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Anyone sailed both Voyager and Mariner?


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We've sailed both.

 

Mariner had these cool bathrooms right outside of the Windjammer.....in the men's room when standing at the urinal you were looking right out at the ocean (so my DH said). In the ladies room there were two stalls that when you sat you looked out over the ocean. Also one had children's pool area that the other didn't have (can't remember which one that was).

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The main difference structurally is the balconies on the Mariner (and Navigator I believe) are outside the hull of the ship and on the Voyager they are inside the hull. If you look at a picture of each ship you will see what I mean. The balconies on the Voyager are more "enclosed" I guess you could say. Also the Mariner is the only ship in that class without a car on the Promenade. Other than that very little difference.

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We've sailed both.

 

Mariner had these cool bathrooms right outside of the Windjammer.....in the men's room when standing at the urinal you were looking right out at the ocean (so my DH said). In the ladies room there were two stalls that when you sat you looked out over the ocean. Also one had children's pool area that the other didn't have (can't remember which one that was).

 

 

Wow! I'm going to have to check that out!(the men's that is):cool:

 

The main difference structurally is the balconies on the Mariner (and Navigator I believe) are outside the hull of the ship and on the Voyager they are inside the hull. If you look at a picture of each ship you will see what I mean. The balconies on the Voyager are more "enclosed" I guess you could say. Also the Mariner is the only ship in that class without a car on the Promenade. Other than that very little difference.

 

 

Which balcony did you prefer? Were the Voyager balconies more private?

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The Voyager balconies aren't necessarily more private unless you are passing a ship or in port. The same frosted plexi glass separates your balcony from your neighbor's. However, when looking out from the balcony, Voyager is metal up to about waist high ( because you are still inside the hull of the ship when on the balcony). Mariner is a glass up to waist high as the balcony is built outside of the super structure. I prefer the Mariner style because your view isn't obstructed by the hull when you are looking out from the room or when sitting on the balcony. It also feels a lot less cave like, more open and airy, on the Mariner type balcony.

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The Voyager balconies aren't necessarily more private unless you are passing a ship or in port. The same frosted plexi glass separates your balcony from your neighbor's. However, when looking out from the balcony, Voyager is metal up to about waist high ( because you are still inside the hull of the ship when on the balcony). Mariner is a glass up to waist high as the balcony is built outside of the super structure. I prefer the Mariner style because your view isn't obstructed by the hull when you are looking out from the room or when sitting on the balcony. It also feels a lot less cave like, more open and airy, on the Mariner type balcony.

 

When I was on Voyager, the balconies where all metal to the side, no plexiglass between cabin, just ship structure

:confused:

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We've done both. Here are some things to expect on Mariner.

 

The sports bar on Mariner is off the Viking Crown. As already mentioned there is a wine bar in its place on the Promenade.

 

There is Bolero's for salsa and Latin dancing just outside the casino instead of the classical trio. Little more action there!

 

The disco is called the Dragons Lair and is totally different in decor than the Vault on Voyager. Kind of cool. If you are Diamond, this is the location for the D Happy Hour. When we went it was pretty empty every time but this was out of California.

 

As you walk in the Windjammer, Jade is straight ahead. Full bar with bartender and an intimate seating area. Mr Wolf said the sushi was pretty good, I didn't try it, we popped in a few times before dinner and I wasn't hungry. Has Chops and Portofino - we definitely prefer Chops.

 

The pool decor on Mariner is fun - very pop art and vibrant.

 

I think they have the teen area the Living Room instead of the kiddie pool at the back. Not sure on that - we don't have kids. ;)

 

The casino is set up a little differently in the slot machine area and you use tickets instead of having to jack with buckets of coins. Yay!

 

We like the balconies better on Mariner too!

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Another difference between the ships, which may be subject to change are the smoking areas. Mariner permits smoking in the inside area of pub on the Promenade, and near the bar area of Schooner. Voyager does not permit smoking in either of these areas.

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When I was on Voyager, the balconies where all metal to the side, no plexiglass between cabin, just ship structure

:confused:

 

Sorry, to confuse... I'll go back and look at my pictures to make sure!

 

Edit: I see someone else beat me to the photo. I guess I was thinking about Indy. I'm blaming it on pregnancy brain! ;) Sorry about that.

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Mariner is the only ship we have ever been on that doesn't have any tables on the pool deck, not by the main pool or in the solarium. We spend lots of time playing cards and dominos on the pool deck and it was a major disappointment not to have tables. The crew was accommodating and would bring a little plastic table out for us when we asked but then we basically had to "stand guard" over it and leave someone there all day as other people would use it. It's not like we could just pick another table since it was the only one on the pool deck.

 

We have been on Adventure, Mariner, Voyager, Serenade, Grandeur, Legend and Sovereign and our Mariner cruise is the one we liked the least. The crew was not as friendly as others have been and we really look forward to getting to know some of the crew members. I doubt we would take another cruise on Mariner unless it was an itinerary we couldn't pass up. That said, we love cruising out of Texas and maybe the change of venue will do her good.

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Trio, we played cards at a table on the pool deck on Mariner - we were on her Nov 2009. There were plenty of tables at that time.

 

You can also smoke at the Schooner bar on Voyager - at least you could every time we sailed on her.

 

Hopefully we Texans will train the Mariner crew just right - give them that hospitality we pride ourselves on. We did a good job on Rhapsody and Voyager - we'll get to work on Mariner! :D Reminds me of Rhapsody's last sailing. The Captain was presented with a commendation from the State of Texas and a large contingent of officers and crew were in the Centrum with a giant Texas flag and the passengers sang The Eyes of Texas in farewell. A very special moment. Losing Rhapsody and her crew after 7 years was tough. Now we are sad to say goodbye to Voyager but know Mariner will find a friendly and happy crowd to welcome them!

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Trio, we played cards at a table on the pool deck on Mariner - we were on her Nov 2009. There were plenty of tables at that time.

 

You can also smoke at the Schooner bar on Voyager - at least you could every time we sailed on her.

 

Hopefully we Texans will train the Mariner crew just right - give them that hospitality we pride ourselves on. We did a good job on Rhapsody and Voyager - we'll get to work on Mariner! :D Reminds me of Rhapsody's last sailing. The Captain was presented with a commendation from the State of Texas and a large contingent of officers and crew were in the Centrum with a giant Texas flag and the passengers sang The Eyes of Texas in farewell. A very special moment. Losing Rhapsody and her crew after 7 years was tough. Now we are sad to say goodbye to Voyager but know Mariner will find a friendly and happy crowd to welcome them!

 

I am happy to hear that. We were on Mariner in July 2008, IIRC. It was a MAJOR disappointment for us as we normally play cards and games all day in the Solarium and bring our lunch out there as well. Maybe they got enough complaints! We have loved cruising out of Galveston as well. I grew up in Bellaire and love to come back, shop at James Avery, eat at Mamacito's and Demeris Barbeque, and enjoy the friendly crowd on the ship.

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We've sailed both.

 

Mariner had these cool bathrooms right outside of the Windjammer.....in the men's room when standing at the urinal you were looking right out at the ocean (so my DH said). In the ladies room there were two stalls that when you sat you looked out over the ocean. Also one had children's pool area that the other didn't have (can't remember which one that was).

 

That is actually the Voyager men's restroom. As you can see, have been on Mariner quite a bit.

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...when looking out from the balcony, Voyager is metal up to about waist high ( because you are still inside the hull of the ship when on the balcony).

It depends on the deck you're on. On deck 6 the balcony outer wall is metal up to waist height. On the higher decks (I think), it's metal to about knee height, then glass above.

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That is actually the Voyager men's restroom. As you can see, have been on Mariner quite a bit.

Actually, the men's restroom on Voyager (deck 11, outside of Windjammer) changed a while back. Now they have a decorative pee wall. No looking outside from the urinal anymore.

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Another difference between the ships, which may be subject to change are the smoking areas. Mariner permits smoking in the inside area of pub on the Promenade, and near the bar area of Schooner. Voyager does not permit smoking in either of these areas.

Which is the reason Derek Lewis won't be on the Mariner. :mad:

 

Another difference is the Mariner does not have the webcam. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/multimedia/webcam/ship/voyager.do

In 7 weeks I can answer "yes" to your original question, "Anyone sailed both Voyager and Mariner?" :)

I wonder if the waiters will sing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" like they did on the Voyager?

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