Just off the Mariner

[Carnival AZIPOD]

Just got off the Mariner this weekend and all I can say is WOW -- I am truly impressed! The staff onboard gave us an amazing cruise vacation.

 

The ship is absolutely beautiful. There was never a dull moment onboard and they always had something exciting going on. This means a lot since this is coming from a "Carnival cruiser." :-) The service, across ALL departments was nothing short of outstanding. I am truly amazed at how courteous all the empoyees were onboard. Finally, the food was outstanding.

 

The embarkation and debarkation as well as the tendering at Cabo (done by two 2-level catamaran ferry boats) was quick and there was never really more than a 5-10 minute wait at most. Royal really got their efficiency thing down. In comparison, the Carnival Splendor requires you to get "group number tickets" to get off the ship at Cabo -- took me 2 hours last time to get off!

 

Long story short, I think I found myself a new cruise line to sail with. We pay a modest premium to sail on Royal, but the small difference makes up for a fabulous and perfect cruise vacation!

 

I'm sad to see the Royal is leaving California. One question though, does Royal have consistent service and customer experiences across the entire fleet?

[kathyemma]

I love the Mariner! So glad you had a good time.

 

Kathy

[birdylady]

I can't speak about the entire fleet, but our first sailing (ever) was on the Mariner and we LOVED her. We have since sailed on Monarch and Rhapsody and for the most part I would say based on my experience, yes, they have fairly consistent service on the other ships. Just like any 'chain' there are good employees, so-so employees and the fantastic employees. So, occasionally you might get someone that's not phenomenal, but we've (so far, and luckily enough) never had an employee I had to register complaints about.

 

Erika

[tonit964]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a great cruise!!

We will be on her Sunday!!

 

Can you please tell me if there is any outside dining at the Windjammer?

I know that there is not an area at the back of the ship but wondering if it is all enclosed.

Thanks!

Toni

[ASeaPrincess1]

Isn't Mariner amazing? She is my favorite ship, and I, like many others here, are so sorry she is leaving LA.

I am glad you had a great time, and you picked a good week to switch to RCI, given all the trouble Splendor had.

I have never had less than stellar service on Mariner, as well as Vision and Monarch.

As those are the only ships I have sailed with RCI, those are the only ones I can tell you about.

But I think you may find that RCI offers a consistent service fleet-wide.

Welcome Aboard!:D

[Langley Cruisers]

We loved Mariner too and thought the service we received was outstanding. Glad you enjoyed.

 

Can you please tell me if there is any outside dining at the Windjammer?

 

No, there is no outside seating in WJ on Voyager-class and larger ships. It is all enclosed, but you can take your food to the pool deck when you are not docked in California, if you wish.

[Cruising89143]

I don't think that RCI is as consistent as they use to be but it is still better than what I received on Carnival. I like you was a Carnival cruiser. In 2004 after 16 cruises with Carnival, we decided to try the Navigator of the Seas. We have not been back to Carnival since. RCI offers more of what we're looking for in an overall cruise vacation which is friendly service and clean well maintained ships. If you loved the Mariner, then try a Freedom or Oasis class ship. :)

[tonit964]

We loved Mariner too and thought the service we received was outstanding. Glad you enjoyed.

 

 

 

No, there is no outside seating in WJ on Voyager-class and larger ships. It is all enclosed, but you can take your food to the pool deck when you are not docked in California, if you wish.

 

Thank you!

[Puffinater]

Thanks for the post. Glad you enjoyed the Mariner she is tops on our list of favorites. Great crew.

 

There is no outside WJ seating on the Mariner.

[bmccarthy]

I have never cruised on Carnival, but love Royal Caribbean. I have been on the Sovereign, Monarch, Jewel, and Mariner. I have enjoyed every one of my cruises. The food, service, and entertainment was great across the board. I think you will enjoy other ships just as much as you loved the Mariner, which is a great ship with an outstanding crew.

 

Beth

[bionicman97]

Glad to hear the Mariner is still a great ship.

 

We feel that we have pretty much equal service/food/etc across the fleet as compared to the Mariner (at least the ones we have sailed on).

[lucieloo]

I was on the exact same cruise and have to agree wholeheartedly that the experience was great and the efficiency of embarkation/debarkation and all ports was amazing. It was my first cruise with Royal and won't be my last :)

[aggiejade]

Thanks for sharing, I'm really excited now as I sail on the Mariner in 5 days!!!!

 

Nina

[twometresplus]

Thanks for your mini review, my fiancée and I will be spending our honeymoon on the mariner on the 12/19/2010, I've been looking for recent reviews for a little while. Am glad to hear you had such a great time.

[Tyler80]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise onboard Mariner of the Seas. Welcome to the family of Royal Caribbean! It is more expensive than others, but as you see it's worth it. Hope to see you onboard soon! :)

[wwcruisers]

So glad to hear that you enjoyed your first RC cruise. We sailed on Mariner the week before you, and it was one of our best cruises, ever (sailing with RC since 2002)! :D

[Swimfly]

So glad you enjoyed the Mariner! We spent our honeymoon and first cruise together on the Mariner and love her!

 

RCI service is across the board amazing. We've never encountered a challenge and thoroughly enjoy the cruising experience w/RCI.

[LBumb]

Mariner is an awesome ship with an awesome staff.

[abhb]

We sailed Mariner in late June. Had a great time except for the weather which can't be helped.

 

We have found that all of the cruises that we have been on have had consistantly exceptional service with very friendly staff members.

[samoyedlover24]

The Mariner is truly a great and beautiful ship! So glad you enjoyed sailing on her! I've only been on her once back in August, but the staff, the service, the fun and friendliness of the passengers of the ship made me want to continue cruising! (Who doesn't? :D) I hope to sail on her again someday! It probably won't be on a Mexican cruise though since she's leaving in January. :(

[bellabaloo]

Thanks for the review. We just booked today for the Mariner in 2012 are so excited!

[BonTXNY]

So glad to read all the positive reviews of the Mariner, especially now that she'll be coming to Galveston next year :) We hope to book a 2012 Mariner cruise while aboard the Voyager in Jan 2011. We've only been on 3 RCI cruises and all 3 were exceptional in service, ambience and overall friendliness. For us, the destination is the ship, not the itinerary but I know others would disagree. It's all good as long as it's a cruise ;)

[tvetan]

Never bored. Happy crew and passengers. The hidden away movie theater is a real treat but needs some new seats. Didn't deter us we saw 3 movies. I hope RCCL brings another great ship to the West Coast. Explorer, Vision, Radiance, Mariner and Oasis Oct 2011, guess that says I like RCCL.

[off2ctheworld]

Thanks for the review. We are looking forward to our first Mariner and RC cruise in a few weeks. Have cruised on HAL before. Sounds like a great adventure awaits us.

[jonesy111]

Just got off the Mariner this weekend and all I can say is WOW -- I am truly impressed! The staff onboard gave us an amazing cruise vacation.

 

The ship is absolutely beautiful. There was never a dull moment onboard and they always had something exciting going on. This means a lot since this is coming from a "Carnival cruiser." :-) The service, across ALL departments was nothing short of outstanding. I am truly amazed at how courteous all the empoyees were onboard. Finally, the food was outstanding.

 

I just got off on Sunday and agree that it was absolutely wonderful! Our first cruise and I loved every minute of it. There were 13 of us that went and some had sailed with other companies (mostly Princess) and they were very happy with the Mariner as well. We had the best waiters in the main dining room, so good to all of us and shared lots of laughs with them. Loved it! :D:)