Live from Mariner of the Seas b2b 9/13-9/20

[Rogueperson]

12 hours ago, flamingos said:

Nope - walkoffs were leaving the ship by 7:30. We were in our car in the parking garage at 7:59.

 

Customs was ridiculously easy - they had two lines. One was for people who used birth certificates; the other for people with passports.  As we stopped to pull out passports out of the bag, they told us to keep walking.  The ask you to pull down your make, they take your photo, and that's it.  No Customs declaration form, not stopping at the desk.  You're done!

Nice!  This happened in Vancouver for me.  I never showed my passport to anyone when i disembarked.  I just walked out more or less.  This was in 2019...before the dark times...

[kkm1228]

I read through your posts and never saw a question about masks? Are they required anytime you’re not outside? Do you have to wear them in the promenade? Sailing on FOS in a few weeks. 

[spj8705]

Are they still doing The Quest? Also do you know if they are doing the belly flop contest?

[flamingos]

2 hours ago, kkm1228 said:

I read through your posts and never saw a question about masks? Are they required anytime you’re not outside? Do you have to wear them in the promenade? Sailing on FOS in a few weeks. 

Masking indoors was ~90% compliance, but only saw staff calling people out occasionally.   Lots of people climbing the stairs with them on, so that wasn't an issue.  We had one guy get into the elevator with us, no mask, and that was uncomfortable.

Edited September 23, 2021 by flamingos
Forgot something!

[Scotty G]

On 9/20/2021 at 9:10 PM, flamingos said:

 As we stopped to pull out passports out of the bag, they told us to keep walking.  They ask you to pull down your mask, (they take your photo), and that's it.  

Actually they are using facial recognition software to call up your passport that they scanned during the boarding process.

Also we saw several folks being interviewed  by Customs when we were departing Port Canaveral. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by Scotty G
correct sp

[flamingos]

11 hours ago, Scotty G said:

Actually they are using facial recognition software to call up your passport that they scanned during the boarding process.

Also we saw several folks being interviewed  by Customs when we were departing Port Canaveral. 

We figured that, but we have never seen it in action.  I suppose they have a limited number of faces to match.

 

One of the agents was eyeing my beach bag pretty hard, but I smiled at her and she smiled back and I walked on.  They were definitely paying attention.  🙂

[jam19872016]

On 9/20/2021 at 9:40 AM, SummerBeee said:

Thanks Jam for an excellent review of restaurants on Mariner. I’ve got a b2b2b2b on her soon, 3 legs with a friend and one solo. I may just book a UDP for my solo leg.

UDP gets a big thumps up from me 🙂 Thanks for reading along.

On 9/20/2021 at 9:48 AM, RFerrington said:

This surprises me. I thought everyone was required to remain in their cabins until they were called to disembark.

They are supposed to, but reading and following directions is hard for some people lol.

[jam19872016]

On 9/21/2021 at 9:21 AM, keyboardjunkie said:

Jam:

 

It was great sharing this adventure with you both virtually and in person!

 

Madeline

It was great meeting you too! I hope you enjoyed your last leg! Wish I could have stayed on too but unfortunately that darn four letter word, work, had to rear its ugly head lol.

On 9/20/2021 at 10:22 AM, wave2me said:

They called b2bs at 8:30 am.  Had to wait for one family to get off the ship.  We are back in cabin by 10.

 

1,600 on next sailing.

If capacity keeps going up perhaps Windjammer will reopen for dinner soon. Getting close to that 50% mark. It seems lower today than the 1300 last weekend, but I boarded early so perhaps once every streams in it will match or exceed that.

[jam19872016]

On 9/22/2021 at 8:04 PM, spj8705 said:

Are they still doing The Quest? Also do you know if they are doing the belly flop contest?

Neither activity was offered on Mariner. I do not recall it on Freedom in July either. 

 

On 9/22/2021 at 6:11 PM, kkm1228 said:

I read through your posts and never saw a question about masks? Are they required anytime you’re not outside? Do you have to wear them in the promenade? Sailing on FOS in a few weeks. 

Of course neither of us did a scientific study, but I disagree with the 90% assessment of mask compliance. I would put it at 99%. It was very very rare to see someone without a mask on when they were required to. I forgot twice when leaving vaccinated areas and was quickly stopped and reminded to put it on perhaps a bit too curtly but whatever because I was in the wrong. Accidently, but they don't know that. The exception seemed to be late night think midnight and later, masks seemed to come off and nothing was really said.

 

I'm along for the ride, whatever the cruise lines ask me to do I will do. I appreciate that Royal is upfront about their strict mask rules whereas both my cruises on Carnival had surprise last minute changes for the worse that I was not expecting. 

 

I'll take the bad with the good, lowered capacity is an amazing thing! 

[jam19872016]

Work has kept me pretty busy this week. I am back on board Mariner for another weekend trip. I won't be going live because I don't really have anything to add. Just a chill weekend doing what I did last weekend - overeating and taking it easy lol.

 

I did want to post my final post cruise thoughts real quick though giving my overall opinion of the ship and the cruise. 

 

Summary:

 

Dining:

 

I had the Ultimate Dining Plan which I think is a great option to have. I am not a fan of the dynamic pricing Royal uses but I can see how it is a great business strategy allowing them to quickly adjust to supply and demand. I believe I paid $29 per day but I could be off by a couple dollars either way. 

 

With that I was entitled to unlimited dining at Chops and Jamie's and a $35 credit at Izumi Sushi. I could also have done the hibachi for a $10 upcharge which I did not chose to do. Johnny Rockets is also included as well as Playmakers up to $25. With the portion sizes at playmakers, if your order exceeds $25 you are probably not eating again the rest of the day lol.

 

My favorite option was Izumi and it is probably the only of the restaraunts I would pay list price for. The sushi was all delicious and the service was top notch. They have a prie fixe option for $34.99 that includes one small plate, two large plates, and a dessert. I am not sure if I could eat that much so have not tried it but it is a great deal and included in the $35 dining limit.

 

My next favorite was Jamie's. I had read a lot of mixed reviews on Jamie's and was not real excited about the menu. Giovonni's menu seems much much more extensive and I honestly wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised. Almost every dish that I tried here was amazing. It was not authentic Italian by any means, but I don't know that I have ever had authentic Italian on a cruise ship. The service here was also top notch. Without the dining plan, dinner here is $44.95 which is an insane amount of money to pay in addition to your cruise fare and I would only recommend it with the dining plan, or occasionally for a special celebration.

 

Rounding out the specialty restaurants was chops. It was much much improved from my experience on Freedom. The quality of the food was noticeably better but overall I find the menu lacking in variety or creativity. At $50 I would be disappointed to pay that much on land and on a ship, forget about it. This is a dining plan only restaurant and I think it shows in the capacity in the restaurant. The times I was there I only saw a couple other tables occupied. Service was adequate, but paled in comparison to every other restaurant onboard.

 

Another good option that is included in UDP is Playmakers. Everything I ate here was good but the portion sizes are outrageous. I'm not usually a fan of upcharge bar food on cruise ships, but this might warrant an a la carte visit once in a while because the food is seriously good and a huge step up from typical cruise ship bar food.

 

Johnny Rocket's is good, but seriously only something I would do with UDP. I'm not sure the price but I believe it was $8 or $9 and more typical of a cruise ship bar food type restaurant.

 

Outside of the dining plan I only ate at the Dog House, and breakfast at windjammer and once at the MDR. 

 

The hog dog stand was really good and a great option for a nice lunch time pool snack. 

 

Breakfast at Windjammer was typical buffet fare. I am not a big breakfast fan and rarely rave about breakfast so take my lack of enthusiasm here with a grain of salt.

 

Breakfast in the MDR was simply not good. The food tasted bad. There is no other way to put it. It was bad. You may take that with a grain of salt too but I was very disappointed with my food here. If I make it again I will stick to something simple like an omelet.

 

I like that the UDP is an option and look forward to getting it on future Royal cruises, but without it I think I would not enjoy the dining onboard. My memories of MDR experiences on Majesty are that the food was consistently not good. I know that is not necessarily an indication of the food quality across the line and will keep an open mind when I do make it back on a Royal cruise without the UDP.
 

[jam19872016]

Entertainment:

 

Our CD was Marcelo and I would say he is the only non Carnival CD that has ever made a lasting impression on me. He seemed to be everywhere while at the same time not being overbearing with constant announcements. 

 

The comedians were good although I only made it to their opening night show and not their main set. I enjoyed what I caught of them.

 

The ice show was ok. This was my first time attending an ice show and I thought it was pretty cool. Once the novelty wears off, I don't think this kind of thing would hold my attention but it was very neat to watch for the first time on a cruise.

 

I missed the other shows but they also had a stage production and an Elton John performance that seemed to be well received listening to the comments from people who attended.

 

If there was one area I thought could use some improvement, it would be afternoon activities. I would love an afternoon matinee maybe on the big screen or even better in the theater. I am very chill and easily entertained just watching a movie or some tv. But there were no options for in cabin movies, even for a fee, and the TV selection makes Carnival's TV channels look like a premium offering. I understand nobody is on the ship in coco cay, but it seemed like everybody was on in Nassau so a little more to do would have made the cruise just a little bit better.

 

Overall I was very happy with the entertainment, just the one small area that could use some improvement.

 

Service:

 

Service on this ship was excellent all around! The crew are very upbeat and excited that we are cruising again. It is truly amazing how they can have such an enthusiastic attitude working in already difficult conditions made even more difficult with all the uncertainty and protocols going on right now.

 

Overall:

 

Overall this was a great cruise and I find myself really enjoying the product that Royal Caribbean provides. I am mostly a Carnival cruiser but I have sailed a few other lines. While there are things I liked about each of them, none of them have really offered a great enough experience for me to ever see myself coming back again and again the way I do with Carnival. Royal has really changed that and I do look forward to many repeat visits with them, especially with the amazing loyalty program they offer that puts everyone else to shame.

 

Thanks for reading along with my review everyone. As I mentioned I am not going live this weekend, but I do plan on doing a live from Odyssey next weekend. Until next time, bon voyage!

[cynt]

Thanks for your live reports! I am so jealous you board the Odyssey next weekend. WTW!!! I need to work where you work. I am in the wrong business. 😁

[jam19872016]

13 minutes ago, cynt said:

Thanks for your live reports! I am so jealous you board the Odyssey next weekend. WTW!!! I need to work where you work. I am in the wrong business. 😁

Flexible/generous pto policy is literally the only thing going for my job. Other than that I honestly think I would have quit years ago.

 

Odyssey was dumb luck. I was booked on Liberty ages ago on a casino comp. It was 6 days which I hate because it uses a full week off from work without giving a full week of cruising. My friend liked it though because she was comped a grand suite for the sailing so that was what we chose. We each have our own room so double double points for me and double triple for her in her fancy suite 😎

 

I don't know if I would have kept my booking tbh but when they switched to their new ship I gave in. The 8 day would be better but I am happy with six as its very rare at my play level to get a comp on such a new ship 🙂

 

[Romney]

can you do private excusions in Italy?