Mariner Horizon View Suites

We are considering booking a Horizon View Suite on the Mariner. They are aft on decks 7,8,9,and 10. We are wondering what advantages/disadvantages there might be to the various decks. We had a bad experience years ago on Princess; we had a balcony on a certain level (e.g., deck 7), and because of the staggered design of the ship, the people on levels above us could look right down onto our deck.

So... are decks 7,8,9,and 10 on Mariner situated so that one has privacy on the aft balconies? Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

We had a horizon suite on 7 on the Mariner. I do not recall an issue of privacy from our deck from above. From the sides we could see our neighbor. Those are incredible suites I would sail again in a heartbeat. We had a corner suite with a full living/dining area separate bedroom. Only odd thing was accessing the bath your walked through the walk in closet.

Having sailed on Princess I recall looking down into the verandahs from mine.

We had a horizon suite on 7 on the Mariner. I do not recall an issue of privacy from our deck from above. From the sides we could see our neighbor. Those are incredible suites I would sail again in a heartbeat. We had a corner suite with a full living/dining area separate bedroom. Only odd thing was accessing the bath your walked through the walk in closet.

 

 

Having sailed on Princess I recall looking down into the verandahs from mine.

It sounds like you are describing the Seven Seas aft suite as all of the aft corner suites on the Mariner are Seven Seas aft rather than Horizon Suites. The SS aft suites are 561 sq. ft. with a 286 sq. ft. balcony. The Horizon Suites are 359 sq. ft. with a 268 sq. ft. balcony,

jsdjkl35, agree that there were no privacy issues in these suites but I would definitely avoid Horizon Suites on deck 10 as they are under La Veranda and you will likely hear noise from above early in the morning and various times throughout the day and evening.

We are considering booking a Horizon View Suite on the Mariner. They are aft on decks 7,8,9,and 10. We are wondering what advantages/disadvantages there might be to the various decks. We had a bad experience years ago on Princess; we had a balcony on a certain level (e.g., deck 7), and because of the staggered design of the ship, the people on levels above us could look right down onto our deck.

 

So... are decks 7,8,9,and 10 on Mariner situated so that one has privacy on the aft balconies? Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

If you stand at the railing, I believe you can be seen from above. Other than the railing area, you can't be seen from above. The privacy problem comes from the side. Your neighbors on either side of you will be able to see your entire balcony clearly if they stand next to the balcony divider.

I would not take a suite on deck 10 aft because you are below La Veranda and its outside tables. I don't like the deck 7 aft suites because of the possibility of noise from the Horizon Lounge below or fumes from the smoking area on the port side aft of the Horizon Lounge. In addition, the verandas on deck 7 are a little smaller than the Horizon Suite verandas on the other decks.

I'd suggest looking for a Horizon Suite on decks 8 and 9. Caveat, if you must have a tub, suite 990 is the only Horizon Suite that has one.

We were in one of these suites on a Panama Canal cruise. Enjoyed the view immensely. However, we were on deck 7 and never again. We had no problem with any smoke from below and I'm very sensitive to smoke but the music from the Horizon Lounge was a problem. If you are not going to be out and about and want to go to sleep before midnight it is a definite problem some nights but not every night.

We had one of those suites sailing to Alaska out of San Francisco, and a memorable moment was sitting on our spacious balcony and looking up to see the Golden Gate Bridge pass overhead and then slowly disappear in the distance.

We love the Horizon Suites on Mariner (would not choose them on Voyager) and have been in 8104 and 992 on previous cruises

The room layout is perfect and the huge balcony with view over the stern at the foaming wake is sublime :)

We would always choose either decks 8 or 9 and with shower only (not combination tub/shower)

We have not found privacy to be a problem and in one instance being able to make contact with our neighbours was very useful; we were both on the balcony, the ship rolled, the balcony door slid shut......and locked!! :eek: After a short while, we managed to contact someone in a cabin above and they arranged for us to be released :)

Something to watch with the Horizon balconies is that sometimes soot spots from the ships funnel can land; this seems to occur if the Captain suddenly throttles up when leaving harbour and the air is heavy

We had a Seven Seas Aft on Mariner's first voyage to Alaska; we invited our neighbors to squeeze through the divider so they could see more; they only did it when we invited them. We also went out toward the back of the ship and talked to the people in the suites above us; it was a real party atmosphere. We looked at a Horizon Suite, and it was a very nice suite.

Cathy, yes, you are talking about the SS suite instead of the Horizon Suite, understandable because both are "horizon view".

We have not found privacy to be a problem and in one instance being able to make contact with our neighbours was very useful; we were both on the balcony, the ship rolled, the balcony door slid shut......and locked!! :eek: After a short while, we managed to contact someone in a cabin above and they arranged for us to be released :)

Hahahahaha! This made me laugh, as we just had a similar situation with my in-laws on their 7th floor balcony in their hotel in Haifa last weekend. They had gone outside to watch the Navigator sail out and when they pulled their door closed to preserve the AC in the room, the latch lever slipped down just enough to lock them out. Good thing for them we were just two doors down and could yell over to them! Took about 20 minutes to get someone from the desk to let them back in - they thought it was a prank call at first, since it's 'impossible' to get locked out on the balcony there. :)

Something to watch with the Horizon balconies is that sometimes soot spots from the ships funnel can land; this seems to occur if the Captain suddenly throttles up when leaving harbour and the air is heavy

We had this exact problem in a Horizonview suite on Voyager a few years ago. Loved the view; hated the soot. But we mentioned this to the CD on Navigator last week and he said he was pretty certain that the fleet had switched to a newer, cleaner burning fuel since then. Not sure if that's true since we haven't booked anything on the horizon since that trip...

When are you going to review your cruise? Looking forward to hearing about it!

When are you going to review your cruise? Looking forward to hearing about it!

TC - probably won't be until this weekend at least - just got back home at 1:30 AM this morning, and was in the office at 7:30 AM (sounds like poor planning, I know - but between cruises and our daughter's wedding I had to get back to work ASAP).

I'd planned on doing a slight time-delay blog, but the painfully slow internet on board turned me off of that exercise in futility after about day two. They say they increased the bandwidth by a factor of four. If that's true (which I seriously doubt) then they must have increased the user base by a factor of ten. This was without a doubt the slowest, most unreliable, frustrating internet experience I've ever had. In fact, it was the one thing on this cruise I complained about. As did others. Many others. And quite vocally, too, I might add. 'Free Internet for everyone' is a marketing phrase that doesn't yet translate into reality. Just because you can log in easier doesn't mean you end up with a usable product...

Other than that, it was probably one of our best cruises yet. Full review forthcoming...

Resurrecting this thread for a quick question. Of the Mariner Horizon View suites on decks 8 & 9, do any of the suites offer any protection from the sun on the veranda? It is difficult to determine from pictures if there is any "overhang" from the upper deck.

Resurrecting this thread for a quick question. Of the Mariner Horizon View suites on decks 8 & 9, do any of the suites offer any protection from the sun on the veranda? It is difficult to determine from pictures if there is any "overhang" from the upper deck.

There is a small overhang, probably five or six feet, that gives you some shade depending on the location of the sun.

There is a small overhang, probably five or six feet, that gives you some shade depending on the location of the sun.

Thanks very much. We are actually onboard the Mariner right now, and in speaking with the onboard cruise consultant about a future booking, she was not able to tell us about the overhang. She did pull up a picture of the aft of the ship, but it was difficult to determine the amount of coverage.

We were in one of these suites on a Panama Canal cruise. Enjoyed the view immensely. However, we were on deck 7 and never again. We had no problem with any smoke from below and I'm very sensitive to smoke but the music from the Horizon Lounge was a problem. If you are not going to be out and about and want to go to sleep before midnight it is a definite problem some nights but not every night.

Ear Plugs;)

We have been fortunate to enjoy Horizon View Suites on the Mariner twice so far. We love the room, one of our favourites. Lots of space and the balcony is great. There is a table with 4 chairs under cover, so to speak and then a double chaise that is more out in the open, of course depending on the position of the sun.

Agree with the comments about the Lounge below and beware the Veranda above so book one of the decks in between and you will be fine.

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On 7/23/2016 at 1:08 PM, ChatKat in Ca. said:

We had a horizon suite on 7 on the Mariner. I do not recall an issue of privacy from our deck from above. From the sides we could see our neighbor. Those are incredible suites I would sail again in a heartbeat. We had a corner suite with a full living/dining area separate bedroom. Only odd thing was accessing the bath your walked through the walk in closet.

 

 

Having sailed on Princess I recall looking down into the verandahs from mine.

I hope you see this!  I know your cruise was three years ago -- wondering two things....1) was there much vibration in the back?  2) Was there noise from the horizon lounge -- music??????

When we said beware the Veranda, it was because once we were on deck 10 just below La Veranda restaurant.  So I would say pick decks 8 or 9 for this suite away from the lounge below and the restaurant above and you will enjoy it immensely.  

No no vibration there and no noise if you are a deck removed...

1 hour ago, golfgirls said:

When we said beware the Veranda, it was because once we were on deck 10 just below La Veranda restaurant.  So I would say pick decks 8 or 9 for this suite away from the lounge below and the restaurant above and you will enjoy it immensely.  

 

No no vibration there and no noise if you are a deck removed...

I would pick deck 8 or 9 in a heartbeat...just not 7 where we were. 

4 hours ago, trvel4fun said:

I hope you see this!  I know your cruise was three years ago -- wondering two things....1) was there much vibration in the back?  2) Was there noise from the horizon lounge -- music??????

There was no vibration or noise on the aft suite corner suite. It was a slice of perfection in a cabin.

We had a Seven Seas Aft suite on 9 on the Mariner.  SSAft is right next to the Horizon view suites only bigger - separate bedroom and  sitting room and has a HUGE terrace.  Well worth the price difference I think.  Anyway - no vibration at all.   

We were recently in Horizon View suite 991 on the Mariner, from Singapore to Hong Kong and LOVED it! We were invited in to our neighbor's Seven Seas aft suite, and really didn't care for it, especially having to walk through the closet to get to the bathroom. Their room size also felt cramped. Our deck was very large, not huge, with 2 loungers and a table for 4. Both my husband and I have said we would sail in that suite again in a heartbeat!

Brownie54, Did you have any issues with soot?

Not Brownie54 but wanted to comment that we spend a about 20 nights in a Seven Seas aft suite on Mariner and did not see any soot whatsoever!

Thank you! That was the answer I wanted to hear.