Mariner 1/8/12 boring review.. no pictures!

[ranchingal]

Nice review but...

 

Pic's or it never happened!

 

Really??? Said who??

[nonna5]

 

Pic's or it never happened!

 

 

Totally disagree with this.

 

Great review

[TexasWheels]

Surprised about the differing opinions on the food. This was our first cruise so we didn't have anything to compare it to, but we both loved the MDR food. My wife and I both consider ourselves food snobs since she is a chef and cooks some amazing food herself.

 

I will give you the beef stroganoff though as I had it that night, the meat wasn't bad but it was in a weird tomato sauce instead of what I've grown accustomed to it being in. It was also with rice instead of noodles but I did find the rice to be very good. However the menu did state that it was in a tomato sauce with rice so I wasn't surprised when it came out served that way.

 

They did have Lamb Shank on the menu one night, but our waiter said they had ran out (guess everyone at the 6:30 ordered it) so they served us Lamb T-Bone instead and it was very good.

 

The lobster was surprisingly good after I had read on here that it was rubbery and over cooked from a few people. I thought it was cooked perfect and ate more then my share. The Mahi Mahi and shirmp Tempura was also very good as was the steak served the same night (Last?), yes I ate both.

 

My wife loved all of the cold soups that they had for starters as you usually don't find many places that offer them in the States.

 

While I was disappointed on some nights at the selection of desserts to choose from the one that I did order was always better then the majority of desserts you get at restaurants around here.

 

Our wait staff was wonderful the whole time and at the end of the cruise we were wishing we had even more $$ left to leave a bigger tip for them then we did. Everything was served in a timely manner and we had plenty of offers for alternating selections if one didn't seem to fill us up.

 

The only thing that I would like to see in the MDR is a sampling of the type of cuisine native to the port of that day. Some Jamaican jerk chicken would have been great and I would have loved to see a non Tex-Mex choice on there while leaving Cozumel. Also more fresh fish options, I mean one day the catch of the day was catfish... while great for a Texan crowd, it's hard to believe it was a fresh catch of the day out in the Caribbean, would have loved some red snapper or some such.

 

For breakfast we ate in the MDR every morning and liked their offerings there and even though we had a different wait staff every day it was always great service.

 

Now the the WJ, ugh, I honestly don't see how people ate there. We heard from many people on the ship that they loved it and even some of the people we cruised with said it was great and the only place they ate. We ate there for lunch after boarding the ship in the Caymans and both of us just looked at each other and shrugged. It is a buffet and you get what you expect from a buffet which is buffet food. So while it wasn't bad, it wasn't as good as we expected after hearing from everyone else how great it was. I could go to Luby's or Golden Corral today and have a better buffet meal. We'd been told to go there for a burger instead of JR, well when we saw the burger patty's curling up around the edges we decided to skip on the burger. However the service here was just as good as in the MDR.

 

The Promenade Cafe was even worse in our eyes, of course my wife and I have owned a bakery for the last 3 years with everything baked fresh and from scratch daily, so the pastry's there were nothing more then mass produced store bought crap to us. Unfortunately with a 8:30 seating in the MDR we were often wanting a snack and the 2 dzn cookies she baked the night before and brought on board for that purpose didn't last long as we shared with our room attendants and anyone else in the halls. The pizza while again frozen and heated up, wasn't all that bad, but that was the only thing we ate there more then once.

 

Next on the list was our one meal at JR. We don't eat fast food at home but figured we would give it a try for lunch one day as we were doing something while lunch in the MDR was going on and had already tried the WJ. You could tell our fries and onion rings had been setting for awhile, there wasn't any crunch to them at all and the fries were very under cooked. We asked for more and they weren't much better. The burgers were thicker then the patties we saw in the WJ but were very over cooked, thinner and they would have been beef jerky. This was also the one place where service was horrible. I guess the guy that took our order and my sea pass card either went on break or his shift ended because it took 30 minutes to get our burger as some one couldn't find our order and then it took another 30 minutes after we finished for them to find my card because they didn't know where he put it.

 

Unfortunately our table mates never showed up the whole cruise so we ate alone at a table for 6 each night but enjoyed the company of the family setting next to us that also showed up in the MDR each evening.

 

We discussed the food in the MDR more then once and both agreed that it might not be to the taste of a Texas crowd. Both of us loved the scallop risotto they served as a starter on the 1st or 2nd night but I'd say 80% of the people we mentioned that to asked what risotto was. There weren't many meat/corn/potato meals to choose from and I know that kept the people that we were cruising with out of the MDR because they could get it every time they went to the WJ.

 

Gonna miss this view every morning before breakfast!

[05mak05]

Great review and thanks for posting. Years ago we complained about the jump seats on the Grand Cayman tours. It was some sort of island tour and those that got stuck in the middle couldn't see anything. Two couples actually got in a shouting match. Seems like we got a 50% refund. I also agree about the glass bottom boat, however, it was better than Roatan if you can imagine that.

I'm glad someone else noticed the cigar/cigarette smoke. In December, it was so bad in the pub that the whole RP reeked. They had set up the Pets at Sea booth where kids stuff animals right across from it. My daughter said the wait for the animals was 45 minutes and that she had a splitting headache from the smoke. I also smelled it walking by the Champagne Bar which I thought was non-smoking? Guess not. This was the first cruise where the smoke in the casino was a deal breaker. As I've said before, I suspect there was something wrong with the ventilation system. It seems to me that it wouldn't be that hard to please both smokers and nonsmokers by putting the smoking lounges/bars on an upper deck where the windows can be opened. On the old Dawn Princess (now this goes back many years), the casino was in the nose of the ship. The windows didn't open but it's a thought. Anything for some fresh air. We also thought the food was "off" ... perhaps it's also the menu which has some really odd items. Something else that struck me was ordering from room service. I think I heard so much about Noro that I had sympathy pains - ha! I stayed in the room just in case and ordered a baked potato. I was told "not on the menu."

Really? The only time we've ever used room service is for breakfast so maybe this is nothing new. The menu was high fat, fried, etc. I finally hit upon chicken soup and rolls. Felt fine the next day but I certainly didn't want to pass anything to fellow passengers or to our family. Am I highjacking this thread? I hope not. All I wanted to say is "great review" and then found myself rambling.

[riofriotex]

How did disembarkation go for you, bontxny? Ours was pretty awful on Dec. 11. Hope they are getting better as we go again Feb. 26.

 

I'm not Bonnie but I'll respond too. No fog delays in Galveston when we arrived back on January 15. We had a starboard balcony so could watch what was happening on the dock.

 

We were doing self-assist disembarkation. We have a six hour drive home from Galveston and we were supposed to meet my 81-year-old aunt (she's a nun) at a restaurant in Houston at 11 AM. According to the on-board-tv video about disembarkation, we could leave from any public area once we heard the announcement. As our designated waiting area was forward (Savoy Theater, Deck 4) and we were at the Centrum elevators, we waited until we could actually see people on the ramps (not sure exactly what they are called, but they are like the ones used to board the airlines). It took a little while to get an elevator down from Deck 9; I think we actually rode an empty one up to 11 first. There was a little bit of a line on Deck 4 but they were using two ramps (the other one being at the other end of the ship, close to the Savoy Theater) and the line moved well. Customs went very fast and right after we got in our line for that (I think they had four open) they opened up another customs line because the folks who had RCI handle their luggage were starting to disembark.

 

We were in the elevator going down from our cabin at 8:04 AM (I remember because my mom called and I did not have a free hand to answer the phone) and I believe we were out of Customs a little after 9. This was earlier than I expected; we needed to kill a little time in Galveston before heading on to Houston as the restaurant did not open until 11 and it's only an hour's drive.

 

Hope this helps!

[riofriotex]

Nice review but...

 

Pic's or it never happened!

 

Problem is, it takes a while to write a review AND include the pictures! ;)

 

Here is one picture, that happened to be on the camera in my purse, from the Vintages Wine Bar on our first night aboard, across the Royal Promenade from the Wig and Gavel (smoking) pub. My husband liked the guitarist there (Marty, who played from 10 PM on) so we'd sit across the way at Vintages at an outer table, right near the rails around the staircase down to the casino, and listen from there. I agree with others though that many days the smoke smell (I guess from the casino as well as the pub) was still strong at Vintages, and I think RCI should make everything on the Royal Promenade smoke-free (and close off the entrance to the casino there if the casino still allows smokers), and put the smokers' bar(s) on an upper deck.

 

Anyway - Vintages had tapas AND nice chocolates like the ones pictured below. Since the desserts weren't all that great* (and neither of us should be eating dessert anyway), this was when and where we usually had dessert!

 

*exceptions: My husband loved the cookies, and there was some dark chocolate tart-thing they served on Friday, I believe, that was really good. I liked the tiramisu, the creme brulee, and a sugar-free key lime pie that had a surprisingly light crust. However, I am no gourmet and defer to the judgment of the experienced chefs and bakers on this thread! I got very tired of the custard-y and mousse-y desserts - pretty to look at, but not very tasty. A blessing in disguise I guess!

[BonTXNY]

I forgot what time we got off the ship but there was a wait getting to the terminal, not a terribly long one. Not sure but I think we came after self assist. Once in the terminal my DH grabbed a porter and we just breezed past everyone to a customs line with only 2 people in front of us. Thanks for the tip, cruise critic :) Painless disembarkation compared to last year which took approx. 2 hours. Maybe it took 45 mins from the time we exited the ship.

 

Oh yes I noted all my criticisms on the comment card, specifically the food, smoke, to please, please have late seating at 8pm, and to please have a band like Synergy playing soft rock music, oldies, motown. I think the folks who cruise in Jan. would appreciate that kind of music but then again it's just MHO.

 

Texaswheels, the food tastes mass produced because it is. Amazing how they churn all of those meals out day after day, meal after meal. I did enjoy the empanadas in the Promanade Cafe. Very flaky, warm and just plain good. Coffee surprisingly was drinkable. Never went near the pizza. We've learned to expect buffet food in the WJ so we're never disappointed.

 

I now also remember the MDR ran out of lamb shank and our waiter suggested the lamb t-bone. It was tasty, and really very good. I STILL miss rack of lamb though :(

 

Next cruise unless we sit with fabulous table mates we're going to ditch at least one formal night. We got all dressed up, went to dinner and 2 hours later ran back to our cabin to change. This cruise we had no patience to pose for pictures. Didn't even take table pics.

 

We might try early seating next cruise unless they change to 8pm.

 

As far as "pics or it never happned", what happens on the Mariner stays on the Mariner ;)

[TexasWheels]

Texaswheels, the food tastes mass produced because it is. Amazing how they churn all of those meals out day after day, meal after meal. I did enjoy the empanadas in the Promanade Cafe. Very flaky, warm and just plain good. Coffee surprisingly was drinkable. Never went near the pizza. We've learned to expect buffet food in the WJ so we're never disappointed.

 

LOL, yes I am aware of that, just a difference between them preparing it in mass on the ship and them buying it from a wholesale business that mass produces packaged food products such as what they sell at Wal-Mart.

 

The MTD sounds good to us as there were often times we were sitting around at 6:30 wanting to eat and not wanting to wait till 8:30, but other times we were happy to go at 8:30.

[riofriotex]

...

Texaswheels, the food tastes mass produced because it is. Amazing how they churn all of those meals out day after day, meal after meal. I did enjoy the empanadas in the Promanade Cafe. Very flaky, warm and just plain good. Coffee surprisingly was drinkable. Never went near the pizza. We've learned to expect buffet food in the WJ so we're never disappointed.

...

Next cruise unless we sit with fabulous table mates we're going to ditch at least one formal night. We got all dressed up, went to dinner and 2 hours later ran back to our cabin to change. This cruise we had no patience to pose for pictures. Didn't even take table pics.

 

We only ate in the MDR once - last night of the cruise. Nothing against the MDR, but my husband refuses to dress up for formal night, and frankly I don't want to dress up either (although it was sure fun seeing what people wore from our perch in Vintages!). We had My Time Dining, but all the other non-formal nights except for the one where we did eat in MDR were port days, and we made it a point to eat the native cuisine for lunch, so we were not real hungry at dinner (and were also pretty tired), and ended up just going to Windjammer.

 

I was very pleased with the service we got in MDR, and now that I understand better how My Time Dining works (not enough research time pre-cruise!), if I were to do it over again, I would have eaten there on the port nights.

 

However, we were generally very happy with the food in WJ. I personally love having a huge selection of food and trying out small bites of new dishes I've never had before. I especially liked some of the Asian dishes in the Jade area. My husband likes pasta (I don't) and he noted that it was generally not cooked correctly - baked pasta dishes were overdone and other noodles were not al dente. And of course the desserts as noted left much to be desired. They had a guy making sushi on the spot and I ate a LOT of that. And, I could always find grilled fish and other seafood, which I love, and I had lox every morning!

 

IMHO the coffee in WJ was a little bitter, and I REALLY missed having a coffee maker in the room (as we did on our previous two Norwegian cruises). Bonnie, when you said the coffee was drinkable, were you referring to MDR or the Seattle's Best Coffee in Cafe Promenade? We never tried the Cafe Promenade or the specialty restaurants, although seeing that some Chops entrees were available in MDR, we would definitely try those in MDR next time.

[joandian]

Thanks for the reviews. Did you happen to hear what might be happening during the dry dock in April? We are on the TA right after so wondering what updates they might do.

[BonTXNY]

and I had lox every morning!

 

IMHO the coffee in WJ was a little bitter, and I REALLY missed having a coffee maker in the room (as we did on our previous two Norwegian cruises). Bonnie, when you said the coffee was drinkable, were you referring to MDR or the Seattle's Best Coffee in Cafe Promenade? We never tried the Cafe Promenade or the specialty restaurants, although seeing that some Chops entrees were available in MDR, we would definitely try those in MDR next time.

 

OMG I had a lox every morning also. LOTS of lox. Wasn't it good? Not salty at all.

Coffee in the MDR to me was better than the Cafe although I am sure both are the same. Maybe it was the ambience of relaxing after a meal in the MDR as opposed to grabbing a cup in the cafe.

[riofriotex]

The lox WAS good, Bonnie! So were the cold soups as TexasWheels said. Those were also available in the Windjammer and I had them every night.

 

Bonnie, I see you got your countdown clock and you are going out on Mariner again! Same itinerary, or is this the Roatan-Belize one?

[BonTXNY]

The lox WAS good, Bonnie! So were the cold soups as TexasWheels said. Those were also available in the Windjammer and I had them every night.

 

Bonnie, I see you got your countdown clock and you are going out on Mariner again! Same itinerary, or is this the Roatan-Belize one?

 

Roatan-Belize-Cozumel itinerary. Can you believe there's a roll call thread already for that cruise? We did that itinerary a year ago on the Voyager and loved Roatan. Very lush, tropical, "mountainy". We did a Victor Bodden private tour for four of us. $25pp for as long as you want. Driver took us all over the island and to a spectacular resort area where we hope to spend the day next Jan. Now all I need to do is remember the name! I also heard good things about the Mayan Princess. We thought to use frequent miles to get to FL next year but the call to Galveston is loud. It's so convenient to just drive to the port. No hassles, no worries.

[Cindy]

Something happened in Cozumel that I need to share with all of you. The four of us (DH, myself and friends) were meandering in the port area adjacent to the International Pier where the satelite Senor Frog's is located. Two teen girls were arguing with one of the chochkie stall people. We didn't pay any attention and continued our meandering. Approx. 40 mins later as we passed that same area, the two teens were still arguing, one was crying. I walked over and asked what was going on. Apparently, one of the teens, both were 17, handed a $20 bill to the stall clerk, expecting change. He walked away with her money without giving her change or the item she was supposed to purchase. He left the stall in the hands of a woman who made believe she knew nothing. I told the girl to have no fear.. MAMA was here. I walked over to the stall clerk and shouted that she MUST GIVE THE GIRL BACK HER $20 IMMEDIATELY or I will call security and the police. She looked doubtful and started to chatter with another stall owner. I again said very loud that I am about to go get port security. Guess what? She handed over the $20 bill. The girls were so appreciative. Said their parents allowed them time alone at the pier after their excursion. Girl whose money was taken cried that her mom did so much for them to go on a vacation and that it was her mom's money. Oh man I felt soooooooooo good. I told her to stick with her mama and to always have small bills to pay the exact amount.

 

I wish Mariner would go back to 8pm dinner. 8:30 is just a bit late for us. Not sure what we will do on our next cruise. My time dining sounds wonderful but then it cuts into showtime, which btw I could seriously miss but my DH and friends can't miss them so I have to go with the flow.

 

I tried creating the same countdown clock but all I got was.. text. Help anyone??

 

 

Good for you helping those girls! I'm sure they thought it would be like shopping at their local mall, and were totally bewildered by what was happening!

8:30 is also too late for us. We're trying MTD in March, and made our reservations for 7:00. Looking at the Compasses that were posted a few weeks ago, we should be able to make a 9:00 show if it's something we really want to see. I no longer feel the need to rush to most of the shows, and would just as soon hang out at Vintages of another lounge after dinner anyway. If the dinner schedule was the same as Voyager we would have stuck with late seating.

[riofriotex]

Roatan-Belize-Cozumel itinerary. Can you believe there's a roll call thread already for that cruise? We did that itinerary a year ago on the Voyager and loved Roatan. Very lush, tropical, "mountainy". We did a Victor Bodden private tour for four of us. $25pp for as long as you want. Driver took us all over the island and to a spectacular resort area where we hope to spend the day next Jan. Now all I need to do is remember the name!

 

Bonnie, could it be Gumbalimba Park?

http://www.gumbalimbapark.com/index.html

We toured it back in November 2007 from the Norwegian Sun. I liked Roatan and Belize too, but there some other itineraries I'd like to do first before going back on that one.

[riofriotex]

Thanks for the reviews. Did you happen to hear what might be happening during the dry dock in April? We are on the TA right after so wondering what updates they might do.

 

joandian, all I heard was from the art auction guy on a tour of the art RCI has put in the public areas on the Mariner that during the dry dock, the art in the staterooms will be changed. I did not think to ask about it at the Q&A the captain had Saturday morning.

[GSLMOM]

My time dining sounds wonderful but then it cuts into showtime, which btw I could seriously miss but my DH and friends can't miss them so I have to go with the flow.

 

I tried creating the same countdown clock but all I got was.. text. Help anyone??

 

 

We will be sailing on RCI for the first time in August. Can you explain what you mean by My Time Dining cuts into showtime? We enjoy going to shows every night...

 

Thanks.

[05mak05]

Bonnie, could it be Gumbalimba Park?

http://www.gumbalimbapark.com/index.html

We toured it back in November 2007 from the Norwegian Sun. I liked Roatan and Belize too, but there some other itineraries I'd like to do first before going back on that one.

Please post if you remember the name of the beach. The ship excursion took us to Pirate's Cove. It was impressive but I'd be really interested to hear which one Victor uses.

[BonTXNY]

Bonnie, could it be Gumbalimba Park?

http://www.gumbalimbapark.com/index.html

We toured it back in November 2007 from the Norwegian Sun. I liked Roatan and Belize too, but there some other itineraries I'd like to do first before going back on that one.

 

 

Gumbalimbapark looks nice but not the one we visited last year. I found the brochure for Parrot Tree Plantation. Unbelievably serene and gorgeous. It's a beach resort with the most beautiful well appointed accommodations I ever saw. Not sure if they are for sale, time share or rent. We viewed 2 units and we were ready to move in.

 

The nightclub shows are geared to fit in with late and main seatings. Most shows were either 7:45 or 10:30. Depending on how many at your table and your desire to relax and enjoy dinner, you could be there for approx. 2 hours. In our case we had wonderful tablemates but I did find myself looking at my watch so as not to miss late seating shows.

[BonTXNY]

Please post if you remember the name of the beach. The ship excursion took us to Pirate's Cove. It was impressive but I'd be really interested to hear which one Victor uses.

 

The beach our driver took us to was not on a specific Victor Bodden excursion. We asked if she could take us to a beautiful, clean beach resort and she delivered. I can't say enough positive things about VB. He even emailed me after we got home to make sure our excursion was to our liking.

[Jimnbigd]

We will be sailing on RCI for the first time in August. Can you explain what you mean by My Time Dining cuts into showtime? We enjoy going to shows every night...

The theater shows at night are scheduled around the fixed-time dining. Usually (but not always) there are 2 shows, one for early diners and one for late diners. Sometimes the late dining show is the 1st show, before dinner; other times it is very late after dinner. If you want to see the show, it usually means going to dinner around the time fixed diners go. And MTD diners can go to either (or even both) shows if they want. We prefer fixed-time dining for this reason -- because evening/night seems to be more on a fixed schedule.

[BonTXNY]

The theater shows at night are scheduled around the fixed-time dining. Usually (but not always) there are 2 shows, one for early diners and one for late diners. Sometimes the late dining show is the 1st show, before dinner; other times it is very late after dinner. If you want to see the show, it usually means going to dinner around the time fixed diners go. And MTD diners can go to either (or even both) shows if they want. We prefer fixed-time dining for this reason -- because evening/night seems to be more on a fixed schedule.

 

This is what is so frustrating. On our next cruise we wanted to do 7:30 MTD but it cuts into the shows. RCI please, please change your late seating on the Mariner to 8PM!!!

[Jimnbigd]

This is what is so frustrating. On our next cruise we wanted to do 7:30 MTD but it cuts into the shows. RCI please, please change your late seating on the Mariner to 8PM!!!

I agree, but then early fixed dining would be 5:30pm -- which is was on the Voyager OTS from Galveston. We are going to try the 6pm dining this March.

 

One option: Eat in the buffet when there is a show you want to see. I have read the buffet at night is very good. I think I might try the buffet Tuesday night -- the worst of the MDR nights for me.

[austinlw]

I told the girl to have no fear.. MAMA was here. I walked over to the stall clerk and shouted that she MUST GIVE THE GIRL BACK HER $20 IMMEDIATELY or I will call security and the police. She looked doubtful and started to chatter with another stall owner. I again said very loud that I am about to go get port security. Guess what? She handed over the $20 bill. The girls were so appreciative. Said their parents allowed them time alone at the pier after their excursion. Girl whose money was taken cried that her mom did so much for them to go on a vacation and that it was her mom's money. Oh man I felt soooooooooo good. I told her to stick with her mama and to always have small bills to pay the exact amount.

 

Bravo!!!

[BonTXNY]

I agree, but then early fixed dining would be 5:30pm -- which is was on the Voyager OTS from Galveston. We are going to try the 6pm dining this March.

 

One option: Eat in the buffet when there is a show you want to see. I have read the buffet at night is very good. I think I might try the buffet Tuesday night -- the worst of the MDR nights for me.

 

 

Wow, you're right. 5:30 IS a bit early. We had late seating on the Voyager and had no idea when main seating was.

 

We actually ate in the WJ on the Rhapsody one night and it was quite good. Just too tired from a hot day in port and wanted to relax and not have to sit for 2 hours in a dining room. We tentatively have early seating on our next cruise and I think it will work better for us at 6 than at 8:30.