Review of Mariner -Thanksgiving cruise

[Cindy]

 

We won't go to every show, but I'd like to make the "biggies" and the ice show. Do you remember what the show schedule was so we can work around it in scheduling dinners? The only thing that we've more or less settled on at this point is Portofino on the first night. My group finds the Welcome Aboard show less than entertaining;), and the menu in the MDR doesn't excite us either. Thanks! I appreciate any help!

 

Cindy - we had 8:30 second seating and most of our shows were before dinner 7pm

Monday - headliner show was at 9pm

Tuesday - Production Showtime - 9pm - 3pm 1st Ice Show

Wed - Ice Show 7pm and 9pm

Thurs - Production Showtime 7pm and 9pm - 10:45 disco dancing in the street

Fri - Headliner show 7pm and 9pm - Quest 10:45pm

Sat - Ice show 5pm - Fairwell show 7:45pm

 

I hope this will help you to decide what time you need dinner reservations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you! It seems like most of the shows are at 7:00 and 9:00.

[TLex]

 

Thank you! It seems like most of the shows are at 7:00 and 9:00.

 

Linda, that didn't seem right (Cindy, I posted on our own thread, too). From previous cruises, the headliner show for the second seating on first formal night (Monday) was at 2245. 2100 seems like the show for the first seating folks. Otherwise, the second seating would miss the show!

 

And on our past cruises out of Galveston and even last Thanksgiving on Mariner out of San Pedro (LA), I recall that the first night at Portofino was the murder mystery dinner. So has that event now been switched to a different night?

 

Linda, outstanding review, thank you, and reading all of the posts on the 11-20-11 thread Roll Call as well. As I noted on our own Roll Call thread, seems like things have changed in Galveston! Hopefully, the disembarkation process can be refined by the "18th voyage" (11 March) because it sure seems like a darned if you do, darned if you don't situation (try to get off early and then get stymied by luggage retrieval and Customs or wait and still get stymied plus run into all of the next bunch of cruisers arriving at the building). And, as of this moment, we will definitely do the Victor Bodden at Roatan and maybe MP, if time, but for Belize and Cozumel, the concept of "the ship's our destination" is looking better and better!! Anyway, we can always gawk at Allure tied up next to us!

 

(But in interest of full disclosure, having resided nearly two decades in Panama and been to just about every nation in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, not to mention quite a few cruises, our vacation is more oriented to enjoying Mariner of the Seas anyway).

 

VR,

 

T Lex

[39august]

Can anyone confirm that first night at Portofino's is NOT the murder mystery night, please? So hope not!

[BethCarp]

Two things that I found disappointing...

 

ADVENTURE OCEAN: For at least half of the daily activities the age groups were combined. I understand on cruises where there are fewer children how they might need to combine the 6-8 and 9-11 groups, and maybe even the 3-5 year-olds. And this is to be expected for the late night party zone. But not on a Thanksgiving sailing with 852 kids! Royal Caribbean promotes that they offer activities for five distinct age groups -- they should deliver. I would pick up my DD and there were 60-70 kids -- sometimes ages 3-11 -- in one activity! She was disappointed as well.

 

Andy I never noticed that. The only time I noticed they were combined was when we picked them up late. And by then there weren't many kids left at all. Our latest night was 1am and there were 3 kids there including my 2. They were not happy about that. The other kid was asleep and both my boys looked bored and tired watching cartoons. Though they did beg to go back and stay late everynight. Just not til 1am.

 

My older son (10) put on his comment card that they should have some kid channels on the room TVs. I don't think there was any dedicated children/family channel. If there was, we couldn't find it.

[aunursa]

Andy I never noticed that. The only time I noticed they were combined was when we picked them up late. And by then there weren't many kids left at all. Our latest night was 1am and there were 3 kids there including my 2. They were not happy about that. The other kid was asleep and both my boys looked bored and tired watching cartoons. Though they did beg to go back and stay late everynight. Just not til 1am.

 

My older son (10) put on his comment card that they should have some kid channels on the room TVs. I don't think there was any dedicated children/family channel. If there was, we couldn't find it.

 

My daughter never stayed past 10 PM. I checked with her to make sure that it wasn't just my perception. And I noticed the combined age groups not just at night, but also several times when I picked her up during the day.

 

I agree that there should have been additional kid's channels. According to my DW and DD, there was at least one kid's channel with "Fisher-Price" programming. Disney Channel and Disney Jr. are Disney, and Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. are affiliated with NCL, so that would limit the available channels. But surely some of CarToon Network, The Hub, and PBS Kids could be offered.

[BethCarp]

Andy, I'll have to ask my kids what they thought. I didn't hear them complaining about it though. I about freaked out on the first sea day when we were enjoying the Solarium when another lady walked by saying that her kids walked out of AO. That it was too babyish. Must've been pre-teens maybe. Both of mine loved it, just not the night they were the last kids there.

[xkritter]

My youngest (10) enjoyed AO however on the Port days - after we'd return from excursions - he'd want to go to AO and see friends and on all of those days they had the age groups combined. He decided to not check in on those days because he didn't want to "hang" with the younger kids in the younger kids' room.

[Cindy]

 

Linda, that didn't seem right (Cindy, I posted on our own thread, too). From previous cruises, the headliner show for the second seating on first formal night (Monday) was at 2245. 2100 seems like the show for the first seating folks. Otherwise, the second seating would miss the show!

 

And on our past cruises out of Galveston and even last Thanksgiving on Mariner out of San Pedro (LA), I recall that the first night at Portofino was the murder mystery dinner. So has that event now been switched to a different night?

 

Linda, outstanding review, thank you, and reading all of the posts on the 11-20-11 thread Roll Call as well. As I noted on our own Roll Call thread, seems like things have changed in Galveston! Hopefully, the disembarkation process can be refined by the "18th voyage" (11 March) because it sure seems like a darned if you do, darned if you don't situation (try to get off early and then get stymied by luggage retrieval and Customs or wait and still get stymied plus run into all of the next bunch of cruisers arriving at the building). And, as of this moment, we will definitely do the Victor Bodden at Roatan and maybe MP, if time, but for Belize and Cozumel, the concept of "the ship's our destination" is looking better and better!! Anyway, we can always gawk at Allure tied up next to us!

 

(But in interest of full disclosure, having resided nearly two decades in Panama and been to just about every nation in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, not to mention quite a few cruises, our vacation is more oriented to enjoying Mariner of the Seas anyway).

 

VR,

 

T Lex

 

Can anyone confirm that first night at Portofino's is NOT the murder mystery night, please? So hope not!

 

 

I'll probably hold off a bit longer on reservations...I'll see what's shared from the current cruise and next week's cruise since they're both "normal" (non-holiday) sailings. The 7:00 and 9:00 times made sense to me if late seating went to the show before dinner and early seating went after dinner. If the shows for first seating are at 9:00, then we could make dinner reservations for 7 and still make a performance at 9 if it's something we want to see.

We did the Portofino Murder Mystery dinner in 2009 on the Voyager and it was in the middle of the week...Tuesday or Wednesday if I recall correctly. It was definitely not the first night.

[Cindy]

We wanted to prepay online this time, but they wanted me to fax them my credit card number, and I wasn't going to do that. So we will just show early, planning on leaving for West Bay around 9:00. Also Roatan Cab Tours can book for you and then you just pay them when they take you over there. Much easier. Cindy, we don't even care about the service, we just walk up to the bar to get our drinks. The front desk seems clueless sometimes, but that is O.K. It's so beautiful there and the pool is so spectacular not to mention the beach and sea that we just think it's the bomb. We have been to Fantasy Island, did not like it, old and unkept and the manmade lagoon is nasty and to Maya Key, much better there but still on the ugly side of the island. So we always go back to MP.

 

Agree, MP is just beautiful. Unfortunately, the service problem the day we were there was at the bar! There was only one person working the bar, and one person waiting tables...either they oversold, or they had people not show up. Still, I would go back and give them another chance...it's that nice!:)

[cruizinmimi]

Can anyone confirm that first night at Portofino's is NOT the murder mystery night, please? So hope not!

 

Kay, I can say that on our cruise....Portofinos 1st night was NOT the murder mystery night.

[cruizinmimi]

 

Linda, that didn't seem right (Cindy, I posted on our own thread, too). From previous cruises, the headliner show for the second seating on first formal night (Monday) was at 2245. 2100 seems like the show for the first seating folks. Otherwise, the second seating would miss the show!

 

T Lex

 

Tex - When I posted the show schedule I took them off the compasses that I brought home. We had 8:30 dining and most of our shows were at 7pm. So the 6:00 (1st seating) dining had their shows at 9pm. I know it is not the usual times, but this is what Mariner did on 11-20-11 sailing:)

[Cindy]

 

Tex - When I posted the show schedule I took them off the compasses that I brought home. We had 8:30 dining and most of our shows were at 7pm. So the 6:00 (1st seating) dining had their shows at 9pm. I know it is not the usual times, but this is what Mariner did on 11-20-11 sailing:)

 

Linda, which night was the Beatles show? Thanks, and sorry for so many questions!:)

[cruizinmimi]

Hi Cindy - Beatles Mania was Friday at 7pm and 9pm. Very good show. I'm not sure if they will be on your cruising or not. They move around from ship to ship.

[lbryant]

We're 2 weeks away from our Xmas cruise on Mariner... been dreaming of this holiday for many moons! Our family (10 adults and 3 kids: 17, 14 & 11) have not been on RCCL for a while and have never been on a Voyager class ship, so we're really excited to experience what a larger ship has to offer. Couple questions if you dont mind:

 

* How many different ice shows do they have? How many times do they repeat each show? I understand you need to get tickets in advance (or use the stand-by line). How do you know when the tickets are available and do they hand out all the shows at one time or is each performance given out separately?

 

*My 14yr old will be turning 15 two weeks after our cruise..she will definitely want to be with the older teens (high school vs. middle school age group). I understand for a Xmas cruise the clubs will likely be full; should she expect to be able to merge into the older group or should I prepare her for keeping with the younger group? Does it make a difference if her older sister is signed up with the HS group?

 

* Are there any activities for the college-age? My nieces (20 & 23) are hoping there will be some other young adults there to hang with. Are there certain clubs that tend toward the college crowd?

 

* How were the holiday decorations? Is it pretty festive on board?

 

Thank you for your help. I think setting expectations ahead of time will go a long way to helping alleviate any potential disappointment. For instance, I've read a number of reviews that mentioned smoking in the Wig & Gavel and other bars on board. Being from Oregon, we've gotten used to smoke-free pubs, so it's good to know what lounges allow smoking.

Thank you for your help.

Laura

[big_j]

Smoking in the pub is the reason Derek Lewis stayed with the Voyager of the Seas. He would rather be with the Mariner of the Seas since he is from San Antonio. I hope the Mariner changes the English Pub to non-smoking so Derek comes back to Galveston.

 

We'll be on the Mariner in the spring. It's so tragic to lose the magic of Derek Lewis because of the smoking policy! :mad:

[Cindy]

Hi Cindy - Beatles Mania was Friday at 7pm and 9pm. Very good show. I'm not sure if they will be on your cruising or not. They move around from ship to ship.

 

Thanks again for your help! I went ahead and made 7:00 MTD reservations for most nights...I figure we should easily be able to make a 9:00 show if they keep this schedule, especially since we're in a suite and can use the reserved seating if necessary.

I reserved Portofino for Sunday and Chops for Wednesday...both at 6:30 which is too early, but they seemed to have everything between 7:00-8:30 blocked for on-line reservations, because I can't imagine they're completely booked three+ months out. I'll keep my eye on it, and if I don't see anything open up I will have the concierge switch them for us.

I had hoped to do the wine pairing dinner at Chops, but it's only offered on formal night, and since I think formal nights have some of the better MDR menus, I hate to miss them.:rolleyes: For those who were asking, the Mystery Dinner isn't even posted as an option for the 3/11 cruise.

[lgonquin]

We'll be on the Mariner in the spring. It's so tragic to lose the magic of Derek Lewis because of the smoking policy! :mad:

 

No disrespect to anyone, but what is/was so special about this Derek guy? All I keep reading on these boards is how "great" he is. I appreciate good live music as much or more than most.

 

But what makes this guy so special?

[Creeks]

We called it the dungeon! Hope the diamond isn't there again this coming week.

 

 

If I go to the Diamond event, wine or champagne is good enough! But I might take the opportunity to buy a specialty martini at 25% off! So happy to hear it was NOT in the Dragon's Lair, which is what Mariner was using when it was on the West coast. So dreary in there, unless it is functioning as the disco later at night!

[OmaFromTexas]

I personally put the blame on RCI, and can't imagine why they would schedule the Allure & the Mariner to leave Cozumel at the very same time...knowing passengers from both ships would have to stand in the same line to go through customs.

 

Yes, there were a lot of kids on board...but I have to say everyone we met was well-behaved and well-mannered. No teens running down the halls at night, no one pushing every button on an elevator, no one cutting in line at the buffet. Just lots of families enjoying spending the holiday together.

 

Alas, our debarkation experience was much more chaotic than on previous cruises. Although DH & I are D+, the rest of our group is Diamond so we joined them in the Lotus Lounge to wait for the "priority debarkation" benefit. There were no RCI reps in the lounge all morning; and when someone called Guest Services to ask, they were told to just wait till our number was called. We assumed that would be right after Express, D+ & Suite guests were escorted off. No such luck...TEN numbers were called at once, and literally hundreds of passengers swarmed down the gangway into a terminal that was still packed with the Express group. It took about 20 minutes to locate our bags, before we waited almost TWO HOURS to get through customs! The line made two loops completely around the perimeter of the terminal and made it nearly impossible for other passengers to get to the luggage which was all stacked in the middle. The madness could have easily been avoided had the ship called only one group at a time and waited until the line died down before the calling the next number. It appeared that all they cared about was getting everyone off the ship and out of their hair as quickly as possible.

 

 

I've visited Cozumel 4 times, the last being in Jan. 2011. Never have I gone through a bag search/body scan custom check. I've only had the usual show your cruise card and walk on to the ship. I was quite surprised at this new turn of events and very disappointed at such a long, long line.

 

Constantcruiser - we did experience several occurrences of someone pushing all the buttons but it was from a 20 something adult & same guy figured out how to keep the elevator from stopping at floors because he was riding the glass elevator up & down, by passing waiting floors. But one bad apple didn't ruin the experience. All in all the kids were very well behaved....especially for over 900.

 

We were in that Express disembarkation --- OMW, it was horrendous. There was absolutely no organization to this and I would swear that over 1/2 the ship decided to use the 'express'. It took over 1 hour of standing in line then one of the ship's personnel came and rerouted us to a new post so we could exit ---- only to stand in line outside to go through the tunnel & wind our way down to customs. It was the worst disembarkation we have ever experienced.

[OmaFromTexas]

Can anyone confirm that first night at Portofino's is NOT the murder mystery night, please? So hope not!

 

It was 2nd night (formal night) on the Thanksgiving cruise.

 

It was interesting & entertaining, but I don't think I would do the mystery dinner again - would rather enjoy Portofino's without all the shouting and running around.

 

The food was delicious.

[pspercy]

I would swear that over 1/2 the ship decided to use the 'express'.

 

I suppose that's because so many drive to the port ?

[satxdiver]

We called it the dungeon! Hope the diamond isn't there again this coming week.

 

I love to go to the disco and listen to the recorded music. I agree that the proper name on the voyager class ships is the dungeon because it looks and feels like one. Really cold dreary place.

[OmaFromTexas]

I would swear that over 1/2 the ship decided to use the 'express'.

 

I suppose that's because so many drive to the port ?

 

 

Could be, but in all my cruises out of Galveston (on Carnival, Princess & RCI) I have never seen so many express disembark. Most take the leisurely way of letting the ship manage the luggage to the customs area.

[Cindy]

No disrespect to anyone, but what is/was so special about this Derek guy? All I keep reading on these boards is how "great" he is. I appreciate good live music as much or more than most.

 

But what makes this guy so special?

 

It's kind of hard to explain...he is just funny and warm and talented. I would love it if he was on the Mariner. He just "gets it!" Derek's interactions with the audience are outstanding.

 

Could be, but in all my cruises out of Galveston (on Carnival, Princess & RCI) I have never seen so many express disembark. Most take the leisurely way of letting the ship manage the luggage to the customs area.

 

They almost always do on our Spring Break cruises. I guess everybody's in a hurry to get home due to work/school starting up again the next day. On our Princess cruises, they limited the number of passengers that could do the self-disembark, and they had a great system to control the crowds.

I'm hoping we get better reports from disembarkation today. I can tell you from experience that Galveston customs/immigration and holiday weekends aren't a good mix!:rolleyes:

[Ahhh]

So happy to hear it was NOT in the Dragon's Lair, which is what Mariner was using when it was on the West coast. So dreary in there, unless it is functioning as the disco later at night!

 

I am one of those who really like the atmosphere in Dragon's, day or night. It's a great place to bring a book and get away from it all or to practice dancing by bringing your own music. It feels intimate and special to me during the Diamond Event, but I feel I am probably in the minority...