Mariner 8-21 REVIEW...also happy to take questions :)

Hey all, went on the Mariner for my honeymoon...just now getting a chance to sit down...I don't remember details well enough to do a day-by-day thing...

We had a D3 cabin, 6630. It was really close to the elevators, and I liked being able to take the stairs to the royal promenade and the dining rooms. One thing about the rooms is that they are very well-organized...lots of nooks and crannies, and so we had no problem fitting our stuff in, and we had taken quite a bit of it since we drove to port and could. The balcony was less private-feeling than I expected, especially b/c our neighbors apparently didn't realize the light on the balcony is something they can control so their lights were always on... our stateroom attendant was great, we got bathrobes as requested. :) Also, he would incorporate our sunglasses in the towel animals--we even had a bat hanging from the pant hangers with sunglasses once!

Food: We were lucky to get enough to get a table for two, 362, which was right next to the waiter station, but who cares? There seemed only to be a few tables for two per dining room...I am guessing no more than 8 on each floor, for no more than 24 total. We talked with other honeymooners on the ship, and at least some did not get these tables for two (there were 42 honeymooning couples on the ship on my sailing). The food was very good, and our waiter would always bring us extras when we couldn't decide. I think I ended up getting about 5 lobster tails. :) I was not a huge fan of the windjammer...we only went maybe twice, as we liked ordering room service or eating in the dining room. My favorite dessert all week was the Grand Marnier Souffle....mmmm! Portofino's was excellent. I gained 5 pounds during the week, which I am quite proud of! We went to Johnny Rockets, but there was no singing or dancing...we were sitting outside, so maybe that had something to do with it.

Entertainment: As mentioned by others, MOSAIC, the a capella group, was amazing and the entertainment highlight of the boat in my opinion. I am a singer so this was a special treat for me. The ice show was ok, but I liked it more for the costumes than for the skating--they fell at least 5 or 6 times. Broadway show was AWFUL, in my opinion. Comedians were also good, but the shows were pretty short.

Excursions: we were on the Eastern itinerary. We booked our own excursions...on Nassau, we caught the #10 bus to Adastra Gardens and took a taxi home (it was raining by this point). The flamingo show was neat. On St. Thomas, we went with Captain Max ( http://www.sailwithcaptainmax.com/ )on a snorkeling trip. We were with one other couple...we wanted to do an excursion without the crowds. It was a lot of fun and the lunch was amazing! Max knows some great places for snorkeling, and we were able to sail around the storm that was looming. On St. Maarten, we did a tour with Joyce Prince which was great, and she took us to some great shops with great deals and all around the island. The bad part about touring in the morning is it ended up being bad weather in the afternoon when we were going to lay out on Orient Beach...but we still got to get on a Waverunner.

A word on honeymoon perks: For those of you who are wondering, here is a list of perks we got as honeymooners: coupon for free bottle of champagne at Portofino's first night (which we used), your own party at which there is free cake and champagne and a raffle (at which we won a free bingo 6-pack, but then lost the bingo games!) and at the party, they give you a 20% off coupon for the spa (which we used!). Also, we had a romance package as a gift from a friend so we had champagne/strawberries at arrival, but we heard that all honeymooners got a bottle of champagne in their staterooms on arrival.

Not sure what else to write about...but if anyone has questions, I am happy to answer them. :)

brize DH and I will be on the Mariner Sunday. Do you remember the name of the band that was playing at poolside? And was formal nights Monday and Friday?

Thank you and it sounds like you had a nice cruise and honeymoon.

Linda

We took the Mariner last year for our honeymoon and did not receive the free bottle of champagne. Could it have been your travel agent that did this for you? I've heard of that happening. We received no perks on our honeymoon, but we didn't go to the reception, so it's partially our fault for missing those things.

formal nights were indeed Monday and Friday...we didn't go hear the band by the pool so I don't know who that is...

Other honeymooners got the free bottle of champagne, or so they told us...so I really don't know. We got ours because of the Romance package...

My DW and I will also be sailing on Sunday. Do you know if they did the "Karokie Idol" during the week? Did you go to the Loutus Lounge and participate or watch?

We did go to Kareoke Idol, it was the last night...a few of the performers were borderline atrocious but the last 5 or so were really good. They showed some outtakes (from previous sailings, so as not to embarass people!) which were really funny. The winner was this 60-year-old or so guy singing Unchained Melody...he was AMAZING. We didn't go to that lounge I don't think...

We are honeymooning on the Mariner Oct. 16th, I'm so glad that you were pleased with the ship. One question about your "perks"...when did they give you the coupon for Portofino's, was that given out at the reception (which we plan to attend) or was it sent to your stateroom.

Congratulations by the way :)

it was in our stateroom when we arrived. Happy honeymoon to you! :)

brize-

I am on the Mariner next Sunday, and have a question-did you see or hear anything on board about Murder Mystery dinners? There is conflicting info on these boards whether or not Mariner has it-I hope so.

never heard anything about that...

Did you bring the Compasses home with you? I would love to see copies of them if you did. We are going on the same itnerary on Mariner in December and I want to plan out what we are doing. Which night was The Quest game?? Everyone keep telling us we need to see this. Thanks!

Sara

we brought them back, but left them at my parents' place...Quest was sometime in the middle of the week, and don't worry, from what I remember, it doesn't conflict with any shows or major activities (it's at around 10:30 at night)...we didn't go, though (I wanted to sleep).