Mariner VS Voyager?

[Imerald]

I have 4 days to cancel my 4/23/05 cruise on the voyager and swap to a 4/24/05 cruise on the Mariner. Its the same ports of call and length, difference would be $50 in price and a shorter drive by about 3 hours. I live in Orlando so Port Canveral is only an hour drive where as Miami is 4 hours. We would have a superior Ocean view D2 on either ship and be on floor 8 for the voyager and 7 on the mariner? Please help me decide!

[Fairsailing]

No question, I would go with the Mariner. Newer ship, Chops, and a shorter drive.

[Imerald]

Awesome! Its what I think we were going to do, but I wasnt sure. I am so indecisive!

[Imerald]

I dunno...I'm still scared to change. I think I have built myself up sp much for the voyager...I'm scared I would have liked it better than the mariner. Are the layouts pretty much the same? Which has the better balconies? :confused:

[skyking]

The Mariner Has Much Better Balconies. They Voyager Has Steel And Glass Balconies While The Mariner Has All Glass Balconies Giving You A Complete View Of The Ocean. Hand Down I Would Pick The Mariner, Especially That It Is So Close To Home.

 

Tim

[TrentS]

The layout is essentially the same on both ships. The Mariner is everything the Voyager is but ALSO has a Chops (AWESOME STEAKS!!!), the kids area is larger on Mariner, and yes... The Mariner definitely has the better balconies! The 1st three Voyager class ship's balconies feel closed in, where the last two (Navigator and Mariner) are much better.

 

You won't go wrong with any Voyager class ship, but in your case I WOULD go with the newest one - the Mariner! If you would have loved Voyager, you'll REALLY love Mariner!!! ;)

 

Gor for it while you can still get the cabin you want!

[Ocean Boy]

I haven't been on Voyager but I have been on Explorer and Mariner. I don't really see where you would have any down side from switching to Mariner. She is a beautiful ship.

 

Just make sure it doesn't matter to you whether you sail Saturday-Saturday or Sunday-Sunday. Since you live in Orlando with a short trip home at the end I doubt that it would really make much difference to you. If I lived that close to Mariner I'd be cruising more then once a year!

[42trvl]

We were actually booked on both the exact same sailings you are asking about, and ultimately chose the Mariner on 4/24 for many of the reasons stated in this thread. It may sound trivial to some, but I like to be able to see through the glass on my balcony. Add to that the fact that it's a newer ship, we saw no reason not to go for the Mariner. And we even had to consider the fact that for us getting to Port Canaveral is not as convenient, and with kids Sat.-Sat. is preferable, with school on Monday, but still felt the Mariner would be a "nicer" experience for us.

So, maybe we'll see you then...

[HB Cruiser]

I have been on both ships. Enjoyed the balcony on Mariner much more than Voyager due to reasons previously posted. However, enjoyed the some things on Voyager much more than Mariner. Food was much, much better on Voyager than Mariner. Except for our server in the dining room, staff was much more friendly on the Voyager than Mariner.

 

Now, after telling you this, my suggestion, take the Mariner, the extra travel time is not worth the few, minor (in my mind) differences. Remember, it is a cruise and it will be enjoyed no matter which ship you decide on. Make your decision today, be done with it, and go on, don't fret about it.

 

Tim

[Imerald]

:) Well, we are booked on the Mariner for 4/24! Thank you All! So, maybe we will see you then...;)

[MikeNJ1109]

You'll enjoy the Mariner very much. We have been on both ships, most recently the Mariner (12/03), and have enjoyed ourselves very much both times. However, I go with a previous poster that a newer ship and shorter drive definately win out. In addition, the Mariner has a to-die-for Wine Bar that we took advantage of every evening for a night - cap.

 

Mike & Silke

[Candleonwater]

I had to make a similar decision for March, but looking at farther distances... decided on the Mariner because I knew, in a pinch, I wouldn't hesitate to drive to Port Canaveral and didn't want to drive the extra distance to Miami. You won't be disappointed in the Mariner, it's a wonderful ship!

[pinkrosesdeb]

We found the service and food on Mariner to be the best so far. Have done Voyager and Explorer and loved the Mariner enough to book her again for April 10, 2005.

[LESTRELA]

I am a Voyager lover, I went on the Voyager on our honeymoon 2003, & went on the Mariner last August 2004, The Mairner was great, though i like the privacy on the balcony's voyager had more privacy then the Mariner, Food was better on the voyager and entertainment was better on the Voyager Both wonderful ships though i go with the Voyager i also found that the Voyager had more of a shopping in the promanade then the Mariner did {hubby noticed the same thing, and when we where on the mariner he said he like VOYAGER better!!

[Imerald]

Thanks Everyone. LESTRELA, where were you about 7 hours ago! :p See that is kinda what I thought from looking at pics that the promenade on the Voyager had a bit more of that mall feel than the others. And my fiance and I love to relax by walking around the mall and shopping. As far as the privacy of the balconies, could you elaborate?

 

Thanks again for all your input!

[PAGA]

We've been on the Explorer (same as Voyager) and the Mariner.

 

As for the balconies, the Explorer and Voyager have balconies that are more so cut into the ship -- the wall on at least one side of your balcony is steel and on the front portion of the balcony the bottom 1/3 is steel and the top 1/3 is glass (I liked this because the steel formed a lip I could prop my feet up on). The Mariner balconies more-so extend from the ship and the entire front of the balcony is glass and the side walls are a frosted glass -- you can see sillouhettes on the next door balcony when the lighting is right. It's a personal preference thing -- most posters here prefer the Mariner balcony-style...I missed the foot rest and didn't feel the frosted dividers gave as much privacy.

 

I prefer the Mariner's Promenade because of the Vintages Wine bar that replaces what I believe is a sports bar on Voyager/Explorer. We enjoyed going in and tasting different flights of wine and they also serve light hord d'eurves before dinner each night. Both have a pub on the Promenade and the shops are pretty much identical from what I recall.

 

We preferred the food/service on Explorer (Oct '03) to Mariner (May '04), but I think that's all hit or miss. We once had a bad experience on a Celebrity ship and received a voucher for a future cruise -- the only sailing we could make work before the voucher expired was on the same ship and our second experience couldn't have been more different...everything negative we had experienced had been improved. RCCL/Celebrity really do take comment cards seriously and I know at least on navigator they've been tinkering with a new dinner menu...

 

I don't think you're traveling with children, but for others who might be reading this post the main difference is that the Explorer/Voyager/Adventure have a kids pool and slide area behind Adventure Ocean on deck 12. On Mariner/Navigator the kids pool was eliminated to expand the inside of Adventure Ocean, including the addition of a 2nd teen club and an outdoor hang out for the teens (so that the 12-14 and 15-17 age groups could be separated). I know the 6-8 year old room on Mariner/Navigator is almost twice the size of their room on the other Voyager-class ships.

 

Honestly though, I wouldn't regret your choice on either ship. None of the things people are mentioning about one ship over the other are huge issues that will make-or-break your experience.

 

- PAGA

 

Grandeur, Mercury, Century (2 times), Galaxy, Monarch, Explorer, Mariner, Adventure, Navigator

 

Explorer (May '05)

Radiance (Nov '05)

[pinkrosesdeb]

We like the Promenade much better on the Mariner than the Voyager. We didn't find anything missing at all and it is very new. The colors and decor are also much nicer. The crew on Mariner was some of the best we ever had.

[joyceyw]

We too having sailed both the Voyager and Mariner thought the Voyager was a better ship.

 

We prefer the more closed in feel of the balconies on the older ships as we feel we have more privacy.

 

We thought the Welcome aboard parade on the Mariner was barely okay, while the parade on the Voyager felt like a Mardi Gras parade atmoshpere everyone was dancing and having fun where as with the Mariner parade everyone just sat or stood there the cruise director couldn't get the crowd into because the staff wasn't into it.

 

The nightlife the week we were on the Mariner was just okay, the nightclub was a hit and miss some nights whereas on the Voyager "The Vault" was crowded everynight. To be honest, the nightclub on the Radiance last year was more active than the Mariner.

Food & Service hands down goes to the Voyager, we felt the service on the Mariner except for our stateroom attendant was just okay, like the employees were just doing what was required no more no less.

 

We felt that the Mariner was a prettier ship overall, but it's the other qualities that we felt were lacking on the Mariner in comparrison to the Voyager.

 

The one thing that really bugged me about the Loyalty Ambassador on the Mariner really bad mouthed the Voyager when I told her I wanted to book the Voyager instead of the Mariner again. I made sure I let her know how unprofessional it is to speak ill of another ship in the RCI family, geesh she's supposed to be sailing cruises on RCI not just the Mariner.

[Imerald]

Thanks Again everyone. I really do appreciate the feedback! How do we live without the internet! Does anyone know how much the fees for the internet cafes are? Can you "surf" the web? Or is it just an email portal. Thanks!

[brianandtanya]

Having sailed both (Voyager Apr '03, Mariner Jul '04), I think some are saying the the voyager is probably better because it was their first experience on a "Voyager" class ship. We all know how hard it is to beat a first experience if it was positive. With that said, if this is your first time on the Voyager Class then I'd say go with the Mariner, not for any other reason other than convenience. They are both great ships but you really won't know what you're missing from one ship to another with this being your first time.

 

We'll be on the Mariner in Jun '05 for the second time mostly because it's easier for us to get to Port Canaveral.

 

Enjoy your cruise either way.

[World Traveler 81]

Voyager has a GREAT cruise director at the moment... Becky "Hello Luv" Thomson! We actually sailed with her last July on the Mariner, but now Voyager is her ship. Aside from the cruise director, I would say that we liked Mariner a lot more than Voyager. Although we did miss the Island Grill as a casual alternative at dinner.

[42trvl]

I don't think you should worry too much about food and service. We were on the exact same ship twice in four months, and you would have thought we were on two completely different ships. I think on service sometimes it's just luck of the draw. These ships employ so many people, that some are bound to be better than others and there's no telling who you'll end up with. Our wait staff the second time around was mediocre at best, yet people we met who had our waiter from the first cruise thought he was the best...The food was also highly variable, so we've just learned not to get too caught up in those things anymore.

[Ocean Boy]

I completely agree with 42trvl. We had much better service on Explorer and she had a better (happier) crew than Mariner. But I didn't really mention that in my reply as it is pretty much irrelevant since so much can change from sailing to sailing.

[pinkrosesdeb]

I think this is so funny. We really all do find different things to like or dislike. You really have to try them for yourself because we have found that several people on the same exact cruise will have a totally different experience! We were the least impressed with the Explorer but she is a LOT of people's very favorite. It could have been the crew when we were on or just our perception. The one thing I know for sure, you will love whichever Voyager-class ship you pick. We NEVER had a bad cruise on one, just like the Mariner best for whatever reason hit us at the time! Can't wait to step onboard in a couple of month's from today!!!

[TITISSA]

Hi Imerald, we were on the Mariner last February 04. It is a gorgeous ship! Absolutely beautiful every where you go. We had a Grand Suite and were treated like royalties. I would go with the Mariner because it is a newer ship. Besides less driving is a plus. Have a great cruise!:)