Review: Mariner of the Seas, 8/20 Sailing (Long)

[zwanzig]

Background

This was my 20th cruise (10th on RCI). I am in my late twenties and travelled from Denver, CO to Florida to meet up with my parents at their home near Daytona, from which we drove to Port Canaveral. This was our first cruise on a Voyager class ship, and my first cruise on RCI since the Grandeur in 2000. My most recent cruises were on HAL and Princess, so I was interested to see how the Voyager class experience compared to my experiences on the other two lines.

 

 

Embarkation

Driving to Port Canaveral from just north of Daytona Beach took around an hour and a half and was a straight shot down I-95. The convenience of the port and not having to deal with South Florida congestion was a large plus in and of itself, but we found the whole embarkation process once we arrived at the port to be the easiest and smoothest we had ever experienced.

 

We arrived in Port Canaveral around 11:30am and were on board by noon. Driving East on FL-528 towards the port, we caught our first glimpse of the Mariner, which dwarfed the other two ships in port: the Carnival Sensation and Disney Wonder. The roads to the port were well-marked and there was no confusion finding the correct terminal.

 

RCI's terminal was well-designed, and had some nice touches - for instance, I loved the large oceanlife murals on the sides of the parking garage. The longest wait we had was for a place to park while we unloaded the car, and that wait was only a minute or two. Everyone at the terminal was exceptionally friendly and helpful. After going through security and going upstairs to check in, we entered the priority line to check in, but at that point it was unnecessary - there was no line and therefore no wait to check in. A few minutes later, we were walking up the gangway and on to the ship!

 

Lunch was of course being served at the Windjammer, so we went there to grab a bite to eat while waiting for access to our stateroom. We finished lunch shortly before 1pm and were pleased that they opened the doors to the stateroom hallways a few minutes early.

 

 

Stateroom

Our stateroom was 9606, a port side Junior Suite just forward of the "hump" and not far from the aft staircases/lifts and Concierge lounge. We loved the location of this cabin and had no complaints about the room. We found it to be more spacious than we could have imagined (we joked that our very first staterooms ever on the Nordic Prince could fit inside the JS twice! :D ), and it very comfortably accommodated 3 adults.

 

The bathroom was a standard cruise bathroom, but it was a bit larger than usual because of the full-sized tub. It was nicely appointed with shampoo, soap, body wash, a body scrubber, shower cap, cotton balls, and q-tips.

 

The walk-in closet was a definite plus, since there were three of us. We had plenty of shelf and hanger space, and there was room in the closet to store my large suitcase without interfering with access to the shelves or taking up otherwise usable space. (My parents' suitcases stored under their beds.)

 

The balcony was long and had two deck chairs, a small table, and a lounge chair. The balcony felt mostly private, but when standing by the rail and looking aft, I could (and did :) ) wave to the folks on the hump cabin balconies.

 

The room itself was very comfortable - the chaise lounge with the ottomon was a wonderful place to sit and nap or read. I slept on a fold-out sofa bed, and it was more comfortable than the ones I slept on on the Caribbean Princess and Zuiderdam, but still was not terribly comfortable. There was a small curtain that could be pulled to offer a tiny bit of privacy between the main beds and the fold-out sofa area.

 

Our stateroom attendant was Odir from Costa Rica, and he did a great job of keeping the room clean and of leaving towel animals on the beds to greet us when we came back from dinner.

 

 

Food

After reading reviews on this board, I was a bit unsure of what to expect in the food department on this ship. I went in with low expectations and found that they were unnecessary: the food was great!

 

We ate in the Windjammer every day for breakfast and lunch, and I was impressed by the variety and quality of the food there. On past cruises we would try to eat lunch in the dining room, but we found the Windjammer to be more enjoyable because of the variety and the fact that you could sit at your own table every day, rather than being placed at large tables in the "open seating" dining room format. The lunch offerings always included several hot meat dishes, vegetable sides, hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza, Asian selections, and, most importantly, several different desserts from which to choose! We found that it was best to eat lunch at 11:30am - especially on sea days - because it was not as crowded as it seemed to get around noon.

 

We had the C&A coupon for Johnny Rockets, but we liked the food and variety in Windjammer so much that we didn't make it and didn't miss it, either.

 

Every evening we ate in the Rhapsody in Blue dining room. When we embarked, we were assigned to a table of 6, but on the first day we put in a request with the maître d' to be re-assigned to a table for 3 (check the Cruise Compass on the first day - it will tell you when/where to meet the maître d' to request table changes). On the next day, we received our new assignment of table 274, a table for four near the Melodies overflow room. Our waiter was Nigel from Grenada, assistant waiter was Agung from Indonesia, and head waitress was Elena from Romania.

 

The dining room experience hadn't changed much since my last cruise with RCI. The waiters still sang on certain nights, and on Caribbean night we were given the opportunity to dance the dreaded Macarena. :rolleyes:

 

Overall, I was very pleased with the food and dining experiences onboard, and as I write this, my stomach is asking me why I'm not in the Windjammer feeding it lunch!

 

 

Entertainment

We only made it to a couple of shows: the welcome aboard show, the Platters, the ice show, and the Pure Energy 80s review.

 

The first three shows were very entertaining, and I meant to go see the adult comedian, Don Gavin, at his late night performance, but I sadly didn't make it. The routine he did at the welcome aboard show was very funny.

 

The ice show was, by far, the best show we saw all week. I do not know enough about ice skating to critique the performance from that aspect, but as far as performances, choreography, music, and costumes go, this show was top notch. The performers were in character throughout the whole show and displayed a fabulous level of energy. I won't give anything away about the show itself, but I will say that this show is an absolute must-see, and not just for the novelty of watching ice skaters at sea.

 

The Pure Energy 80s review was the weakest of all of the shows that I saw. Granted, the performance we saw was the very first performance of this show, but overall the show ironically lacked the "energy" its title promised. Choreography was out of sync, soloists were flat, and the background vocals were canned. I think that even if this show had been better broken in, I would have found it to be weak. Usually these types of shows, unless the singing and dancing is really great, don't do much for me at all. Next to the tight, crisp performance of the ice skaters, this show has a long way to come.

 

 

Activities

Here is a summary of some of the activities I did while onboard:

 

Trivia: My parents and I played trivia twice while on the ship (our team name was "Friends of Henry"), but we found it to be a bit uninspired. At least three of the same questions were asked in both sessions that we attended. Usually we are big trivia players, so maybe if we had gone to more of the games we would have gotten in to it more.

 

Gym: While onboard I used the stationary bikes in the gym and attended the Early Morning Stretch, Aerobics in Motion, and Walk-a-Mile activities. The gym equipment was plentiful and in good condition. I would have preferred that the bikes had a better view through the windows, but the treadmills were given that luxury instead. :D The Early Morning Stretch classes I attended were conducted by Ross. They were a light version of some yoga poses and a good way to rejuvenate my back after sleeping on a fold-out sofa bed. Aerobics in Motion was lead by Ursula for the session I attended, and I found it to not be extremely challenging, but it definitely got my heart pumping and was a good workout.

 

Crayola Art Workshop: My mom and I didn't know what to expect here, but all this was was a "coloring" session for big kids like us. We were presented with a photocopy of a drawing of a gecko, given a box of cray pas, and told to stay within the lines. The cruise staff who lead this activity told us she thought it was stupid, and was really very "ho hum" about it. We loved Becky on this cruise, but overall we thought some of the cruise director staff were not a lot of fun. Sure it's kind of silly to lead adults in "coloring", but with the right attitude, it could have been turned into something more entertaining and fun for everyone.

 

Explorer Academy - Learn to Play Steel Drums: This activity was actually kind of neat, in my opinion. They set up 4 tenor steel drums in Ellington's and gave you a sheet telling you which notes to hit to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." While it was obviously not a comprehensive lesson in steel drum technique, it was a neat experience to get to play the drums and to make some music. I didn't make it to the "Learn to Play Keyboard" session that was held later in the cruise, but I like this sort of activity and wish there were more of them on the daily planner.

 

Bingo - Another disappointment. Cards were $25 for a kids pack (a pack of three cards per game) and $35 for a pack of 6 per game. With daily non-snowball jackpot payouts at only about $200, this didn't seem like a very good deal. On the back of the ice show ticket, you get a coupon for a free bonus ticket with the purchase of any pack. Well, be warned that a "kids pack", despite its name, does not count as a "pack". So to get your bonus ticket, you have to purchase one of the $35 packs. Maybe I would have liked Bingo better if I had won. Heehee.

 

Captain's Corner - This was a really neat event. Capt. Johnny, Becky, and the heads of Hotel Operations and Food Operations held an informal question and answer session in the Savoy on the last day of the cruise. I love hearing about the behind-the-scenes stuff, so it was great to have such an open discussion of life and operations onboard the Mariner. I highly recommend going to this session, whether you have questions or not.

 

 

Disembarkation

Disembarkation was quick and painless. There was no line exiting the ship, and while I wasn't in a hurry to leave, it sure beat the long lines I was used to from my last Princess and HAL cruises. It didn't take long at all to go through customs and get to the luggage carousels.

 

But all of that great time we made in the first parts of the process was wasted here: we spent an hour waiting for our luggage to appear on the carousels! I don't know what the hold up was, but our suitcases were not together and it took at least 30 minutes for the first one to show up.

 

Despite the long wait, I still felt that the disembarkation process as a whole was very smooth and, as with embarkation, was far better than any other we had ever experienced.

 

 

Miscellaneous

- My 400 speed film got ruined by going through the x-ray machine at the terminal on embarkation day. If you bring film on board, see if you can have them inspect it by hand. Some of my photos came out, but most are very grainy and some completely grey.

 

- I got one of my rolls of film developed on board, and it was $3 to have the film processed, $15 to have the photos burned to a CD, and $0.40 per print. I got one of the CDs, but I was not impressed with the quality of the scans. They are what you would expect if you got a CD made at a one-hour shop at Walgreens, and in my opinion it was not worth the $15.

 

- My Sprint phone had a signal for most, if not all, of the cruise. I have free roaming, so I was able to use the onboard roaming service for free in St. Maarten and at sea (didn't try at CocoCay). St. Thomas has excellent in-network Sprint phone service, including their Vision data service. I was able to use my phone as a modem and had faster-than-dialup speed access to the Internet from the comfort of my own balcony. Sweet!

 

- Though I really liked the free Internet access that Princess gives its higher-level Circle Club members, I felt that RCI did a lot more to make the Diamond-level C&A members feel welcome and special during the cruise. While on board we received a coupon booklet, a plate of petit fours, a picture frame, and a postcard book. These are all little things, but the constant attention really reinforced their appreciation of the repeat guests. Even Captain Johnny made sure to stress that it is because of us that Project Genesis is underway. RCI seems to really do a good job in this department.

 

 

Summary

In all, this week was a very relaxing and a wonderful way to spend 7 days. The food was excellent, the cabin accomodations were comfortable, and the ship's staff was incredibly - and genuinely - friendly.

 

As far as ships go, I think I personally prefer smaller ships with fewer passengers and more aesthetically-pleasing decor. I found the crowds during peak lunchtime at Windjammer, in the Promenade, and at the Gala Buffet to be daunting. Also, I don't need alternative restaurants for $20/night, Johnny Rockets, Ben & Jerrys, etc. to have a good time. I love being on a ship and at sea for what it is, and none of those "extras" really help me to feel that closeness to the sea and the experience that makes cruising so special to me.

 

But I am glad that I tried a Voyager class ship, very happy to have met Capt. Johnny and Becky, and am still two-days later suffering from major cruise withdrawal - the true sign of an excellent vacation. :)

 

 

Thanks for reading my review - I hope you're still awake!

 

I'll try to answer any questions that anyone may have...

[DonnaK]

We were on this sailing with you and our experiences and opinions match yours almost exactly! I'm not sure if we met at the Meet and Mingle b/c I'm so bad with remembering screen names verses real names. Anyway, it was a wonderful cruise and I'll be posting my review (which will be as long, I'm sure) shortly - I hope I can do as well as you did in your review.

[concal]

Hey, thanks for the review. I'll be on the Mariner in 12 days. I have a question about ShipShape Bucks. Did you accumulate any and if so what did you use them to get?

 

Thanks,

Connie

[zwanzig]

We were on this sailing with you and our experiences and opinions match yours almost exactly! I'm not sure if we met at the Meet and Mingle b/c I'm so bad with remembering screen names verses real names. Anyway, it was a wonderful cruise and I'll be posting my review (which will be as long, I'm sure) shortly - I hope I can do as well as you did in your review.

Hi Donna! I did see you at the Meet & Mingle, but I didn't get a chance to meet you. Sorry! I wasn't sitting too far away from you - I was a few chairs down from Big Al & co. and I was with my mom and dad - but we didn't stay for very long.

 

I look forward to reading your review when you get it posted!! :)

[Gator0178]

Thanks for the review. We were on her in April and miss her greatly!! We have 59 more days until our next cruise on the Sovereign! I feel your pain on the cruise withdraw.:D

[zwanzig]

Hey, thanks for the review. I'll be on the Mariner in 12 days. I have a question about ShipShape Bucks. Did you accumulate any and if so what did you use them to get?

 

Thanks,

Connie

Hi Connie,

 

Yes we accumulated ShipShape dollars for the stretch and aerobics classes, as well as for the walk-a-mile. It seemed that very regularly they would run out of dollars at the end of the classes, so sometimes I had to go back to the gym to get the ones they owed me later on in the day, but it was never a problem. I only did walk-a-mile once, and the guy handing out the dollars disappeared, so if you do that, make sure you find the person with the dollars so you can get your hard-earned ShipShape cash. :D

 

At the end of the cruise, you could cash in your dollars for a tote bag (~$16), t-shirt (~$12), water bottle, towel, lanyard, visor, or keychain ($1). Unfortunately, I don't recall all of the prices, and the prices I listed are guesses. Maybe someone else has a better memory for this. :)

 

An interesting thing is that we had tons of ShipShape dollars from years ago that are very old style (yellow w/ the old ShipShape logo on them), and they accepted those as well as the new style. So if anyone has some old-school ShipShape dollars, bring them on board - you can still use them!

 

Hope this helps!

[zwanzig]

Thanks for the review. We were on her in April and miss her greatly!! We have 59 more days until our next cruise on the Sovereign! I feel your pain on the cruise withdraw.:D

It's hard to come back to real life, that's for sure. But at least your countdown is ticking! 59 days will be here before you know it. :)

[whitsmom]

Thanks for the great review. We leave Nov 12th so I am getting excited the more I read. We have our first balcony this time, which I am told that we will be spoiled to a balcony from now on - Hey, I can live with that :D.

 

We have a wireless card installed on our laptop, so are there any wireless stations (areas) on the ship for us to use it?

 

Did you do any excursions in St Thomas and St Martin?

[concal]

I have one ShipShape dollar that I kept from my first cruise in October. It is yellow. Back then I did not know about this site :eek: and no one explained what they were good for. This time I am going to take advantage of it since they are free.

 

I have so much more knowledge now that I did last year thanks you people like you!:D

 

Connie

 

 

 

An interesting thing is that we had tons of ShipShape dollars from years ago that are very old style (yellow w/ the old ShipShape logo on them), and they accepted those as well as the new style.

Hope this helps!

[zwanzig]

Thanks for the great review. We leave Nov 12th so I am getting excited the more I read. We have our first balcony this time, which I am told that we will be spoiled to a balcony from now on - Hey, I can live with that :D.

Hi whitsmom. Yep, you'll be spoiled rotten after this one! :) I can think of worse things, for sure!

 

We have a wireless card installed on our laptop, so are there any wireless stations (areas) on the ship for us to use it?

I didn't look into this while on board, but here is a thread from earlier today that has some info that may be useful:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=404432

 

Hope that helps!

 

Did you do any excursions in St Thomas and St Martin?

No, I didn't do any excursions this time. I signed up for the Hidden Forest Adventure in St. Maarten, but it got cancelled due to lack of interest. Too bad!

[zwanzig]

I have one ShipShape dollar that I kept from my first cruise in October. It is yellow. Back then I did not know about this site :eek: and no one explained what they were good for. This time I am going to take advantage of it since they are free.

 

I have so much more knowledge now that I did last year thanks you people like you!:D

 

 

This place is a great place to get info, that's for sure!

 

Watch the compass towards the end of the cruise, and it will tell you when/where to redeem your ShipShape dollars. On our cruise, it was around 3pm on the last day, and the place we went was between the basketball court/mini golf areas.

[Browneyez]

I love reading about everyone's experiences....I have to wait until May for my cruise on the Mariner. It's been 10 years since my last cruise...not thinking it's going to be that long again! Does the Mariner have billiard tables? I heard some ships do.

[zwanzig]

I love reading about everyone's experiences....I have to wait until May for my cruise on the Mariner. It's been 10 years since my last cruise...not thinking it's going to be that long again! Does the Mariner have billiard tables? I heard some ships do.

I don't recall seeing billiard tables anywhere, but that would be a fun thing to have on board! I'm surprised that more ships don't have them.

 

If they are anywhere on the Mariner, I would guess they are in the Connoiseur's Club...though it seems a bit small for that.

[HappyFamilyNJ]

Hi, we were on this sailing too, and agree that it was all around a terrific vacation. I'm back at work today, tired, cranky, and hungry!

 

We tried both Chops and Portofino's and found the entrees there to be superior to the dining room, although the service was S-L-O-W. We were almost late to a couple of shows! If you go, try the seafood mixed grill kabob at Portofinos and the filet mignon at chops. Both excellent!

 

We're not big show people but we tried a few this time and found them to be as corny as we expected. That said, we thought the entertainers were great. The ice show is just something you can't believe until you see it. "Love and Marriage" was our favorite 'show' by far, Becky is a riot and now I see what all the fuss is about with her! She is a total package of energy, and we saw her all around the ship.

 

In contrast to the OP, I liked bingo.... maybe because I won two small jackpots :cool: ...I thought Rayne the "Bingo Babe" had a lot of energy too.

 

Other activities we tried: Rock wall, mini golf, casino (good to me, not to my DH), Texas Holdem tournament, St. Maarten "Little Divi Bay" excursion (GREAT beach), water park and slide in CocoCay, reflexology massage in the spa... aaaahhh!!!

 

Downsides? I thought service in both the dining room and stateroom was fine but not extraordinary. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7. In neither case did we really get to know our servers, and we usually do.... they seemed to be just "doing their job". I thought the art auction folks were kind of pushy, and there were also many vendors on the beach at St. Maarten too. Minimal negatives in the big picture.... we still felt we got great value for our money and had a great time!!

 

"Last one off the ship has to weigh in"

-- Capt. Johnny, on departure morning

[zwanzig]

Hi, we were on this sailing too, and agree that it was all around a terrific vacation. I'm back at work today, tired, cranky, and hungry!

Hi HappyFamilyNJ! Thanks for posting your comments. It's great to hear from other people who were on this sailing and to see what their impressions of the cruise were.

 

We're not big show people but we tried a few this time and found them to be as corny as we expected. That said, we thought the entertainers were great. The ice show is just something you can't believe until you see it. "Love and Marriage" was our favorite 'show' by far, Becky is a riot and now I see what all the fuss is about with her! She is a total package of energy, and we saw her all around the ship.

Thanks for mentioning the Love and Marriage show - I went to this as well and agree it was wonderful! Becky did an awesome job with this, and my mom and I were in stitches the whole time. :) We would say "woo woo!" every time we saw Margaret around the ship from that night on. :D

 

In contrast to the OP, I liked bingo.... maybe because I won two small jackpots ...I thought Rayne the "Bingo Babe" had a lot of energy too.

We only played Bingo twice towards the end of the cruise, so I guess we weren't really a part of Rayne's "Bingo family", as she called it, and so we just didn't get into it. :) We are kind of "Bingo snobs" (ha ha), after having some great callers back in the early 90s; since then, it just hasn't been the same for us. Oh well.

 

Congrats on winning twice! You weren't from that one table that won several times on Thursday (I think) afternoon, were you? :)

 

"Last one off the ship has to weigh in"

-- Capt. Johnny, on departure morning

I miss Capt. Johnny's daily addresses and his emails from his "Chinese friend". Sigh... :)

[cviolante]

We were on this cruise too, and had a great time!

 

Our waiter, asst. waiter and stateroom attendant were among the best we had ever had.

 

I thought the ship was amazing, and would go back in a heartbeat. I really only had two minor criticisms:

 

1) The movie theater is a joke. They really should show a movie occassionally somewhere else.

 

2) The wrap around promenade on deck 4 forces you to go up and down stairs at the front of the ship. I love going for hour-long walks on the ship and looking at the water, and I was bugged everytime I had to navigate the stairs.

 

But, as I said, very minor.

[iswimlikearock]

How was the weather and the seas? Someone mentioned that the current sailing the seas were rough.

 

Thanks!!!

Jenn

[zwanzig]

We were on this cruise too, and had a great time!

Hi, cviolante! I thought I had replied to your post already, but it looks like I haven't yet... oops! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

1) The movie theater is a joke. They really should show a movie occassionally somewhere else.

I completely agree with you there - thanks for bringing this up, as I forgot to mention it in my review. I went to see Shopgirl on the last day and was amazed when I walked in the room how tiny it was. With the small enclosed space and all the lights on before the movie started, it got really hot in that room and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to sit there for an entire movie (luckily it cooled off once the lights were down). It really seemed like an afterthought to me. Like they had a tiny bit of left over space when they built the ship and said, "Hmm, what could we cram in here? Oh - we don't have a theatre yet!" :)

 

2) The wrap around promenade on deck 4 forces you to go up and down stairs at the front of the ship. I love going for hour-long walks on the ship and looking at the water, and I was bugged everytime I had to navigate the stairs.

I agree, it would be nice to have had a continuous deck on deck 4. It was really nice to have a way to walk along the outside of the ship and be so close to the water. I love the helipad area that you get to when you walk up the stairs for the same reason, but you are right, it would be better to not deal with stairs.

[zwanzig]

How was the weather and the seas? Someone mentioned that the current sailing the seas were rough.

 

 

Hi Jenn!

 

The weather was pretty mild throughout the whole trip, though the skies seemed to be pretty overcast for the first half of the trip.

 

As far as the seas went, things seemed pretty smooth to me. There were a couple of nights where I could feel us rocking a little bit, but it was all very minor.

[cviolante]

Shopgirl[/i] on the last day and was amazed when I walked in the room how tiny it was.

 

My wife and I were there too!

 

I took my two girls on the cruise, and my 17 year old last night said "that was the best week of my life", and this was her 7th cruise!

[SJS]

I have loved reading all your comments! I am sitting here at work and can barely contain my excitement. We are sailing on the Mariner on Sunday - in only 2 days!!! So looking forward to our second time on her. I can already feel the warm sunshine on my face and hear the steel drums playing.........:) All worries about storms, norovirus, stikes, terrorists have faded. I can't wait to step on board!!!

[GCLHiram]

Hi Zwanzig, and the rest of the M&M crew from the Mariner 8/20. I've posted my 12 page review to the main review page on Wednesday, but as yet it has not appeared. I am hoping the powers that be at CC will approve and post it shortly.

 

Just a few comments here to your post. I had my underwater camera film developed onboard to avoid what you experienced. I didn't want to take a chance and I felt it was worth the added cost. The rest of my close to 650 shots were all digital and I have 167 of them waiting to be picked up at Costco. I tried Johnny Rockets as a last resort and was totally unimpressed as I could not get a cheesburger cooked medium to save my life. We preferred the dining room for all my meals as we felt the Windjammer was quite sub par in a number of areas, including well-done burgers, and the carving meats were overcooked and dry each time I tried them. We didn;t feel it was worth the hassle of the crowds. At least in the dining room, we sat with new people every time, always comparing our experiences, and we felt the food was fresher and cooked to order more often than not. Plus, it was not as noisy and they were more relaxing meals.

 

I agree with you on your evaluation of the entertainment, especially the so-called "pure power" shows. I came close to falling asleep during them. Contrast these shows to the shows we had on the Carnival Miracle last year, and at least those were well choreographed and the whole concept was much better received. In fact, my wife and I had paid good money to see "Las Vegas Review" shows in Las Vegas that did not come close to what the Miracle had aboard the ship last year. But you'll get to read the whole review as soon as it's posted in the member review page. If it doesn't come up by the end of the weekend, I'll repost it here and split it up into a few sections.

 

We never heard of "the Captain's Corner" event and I think I would have loved to meet him and learn a few things from him. Oh well, maybe next time!

 

Take care, and nice job with your review!

 

.....Steve

[GCLHiram]

Thanks for the great review. We leave Nov 12th so I am getting excited the more I read. We have our first balcony this time, which I am told that we will be spoiled to a balcony from now on - Hey, I can live with that :D.

 

We have a wireless card installed on our laptop, so are there any wireless stations (areas) on the ship for us to use it?

 

Did you do any excursions in St Thomas and St Martin?

 

Hi "Whitsmom!"

We've had balcony rooms on both of our cruises and highly recommend them. We sat out on ours a few times just enjoying the tranquility, and in fact we even fell asleep on it one afternoon during last year's cruise to the Western Caribbean.

 

I didn't have a laptop with me but I was told by a number of folks that you'll have wireless internet service almost everywhere on the ship. I saw folks using their laptops checking weather forecasts and the like from the pool area, of course the internet cafe on the 8th floor, and from a few areas in the Windjammer, and from the Promenade. You should be okay.

 

We did island tours on both islands, and to be honest with you, I almost wish we didn't as we found both islands to be depressed with junked cars littering many "private" yards, and a lot of trash along the sides of the narrow streets. We should have stayed either on a beach, which neither of us generally do, or just sought out new and/or different shopping areas. On St. Maarten we took an island tour that included a trip on a semi-submersible which was a very good take! The boat doesn't actually "dive" but you walk down a short set of stairs to a point where you're about eight to ten feet below the surface of the water, and a diver from above goes in and feeds the fish. He literally has a couple hundred fish swarming over him for the "free" food, which gives you plenty of photo ops.

 

Good luck on your cruise! I hope you luck out and get Sanjeev as your waiter in the dining room. He could and probably should write the book on how to be a top-notch waiter. You'll also see him in the Cafe Promenade in the afternoons. He's a very efficient, attentive, gracious and humble man, and probably one of the top-ten waiters on the ship.

 

Best regards!

 

.....Steve

[brigittetom]

zwanzig, Thank you for posting such a well thought out review. We will be cruising on the Mariner in Nov. and it also will be our first Voyager expierience.

 

What did you think about the Promanade? On a recent Radiance cruise we really liked the Seaside Cafe for a little "junk food break". Did you try it on the Mariner?

 

I agree with you about the Windjammer. Our expierence on three RCL cruises in the Windjammer was excellent and I'm looking forward to the same on the Mariner. I personally don't care for the diningroom for breakfast and lunch because I like to do these meals at my own pace. So much more to do than "dine".

 

On the Granduer we were "just served" at dinner. On the Radiance we had excellent service in the diningroom and in the cabin. Since our Granduer cruise there have been many complaints about RCL service and we really saw the improvement on the Radiance. On the other hand, the cabin service on the Granduer was outstanding. I guess it's just the luck of the draw to get the outstanding service but overall we have had wonderful service and we are really looking forward to the Mariner and I was happy to read your favorable review. Thank you again for taking the time to post it. :)