Review-Last Run of Mariner OTS on the Mexican Riviera 1/9 to 1/16 2010

[Party Teacher]

Darkwolfe,

 

I'm so enjoying your review. We were on the cruise right before yours and must have been some of the passengers waiting to depart the port as you arrived. (My DH was the guy playing the guitar with the porters singing with him!)

 

I found it interesting that you also caught a head cold after you got home. 5 out of the 6 of us also got sick the Monday after we got home.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

No, maybe 20. There are about 1000 doing the full Round the Horn, 50 of whom showed up at the pier without their Brazilian visas.

 

 

AGAIN? :eek: That happened when the ship left FL for around the horn 2 years ago.

 

***

[critterchick]

Whoops!! Catch the ship when you have it or you're staying home!

 

I can't imagine spending that kind of money and not being completely thorough with my documentation. Just boggles the mind that people do that.

 

As I recall, over 300 people showed up in Miami when she came this way. RCI got the Brazilian consulate to issue visas on an expedited basis, but the passengers still had to fly to the next port on their own nickels. I think that this batch were given the option of leaving the ship in Argentina.

[Darkwolfe]

Darkwolfe,

 

I'm so enjoying your review. We were on the cruise right before yours and must have been some of the passengers waiting to depart the port as you arrived. (My DH was the guy playing the guitar with the porters singing with him!)

 

I found it interesting that you also caught a head cold after you got home. 5 out of the 6 of us also got sick the Monday after we got home.

 

I believe I saw him at it too! Very funny, but a good way to fight off the PCD!

 

Wasn't really a head cold. Right side sinus turned into a concrete block in Denver. Ever try flying with a blocked sinus and can't get your ears to equalize? OUCH!!! :o

 

Ah well, shorter flights next time... Galveston... See ticker in sig. :D

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Loving your review and pictures of the final Mariner west coast cruise.....sniff, sniff.

 

Hope your head cold/sinus are better, it can be miserable!

 

***

[Darkwolfe]

Loving your review and pictures of the final Mariner west coast cruise.....sniff, sniff.

 

Hope your head cold/sinus are better, it can be miserable!

 

***

Thanks. I'm pretty much back to normal now, but I don't remember much of yesterday until rather late.....

 

There will be more of the review (as written while onboard) tomorrow morning. I'm at work right now and the file is at home. :o

 

But if anyone asks a specific question that I can answer, I will.

[cin7609]

No, maybe 20. There are about 1000 doing the full Round the Horn, 50 of whom showed up at the pier without their Brazilian visas.

 

Actually, it was a little less and they still got to sail as long as they agreed to get off in Chile.

[Darkwolfe]

Actually, it was a little less and they still got to sail as long as they agreed to get off in Chile.

 

That's going to be fun to get flights home. :eek:

[dirtgirl]

No, maybe 20. There are about 1000 doing the full Round the Horn, 50 of whom showed up at the pier without their Brazilian visas.

 

 

I imagine that they didn't have travel agents to tell them what they needed! I would never send someone anywhere without checking to see that they knew about proper documentation! :eek:

 

As I recall, over 300 people showed up in Miami when she came this way. RCI got the Brazilian consulate to issue visas on an expedited basis, but the passengers still had to fly to the next port on their own nickels. I think that this batch were given the option of leaving the ship in Argentina.

 

And travel insurance won't cover improper documentation.... :p

 

Darkwolfe, thank you so much for your review. Wish I could have been there.

[RaiderFaninNM]

Thanks for the review and all the pics!!! Having never set foot on a RCI ship I can not wait!!! Keep it coming!!!!

[Merion_Mom]

Actually, it was a little less and they still got to sail as long as they agreed to get off in Chile.

 

Well, that's insane if they booked TWO legs. The first leg ends in Valparaiso, Chile. Are they just giving up half of their cruise? Is RC actually refunding their fares? What the heck?!?!?!?!?

[Merion_Mom]

No, maybe 20. There are about 1000 doing the full Round the Horn, 50 of whom showed up at the pier without their Brazilian visas.

 

"It's like déjà-vu, all over again." - Yogi Berra

[Merion_Mom]

Actually, it was a little less and they still got to sail as long as they agreed to get off in Chile.

 

Wow, that's more than we had, and the ship's not even going all the way back to the U.S.!

 

I wonder how many are repeaters from Jan-Feb 2009.

[Darkwolfe]

1-11-2011

 

Cabo San Lucas was our stop today. We didn't have anything planned except to wander around town a little and enjoy not being in winter for a while. Apparently some part of winter went with us anyhow as it was very chilly this morning. It warmed up for the afternoon and that made things pretty comfortable, but by nightfall the chill in the air had returned.

 

El Arco by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Cabo San Lucas by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Senor Frogs by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

We stopped into Sammy Haggar's Cabo Wabo bar for some quick shots and a rest break. No we didn't overdo the shots. One each was plenty, although one of our group went after a margarita and got a little more than she bargained for as it was both huge and strong. Keep your wits about you when you start knocking back tequila. It will sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention.

 

Sammy Haggar's Cabo Wabo Cantina by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Inside Cabo Wabo Cantina by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Cabo's vendor line was a pretty good taste of things to come in each port as well. I jokingly called it the "Gauntlet" since you have to work your way past so many vendors hawking any number of tours, rental cars, knick-knacks, jewely, etc etc. Everybody has to make a living so they don't bother me much. Just give 'em a "No" or ignore them altogether and keep on moving. They'll keep trying as long as you are in range but they don't follow you around at least.

 

Back onboard to chill out and watch the party boats coming back in, then at dusk, we sailed on.

 

100_0058 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[ARCruisinNana]

Since the ship overnights in Chile I wonder if they can go to the Brazilian Consulate in Santiago to get their visas? I was on the Vision TA from Lisbon to Sao Paulo. Amazing how many did not have a Brazil visa. Apparently they didn't check very well in Lisbon and PAX without the visa were deported once we got to Brazil. Also there were no hairdressers or manicurists on board because they didn't have their work visas. Glad I had my visa and will use it again for the cruise around the horn Feb. 1.

[Darkwolfe]

100_0081 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

Crown and Anchor event after departing Cabo San Lucas.

 

 

MDR Staff by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Forward from the balcony by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience and pictures with us.

[Darkwolfe]

Thank you for sharing your experience and pictures with us.

 

 

You're welcome! :)

[Darkwolfe]

1-12-2011

 

100_0003 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Early day for us today. We had scheduled a horse back ride with Randi's Happy Horses so we were off as soon as possible to catch up with Randi and her guide Tony.

 

Randi of "Randi's Happy Horses" in Mazatlan by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Tony's father (his name escapes me) was also one of the guides. By and large we had three skill groups riding. One group was the folks with lots of saddle time that wanted to gallop up the beach. By and large, Tony's dad stayed with them. Then the second group was those of us that knew what we were doing, but either didn't feel like speeding up the beach or we had horses that refused to go much faster than a low canter. Our third group consisted of the folks that were very new to riding and didn't need to go faster than an occassional trot. Tony watched over that group very carefully.

 

Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

100_0054 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

We did have one rider take a spill, but even she said it was her own fault. Horse went one way and she didn't. By design, that is why the riding is on a beach with very soft sand. Take a spill there and you basically just dust off and keep going.

 

100_0060 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

100_0061 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

We had a pretty good time with a 90 minute or so beach ride and time to chill at Victor's on the beach afterwards with a cold Pacifico beer or a soda if you chose. It was a nice comfortable spot to land for a while, but the vendors are little annoying. Usually a firm "No" takes care of most hawkers you don't care to trade with. Not these guys. They'd wander by every few minutes trying to make you some deal on whatever they were selling. Buy if you want too, but don't take the first price. Haggle them down and they'll start dropping pretty fast.

 

Don't expect to get good silver there though, it's not going to happen. Lots of plate stuff, but .925 and .950 silver is not going to be found there. Maybe this is where you get the kids some bling for fun, but that's about it.

[Darkwolfe]

My apologies for the bad delay in finishing. My whole household got nailed by a really bad cold for several days running. It was not pleasant.

 

And a major snowstorm tomorrow... Whee. Somebody put me back on the ship!! :D

 

Ok the rest....

 

 

1-13-2011

Puerto Vallarta is our last stop before returning to San Pedro ( and reality). We had a nice, long, 12 hour stop here, so we made the most of it. A cab ride up into downtown ran $3 per person. We got out and wandered along the beach taking pictures of the sand sculptures for a bit then raided the local Del Sol for a couple of T-shirts before getting a cab back to the port for our dolphin swim that afternoon.

 

Puerto Vallarta by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

100_0016 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Vallarta Adventures ran the dolphin swim through the ship and it was actualy cheaper that way than going through their website. We had a very good excursion there and quite frankly it was way better than the one I'd previously experienced in Cozumel. I'm not bad-mouthing the Cozumel excursion, it was good. This was just far better. I'll let a couple of pictures tell that story.

 

Puerto Vallarta - Dolphin swim by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Puerto Vallarta - Dolphin swim by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

After the dolphin swim, it was back to the ship, pick up a couple of trinkets in the "Gauntlet" and thus ended our last port stop on this trip.

 

"The Gauntlet" at Puerto Vallarta by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

1-14 & 15-2011

Sea days can be your lazy days on a cruise. Or you can get busy with ship activities if you want. There was plenty happening, but after all the activity in the ports, lazy sounded good. Napping was high on the list of things to do.

 

100_0004 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Deck 4, Mariner of the Seas by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

There was a fair amount of life in the waves as we sailed along as well. Pods of dolphins and ocassional whales were fairly common, but when you are tearing along at 20 knots, you don't have much time to take pictures or video. I got what I could, but I'm certainly hoping for better luck next time. Regrettably, none were really worth sharing here. So a couple of shots from the balcony will take that space.

 

Thick fog by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

100_0025 by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Chops Grille was our dinner choice for Friday night. Everybody walked away from the table feeling well stuffed. Food quality was as high as I've come to expect for Chops. This was also lobster night in the MDR and Chops balanced that by offering the lobster there with the smaller filet mignon steak.

 

General thoughts....

 

This was a cold cruise. One would think that a trip to Mexico in the Pacific would be fairly warm at any time of the year. Not so much. It was chilly every morning in every port except Puerto Vallarta. On our returning sea days, you could feel the temperature drop as the ship moved further north along the Baja coast. Indeed, by Saturday afternoon, a jacket was needed if you planned to stay on your balcony for more than a few minutes.

 

Notable staff...

 

William in the dining room kept our dinners amusing every night. He had an odd table setup going with two tables of ten and then our table off away from the big tables. He also had to watch out for a peanut allergy at one table and some gluten free requests at ours. Still, he kept our service top-notch and we were never left wanting for a dinner request.

 

William by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

Clever, our cabin steward, was a very visible face during the day. He would always ask us how things were going when we encountered him in the hall. Cabin requests were handled quickly and neatly. He was always personable and despite his workload, made time to talk with all of his guests when around.

 

Clever by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

[Darkwolfe]

Oh they kicked us off!

 

You have to hate that last morning. Back to reality whether you want it or not. Such is life.

 

Getting off was quite easy. We opted to cart our own gear off the ship and didn't get into a rush about it. After breakfast, we loaded up and wandered off the ship. no big lines to speak of and we were calling Super Shuttle for our pickup by 9:30am.

 

Off the ship by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

After loafing around LAX for several hours (books came in handy) it was back to winter and one last surprise ( Yes I posted it already, but it's interesting) view of Mariner as the plane gained altitude. She's right in the middle, look at the full size version to see her better.

 

Mariner from 10k feet by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

So long Mariner! But, we'll see you next year in Galveston!

[2Scots]

Oh they kicked us off!

 

You have to hate that last morning. Back to reality whether you want it or not. Such is life.

 

Getting off was quite easy. We opted to cart our own gear off the ship and didn't get into a rush about it. After breakfast, we loaded up and wandered off the ship. no big lines to speak of and we were calling Super Shuttle for our pickup by 9:30am.

 

Off the ship by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

After loafing around LAX for several hours (books came in handy) it was back to winter and one last surprise ( Yes I posted it already, but it's interesting) view of Mariner as the plane gained altitude. She's right in the middle, look at the full size version to see her better.

 

Mariner from 10k feet by Wulfgar28, on Flickr

 

So long Mariner! But, we'll see you next year in Galveston!

Great review, Darkwolfe- thanks!

We're on the TA next fall bringing Mariner back to Galveston from Roma, so we'll take good care of her until she gets back to her new winter port...We hate to see Voyager leave here but we are looking forward to the newer MOS!

[Darkwolfe]

In truth, having sailed both ships, I think you'll like Mariner better. Don't get me wrong, I like Voyager too, but Mariner felt like she was in better condition over all and her crew didn't seem as rushed.

 

Of course it has been a few years since I was on Voyager so things may well be better than I remember.

[pmmarket]

Glad to found this post as I have not been hearing anything about this ship. Sounds like everyone enjoy their rooms, staff & food? Are the rooms updated? Seems like the Rome- Holy land is a new route for them.

any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks, Peggy

 

pm2nm@aol.com