My review - Mariner of the Seas

[billsrobb]

This is my story of my cruise on Mariner of the Seas. I did enjoy certain aspects of this cruise. I was not a happy camper going on this cruise because I really wanted to go to Mexico. Naturally I knew before hand that this was not the case. Embarkation was a breeze. I was able to skip the picture taking which was good. I was on the ship by 11:30 am. Had a DOD in hand and was on the Windjammer buffet. The buffet food was just okay. However, the dining room food was great. This was the only good thing about the cruise. There were hardly any activities during the day. People were upset that since it was cold and rainy and no one could or would not go outside at all. My biggest complaint and some may find this minor is that ship did not have any Net work TV stations. I wanted to watch some TV while in the room. The CD Ken Rush was okay. The rooms were smaller then Carnival and I had a balcony. The bathrooms were smaller too. The shower was very small and you who know me know that I barely fit in the shower. I did not go to any shows except the QUEST which was fun. I was a team captain for the contest and that is all I will say. I hope that no one will get the show on You Tube. Wait staff at dinner was great. Room steward was marginal. We had a meet and mingle which was not so good. No liquor and just finger food. The CD was talking about how people rave about RCCI over Carnival and I shouted out yes they are called Royal Champions. I don't think the CD liked that comment other then to say this is true. I asked the CD if he knew any CD's on Carnival and he said no. I asked him if he had ever heard of John Hearld and he knew that John was a biggie and I told him he was. We did get a OBC of $350 and since I was sailing with my cousin I had asked RCCI before we sailed if the split would show on my sail card and was assured it was. Well it wasn't and I had to go to the pursers desk every day till they finally showed up on my bill. I did not like that at all. I do recommed the Irish Pub. I spent all my nights there drinking and listening to a guy playing his guitar and singing. He was good and had the place rocking each night. I had seen the Promanade on Travel Channel and was looking forward to seeing it. It was as spectular as I had thought. The stops did not interest me since I had been to Victoria and Seattle before. Astoria is a pretty town but not much to do there. This is an honest review and just my opinion. Lets just say that Carnival has a better product.

 

Robb

[CrusinAgain]

Thanks for your review. We were booked on the Mariner until they announced the change so we are now on the Adventure of the Seas. Was this your first trip on Royal? We like the newer Carnival also as well as Princess. I see on some of the Royal ships, they have pool tables. Did this one? How was your room? I am surprised that Royal does not offer the bathroom amentities that Carnival and Princess does. Did you find this true?

[kruzerci]

Thanks for your review. We were booked on the Mariner until they announced the change so we are now on the Adventure of the Seas. Was this your first trip on Royal? We like the newer Carnival also as well as Princess. I see on some of the Royal ships, they have pool tables. Did this one? How was your room? I am surprised that Royal does not offer the bathroom amentities that Carnival and Princess does. Did you find this true?

 

 

I think the bathrooms are nicer than Carnival. The OP's complaint was that he couldn't fit in the bathroom.

[CrusinAgain]

I think the bathrooms are nicer than Carnival. The OP's complaint was that he couldn't fit in the bathroom.

 

Well I was referring to the bathroom amenities not the bathroom itself. Like shampoo, body wash, razor, lotion, conditioner - things that Carnival provides that Royal does not.

[kruzerci]

Well I was referring to the bathroom amenities not the bathroom itself. Like shampoo, body wash, razor, lotion, conditioner - things that Carnival provides that Royal does not.

 

 

Oh ok. That may be true, but I only had shampoo and conditioner on Carnival, which is what RC supplies.

[CrusinAgain]

Oh ok. That may be true, but I only had shampoo and conditioner on Carnival, which is what RC supplies.

 

Really? Did you take a newer 7-day Carnival ship? They give you a bowl of good freebies and restock it if needed as well as body wash in the shower and shampoo. The only Carnival ship we did not get the bowl of goodies on was the Imagination 4-day cruise.

 

I heard Royal only gives shampoo in the shower but not to use it as body wash as well as a bar of soap. I heard they don't give lotion, conditioner etc. I thought that is odd.

[cb at sea]

Only the Radiance class ships have the pool tables---they're fun, but you can't lean on the table to do a "behind the back" shot, or the table will "dip"!

[caribbeanboy]

I'm on the Radiance right now.I think you are a big Carnival fan and Royal C. can't do nothing better than Carnival in your eyes.

 

The buffet on the Radiance is much better than what I have got on Carnival till now. Only the dining room food is ok.

 

We have tons of activities to do every day and some EXCELLENT shows. The CD is Kirk Detweiler and he's one of the best on all my cruises (all lines)

[billsrobb]

Thanks for your review. We were booked on the Mariner until they announced the change so we are now on the Adventure of the Seas. Was this your first trip on Royal? We like the newer Carnival also as well as Princess. I see on some of the Royal ships, they have pool tables. Did this one? How was your room? I am surprised that Royal does not offer the bathroom amentities that Carnival and Princess does. Did you find this true?

 

This was my first cruise on Royal. I did not find any pool tables but then I was not looking for one either. I felt the room was small. Bathroom was small too. The only bathroom ammenity that was there was the soap or shampoo. I did not use it as I bought my own. I thought that was poor on royal part.

Robb

[billsrobb]

I think the bathrooms are nicer than Carnival. The OP's complaint was that he couldn't fit in the bathroom.

 

Far from it. Carnival's bathroom are bigger and the shower was bigger too.

Robb

[billsrobb]

Oh ok. That may be true, but I only had shampoo and conditioner on Carnival, which is what RC supplies.

 

Crusin again is correct. Carnival has much more stuff then Royal.

Robb

[Merion_Mom]

This is my story of my cruise on Mariner of the Seas. I did enjoy certain aspects of this cruise. I was not a happy camper going on this cruise because I really wanted to go to Mexico. Naturally I knew before hand that this was not the case. Embarkation was a breeze. I was able to skip the picture taking which was good. I was on the ship by 11:30 am. Had a DOD in hand and was on the Windjammer buffet. The buffet food was just okay. However, the dining room food was great. This was the only good thing about the cruise. There were hardly any activities during the day. People were upset that since it was cold and rainy and no one could or would not go outside at all. My biggest complaint and some may find this minor is that ship did not have any Net work TV stations. I wanted to watch some TV while in the room. The CD Ken Rush was okay. The rooms were smaller then Carnival and I had a balcony. The bathrooms were smaller too. The shower was very small and you who know me know that I barely fit in the shower. I did not go to any shows except the QUEST which was fun. I was a team captain for the contest and that is all I will say. I hope that no one will get the show on You Tube. Wait staff at dinner was great. Room steward was marginal. We had a meet and mingle which was not so good. No liquor and just finger food. The CD was talking about how people rave about RCCI over Carnival and I shouted out yes they are called Royal Champions. I don't think the CD liked that comment other then to say this is true. I asked the CD if he knew any CD's on Carnival and he said no. I asked him if he had ever heard of John Hearld and he knew that John was a biggie and I told him he was. We did get a OBC of $350 and since I was sailing with my cousin I had asked RCCI before we sailed if the split would show on my sail card and was assured it was. Well it wasn't and I had to go to the pursers desk every day till they finally showed up on my bill. I did not like that at all. I do recommed the Irish Pub. I spent all my nights there drinking and listening to a guy playing his guitar and singing. He was good and had the place rocking each night. I had seen the Promanade on Travel Channel and was looking forward to seeing it. It was as spectular as I had thought. The stops did not interest me since I had been to Victoria and Seattle before. Astoria is a pretty town but not much to do there. This is an honest review and just my opinion. Lets just say that Carnival has a better product.

 

Robb

 

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I am sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise.

 

I always find it interesting when a passenger returns and reports that "there were hardly any activities" and then says that "the only thing I did was the Quest."

 

Does Carnival get regular TV channels on its ships?

 

(personally, I cannot imagine choosing "watching TV in the cabin" as a cruise activity)

[CrusinAgain]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I am sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise.

 

I always find it interesting when a passenger returns and reports that "there were hardly any activities" and then says that "the only thing I did was the Quest."

 

Does Carnival get regular TV channels on its ships?

 

(personally, I cannot imagine choosing "watching TV in the cabin" as a cruise activity)

 

Merion, most of my family will choose to vegetate and watch a movie in the cabin or in the movie theater on the ship. Our family cannot take the sun and laying around the pool as much as others, but I guess our skin will thank us for it later. Sometimes we'll play cards and watch a movie. Carnival and Princess have network TV channels and just released or before released movies on their ships. That is what a cruise is all about - something for everyone. You can't imagine watching TV as a cruise activity while we can imagine staying at the pool all day as a cruise activity. :)

[Merion_Mom]

Merion, most of my family will choose to vegetate and watch a movie in the cabin or in the movie theater on the ship. Our family cannot take the sun and laying around the pool as much as others, but I guess our skin will thank us for it later. Sometimes we'll play cards and watch a movie. Carnival and Princess have network TV channels and just released or before released movies on their ships. That is what a cruise is all about - something for everyone. You can't imagine watching TV as a cruise activity while we can imagine staying at the pool all day as a cruise activity. :)

 

An occasional movie, I can understand. But TV? Pardon me, but YUCK. :)

 

JMO YMMV

[CrusinAgain]

An occasional movie, I can understand. But TV? Pardon me, but YUCK. :)

 

JMO YMMV

 

 

:p Well I don't know what others do but we catch up on the news in the mornings while getting dressed for about 5 minutes but if we find a lull in the ships activities and there is a movie we haven't seen, we will go to the cabin or to the theater and watch it. Having lived in Florida, we had our days of fun in the sun and now have to watch it with the skin. I'm sure some families love it when the ship has cartoons for their kids just like we did as a younger family taking our kids. I take it you can still hang out by the pool all day? I don't go on a cruise to sit by the pool, I go to relax and see new sites and do activities I don't get to do on a normal basis and movies fill in the spots that has an opening.

[Merion_Mom]

:p Well I don't know what others do but we catch up on the news in the mornings while getting dressed for about 5 minutes but if we find a lull in the ships activities and there is a movie we haven't seen, we will go to the cabin or to the theater and watch it. Having lived in Florida, we had our days of fun in the sun and now have to watch it with the skin. I'm sure some families love it when the ship has cartoons for their kids just like we did as a younger family taking our kids. I take it you can still hang out by the pool all day? I don't go on a cruise to sit by the pool, I go to relax and see new sites and do activities I don't get to do on a normal basis and movies fill in the spots that has an opening.

 

Royal Caribbean has CNN and two or three cartoon channels. Surely you don't mean that Carnival gets LOCAL TV news or shows?!?!?!?!?

[akcruz]

Sorry to hear your cruise was not all that you expected it to be. Guess its like they say everyone has a specific cruise line they prefer and it looks like Carnival is it for you. Nothing wrong with that, just a fact.

 

I do have to say we have been on the Mariner in the past as well as other Voyager and Freedom ships and have never found a lack of things to do and no we don't just sit by the pool. We are doing Mariner again in August and can't wait!

[WhiteSoxFan]

I think every cruise line probably does a few things differently that will appeal to different groups of people. If they were all the same what would be the point. Everyone individual has different priorities and preferences. Cabin size and bathroom amenities are low on my list as I spend little time in the cabin and bring my own soap, shampoo, etc. (that doesn't mean I won't grab a large cabin or an aft balcony if i can get it!)

 

I also found it strange that you felt there were no activities, but only went to Quest. I have seen the Compasses and think there are plenty of activities, perhaps Carnival just has more of the activities you prefer. Sorry you didn't care for RCI, at least you tried it and now you know your preference.

[cruisingagentone]

I think what he was trying to say is there should have been more activities inside since you couldn't spend much time outside.

And yes Carnival does have local stations and tv shows. I was just on the Liberty in April and they had ABC NBC and CBS from Denver. Why Denver I don't know but it was nice to be able to go to bed and get the regular tv shows to go to sleep by.

[FireIce0010]

We had a meet and mingle which was not so good. No liquor and just finger food.

What does Carnival serve at their guest meetings???? That's right, Carnival doesn't have Meet and Mingles.:rolleyes:

The CD was talking about how people rave about RCCI over Carnival and I shouted out yes they are called Royal Champions. I don't think the CD liked that comment other then to say this is true.

And people wonder why Carnival has the reputation that they do. This is a fine example.

I asked the CD if he knew any CD's on Carnival and he said no. I asked him if he had ever heard of John Hearld and he knew that John was a biggie and I told him he was.

I doubt that the CD could care less about John Heald. John is only a legend in his own mind and of course his groupies that follow him around like a puppy dog.

This is an honest review and just my opinion. Lets just say that Carnival has a better product.

 

Robb

 

And I am thankful that we all have a choice as I feel that Carnival doesn't even begin to match up with Royal Caribbean. Like going from a BMW to a VW.

[billsrobb]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I am sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise.

 

I always find it interesting when a passenger returns and reports that "there were hardly any activities" and then says that "the only thing I did was the Quest."

 

Does Carnival get regular TV channels on its ships?

 

(personally, I cannot imagine choosing "watching TV in the cabin" as a cruise activity)

 

Yes Carnival does have network TV stations. They come out of Denver, CO. Not to thrilled with that. I wanted to watch the golf and also see who won the Apprentice. I also like to see Law and Order although the ship did have TNT so I could watch reruns if I wanted too. I ran into quite a few people who shared my concern which frankly surprised me. One more thing I forgot to mention in my review is that RCCI charges for capachino (sp) at dinner. Carnival does not that I know of. Also at dinner if I wanted a "better" steak I had to pay $14.95 for it. Dumb if you ask me.

Robb

[ShipsInBergen]

Wow it is very strange after reading a review in that font size to go back to a normal sized text.

What a strange choice! It kind of made the original review seem clumsy. You make some strange points and it sounds like you were very rude to Ken Rush (who we had on Indy last year and thought was good). 'Have you heard of ----, he's a biggie' - that's just plain rude. It's not big or clever to belittle someone who is doing their job.

 

Also, just a tip, but try to break up your text a bit next time. Paragraphs are wonderful things. Using them would make your opinions a lot easier to read for the rest of us.

 

Thanks for the review.

[billsrobb]

I think every cruise line probably does a few things differently that will appeal to different groups of people. If they were all the same what would be the point. Everyone individual has different priorities and preferences. Cabin size and bathroom amenities are low on my list as I spend little time in the cabin and bring my own soap, shampoo, etc. (that doesn't mean I won't grab a large cabin or an aft balcony if i can get it!)

 

I also found it strange that you felt there were no activities, but only went to Quest. I have seen the Compasses and think there are plenty of activities, perhaps Carnival just has more of the activities you prefer. Sorry you didn't care for RCI, at least you tried it and now you know your preference.

 

I feel that I need to clarify something here. There were activities such as tribond, bingo (very expensive) so there was plenty to do. I just did not attend everything. I went to some of them.

Robb

[reallyitsmema]

What type of activities were you looking for on the Mariner that they have on carnival? We have sailed twice on the Mariner, have never been in a pool or a hot tub or layed out in the sun and were always busy.

[billsrobb]

And I am thankful that we all have a choice as I feel that Carnival doesn't even begin to match up with Royal Caribbean. Like going from a BMW to a VW.

 

Why them is Carnival the number 1 cruise line?

Why does Carnival have more repeat customers?

Your comment does not add up.

Too bad you had to resort to name calling or maybe a better word is label calling.

Robb