Mariner Review - 8/16/09-8/23/09 - Mexican Riviera

[marne]

I'll be on the Mariner leaving next Sunday - Which night's menu in the dining room is the "worst"? I want to book one of the specialty restaurants, but I want to make sure I pick the best night to do so.

 

Any advice? Thanks!

Marne@Hotmail.com

[Kurbanfan]

I was wondering if you could let me know how much beer is at the moment on Mariner - esp the aluminum bottles of Bud light.

 

Thanks in advance

 

16 oz bud lights are $4.95 plus 15% gratuity....total $5.69.......this was the price last week........

[Scotto97]

16 oz bud lights are $4.95 plus 15% gratuity....total $5.69.......this was the price last week........

 

Hey Kurbanfan - how much is a glass of common wine like Twin Oaks Cab?

[Kurbanfan]

Hey Kurbanfan - how much is a glass of common wine like Twin Oaks Cab?

 

Sorry Scott, I'm not a wine drinker......

[Craving A Cruise]

Hi Scott,

 

Sorry, not sure about the cost per glass. I think it was about $6-$7 plus 15% gratuity. We did however pre-order 2 bottles of wine to be delivered to our cabin. They cost approx. $30-$35 each w/ grat. included. It was nice to have some type of "adult beverage" to drink in our cabin.

 

I ordered a 'White Russian' at the bar and with 15% added it cost $7.19 total. Two drinks of the day in souvenir glasses cost just under $19. Hope this helps!

 

Hey Kurbanfan - how much is a glass of common wine like Twin Oaks Cab?

[38anchor]

16 oz bud lights are $4.95 plus 15% gratuity....total $5.69.......this was the price last week........

 

Thanks ever so much for that. :D

[RitaAndIan]

Hi and thanks for the review. We are trying to find out if there is still a 70's themed party on this ship? Was there one while you were on this sailing? We sail on Sunday, 9/13. Thanks

[CrusingJoe]

We've just returned from the 8/16 Mariner of the Seas cruise to the Mexican Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta) and thought I'd post a general overview/review while it's still fresh in my mind.

 

First things first, what really MADE this cruise was sharing it with an awesome bunch of fellow Cruise Critic members who helped build the excitement for months before sailaway and were an absolute pleasure to share a ship with. I'd cruise with these crazy critters anywhere, anytime.

 

For perspective, traveling on this cruise were myself and my partner (in our late 30s/early 40s, no children) and this was our third cruise. First was on Caribbean Princess in March '08 and Celebrity Solstice in March '09. You could say this was a comparison shop for us as we wanted to experience what Royal Caribbean had to offer. We also booked it because we got an incredible deal - the Mexican Riviera was not the highest on our travel list of priorities, but now we're glad we've been.

 

Here's what we loved and liked about this cruise, the itinerary and the ship:

• Service. Amazing and almost without fail. We really felt that the staff's attention and attitude really stood out - even beyond our first two cruises, on which we thought the service was excellent. Waitstaff, cabin steward, pool stewards, bar tenders, everyone really stood out. A particular shout out to Gary, the maitre d' for My Time Dining who took good care of us.
  
• Itinerary. Three sea days. Brilliant.
  
• Our Cabin. We had a D2 superior oceanview stateroom - clever use of space, plenty of storage and actually enough room to hang out and feel comfortable in. We spent a little more time in our cabin than usual, simply because it was comfortable.
  
• The Ice Show. Really thought this was spectacularly well done and I don't usually like onboard entertainment.
  
• Variety of stuff to do. Never a dull moment and something for everyone at any time. And plenty of time to do nothing, if that's your thing.
  
• The Quest. I typically don't like stuff like this, but it's a "must do" on the Mariner, especially if Abe is the Cruise Director and hosting. Brilliant. And, no, I won't tell you anything about it; you have to experience it for yourself.
  
• The soft-serve machine on Deck 11. It's really just perfect.
  
• The guy with the ice cream sundae cart in the Windjammer at dinner. Seriously nice touch - he brings around a cart with ice cream and all kinds of toppings and will stand and make a sundae for you at your table. Not the greatest ice cream in the world, but a very cool add-on.
  
• Our fell cruise critter travelers. They just deserved a second mention.
  
• The Bingo lady. I wish I could remember her name, but she was hilarious. Great fun. Interestingly, I saw more of her and other cruise staff members than the actual Cruise Director (Abe Hughes), who did a fine job but I never saw him around the ship, only when he was on stage or doing an event.
  
• Embarkation and Debarkation. Fast, easy, efficient, straightforward - they've really got this down to a science.
  
• Deck 4 - the Promenade Deck. Why every ship at sea doesn't have a deck that is open fully around the ship is beyond me. Standing on the bow of the ship in the open sea is so Leonardo DiCaprio, but there's nothing like it. And standing aft watching the wake behind you for miles is amazing.
  

And the things that we weren't so crazy about and/or didn't love as much:

• The ship itself is, well, as my partner put it, "What's a less negative word than shabby?" Shabby is too strong a word, but there are little things that are starting to show their age. Big area of paint chipping off on our balcony, some threadbare carpets in places, some decor that looks a little dated. It just didn't have that zing, that magic that really makes a ship stand out. Don't get me wrong, still very attractive, well done, etc. and none of this took away from the cruise at all. I'm just picky. (I'm so gonna get flamed for this comment; bring it on). There were also areas that, honestly, just weren't clean. Not filthy, but just not as clean as they could have been. There were times when some of the public restrooms really needed more attention than they got.
  
• Why on earth are they using the hand wipe sanitizers at the entrance to dining venues and throughout the ship and not the automatic pump kind? Seriously, you have to pull a handi-wipe out of a tub to clean your hands before going into the dining rooms. Seemed like a colassal waste of paper and resources to me.
  
• Food quality. Some meals were good, some were fine, most were mediocre, some were flat out bad. Overall, I'd give the food a "fair" category. I understand they're cooking for 5,000 people and I understand that they're at sea so I don't expect a five-star dining experience, but most of it just isn't that good. We ate at Chops for my birthday - do not, repeat, do not order the ribeye. Seriously not good - no flavor, clearly not the highest quality meat (of course not, they're buying in massive bulk quantities). Superb service in Chops, but the quality of the food just wasn't there. Windjammer is pretty standard buffet food - loved the Indian/Asian food they had out every night, but it also lacked a little in flavor. We did have a very good meal in Portofino, though, which I do recommend making the time for it.
  
• Space. Everyone complains about deck chairs, but Mariner should really police the chair hogs more stringently - PARTICULARLY in the Solarium. We could never find a place there and the people in the pool and on the deck did not add up to the number of chairs that had towels on them. One morning I was on deck at 7:30 a.m. and most of the chairs in the Solarium were already "taken" and nobody was there.
  
• Mazatlan. Nothing at all RCCL can do about this and serious lack of planning on our part, but if you're going to do an excursion, Mazatlan is the place to do it. We didn't find the "Golden Zone" worth seeing at all, Old Mazatlan was interesting for about 45 minutes and then we'd seen it all . . . if we had it to do over, we'd either hightail it to a resort and not leave, take one of the ship's excursions or pick up one of the city tour vans at the port.
  
• Traffic flow. There are times when that many people in one space can get backed up, particularly in the Windjammer at breakfast on port days or heading to see a show in The Savoy or Bingo, for that matter.
  
• Humidity. Again, this has nothing to do with the cruise line, just watch the weather carefully -- it was HOT and HUMID, so if you're going late summer, plan appropriately.
  

All in all, we thought it was a great vacation, we enjoyed ourselves immensly and would do it all over again, given the chance. Royal Caribbean, and the Mariner crew, do some really great things and create an enjoyable and memorable vacation. One of the absolute highlights was the Adventure Ocean parade through the MDR in the middle of dinner, "We are the Pirates! The mighty, mighty Pirates!" Most adorable thing I've ever seen at sea. It really seemed like families had a lot to choose from and an endless array of activities to let the kids take part in.

 

There was absolutely no shortage of fun to be had, stuff to buy, drinks to taste and activities to be a part of. It's a great ship and a great cruise, but there were part of it that left a little -- and I mean a little -- bit to be desired. Overall, I'd give it a B or a B+.

 

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to let me know.

 

Great review. My partner and I have cruised on her last year and had a good time. We look at it this way,"a day crusing beats a good day at home." We are sailing on the Princess Crown for Thanksgiving. Any thing you can tell us about Princess and their policy on FOD.