Late Mariner of the Seas Review 5/1/05 Eastern...LONG!!

[michelle319]

Better late than never but here is my (VERY LONG) review of our May 1, 2005 sailing aboard the Mariner of the Seas, Eastern itinerary. Just a little background info. DH (38) and I (37) were traveling solo without our kids. This was my fourth cruise (2nd with RCCL) and DH’s second (his 1st with RCCL). We were booked last August on the Carnival Glory and had to cancel less than two weeks before because my DH shattered his nose and required surgery. So, this trip really was almost two years in the making. Based on info from members of Cruise Critic (a special thanks to Pam), we decided to try the Mariner and we are so glad we did.

 

PRE-CRUISE STAY IN ORLANDO: We flew down on a direct flight from Akron to Orlando on Thursday, April 28th. Reserved a rental from Budget and we were on our way. We had booked a room at the Residence Inn, Lake Buena Vista and were very pleased with the hotel. The RI was very clean, had nice facilities and a full hot breakfast every morning. Friday was spent checking out Downtown Disney, lunch at Planet Hollywood and just relaxing. We met up with fellow Ccer’s Liz (kyblueliz) and Jerry (ref4ree) for dinner at a Gourmet McDonald’s. It was awesome! There was a chef there that prepared your order right in front of you. Nothing like a steak panini with Mickey D’s fries! Very cool place. Saturday we spent the day laying out by the pool and met up with several Cruise Critic members at the Cheesecake Factory at Millenia Mall. It was great to meet before the cruise and enjoy the company of John, Melissa, Jordyn, Janet, Amy, Gary, and Jerry and Liz. Of course, the cheesecake was to die for!!

 

EMBARKATION: Checked out of the RI Sunday morning just before 10am and headed for the port. When we came over that bridge and saw the Mariner, I almost started to cry! I was so excited! We were finally going on our cruise. The Mariner looked HUGE. We dropped the rental at Budget and took their free shuttle over to the port. Embarkation was a breeze! We were there just after 11. I’m glad we didn’t get there any earlier. There were still people getting off from the previous cruise. Checked in, got our Sea Pass cards, stood in line for a few minutes to have our pictures taken for our card, had the embarkation picture taken and then, wow, we were on the ship! Total time, less than 30 minutes. Very, very smooth. Headed to the Windjammer for lunch. We were probably one of the first 100 people up there. Went to the Spa to book the Rasul Couple’s Therapy for Monday afternoon and then went to make our reservations for Friday night at Chops. At 1 o’clock, we headed to our cabin. More on that later.

 

Did the mandatory Muster Drill (which I was glad was done before sail away). Meet up with more people from our roll call for sail away on the Helipad and enjoyed my first of many Miami Vices! Was so nice to finally meet up with people that I had been talking to for many months! We had Main Seating for dinner so were headed back in. Requested a table for 4, which we received. Sat at table 330 with Jerry and Liz. Really enjoyed that table and dinners in the dining room. More on that later! We went to the Welcome Aboard Show which we enjoyed and later watched the Island A-Go-Go Bon Voyage Parade on the Royal Promendade. Shortly thereafter, it was off to bed.

 

DAY 2 - NASSAU: Got off the ship right before 10am. I had been to Nassau several times already. DH hadn’t. Decided since we were only in port until 2pm, we would head over to Altantis. Taxi was $4/pp each way. Walked around Atlantis for a while, saw the aquarium, then headed back towards the ship. Went to Diamonds International to get my free charm bracelet (ladies be sure to go to the Nassau Highlights talk Sunday evening to get your coupon for it) and we went back onboard the ship. Nassau really is my least favorite port. JMHO.

 

At 3pm, we headed to the Spa for our scheduled Rasul Couple’s Therapy appointment. I had read about this here on cruise critic and highly recommend it! Just DH & I, very nice. No pressure whatsoever afterwards to purchase any of the products we used. Cost was $91 for 50 minutes. If you want more details, feel free to email me. This was the first formal night. DH rented a tux, which was delivered to our stateroom Sunday evening. We don’t get to dress up very often at home, so we (OK, I) really enjoyed it! DH did the tux thing to please me and I appreciated it. Charo was the headliner. Her show was very good. We also went to the late night comedy show with Brad Zimmerman. Was not impressed with his show at all. Did chuckle a few times but that was about it. Oops, forgot this was the Captain’s Welcome Reception. Did enjoy a few glasses of champagne on the Royal Promenade but didn’t meet the Captain, Tor Olsen. We did find him to be very informative and quite funny throughout the week. I looked forward to his daily announcement at noon each day.

 

DAY 3 - AT SEA: We spent our first At Sea day relaxing. We had our Meet & Mingle at 1pm in Ellington’s. This was our "official" gathering. They did a number of drawings for door prizes. Jerry now needs to buy Liz a new computer for her aqua mouse! We had almost 80 registered for the M&M and about 30+ showed up. Once again, a great group of people that we enjoyed seeing throughout the cruise and spending time with. There were many activities onboard to take part in. We pretty much just hung out. After dinner, we did see the "Front Row" production show which was good.

 

DAY 4 - ST. THOMAS: Everyone had to go through Immigration before they could get off the ship. The line was long but set up to move pretty quickly through The Sound of Music Dining Room. We were off the ship just before 9am. Had booked online a tour with GODFREY. Once again, a great move! This was our first time in St. Thomas and we really enjoyed him. We went downtown to shop until 11:45am. He then picked us up and took us on a tour of the island. He shared some fascinating information about the island. Then up to the mountain top for a famous banana daiquiri. WAY TOO STRONG for me but DH enjoyed both his and mine! The island tour lasted almost two hours. We decided to go Sapphire Beach. Godfrey dropped us off around 2pm and came back to pick us up at 4pm. We really enjoyed the beach. It was clean and the water was very nice. DH did a little snorkeling but it wasn’t the best beach to do so. Still, it was a really nice place to spend part of the day and I’m glad we went. Godfrey had us back to the ship by 4:30pm. Did a little shopping at the shops right by the port. Went to Diamond’s International again to get my free charm for my bracelet.

 

We had tickets at 7pm for "Ice Under the Big Top". This was the only night we did not go to the Dining Room for dinner. We told our waiter Tuesday evening we wouldn’t be there. Seeing the Ice Show is a MUST!! As many have said, you have to see it. We ordered room service for dinner, which was very good.

 

DAY 5 - ST. MAARTEN: This port was, by far, our favorite! We took a cab over to Orient Beach just after 10am. Cost was $5/pp each way. Jerry was our taxi driver. He was very friendly and informative about the island. He dropped us off just past Pedro’s. Can’t for the life of me remember the name of the place we rented our chairs from. Anyhow, for $14, we got two cushioned lounge chairs, an umbrella and two rum punches. There is a restroom not far from there but the lady charges $1.50 to use it. The guy we rented to chairs from gave us tickets to use the restroom. If we needed to use it again, he just gave us more tickets. Had lunch at Pedro’s which was good. The Guavaberry daiquiri was really strong!

 

Orient Beach was beautiful. We loved it. The water was warm and crystal clear. We rented a waverunner for $40 for ½ hour. Was our first time doing that and really enjoyed it. Spent the day laying in the sun and just relaxing. Did see a few people completely nude. Not a big deal at all. At 3pm, Jerry was back to pick us up. Headed back to the downtown area to do a little shopping. Stopped in McDonald’s for a diet coke and loved the fact you could buy a BEER with your value meal, lol. Took the water taxi back to the pier from downtown. Did see a little ruckus involving a passenger and a local policeman. Not exactly sure what had happened but other passengers walking by indicated that the "gentleman" should be arrested!! Who in their right mind would ARGUE with a policeman in a FOREIGN COUNTRY?? Never did see that guy again, though. Had dinner in the Dining Room again and was in bed by 10pm. No shows for us tonight. I was wiped out from such an awesome day!

 

DAY 6 & 7 - AT SEA: We spent the last two days of the cruise just relaxing and taking it easy. DH did the rock climbing wall. We played putt-putt. Spent a lot of time laying out and working on the tans. Did Karaoke. Dressed again for the second formal night on Friday. Saturday, we had the Cruise Critic group over to our cabin for a final "farewell" drink before dinner. It was nice getting together one last time. We then attended the Enchanted Knights Parade on the Royal Promenade at 5:45pm. I thought it was just as entertaining as the first parade, just not as long. We went to the Farewell Variety Show in the Savoy Theater which was excellent! The comedian, Max Dolcelli was awesome and the Duo Ignatov, a couple from Russia, were outstanding! Great show to end our cruise with. Went back to the cabin to finish packing and get the suitcases out before midnight. Watched the Karaoke Idol finals on TV and went to bed one final time aboard.

 

DEBARKATION: We had our wake-up call set for 7am. Got up and showered. DH went to the Windjammer for breakfast. Our tags were Beige 2 and were called by 7:30. We headed off the ship by 7:45, had our luggage and met the driver of the Budget van at 8am. Used Budget’s Fast Break. We were in our rental and on the road back to Orlando by 8:20. Made it to Magic Kingdom at 9:30am where we spent the day. Our flight back home wasn’t until Monday morning. I had booked a room at the Ramada at the Airport. Got an online rate of $55/night. Wasn’t the classiest place but it was clean and close to the airport. Checked out at 8am Monday morning. Checked the luggage curbside with Airtran at MCO, dropped the rental off at Budget and was through security and at the gate by 8:45am. Everything was very smooth. Our flight home took off on time at 10:10am and we were back in Akron at 12:30pm. Have decided that we will only fly direct from now on!

 

As if it isn’t long enough already (Hey! I warned you), here are some final thoughts on the cruise:

 

CABIN: AFT BALCONY 7688 : This cabin was FANTASTIC!!! OK, the cabin itself was no big deal but the balcony was HUGE! Absolutely loved it. We had 21 people out there from our Cruise Critic roll call and we could have easily fit a few more. I’m attaching the link to my pictures below. You have to see them to believe it. We loved going out on the balcony and watching the wake and having the large opening on the port side was an added benefit. In fact, on our last day, Saturday, I moved the lounge chair over to that opening and laid out there in the afternoon. Was able to get full sun as we headed back to Port Canaveral. Our cabin steward was EXCELLENT! Can’t remember her name but she was so sweet and friendly, let alone doing a great job in our room. We tipped her extra on the final night. Also liked being able to check out Sea Pass balance each day on the TV in our cabin, along with ordering room service on the television.

 

WAITER : We sat at table 330 and our waiter was Saj and his assistant was Nan. They were both from India. Saj was, by far, the best waiter I have ever had on a cruise. He was friendly and made great recommendations for dinner each night. I have never been a big fan of Caesar Salad. He talked me into trying it and I was hooked! Had it each night at dinner. He, too, was tipped extra at the end of the cruise.

 

FOOD: The food in the Windjammer was fine, many, many choices for dinner and lunch too. Breakfast got old for me but then again, I’m not a big breakfast eater to begin with. DH loved breakfast each morning. The Dining Room food for dinner ranged from good to excellent. We had reservations at Chops for Friday night and cancelled them because we enjoyed our experience so much in the dining room with Saj. Room Service was also very good. Our longest wait was 30 minutes but that was right at dinner time on Wednesday. I loved the fact that you could get hot food, not just sandwiches. Tipped room service each time they came. Went to Johnny Rockets twice for lunch. Didn’t mind at all paying the $3.95 cover. Had a coupon in the C&A booklet for one freebie which we used. Thought the food was great and the entertainment even better!

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Covered it in my review but overall felt it was pretty good. Thought that Carnival offered more late night comedy but believe me, I’m not complaining. We enjoyed all the shows we attended.

 

SOLARIUM: Always crowded. Had hoped to sit by the adults only pool but could never get a chair. The chair hogs were in full force over there. Sitting by the main pools isn’t really our thing but there were plenty of chairs on the upper level by the pool, even on sea days. We found our spot up on the 13th deck forward, right above the Spa/Fitness Center. It was quiet and peaceful, though a bit windy. We would head up there each day to lay out. DH used to Fitness Center each day to run/work out. He was pleased with the facilities.

 

PASSENGERS: We specifically booked this date trying to avoid having tons of kids onboard. Before anyone gets offended, I love kids. I have three boys of my own (12, 9, and 6). But this vacation was for DH and I to get away from all the craziness of our everyday lives. We seemed to choose the right week to go. The crowd seemed to be much older for the most part. The ship did get pretty quiet each night by 11pm but that was OK with us. We weren’t looking to party into the wee hours of the morning. I’m sure had we gone two weeks earlier, it would have been a different story.

 

INTERNET: Bought a $25 package for 60 minutes just to check email and keep in touch with the boys back home. Had problems getting kicked offline. It was frustrating but I went to the Purser’s desk and they checked it out and credited my account. I appreciated the great customer service. Not a huge problem but I like that they handled it to my satisfaction.

 

CASINO: Made my donation. Won a few bucks on the slots but put it right back in. We’re not big gamblers but I did enjoy going in a couple different times throughout the cruise.

 

Overall, it was an outstanding cruise! We loved the Mariner. The crew that we came into contact were all extremely friendly and helpful. I truly believe that what really made this trip so great was meeting so many people from our roll call thread. Jerry and Liz will be lifelong friends, I’m sure. All the memories that we have will last forever. It was such a great group of people and to just see each other during the week and say "hi" was so nice. I enjoyed Karaoke and the Gala Buffet with Brenda and Renee when DH decided to go to bed early. Had it not been for them, I would have been by myself! It was so much fun to have people onboard that you "knew".

 

I, more than anything, wanted a relaxing vacation so that my husband and I could spend some quality time together just being a couple again and we got it! Was everything perfect? No, but I was so happy to be on vacation, I didn’t sweat the small stuff. And believe me, there was very little wrong with this cruise! We loved it so much, we booked the Mariner again for 9/17/06 for DH’s 40th birthday and this time, we’re bringing our two older boys with us. Booked cabin 7388 (same cabin only on the starboard side) and an inside for the boys. Can’t wait to go again.

 

If you have any questions, let me know. Here’s a link to my pictures:

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/mldamschroder

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dolphin-dan]

Since part of St Marrten is owned by the Netherlands do the same laws apply, that apply in Amsterdam?

 

Nice review also I can't wait to go!

[LLM]

Thank you for writing a wonderful review and for sharing your photos. They are great!

 

Lisa

[VikingRob]

Great review, thanks. Can you explain what is included in the Rasul Couple’s Therapy appointment and was that price for the 2 of you? Thinking DW may enjoy it.

 

Rob

[blueladybug]

Thank you so much for your review. We are going next May. Can't wait.

 

thanks again

:)

[brn2crz]

I am sick and tired of hearing about this darn balcony...I don't have it,I can't get it...Pleeeeeeeaseeeee stop torturing me about this people:D

 

 

Ok...just kidding....

 

I consider myself lucky to have the E1 that I do have.as balconies have been sold out,and gone up a couple hundred dollars (when they re-appear)

 

Seriously...glad you had a great time.

I am so bummed about Nassau.Its been uummmmm since 1982 since I have been there,and I loved it..But I nothing but bad about it now:o

Guess I will just walk the queens staircase,and let my son run around Atlantis.

 

Thanks for the great review..

(but really,enough about the balcony already:p )

[VikingRob]

Keep trying on the aft cabins - we got 1394 on the Mariner June 26th cruise about a month or 2 ago (we originally booked in January). Some one must have released it - I watched every day until it became available. Plus you can also be put on a wait list.

 

Rob

[BLUEICE]

Thanks for writing a great review of the Mariner.

 

I can hardly wait until September to see the ship for myself.

[tanneddiva]

Thanks for such a great review. We'll be sailing on her June 26th and can't wait!!

[Nessa1dc]

Thank you for the review. My husband and I went on the Mariner in Oct. 2004. We loved it as well.

 

 

 

BTW - The pictures are lovely.

[michelle319]

Rob, the cost for both of us was $91. Someone from the Spa takes the two of you to a small room that has a number of products on the counter. She goes over all the products and then tells you to lock the door after she leaves. There is a large shower off that room. There are exfoliators (sp) and facial cleansers to use. After showering, there is a large bowl of "mud" that you apply to each other and a facial mask. You then go into the sauna for twenty minutes. After twenty minutes, a gentle shower (sort of like a rainfall) comes from the ceiling of the sauna to rinse the mud away. You then can go back to the shower and use any number of products they have available (shampoo, conditioners, body gels, etc). The girl knocks on the door when you have 10 minutes left to let you know time is almost up. There was no one booked after us, so she told us to take our time. Very nice and relaxing. Not something we would do at home so it was fun:) Your DW would enjoy it!

[BANNERMAN]

Thanks for the fab review.

Was on Mariner last Sept and are going again this Sept

 

GER

[sederot]

What she said!!

 

Hey Michelle it's me.

 

Seriously, great trip, great folks. I couldn't add a thing. :D

[Cruising50's]

I agree with everything that you said in your review. My husband, daughter, son-in-law, son, and I loved every minute of being on the May 1, 2005 Mariner of the Sea cruise. It was awesome and outstanding. This was our 18th cruise, and 5th RCCL cruise. I admit that we were a little reluctant about going after reading some of the comments made on the boards, but we certainly had no problems with the ship, staff, food, or activities. It was a cruise to remember, and we are booking it again in December for our 30th anniversary. You hit the nail on the head when you made comments about the ice show, parades, dining room, and nightly shows. We were wowed by the whole experience and highly recommend it to anyone. We are leaving this Sunday on Rhapsody out of Galveston along with some friends. We love Rhapsody, but I wouldn't have minded rebooking Mariner again !!!