So... all you West coast Cruisers

[EBFURR]

How are you liking "our" Mariner?

 

We loved that ship & crew (especially Captain Johnny - "good morning!, good morning!, good morning!") when she was in Port Canaveral. So much, in fact, that we sailed her 5 times in as many years. Usually we would go in June just after school let out so around this time of year we start to pine away for our Mariner fix. We are sad to see her gone, but are sure you guys will take good care of her.

 

If you see Wayne, the bartender, from Jamaica tell him Brad says "hello" from Iraq. He is coming down to Jamiaca to visit when is back in the states.

[Ladyvdr]

We are booked on the Mariner, but not until December 2010. Looking forward to trying out the ship though.

[novalab]

We have admired the Mariner for several years. We tailed her out of Cozumel 4 years ago & vowed we would someday book a cruise on her. Well, when she came West (we live in NV), it was a dream come true! We booked & we don't care that we are not going to Mexico week after next. In fact, all of us are really thrilled to be going to the PNW!

 

You can be sure that us westcoasters will take very good care of her:D

[love2relax]

We're happy to have her, but we are sailing RCCL less since it is so much more expensive and longer (7 vs. 3 or 4 days) than the short Monarch cruises we were taking before.

 

I'm really looking forward to our upcoming cruise to "somewhere" even though we're not really sure we 'know where" we're going.

[rubrrick]

How are you liking "our" Mariner?

 

We loved that ship & crew (especially Captain Johnny - "good morning!, good morning!, good morning!") when she was in Port Canaveral. So much, in fact, that we sailed her 5 times in as many years. Usually we would go in June just after school let out so around this time of year we start to pine away for our Mariner fix. We are sad to see her gone, but are sure you guys will take good care of her.

 

If you see Wayne, the bartender, from Jamaica tell him Brad says "hello" from Iraq. He is coming down to Jamiaca to visit when is back in the states.

 

 

Hopefully Wayne will be onboard when we next sail on the Mariner.

 

There have been several that really enjoy the Mariner.......and I think that the most cruised person (is that a phrase) this year...........has 8 cruises so far!!

 

We have had 5.........so that must say something for the ship!!

 

Captain Johnny........will be missed.......but not before we enjoy him once or twice more!!

 

A ship is a ship........but the leaders.........some of them are very special......as is Captain Johnny! He truly is one of the best!!

 

Rick

[STEVE-O]

My wife and I sailed on "your" Mariner 2 months ago. The ship was nice (we had sailed on Explorer before so there wasn't the initial WOW factor for us).

 

The food was OK. The entertainment was average. The service was fine....

 

BUT.....

 

The crew was the least friendly crew we've encountered on 9 cruises.

 

My best guess is not all the crew was excited about leaving the Caribbean for the chillier (at least in March) west coast. I'm a-s-s-u-m-i-n-g some of the crew may have been from places the Mariner called on before

heading west......and now they can't "go home" when in port.

 

I tend to be overly appreciative of those who serve us....This cruise, it seemed my "Thank You's" were mostly responded to with a grunt. Only two "my pleasure's" in 7 days!.......Our waiter and asst. waiter were great!....as was one of the bartenders in the WJ.

 

That's my 2 cents......

[CaboWabo62]

Mariner is great, we did spring break last March and booked spring break 2001. With our kids.

[wblynch]

Mariner is great, we did spring break last March and booked spring break 2001. With our kids.

 

Wow !! Back to the Future ?? :D :D :D

[Loyal2RCCL]

The crew was the least friendly crew we've encountered on 9 cruises.

 

My best guess is not all the crew was excited about leaving the Caribbean for the chillier (at least in March) west coast. I'm a-s-s-u-m-i-n-g some of the crew may have been from places the Mariner called on before

heading west......and now they can't "go home" when in port.

 

I tend to be overly appreciative of those who serve us....This cruise, it seemed my "Thank You's" were mostly responded to with a grunt. Only two "my pleasure's" in 7 days!.......Our waiter and asst. waiter were great!....as was one of the bartenders in the WJ.

 

That's my 2 cents......

 

The crew is not very happy at the moment, mainly because they're not making much money. This is especially true with the bar staff who's tips have really fallen off since coming to the West Coast. They made virtually no money on the 46 night crossing, and since coming to LA, the bar revenue is down considerably compared to what it was when they sailed the warm Caribbean.

 

A lot of the staff are also toward the end of their contracts and are ready to go home. Most do not want to return to the Mariner and have requested transfers to more profitable ships.

 

Personally, I prefer the Vision and wish she were still out here over the Mariner. Given a choice, I would choose a Vision or Radiance class ship over the Voyager and Freedom class any day.

[EBFURR]

Wow, these are some interesting reponses.

 

"Hopefully Wayne will be onboard when we next sail on the Mariner.

 

There have been several that really enjoy the Mariner.......and I think that the most cruised person (is that a phrase) this year...........has 8 cruises so far!!

 

We have had 5.........so that must say something for the ship!!

 

Captain Johnny........will be missed.......but not before we enjoy him once or twice more!!

 

A ship is a ship........but the leaders.........some of them are very special......as is Captain Johnny! He truly is one of the best!!

 

Rick "

 

Rick, we agree 100%. On one of our cruises Johnny F. was on vacation & the Captain at the time was a nice guy, but each member of the crew could tell you how many days left until Capt. Johnny returned. They really like working for him and it showed.

 

"The crew is not very happy at the moment, mainly because they're not making much money. This is especially true with the bar staff who's tips have really fallen off since coming to the West Coast. They made virtually no money on the 46 night crossing, and since coming to LA, the bar revenue is down considerably compared to what it was when they sailed the warm Caribbean."

 

This is probably true. It does seem that many of the crew, especially bar staff, were from the Caribbean. Many of them got a day off to visit family while in their home port. They probably miss that part of it. Sorry to hear from several of you that the service is not what you would expect. It is probably due to the relocation and hopefully will be ironed out over time. We never had a bad experience on Mariner and we hope that things get back to "normal" soon!

[Happy ks]

We'll let you know next December 27th, after we get off :)

 

We have a second cruise booked on her, in April of 2010, so I do hope the first experience goes well for us.

 

We're not that impressed with larger ships and we did love Monarch, sorry to see her go.

 

But, Radiance is doing a few short cruises out of San Diego, so we are able to get a cruise fix this October. I have a feeling we will like Radiance more than Mariner....but we'll see!

[Luv2Kruize]

My wife and I sailed on "your" Mariner 2 months ago. The ship was nice (we had sailed on Explorer before so there wasn't the initial WOW factor for us).

 

The food was OK. The entertainment was average. The service was fine....

 

BUT.....

 

The crew was the least friendly crew we've encountered on 9 cruises.

 

My best guess is not all the crew was excited about leaving the Caribbean for the chillier (at least in March) west coast. I'm a-s-s-u-m-i-n-g some of the crew may have been from places the Mariner called on before

heading west......and now they can't "go home" when in port.

 

I tend to be overly appreciative of those who serve us....This cruise, it seemed my "Thank You's" were mostly responded to with a grunt. Only two "my pleasure's" in 7 days!.......Our waiter and asst. waiter were great!....as was one of the bartenders in the WJ.

 

That's my 2 cents......

 

 

Funny thing you say that about the Mariner. I have been on the Monarch twice now since it has been in Port Canaveral and I thought the same thing about the crew that came with the Monarch! I could tell the difference with the crew from the Sovereign, much friendlier! Guess it will take the LA crew some time to get used to us "East Coasters!"

[JoniK]

How are you liking "our" Mariner?

 

We loved that ship & crew (especially Captain Johnny - "good morning!, good morning!, good morning!") when she was in Port Canaveral. So much, in fact, that we sailed her 5 times in as many years. Usually we would go in June just after school let out so around this time of year we start to pine away for our Mariner fix. We are sad to see her gone, but are sure you guys will take good care of her.

 

If you see Wayne, the bartender, from Jamaica tell him Brad says "hello" from Iraq. He is coming down to Jamiaca to visit when is back in the states.

 

I know how you feel about losing "your Mariner" as you now have "our Monarch' and we really miss her. She is a great ship and it was a wonderful 3 day getaway.

 

We are sailing on the Mariner in a week and a half and promise we will take really good care of her. We may miss the Monarch but are thrilled to have the Mariner out west.

[kruzerci]

I think its so funny that now West coasters are complaining about Mariner now. Two years ago it was "why wont they send a Voyager or Radiance class out here?"

 

Experiences may be better after she starts doing Mex Riviera trips regularly.

 

It's sad to hear that the crew is not friendly on Mariner, I think that's what made our Mariner cruise so spectacular.

[WhiteSoxFan]

Hopefully once they get back to the MR all will get better. I hope so as we'll be on her in August. Maybe if I "grease the wheels" a little early on they'll be a little freindlier.

[HRHPrinceJim]

I have never been on the Mariner, but I will be onboard in 31 days. I'll let you know how I like it when I return.

 

Many the unhappy crew members from Mariner will trade places with the unhappy crew members from Monarch. I'd be very happy to see those familiar faces on Mariner. For many of us, they are family. :D