Mariner Review - 8/16/09-8/23/09 - Mexican Riviera

[Histrionix]

We've just returned from the 8/16 Mariner of the Seas cruise to the Mexican Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) and thought I'd post a general overview/review while it's still fresh in my mind.

First things first, what really MADE this cruise was sharing it with an awesome bunch of fellow Cruise Critic members who helped build the excitement for months before sailaway and were an absolute pleasure to share a ship with. I'd cruise with these crazy critters anywhere, anytime.

For perspective, traveling on this cruise were myself and my partner (in our late 30s/early 40s, no children) and this was our third cruise. First was on Caribbean Princess in March '08 and Celebrity Solstice in March '09. You could say this was a comparison shop for us as we wanted to experience what Royal Caribbean had to offer. We also booked it because we got an incredible deal - the Mexican Riviera was not the highest on our travel list of priorities, but now we're glad we've been.

Here's what we loved and liked about this cruise, the itinerary and the ship:

• Service. Amazing and almost without fail. We really felt that the staff's attention and attitude really stood out - even beyond our first two cruises, on which we thought the service was excellent. Waitstaff, cabin steward, pool stewards, bar tenders, everyone really stood out. A particular shout out to Gary, the maitre d' for My Time Dining who took good care of us.
• Itinerary. Three sea days. Brilliant.
• Our Cabin. We had a D2 superior oceanview stateroom - clever use of space, plenty of storage and actually enough room to hang out and feel comfortable in. We spent a little more time in our cabin than usual, simply because it was comfortable.
• The Ice Show. Really thought this was spectacularly well done and I don't usually like onboard entertainment.
• Variety of stuff to do. Never a dull moment and something for everyone at any time. And plenty of time to do nothing, if that's your thing.
• The Quest. I typically don't like stuff like this, but it's a "must do" on the Mariner, especially if Abe is the Cruise Director and hosting. Brilliant. And, no, I won't tell you anything about it; you have to experience it for yourself.
• The soft-serve machine on Deck 11. It's really just perfect.
• The guy with the ice cream sundae cart in the Windjammer at dinner. Seriously nice touch - he brings around a cart with ice cream and all kinds of toppings and will stand and make a sundae for you at your table. Not the greatest ice cream in the world, but a very cool add-on.
• Our fell cruise critter travelers. They just deserved a second mention.
• The Bingo lady. I wish I could remember her name, but she was hilarious. Great fun. Interestingly, I saw more of her and other cruise staff members than the actual Cruise Director (Abe Hughes), who did a fine job but I never saw him around the ship, only when he was on stage or doing an event.
• Embarkation and Debarkation. Fast, easy, efficient, straightforward - they've really got this down to a science.
• Deck 4 - the Promenade Deck. Why every ship at sea doesn't have a deck that is open fully around the ship is beyond me. Standing on the bow of the ship in the open sea is so Leonardo DiCaprio, but there's nothing like it. And standing aft watching the wake behind you for miles is amazing.

And the things that we weren't so crazy about and/or didn't love as much:

• The ship itself is, well, as my partner put it, "What's a less negative word than shabby?" Shabby is too strong a word, but there are little things that are starting to show their age. Big area of paint chipping off on our balcony, some threadbare carpets in places, some decor that looks a little dated. It just didn't have that zing, that magic that really makes a ship stand out. Don't get me wrong, still very attractive, well done, etc. and none of this took away from the cruise at all. I'm just picky. (I'm so gonna get flamed for this comment; bring it on). There were also areas that, honestly, just weren't clean. Not filthy, but just not as clean as they could have been. There were times when some of the public restrooms really needed more attention than they got.
• Why on earth are they using the hand wipe sanitizers at the entrance to dining venues and throughout the ship and not the automatic pump kind? Seriously, you have to pull a handi-wipe out of a tub to clean your hands before going into the dining rooms. Seemed like a colassal waste of paper and resources to me.
• Food quality. Some meals were good, some were fine, most were mediocre, some were flat out bad. Overall, I'd give the food a "fair" category. I understand they're cooking for 5,000 people and I understand that they're at sea so I don't expect a five-star dining experience, but most of it just isn't that good. We ate at Chops for my birthday - do not, repeat, do not order the ribeye. Seriously not good - no flavor, clearly not the highest quality meat (of course not, they're buying in massive bulk quantities). Superb service in Chops, but the quality of the food just wasn't there. Windjammer is pretty standard buffet food - loved the Indian/Asian food they had out every night, but it also lacked a little in flavor. We did have a very good meal in Portofino, though, which I do recommend making the time for it.
• Space. Everyone complains about deck chairs, but Mariner should really police the chair hogs more stringently - PARTICULARLY in the Solarium. We could never find a place there and the people in the pool and on the deck did not add up to the number of chairs that had towels on them. One morning I was on deck at 7:30 a.m. and most of the chairs in the Solarium were already "taken" and nobody was there.
• Mazatlan. Nothing at all RCCL can do about this and serious lack of planning on our part, but if you're going to do an excursion, Mazatlan is the place to do it. We didn't find the "Golden Zone" worth seeing at all, Old Mazatlan was interesting for about 45 minutes and then we'd seen it all . . . if we had it to do over, we'd either hightail it to a resort and not leave, take one of the ship's excursions or pick up one of the city tour vans at the port.
• Traffic flow. There are times when that many people in one space can get backed up, particularly in the Windjammer at breakfast on port days or heading to see a show in The Savoy or Bingo, for that matter.
• Humidity. Again, this has nothing to do with the cruise line, just watch the weather carefully -- it was HOT and HUMID, so if you're going late summer, plan appropriately.

All in all, we thought it was a great vacation, we enjoyed ourselves immensly and would do it all over again, given the chance. Royal Caribbean, and the Mariner crew, do some really great things and create an enjoyable and memorable vacation. One of the absolute highlights was the Adventure Ocean parade through the MDR in the middle of dinner, "We are the Pirates! The mighty, mighty Pirates!" Most adorable thing I've ever seen at sea. It really seemed like families had a lot to choose from and an endless array of activities to let the kids take part in.

There was absolutely no shortage of fun to be had, stuff to buy, drinks to taste and activities to be a part of. It's a great ship and a great cruise, but there were part of it that left a little -- and I mean a little -- bit to be desired. Overall, I'd give it a B or a B+.

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to let me know.

[joeyancho]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on the sept20 cruise. I can't wait. A previous poster said MDR food was great. I guess food is so subjective. Anything standout as really bad in the MDR? Thanks again for posting.

[Histrionix]

Originally Posted by joeyancho

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on the sept20 cruise. I can't wait. A previous poster said MDR food was great. I guess food is so subjective. Anything standout as really bad in the MDR? Thanks again for posting.

I think the worst in the MDR was on the last day for lunch - an open-faced steak sandwich with fried egg on top. Avoid it.

I will say, though, that the salad bar in the MDR for lunch is a clever - and good - idea. You tell the chef what you want in your salad, they put it all in a bowl and chop it up with a pizza cutter - sounds terrible, but if choose well you come out with a really nice chopped salad. Go with that and you'd be fine. Lunch-wise. For dinner, I think the "worst" thing we had was a chilled watermelon soup -- it wasn't really awful, but tasted like a melted jolly rancher candy served cold.

[Jiffymom]

what time was the early dinning? Amy suggestions to do in ports?

[Histrionix]

Originally Posted by Jiffymom

what time was the early dinning? Amy suggestions to do in ports?

Early dining was at 6:00 p.m.

There are tons of things to do in each port - depends on what you like and are interested in. For example, in Puerto Vallarta we really enjoyed just walking around the Malecon and old town PV, seeing the sights, shopping for souvenirs, etc. But there are a lot of resorts that will do day passes and such. There's another thread running on the main RCCL page on Cruise Critic started by Craving a Cruise (who was one of the awesome people I was fortunate to share the ship with) and I know she's got a lot of ideas and suggestions for stuff to in the ports.

I will tell you that Mazatlan is the definite port you want to have a plan for - either one of the ship's excursions or a specific resort to go to and use their pool. I heard that the one the ship recommended was not so great, so I'd definitely do your research before you go, or, again, choose one of the ship's excursions. One group did an ATV tour in Mazatlan that was apparently fantastic.

In Cabo, DEFINITELY get a boat out to Lover's Beach/Divorce Beach, the arches, land's end, etc. We picked up a water taxi/glass bottom boat at the main marina for about $15 that took us out there and then dropped us off at Medano Beach where we found a hotel that had lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach and just relaxed all day. Really nice.

[akcruz]

Originally Posted by Jiffymom

what time was the early dinning? Amy suggestions to do in ports?

We too were on the same sailing as Histrionix and Craving. My suggestion would be to take a look at the Mexican Riviera board and see what excursions may interest you. Our excurions -

Cabo - we did the water taxi/medano beach thing. Next time I may have opted for a snorkeling trip. The beach was HOT. We talked with who snorkeled and they said it wa beautiful on the water. Another time of year may be different

Mazatlan - Horseback riding with Randi, and lunch at Stone Island. It was great, we booked this on our own.

Puerto Vallarta - Los Veranos Canopy Tour - again this was wonderful, we had a blast. It was not too hot in the trees, but very humid. We were dripping by the end but well worth it.

Overall I agree with most of this review. We didn't notice the ship being dirty or in need of repair, but will say it is seeing its age more than the last time we were on board (2 years ago). Chairs were hard to find by the pool, but if you went up one deck not too bad. We actually prefer there anyway.

And one final note, The Critters (our gang from the roll call) definitely made the cruise very memorable and enjoyable.

[tropiclvrs]

Excellent review, thank you for your insights!

Can you tell me what the sea days were like weather wise? In particular, was it too windy/cold to hang out on deck on the last 2 sea days?

[novalab]

Thank you for your very informative review. We sailed on the Mariner this past June & loved her (Pacific Coastal cruise). It was our BEST cruise ever! DH & I are looking forward to our MR cruise in the Spring. It will be our 2nd MR cruise. We learned after our first time that Mexico is not the place to be in the summer months! We are hoping April will have cooler weather.

[akcruz]

Originally Posted by tropiclvrs

Excellent review, thank you for your insights!

Can you tell me what the sea days were like weather wise? In particular, was it too windy/cold to hang out on deck on the last 2 sea days?

The sea day on the way south was warm and breezy, no issues on the pool deck. The pool water was a bit chilly, but felt good.

The first of the two days north was warm but very breezy. We did sit out for quite a while enjoying the pool deck. To sit in the sun or take a dip in the pool it was fine. Reading, eating, etc were a bit tricky due to the wind. The second of the two days north was breezy and cool. No issues finding a seat that day. The captain did say they were heating the water so it was warmer than expected. We took advantage of some of the other areas of the ship that day (had a real nice lunch in the Main Dining Room!)

[Happy ks]

I'm wondering how the seas were? We were in San Diego last weekend (not this past, the one before) and went down to the bay where the cruise terminal is, the water looked rough. Yesterday we were down at the beach in San Clemente and I've never seen such big waves there before. We loved it, but still wondered how the cruise ships were faring through all this overcast weather and fairly rough looking ocean.

We're on Mariner the next Christmas, have visited the ship before and have done the Mexican Riviera once in the past. I have to say this trip is all about family and getting away for Christmas, relaxing on a cruise. We're not real crazy for the large ships nor the MR. Then, because we're going with friends, we're going again in April of 2010

Can you recommend a nice resort to hang out at in Mazatlan? We were not impressed with our tour of the city, either. Loved Cabo and Puerta Vallarta

[akcruz]

The seas for out entire cruise were fairly calm. We had heard some horror stories about the pacific and were prepared for much worse than we had. One morning on the way back it was so calm it was unbelievable. By the way, the last morning back we went through a pod of at least 50 dolphins, then probably 20 or so whales, followed by 2 sea lions. It was amazing.

[djneph]

Originally Posted by Histrionix

I think the worst in the MDR was on the last day for lunch - an open-faced steak sandwich with fried egg on top. Avoid it.

I will say, though, that the salad bar in the MDR for lunch is a clever - and good - idea. You tell the chef what you want in your salad, they put it all in a bowl and chop it up with a pizza cutter - sounds terrible, but if choose well you come out with a really nice chopped salad. Go with that and you'd be fine. Lunch-wise. For dinner, I think the "worst" thing we had was a chilled watermelon soup -- it wasn't really awful, but tasted like a melted jolly rancher candy served cold.

Do you normally eat a steak sandwhich with afried egg? What I mean is this something you would normally eat and this version was just awful or is it just something that didn't float your boat. I see these things everywhere, speciallys ince I moved to TX, either steak or hamburger with fried egg on top. I have wanted to try it, but afraid I won't like it or that I will have a heart attack on the spot lol.

[Histrionix]

Originally Posted by djneph

Do you normally eat a steak sandwhich with afried egg? What I mean is this something you would normally eat and this version was just awful or is it just something that didn't float your boat. I see these things everywhere, speciallys ince I moved to TX, either steak or hamburger with fried egg on top. I have wanted to try it, but afraid I won't like it or that I will have a heart attack on the spot lol.

Y'know, food is such a personal thing that I almost hesitate to comment on it . . . and you ask a good question. I think the whole thing is that there was just no flavor -- this sandwich in particular, until I coated it in A-1 sauce had absolutely no taste. But then, too, I'm the kind of guy who likes a little heat and have been known to eat raw jalapeno peppers, so maybe I'm not the best judge.

[Histrionix]

Originally Posted by akcruz

The seas for out entire cruise were fairly calm. We had heard some horror stories about the pacific and were prepared for much worse than we had. One morning on the way back it was so calm it was unbelievable. By the way, the last morning back we went through a pod of at least 50 dolphins, then probably 20 or so whales, followed by 2 sea lions. It was amazing.

I'm still so mad that we missed that . . . but we did get to see their spouts way off in the distance, but not the same.

I tend to be obsessed with the TV channel that shows latitude, longitude, course, etc. We ranged from 2 - 5 on the Beaufort scale, so the seas were really, really calm. It was beautiful.

[Scotto97]

Did you use any of the hot tubs?

If so, were they crowded?

Were people allowed drinks as long as there's no glass?

[AriesLV]

I will never in my life get over missing those whales and dolphins From what we were told, they swam up to the ship, posed for pictures, did some sort of Disney-esque dance, and left. Grrrr.

We did try those hot tubs - quite nice! We never saw them overcrowded, and in the evening they were generally empty when we walked by. We saw people both in the pool and in the hot tub with drinks, so it's not a problem apparently.

[Sandscout]

I'm booked on the Mariner in December and have never been on this class of ship before. We arrive in Cabo at 9:30 and would like to take a private whale watching tour that leaves at 10:30. I know that its a short tender ride to shore but how long did you have to wait for a tender? How do they hand out the tender tickets? Was there a long wait to get them? Thanks

[critterchick]

Originally Posted by Histrionix

Y'know, food is such a personal thing that I almost hesitate to comment on it . . . and you ask a good question. I think the whole thing is that there was just no flavor -- this sandwich in particular, until I coated it in A-1 sauce had absolutely no taste. But then, too, I'm the kind of guy who likes a little heat and have been known to eat raw jalapeno peppers, so maybe I'm not the best judge.

Well, you probably have no taste buds left! I agree with you about food on RCI - the most prevalent seasoning seems to be salt. If you sail Mariner again, go to Portofino, even if you want a steak. The filet is wonderful, and I find the appetizers and side dishes much more appealing, too.

[Histrionix]

Originally Posted by critterchick

Well, you probably have no taste buds left! I agree with you about food on RCI - the most prevalent seasoning seems to be salt. If you sail Mariner again, go to Portofino, even if you want a steak. The filet is wonderful, and I find the appetizers and side dishes much more appealing, too.

You got salt?!? You were lucky!

Seriously, though, more comments like this are gonna make me think that the food wasn't that bad . . . you're right, Portofino was good. I had that filet and it was quite good, as was the shrimp/saffron risotto appetizer. And I don't like shrimp!

[Histrionix]

Originally Posted by Sandscout

I'm booked on the Mariner in December and have never been on this class of ship before. We arrive in Cabo at 9:30 and would like to take a private whale watching tour that leaves at 10:30. I know that its a short tender ride to shore but how long did you have to wait for a tender? How do they hand out the tender tickets? Was there a long wait to get them? Thanks

We were among the first people off the ship and we'd been in port for probably 30-45 minutes so there was not a big rush to the tenders. No tickets, just kind of first-come/first-served. They really did this well and had plenty of tenders lined up and running all day. I think if you're prepared to get off the ship first thing, you should be ok, but it's always risky.