Mariner Review and Pictures 9th June - 16th June

Just thought I'd give you some pictures of the Mariner.

 

We flew to Rome and got the transfers from the airport to the port. Great service but not worth £116 per person.

 

Embarkation was quick and no queues to go through to get on.

 

Balcony room 8224 was lovely. Couldn't ask for anything better.

 

Food was really good. We went to the Windjammer every day for lunch and had our dinner in the MDR apart from one night in Johnny Rockets.

The choice was brilliant as I'm a really fussy eater and found something to eat at both the Windjammer and MDR.

 

There was a lot of choice regarding shows or music. We watched the Euro's football on the big screen on the pool deck.

 

Disembarkation was great as well. No problems on getting off.

 

Just a word of warning regarding Euro traveller cheques. DO NOT TAKE THEM!!! Euro countries, especially Spain, will not exchange them for cash. No banks, bureau de change, no one. I struggled to get them changed back to £ in UK.

 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!! :D

A few more.

And a few more.

And few more!

And a few more.

And the last lot.

for the pics. I will be sailing this itinerary on 7 July, how were the ports? What excusions did you take?

Rick

Thanks for the pics - excited :D

Thanks for sharing :)

The ports were either beautiful or really industrial, especially Valencia. I work for Ford in the UK and when I opened up my balcony doors, all I saw was rows and rows of Ford C-Max, Grand C-Max and Fiesta. They are built in Valencia.

 

We did the scenic tour of Corsica. That was really good. It is a bit of a windy route by road but well worth the views.

We also did the Caves of Drach in Palma. It's about a hour away from the port. I've seen them before but my father hadn't.

At the other ports, we got the shuttle bus in to the city center so we did our own thing and you can use them as often as you like.

Thanks for the pics - excited :D

 

You will certainly enjoy! Have a great time!!:D

Love the pictures.

 

I note you live in the North West, did you fly with Jet2 from Manchester by any chance?? We sail in just under two weeks, can't wait, and will be flying with Jet2 and have arranged our transfers through RCI. Did you have to wait long before departing the airport when you arrived in Rome and, if you don't mind me asking, what time did the transfer depart the ship on the final day.

Ah a picture of Capt. Per one of the nicest guys on the high seas.:)

 

A few more.

Love the pictures.

 

I note you live in the North West, did you fly with Jet2 from Manchester by any chance?? We sail in just under two weeks, can't wait, and will be flying with Jet2 and have arranged our transfers through RCI. Did you have to wait long before departing the airport when you arrived in Rome and, if you don't mind me asking, what time did the transfer depart the ship on the final day.

 

We were on the cruise before Ned11 and did the RCI package with Jet2 flights from Manchester.

I thought the organisation of the 'meeters and greeters' was excellent There are lots of RCI staff at the airport, once you collect your luggage from the carousel you will be directed to pass it over to porters, you will not see it again until it is delivered to your cabin. Make sure you have your transfer voucher in hand as you will then be guided to the coaches and will hand it in before you get on the coach. Once it was full it left, no hanging around too long.

Once you left the luggage collection area on departing the ship again it was well organised., I think we left about 8am. Your luggage label number depicts which coach number you are on. Simple system but it worked.

We booked the cruise when the free flights promotion was on so got the transfers included as well

We were on the cruise before Ned11 and did the RCI package with Jet2 flights from Manchester.

I thought the organisation of the 'meeters and greeters' was excellent There are lots of RCI staff at the airport, once you collect your luggage from the carousel you will be directed to pass it over to porters, you will not see it again until it is delivered to your cabin. Make sure you have your transfer voucher in hand as you will then be guided to the coaches and will hand it in before you get on the coach. Once it was full it left, no hanging around too long.

Once you left the luggage collection area on departing the ship again it was well organised., I think we left about 8am. Your luggage label number depicts which coach number you are on. Simple system but it worked.

 

Thanks for the info and pleased to hear the positive comments from someone travelling on the same flight we will be travelling on.

We would of been onthe ship earlier if we didn't have to wait for an hour and a half for our luggage. I believe it was a faulty door on the plane. Once we got our luggage it was really well organized to get to the coach and then to the port.

We were number 16 for the coach coming home and left the ship at 7.30am so we had no problem. Did have to wait at the airport though for an hour as the desk doesn't open till 2 hours before the flight.

I was also on this sailing and have to reiterate that the food was overall great, although Windjammers was really busy at times, there was a good selection! Luckily we were in a GS so were fortunate enough to be able to grab our food at lunch time and sit in Chops---coffee here was much appreciated :D. We also ate in the MDR every evening and I have to applaude RCCL on their improvement to dietary requirements. My sister required a lactose free diet and they have now included this as well as gluten free as an option on the main menu. She just saw the menu the night before and ordered whatever she wanted and they adapted it to be lactose free! Really saved a lot of worry and they even bought her lactose-free milk for her coffee, which is much better than the Soy milk we were offered on previous cruises as that tends to curdle. Dessert options for her though seemed to consist of a plate of fruit or a slab of chocolate! Lol! They did make a baklava though one night which we were really impressed with!

Sea days by the pool there were definite arguments over deck chairs by the pool! People were having items removed if people nearby informed the deck attendants that they hadn't been back for 30minutes. Makes me laugh the arguments that happen over a deck chair!

Also I agree that Valencia was very industrial and the Ford car array did make me laugh when I looked out the window! You cannot walk anywhere once you get off the ship and just to warn you all the shuttle buses at posts cost (ranging from $10-$15) and 90% of the time you have to take one to get anywhere. In Valencia we were charged $15 and then dropped in the middle of nowhere with no instruction as to where to go from there! Everyone seemed to be like lost sheep. It was only the bus driver on our return coach that told us to walk to the end of the road and see the bridge of flowers. This ended up being the highlight for us!

Great cruise overall though---just wish I was back on it now!!

Thanks for photos and information about the ship.

 

Did you sail at 7 pm? If so, what time did check in at the port start and what time did boarding start?

Hi

Thanks for the review and photos. I was thinking of taking some traveller's cheques in euros for our upcoming cruise on the Liberty. Were you able to cash them at guest services on the ship?

You must have been really unlucky with the bus you took, as we awere also on that sailing, and took the same transfer. Upon boarding the bus, they guy checking tickets told everyone, where to go after being dropped of.

For those that are interested for future, when the bus drops you, walk up the road that the bus has just come down some 100 yards, where you will see a decorative arch, going past that will take you to the old town, which is lovely, turn left at that point and you will go to the main shopping area, that is similar to that in any major city :)

 

................In Valencia we were charged $15 and then dropped in the middle of nowhere with no instruction as to where to go from there! Everyone seemed to be like lost sheep. It was only the bus driver on our return coach that told us to walk to the end of the road and see the bridge of flowers. This ended up being the highlight for us!

Great cruise overall though---just wish I was back on it now!!

Thanks for the nice photos. We are sailing on her this November.

Hi

Thanks for the review and photos. I was thinking of taking some traveller's cheques in euros for our upcoming cruise on the Liberty. Were you able to cash them at guest services on the ship?

From my recent experiences on Liberty when she has sailed in the Med, the Compass says that Guest Relations have Euros for exchange but I don't know if that means they will cash Euro T/Chqs, only US$ cheques.

 

There is a Euro ATM onboard but this attracts a fee (US$6) to use the machine, but I wouldn't rely on it as it was out of order everytime I went past. They have 2 ATM's, one US$ and one Euro. One is next to Guest relations (Euros) and the other is just past Sorrentos (US$) at the other end of the Royal Promenade.

Thanks for the reviews, photos and tips! We're looking forward to this cruise in a few weeks! :D