Back from 5/30 Mariner

[CrimsonCruiser]

Currently crafting a very detailed review and will have it up in a couple of days. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions, ask away.

 

Random thoughts:

 

If you are driving to or from Port Canaveral on a sailing day, be advised that the local police have a very large presence. I must have seen 4 people pulled over on our arrival and another 4 on our departure day. Watch your speed, you don't want to begin or end your vacation with an expensive ticket.

 

Chair hogging: more about this in my upcoming review, but the chair hoggers were out in force, but so were the pool attendents. I would have to say that in order to "reserve" chairs you could not just leave your towel and personal effects on a group of chairs. ½ an hour later and the pool attendents were moving the towels and personal effects to a single lounge chair. There were some interesting exchanges that resulted, but more about this in the review.

 

Dining Room Food: with the exception of the first night, our group of 15 were very pleased with the overall quality and selection of food in the dining room.

 

Weather: We were very fortunate, there was some drizzle early in the morning at St. Martin, and a thunderstorm on the last night about 11:00 but otherwise very good weather.

 

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HAL Zandaam 06/2000

RCCL Voyager 07/2002

RCCL Mariner 05/2004

[Family of 14]

What about the service? Were your rooms clean and ready for your check-in? Were they cleaned early during your cruise?

 

<MARQUEE>Are you sailing on the Mariner 7/18/04?...Click here!

or HERE!

 

</MARQUEE>

 

Disney Wonder 3/2000 ~ Disney Magic 9/2000 ~ RCI Vision 2/2001 ~ Carnival Victory 12/2001 ~ Celebrity Millennium 3/2003 ~ RCI Adventure OTS 9/2003 ~ RCI Mariner OTS 7/18/2004 ~ RCI Serenade OTS 9/26/2004

[CrimsonCruiser]

We were very pleased with the service from both the cabin stewards and the dining room staff.

 

When you board before 1:00 (a very efficient and quick process) you are given a sheet of paper that welcomes you to board "early" but that mentions that the rooms are not available until 1:00.

 

We had stayed at the Radisson the night before and had the first Mariner shuttle at 11:30 reserved (shuttles to Disney and Carnival begin leaving earlier). However, due to some type of problem at the terminal with the disembarking guest, our shuttle was delayed until after 12:00. Then we had to wait in traffic for about a ½ hour.

 

The bus driver announced that he was informed by radio that the terminal had been shut down due to a problem with a disembarking guest and no more cars were allowed in.

 

Therefore, by the time we had arrived and checked in it was 10 minutes until 1:00 and our cabins were ready. Cabin stewards were standing by in the hallways.

 

By the time we had eaten lunch and toured the ship, our luggage was in our room and our steward had complied with our request to empty the mini-bar.

 

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HAL Zandaam 06/2000

RCCL Voyager 07/2002

RCCL Mariner 05/2004

[AdrieneAGD]

Problem with "a guest?" Hmmm. I'd love to hear more about that if anyone has any info - sick passenger, unruly passenger, or something?

 

Sovereign of the Seas, 2/27/2003

 

Celebrating my husband's 30th birthday on the Mariner of the Seas, 9/5/2004

 

 'til the Mariner!!

 

[CrimsonCruiser]

During the cruise:

 

The cabin stewards were very good about working around the schedules of the various guests and efficiently cleaning the rooms quickly.

 

Our only problem was self-inflicted. My 16 year old son slept the morning away on a couple of occassions which prevented the stewards from taking care of our room until the afternoon. I imagined that this created a hardship for them and apologized to them while trying to give them an idea of when would be a good time to come back.

 

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HAL Zandaam 06/2000

RCCL Voyager 07/2002

RCCL Mariner 05/2004

[CrimsonCruiser]

I tried to find out about the problem with the disembarking guest from the 5/23 sailing with ended on 5/30.

 

The staff is too well disciplined to talk about it. One employee at the Guest Relations desk talked around it by saying that they only ended up 30 minutes behind schedule in getting the last guest off the ship. Although, I think the problem may have occurred in the terminal.

 

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HAL Zandaam 06/2000

RCCL Voyager 07/2002

RCCL Mariner 05/2004

[laurashelby]

Hi! Glad you had a good time. A friend of mine, Susan (with her husband and 2 sons) were on your sailing too....you may have met her at the CC party. Can't wait to hear if she had a good time!

 

Who was your Cruise Director? How did the Meet & Mingle go?

 

Thanks,

Laura

 

Roll Call: Mariner 7/11/04...Please Join Us!

 

 

Enchanted Seas 9/93

Atlantic 12/94

Majestic 4/95

Grandeur of the Seas 8/97

Paradise 8/99

Ocean Princess 8/00

Navigator of the Seas 10/03

 

 

 

Countdown 'till the Mariner 7/11/04!!

 

 

[AdrieneAGD]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CrimsonCruiser:

 

The staff is too well disciplined to talk about it. One employee at the Guest Relations desk talked around it by saying that they only ended up 30 minutes behind schedule in getting the last guest off the ship. Although, I think the problem may have occurred in the terminal.

 

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Ahhh, gotcha. Probably either:

A) someone who didn't secure their Seapass w/ a credit card and didn't finalize their account in a timely manner (don't ya just love those "Would Mr. and Mrs. So and So please report to the purser's desk immediately" announcements before disembarking?), or

B) Someone trying to smuggle something in their luggage and got stopped by customs.

 

Sovereign of the Seas, 2/27/2003

 

Celebrating my husband's 30th birthday on the Mariner of the Seas, 9/5/2004

 

 'til the Mariner!!

 

[Family of 14]

That's great about the service! Thank you so much!

 

While you were away, we had a discussion here about letting teens sleep in on a cruise and how it disrupts service. Here is the link:

 

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=408097554&m=763103322&r=694104322#694104322

 

<MARQUEE>Are you sailing on the Mariner 7/18/04?...Click here!

or HERE!

 

</MARQUEE>

 

Disney Wonder 3/2000 ~ Disney Magic 9/2000 ~ RCI Vision 2/2001 ~ Carnival Victory 12/2001 ~ Celebrity Millennium 3/2003 ~ RCI Adventure OTS 9/2003 ~ RCI Mariner OTS 7/18/2004 ~ RCI Serenade OTS 9/26/2004

[CrimsonCruiser]

Our cruise director was Becky from the UK. This was the first week of her contract.

 

She has an enormous energy level and seems to be everywhere. She really knows how to get the crowd into what ever is going on.

 

We did not attend the Meet and Mingle because we were travelling with two other families in our group of 15. This trip was, for us, about interacting with the group that we brought aboard.

 

However, judging from our roll call, I believe that the Meet and Mingle was probably pretty successful and well attended.

 

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HAL Zandaam 06/2000

RCCL Voyager 07/2002

RCCL Mariner 05/2004

[laurashelby]

Thanks! So, Becky is new? How was she?

 

Laura

 

Roll Call: Mariner 7/11/04...Please Join Us!

 

 

Enchanted Seas 9/93

Atlantic 12/94

Majestic 4/95

Grandeur of the Seas 8/97

Paradise 8/99

Ocean Princess 8/00

Navigator of the Seas 10/03

 

 

 

Countdown 'till the Mariner 7/11/04!!

 

 

[nosnobunny]

Was your CD Becky Brown? If so, we had her husband Bobby Brown as CD on the Brilliance. They worked as a team and were fabulous! I hope she's still there when I cruise in Oct 05.

 

Beth

 

Mariner of the Seas Reali-Tini Cruise Oct. 16/05

 

[Shoreline23]

Laura,

 

I'm glad to say that I met Susan and her husband at the Meet and Mingle - we also met some of our CC board friends the day before. The Meet & Mingle was pleasant - RCI gave out a few gifts and we were on our own to meet and talk with those whom we have conversed with for months in the CC forum. It was great to place a face with a name. The greatest part - we were all on a cruise and had a wonderful time.

 

George

 

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[scotmonson]

Just curious

 

Did you drive to the Radisson and leave your car there? If so did you feel that your car was left in a secure situation at the hotel?

 

Scotmonson

14 cruises past

Mariner 11/07/04

 

[OrangeCallaLily]

Question on the Mariner - we are sailing in Sept. Wondering if they offered the "Wine & Dine" package on your cruise? I know there is another thread on this topic, but no one mentioned the Mariner.

 

Thanks!

Renee

[Towanda]

Thank you for posting. A lot of us are really curious about the steward situation.

[Family of 14]

Yeah! I am so surprised that there is a new CD!

I hope her contract is a few months long so that we have her in 5 weeks.

We had Kurt D. while on the AOS and didn't care for him that much. We were horrified to learn that he was changing to the Mariner...just after we booked her. Although others have loved him, we had a personal encounter and he was down right rude and not at all interested in small talk...only wants to work the crowds. His scrappy voice also got on my nerves (unfortunately, he sounds/looks just like a person in our hometown that many despise, so that didn't help him any. )

Where is Becky from? How about the assistant director? Male or female?

 

<MARQUEE>Are you sailing on the Mariner 7/18/04?...Click here!

or HERE!

 

</MARQUEE>

 

Disney Wonder 3/2000 ~ Disney Magic 9/2000 ~ RCI Vision 2/2001 ~ Carnival Victory 12/2001 ~ Celebrity Millennium 3/2003 ~ RCI Adventure OTS 9/2003 ~ RCI Mariner OTS 7/18/2004 ~ RCI Serenade OTS 9/26/2004

[CrimsonCruiser]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by scotmonson:

Just curious

 

Did you drive to the Radisson and leave your car there? If so did you feel that your car was left in a secure situation at the hotel?

 

Scotmonson

14 cruises past

Mariner 11/07/04

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

 

 

The parking for cruise ship passengers at the Radisson was in a grassy/dirt area next to the hotel. The area is fenced within the Radisson property and we were comfortable with the security of it. It can get kind of muddy after rainy days.

 

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HAL Zandaam 06/2000

RCCL Voyager 07/2002

RCCL Mariner 05/2004

[scotmonson]

Thanks for the info. Look forward to your review.

 

Scotmonson

14 cruises past

Mariner 11/07/04

 

[CrimsonCruiser]

Becky is from the UK. The ***'t director is also from the UK, and he is also very good but I can't remember his name. I'm at work now, but I'll check the Compasses at home to get both their full names and bios.

 

My only contact with the ***'t director was the few times I went to bingo (incidentally, my wife won an early low paying round). He seemed to handle the bingo crowd well, with just the right amount of chastising the annoying bingo players while keeping the game moving.

 

The final jackpot bingo was around $14,000.

 

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HAL Zandaam 06/2000

RCCL Voyager 07/2002

RCCL Mariner 05/2004

[mafig]

Very pleased and relieved to hear that you had no first-day steward issues.

 

Thank you for your prompt replies.

[LLM]

I'm so glad to be hearing positive comments on your sailing. I can't wait to read your review!

 

Lisa

 

Until Mariner of the Seas

 

 

Voyager of the Seas - Oct. 2003

[RM]

Glad to hear there were no glitches with the stewards. Can't wait to read your review.

 

Up next Mariner of the Seas

Then Jewel of the Seas

[Jacquelyn11]

I've stayed at the Radisson prior to cruising several times. I've always left my vehicle there and have never had a problem doing this. However, they have gone up in price considerably since last year so the "deal" is not as good anymore. It's about $149 for the king suite now, but If you subtract the $70 you would have to pay at the port for parking it's still not that bad.

 

You also have to wait for the shuttle to take you back after you depart. On my last cruise a transport van nearly backed up over me while we were on the curb waiting for the Radisson van. Just another reason to "shop around"!

 

How far is Zepherillis (sp) from the port?

 

Jacquelyn :D