Mariner of the Seas 3/2/08

We’re back from a week at Atlantis and a week on Mariner of the Seas, and this is my most disjointed review yet.

We had booked this cruise prior to the announcement that she’s headed to the Left Coast to replace Vision on the Mexican Riviera run, and decided to keep the reservation to see what we have to look forward to. I’m just posting a few random thoughts, feel free to ask questions.

Background: DH and I have taken 28 cruises on RCI, and this was our first Voyager class ship. I was on a Liberty pre-inaugural cruise and concluded that the Freedom class is too big for me. We love the Radiance class, so I was interested to see whether we would find the Voyager class to be even better. After this cruise, I am a confirmed Radiance class fan. We had a good enough time, but we usually have a great time, so I’m feeling a little let down about the whole experience.

What I liked:

The food and dining service: We only ate in the dining room 3 nights – we’ve cruised enough in the past 2 years that we’re kind of tired of the usual menu. We ate the other 4 nights in Chops and Portofino (2x each), which provided a really elegant and relaxing experience. Greg, our waiter and Frederico, our HW, were so good on the 3 nights that we did eat in the dining room that we wrote them up on our comment cards (our AW, Richard, was overwhelmed by a table for 18, but he did his best. Frederico filled in spectacularly). We had a table for 2 and they didn’t force us to wait for the tables around us. As a result, our dining experience was about 60-90 minutes instead of the 2+ hours we have recently endured on RCI. We did have a lobster night, BTW, on the second formal night (Friday).

Chops was excellent, Portofino was sublime. I like having the specialty restaurants on Deck 11, where the view can be amazing.

We ate in the WJ a couple of times for lunch. I liked the selections at Jade, which were quite different from the usual WJ fare. We had room service for breakfast once and ate in the dining room the other mornings.

Vintages Wine Bar: The two barstools on the right became our pre-dinner home. We enjoyed the selection of wines offered – as hideously overpriced as always, but still some tasty and new selections - and we also enjoyed chatting with winetenders Karina, Emmanuel and Almay every evening. We preferred Vintages to the Champagne Bar or the Schooner Bar, our normal haunts on Radiance class ships. The Champagne Bar has portholes overlooking the lifeboats instead of that glorious floor to ceiling window and is a tight little space, while the Schooner Bar… well, we kind of forgot about it until late in the cruise.

The Concierge Lounge: Fernando is a terrific Concierge. He was able to book our excursions and get ice show tickets, which is in the job description, but he also provided a warm and friendly environment to have a cocktail or continental breakfast. There was an overflow lounge on Deck 14, but after 6pm when the early seating crowd left, the CL had lots of room. Since it was dark, the view from Deck 14 was, well, nothing, and the furnishing weren’t as comfy as the CL. So we were content to stay with the regular lounge.

Our cabin: We had JS 9324, a starboard side hump cabin, facing slightly aft. The balcony had two chairs, a table and a semi-lounger, plenty of room for 2. We normally prefer a cabin on the stern, but after conducting our own little cabin crawl on disembarkation day, we’re glad we took a hump cabin this time. On Deck 10, where we did our crawl, the infrastructure of the ship really interferes with the view except for the corner cabins (oversized D-1s). On the hump, we still had some great views and I do believe that our cabin had a few extra square feet on the interior.

The gym: A terrific facility with enough state of the art equipment that I never had to wait for an elliptical, stairmaster or treadmill, and only had a few brief waits for weight machines.

Embarkation & debarkation: Embarkation took about 30 minutes, mainly because of having to go through security before checking in. We waited until last call to debark and it took all of 5 minutes for us to collect our bags, hand in our customs forms (we had cleared immigration in St. Thomas) and get to the curb.

What I didn’t like:

The Crowds: I have read a fair number of reviews where the posters never felt crowded. I wish I had been on one of those cruises! The Windjammer was chaos (we ended up eating lunch on the late side to avoid the crowds), the Royal Promenade was packed during most of the big events, the pool and Solarium areas were madness on the sea days, with chair hogs everywhere. I was glad to have a nice cabin to flee to and enjoy some peace and quiet. 3500 passengers on one ship is simply too much for me.

Our cabin steward: He was kind of bizarre. He would get in and clean our cabin promptly each morning, but he did a few things that left me scratching my head. He took our wine (Diamond Plus amenity, not smuggled) out of its ice bucket, refilled the bucket with ice and left the wine sitting next to it. He also pulled the lightbulbs out of the bedside lamps and left them sitting on top of the fixture (we plugged them back in and they worked fine). We had some issues with our plumbing when we arrived – the toilet didn’t flush and the hot water in the shower wasn’t. We reported both to him (shouldn’t he have noticed?), but after a few hours ended up calling housekeeping ourselves to get it fixed. We had a little war over the wastebasket placement which went on for a full 7 days (OK, I’m kind of bizarre, too). He didn’t seem to think it was his job to remove dirty glasses and dishes from the cabin. Boy, now that I write it all down I probably should have said something to his supervisor rather than simply fill out the comment card. Oh, well.

The Royal Promenade: I cruise to be on the water, and I like to be reminded of that fact at every possible moment. I just don’t like having a strip mall down the center of my ships. If there was an event going on, you had to go to Deck 11 or higher to get away from the noise of it. We went to the Lotus Lounge to listen to some jazz and 70s night came blasting in, making it a rather cacophonous experience.

Other random thoughts:

We loved St. Maarten (did the America’s Cup yacht challenge and WON both races) and St. Thomas (booked the Ike Witt for a day of snorkelling and ended up having the boat to ourselves). We didn’t get off the ship in San Juan – we arrived at 3:00 and departed at 10:00 (in a downpour that must have made the linesmen very unhappy indeed).

I was asleep by 11:00 most nights so I didn’t see any of the late night shows or go to Quest, although it looked as if Studio B was packed in the review DVD (so much for what happens in Quest stays there). DH did go to the one production show and said it was terrific. The ice show was amazing.

A rant at some of the more obnoxious people we encountered onboard: it’s rude to talk loudly amongst yourselves while the Captain is speaking at the C&A party. It’s not the Loyalty Ambassador’s fault that Mariner is coming to Los Angeles (and if it were up to me, you could keep her), so don’t berate her every time you see her. Sheesh.

We used the Florida Towncar service to get us to the airport post-cruise. JC, our driver and the owner, arrived at 9:30 for our 10:00 pickup, which was a good thing since we were off the ship by then. He called my cellphone to let us know he had arrived, so we didn’t have to shiver in 50-degree weather.

Questions? Ask away!

What a wonderful write-up, Jean. (although I would expect nothing less from you. ;))

I am sorry that you felt so crowded out in some of the places onboard. It certainly isn't making you one of the people happy that Mariner is coming to your town!

Honestly, the people who say that they never felt crowded on a Voyager class ship are just reporting their experience. It's not the same on every cruise. Yes, the Promenade is cheek-to-cheek people at Parade times, but that passes quickly.

I loved the Jewel, too, and am glad that I finally sailed on her. I can see why she is your favorite ship!

:)

P.S. Others have reported having "trashcan wars" with their cabin stewards, too.

P.S. Others have reported having "trashcan wars" with their cabin stewards, too.

We had one with our cabin steward, Nenko, on the Jewel. He caved by day 5 or so.:D

We had one with our cabin steward, Nenko, on the Jewel. He caved by day 5 or so.:D

Someone posted that their housekeeping supervisors "score" them on cleaning the cabins to exact standards, and that includes putting the trash can in a specific spot. :)

You made poor Nenko lose points! :eek: ;) :D

Nice review, Jean! Sorry you didn't have a great a time as you normally do. Did you try the rock wall?;) :p

Great review. Thanks.

Someone posted that their housekeeping supervisors "score" them on cleaning the cabins to exact standards, and that includes putting the trash can in a specific spot.

 

You made poor Nenko lose points!

Somehow, I don't think so!;)

Did you try the rock wall?

Well, the wall was closed on 2 of the 3 sea days, so even though I REALLY wanted to (:rolleyes: ), it wasn't meant to be. I only had one tiny bruise on my arm after my fellow grinder fell off the machine & knocked me into it. Hardly even a cruise vacation for me, LOL!

Jean -

DH and I will be sailing on Mariner in May. Just curious, who is the current captain and cruise director?

Thanks!

On our summer Mariner cruise, we commented how we did not find the ship crowded. One of the crew members pointed out that when there are a lot of kids, we had over 800, they stay in their own areas and the ship doesn't seem as crowded. Just a thought, maybe you didn't have a lot of kids?

We were also on this sailing. This is our fourth time on the Mariner and I also found the ship very crowded for some reason. We have cruised at this time of year before but this was the worst. The most noticeable, the Windjammer.

Great review!! I am sailing on the Mariner over Thanksgiving this year. First time on a ship this big!!! You mention all the crowds, oh boy, I am not looking forward to this :mad:

Hi Jean!

Thanks for the info. My Father-in-Law and I will be in 9324 at the end of August to celebrate his 70th. He's never been on a cruise. My wife and I have been on the Jewel and the Radiance and we loved them both. I'm curious to see if I will enjoy the Mariner as much.

Great review.....we're sailing on the Mariner for the first time in July.

Do you know if the Champagne Bar offers a "champagne card" that allows you to purchase 10 champagne drinks? They have this package on the Explorer. Does Vintages have "tastings"? Thanks for the information.

Love the reference to the moving of the trash can. I have never seen this referred to before on CC but I sure can relate. Like you say, some stewards will leave it where you put it and some.......right back under the desk chair. Two weeks ago we were on the Brilliance and had an aft cabin on deck 10 and believe it or not we actually had "2" trash cans in the room for the whole week. One would have been sufficient but at least we could leave the one under the desk and the other one by the coffee table.

This is nothing I would ever complain about or bring up but I did appreciate seeing that I wasn't the only person with issues.

Wendy

Great review.....we're sailing on the Mariner for the first time in July.

 

Do you know if the Champagne Bar offers a "champagne card" that allows you to purchase 10 champagne drinks? They have this package on the Explorer. Does Vintages have "tastings"? Thanks for the information.

Oh this would be nice!!! Never heard of this before...are their types of champagne drinks or are we just talking champagne?

thanks for the review.

hey chrdube! we are on the same sailing!

Do you know if the Champagne Bar offers a "champagne card" that allows you to purchase 10 champagne drinks? They have this package on the Explorer. Does Vintages have "tastings"? Thanks for the information.

We were never in the Champagne Bar when it was open, so I don't know. Vintages had 3 events - two wine tastings (you can't use your C&A coupon for those) and a martini seminar. We had dinner at Portofino during the martini seminar, so we couldn't attend, but it looked like fun. For $9.95 you got to taste a few concoctions and then you got one full martini at the end (whee!). The wine tastings were $14.95 and $9.95 - we got the list of the wines on the first one & decided they weren't worth the price.

You can also have a mini-tasting at any time - Vintages sells "flights' of 3-4 2-ounce pours - you can taste all reds, whites or pinks, different regions, different wineries, etc. There's a list of about 20 combinations.

Oh this would be nice!!! Never heard of this before...are their types of champagne drinks or are we just talking champagne?

There are 10 different types of champagne drinks....mimosas, kir royale, bellini...to name a few.

Thanks for the information on Vintages...think we'll have to try it.

on 2/24 the CD was Graham Seymour and the Captain was Captain Per.

There are 10 different types of champagne drinks....mimosas, kir royale, bellini...to name a few.

 

Thanks for the information on Vintages...think we'll have to try it.

Thanks for that tidbit!! I may have to try those :cool:

I am 32 and my mother who is 52 went on Mariner in may 2007 and we came acrross the same things so i understand exactly what you meant. We did not eat at the specialty restaurants but preferred Windjammers and jade to the Main dining room due to the amount of time that it took to get throught he main dining room. The only difference that I found was that we did not have a problem with finding seating at the pool area but found it rather annoying with all the college kids on board and it seemed like the enitire ships itinerary were based around these college kids (thats annoying). This was are first cruise and didnt think that I would ever want to go on another but after just 4 short months I find myself booking another I am happy to report!:) The next trip will be Sovereign of the Seas in September of 2008 with the kids(OH GOODNESS:( ) this trip should be interesting!

Thanks for your review! We were on this sailing too (3/2 Mariner) and agree about the crowds. The Windjammer was the worst. There were little signs on all the tables, asking people to leave the table when they were done eating, but I saw many groups of people just sitting there talking after they were finished, while others walked around looking for tables.

We had a balcony hump cabin for the first time, and I was really looking forward to sleeping with our door open, and sitting out there, relaxing. But, we had smokers on the side and below us who were CONSTANTLY out there smoking! Every single time we wanted to sit out there and enjoy the fresh air, we had to smell their smoke. And, late at night and early in the morning, when our door was open, the smoke would drift into our stateroom. It was horrible. So, we didn't use the balcony much. I don't know if I would spend the extra $$$ again, just for this reason. On public decks, they only allow smoking on the Starboard side of the ship. It's probably not realistic, but I wish they would do this with balconies too. Especially considering the money people pay to have the fresh air.

We were a little disappointed with the food in the dining room. We have been sailing on the Majesty recently, where we've found the food to be very good. We're thinking that, because the Mariner has to feel so many more people, that the quality just goes down a little bit. Steaks were not so good, turkey was very dry, etc. Not bad -- just not very good either.

We sat in Vintages every evening before dinner too! We always sat on the sofa out in front and enjoyed a glass of wine and the bread with toppings. I missed the cheese/fruit try they used to give us, but this was ok too.

All-in-all it was a fun cruise! :)

Great rewiew. We are determined to go with a Radiance class ship next time as you and others prefer that class.

We tend to agree with the crowds in the windjammer. We even saw people playing cards at a window table instead in the card room. The worst time was around noon on 3/2 departure and if you come after 8 am for breakfast. Never had lunch nor dinner there.

We had a JS so we have no good impression of the pool deck crowds other than we could hear the noice from our balcony.

Great review.....we're sailing on the Mariner for the first time in July.

 

Do you know if the Champagne Bar offers a "champagne card" that allows you to purchase 10 champagne drinks? They have this package on the Explorer. Does Vintages have "tastings"? Thanks for the information.

Hey, Ronnie,

You're taking me back to our cruise last year on the Jewel. A Kir Royale in the Champagne Bar was my after-casino ritual. I am looking forward to the Wine Flights in Vintages, too.

Jean, thanks for your review. I really loved Jewel of the Seas, and I've been apprehensive about crowds on our upcoming Mariner cruise. Maybe we'll get lucky and 1,000 kids will stay in the kids/teen lounges! :D I am hoping we can find a few places to find some peace when the crowds get too much. Other than that, we're going to try to enjoy what the big ship has to offer - if it's too big, we'll know for next time.