Mariner of the Seas Christmas Cruise - Review

We're currently sitting in the lounge at Changi Airport, waiting for our flight back to Perth. We disembarked Mariner of the Seas a few hours ago, following her four night Christmas cruise, so I thought I'd bang out a review while we wait.

This was our first time on Mariner of the Seas, and our first time actually sailing on Christmas Day. We stayed the night prior to sailing in Singapore, at Marina Bay Sands. It's an amazing hotel, but can be quite expensive. We thought, seeing as how it was just for the night, we'd pay the extra and make it special.

Boarding day arrived and we caught a cab to the Marina Bay Cruise Centre, about a five to ten minute drive away. We had been upgraded to a Junior Suite and check-in was a breeze. It took about fifteen minutes to arrive, check-in, proceed through customs and be on board the ship. Staterooms wouldn't be ready til 1pm so we had time to explore the ship. She was in fabulous condition. No noticeable wear and tear. She was decked out in Christmas decorations and looked amazing. We headed up to the pool deck so my other half could have a cigarette. I took the opportunity to take some pics and grab some lunch from the Boardwalk Dog House. A Coney Island Hog, with ketchup and mustard - delicious!

About 1pm, they made the announcement that staterooms were available so we headed to deck 9 to check out our midship junior suite - 9324. It was close to the stairs and elevators, but we didn't hear any noise in the whole time we were on board. The room itself was a great size! Lots of room to move, decent size bathroom with full size bathtub, sitting area with couch and chair with footstool. We also had a walk-in robe which made storage of suitcases very convenient. The balcony was a decent size and we were on the "hump" of the ship, so we had a great view along the side of the ship. There was a small table and chairs, and a sun lounge on the balcony. As I mentioned, this is our first time in a junior suite and it's going to be very difficult to go back now.

Our stateroom attendant was...interesting. While he was polite, he was also very awkward. I get the feeling he was quite new to the job. There was nothing in the stateroom which mentioned his name or how we contact him should we need anything. We always have a lay-in in the morning and were quite often met with a knock on the door at around 8:30am to see if he could make out stateroom up. He wasn't quite sure how to take the news that we were still sleeping (or attempting to). We also have dinner at about 8pm so he wasn't sure how to take the news that we were showering and getting ready when he wanted to come and do the turn down service. This happened every morning and every night like clockwork. Lol!

We tried the majority of food options whilst onboard, with the exception of Giovanni's Table. We did this whilst on Rhapsody and enjoyed it. However the night we tried to book, the restaurant was fully booked. The Windjammer offered the standard selections. There was the Jade section which offered Asian cuisine and the main buffet offered a few more Asian selections. Sometimes it was very difficult to get seating in the Windjammer, but the food was good. Johnny Rockets was very quiet. The staff seemed very excited when we walked in. They couldn't do enough for us, and I have a feeling they missed the human contact and were trying to keep us there as long as possible. Chops Grille was outstanding for both food and service. I love heir NY strip steak and will get it every time. It was cooked to perfection and the staff were great. And the My Time dining worked well also. We didn't have to wait for a table for two. We were seated and served promptly each time.

RCI have obviously altered the ship to cater to the Asian market. A lot of signage had been changed over to be multi-lingual and many announcements were made in English and Mandarin. I did notice however that they haven't totally changed some things over (real Boardwalk Doghouse sign was covered with a cheap looking multi-lingual sign, but it would be easy to remove should the ship ever leave Asia). It was disappointing to see that many of the traditional shops/venues on the Royal Promenade had been removed and replaced with high end brands. Vintages no longer existed, there was no Champagne Bar/R-Bar, the General Store was gone and the English pub, whilst maintaining its facade and fitout, was now the duty free liquor store. I'm glad they've kept the pub's fitout because it means they can revert it back to a pub if the ship ever moves, but it was really disappointing not to have access to these places (and I don't even drink). At any rate, the shops seemed to be very popular and I'm sure RCI have done what they have for a reason.

Entertainment wise, there was always something to do onboard. I really enjoyed the ice show on the final sea day. It was very well done, as were the stage shows.

Overall, I'd give our Christmas cruise a 8.5 out of 10. If anyone has any questions, please ask. :)

I should mention as well, I understand that the Voyager class ships don't have tenders (well, some do now), but the tender operation and shore excursions organisation in Phuket was an absolute mess. No one really seemed to know what was going on and it resulted in shore ex passengers having to wait for the majority of other passengers to disembark first, despite them selling you being one of the first of the ship, as one of the benefits to booking a ship arranged shore ex. This led to quite a few tours being delayed.

Thanks for the review.

Found very informative with info I find useful.

Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for sharing.

My parents sailed on the Mariner in early 2014. Their feedback wasn't great. In particular, they thought that the food in the Main Dining Room was sub-par, compared to their previous cruises.

How did you find the MDR food?

I'll admit I was surprised by the food in the MDR. We only ate there once for breakfast and once for dinner. It wasn't the worst I've ever had, but it wasn't the best by any means. MDR was much better on Rhapsody.

Thanks for the review.

We are on the Mariner in February.

Its disappointing to hear they have removed the Pub and the Champagne Bar.

We have been on the Voyager and the Radiance and don't rate the Shops at all, then again we don't Cruise to get stitched up at the Shops I guess.

Would love to see some photos if you have any.

Ian

I'm in the process of sorting through about 500 photos and will post some soon. :)

Looking forward to your photos. Thanks.

All of my Mariner pics can be seen here... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154883737125012.1073741843.609010011&type=1&l=185fa14d31

Very impressive photo collection! Thanks for sharing.

What are all the towel animals doing on the stairs? What's the occasion?

I think the towel animal display was just for Christmas. They had them all around the bottom of the Christmas tree.

All of my Mariner pics can be seen here... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154883737125012.1073741843.609010011&type=1&l=185fa14d31

Thanks for the link to the Photos, very good.

We did this cruise early December. When we got on I asked a staff member about all the bars that had gone missing. They said the ship had been changed for the market of where it sailed. In her words, "most Asians don't drink but love to shop"

It was a shame to see the English pub and Champagne bar gone, as these are great places to sit late at night and watch everything going on while enjoying a drink.

We had an amazing cruise, stopping At Kuala Lumpur, Penang & Phuket. Our tender in Phuket was great no problems at all.

We had been on Mariner 2 years ago from Galveston before the upgrade. It was nice to see the ship looking a lot more clean and modern :)

We did this cruise early December. When we got on I asked a staff member about all the bars that had gone missing. They said the ship had been changed for the market of where it sailed. In her words, "most Asians don't drink but love to shop"

 

It was a shame to see the English pub and Champagne bar gone, as these are great places to sit late at night and watch everything going on while enjoying a drink.

 

We had an amazing cruise, stopping At Kuala Lumpur, Penang & Phuket. Our tender in Phuket was great no problems at all.

 

We had been on Mariner 2 years ago from Galveston before the upgrade. It was nice to see the ship looking a lot more clean and modern :)

Were you in phuket overnight?

We go on the mariner in January for 7nights, same stops as yours plus Langkawi and 2days in Phuket

Emily

No, our stop in Phuket was just for the day. Arrived at 10am and sailed at about 7:30pm/8pm.

No, our stop in Phuket was just for the day. Arrived at 10am and sailed at about 7:30pm/8pm.

Re your day in Phuket,did you do a tour or just shop?

We were thinking of just trinket shopping in Phuket.Can you do that from where tender arrives or do you need a cab to the shops?

Thanks.

We were in Phuket for the day. Ship didn't leave until 7.30pm, so there was a lot of day to explore.

We did the Elephant tour which was amazing. It also including a stop at some Temples which were great too. The tour left early, around 8am, so we were back by lunch. We stayed in Phuket and had lunch and then toured around the markets and shops, and also had a relax on the beach. It was a great visit. Would be even better to see it all differently at night!!!

Thanks for the review and the photos link.:D

Phuket is awesome at night so lively.

Shops are along patong beach lots and lots of them. Junceylon is walking distance

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Re your day in Phuket,did you do a tour or just shop?

We were thinking of just trinket shopping in Phuket.Can you do that from where tender arrives or do you need a cab to the shops?

Thanks.

Lots of things to see and do in Phuket or people can take the do nothing alternative as well. There are some lovely spots for that.:D

Lots of shopping available within walking distance from the tender drop-off. We did a ship organised shore-ex and went to the Centara Resort for the day. We've done this sort of shore excursion a few times and really enjoyed it. :)

Did you stop in Langkawi or where you on the Penang trip?

Is there much to do in Langkawi?

My concern(Being first cruise,and who know's if last) has been that the ship leaves on the first arvo and then we dock every morning,at KL,Langkawi & Phuket then the sea day back to S'Pore.

If we get off every day will I have enough time on the ship to enjoy it all?

I've been thinking about skipping Langkawi or only doing 2-3 hours in Phuket.What do you think?

Thanks for the replies so far.

We were in Phuket for the day. Ship didn't leave until 7.30pm, so there was a lot of day to explore.

 

We did the Elephant tour which was amazing. It also including a stop at some Temples which were great too. The tour left early, around 8am, so we were back by lunch. We stayed in Phuket and had lunch and then toured around the markets and shops, and also had a relax on the beach. It was a great visit. Would be even better to see it all differently at night!!!

Thanks Scotty,My daughter(22) has wanted to ride an elephant in Phuket and we hadn't decided if all 3 of us would do that excursion or not. Sounds like you had a good time though.

... ... ... My concern(Being first cruise,and who know's if last) has been that the ship leaves on the first arvo and then we dock every morning,at KL,Langkawi & Phuket then the sea day back to S'Pore.

If we get off every day will I have enough time on the ship to enjoy it all?... ...

No, you can't. There are just so many facilities and activities you'll be exhausted if you try to do it all.

But don't worry if you missed an enjoyment or two. As my grandma used to say, "it's just another good reason to cruise again!" [emoji4]

Relax. It's your holiday.

You can choose to do many thing, or you can opt to enjoy doing nothing.