Mariner of the Seas Review : 12/6 - 12/13

[Jasperdo]

PART 3

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

Ice Under The Big Top is the best show I have ever seen on a cruise ship. It is 50 minutes of sheer beauty, a real feast for your eyes. What those ice skaters can do on a moving ship is nothing short of incredible. The show is 50 minutes long and is the must see event on the Mariner of the Seas. It plays in Studio B four times during the week...Monday at 5PM, Wednesday at 7PM and 9PM and Friday at 5PM. We went to the Wednesday 9PM show. It is the busiest of the four showings. The doors open 30 minutes before showtime. We arrived 45 minutes before that, and a line was already forming. The problem with that particular show is that it's realistically the only show that early seating guests can see. The two 5PM shows are on formal night, which mean you would have to be dressed for dinner and in line by 4PM. The early Wednesday show is right in the middle of dinner. Which leaves only the Wednesday at 9 show for half the ship to see. RCCL really needs to evaluate the times for this show. It's so good that everyone wants to see it.

 

The rest of the ship's entertainment was more in line with other cruise lines. There are two main production shows in the Savoy Theatre ... 'Front Row' is at 9PM and 10:45PM on Monday. 'Pure Energy' is at 7:15PM and 9PM on Thursday. They were both good Las Vagas style productions, lots of singing and dancing with some nice effects. Very similar to what we've seen on other cruise ships. Not in the same league as Ice Under The Big Top, but still worth seeing. There was also the standard Welcome Aboard and Farewell shows held in the Savoy with a comedian and juggler.

 

There are also a couple of Game Shows that are usually a lot of fun. The Love and Marriage Show is similar to the Newlywed Game, and with the right couples it can be hilarious. The Quest Game Show is real silly but a whole lot of fun. It's held in Studio B on Thursday at 10:45PM. I'm not going to give it away, because as everyone knows ... what happens in The Quest, stays in The Quest.

 

We were a bit disappointed in the live music. We like to listen to a live rock band, and the Mariner didn't have one. None of the bands on the ship really caught our fancy. But that's just us, and there was a lot of music around the ship every evening. We did enjoy going to the Name That Tune game in the Lotus Lounge, but that was mainly because of the cruise staff guy that was doing it. Bjorn is from Jamaica and had a very flamboyant style that was a lot of fun.

 

There were also two parades down the Royal Promenade, one the first evening and the other the last evening. They were fairly short, only about 10 minutes. But they were entertaining and worth seeing. If you just want to catch one of them, I thought the first one 'Island-A-Go-Go' was the better of the two. Though I had to wonder what island we were headed to in the Mexican Riviera.

 

THE PORTS

 

Speaking of the Mexican Riviera, the Mariner of the Seas went to the three typical ports of Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. We have been to all three ports many times on other cruises, so in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta we just stayed on the ship. The Mariner is such a great ship that it was the destination for us rather that the ports. We did take a Shore Excursion in Cabo, however. Every other time we've been there we just tendered in for a few hours, looked around town and went back to the ship. This time we wanted to see a bit more of the Baja Peninsula so we booked the Coastal Highlights excursion. It was a very nice trip, and we're glad we did it. We first went to Sunset da Monalisa restaurant for a free drink. It's beautifully landscaped on a bluff overlooking Los Arcos, the bay and the ship. From there we drove 20 miles along the south coast to San Jose Del Cabo, which is a world apart from Cabo. It's a more peaceful, laid back town, with a picturesque plaza and historic church from 1730. The plaza was all decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful. From there we took a short drive to Cacti Mundo, which is a botanical garden with over 300 species of cactus from all over the world. After that we returned to Cabo, stopping at a Glass Foctory. We watched them make a glass turtle in about 5 minutes. Very interesting. Then it was back to the tender dock.

 

Even though we stayed on the ship in the other ports this cruise, we have done things in both places on other trips. My favorite thing in Mazatlan was when we took a shore excursion into the Sierra Madre Mountains. It went to the colonial towns of Concordia and Copala, including a Mexican lunch in Copala. Copala is a beautiful, sleepy town with cobbletone streets. Extremely picturesque, and highly recommended if you're interested in the history and culture of Mexico.

 

Puerto Vallarta is my favorite Mexican Riviera port. In my opinion, the best thing to do there is take a taxi downtown and just wander. There's the Malecon, Gringo Gulch, River Cuale Park, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the public market. Red tiled roofs climb up the hilside, with the blue waters of Banderos Bay close by. There's plenty of shopping and restaurants. And it's all in a very small area. Mexico at it's best.

 

CONCLUSION

 

I think it's a fairly safe conclusion to say I liked the Mariner of the Seas. Most of the other reviews I have read gave glowing reports, and I must say they were right. This easily ranks as the nicest ship we have cruised on. There definately was a "Wow!" factor to the Mariner that no other ship has matched. I still enjoy sailing with other cruise lines, and will gladly go on Princess or Carnival in the future. There were some things I think Princess does better. But I am sold on Royal Caribbean again as well. They offer a great product, and I will be sailing with them again in the future.

 

I want to briefly mention the Captain and Cruise Director. Normally they are not important to me. I can't recall the name of any of the Captain's we had on previous sailings. But I was quite impressed with Captain Per Kristoffersen. He seems to follow in the shadow of Captain Johnny, who everyone raves about. Which is a shame. We found Captain Per to be a very friendly, personable Captain. He has that dry Norweigan humor that I enjoy. And he genuinely seemed to enjoy his job. I heard that he is well liked by the crew as well. He personally serves ice cream to crew members along I-95, which is the main crew corridor. That says a lot about him. Be sure and check out his very informative Q&A Session in the Savoy Theatre.

 

I also liked Dan Whitney. He seemed to be everywhere around the ship, unlike some other CD's who you rarely ever see. We always saw him mingling and joking with the crowd before every show. He has a quick wit, too. Especially during the Love and Marriage Game Show, when he ad-libbed quite a few times in reaction to something a contestant said. Plus, he's from Washington State, just like us.

 

So, I would just like to close by saying that the Mariner of the Seas provides a terrific cruise experience. Highly recommended.

[hotlipss]

is it cold at the ice show?

[Jasperdo]

So if we went to the 9pm ice show would we miss out on the night show in the main theatre?If not what time would it be at?Also are all 4 ice shows the same show and do we have to get tickets ahead of time or do we just line up early?Thanks so much for all your imput:)....oh one more thing is it cold at the ice show?

There was no production show in the Main Theater that night. There is a Cabaret Show at 7:30 and 9PM which features the singers and band performing music you can dance to. All 4 Ice Shows are exactly the same, so you can go to any one of them. And no tickets are given out. It's first come first served. The doors open 30 minutes before the show, and a line starts forming before that. Studio B can be a bit cool, due to the ice. I was comfortable, but my wife was a bit chilly.

[MJonTravel]

Great review! I loved Mariner.

[hotlipss]

Great review:):):)I enjoyed so much...very much looking forward to our cruise now!!!

[CruiserMickey]

Thanks for the great review! Only two months until we sail, and this helps get the excitement level up!!

 

BTW, was Chuck Gunter the juggler in the opening and closing shows? He was on our Mariner cruise last March and was very funny. :)

[maitaiguy]

What a great review!

 

Thank you! I can't wait!

[Jasperdo]

 

BTW, was Chuck Gunter the juggler in the opening and closing shows? He was on our Mariner cruise last March and was very funny. :)

No, the comic juggler on our sailing was Steve Carte.

[CruiserMickey]

No, the comic juggler on our sailing was Steve Carte.

 

Thanks for the info!

[lacrossemitch]

No, the comic juggler on our sailing was Steve Carte.

 

How were the juggler/comedy acts? I've heard that there are adult only shows. Any worth catching?

[photogrant]

Thanks for the review. We're leaving on the 17th

[Jasperdo]

How were the juggler/comedy acts? I've heard that there are adult only shows. Any worth catching?

There were 3 comedians on our sailing. Two of them gave a small stand-up routine in the Welcome Aboard and Farewell shows. They each had a late night adult show, but we didn't catch either one of those. Another comedian, Kelly Monteith was the Headliner in the Savoy Theatre on Friday. He did a 45 minute routine and was very funny.

[Pumbaamd]

All 4 Ice Shows are exactly the same, so you can go to any one of them. And no tickets are given out. It's first come first served. The doors open 30 minutes before the show, and a line starts forming before that.

On our Voyager cruise last February, they gave out tickets to the Ice Shows. You could pick them up at Guest Relations or at the Concierge Lounge.

This Mariner plans sounds a bit stupid. I hope they just ran out of tickets for your cruise.

Rick and Deirdra

[Jasperdo]

On our Voyager cruise last February, they gave out tickets to the Ice Shows. You could pick them up at Guest Relations or at the Concierge Lounge.

This Mariner plans sounds a bit stupid. I hope they just ran out of tickets for your cruise.

Rick and Deirdra

I don't think they just ran out of tickets. The CD explained at the Welcome Aboard show that the Ice Show was first come first served. He said this was the fairest way, most efficient way to do it.

[Chelly]

Jasperdo: Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review. It's been ages since I've sailed with RCI and I'm looking forward to my April cruise on the Mariner after reading the good reviews.

c

[Jasperdo]

Jasperdo: Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review. It's been ages since I've sailed with RCI and I'm looking forward to my April cruise on the Mariner after reading the good reviews.

c

Same here. I hadn't been on RCCL since 2001. Was very impressed with the Mariner. Have a great cruise!

[jaynak]

Jasperdo - I was finally going to get around to write a review from my Nov Mariner cruise ... however you have said it all and said it far better than I could! I agree with you all the way. I cruised on the Caribbean Princess and then on the Mariner 12 days apart. I can say without hesitation that the Mariner blew the CPrincess right out of the water. There was no comparison in food, entertainment, or general friendliness of staff. It had been 5 years since I'd cruised with RCCL but it won't be 5 years til I do again. In the mean time I'm 'Princessed-Out' for now. I'll just say ditto to what you've written! Thanks for all your time and effort and contribution to this board. Jayna K

[Jiffymom]

not sure if you mentioned earlier but once again explain the time difference from ship time to PV. I assume it will be arrival time 8 am and that will be 9 am in PV. I am talking about a June date. I am thinking of booking a massage at 3:30 and that should be 2:30 ship time. Just don't want to be late to get on the ship.

[bedfordmom]

not sure if you mentioned earlier but once again explain the time difference from ship time to PV. I assume it will be arrival time 8 am and that will be 9 am in PV. I am talking about a June date. I am thinking of booking a massage at 3:30 and that should be 2:30 ship time. Just don't want to be late to get on the ship.

 

 

Trying to decided between MOS and Carnival Splendor for an April cruise. Which one is better? They seem to have the same ports

[firsttimeRCcruiserMay2010]

Awesome review and can't wait for the rest. We're going on the Mariner as our very first cruise so your review is giving us a bit of insigh.t

[firsttimeRCcruiserMay2010]

In regards to room service breakfast menu is it the same for all room types? We are staying in an inside cabin...this will be our first on thip cruise line and first for an inside and I know on other cruise lines they seem to have a different menu for different cabin cat.:rolleyes:

 

 

Is room service an extra cost or is it all included in the price as well?

[Jasperdo]

Jasperdo - I was finally going to get around to write a review from my Nov Mariner cruise ... however you have said it all and said it far better than I could! I agree with you all the way. I cruised on the Caribbean Princess and then on the Mariner 12 days apart. I can say without hesitation that the Mariner blew the CPrincess right out of the water. There was no comparison in food, entertainment, or general friendliness of staff. It had been 5 years since I'd cruised with RCCL but it won't be 5 years til I do again. In the mean time I'm 'Princessed-Out' for now. I'll just say ditto to what you've written! Thanks for all your time and effort and contribution to this board. Jayna K

Thank you for the nice comment. I still like Princess, but was very impressed with the Mariner. It was a nice change of pace.

[Jasperdo]

not sure if you mentioned earlier but once again explain the time difference from ship time to PV. I assume it will be arrival time 8 am and that will be 9 am in PV. I am talking about a June date. I am thinking of booking a massage at 3:30 and that should be 2:30 ship time. Just don't want to be late to get on the ship.

You are correct...Puerto Vallarta is one hour ahead of ships time. So, your 3:30PM massage will actually be 2:30PM ships time. Have a great cruise!

[Jasperdo]

Trying to decided between MOS and Carnival Splendor for an April cruise. Which one is better? They seem to have the same ports

I haven't been on Carnival in awhile, so I really can't compare the Carnival Splendor to the Mariner. I have enjoyed my previous cruises on Carnival, but the Mariner of the Seas is an absolutely beautiful ship. I would enjoy going on either one. Both ships do the standard Mexican Riviera run, so the ports are the same. I believe Carnival stays in Puerto Vallarta longer, but RCCL stays in Cabo longer.

[Jasperdo]

Awesome review and can't wait for the rest. We're going on the Mariner as our very first cruise so your review is giving us a bit of insigh.t

The rest of my review can be found on Page 2 and Page 3 of this thread. They're a bit hard to find. Here's a link to the complete review:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=61480

 

To answer your other question...Room Service is included in your cruise fare. I always leave a cash tip with the person who delivers it. There is a $3.95 Service Charge if you order Room Service between Midnight and 5AM. All other times it's no extra charge.

Have a great first cruise. You're going to love it! Feel free to ask any more questions you have about the Mariner of the Seas.