Just off the Mariner!

[cayenneblue]

Some comments from a brand new cruiser..... :p

 

I loved the ship - what an incredible place it is. My daughter (13) wants to know how SHE can live on a cruise ship! :D

 

Things I really liked:

 

The artwork. Amazing! I especially loved the artwork in the different stairways - especially the one nearest the Promenade Cafe. It's was so unusual - I think "Artwork of Mariner" would make a wonderful coffee table book!

 

The entertainment.

Becky was hysterical (though I don't think my husband enjoyed her as much as I did - you've got to love that totally crazy type of personality, I guess). She was so funny and energetic. The most touching thing I saw was during the 70's party, a group of children (ages 2 - 6) were dancing and were REALLY good! The oldest one could hip-hop with the best of them. Becky saw them, and danced with them (great John Travolta moves!) for a long time. It was a really neat side of her to see!

 

The Love and Marriage game show. It was SO funny, and Becky is incredibly witty and quick! The couple that answered the question "Where was the most unusual place you made whoopie"....... Well, they (both) answered "After the muster drill, with the light going around and our life jackets on"!!!! Becky just about died, she was laughing so hard! Next day, at the evening show, she showed up in a cocktail dress with a life jacket on!! :D

The Ice Show. Amazing. Don't miss it!

The 70's party in the promedade. Lots of fun, and we followed it up by going dancing at the Dragon's Lair (and we NEVER go dancing anymore, but had a great time)

The comedians were all really funny.

The Dancers and singers were good, but I always seemed to be tired at that time of the evening.

 

The Pina Coladas!

 

Dinner at Chops - YUMMY!!!

 

The desserts!!

 

The fresh fruit in the windjammer

 

The casino! We had a blast playing slots....... for some reason, I seemed to get a second wind in the casino - wasn't tired there at all.

 

The shopping. I bought lots of jewelry, a couple of purses, etc. My husband particularly like the liquor prices.

 

We loved the towel animals, and even went to a "towel folding" demonstration

 

What was so-so (for us)

 

Our waiter in the dining room. He really didn't have much of a personality, compared with all the others I saw around us. :( We tried to change after the first night (we wanted a larger table), and they told us to come back the next day between 10 and 2. It was an excursion day, so we didn't get back from Coco Cay until 1ish, and by that time there were no tables left at all for the early seating. I think our dining experience would have been a lot better with a better waiter.

 

We missed our "Meet and Greet"!!! :confused: The invitation got mixed up with our other crusie compasses, etc., and we didn't see it until later in the week. I showed up at Ellingtons at the appointed hour, only to find out that they had changed the time that had been posted from 1:00, until 11:00....... I was really bummed - I wanted to meet everyone I'd been chatting to!

 

Johnny Rockets wasn't all that great when we went, though the milkshake my son got was good!

 

The "Shopping Value Book" thing that they talk you into buying at the shopping show. It's $25, and supposedly you get a lot of free gifts with it. I only did it because my daughter was sitting there and wanted me to. I then felt pressured to get these free gifts, and spent half my time going into the shops, asking for the free gifts, and being pressured to buy something else. It really cut into the time I would have spent leisurely shopping (self-induced, I know), and the "free" gifts were really not worth getting at all! I doubt I'll ever use or wear any of them....

 

 

 

Other things of note:

 

We liked St. Maarten a lot - the beach is pretty, and the shopping area is really nice. We didn't do the excursion I wanted to do (I was outvoted), and I'm really sorry I didn't get to do it. I wanted to do the America's Cup Regatta, but the rest of my family wanted to do the Treetop adventure. It was fun, though not anywhere near the "treetops". I still regret not going ahead and doing the regatta!!

 

On St. Thomas, we took a taxi to Red Hook and the ferry over to St. John. We then took a taxi to Trunk Bay. We'd been there about 18 years ago (when pregnant with my now 17 year old, and wanted to go back) It was as beautiful as I remembered. The trip though, took a while - a 30 (or more) minute taxi ride, then we missed the ferry and had to wait over an hour for the next one. You may want to take the ferry that's closer to the boat, though it's a longer ferry ride, or do the excursion through the ship. (It wasn't running the day we were there) It ended up being pretty costly for four of us, but I do love St. John, so it was worth it!

 

We didn't particularly like Coco Cay too much. It was SO hot and SO crowded. I guess I'm spoiled by some other, pretty much uninhabited beaches I've been to, and was expecting too much after reading so many reviews. My husband and son did the Wave runners though, and had a great time. They especially liked the starfish.

 

The midnight buffet was amazing! The food looked better than it was, but the display was incredible. Make sure to get there early to see all of the ice carvings and other amazing displays.

 

 

For first timers:

 

Be prepared to get your picture taken ALL the time! I wasn't expecting it, but I'm actually glad they did. We got some really nice pictures of the family on formal night, which we haven't done in many years. We also got some good ones from Coco Cay and with the Pirate outside of the ship! They take them everywhere from when you first board, to dinner, to excursions, so be prepared. I actually wish we had done some more of the "casual" opportunities they had. Nice white carpet and backgrounds, and they were doing really nice shots of the kids etc. (My daughter wouldn't do them, since her hair wasn't "straight" that day, LOL)

 

Shopping on board is very popular - they have specials every day. $10 purses, watch sales, Amber shows. Pretty neat stuff, and at very reasonable prices!

 

My kids participated somewhat in the teen activities, but mostly the teens didn't really want to do the organized activities. They still had a great time. The younger kids activities looked great though.

 

If you can (and want to), take advantage of the express check-out. I wish we had! We had two rooms, and one of ours was the second color called, the other the last! So we had two hours in between colors. I didn't really think about it until too late, or I would have just gotten additional tags for the early call! It ended up being bad, since by the time we got off the ship when my color was called, my son's luggage wasn't there. (He had the earlier color) We left to get lunch, and came back to check, and still no luggage. We were about to leave for the airport when I called home for messages, only to have one from Orlando Airport's lost and found, saying they had my son's luggage - that a passenger had dropped it off. We were quite relieved, but I have a feeling it wouldn't have happened if we had been there to begin with....

 

 

It was funny - the vacation seem SO long - in a good way! All of us felt that way, and I guess it was because we were doing so much. (not to mention that we were staying up about 4 hours later than normal)

 

 

Oh - and Becky is there for a while (not sure of the exact date), and Captain Per was leaving the same day we were, to be replaced by Captain Johhny. I was sorry we didn't have Captain Johnny, I had heard so much about him!

 

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them!

 

 

Theresa

[Toddcan]

Excellent post. We are doing western caribbean, and it's a long ways away, but reading posts like this are a great way to get excited.

 

Thank you!

[luv2travel29]

Theresa: thanks for the great info.... i am sailing on the mariner for my big 4-0 the end of july ~ ;) do you think becky will still be aboard??? as far as the shopping value book, what kind of "free" things did u get? were they worth it??? did you happen to do any of the wine packages or wine tastings??

i actually love that RCCL takes pics all the time. we came off the disney magic in feb, and we were surprised that they didnt take pics at every port like RCCL.... i like that cause it seems that i am always the one taking the pics and never in any of them.....:rolleyes:

do you have any other advice for "must do" ~ i have only been on one other RCCL ship (EXPLORER) and we love RCCL..... but this is a special week for us ~ my 40th, my sons 12th b-day and me and hubbys 15th wedding anniversary...... any tips are GREATLY appreciated!!! :) thanks so much, glad u had a good time!!

[reallyitsmema]

We missed the meet and mingle too, we had already planned something for the rescheduled time, oh well. Agree with all you said other than the desserts, only time we had a decent chocolate dessert was in Chops. I would love to see more chocolate options. We went to all the shows, loved Kenny James! Little Wayne and his baby, baby added to that show :p John Pinette was our absolute favorite though! Glad you enjoyed your cruise too:)

[Gonzo70]

Some comments from a brand new cruiser..... :p

 

I loved the ship - what an incredible place it is. My daughter (13) wants to know how SHE can live on a cruise ship! :D

 

Glad you had a great vacation. Tell your daughter that they actually do have retirement cruise ships where people live on the ship. They look incredible but are very pricey, so she better start saving now!

[khank]

Theresa - Thanks so much for the post and the info on Captain Johnny! I was hoping he'd be back by our sailing! We are sailing the Mariner July 8 - we've done the Western itinerary twice on her so this will be our first Eastern. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Chops. We've never been before and I really wanted to go on this cruise and lately have read mixed reviews. Did your children go with you? I have 2 teenage daughters and figured they'd eat in Johnny Rockets or the WJ that night, but they really want to go with us to Chops.

We're doing the America's Cup in St. Maarten so I'll post how that went when we return. Everyone is really excited to try that excursion.

One last question, did you have trouble finding lounge chairs on Coco Cay or were they readily available?

Thanks so much!

Karen

[frudutx]

Some comments from a brand new cruiser..... :p

 

I loved the ship - what an incredible place it is. My daughter (13) wants to know how SHE can live on a cruise ship! :D

 

Things I really liked:

 

The artwork. Amazing! I especially loved the artwork in the different stairways - especially the one nearest the Promenade Cafe. It's was so unusual - I think "Artwork of Mariner" would make a wonderful coffee table book!

 

The entertainment.

Becky was hysterical (though I don't think my husband enjoyed her as much as I did - you've got to love that totally crazy type of personality, I guess). She was so funny and energetic. The most touching thing I saw was during the 70's party, a group of children (ages 2 - 6) were dancing and were REALLY good! The oldest one could hip-hop with the best of them. Becky saw them, and danced with them (great John Travolta moves!) for a long time. It was a really neat side of her to see!

 

The Love and Marriage game show. It was SO funny, and Becky is incredibly witty and quick! The couple that answered the question "Where was the most unusual place you made whoopie"....... Well, they (both) answered "After the muster drill, with the light going around and our life jackets on"!!!! Becky just about died, she was laughing so hard! Next day, at the evening show, she showed up in a cocktail dress with a life jacket on!! :D

The Ice Show. Amazing. Don't miss it!

The 70's party in the promedade. Lots of fun, and we followed it up by going dancing at the Dragon's Lair (and we NEVER go dancing anymore, but had a great time)

The comedians were all really funny.

The Dancers and singers were good, but I always seemed to be tired at that time of the evening.

 

The Pina Coladas!

 

Dinner at Chops - YUMMY!!!

 

The desserts!!

 

The fresh fruit in the windjammer

 

The casino! We had a blast playing slots....... for some reason, I seemed to get a second wind in the casino - wasn't tired there at all.

 

The shopping. I bought lots of jewelry, a couple of purses, etc. My husband particularly like the liquor prices.

 

We loved the towel animals, and even went to a "towel folding" demonstration

 

 

What was so-so (for us)

 

Our waiter in the dining room. He really didn't have much of a personality, compared with all the others I saw around us. :( We tried to change after the first night (we wanted a larger table), and they told us to come back the next day between 10 and 2. It was an excursion day, so we didn't get back from Coco Cay until 1ish, and by that time there were no tables left at all for the early seating. I think our dining experience would have been a lot better with a better waiter.

 

We missed our "Meet and Greet"!!! :confused: The invitation got mixed up with our other crusie compasses, etc., and we didn't see it until later in the week. I showed up at Ellingtons at the appointed hour, only to find out that they had changed the time that had been posted from 1:00, until 11:00....... I was really bummed - I wanted to meet everyone I'd been chatting to!

 

Johnny Rockets wasn't all that great when we went, though the milkshake my son got was good!

 

The "Shopping Value Book" thing that they talk you into buying at the shopping show. It's $25, and supposedly you get a lot of free gifts with it. I only did it because my daughter was sitting there and wanted me to. I then felt pressured to get these free gifts, and spent half my time going into the shops, asking for the free gifts, and being pressured to buy something else. It really cut into the time I would have spent leisurely shopping (self-induced, I know), and the "free" gifts were really not worth getting at all! I doubt I'll ever use or wear any of them....

 

 

 

Other things of note:

 

We liked St. Maarten a lot - the beach is pretty, and the shopping area is really nice. We didn't do the excursion I wanted to do (I was outvoted), and I'm really sorry I didn't get to do it. I wanted to do the America's Cup Regatta, but the rest of my family wanted to do the Treetop adventure. It was fun, though not anywhere near the "treetops". I still regret not going ahead and doing the regatta!!

 

On St. Thomas, we took a taxi to Red Hook and the ferry over to St. John. We then took a taxi to Trunk Bay. We'd been there about 18 years ago (when pregnant with my now 17 year old, and wanted to go back) It was as beautiful as I remembered. The trip though, took a while - a 30 (or more) minute taxi ride, then we missed the ferry and had to wait over an hour for the next one. You may want to take the ferry that's closer to the boat, though it's a longer ferry ride, or do the excursion through the ship. (It wasn't running the day we were there) It ended up being pretty costly for four of us, but I do love St. John, so it was worth it!

 

We didn't particularly like Coco Cay too much. It was SO hot and SO crowded. I guess I'm spoiled by some other, pretty much uninhabited beaches I've been to, and was expecting too much after reading so many reviews. My husband and son did the Wave runners though, and had a great time. They especially liked the starfish.

 

The midnight buffet was amazing! The food looked better than it was, but the display was incredible. Make sure to get there early to see all of the ice carvings and other amazing displays.

 

 

For first timers:

 

Be prepared to get your picture taken ALL the time! I wasn't expecting it, but I'm actually glad they did. We got some really nice pictures of the family on formal night, which we haven't done in many years. We also got some good ones from Coco Cay and with the Pirate outside of the ship! They take them everywhere from when you first board, to dinner, to excursions, so be prepared. I actually wish we had done some more of the "casual" opportunities they had. Nice white carpet and backgrounds, and they were doing really nice shots of the kids etc. (My daughter wouldn't do them, since her hair wasn't "straight" that day, LOL)

 

Shopping on board is very popular - they have specials every day. $10 purses, watch sales, Amber shows. Pretty neat stuff, and at very reasonable prices!

 

My kids participated somewhat in the teen activities, but mostly the teens didn't really want to do the organized activities. They still had a great time. The younger kids activities looked great though.

 

If you can (and want to), take advantage of the express check-out. I wish we had! We had two rooms, and one of ours was the second color called, the other the last! So we had two hours in between colors. I didn't really think about it until too late, or I would have just gotten additional tags for the early call! It ended up being bad, since by the time we got off the ship when my color was called, my son's luggage wasn't there. (He had the earlier color) We left to get lunch, and came back to check, and still no luggage. We were about to leave for the airport when I called home for messages, only to have one from Orlando Airport's lost and found, saying they had my son's luggage - that a passenger had dropped it off. We were quite relieved, but I have a feeling it wouldn't have happened if we had been there to begin with....

 

 

It was funny - the vacation seem SO long - in a good way! All of us felt that way, and I guess it was because we were doing so much. (not to mention that we were staying up about 4 hours later than normal)

 

 

Oh - and Becky is there for a while (not sure of the exact date), and Captain Per was leaving the same day we were, to be replaced by Captain Johhny. I was sorry we didn't have Captain Johnny, I had heard so much about him!

 

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them!

 

 

Theresa

 

Great review!

 

We really liked Mariner too! And, just loved Becky Good-day Luv!

 

The cake decorating was to say the least the funniest thing I've ever watched.

 

We'll probably follow her to the west coast and do a cruise on her there too!

 

d

[cssail]

I did the America's Cup race years ago and you are right. It is a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.

[funfamilyfun]

I realize you have to have your picture taken when you get onboard. But...can you bypass the line for other pictures?

[PennStateForever]

Some comments from a brand new cruiser..... :p

 

I loved the ship - what an incredible place it is. My daughter (13) wants to know how SHE can live on a cruise ship! :D

Theresa

Well if she makes several million dollars she can buy a 50-year lease aboard the M/V The World, a floating mansion for high society. ^_^

 

2,000+ sq. ft. mansions fully customized for the people who pay $5 million down (unrecoverable) and $1 million+ for customizing the mansion.

 

Travel Channel did a show on it and you can look it up on Wikipedia.

 

THAT'S living on a cruise ship. lol

 

I couldn't do it, though. It's all dirty money on The World. It has to be. And it's like a ghost town. You never see anyone, it seemed like. Kinda creepy.

 

Anyway...

 

This thing just tools around the globe, hauling around its rich people to any port of call you can think of. It's got the only restaurant on the high seas to receive a 5* rating from... Can't remember the service... But's it's the most reputable, apparently.

[luv2travel29]

funfamily: you can def. bypass the line if you dont want the pics....

[ken_nyc]

I am now even more psyched for our August western cruise on the Mariner. Thanks for your review and comments.

[kittymom65]

Thank you for your review, I am glad you enjoyed the Mariner!

[wickerandmore]

We were also on the June 10th cruise and I agree with most everything you said. We had excellent waiters. They hung around each night and talked with us and gave us alot of insight on working on a boat.

 

Our only complaints were: not being able to get tea or juice anytime we wanted(with the exception of lunch and dinner in Windjammer).

 

the slow elevators

 

and

 

Our son who is 18 wasn't allowed in the teen club with 17 year olds and didn't like the "adult clubs"--he met several 16-18 year olds by Tuesday and were playing basketball until 4 in the morning.

 

We are going on Carnival in December which will be the 3rd for Carnival--as a group of 29--the group decided we liked Carnival.

[cayenneblue]

We missed the meet and mingle too, we had already planned something for the rescheduled time, oh well. Agree with all you said other than the desserts, only time we had a decent chocolate dessert was in Chops. I would love to see more chocolate options. We went to all the shows, loved Kenny James! Little Wayne and his baby, baby added to that show :p John Pinette was our absolute favorite though! Glad you enjoyed your cruise too:)

 

 

Little Wayne cracked me up!!!! Definitely one of the highlights. :D What a trooper he was - TOO funny!

 

As for the desserts, most of the ones that were good WEREN'T chocolate, lol. Yummy berry torte, and actually one chocolate dessert that was good - I think I had three desserts that night! :p The desserts in Chops were VERY yummy!!

 

I loved Kenny James and John Pinette as well. I was really impressed with all the shows. I'm bored here at home! Wonder why???? :rolleyes:

[cayenneblue]

Theresa - Thanks so much for the post and the info on Captain Johnny! I was hoping he'd be back by our sailing! We are sailing the Mariner July 8 - we've done the Western itinerary twice on her so this will be our first Eastern. I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed Chops. We've never been before and I really wanted to go on this cruise and lately have read mixed reviews. Did your children go with you? I have 2 teenage daughters and figured they'd eat in Johnny Rockets or the WJ that night, but they really want to go with us to Chops.

We're doing the America's Cup in St. Maarten so I'll post how that went when we return. Everyone is really excited to try that excursion.

One last question, did you have trouble finding lounge chairs on Coco Cay or were they readily available?

Thanks so much!

Karen

 

Hi Karen-

 

I'm SO jealous!!! I really wanted to do the America's Cup! I realized later that I should have just signed up for it myself, and let the rest of the family do the Treetop tour!

 

We brought our daughter to Chops, but our son wasn't feeling well so he didn't go. She loved it as well, and I think she felt quite grown up. The service was wonderful, and the food good as well. I had the lobster bisque, which was great - and a HUGE portion! I had the Filet as well, and they bring you four sauces to choose from (I had the green peppercorn - yummy!) The filet was good - not the best I've ever had, but definitely better than the dining room.

 

As for the lounge chairs, there were plenty available. You shouldn't have a problem, unless you go over pretty late.

 

Have fun - and I'll be thinking about you on that sailboat (and wishing it was me!) :D

[Stoodo]

I too was on this sailing of the Mariner. I didn't understand all the Little Wayne references. What did we miss?

 

John Pinette was a trip. So very funny and a very nice guy. We ran into him about 5 or 6 times.

 

I agree about Cococay. It was just meh. (Of course I felt the same way for Labade) I guess I am just not into the private "islands"

[reallyitsmema]

I too was on this sailing of the Mariner. I didn't understand all the Little Wayne references. What did we miss?

 

John Pinette was a trip. So very funny and a very nice guy. We ran into him about 5 or 6 times.

 

I agree about Cococay. It was just meh. (Of course I felt the same way for Labade) I guess I am just not into the private "islands"

Kenny James pulled this guy up from the audience during his show. The guy was about 6' 3" 300 lbs and had him sing "Baby, baby, wooooooo" while slapping his butt. The guy was close to 70 I would say. He asked him his name and he said "Little Wayne". He was a really good sport about it and ended up with a free drink the next night when Becky pulled him from the audience again.:p

[cayenneblue]

Theresa: thanks for the great info.... i am sailing on the mariner for my big 4-0 the end of july ~ ;) do you think becky will still be aboard??? as far as the shopping value book, what kind of "free" things did u get? were they worth it??? did you happen to do any of the wine packages or wine tastings??

 

i actually love that RCCL takes pics all the time. we came off the disney magic in feb, and we were surprised that they didnt take pics at every port like RCCL.... i like that cause it seems that i am always the one taking the pics and never in any of them.....:rolleyes:

 

do you have any other advice for "must do" ~ i have only been on one other RCCL ship (EXPLORER) and we love RCCL..... but this is a special week for us ~ my 40th, my sons 12th b-day and me and hubbys 15th wedding anniversary...... any tips are GREATLY appreciated!!! :) thanks so much, glad u had a good time!!

 

The "free" things all sound really good (which is why you are easily talked into buying the book), but in reality they aren't. You get a set of "gemstone" studs (ruby, emerald, or sapphire), which are almost too small to see the color of the stone. (the emerald ones were really dull), you get some tanzanite studs, also too small to really see the color of the stone. You get a gold chain - looks like something you'd get in a bubble gum machine. Hmmmm...... You get a 5karat loose stone - which actually looks nice - IF you have it made into a necklace for $39.95. If you do that, they give you a colored one, otherwise it's clear and looks like a fake diamond. (supposedly they are all some type of topaz) You get a natural look bag from Del Sol that changes color, but has an advertising slogan on it. You get a CD of Caribbean music - haven't listened to that yet, so I'm hoping it's nice. You get prints of watercolors of St. Thomas and St. Maarten - nice, but I doubt I'll spend the money to frame them. Mostly it's little things that you can convieniently upgrade for a price. So, not really free.........

 

We didn't do the wine packages - I had kind of forgotten about them, actually. And, the pina colada's and strawberry daquiries were SO yummy!! (I rarely drink them at home, but splurged on the trip)

 

Have a great trip!!!!!!!! What a great way to celebrate your 40th!

[cayenneblue]

One thing I forgot to mention!! Neither my husband or I gained a pound!! Woo hoo!!! :D:D

 

How'd we do that, you ask? Well - we took another cruisers advice, and took the steps ALL the time. I think I only got on the elevator once or twice, and it worked! :p

[Stoodo]

Kenny James pulled this guy up from the audience during his show. The guy was about 6' 3" 300 lbs and had him sing "Baby, baby, wooooooo" while slapping his butt. The guy was close to 70 I would say. He asked him his name and he said "Little Wayne". He was a really good sport about it and ended up with a free drink the next night when Becky pulled him from the audience again.:p

 

ahhh Thanks!!! :)

 

BTW, Does Jennifer of the shopping garb allow her husband Mirko to actually speak? I haven't seen him talk yet. :)

[cayenneblue]

We were also on the June 10th cruise and I agree with most everything you said. We had excellent waiters. They hung around each night and talked with us and gave us alot of insight on working on a boat.

 

Our only complaints were: not being able to get tea or juice anytime we wanted(with the exception of lunch and dinner in Windjammer).

 

the slow elevators

 

and

 

Our son who is 18 wasn't allowed in the teen club with 17 year olds and didn't like the "adult clubs"--he met several 16-18 year olds by Tuesday and were playing basketball until 4 in the morning.

 

 

 

 

We are going on Carnival in December which will be the 3rd for Carnival--as a group of 29--the group decided we liked Carnival.

 

 

 

Maybe your son was with mine! He's 17 and a basketball player as well! And, he was rolling in at 4:30 himself! :D

[cayenneblue]

Glad you had a great vacation. Tell your daughter that they actually do have retirement cruise ships where people live on the ship. They look incredible but are very pricey, so she better start saving now!

 

LOL - I told her, and she responded "I'm doing that!" :D

[Baseballkurt]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We just booked a Western 7 day for December of 2008. It is 18 months away and the kids don't know yet. We are getting married in 17 days (7/7/07), heading to Sandals Jamaica for the honeymoon. Would like to tell them when we get back. My tow kids have been on a Disney cruise (17 and 14 when we sail). Her 3 have never done a vacation (20, 16 and 12 when we sail). I wonder how much changes on a ship in 18 months?

[fairbrot]

What night is the midnight buffet?