caribbean, but wanted to do something different. I guess all we can do is hope for the best.

Did you book your zipline with the cruise line or on your own? If you did your own who did you go through?

Thanks.

If you sign up for MTD, I believe you could just show up when you wanted. Some people wanted to keep the same waiter, same time but you don't have to do that. So it does sound like the same as Princess.

I was concerned about the waters but they were not bad at all. I guess it depends on what time of year you cruise. We love the Caribbean too which is why we are doing it again next year. It was nice to try something different though.

We booked ziplining directly through Johann and Sandra (Los Veranos Canopy Tour). It was a great tour and the guides were lots of fun.

 

Mary

[debi56]

Great thank you, we are sail out Feb 28th.

Yahoo!!!:D

[italia02113]

thank you so much for the great review - we sail on on 5/3 - first time on RCCL - so I am excited and trying to gather all the info I can!

 

Therese

[stanford's girl]

The 70's night dancing on the Promenade was really fun.

 

Angela

What night was this on and what time?? :confused:

[stanford's girl]

I am sailing on this Sunday's Mariner and I hope you can please help me out. I'm looking for the names of the Captain, CD, Hotel Mgr, Beverage Mgr, and the Maitre 'd . Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. :D

[emen822]

emen822-How is the beach and the view at Finisterra? Any shade or umbrellas to rent? We prefer beach access over pools.I'd guess the resort's beach would be less crowded than the strech of beach bars on the beach that you access by taxi or water taxi..Medano I think it is called.

 

Here are a few pictures. The last picture shows the design that was on the fence.

[emen822]

I am sailing on this Sunday's Mariner and I hope you can please help me out. I'm looking for the names of the Captain (Per Kristoffersen)' date=' CD (Ken Rush), Hotel Director (Richard Nentwich), Food and Beverage Director (Werner Zurcher), and the Maitre 'd . Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. :D

 

Hope this helps.

[emen822]

What night was this on and what time?? :confused:

 

Tuesday night at 10:30 on the Royal Promenade.

[stanford's girl]

Hope this helps.

 

Tuesday night at 10:30 on the Royal Promenade.

Both of them help and thank you so much!! :D

[msett1]

I might have missed if you said this or not but are you going to be posting the compasses or could you email them? No big deal, just wondering :)

[emen822]

I might have missed if you said this or not but are you going to be posting the compasses or could you email them? No big deal, just wondering :)

 

I have them all with me so I will try to scan them and post them today. I think the easiest might be webshots? I have tried posting compasses once before but the files were too big.