Jan 15 -22 Mariner of the Seas Review -

[T_Bone2012]

When we did our dolphin swim they took us to get in with the manatee after. I didn't know this was gona happen and didn't pay to do it. I have a feeling our guide just slipped us in with the Royal swim people. It was so cool though and I was so glad I got to do it. My camera was out and I got no pics!

 

Those Manatee are like Elephants in the water. They are huge - and they all wanted attention!

[saintbernardlover]

Those Manatee are like Elephants in the water. They are huge - and they all wanted attention!

 

Yes, our guide said they are closely related to elephants and their toenails are the same as elephants.

[T_Bone2012]

It took about 1-1/2 hours to get to the port after they gave us the go ahead.

 

 

We pulled into port and they announced that self disembarking would start in about 30 minutes, then they would announce group numbers after that. We decided to move from our stateroom down to the Crown and Anchor member waiting are in the dining room on the 4th deck. We had 4 carry on's, so we grabbed the first elevator that had room - even though it was going up! after dropping off people up on 14, we stopped at every floor on the way down to 4. Passengers sure were angry when the doors opened to yet another completely full elevator. I was amazed at the few who still forced their way on. Were we supposed to stand on top of our luggage? Once we made it down to 4, we relaxed in the dining room. there were only about 25 C&A members in there. I wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't read the small blurb on GOLD C&A instructions in our departure instructions the night before. They let the mob of self dis-embarkers off - that looked crazy. They let the diamond and suite passengers off next, then a cheery RCL representative popped his head into the dining room and told us if we wanted to sneak out the back ramp right outside the door - we could! So off we went. After waiting for the green light to get to the luggage - we found our bags and were out the door by 1:30, and on the road back to Dallas by 2:00. We arrived home in time to watch the 2nd half of the NY Giants victory over the SF 49'ers. What a great way to end the vacation!

 

I'm sure I left stuff out - feel free to ask any questions.

 

Terry

[Fred Ziffel]

One of the best reviews I've read so far, and nice images. Looks like you both had a wonderful time.

 

Chuck

[notladjr]

T_Bone,

 

Wonderful review. I enjoyed it all and the pics. We are taking MOS from Miami to Rome May 1, 2012 and I was looking for a review that included menu information. I copied and pasted your daily menu list to a word document so I can keep to look over. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

[cruiseclues]

Extremely enjoyable review...absolutely great photos...thanks for the Menus :)

[Smiley7863]

Wow! What a fantastic review! Thanks for the menus and activity schedule. Some people say that the food is not that good on the Mariner.......from what I see, it looks incredible.

 

I was on the Celebrity Solstice in Nov 2010. We went to Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Roatan Honduras. I wanted so bad to go to Belize but couldn't find a ship going there. I had been before on a Norwegian Cruise. I need to go back and get some more cashews. OMG....they are the best. I smuggled some back on the airplane.....lol.

 

The DH and I are going on the Mariner Jan 13th 2013. I am more excited now after reading your posts!!!!!

 

Thank you again :D

[T_Bone2012]

Some people say that the food is not that good on the Mariner.......from what I see, it looks incredible.

 

The DH and I are going on the Mariner Jan 13th 2013. I am more excited now after reading your posts!!!!!

 

 

Thank you again :D

 

I enjoyed most of the food, it's all about expectations. Portofino was incredible - worth every penny. We plan to eat at chops and portofino almost every night next time. I also found that if you have a few cocktails up on the deck overlooking the ocean before dinner, the food tastes even better!

 

 

We are also booked on the 1/13/13 cruise, but considering I was just laid off, we might have to postpone that a year!

[hunt182644]

Will be on the Mariner for the Feb. 24 sailing, after reading your review it is going hard to wait. Thanks for the great review it answered a few questions we had.

[T_Bone2012]

Will be on the Mariner for the Feb. 24 sailing, after reading your review it is going hard to wait. Thanks for the great review it answered a few questions we had.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the Mariner OTS. We feel a little bummed, as we had to mover our planned cruise (this Sunday 1/13) back a year, and our ship will be the Navigator. It will be worth the wait!

[Texancruisers]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review!!! One of the BEST I've ever read and seen!!! Outstanding!!! :D

[T_Bone2012]

 

The DH and I are going on the Mariner Jan 13th 2013. I am more excited now after reading your posts!!!!!

 

Thank you again :D

 

How was the cruise? We were supposed to be cruising with you, but had to push it back a year. We loved Belize so much that we went back there for a week over Thanksgiving - what a great place.

[gibby_daebak]

The last few departures had been delayed by either fog or extra cleaning to prevent norovirus, so we were a little nervous, and kept checking email all morning to see if anyone had heard of a delay. Our original plan was to enjoy Galveston for most of the day, avoid the lines and minimize the time spent waiting by leisurely boarding at around 3:00 in the afternoon. Once we ate breakfast, we ran into hundreds of suitcase toting cruisers rushing to get to the port. It was only 9:30 AM! We had our first glimpse of the ship, and suddenly everyone wanted to board as soon as we could. So we scrapped the sight seeing plans, packed up the car and headed for the pier at around 10:30. We parked at Lighthouse Parking, boarded the bus and arrived at the pier around 11AM. There really were not that many people there to check in yet. We sent the luggage off with a porter, and we proceeded inside for a quick check in. We had all of our paperwork filled out ahead of time, so the whole check in process took maybe 15 minutes. There were only 3 people in line when we walked up to the check in line. After getting our boarding # (2), we took a seat and people watched for the next hour. I’m not sure if it was just me, but that hour seemed to take forever to go by. It was fun to watch everyone up front by the doors stand up and start gathering their carry-ons every time the doors to the ramp opened, only to have to sit down again when it turned out to be a false alarm! Here is a panorama of the terminal - it's made using a cool free app for the iPhone called photosynth.

 

http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=eadd2d03-eab4-46a1-ba7e-54000c8f41e0&m=false&i=0:0:0&c=0:0:0&z=308.907902043911&d=0.951726204078361:2.3424082560853:2.73007881916373&p=0:0&t=False

 

They let us board the ship around noon, and we decided to try the Promenade Café for lunch instead of the usually packed Windjammer. We proceeded up one deck to the 5th floor and had our first glimpse of the Promenade. Wow! The last ship we were on was the Grandeur of the seas, and this was 10X more impactful. We walked down to The Promenade café for a quiet lunch. It was completely empty, and we had to ask if they were open! We had a few deli sandwiches, some pizza, then we walked around until the cabins were available at 1pm. There were only a few choices of sandwiches at the café. Next time we’ll fight the crowd for a better selection for lunch!

 

Our cabin (#9692) is an aft balcony cabin. The room is similar in size to the side balcony cabins, but the balcony was HUGE (about 8 x 10), and had 2 lounge chairs, 2 regular chairs and a table. I was so glad this cabin opened up 2 weeks after I booked. The room was clean, had a small couch, flat screen tv, a nice sized shower, and the room Steward (Mervin) kept our mini cooler full of ice at all times. Cabin panorama: once it loads you can rotate the pic 360'

 

http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=d8ad39b6-87a9-4c68-87cd-68b4a0f58784

 

 

Being at the back of the ship, there was very little foot traffic. We really enjoyed the peace and quiet compared to our last Holiday cruise. The downside is that you are quite a way from the nearest stairwell or elevator, so we definitely got our exercise! The elevators were frequently full, so we took the stairs most of the time. As large as the ship is, I could get anywhere on the ship within 10 minutes.

 

 

 

I'm thinking of booking Mariner for next year's sailing but was told the corner aft cabins on Deck 10 was unavailable for booking :( At your cabin #9692, can the person above your cabin on Deck 10 be able to see your entire balcony??

[T_Bone2012]

I'm thinking of booking Mariner for next year's sailing but was told the corner aft cabins on Deck 10 was unavailable for booking :( At your cabin #9692, can the person above your cabin on Deck 10 be able to see your entire balcony??

 

Yes - they can look down on most of the 9th floor balconies of they are standing at the rail. There is an overhang of about 4 feet that covers part of the 9th floor balconies. I never noticed seeing or hearing anyone up there. We are booked in the same cabin for a 2014 sailing (Navigator)

[gibby_daebak]

Thanks T_Bone2012 for the info! Decided to book aft cabin #1690 instead, my first ever Aft Balcony! :) Chasing RCI to put me on waiting list for #1388 and #1688 in case the 'group book' company decides to release either of them.

[Ladysilver]

I just love this review and beautiful photos so I thought I would bring it back to the top again! We'll be doing this itinerary on the Navigator! :D

[Jiminy1955]

Loved this entire review. Great detail without it being overdone, nice pictures too. We will be on the Navigator 2-23-14 on this itinerary!!

[Jiminy1955]

I saw on the posted daily compass for day 1 & day 3 what the weather prediction was but what about the other days? Both at sea & in port please if you still have that info.

[T_Bone2012]

I saw on the posted daily compass for day 1 & day 3 what the weather prediction was but what about the other days? Both at sea & in port please if you still have that info.

 

We lucked out and had great weather the entire week. it was in the high 80's every day, with one 5:00 PM rain shower in Belize.

 

We went back to Belize for an entire week over Thanksgiving, and loved it. We are trying the other itinerary 4/13/14.