My review of the Mariner of the Seas

We cruised on the Mariner of the Seas from Sept 18 - 25, 2005. This is our 7th cruise in five years and I'm sorry to say we were overall very disappointed with our cruise on the Mariner.

For the pros: The ship was beautiful and even with our ship sailing at full capacity we never felt or saw 3,500 people on the ship. The ship was very clean and we enjoyed sitting on the Prominade and "people watching". We booked the Royal Family Suite and while it was very spacious, (2 bedrooms/2 baths/Living Room/Dining area) we expected more formal decor for the royal suites. The speciality restaurant Portofinos was wonderful. The ice show was fantastic and a true professional show.... it is a "must see. The work out facilities/steam room were first rate and had a great view. We did not try the spa area, but was told it was great.

Cons: The Food! We have recently sailed on Disney and Holland America's Zuiderdam and the Zaandam and the food quality was no where near either of these other ships. We tried the dinner room on the first two nights...one for casual dinner and second night for formal night. There were five in our family and each of us tried 2 dishes each night because the first dishes we sent back to try something else. The food was at best cafeteria quality. Because the food quality was the same in the dining room as it was in the buffet restaurant, we switched the remaining nights to the buffet and/or the specialty restaurants so we could eat on our time schedule. We were also disappointed to find several times during the day when we were hungry and there was no food to be found unless we wanted room service or stale sandwiches on the prominade. The other ships offered hamburgers, tacos, pizza etc poolside throughtout the day. On the Mariner...if you miss lunch you are out of luck unless you want to pay a surcharge of $4.00 a person (plus the cost of shakes etc) and eat at Johnny Rockets or go to your room and wait an hour for room service.

We booked the Mariner for all of the extra activities...ice skating, rock climbing, in -line skating, golf etc. That too was a disappointment. The extra activities are only available on a very limited time frame. (except the mini golf which was open every day) On the days the ship is in port(5 of the 7 days), the activities are only open from 5:00 - 7:00 at night....right during the time people are getting ready for dinner. If you have already been to a particular port and you wish to stay on the ship, there is very little open. The ship advertises a movie theater on the ship and that was misleading. They have a "screening room" that seats 50 people and they only show one show a day and only while the ship is in port. So if you want to see a movie, you have to miss going off the ship. Other ships also run first run movies throughtout the day on your room TV....not on the Mariner. They charge you $15 to view a movie and only offer one first run free movie and the same free movie runs throughout the seven days on the ship. Again disappointing. We had suite priviledges that allowed us to check out DVD's free of charge in the conscierge lounge, but our teenagers wanted to select the DVD's and the concierge lounge was only available for 2 hours during breakfast while the teens are sleeping. :p The final 2 hours of concierge service was reserved for adults from 5-8 as they serve an open bar for the suite guests.

We had teenagers (13, 16 and 18) and our 13 year old loved going to the teen room each evening. One night he didn't show up at his curfew and I walked to the teen room to find it full of kids....with no staff supervision. Apparently the staff go home at 12:30 and just let the kids stay unsupervised. None of the other parents I spoke with had any idea that their kids were left alone either. When I asked the front desk about it, we were told that that was normal for the 12 - 15 age teen room.

We booked the Royal Family Suite with a large 200 square foot balcony on the back of the ship. We were told it was great for laying out in the sun. That was a joke. There was large metal rafters above all of the rooms on the back blocking all of the sun. Their was absolutely no privacy on the deck as they all overlook eachother.

Entertainment: The 2 singing/dancing variety shows were typical of other cruise ships. Not great/not bad. We have seen a few great shows on other ships from comedic magicians, to variety acts, but the other entertainment on the Mariner was again...disappointing.

The funny thing is.....I am not one to complain...although from reading the above, you might think that about me. :-) I am just trying to give my personal review from the Mariner. It was still great to get away with the family and everyone had a good time. We probably will not sail with Royal Caribbean again unless we get a great deal. :rolleyes:

Thanks for your review. I didn't take it as a complaint. The food part and the activities part sounded true from what I've read from other threads. We appreciate honest opinions. One question - did you children sail on Holland America and if so, did they enjoy it?

I really hate that you were disappointed with the Mariner. We were on the same cruise with you and LOVED IT! We enjoy cruising so much that we try not to let anything spoil it i.e. long lines, rude passengers, carpet that might need cleaning etc. I refuse to have a bad cruise. We didn't have any children with us so that lessens the stress factor right there. We didn't have to be concerned where they were and were they OK and having a good time. I also read these boards from top to bottom. Most of the time if you know what to expect, then when it happens its not a surprise you can just roll with the punches.

As far as the food goes - we did not go hungry and found food everytime we were, which happened to be to often. Breakfast was hardly over in the Windjammer before lunch started being served. Lunch was over at 2:30 and at 3:00 - 5:00 they had what was called "Tea Time" in the Windjammer. It consisted of snacks, pasta, hamburgers, fries, nachos & cheese, desserts etc. Definately (sp) enough to tide you over till dinner in the dining room or the Windjammer which opened again around 6-6:30. Snacks in the promanade (sp) were quite tasty. We got sandwiches from there several times and always found them fresh - maybe it was just good timing.

As for the food quality - if I don't have to shop for it - bring it home - put it away - cook it - clean up the kitchen - then it was a good meal.

What about the food in the Promonade cafe..And in the solarium??

I was on the Mariner last September and had a good time although we decided that the voyager class was just too big for us. We prefer the Radiance class that has lots of glass windows to see the ocean. Food is such a subjective issue that what tastes good to one, is disliked by another.

Your review was honest and reflects your experience. Can't ask for more than that!

Your review is an honest reflection of how you felt. We are goingon the Mariner in January and are very excited. I suppose one has to accept that a ship of this size with that many people is not going to produce the most gourmet of meals - it is good to hear these things before going so one is prepared and not expecting too much! Hopefully the food is so bad I won't want to eat toomuch of it!!! I definitely don't want to 'roll' off this ship! As somebody else said, you have to decide to have a great time and just go with the flow - enjoy the positives!:cool:

We are also going on the Mariner , Jan 22, 2006. This will be our 5th cruise, second with RCCL. The first we did Explorer of the Seas and also found the food to be just ok. We havae loved the food on Carnival, but the activities are just so muchnicer on RCCL. So we are going back. As far as I am concerned, I like the post who said if i do not have to shop, cook or clean it is good. I second that.

Quote: "We booked the Royal Family Suite and while it was very spacious, (2 bedrooms/2 baths/Living Room/Dining area) we expected more formal decor for the royal suites."

Oh well. We are looking forward to our cruise on the Mariner and expect it to be equal to or better than our previous cruises. We will no doubt rate it in comparison to our past cruises but we have never been disappointed.

I agree with some of the above posts, feel your post was an objective one.

Concerning the food, I feel that RCI has downgraded the food quality. As you can see from my sailing list, 99% of my curises are with RCI and will still sail with them because they have what I'm looking for. My TA has educated me as to which cruise line budgets the most for: food, entertainment, etc. Some budget more "say" for entertainment but less for food, and visa versa. So, it's just personal preference.

But as for food, in sailing with RCI in the early days on Song of Norway and the early ships, quality of the food, say steaks, were top notch. But, now with competition in the cruise industry to save money, I feel the food quality came down, but then they added Chops for steaks.

In looking at my early brochures, RCI would adversite the best steaks in the main dining room, and they were. The steaks were fantastic. But, now if you see the ad, for the best steaks, try Chops,

of course for a extra charge.

Had a hard time when that happened because in effect, I was use to the idea that the best steak on the ship was suppose to be in the main dining room, not an added feature.

So goes the evolution of Porfifino, Johnny Rockets, Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream, Seattle's Best Coffee, etc. Now, extra features that you have to pay for, instead of the norm back in the late 80's and early 90's.

But, I still like the product as I sailed 3 times with RCI last year and will again on Freedom next year.

For myself, just adjust with the changes and decide if I still like the product as cruising changes.

Dave

We were on the 9/4 - 9/11 sailing on the Mariner and it must have done a 180 degree turn from what we experienced. I can honestly say that in our party of 8, none of us went hungry or thirsty. There was plenty of food and I thought it was good. I'm still trying to walk off the extra few pounds added from all the eating.

As my father used to say....."there's no such thing as a bad cruise". Some you like better than others, but never a bad cruise.

One thing I didn't realize until I started reading messages here at Cruise Critic is how much the quality of meals means to some, maybe even most, passengers. It really surprised me how often folks complain that the dining room food quality wasn't adequate. One almost never sees a post that the gym wasn't adequate or the spa or the basketball court was disappointing, or the casino was inferior, etc.

I guess I am surprised because the quality of the food is the last thing I think about when booking a cruise. Coming here to Cruise Critic boards has really opened my eyes to the many different priorities passengers have when cruising and has shown me how hard it must be for cruise lines to make every passenger fully satisfied with their experience.

I must agree with the last posting...I was on the Mariner in October of last year and the girls and I had a great time and never went hungry. There was always food available to us. I somhow managed to even have shrimp coctail EVERY single night before my main dinner. By the 3rd night our waiter just brought it out to me with my drink as he knew I was going to ask for 1-3 servings of it. I was very happy with my food. But as others have said....we all have different taste buds and what one likes another may not. I'm headed out again in 40 days on the Sovereign and can't wait. I need a little cruise in this blood again. Hope this finds all my fellow cruisers well! Bye for now :p

Being that my next sailing will be my 3rd in a row on Mariner, I guess I can say I am a little surprised by the review. Honest, yes, personal opinions, yes and grateful that you were able to share them with us. But as many have said, is food all there is to a cruise? How was the service? Cleanliness? Was the staff friendly? But most inportant, did you have a good time?

We were on the 9/4 - 9/11 sailing on the Mariner and it must have done a 180 degree turn from what we experienced. I can honestly say that in our party of 8, none of us went hungry or thirsty. There was plenty of food and I thought it was good. I'm still trying to walk off the extra few pounds added from all the eating.

As my father used to say....."there's no such thing as a bad cruise". Some you like better than others, but never a bad cruise.

Hi Karen,

How have you all been doing? We really miss the ship and wish that we were all still on board! ;)

I agree none of us seemed to go hungry and always found something good! Somehow we misplaced the cards we had with eveyone's email, if you send me your email address I will send some pics to you. kenth59@hotmail.com

Take care and tell everyone else that we said hello!

Kent & Andy

We were on the same cruise and thought everything was great!! The food was really good, much better then the Serenade in April. Our wait staff in the dinning room was a little off - they did not seem to be in sync with each other, but the head waiter made up for it. We had a group of eight and everyone loved the food, the entertainment and the ship. Would love to be there now!!!!

Maybe the more you pay for the cabin, the higher your expectations? Since we only have a low end balcony cabin we will have to try to get by without the concierge lounge.

But this being "Cruise Critic" it's interesting to read other opinions, good or bad.

One thing I didn't realize until I started reading messages here at Cruise Critic is how much the quality of meals means to some, maybe even most, passengers. It really surprised me how often folks complain that the dining room food quality wasn't adequate. One almost never sees a post that the gym wasn't adequate or the spa or the basketball court was disappointing, or the casino was inferior, etc.

 

I guess I am surprised because the quality of the food is the last thing I think about when booking a cruise. Coming here to Cruise Critic boards has really opened my eyes to the many different priorities passengers have when cruising and has shown me how hard it must be for cruise lines to make every passenger fully satisfied with their experience.

I completely agree with HeavySurf. We really enjoyed the food, service, and entertainment. Nobody EVER went hungry! I can't even imagine anyone going hungry at any time. And by the way, the gym was excellent - the best I have ever seen. The Vision's was too small for the number of people on that ship.

I would love to just be able to afford the Royal Family Suite! Could not imagine what a luxury that would be!

Mariner sailing 12/18/05 in two ocean view rooms. No concierge but tons of fun we hope!:)

My DD and I did the eastern Mariner trip in July. It was my 4th cruise with RCCL, (two on Sovereign and one on Grandeur) and since my past three cruises were wonderful, I had high expectations for this one also. Before I go into details, let me assure you that I did have a good time, but will probably pick another class of ship for my next cruise.

I thought the food in the Windjammer was good, especially the Jade section. The food in the main dining room was acceptable, but not what I would call gourmet. We had horrible service the first night--waited 30 minutes for the waitress to take our orders. The head waiter moved us the second night so that a large family could sit together. The new table was an improvement--ocean view! Our new waitress was acceptable, but seemed tired all the time. (She probably was).

I looked in vain for the Crown and Anchor wine tasting in the Compass. Missed it, so went to the pursers' office and asked if I could attend another. She gave me a pass to one of the others in the Promenade, but they wouldn't accept it. Oh well.

Our room steward was acceptable, but not graciously accommodating like others on previous cruises. We got a tiny bit of ice each evening.

My biggest beef was with the spa personnel. The people doing the early morning classes were 20 minutes late on two mornings, and didn't show up at all one morning. I was annoyed because I got up early to go to these classes. The gym itself is fantastic; every kind of machine you can imagine. They must have 30 treadmills, ellipticals, and spinners in there.

The ice show was fantastic and not to be missed. The nightly shows were not as good as on the other cruises I have been on. I had seen one of the comedians on my first Sovereign cruise. He did the same routine!

I did enjoy the art on the Mariner--not the auction art but the marble friezes in the stairwells. Loved the art on the Grandeur as well. Think the art of the Sovereign is tacky, but the ship has improved in general since the stretch. I also loved the library--very attractive and plenty of selection.

I think that the Mariner is just too big for me. Service and amenites suffer on such a large ship.

I'm beginning to question my palate. I enjoyed the food on the Mariner. I loved the cruise, the staff, and the food.

I'm easy to please. If you say "CRUISE", I'm happy:D

We read this in anticipation of our 8th RCI cruise which will be on Mariner in Jan. Although this will be our first cruise on Mariner we both agree with the posters who said "Anytime I don't have to shop, bring home, put away, cook, cleanup the meal, it's a great meal". And my husband says "Being asked if we want pep--PUR" on our food just makes it even better. Also not having to make our bed or clean our bathroom fetch our own ice, make our own cocktails and so on and so on makes it all the more enjoyable. Also having a choice of shows to see or clubs to visit or wether to go up and lie by the pool or play mini golf or shop in the shops on the promenade or just take a nap all make it worth while and so enjoyable that the little imperfections that would show up in just about any vacation are just not that big a deal. I do agree that it is good to see everyones comments and some are going to have bad experiences and we all hope its not going to be us that have them. It is good to know the good and the bad so you can prepare yourself that everything may not be perfection to all. A bad day on a cruise beats a good day at work anytime.

brn2crz

There is no longer food available in the Solarium.

We found probs the odd time tracking down food...can you believe that???:D Only if it was the time that the Windjammer had closed and not yet reopened for dinner. At that time, we would head to the Promenade and have a slice of Pizza or a small sandwich at the cafe to tide us over. While I also found the food mediocre at best, I do agree that if it is put in front of me...it's all good!

kimkenm: I have to say that I didn't think your review was overly critical; you gave your honest opinions. However, I do have a question. You say you were expecting more formal decor for the "royal suites." Now, these are advertised as Royal FAMILY Suites, so I've always assumed they would be decorated with the family (kids, etc.) in mind. I would never expect it to resemble the actual (one per ship) Royal Suite. So, I guess I'm just wondering if that might be where there was a confusion in expectation versus reality. (Don't worry, I'm not saying you aren't entitled to feel the way you do. I'm just trying to understand your perspective.) I'm sorry you were disappointed though. We love Mariner and plan to cruise on her again.

And of course food is always a subjective issue, so what one person loves, another might loathe. It's good to hear different views. I do wish the Windjammer had longer hours, but I guess they have to get it ready for the different meals.

As for food in the Solarium, there never has been any in the Voyager class ships. There is in the Radiance class (and I believe Vision class too). I guess they figure the Promenade Cafe covers that food "aspect" of the cruise.

beachchick

I am going on the Mariner in February. This will be our 4th cruise with RC. I do agree that the dining room food is not as good as when I went on our first cruise. But there was always something on the menu that I liked and even if it wasn't on the menu - you could make a particular request and they tried to accommodate. I have a very picky 12 y.o eater who seems to want anything that is not on the menu.

Any of you recent Mariner cruisers,remember what night was Italian and Caribbean in the dining rooms??

Thanks!