Ipod dock in cabins on Mariner

[SuzCruise]

Hi folks,

 

We just got our cabin assignment - 947 - for our April 7th EC cruise. Can anyone tell me if there is an ipod dock in the cat E cabins? Don't want to pack my speakers if I don't have to.

 

Thanks!

[dfb]

Sorry, no Ipod docks in the cabins. Hopefully, RSSC will have installed the new TVs with new movies on demand system by the time you arrive. The hotel director told us he was having them delivered along with an installation team on the March 4th and 14th cruises and it should be completed by March 24th.

Debbie

[count florida]

Who is the Hotel Director on the Mariner now?

[dfb]

As of March 4, 2008, it was Richard Fenn. He had been on since we got on Jan. 4. Not sure when he was scheduled to leave, but not before March 24th, when his TV/entertainment upgrade was to be finished.

Debbie

[SuzCruise]

I stumbled on your cruise blog and really enjoyed reading it as we prepare for our cruise next month. You and your hubby are both hilarious and write great detailed reviews! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I have a million questions that I would love to hear your feedback on if you have time.

 

What is the entertainment upgrade that they are doing and what is the TV/movie in the room situation right now just in case they don't have it done by our cruise? Is there a DVD player in all cabins? What movies were they showing in the theater? Current movies still in theaters or those out on DVD? When you special order dishes in the restaurants - do you just order from your waiter or is there a special protocol? Did you ever get RSSC to provide you a boxed lunch to take with you on port days - and if so what did it consist of and how was it? How dressy were most women on formal nights? How about informal and CCC?

 

I hope you don't mind me picking your brain. But since you just got off the Mariner and spent so long on board - you are the most informed expert on this board.

[dfb]

Hi SuzCruise, Glad you enjoyed the blog. OK, here goes. I'm no expert, but I do have some fairly current information...

 

Movies - In the Constellation Theater, as Big Screen Popcorn Movies either in the afternoon or the evening. Titles were some, but not all, from the list below, and some were only shown once, but some were shown multiple times during our 2 months. For example, they showed the Bourne Ultimatum on every one of the 4 segments at least once. But, showed Becoming Jane only once. Exceptions were that they showed Papillon for our Devil's Island visit and Carousel and Oklahoma because of the stars onboard for the Theater at Sea final segment.

 

On the TV in the cabin: on 3 channels at fixed times usually for only one day each. The list below is from 2/4/2008 to 3/3/2008.

Mr. Woodcock, Stardust, Next, Hairspray, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Opal Dream, Gone Baby Gone, The Brothers Solomon, The Darjeeling Limited, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Good Luck Chuck, The Simpsons Movie, Rescue Dawn, Transformers, Year of the Dog, The Brave One, Missionary Man, Rush Hour 3, The Invasion, The Hunting Party, Disturbia, 3:10 to Yuma, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Dan in Real Life, Ocean's 13, The Ex, Michael Clayton, Live Free or Die Hard, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Heartbreak Kid, Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Martian Child, Beowulf, Spiderman 3, License to Wed, Casino Royale, Shrek the Third, Rendition, Suburban Girl, Love in the Time of Cholera,

Sleuth, 1408, Eastern Promises, Reign Over Me, The Game Plan, Surf's Up, The Hoax, The Seeker, Feast of Love, Into the Wild, The King of Kong, Evan Almighty, The Nanny Diaries, The Golden Compass, Perfect Stranger, Nearing Grace, War, Becoming Jane, Delirious.

 

As to the TV situation while we were onboard, the TVs are old and in Mom's cabin she managed to get hers replaced after a few weeks since it was really fritzy, but they seriously were beyond needing replacement. Mostly played in either shades of gray or gray and pink or gray and blue or gray and green, etc. The TV in neither cabin was something that you would put up with at home, much less on a 6-star cruise experience. Since they had replacing them scheduled all anyone could do was wait. As to the broadcast schedule, movies were frequently not shown when the scheduled listed, or even worse, you would start watching and then the system would shut down and you would miss the last 20 minutes or so. This might happen several times in the course of one day! Good news is that there is a DVD player in every cabin and if you wanted to watch movies at your convenience you could. There were probably a couple hundred or so titles in the lending library near the Coffee Corner/Library.

 

As to the new system, it is supposed to be flat screen TV with an interactive entertainment system with movies on demand. This system has already been installed on Voyager and Navigator, so perhaps someone who has experienced it can give you more information.

 

Restaurants - Special ordering, is generally something that you need to do 24 hours in advance with the dining room manager. If you are talking about something like Eggs Benedict that is just not on the menu, just ask for it. If you are talking about a PBJ or hamburger at dinner in Compass Rose, just ask for it. If it is leg of lamb when it is not on the menu, you will need to order at least 24 hours ahead with a manager. Box lunches; we have never done this. Lots of ports will not allow you to take food ashore, so this may be something that you need to check on first. But, the main reason we did not do this is because we love eating local food. If you want to do this, again, it would be a conversation with the dining room manager or an assistant and at least 24 hours in advance. I would think that if they do this for you that you could pretty much order whatever you want. Also, if you waited until the day of and food ashore was allowed at a particular port, that you could just order sandwiches and chips from room service 30 minutes in advance and take your own plastic bags to pack it up for your trip ashore. There is always fruit in a bowl in your room, if you wanted something like that. (Keep in mind, that most places with food import restrictions are mostly concerned about fruit and vegetables coming in that shouldn't.) There are always cookies at the Coffee Corner, if you wanted something like that. There is always a table with bottled water on it near the exit to the ship for each port.

 

Dress - There is always a good variation in people's dress and you may see it all, but in general people were fairly dressy. The main exception would be CCC on a long sweaty port day! Then you would see people in blue jeans after 6pm, but that was about the only exception. I would say that on most Formal nights you would see more men in tuxedos than in dark suits. The women were mostly dressed accordingly and more in shiny, silky, long skirts, dresses and pants than in cocktail dresses, though you would see some of those too. Informal for men is CCC with a jacket. No tie is required, though again you will see some. As for women, nice skirts or slacks with a dressed up top would be common. CCC for women is not usually a lot different than Informal, again with the exception of at the end of a long shore day, then it is pretty much anything goes.

 

Hope this answers your questions. If you have more, I'll try to help. I know I can never get enough information before a trip either.

 

Enjoy, Debbie

[SuzCruise]

Thanks so much for all the wonderful info Debbie. You are just a wealth of knowledge and I really appreciate you letting me "pick your brain". Another question, does the Mariner have wifi available throughout the ship and if you used it what did you think? Did it work well?

 

Thanks again!

 

Susan

[dfb]

Susan,

 

You're welcome. Wifi is available throughout the ship. Internet is awfully slow anywhere on the ship at most times that you would want to use it, ie, other than the middle of the night, dinner, lectures, etc. Also, the signal strength is spotty. For example, it was excellent in 736 and low to nonexistent in 738. I don't think there is anyway to predict how it will be in your cabin. Try moving around with you laptop to find a good spot that is convenient for you. There were repeaters under the little desk/mirror between the closet and bathroom in both our cabins. So, pulling out the drawer and propping the laptop there was most successful if not exactly convenient. Also, found a good solid strong signal in the atrium area chairs near the elevators on our deck. Otherwise, on deck 6 in the hall around the Coffee Corner.

 

Debbie