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29 Jan Mariner of the Seas pictures posted

glgolfer

By glgolfer,
in Royal Caribbean International

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glgolfer

glgolfer

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IC4U - The Navigator is still our favorite, but the Mariner is much prettier than the Explorer. The decor is understated and a lot of earth tones. My wife liked the decorations in the Concierge Lounge on the Navigator better than any of the others we have been in, so that influences her decision. Also, we had a JS on the hump for the first time (9618) on the Navigator and it was only 28 steps from the CL and her morning smoked salmon and afternoon caviar. We were in 9614 this time, so it was a few steps farther.

 

The service overall was right up there with the best we have had on any ship. Amalia was an excellent server and she and her assistant Carlos worked better together than any we have had before.

We gave Stephen $20 the first time we saw him because of some requests and our cabin was cleaned almost immediately after we left in the morning and was always perfect when we came back in the evening.

Cesar in the Concierge Lounge was wonderful. A great personality, always happy and knew everybodys names after the first night. His helper, Emerson, also knew our names almost immediately and had my wifes drink ready for her when we walked in after the 2nd night. I don't drink anymore, but he always asked if he could get me something.

Everybody on the staff we had anything to do with was very professional, always had a smile, always said hello even if just in passing and could not do enough to help.

We have found RCIs service to be equal to and mostly better than any other cruisline we have been on including Crystal and Cunard.

 

The new menu is IMHO better than it was for a couple years. Since they're closing the dining room on port days, not changing the lunch menu is not a problem. Overall, the food was good to very good. I tried the sirloin available every night and it was cooked med rare, was tender and flavorful. I had it the night I also had the rack of lamb as they still only give you 3 small chops, so I knew it wouldn't be too much.

 

We've been cruising with RCI since 1987 and have been thru the ups & downs with their food. I'm glad to see they're trying to get better than they were for a while after 9/11 (see ranch steak)and seem to be mostly succeding. It's much better than on NCL and Hal but not as good as Crystal.

Can't compare to the Queen Mary 2's dining room as we were in a Princess Grill cabin and did not eat in the Britannica dining room.

I'm still trying to take the time to write a review. With any luck, I'll do it in the next couple days.

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1corona4u

1corona4u

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IC4U - The Navigator is still our favorite, but the Mariner is much prettier than the Explorer. The decor is understated and a lot of earth tones. My wife liked the decorations in the Concierge Lounge on the Navigator better than any of the others we have been in, so that influences her decision. Also, we had a JS on the hump for the first time (9618) on the Navigator and it was only 28 steps from the CL and her morning smoked salmon and afternoon caviar. We were in 9614 this time, so it was a few steps farther.

 

The service overall was right up there with the best we have had on any ship. Amalia was an excellent server and she and her assistant Carlos worked better together than any we have had before.

We gave Stephen $20 the first time we saw him because of some requests and our cabin was cleaned almost immediately after we left in the morning and was always perfect when we came back in the evening.

Cesar in the Concierge Lounge was wonderful. A great personality, always happy and knew everybodys names after the first night. His helper, Emerson, also knew our names almost immediately and had my wifes drink ready for her when we walked in after the 2nd night. I don't drink anymore, but he always asked if he could get me something.

Everybody on the staff we had anything to do with was very professional, always had a smile, always said hello even if just in passing and could not do enough to help.

We have found RCIs service to be equal to and mostly better than any other cruisline we have been on including Crystal and Cunard.

 

The new menu is IMHO better than it was for a couple years. Since they're closing the dining room on port days, not changing the lunch menu is not a problem. Overall, the food was good to very good. I tried the sirloin available every night and it was cooked med rare, was tender and flavorful. I had it the night I also had the rack of lamb as they still only give you 3 small chops, so I knew it wouldn't be too much.

 

We've been cruising with RCI since 1987 and have been thru the ups & downs with their food. I'm glad to see they're trying to get better than they were for a while after 9/11 (see ranch steak)and seem to be mostly succeding. It's much better than on NCL and Hal but not as good as Crystal.

Can't compare to the Queen Mary 2's dining room as we were in a Princess Grill cabin and did not eat in the Britannica dining room.

I'm still trying to take the time to write a review. With any luck, I'll do it in the next couple days.

 

Thanks Paul. Your pix and perspective on the ship have made me put it in the consideration file. I have not previously thought about it, because a lot of reviews from the Mariner seem to be bad, but this gives me hope.:)

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CruiserInKy

CruiserInKy

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1Corona4U - I too was on this cruise and I would strongly encourage you to sail the Mariner. This is my second cruise in 10 yrs (last one was on the Sovereign) and the bar has certainly been raised since my previous experience. At 40 yrs old, I appreciate the ship, the features, the shows, the food, and the overall experience with all RCI people much more now than I did back then.

 

Unless you're a very picky person and have unreasonably high expectations, then I'm confident you won't be disappointed. In the famous words of Nike....."just do it"! You'll love it!

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1corona4u

1corona4u

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1Corona4U - I too was on this cruise and I would strongly encourage you to sail the Mariner. This is my second cruise in 10 yrs (last one was on the Sovereign) and the bar has certainly been raised since my previous experience. At 40 yrs old, I appreciate the ship, the features, the shows, the food, and the overall experience with all RCI people much more now than I did back then.

 

Unless you're a very picky person and have unreasonably high expectations, then I'm confident you won't be disappointed. In the famous words of Nike....."just do it"! You'll love it!

 

Thanks! The NOS is my fav, and maybe that can change.;) I still think the NOS decor slightly has the edge though, but the Mariner is prettier than I recalled. With the NOS possibly going to Europe and the west coast, this leaves me with an option for a Voyager class.:)

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Barklee

Barklee

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Paul,

 

Great pictures. I didn't realize it was you until I saw Judy's picture in your webshot album. Cheryl, the kids and I are going on the Mariner western Caribbean on August 13th. You should join us, if you're not already on another cruise that week. I lost your e-mail address, but will get it from Wes and drop you a line.

 

Randy

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glgolfer

glgolfer

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My pick for the prettiest ship is the Jewel of the Seas with the Navigator and Mariner a close second. Our first cruise was on the Song of Norway in 1987. None of the ships since then have come close to the decor. It was really beautiful with all the authentic Norwegian art and decorations.

 

Csbenedict - The Camera is an Olympus C765 Ultra Zoom with 4.0 Megapixel and a 10X Optical Zoom. It's a couple years old, so don't know if they make it any more. At the lowest density (640x480) I can get over 2500 pics on the card and at the highest (2288x1712) it's about 270. Most of the Mariner pics were at 640x480. I bought this one mainly because of the 10X Zoom.

We have another older Olympus that my wife uses that is 3X, but she really likes it. All the pictures on Webshots are a combination of hers and mine. Hard to tell the difference except for the obvious zoom ones.

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glgolfer

glgolfer

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Randy - We'll be in Illinois around that time for Judy's family reunion, so have to pass on that cruise. We'll just have to wait patiently until the Freedom in October.

We were disappointed that Wess and Sandy had to cancel. We were looking forward to seeing them.

You'll love the ship. What kind of cabin are you getting.

 

Wess has our real address, but you can use thirdparty@tampabay.rr.com and I'll send you the other one.

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jimmyatc

jimmyatc

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For anyone interested in the Mariner of the Seas Western Caribbean, pictures are now posted on Webshots.

 

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

 

Hi Paul,

 

Absolutely fantastic pictures!! We are going on our first cruise (in a JS too :) ) in May on the Mariner, and now we are really pumped!!! Thanks for the pictures of the JS. I was really worried about the cabin size, but your pictures have put us at ease with that :D

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glgolfer

glgolfer

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Linda & Jeff - The cubans were picked up after permission by the coast Guard as it was a life threatening situation with the squalls coming. Otherwise they would have been given water and left on the raft until the Coast Guard picked them up. They were given food, water and medical attention in the medical facility and the Coast Guard picked them up from the ship about 1830 EST. I'm sure they were sent back to Cuba as they had not touched U.S. soil.

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JKSOUTH

JKSOUTH

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I have a question....can the concierge get tickets for the first tender to coco cay? We would like to go early and come back early.

We have a gs and are looking forward to our 2nd time on the marner for our 50th ann.

are they really closing the dining room while in port? I really don't like the buffet but I suppose room service will be fine, though limited.

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glgolfer

glgolfer

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The Concierge on the mariner did not have tender tickets. They weren't used for Labadee and I would imagine it would be the same in Coco Cay. They did use them in Cozumel, but everybody was off very quickly as the tenders took anywhere from 250 to 300+ people at a time.

 

The dining room was open in Labadee, but not in any of the other ports. They've been closing the dining room in ports for at least the last 2 years.

Since they have cut back on staff, if gives the ones left more free time. And the dining room was generally underused in port anyway.

It's just closed for lunch, still open for breakfast and dinner.

 

Johnny Rockets is also open at 1300 and the Cafe Promenade is open 24 hours. The croissant sandwiches in the Cafe are excellent.

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JKSOUTH

JKSOUTH

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I had forgotten about the cafe in the promenade! that will do for us! last trip in may 2004 the dining room was open. When we went on the grandure about 6 years ago the bbq on the island was buzzing....with flies! as a senior I am so afraid of getting sick!!! We will most likely get a coupon for johnny rockets. We went there last trip and really enjoyed it. Thanks for your help.

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