Just Back from Mariner. Quick Review.

[Bruinboy]

When I was preparing for our Mariner Mexican Riviera cruise, I loved reading reports of those who recently returned from their cruise. We got off the Mariner yesterday, and here are the highlights for me.

 

Embarking and disembarking. We flew into LA on Thursday night for my wife’s high school reunion in nearby Glendale. After brunching with friends on Sunday morning we headed to the ship. We arrived at the pier at 12:30 PM. A porter immediately took our bags, and we headed through the embarking process. We are Platinum members so we got into a little faster line, which went very smoothly. We were on the ship by 12:50. Disembarking was just as easy. We left the ship at 8:35 and headed to customs. Since we had signed up for the Luggage Valet program, we did not have to hunt for our luggage. We stood in line for about five minutes waiting to get through customs and then found our bus (arranged by Royal Caribbean) to take us to LAX. We were at the airport by 9:45. By the way, our luggage showed up in Omaha when we returned. The Luggage Valet program is well worth it!!! Just put your luggage out the night before and not have to touch it again until you arrive at home. Not only that, since they print out your boarding pass, you go straight to the gate and do not have to stand in line with all the other return cruisers at the ticket counter.

 

My Time Dining. We signed up for MTD to try it and to see if we liked it. We ate in the main dining room four out of the seven nights. Twice we ate in the same section with the same wait staff, the other two times we had different wait staff. All three set of servers were fantastic. No complaints there, and they all addressed us by name right from the get-go. Apparently, their system is such that they pass along your name to your servers as they seat you, so the server addressed us by name throughout the meal. It was a nice, an intimate touch. We had a standing seating time for two at 6:30 and changed it one night to 6:00 so that we could dine with another cruise critic couple. We will probably choose this again. Right now a portion of the fifth floor dining area is set aside for my time diners.

 

Pool Area. With three sea days we anticipated difficulty in getting a seat by the pool. No problem. The $20 deposit system and the deck patrol folk have made a dent in the chair hog coalition. I’m sure the CHC will find a way around the system after they adapt, but for us it was delightful to go out by the pool for a couple hours mid-morning or early afternoon and not have to worry about finding a lounge chair.

 

Cruise Director and Captain. For me, cruise directors and captains don’t usually stand out on a cruise. They just blend in with the rest of the ship’s activities. Granted, we have not been on that many cruises. This was our seventh cruise, but these two individuals added zest to our cruising experience. Both had great senses of humor, and we didn’t want to miss what they had to say. Captain Johnny will be on the ship, except for vacation breaks, until he takes over the Allure sometime next year. Cruise Director Dave Chapman told us he rotates a bit, but will be on the Mariner for a couple more months. We tuned into Dave’s Morning Show everyday and laughed out loud a number of times at his antics. Captain Johnny’s “fortune cookie” message of the day put a smile our our face. These two guys are sensational.

 

Excursion. We have been to Cabo before and wanted to check out a particular property in Mazatlan, so we did not book excursions in those two ports. We just headed out on our own, but the excursion in Puerto Vallarta was one of the top five we have ever taken on a cruise ship. It was titled “Mexican Cooking Experience” and it was delightful. We went away from the port into the countryside where we stopped at a small, modest village, complete with horses in the streets. We stopped at a “taco factory” to get “masa” (the dough for making tortillas). I put the “taco factory” in quotes because the factory looks more like a converted store front, very small but the locals go there to get their tortillas. We then headed to an outdoor restaurant where we tried our hand at making salsas, chili rellenos, and hand made our own tortillas from the “masa.” Along the way we were giving two adult beverages. I loved it because we got a sense of life away from the port, and also learned how to make some killer salsa. I can’t imagine buying “store bought” salsa any more!!!! It was that easy to make, and tasted wonderful.

 

Minor Negative #1. I know I’m going to get hammered on this one, but it was the whiners at the Crown and Anchor gathering. We get it. The benefits have changed. Move on. We only went to the first return cruisers gathering. We decided not to go to another because we didn’t want to be around the negativity.

 

Minor Negative #2. The sound system at the cruise critic “Meet and Mingle” up in Ellington’s was awful. We could hardly hear a thing, and my hearing is pretty good. If you want to meet people at the meet and mingle, then you need to “meet and mingle.” We had 150 folk signed up for ours. I would say around 100 were there.

 

If you have any other questions about the cruise or the ship, I will attempt to answer. I hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise as much as we did.

[jjb415]

Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts into words. It was great to hear of your experiences on one of my favorite ships. I agree with your comments about the whiners!! :)

[SB9]

What nights were the formal nights for your cruise. I'm taking the same one in a few weeks.

 

Also could you explain the deposit on chairs by the pool? My first cruise, 2 Years ago on the sister ship Adventure of The Seas, they did not have this. I do know what you're talking about with the chair hogs.

 

(My first post)

 

-Seth

[fotog303]

Thanks for posting.... I am 90 days out so I love reading about other cruises.

 

BTW if you smoke cigars I would love to hear any details about were the best smoking spots are. If not thanks again for posting.

[cb at sea]

It's not a deposit on the CHAIR, but on the towels!!! Keeps folks from leaving their $20 towels lying around unattended, while others are looking for a place to sit!! Good idea!

[joyfulmarsh]

Hello Seth, I'll jump in and help answer your question as we were on the Mariner last month. (Gosh, was it only last month??! Sigh!!!)

 

Formal Nights are Monday & Friday--during Sea Days.

 

If you need a large beach towel, you will have to go up to the Towel Kiosks on the Pool Deck (11) and present your Sea Pass Card. You can check-out as many towels as you like but all will be noted directly to your Sea Pass account. You will need to return just as many towels as you've checked out. In returning all towels, you will not be charged $20 per towel. This is a great system, fostering more responsible use of lounge chairs & towels and definitely deters chair hogs, as now you're actually responsible for the towels and less lightly to leave it unattended.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Joyful Marsh

 

 

What nights were the formal nights for your cruise. I'm taking the same one in a few weeks.

 

Also could you explain the deposit on chairs by the pool? My first cruise, 2 Years ago on the sister ship Adventure of The Seas, they did not have this. I do know what you're talking about with the chair hogs.

 

(My first post)

 

-Seth

[wolfganghowell]

Hi Bruin - thanks for your info. Can you share a little bit about the nightlife activities? I have heard that Matt Yee has left so not sure what the current evening options are.

[Bruinboy]

CB ... thanks for the catch. The deposit is on the towels $20 per towel, not the chairs. People less likely to leave unattended towels so fewer people reserving chairs by coming out early and placing a towel on a pool chair and then walking away.

 

Formal nights ... Monday and Friday on our cruise.

 

Did not smoke cigars so no help there.

 

Matt Yee still onboard. Apparently, quite popular. All kinds of things to do at night in terms of entertainment. A "butt for every saddle" so to speak for night life.

[azdmelani]

Hi Bruin - thanks for your info. Can you share a little bit about the nightlife activities? I have heard that Matt Yee has left so not sure what the current evening options are.

 

Just got back from this cruise also- Matt Yee was still on board and performed nightly. Didnt really attend, but people seemed to like him.

[wolfganghowell]

Is the Pub rowdy or laid back at night as far as the entertainment? I know on Voyager it has been rowdy but that was due to the entertainment there.

 

I'm not sure Matt Yee will be our cup of tea but he seems quite popular so it's certainly on the to do list for at least one night. :)

[dirtgirl]

Matt Yee is a hoot! Not to be missed!;)

[jjb415]

I am glad to hear that Matt Yee is back on the Mariner, I had heard that he was going to another ship. His show appeals to many who would not usually attend on land & is a lot of fun. :)

[pg.]

Thanks for trip report,, I do enjoy reading them.

 

As for chair hogs,, I don't think the towel deposit will really help,, as on every cruise I have been on ,, its not the towel,, but the cheap paperback or flip flops left on a chair that mark it as a "occupied" chair..

[CanuckCruizer]

wolfganghowell - I was told by RCCL that Matt Yee leaves the Mariner on November 1st (so his last cruise will be October 25th before his holidays or wherever he is going). Angelo Arvonio starts on the Mariner on November 1st until December 13th. The new pub guy for The Wig & Gavel in that same timeframe will be Jimmy Blakemore. There will be a Latin trio in Bolero's but RCCL did not know the name when I called them. Hope this helps.

 

Canuck

[SRAFROG]

Just got back yesterday also.

 

Jimmie Blakemore is currently in the Wig and Gavel. He sings OK, but is somewhat

rude to people requesting songs.

 

Bruinboy, I agree with you about the Meet and Mingle. They need to have someone

who speaks better English there and a louder system. I am going to write Crown and

Anchor in Miami about that. For the number of people we had, we should have

warranted some officer to attend.

 

Bruinboy, so sorry about UGLA loosing to Oregon. That seems to happpen to USC

every time they go north too. Next week we play Notre Dame. I hope USC has

come with an offense for this game. Right now they dont have one.

[azdmelani]

wolfganghowell - I was told by RCCL that Matt Yee leaves the Mariner on November 1st (so his last cruise will be October 25th before his holidays or wherever he is going). Angelo Arvonio starts on the Mariner on November 1st until December 13th. The new pub guy for The Wig & Gavel in that same timeframe will be Jimmy Blakemore. There will be a Latin trio in Bolero's but RCCL did not know the name when I called them. Hope this helps.

 

Canuck

 

Jimmy was at the Wig and Gavel on this cruise- played acoustic guitar covers- very nice guy!

[SB9]

Joyful and cb thank you very much. They didn't have the towel deposit 2 years ago and also they didn't have the room service charge from Midnight to 5 am. I guess things change.

 

I'm very much looking forward to trying all the things I missed on my last cruise. I swear I tried to do as much as possible....

 

If you had to pick one which would you go to Portofino or the steak house?

 

Our last cruise we stayed in the dining room every night minus one night at Johnny Rockets. We'd like to try either place on this cruise. From what I heard so far the steak house is better.

 

Thanks - Seth

[Bridgette1912]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Cant wait for our Mariner cruise next June. Havent been on Royal for a while, so I have a few questions. Is there a soft serve ice cream area? Does it run 24 hours? How about pizza? I read somewhere on here that there was not always food available. Did you find that to be true? How about lemonade and iced tea? Were these always available? Thanks so much !!!

[andynlala]

Sounds like you had a great cruise! Cant wait for our Mariner cruise next June. Havent been on Royal for a while, so I have a few questions. Is there a soft serve ice cream area? Does it run 24 hours? How about pizza? I read somewhere on here that there was not always food available. Did you find that to be true? How about lemonade and iced tea? Were these always available? Thanks so much !!!

 

ice cream-yes, deck 11 right outside the doors on the right side, only open until 11 or so.

Pizza-you can get at Cafe Promenade 24 hours.

You can get room service for a small charge after a certain time.

Lemonade & iced tea are available in the bars & restaurants.

[novalab]

If you had to pick one which would you go to Portofino or the steak house?

 

 

Thanks - Seth

 

Hope no one minds if I chime in on this question. We were on the Mariner in June & tried both specialty restaurants. Both were wonderful & we plan to visit them again in April. However, we all (there were 4 of us) preferred Portofinos over Chops. If you are a steak eater, Portofinos has a wonderful filet. Otherwise, much more diversity in their menu as compared to Chops. Everything we tried was wonderful! But, don't take my word for it...try them both;)

[spam-la]

When I was preparing for our Mariner Mexican Riviera cruise, I loved reading reports of those who recently returned from their cruise. We got off the Mariner yesterday, and here are the highlights for me.

 

Embarking and disembarking. We flew into LA on Thursday night for my wife’s high school reunion in nearby Glendale. After brunching with friends on Sunday morning we headed to the ship. We arrived at the pier at 12:30 PM. A porter immediately took our bags, and we headed through the embarking process. We are Platinum members so we got into a little faster line, which went very smoothly. We were on the ship by 12:50. Disembarking was just as easy. We left the ship at 8:35 and headed to customs. Since we had signed up for the Luggage Valet program, we did not have to hunt for our luggage. We stood in line for about five minutes waiting to get through customs and then found our bus (arranged by Royal Caribbean) to take us to LAX. We were at the airport by 9:45. By the way, our luggage showed up in Omaha when we returned. The Luggage Valet program is well worth it!!! Just put your luggage out the night before and not have to touch it again until you arrive at home. Not only that, since they print out your boarding pass, you go straight to the gate and do not have to stand in line with all the other return cruisers at the ticket counter.

 

My Time Dining. We signed up for MTD to try it and to see if we liked it. We ate in the main dining room four out of the seven nights. Twice we ate in the same section with the same wait staff, the other two times we had different wait staff. All three set of servers were fantastic. No complaints there, and they all addressed us by name right from the get-go. Apparently, their system is such that they pass along your name to your servers as they seat you, so the server addressed us by name throughout the meal. It was a nice, an intimate touch. We had a standing seating time for two at 6:30 and changed it one night to 6:00 so that we could dine with another cruise critic couple. We will probably choose this again. Right now a portion of the fifth floor dining area is set aside for my time diners.

 

Pool Area. With three sea days we anticipated difficulty in getting a seat by the pool. No problem. The $20 deposit system and the deck patrol folk have made a dent in the chair hog coalition. I’m sure the CHC will find a way around the system after they adapt, but for us it was delightful to go out by the pool for a couple hours mid-morning or early afternoon and not have to worry about finding a lounge chair.

 

Cruise Director and Captain. For me, cruise directors and captains don’t usually stand out on a cruise. They just blend in with the rest of the ship’s activities. Granted, we have not been on that many cruises. This was our seventh cruise, but these two individuals added zest to our cruising experience. Both had great senses of humor, and we didn’t want to miss what they had to say. Captain Johnny will be on the ship, except for vacation breaks, until he takes over the Allure sometime next year. Cruise Director Dave Chapman told us he rotates a bit, but will be on the Mariner for a couple more months. We tuned into Dave’s Morning Show everyday and laughed out loud a number of times at his antics. Captain Johnny’s “fortune cookie” message of the day put a smile our our face. These two guys are sensational.

 

Excursion. We have been to Cabo before and wanted to check out a particular property in Mazatlan, so we did not book excursions in those two ports. We just headed out on our own, but the excursion in Puerto Vallarta was one of the top five we have ever taken on a cruise ship. It was titled “Mexican Cooking Experience” and it was delightful. We went away from the port into the countryside where we stopped at a small, modest village, complete with horses in the streets. We stopped at a “taco factory” to get “masa” (the dough for making tortillas). I put the “taco factory” in quotes because the factory looks more like a converted store front, very small but the locals go there to get their tortillas. We then headed to an outdoor restaurant where we tried our hand at making salsas, chili rellenos, and hand made our own tortillas from the “masa.” Along the way we were giving two adult beverages. I loved it because we got a sense of life away from the port, and also learned how to make some killer salsa. I can’t imagine buying “store bought” salsa any more!!!! It was that easy to make, and tasted wonderful.

 

Minor Negative #1. I know I’m going to get hammered on this one, but it was the whiners at the Crown and Anchor gathering. We get it. The benefits have changed. Move on. We only went to the first return cruisers gathering. We decided not to go to another because we didn’t want to be around the negativity.

 

Minor Negative #2. The sound system at the cruise critic “Meet and Mingle” up in Ellington’s was awful. We could hardly hear a thing, and my hearing is pretty good. If you want to meet people at the meet and mingle, then you need to “meet and mingle.” We had 150 folk signed up for ours. I would say around 100 were there.

 

If you have any other questions about the cruise or the ship, I will attempt to answer. I hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise as much as we did.

 

We did have a great cruise, didn't we?? !! So happy we all met in advance in Schooner---I hung out quite a bit with one couple from my area I met at Schooner and M and M. I agree with all you described, BruinBoy, but I am unhappy about the amount of changes with C and A in such a short time--they can keep their chocolate and gifts, but when I booked onboard and got no OBC--that hurt!--starting now, they will not combine it with the Diamond discount ....moving on...MTD was a problem for us until I ran into the head of Food and Beverage and things went from awful to wonderful! My third time on Mariner and the ship is still beautiful and remains my favorite in all of the ships I have been on. As much as I love the experience on RCCL< I might try to venture out as they aren't doing much to reward us old faithfuls. we'll see.

Matt Yee is there, and we laughed ourselves silly! pam

[HBINLA]

Hi - you had mentioned a $20 deposit regarding deck lounges. Would you please tell me about that? I have never heard of it before. Thanks!

[SB9]

Hi - you had mentioned a $20 deposit regarding deck lounges. Would you please tell me about that? I have never heard of it before. Thanks!

 

It was answered previously in this thread. It is a $20 deposit on towels that go on your seas pass and removed once your return the towel. There isn't a deposit on chairs. I think the idea was more to save money then keep people from hogging chairs.

 

Novalab thank you for the answer. We're traveling with a small group so we like to eat together. Not sure everyone would want to eat at Portofinos. Now I can let them know there is a decent varity there to chose from. Thanks

[Tisty82]

I'm so excited to see this post - I'm going on the Mariner next October - I can't wait!!

 

Just a few quick questions:

How formal do most people dress for the formal nights - I want to make sure I pack the appropriate clothing.

 

Also, I'm assuming the specialty restaurants are an extra expense. How much should I plan on paying to have dinner at these places? I'm going on my honeymoon so I'm sure my new husband and I would really enjoy having dinner just the two of us a night or two.

 

Thanks so much :D

[Bruinboy]

Tis ... we ate at both specialty restaurants. Both great in my opinion. Chops $25 per person and Portifino's $20 per person. I liked he dessert selection better at Chops. Both had great main course selections.

 

As for formal nights, most men, 95% of them in the formal dining room wore sport coats and/or suits. Most of them wore ties. A handful of tuxedos. Women in fancy looking stuff ... I'm a guy so not sure what it was ... dresses and pants outfits. My wife wore a formal looking pants outfit both times.

 

Barbara, thanks for your sympathy about UCLA. Unfortunately, they lost to Oregon in the Rose Bowl. I hope USC rolls over Notre Dame!!! We got to keep the West Coast bragging rights.